by Warren Lewis

What can I say! "The Greatest Show on Earth" certainly lived up to all it's expectations. The support group, Sidewinder, got very little reaction from the Perth crowd, all dumbfounded by the massive stage with little interest drawn to a band who couldn't possibly make their presence felt under a 150-ft. yellow arch. It was up to the feature act to get the crowd's attention. The build up was brilliant! The pulsating remix of "popmusik" sent a shiver of expectation down my spine. The spectical had begun yet with no sign of the lads. Then a spotlight in a corner of the stadium and a shriek from the crowd signalled the entrance of the greatest band ever!! Adam, Larry and Edge made their way through a sea of screaming fans with Bono, sporting a boxing style robe, leading them into the ring. Then the heart pumping MOFO initiated the PopMart Experience! The crowd, particularly on the floor area, were a bit slow to get started and this remained evident throughout the concert. This was attributed to the ridiculous arrangement of seats which totally destroyed the atmosphere associated with the lounge or standing room areas. Nevertheless I went nuts throughout though my legs paid for it big time the following day! I Will Follow then kicked in to high gear giving us hard core fans a trip down memory lane and all of us an example of the depth and unquenchable talent of this superb group.

What followed was a collection of all the favourites, all superbly delivered, Bad being a very pleasant surprise. Maybe the highlight of the night for me was the performance of Please. It was just an unbelievable performance and then at the end it slowly faded away and a few chords of Streets could be detected signalling the transition from the sad, melodious Please to the inspirational Where the Streets have no Name. This got hearts racing as the crowd responded. AWESOME! Edge's solo acoustic version of Sunday Bloody Sunday was also fantastic and again a surprise! Discotheque signalled the encore as the boys individually filed out of a 50-ft. mirrorball. One was moving as always with a tribute to Michael Hutchens from Bono leaving some in tears.

The concert was absolutely amazing! I galdly handed over my $155 to witness such a spectical. If you went you know what I'm talking about, if you didn't you simply will never know! On a personal note I was blessed with a miracle when I met Bono backstage. Needless to say it was the highlight of one unbelievable night which I will never forget!

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