by Trini

I still can't believe I was part of the 80 thousand people that saw them that night.
I didn't think I would be able to go, after all the DG Medios sold the tickets at an impossible price, and there were so many people buying them I didn't have a chance. I had to accept that this once-or-twice-in-a-lifetime chance had slipped away. I wasn't going to the U2 concert.
Then my uncle calls and tells me that when he bought his hundred-thousand-pesos (about 200 dollars) tickets for his girlfriend and himself, he thought of me and bought one of the cheapest tickets for me!
So I was basically as far as I could possibly have been (at one of the last rows of the galeria) and all I could see were these half-centimeter silhouettes. I wasn't looking at the screens; if I had wanted to see them on a screen, I would have bought the DVD.
I'm not going to talk about "the long hours we endured" and blah blah because although I had a terrible time waiting, I know there are people who had to wait al least 20 more hours than me. So I'm not complaining. I waited 4 hours. More like 5, actually, but I'm not going to complain.

Franz Ferdinand rocked. Honestly. I'm not one of those people who say, 'they were okay but I was there for U2'. I mean I was there for U2, but also for them, because one of my best friends, my musical soulmate, loves them and asked me to take pictures, which in the end was pretty pointless because I was so far.

But finally, at way past 9 o'clock, the lights go out and this is one of the unforgettable moments: one man standing surrounded by the smoke. The Edge, starting with CoBL. I could simply not believe that Edge, the most skilled guitarist, for the best band in the world, was within seeing range. Even though I was so far, I was so close I could see him (which is kind of the point if you're paying 40 dollars to see them, but those were my feelings at the time).
I never noticed the Chilean Jacket, but what the hell. Bono's voice...I loved it. Simply loved it as I sang along with every single word.
I could go on and on about the whole concert, but I guess I'll just mention the best moments for me, which were:

1. Our own piece of Beautiful Day lyrics (you know, because they make up new lyrics for the 'see the world in green and blue' part for each country or at least most of them and now we had our own. See the world in red, white and blue, a new Chile right in front of you, from Atacama to Santiago, Punta Arenas, fin del mundo, a new Chile is in motion along the coast and in the ocean, see the bird...)
2. The ending of Pride, 80 thousand people singing, oh-oh-oh-oh with no music, and then realizing Streets is starting. I cried.
3. The little boy Carlos that stepped onstage and shouted, "No More" with us during Sunsay Bloody Sunday. I always had wanted to be part of the "No More".
4. Bono singing Pavarotti's part in Miss sarajevo
5. Everyone pulling out cell phones and lighters right before One. From where I was, the whole stadium looked like a clear starry sky. Breathtaking.
6. The entire Zoo encore. Zoostation, the Fly, Mysterious Ways and With or Without You. I was in tears during the whole thing.
7. Of course, Edge playing Mothers of the Disappeared with the Chilean/Boilvian Charango.
8. New Year's day. I can remember actually seeing Edge playing the keyboards. That song has a very special meaning for me. I was so excited.
9. Yahweh. I have some religious issues, and I know I'm not being faithful enough, but during this song I was certain there is a God and I had recovered all of my faith. That night, I went straight to the church beside my house and although it was closed I stayed there about an hour praying because in a way, U2's Yahweh had converted me.
10. The ending with all I want is you.

I kind of rambled on and o here, but I'm not sorry. I know that 30 years from now, I'm going to look back and I'm going to realize that 80.000 people are too few, that being part of such an event is something that not many people can say they have done. That 30 years from now, when U2 is a musical legend even bigger than they are now, I'm going to be telling my children that I was there, I witnessed one concert of their ever so huge Vertigo Tour, and they were within seeing range, even if all I could see were half centimeter silhouettes...

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