by Simon Davis

My last show for the foreseeable future this one, 5th from Elevation Tour and 6th overall. I found it hard to believe that it would top the last one (MSG 10/27) and it didn't.

That is not a terrible thing seeing as how the consensus seems to be that that was one of the best shows of all time.

This time around I had managed to score good seating (section 111 8th and 13th row single seats) for me and my friend over the phone through ticketmaster albeit after waiting for way too long on the line. Luckily there were a few empty seats in our section so during Stuck in a Moment I got him to stand next to me for the rest of the show:-)

I was surprised by the amount of traffic on the aisle in my section...how can so many people go to buy beer during Sunday Bloody Sunday?

The concert itself didn't lack anything striking, but it was noticable that the band was in a bit of a hurry. Bono actually said "end of sermon" at the beginning of his usual chat before One. I admire U2 for really doing smooth transitions between songs, but Edge was wearing his guitar for Pride even before Still Haven't Found was over and just ripped straight into it! It was as if we didn't have time to clap after most songs. I clocked the show at 1:42 which is even less than the Charlotte show and considerably less than the normal 2 hours this band usually performs. At 19 songs it also falls a bit shorter than most of the tour.

I was treated to hearing Wild Honey live (I believe the 4th time ever) as well as the acoustic version of Please (preferred the version with Bruce on the keyboards but still enjoyed it greatly).

At this stage of touring it would be unusual for the band to put on a "less than perfect" show (I put Charlotte in that category, but only barely), although a "less than perfect" U2 show is still amazing, but I guess that I was spoiled by the 2 DC and 1 MSG show. It is evident that the band feel very comfortable with the format for this tour by now and perform very strongly every night.

None the less, the band was doing its 7th show in 10 days which shows great performance stamina.

On a personal level, I have now seen my favorite group perform in 2 tours, 2 countries, 6 times, and 5 cities. I have experienced the GA odyssey to see them up close, and I have secured great seats for all the other shows I attended. Although I didn't go the distances some other fans did (20+ GA shows by some...how do you get the money/time off?) I feel content and can say my hump is filled until the next tour.

The first time I saw U2 was in Salonika in 97 for $14 and I fell in love immediately. I've been waiting for them to tour ever since (and could not find a bootleg of that show-the only one on Popmart that none apparently exists) and dedicated substantial effort and funds to seeing them. Not a single penny wasted indeed!

-Simon

PS Audio/video bootleg of this show much appreciated.

PPS Philly was the loudest US crowd I experienced.

PPPS Most beautiful women award goes to Philadelphia no questions asked! :-)

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