by Billy "One Tree" Hill

If there's a better live band than U2, I've never seen them. They put so much energy and creativity into their staging, their song list, the way they incorporate (and pay tribute to) the lyrics of other bands and the way they merge their own songs together...

Having said that, I thought last night's show-while better than most bands could ever hope to achieve--was middle of the road for U2.

Was it better than Joshua Tree? No way.

Better than Zoo TV? I personally don't think so.

Better than Pop Mart? Of course.

Bottom line is, any time you go to a concert and hear Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bad, Pride, Streets, One, et al, you cannot go away unsatisfied.

I didn't think any of the new stuff had much traction. It all sounded good to me, but most the people around me were sitting on their hands. The real test is, how much of the new stuff will turn up in future tours...and I don't think much of it will.

As always, the kinetic high points were the older songs (Sunday, Streets, Pride, I Will Follow).

I agree with the others that last night was one of the most lethargic U2 crowds I've ever seen, especially for an arena show.

The acoustics were brutal, which I think is more about the Pond than U2. I didn't catch a word of what Bono said between songs except at the end when it was totally silent and he spoke about Jubilee 2000 (feel free to kick some of the ticket income toward debt relief).

I could have done without the contrived NRA video to open the first encore...but then again I was probably the only person in attendance who voted for W.

Random thoughts:

Ticket info, which I wish somebody would have had the horsesense to publish before me:I'm sure it varies from market to market, but if you paid more than face value last night, you got robbed. All sorts of tickets were out there right before concert time at less than face value. In defense of U2, that's one of the perks of high ticket prices

I noticed the concert was sponsored by VH-1. Am I really getting that old?

During Streets, Bono sprinted around the entire heart in about 15 seconds flat, breaking his prior Elevation Tour record of 15.35 seconds. See if he can top it at a show near you.

Whatever happened to lighters during the slow songs? The Phillip Morris Company must be panicking.

If any of this sounds less than ebullient, keep one thing in mind: I'll still be back tonight, paying my $130 (two times) and not having a single regret.

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