by AKS

First of all- We had general admission tix which will slant my review. With that said... THE SHOW ROCKED!!! I hope "Father Bruce" (Springsteen) did not mind!! I was at two Elevation shows prior to this one (NYC 6/21- dead center upper 300 level seats and Philly 6/12-8 rows behind Larry) in "regular assigned" seating. Being just two or three rows from the Edge's side of the heart is an experience in and of itself. My one hope coming into the show was to hear Stay live and of course Bono and The Edge accomodated. Yes... they did screw it up but it made it that much more special for those in stadium that understood where the song originates emotionally- including the "heart beat" drum effect that Bono employed prior to the last verse... "Just the bang and the clatter as an angel hits the ground. Just the bang and the clatter as the Moulin Rouge makes the sweetest sound." This was done in honor of the director of movie who was in the crowd. (Phillip McGregor??)

The way that Stay segued into Bad/Wild Horses/I'm On Fire/40 and then Streets and into Pride was unbeLIEveable!!! I would also add that I distinctly heard Bono mimic Robert Plant's bellowing in Whole Lotta Love right before The Edge goes into his KILLER SOLO in Bullet. Speaking of The Edge... he was right on the money with everything and as a fellow guitarist, I loved the "machine gun" effect he uses while Bono is ranting about the effect of guns in the United States.

For me, this particular show was about "moments" and the emotions that each song carries and not whether Bono could hit every one of the highest notes. Needless to say he did not by often playing around with the timing of the phrases in order to avoid the strain of the highest notes (for example, as compared with the album version of Kite- Bono bellows I'm a MAN and holds it longer but "runs" through the chorus). I am sure that the others will have other opinions of the show, but I was truly "elevated" by this show.

A couple of final thoughts... Bono was very "political" last night. Maybe since he was given a MLK necklace just prior to the beginning of the "tip of the Heart" segment. For me what stood out (and was particularly touching), was Bono (AGAIN) making note of the fact during Sunday Bloody Sunday that "we eat and drink... while the Muslims they die." There is not enough LOVE to go around I guess... but I digress. The last thought is that I actually taped this show, too. So, if I can add something I did not remember off the top of my head I will post again. Thanks to U2!!! Eagerly awaiting the Fall return...

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