by Carrie

"I know that this is not good-bye....."


The day of concert, I was so nervous. I almost sold my ticket! I was afraid nothing could be better than my Wednesday U2 experience. But of course, I didn't. And Boston 6/8 exceeded my expectations. And most of it was due to Adam Clayton.

I made a bunch of signs, "Dr. Bono heals the Spirit", "We've been running to stand here" and I was so tired, sitting around talking to my sisters, and I just absentmindedly made a small, 5x10 sign that had Adam's nickname written in blue writing outlined by sparkles. It changed the entire night for me!

There were no GA line problems today- we were #230, coming at noon, so the line did fill up earlier than Wednesday. We got the same exact spot in the heart, right along the barricade thing slightly left of the tip. Psych! As soon as Adam walked on stage I threw up my sign. He saw it and laughed. I ran up close to him and held it up again. (I have a great picture of him smiling because of me).

My sign and Adam's smiles went on throughout the show. I didn't overdo it, but if I got particularly excited I'd throw it up there and get my personal smile from him. It
was quite unbelievable. I also know he remembered me from Wed night and our exchange then. At one point, during BD, two guys hoisted me up on their shoulders
and I was above the entire crowd! It was unbelievable!!! I smiled and threw my arms up and groaned and yelled and took pictures-- totally mind blowing!!

To continue w/ my Adam story.... During With Or Without You I got this sudden urge to write a message on the back of my sign and then try to give it to Adam. By forces out of my control, I found a pen in my bag and managed to write a short message that (i hope!) was understandable.

As soon as One came on I made my way to the front of the stage. There were less people packed in the heart that night, since NBC wasn't taping. I got to him easily. I
was considering throwing it over the security guard's head, but I knew by his expression he would snatch it up and throw it away. I couldn't risk that happening. Walk On was very emotion, knowing it'd be the last song I'd see them sing for a long time.... Then it happened.

Adam took off his bass. He looked down where I was.. I held up the sign and he smiled at me in thanks. Then I extended the sign to him, my arm stretched as far out as I could. The rest of the band was waving to the crowd. (I think I remember him shaking Bono's hand, and then) Adam came over to me. There was a huge spotlight behind him, so all I could see was light and him in the center of it.

He reached forward. I leaned forward, shaking. People were slapping my back in excitement. I didn't want to take a picture- that's not why I wanted him to come over. I wanted to savor everything about that moment, and I did. Adam took the sign from me, saw my writings on the back of it, and put it in his right pocket. He smiled at the Larry, then back at me. I was crying "OMG, OMG" and shaking. I couldn't believe it!

He bowed his head slightly to me in thanks, smiling so sweetly. Then he waved a small goodbye to me. I waved back. He turned and walked down the stairs.

I am still shaken. I will remember that concert and him forever, because he allowed me to be such a big part of it with him. And I have a feeling, when he thinks back to Boston June 8th, he will remember me.

Other "highlights": Sweetest Thing was outstanding live. I really loved it- definitely saw the "soft and cuddly" side of U2 during that one. Once again Bullet The Blue Sky was phenomenal. It was special to hear "Angel of Harlem" and "11 O'clock Tick Tock," and I loved "New Years Day".

I liked the fact that Bono spoke more candidly than when he was being taped. Before "Stuck in a Moment" he talked about missing his friend, and "sometimes the most important thing you can do for your friend is to tell them to fuck off. My friends do that for me- three of them are right here." He went on to explain that he liked being able to be explicit at times, and it is in his Irish nature.

Before One (this is what I remember): "There is an article on US Aid in the paper today. There are thousands of Africans dying due to the AIDS crisis, but we cannot send medication to them. And the reason we can't send them medicine to help stop the crisis is because they do not have wristwatches. Without wristwatches they can't tell the time and won't know when to take their medicine." Bono paused, letting his message sink in. "So hundreds of Africans can just go to hell because they don't have a wristwatch?! How about we send these Congressmen some wristwatches. Maybe that'll help.

(check out all my pics at http://www.geocities.com/followu2angel/Elevation.htm)

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