by Jim Taggart

OK, so the band came out, and the giant letters "POP" appear on the screen. Fair enough. Then, the "O" is replaced by images of a soccer ball, a female symbol, male symbol, etc. Fine. Finally, video of the band approaching the stage and Bono shadowboxing the camera fill the "O".

Okay. I`m thinking, "Wow, this is really neat, this screen is really big!" Then all hell breaks loose.

The band stops playing, and Bono raps "...Lookin' for to save my, save my soul..." and the screen, and I mean the ENTIRE SCREEN is filled with closeups of the band. And my only thought, throughout the entire length of "MoFo" (which absolutely ROCKED) was: (ahem) MY GOD THIS SCREEN IS F---ING HUGE!!!!!!!!!!

OK. got that out of the way. Now lets talk about Franklin Field, ill-equipped to handle this monolithic sci-fi disco supermarket $200,000 dollar-a-day Irish steamroller known as POPMART. I could have brought a camera. Hell, I could have brought a documentary film crew in with me. Security was lax (at least on the North Side).

So we finally get in, missing the FLCs entirely, and find our seats. Section SJ, lower level. We groove to the earth-rattling bass being pumped out by Howie B., compare T-shirts (the shopping cart orbiting the lemon was my choice) and leaf through the tour program. It`s good to see Bill Flanagan still likes these guys. Anyone else think the POP-up Edge on the very last page is cool?

Anyhoo, to the concert.
"MoFo" rocked.
"Even Better Than The Real Thing" was a carbon copy of Zoo TV
"I Will Follow" dragged, Larry was playing it soooo s-l-o-w, and the cut bridge was kinda stupid. Still, it`s good to hear they haven`t forgotten how to play it.
"Pride" although a classic, was WAY out of place. C`mon guys? THAT early in the show?
"Gone" is an instant classic. True, Edge didn`t play the piano part a-la "New Years Day" but it f---ing ROCKED.
"Still Haven`t Found" Excellent. Although the crowd seemed to forget the words to "Stand By Me" which prompted Bono to help us out a little.
"Last Night On Earth" The bridge was a little long, but the amount of energy displayed by everyone in the band made it outstanding (I`m running out of ways to say "kicked ass")
"Miami/Bullet" WOW um.....WOW. holy SHIT. I`m not going to spoil this one, you`ll just have to see it yourself. I can`t even begin to imagine what this song will sound like when they play it IN Miami.
"Staring At The Sun" Beautiful. Edge`s harmonies are RIGHT on, and Bono changed how he sings the verses a little bit. A highlight.
"Daydream Believer" "You`re a noisy bunch..." Rock on, Edge.
"Streets" What was up with that video of Bono and the doves at the very end? And WHAT was up with that crazy guitar effect? An abbreviated opening sequence, but the changed organ sounds great.
"Discotheque" ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY GLITTERBALL LEMON!!! Not a great performance, a little empty.
"Mysterious Ways" Great. They cut out the "ALLLLRIGHT, IT`S ALLLRIGHT..." in the beginning, which brings it back to the original a little bit.
"One" Epic.
"If You Wear That Velvet Dress" was just plain misplaced. It wasn`t played badly, I guess, but it doesn`t translate well to arena rock.

Does anyone else feel like U2 may have made a "Rattle And Hum"-ish mistake here? Jumping directly into the big arenas kill a lot of intimacy.

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