by Jeff Corley

As I entered the Cotton Bowl on May 12, I thought I knew what to expect. The 100-foot golden arch, the massive video screen (we've all heard about it, right?). What hit me as I came up the ramp to my seat was that I forgot how high 100 feet really is! This show really is massive, and anyone in the stadium should be able to experience something, even if you're in the nosebleeds.

As the show started, I was delighted that I could hear all of the instruments very definitively, except that Bono's vocals were a little mushy, but the drunk guys behind us were kind enough to shout the words to every song for us (off key, of course), so it didn't matter if we could hear Bono or not. Thanks, guys!

I saw u2 on the Zoo tour in '92, and it seemed that this concert lacked the emotion of the last tour. I would credit this first of all to the venue. It's hard for 50,000 people to all "get into it" simultaneously (especially hard for the inebriated). Also, it seems as if everyone wanted to hear the classics, and didn't respond as well to the new material. Perhaps this is because the new record hasn't had time to settle in everyone's minds. It could also be that the tour is so new. I think that the props could be utilized in different ways, and probably will be later on. I don't think that Bono's vision of the stage as a supermarket has quite caught on (see the sketch inside the cd sleeve. It looks just like the popmart stage).

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the concert, except that it seemed so short! My favorite songs were Gone, Pride (with the solo included), Bullet the Blue Sky, Discotheque (great lemon!), and One. These aren't all my favorite songs, but they impressed me at the show. If you like U2, you should definitely catch the show, but please leave the booze and drugs out. For $60, you should want to remember the good time you had!

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