by Kristal Barnes

As promised, here is a complete review of my experience meeting Bono, Adam, and Paul McGuinness, getting the banner signed by Bono and Paul, and the show in Kansas City on May 19, 1997. It's rather long so be prepared.

BEFORE THE SHOW

I arrived at Arrowhead Stadium at about 3:00 pm with Keith, my brother, and Eric, my husband. Parking lots for the stadium was not open so we parked outside and made the journey on foot to the stadium. We heard music coming from inside the stadium and at first thought it was U2 doing the soundcheck but later found out it was the roadies (they sounded pretty good!).

While hanging out by the stadium, we met Elena Espinoza, Jack Borrett, Jackie Griess, Jason Peterson, Angela Pancella, and Rev. Tim. The Wire tags sure did help! Really enjoyed meeting all of you!! Keep in touch :) We were all hanging out where we could see the entrance to the backstage area and got to know each other. The other Wirelings said they saw Edge head toward the backstage area earlier. Larry rode by on a cart toward the stage and waved at us! Adam also rode by and waved! Eventually, Bono's cart came by and he stopped to tell us that he would be back after the soundcheck!! Rev. Tim threw a small disco ball to Bono!

Well, I knew we had some time to spare before Bono returned so we headed back to the van to get our stuff and Rev. Tim let us use his photo pass from Dallas to get into the parking lot (thanks Rev. :) ), which saved us $9. At first, I didn't think that security would let us in. I showed the pass and he said, "I haven't seen this one yet, what is it?" "A photo pass," I said as I was shaking like crazy (scared of getting busted!). He let us through!

We got the World Wide Wire banner out and everyone signed. I also met a couple ofl">Aer Wirelings at this time, Mike Bowers and Joe.

THE MEETING AND BANNER SIGNING

We headed back toward where Bono said he would return, and he did, with Adam and Paul McGuinness!! He stopped to sign autographs. He had a cigarette in his mouth and I almost said, "Bono, get rid of the cigarette, you're going to ruin your voice!," but I refrained. I had waited 13 years for this moment, I couldn't believe it was really happening! Both Bono and Adam signed my POP CD cover and my Wire tag. On my Wire tag, Adam just signed his name and Bono wrote "Bono on the Wire." When I had Bono sign it, he said, "So your a Wireling?" I asked him if he ever read Wire and he said that he did every now and then and then started to say something about Edge but was interrupted by someone. I had written a poem/lyric for Bono in 1988 and gave Bono a copy of it. When I told him it was a poem I wrote for him, he looked at me very sincerely and said, "Really? Thanks!" I will never forget that look in his eyes at that moment :) I hope he likes it! As I turned around to give the CD cover to Eric, Bono signed the back of my Wire t-shirt and drew a clover on it! My brother, bless his heart, asked Bono to sign the Wire banner and he did!!!!! He wrote, "The Men and Women behind the Wire, Bono 97." On my brother's Wire tag, Bono signed, "Bono the Man behind the Wire." By this time, Adam had already left but Paul was there so we had him sign the banner also! Both Bono and Paul signed the first W on the banner. Paul also signed my Wire tag. I also asked Paul if the band ever read Wire and he said that they do occasionally!

About 20 other people were gathered around the guys at the time. One girl asked Bono what religion he followed since he is from Ireland, she wanted to know if he is Catholic. Bono said, "That is a touchy subject." Then he said something to the effect of being nondenominational and then said, "I'm a Christian." Rev. Tim said someone asked Bono if he believed in astrology and he said no. Bono also said, "You are all so lucky to live in Kansas." Sarcastically, I replied, "We are?" Seems Bono/U2 are obsessed with Kansas. First they show sunflowers (state flower) and buffaloes in the One video and next they film a video in Kansas City which is actually in Missouri but close enough.

As you can imagine, I was walking on air after that. If I had left then without seeing the show, I would have been perfectly happy. I kept wondering if he would read the poem and if he would like it. I put my name, address, phone number and e-mail on it so now I am eagerly anticipating a response, but who knows? Now I kinda know how Bono felt when he presented When Love Comes To Town to BB King.

THE SHOW

Our seats were in the 17th row of section A4. We were right next to the b-stage on the right side at the spot where the lemon stops (thanks TM and MTV!). These seats were great. During the show, we stood by the rail next to the b-stage, just a few feet from the stage, could almost reach it! We could see the main stage fairly well and the b-stage very well. Also, the screen looked pretty good from there.

The Fun Loving Criminals opened for the first time. They were okay but I would have rather seen Rage Against the Machine. They kept thanking the crowd for paying attention to them and thanked U2 for having them.

Is it just me or did Howie B play a track from Passengers while deejaying?

I will present the set list along with comments about each song and some things that Bono said during the show. Overall, the show rocked! Bono's voice was great and he hit the high notes with no problems. Edge was really getting into the show! The band was tight.

POP MUZIK
From where I was standing, I couldn't see the band enter, but I believe it was at the 50yrd line. I watched this on the screen. To me it sounded like Bono was doing the vocal on the pre-recorded Pop Muzik. Has anyone else noticed this?

MOFO
This rocked! Edge sings the "Little Red Vette" (?) part on this one.

I WILL FOLLOW
The crowd was really hyped by this one! Everyone got into it and sang along. A high point for me. At the end of this song, Bono said, "Bigger better, bolder. Offering you the very best in psychodelic retail therapy(?). Sell your souls. We're giving our souls away. It's a rock-n-roll tour, convenience store, a hip hop...Supermarket, Superman, Rock-n-Roll..." and then went into:

EVEN BETTER THAN THE REAL THING
The audience really enjoyed this one. It rocked!

GONE
I love this song and it was great live.

PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE)
The intro for this song was all drums and it was awsome! The crowd really got into this and sang along.

I STILL HAVEN'T FOUND WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR
Bono started by saying, "So what do you think of all this shit here?" The crowd cheered their approval. "This is where we live now. This is where you live also. As we travel these distant(?) places...the best bit about traveling through this big country, this, come into these small towns and the buildings look so ugly during the day and when lit up they just look so beautiful, lit up by neon. Some people go out to the ...or beaches or to the countryside, thats where they find peace or something. I find peace in the mirror(?) and..." he starts singing. The crowd also enjoyed this one and sang along. Toward the middle, Bono kept saying, "Lets go to church." I like this kind of church!

STAND BY ME
The crowd sang along with this but we screwed up! Everybody laughed and Bono finished it for us!

LAST NIGHT ON EARTH
This song rocked!

UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD
A high point for me. One of my favorite U2 songs.

IF GOD WILL SEND HIS ANGELS
Bono and Edge performed this on the b-stage. I liked this version but it wasn't loud enough. Bono was right in front of me for most of this song! I was singing along and kept hoping he would see me!

STARING AT THE SUN
The crowd sang along with the chorus of this one. It was kinda slow but it was performed with no problems.

SWEET CAROLINE
The Edge and the audience had fun with this! The crowd sang the Bah Bah Bom during the chorus and everybody was laughing!

MIAMI
Bono looked so cool in his hat and multicolored jacket! He chose a girl from the audience who was only about 10 feet from me! Why couldn't it be me? The girl was shy and nervous but she did a good job! Once she started to go back to her seat but security pointed her back to let her know that Bono wasn't done with her yet. If that would have been me, they would have had to drag me off the stage! Bono sang, "We could have something beautiful, something that wouldn't be a problem, at least not in Kansas. You know the sun shines East, the sun shines West, but I know when the sun shines the best. Miami!"

BULLET THE BLUE SKY
This song rocked! The lights were cool when they shined up into the sky. The audience also sany along with this one. At one point, someone from the crowd about 20 feet from me gave a ball cap to Bono. He wore it for a little while and then threw it back into the crowd. Bono sang the "I want to live in America" part.

PLEASE
This rocked! One of my U2 favorites. During the "September...December" part, Larry kicked into the Sunday Bloody Sunday drums for a bit.

WHERE THE STREETS HAVE NO NAME
Bono started the song by singing "Please" over and over. The crowd really got into this song and sang along. At the end, Bono sang, "There will be no time..." a few times. The band left the stage and I knew it was time for the Lemon!

LEMON (PERFECTO MIX)
I've never heard the perfecto mix before, so this is just an assumption from the previous shows. Although I was expecting the Lemon, it was still an awsome sight live! That thing is huge! It stopped right in front of me! When it opened, I was too close to see the guys inside.

DISCOTHEQUE
This was performed on the b-stage. It was better live than I had expected.

IF YOU WEAR THAT VELVET DRESS
This was also on the b-stage. It was okay but the bass was not loud enough. Okay, I'm a bass player and so I want to hear the bass!

WITH OR WITHOUT YOU
This was performed on the b-stage. The crowd enjoyed this one and sang along. At one point, Larry almost started to bash away at the drums when it was actually a quiet part. All the guys started laughing and Larry was all smiles!

HOLD ME THRILL ME KISS ME KILL ME
This song rocked! They returned to the main stage for this one. Edge went crazy on that wah-wah pedal! At one point, Bono went out into the audience a couple of rows back!

MYSTERIOUS WAYS
This rocked and everyone got into it! Bono began the song by singing, "It's alright, it's alright, KC!"

ONE
Love this song! The crowd sang along. At the end, Bono said, "You've been a really great town to us, excellent. Good night." They left the stage and it was over. What a show!

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