by Goodvibe61

This show was a stunner. I'll never forget it for a few reasons.

These have been tough times in Southern California lately. Many people are struggling. For many, it was tough to be able to afford the tickets to this show.

In the end, this show was exactly what everyone here needed. It was about as uplifting, as hopeful and filled with promise as any performance I've seen in recent memory.

The set list was just great. Unlike the standard set list of this leg of the tour, it seemed the band was truly determined to do something special. Anaheim Stadium was a great venue, being significantly smaller than the Rose Bowl, the gigantic stage seemed even more impressive than last time.

The band fired on all cylinders. The rockers really kicked some major ass tonight. The crowd was completely given over to the band. It was a beautiful evening weather wise, and the crowd had a wonderful time of it.

And the ending of the show will always set this one apart from most of the others. Before Moment of Surrender Bono asked for the lights to come down and the crowd to quiet down because he had something to say. He went on to ask the crowd to think of E Street, Bruce and the band, and to pray for The Big Man, The King of the World, Clarence Clemons, who had just passed away before the band took the stage last night. Bono's speech was brief and eloquent. He then proceeded to sing the most searing version of Surrender I've heard. He just poured his heart into the number. At the end he read the final stanza of Bruce's Jungleland. It was obvious that was really something very special.

The news hit my wife and I extremely hard. When Bono mentioned Clarence we had a sinking feeling, we looked at each other, and I quickly called my son, who told us it was true, he passed away around the same time we entered Anaheim Stadium for the show. Having been to more than 30 E Street Band shows, the news really gutted me. I'll always have the memory that it was Bono who told me that The Big Man was gone and that E Street would never be quite the same again.

I always complain when the band goes to the big stadiums, always preferring the arenas. But tonight was something special. The intense focus on the Achtung Baby songs early, the crowd favorites driving the crowd into a frenzy, and that incredible stage turning the stadium into a scene out of Close Encounters, this was a show I will always hold dear.

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