by Susan Duffy

I've never been moved to tears at any of the 60 something U2 concerts I've been to until last night when they came back for the surprise second encore of Yahweh and "40." Wow. I've been going to their shows for 22 years, and this third show at Croke Park blew me away. There was so much emotion in the crowd and with the band. Other reviewers compare it to Slane1 (August 2001) but I wasn't at Slane, so I don't know. I compare it to December 1983 when they played Long Beach Arena just after "Do They Know It's Christmas Time At All?" came out. A lot of the Band Aid members showed up at that concert and it was a hugely emotional night.
As was last night. U2 put a lot of effort into their performance and the crowd responded in kind. It was amazing to watch the sea of arms waving/clapping/dancing along with I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Sunday Bloody Sunday, and Where the Street Have No Name. 80,000 warm (or hot) bodies all moving together, caught up in sheer joy. Unbelieveable.
Bono came out for the second encore and in the dark, 'cause it was a unplanned encore, said he wanted to thank some people, first and most importantly all the fans that have supported them over the years. He then went on to thank crews, families and management.
Two asides that I'm going to write just because I would want to read them: We could see the families of the band from our seats. They were on risers next to the tent on Adam Clayton's side of the stage. During the concert the majority did not clap, wave their hands, sing along or anything. I pointed this out to my friend and she said "that's because they have to do it all day at home..." ha ha ha The other thing that bothered me was that duing the first encore, I noticed that Bono had turned around away from his mike and yet we still heard his voice singing. I know they have to use background tapes for things at their concerts, but was this an example of poor lip syncing?
Overall it was a brilliant night. Willie Williams and co. blinded us with lights. And messages. And Wow.
The audience and the band were tight at Croke 3 and it was exactly what everyone there was looking for.

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