by Mike P.

I've read a good many of these reviews since U2 started touring and they are always exciting to read. Since the beginning of the Elevation tour I have seen them four times. I was on the floor for Albany, and behind the stage for Boston Nights 3 and 4. Albany was great because I was on the floor, but Bono's voice was weak. Boston Nights 3 and 4 were superb, especially Boston night 4, however, both shows my back was agasint the wall behind the stage. These shows were all amazing, but the Popmart show I saw in Philadelphia back in June of 1997 still seemed superior to these shows in my mind, that is, until last night.

I believe I bared witness to one of the greatest U2 shows of this tour (I know, everyone says that about the show they saw, but still . . .), and perhaps all time.

I've had tickets since the end of September; $85 tickets, so they were good. But yesterday, on a whim during my computers class while my teacher was yapping away, I decided to check ticketmaster for tickets. I searched for 2 GAs - and I could not believe it - but it pulled up 2 GAs!!!! Oh man - I was going crazy - I could not believe it - so I bought them and picked them up at will call.

So here I am on the floor with my girlfriend, and the band comes on and they are really into it. They blast through Elevation and Beautiful Day - Bono is all smiles. Until the End of the World ends with Bono pulling someone from the heart on stage with a camera to take pictures of him and the Edge. New Year's Day, Sunday Bloody Sunday, I Will Follow, Stuck In a Moment are all run though with a force of energy that I have not seen in the previous 3 Elevation shows.

Of course, it is Larry's birthday so Bono has the crowd sing happy birthday to him. Larry comes out and thanks the crowd and is in very good spirits, Bono and Larry joke back and forth as Larry takes center stage and Bono climbs behind the drum kit. It was as if they were teenagers again who were just playing around having a good time. Then the first surprise: Party Girl. I saw this played acoustically in Boston, but the full band version kicked ass. And Bono remembered all the words - it was great! However, the greatest surprise was yet to be unveiled. Bono starts playing Slow Dancing!!! And the whole band plays a FULL flawless version of this song! I was going insane. I know the song was played twice on Popmart, but it was only a verse or two, I have some bootlegs where they played it from Zoo TV and Lovetown, but they all seemed shortened. This was complete, with Bono crooning off each lyric perfectly. Oh man, it really was amazing.

Kite, was played, and as always, was beautiful. Then came Wild Honey! This was great, too. Bono and the Edge right at the tip of the heart. It was great to hear live. It was funny, too, cus Edge had to sing the part where Bono usually howls - Bono just smiled and held the mic up to the edge and with a smile mouthed, "my voice" - and kinda shook his head. This song ended and Please began. Let me say that this song was, by far, my favorite song performed during Popmart. I liken it to a new Bad. It's a huge song, with Edge's arguing guitar supported by Larry's heavy drumming. The song, played with the full band reminds me of an argument where Bono is at the heart of this huge group and he is arguing violently with this group trying to get them to see his side of things. It's so powerful with the full band. The acoustic version, however, is much more poignant. Instead of a huge group it seems as if it is just Bono and one other person. The argument isn't all over the place, but rather, very direct and to pointed at this person whom he is speaking to. The acoustic version of Please is a brilliant rendition; I'm so happy that I was only 5 feet away to experience it.

These were the highlights of the show for me. Bad, Where the Streets, I Still haven't, and Pride were all amazing, and pride was especially cool cus Bono pulled 3 girls from behind the stage and put them right at the tip of the heart to dance. Bullet, was intense as ever, but I do miss the Mark Chapman rant. What's Going on was great, glad I got to experience this tune as well. New York, One, When Will I See You Again / Walk On, were all heart wrenching together as the names of all those who died on the various flights, along with firemen and policemen scrolled over the screen and arena.

By the end of the show I was on cloud 9. I'm still getting goose bumps as I sit here and think about the show. It truly was awe-inspiring.

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