by Juan P

This was my first ever U2 concert and I can say that it exceeded all my expectations. 4 years ago I could not get a ticket for Elevation, so this time I was more persistent until I got one for the Arrowhead Pond (which is far better than the SD sports arena), and it didn't matter that I had to drive alone 200 miles from Mexicali to Anaheim: I had to see this show with my own eyes....

I had been checking the previous set lists, and I was hoping that with all the continuing changes there would be a slight chance to listen to personal favorites such as Walk On, Kite and With or Withouth You, but I guess they may not appear very often during this tour...

However, the start of the set was the most explosive so far into the tour with Love and Peace, Vertigo and Elevation, if they had played Beautiful Day and New Year's Day immediately after those three openers the whole arena would have collapsed due to the people's excitement!!!

Cry/ Electric Co., & An Cat Dubh / Into the Heart were a small break for me after the initial rush, but the mood started to climb again with City of Blinding Lights and reached another climax with Beautiful Day....

The moving moment came with Miracle Drug,
and Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own... I believe that Yahweh should be played near these two songs, because it doesn't feel like a song to be played in the encore...

The third explosive segment of the Main set included New Year's Day, Sunday Bloody Sunday, and Bullet the Blue Sky, and all the way until The Fly.

I was greatly surprised that the band played Mysterious Ways, so far I thought that they would only play the set from the San Diego concerts.....

The first encore was the better, because the power of Pride (in the Name of Love), Where the Streets Have No Name (which really shook the building!!!), and the conclusion with One truly demonstrated the force of U2 as the great rock band for the ages.

The second encore was more spiritual, if I may call it that, very intense with All Because Of You, yet the pace of Yahweh kind of killed the momentum (it's not a bad song, but it should be played earlier in the show) and finally the definitive farewell with ‘40’.
I would have preferred a more intense song to close, but it seems that '40' is doing the job as it has had in past tours.

Overall, a great show, a simple but visually stunning stage and superb musical performances, let's hope that in the fall they open a couple more dates for the west coast because after watching Vertigo Live I can only say: "even better than the real thing!!!"

Return to previous page | Post a Review of this show!