by Danny

With the band (and fans) having a day off, I've found some time to post my findings. For the second night the Dome was packed with a bunch of very enthusiastic fans. Most of them had to go through the ordeal of listening to the lousy opening act of Kelis. I was one of the lucky few been able to get in this secluded section just outside the heart, thus beeing enabled to go outside for an hour's smoke during their act, without losing my excellent spot on the floor. When I say Kelis sucks, it may seem a harsh statement to make, but then again, can 32.000 music lovers be wrong?

A hint for people planning on smuggling in a videocamera or some other taping device: take along with you someone wearing a pony tail. As I sat outside observing those security folks I noticed they really do screen every spot on the body, except for the head. Making use of an (i.m.o.) otherwise useless pony tail, enables you to bring inside the venue almost anything.

Back to the band: they where in the best shape tonight. Unlike yesterday, when Bono seemed worried a lot because of his father's illness, tonight he and the other lads were much more relaxed, making lots of jokes. Like embarrasing those inside the heart by saying they're more quiet than shopping mall folks and asking them: "Alles goed?", which is the Dutch equivalent of: "How's it hanging?"

When Edge totally unexpected crancked out the opening notes of 11 O'Clock the house was on fire even more for the remainder of the night. Next was a powerful version of SBS, which featured Adam displaying his hidden acrobatic side: flipping over backwards over some speaker or amplifier. The downside however of Adam pulling tricks like this is it absolutely ruined Larry's concentration, as he was laughing his ass off.

What followed next was a somewhat softer section, with All I Want nicely seaging in to Streets which made the crowd erupt, as did the next, much anticipated song: Pride. After this, the show halted for a minute or so, giving the noble first aid people some time to reanimate those who had passed out by then (quite a few actually).

The show continued with messages being displayed about the G8, replacing the "good guns-bad guns" credo of mr. Heston a.k.a. Ben Hur, which of course was a good move to make, since the whole gun issue is absent in Europe. The version of Bullet that followed was an extremely infectious one, causing the masses to jump, scream, cheer and clap like madmen.

The rest of the show was pretty standard (audience response was still overwhelming), featuring a top notch version of One. After Walk On, the lads were waving and smiling to the audience. Even Larry made a spontanious run (without Bono telling him to do so!) to the utter right side of the stage, thanking the masses for their participation. Next Bono asked the other guys to walk with him around the heart, thus triggering an enormous audience reaction. At the end of their round Bono ran up to the others, whispering something in their ears. Then he turned his face back to the crowd, smiling ear to ear, raising his index finger while saying: "one more!". All of us went nuts, Out Of Control set in, causing each and everyone to go ballistic.

An awesome end to a perfect gig! But it ain't over yet: Friday night will undoubtedly see a grand finale of their Dutch hetric. Holland is honoured by this visit of the best band pulling it off three times in a row!

Danny

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