by Wayne

This was the first U2 concert I have attended, though I have been an enthusiastic follower of the band since the release of The Unforgettable Fire. Needless to say, I was pretty jazzed. The following is my assessment of the show.

After the BEP's effectively "vibed us up," the anticipation was palpable.

Other than the sub-standard BC Place acoustics, I enjoyed the experience very much. Though some would complain U2's setlist included too many tunes from the new album, I applaud the band's effort to stay fresh. (I remember taking a while to warm up to the Joshua Tree in 87! "With or Without You" sounded pretty weird the first few times we heard it!) Even so, the concert included many old classics to please as many of us as possible.

I think the Edge, Adam and Larry were "spot on" while Bono seemed to be straining to project his voice at times. Did anyone else hear him say something like: "I need my voice back but then again people in Vancouver understand that sort of thing..." during Elevation? That said, he was very professional and found a way to "pull it off".

I don't think anyone could complain about the band's energy last night. Bono, Edge and Adam moved around the stage quite a bit and made use of the bridges (which impressively rotated to different positions throughout the evening!) and catwalks.

I appreciated Bono's attempts to personalize the concert for us. His reference to the Skytrain during one of the early numbers and insertion of "Vancouver" into Unknown Caller was a nice touch.

To say the stagecraft and special effects were visually engaging is an understatement. I enjoyed the encore very much-- especially Amazing Grace merging into Streets! In fact, I was hoping for yet another encore!

As others have mentioned, I also wish for less of a prescribed performance. One kind of knows what's coming- right down to some of the jokes and comments. Yet I wonder if our easy access to reviews is part of the reason we think of these performances as being too predictable these days?

As for the 60 000 spectators, I think the enthusiasm was pretty good. Most in section 241 (at least down near the floor) were standing for half the concert.

It would be a great experience to see them in Berlin next week!

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