by Philip

What I witnessed at the sold out U2 show in Ottawa ranks as simply one of the greatest and happiest nights of my life. Never have I felt this kind of sustained positive energy and heart felt emotion in a live concert and I've been to many so-called big shows. I saw U2 on their Elevation tour in Montreal on their 4th leg of 2001 but this just seemed more spectacular on all levels which is hard to describe; but it's the things that are truly great that are hardest to define. Moving on, I really enjoyed Arcade Fire's opening set particularly their stage show which kept me on the edge (no pun intended) of my seat. Great opening act, I was afraid for a brief moment they'd upstage the headliner! Then out of nowhere, 18,500+ rock fans started doing the wave (usually reserved for hockey games!) minutes before Arcades "Wake Up", came blasting through the PA and U2 mounted the dark stage. When you get the wave going at a rock show, you know it'll be special one and it was to an ear deafening Ottawa response. Listen, I've seen all the biggest bands do their thing and U2 simply make you feel like you're part of something bigger, more importantly they bring out the best of you - that's bigger than the city their playing in which I thank them for. And for the record, the crowd was giving it right back to them. There may have been a few quiet spots on lesser known tracks when Bono asked us more so to get a response, "Does this city have soul?!" But overall I really can't fathom how any fan can be disappointed with crowd enthusiasm. In terms of what I took from the band overall they brought me to the higher ground and will be hard to top. Closing notes: The curtain of light was amazing, but what else would you expect from a band that did Zootv and Popmart? Apart from the main hits I really loved the version of Elevation, Stuck In A Moment, and 40 and Yahweh are equally impressive. I sat behind the stage in section 216 row A and my view was perfect, a different perspective of the show, I highly recommend it as well as seeing this band in the future. 5 stars.

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