by jboy

Made it into the Ellipse!!! 15 feet away from Bono and Adam! The energy inside it was utterly incredible – it’s well worth saying a quick Hail Mary before your GA ticket is scanned! Just be ready to bounce around and such. If the Bomb Shelter people aren’t supercharged, I think the whole concert feels it.

All in all, a very good show for Beantown – tight and technically flawless, from what I could tell. Being so close I didn’t get a good sense of the overhead screens or ellipse floor lighting, so I can’t comment on those. The overall sound was fine, thankfully, and my worries from previous reviews on this site were quickly allayed. Set list was standard for the tour, although I was hoping to hear An Cat Dubh instead of The Ocean, which subdued the crowd temporarily, but not for long of course.

Unexpected highlight – Running to Stand Still – everyone fervently singing along to every word and verse. SBS, Pride, Streets, and Electric Co. (!) were especially well received; however the Zoo Station encore opener however didn’t seem to fully work and needed more energy/effects or something. The Fly and Mysterious Ways were excellent and powerful in the context of this show, but still weren’t as outrageously electrifying as they were in the Elevation tour. That’s probably a broader observation – it was a wonderful show in general but not quite the equal of the amazing Elevation tour (buy/rent the DVD of the June 2001 Boston FleetCenter concert and you’ll know what I’m talking about) or God knows, the mindblowing Zoo TV tour. Fairly stripped down in terms of effects, and a bit less energy from Bono. He’s not getting any younger, you know (however he still looks great like they all do). But what can I say – I saw them up close and can now envision what it would be like to see them in a small club. I often focused on Adam – he seemed quite content tonight and almost blissful at times.

The usual speechifying from Bono, but sincere and not overbearing at all. Gave nice props to Massachusetts – “it’s good to be in a state that believes in the future” and a place full of doctors and scientists where “the cure for cancer will be found – right here.” As he said in parting, “It’s good to be home!” Indeed!

Wish I could say good things about Kings of Leon, but the bulk of their songs seem to consist of the same harsh 2-chord strumming and simplistic 4/6 drum beat. Couldn’t understand a word of lyrics. No chemistry/interaction with the audience either. And we in the ellipse were trying to pump them up too.

Will be there on Thursday and Saturday. Hoping for a real shakeup in set list on Saturday, the last show of this leg! Perhaps -- Bad, Walk On, Gloria, I Will Follow, One Tree Hill, Out of Control, I Fall Down, New Years Day, With or Without You, Desire, All I Want Is You, Until The End of the World, The First Time, Kite, . . .just some friendly suggestions . . . U2 is still the best show on earth!

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