by hibricc

Second of seven Boston Vertigo shows for me, #14 lifetime. Patty and I were on the floor, about 8 rows back from the tip of the ellipse on Edge’s side (tix from ebay). Exhilarating to be so close!

Got there around 7pm, didn’t get into the ellipse, but early enough to get a decent spot on the floor… and to see former Vice President Al Gore (and wife Tipper) take his seat beside the stage, followed a few minutes later by Patriot (and recent stroke victim) Tedy Bruschi - what a cheer he got!

How to describe this show… spectacular… energetic… thrilling… exciting… inspiring. All of these and more. This was one of the band’s magical shows where they really connect with the crowd’s energy, and everyone feeds off each other, lifting the entire place higher with every song. Lots of band interaction with fans, and spontaneous changes to the setlist. Bono’s voice was amazing (a real contrast to Boston1), and he hit every note, really pulled out all the stops. Among the three best U2 shows I’ve ever seen.

The entire show was a highlight, but we could really feel the electricity during Gloria (in place of Electric Co from Boston1), Love and Peace with Bono and Larry about fifteen feet away from us, and the ENTIRE encore: The Fly, Until the End of the World, Out of Control (a surprise to everyone, including Adam who couldn’t hear Bono calling for the song from the ellipse), With or Without You, All Because of You, Original of the Species (breathtakingly beautiful with that 18K blue spotlight), and Bad – 40 (a ten-minute pulsing groove with Bono pulling a girl up from the front row to dance with him).

There were no lowlights. Zero.

My Pop-era decision to see every Boston-area show (or risk missing the “best” of the bunch) is validated with this performance, as it was the only one for which I couldn’t get tickets via “traditional” channels, so it was the one I would most likely have missed. The $400 I paid for the pair on ebay was CHEAP for this sensational show.

Saturday can’t possibly top tonight, but the band should be loose for the last show of the leg…

Return to previous page | Post a Review of this show!