by Erik

I've read the previous reviews and I have to say that those people don't know a damned thing about U2 in concert. The simple fact is that this show SUCKED!!!! Started off okay but when they played Kite, the wheels fell off. Someone previously reviewed that Kite was played very well....what the hell were you listening too? Edge got way off the beat, tried to force his way back, band was horribly out of time (I quickly mentioned to my other half that it reminded me of Staring at the Sun in Vegas during the PopMart tour--but at least in Vegas, they stopped and did it over again....which they should have done here) So edge is out of time and as Kite continues he hits some really awful notes, this song was a joke and killed the audience.(Which is why they should put this song before New Years Day, so if they screw it up, they can get the energy back through NYD) Really upset me because I love the song Kite, but this rendition was totally f'd up.
Drop New York, no one likes it, and it only made the concert sink faster (bad version of Kite and then New York? Great way to pump up the crowd guys...)
Sunday Bloody Sunday is too slow, and furthermore isn't a relevant song anymore. The band obviously hates playing it, and I'd rather have them play anything else. Put this dinosaur back in the museum. (This is also true for "Pride")
They played Stay which was also butchered. Dammit Bono if you're gonna do a song, know the words...I mean didn't you write the thing? Very unprofessional.
And as far as broken strings, that is completely inexcusable...there should be three backup guitars for each one edge plays. Broken string? grab the other one...I mean tennis players have more sense than that. Seeing edge tune his guitar on stage in the middle of a show is not what I paid $300 for. And broken strings doesn't account for the times when edge was out of tune (especially on Kite...some of those notes were blood curdling)
So, lets review...they start off okay, crash into the ground on Kite and New York, Bono gets moody and is no longer into the show. Edge is pissed because the guitars are screwed up (what happened Dallas? You played the riffs before the show and it sounded great...where did it all go wrong?) Larry and Adam don't give a shit that edge is having a bad night technically. There was no pathos from Bono, they cut the setlist short, sound was crummy, and the band completely uninspired. Yet leaving the venue people were totally convinced that this was a great show...these people need to see U2 more, when the band hits it, it really is something special (It took my 6th concert to hear them give that special performance) This night in Anaheim was a terrible tragedy...I really feel cheated and wish I could demand that they go back and do the show right.
And as far as this being the last tour, I really hope not. But it does feel like a greatest hits parade and man am I tired of hearing these songs over and over for the last 15 yrs. It seems like the band wants to do the newer material, the crowd goes flat, so they play I will follow or streets or pride and the lemmings in the crowd get all loud and happy again. How many times can a person hear those damned songs? If you want to play some old stuff find other songs...I always thought Wire would be great in concert.
So thanks for nothing guys, I wasted alot of money to stay in Anaheim for this show and you give a performance that would suck for a sound check. Joe O' even tries to play Bad but edge ain't having it, so the song isn't played. They know they gave a lame performance and bono has the audacity to expect us to pump him up during the show. Get a clue Paul, you phoned that performance in and some of us knew it, and weren't gonna give you our love for that half assed show.
I'll still always see them, but they should really feel like crap knowing that they ripped off 20,000 people on this particular night.

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