by MrMac

Well, today's sunday, I think i am finally able to express my feelings on friday's show (couldn't do it yesterday, was still totally mesmerized by the experiece :))

After seeing the first two Arnhem show from the stands (great shows, powerful songs, great crowd - except for the guy standing next to me, but what else is new:)) today was going to be something very special indeed... in my opinion, a U2 show is best experienced on the floor/GA section, whilst jumping up and down and shouting a lot:)

Let me start with something negative: gate control at the GA section we were in was really bad. We got at the stadium at 8.30 friday morning, got a stamp, a number (123) etc.. It looked very promising indeed (we had set our minds on places within the heart). However, at 16.45, half an hour before the gates would open, the crowd went mad: pushing, shoving, upsetting the security guys... when the gates finally opened some people went totally berserk... Not a nice thing to see actually... a friend of mine almost got trampled in the chaos, girls were screaming in fear of being crushed... Anyway when the smoke cleared, it turned out that 4 of our group made it to the heart and 6 were in the section of 2000 (which still is not a bad place at all:)). After the concert i spoke to my brother who had been waiting in line for the GA section at the opposite side of the stadium, and he told me there were no problems at all over there, everything went great: people who got there early made it to the heart, no crushing or running... So just bad luck for us then i guess.....

About the concert (this is the good part:))

The show was absolutely fantastic, powerful, chills-inducing and emotional. Some friends of mine had never been to a U2 concert before, and they were overwhelmed to say the least.. I warned them about "where the streets"... but they couldn't believe it until friday:)

The sound quality was better then the first two days, but still Bono's voice sometimes got drowned in edge's guitarplaying.

Lets take a look at the songs:
- Elevation: fantastic, powerful, great opener
- Beautiful Day: great choice for a 2nd song, even though the song seems to have lost some of its glory for me... maybe heard it too much (didnt keep me from screaming my longs out though:))
- Until the end of the world: Bono pulled some photographers on stage, they follow him around the heart, making close up shots while he is battling it out with the edge... great stuff, reminded me of the ZooTV syndey video..
- Pride; I thought I had heard this song too many times, but tonight it worked! I was lifted by it, and so were 35000 fans with me:)
- Kite: Great song, works beautifully live
- Gone: My 2nd favourite of POP (WUDM being my #1), powerful live version, more rocking than the Popmart version IMHO.
- New York: This song didn't seem to work very well with the crowd, I really like that song on the album, and on the Irving Plaza show it sounded great. However i think they rearranged it a bit, or maybe it was due to the soundsystem, but it sounded too "sharp" for my liking
- Out of Control: They played this song as an exta bonus after Walk On at the 2nd Arnhem Show, I loved it then ("this is our first single off our first record coming out on CBS record.... one day we're gonna be the best!!") and i loved it now.. never heard that song live before, so something special indeed. Bono improvised something in the "quiet" part, but I can't remember exactly what it was (better find some Bootlegs quickly!!)
- Sunday Bloody Sunday: great version, Bono's anger (even though not as intense as the first arnhem show) impressed me heavily..
- When I get home: Bono a capella, singing this Herman Brood cover of a Nick Cave song. Beautiful, it gave me goosebumps even though I heard it two times before... a beautiful tribute to a good friend of the band
- Stuck in a moment: beautiful as ever, it's a great experience to hear all those 1000s of people singing the verse of this great song
- In a Little while: My favourtie off ATYCLB, this is a very delicate song, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.. tonight it didn't give me the goosebumps it normally does. Bono had trouble reaching the high notes, and he left it to Edge to sing the last verse of the song, still a fantastic song though:)
- Stay:great song, favourite off Zooropa, wonderful version, but i prefer the full band version (which they did some times on the Zooropa tour)
- Bad /40: I love this song, Live is where it should be:) The 40 bit was a great thing, it got completely hijacked by the audience ("HOW LONG... TO SING THIS SONG").. great to hear 35000 people singing that... and it segued beautifully in:
- Where the Streets: this song does the trick everytime! I would look around me in awe every now and then (even though i know the trick by now:)) The Fiery red backdrops looked great as well
- Mysterious ways: "in the beginning.... rock and roll used to be dance music"... Bono pulled a girl on stage who went completely wild.... she kept running on stage, completely out of control, Bono certainly seemed amazed, Adam couldn't stop laughing:) She even didnt want to go off stage anymore, security had to interfere.. which was a bit of a downer... The Band seemed to enjoy the whole situation, Bono was laughing while he was singing.. great stuff!
- the fly: I loved this song on the Zootv tour, and while I enjoyed this version, it didn't really seem to work for me. B ono's running around and splashing himself on the tv screens was great though.... Like a fly on the wall:)
- Bullet the blue sky: tonight they did the Charlton Heston guy thing again... On wednesday (the 2nd arnhem show) they had a different sequence... simply naming a few facts about arms trade in the world, stuff like that... and it had a lot more impact than the charlton heston thing... even though the image of the girl picking up a gun was very powerful! Bono seemed infuriated and enraged, but i couldntt hear a thing he was saying.. probably something about america:) (no offense!!)
- With or Without you: This one gives me chills everytime i hear it... It did feel as a very bare version though, no thrills, solo's, no "stars"or "love will tear us apart"bit which for me is the cream on the cake.... but never drop this one from the setlist guys!!
- One: I believe Bono dedicated this song to Herman Brood, the Dutch artist who commited suicide. He made a very powerful speech on how much he respected him, and ow it pisses him off when people would say that Herman Brood (Rock & Roll Junkie) was an advertisement for drugs, things like that....." It really upsets me, because for fuck's sake, the guy died. He was obviously not the happiest man in the world, so therefore not a great advertisement for drugs, I think you would agree. We celebrate his genius, his creative talents, his sense of humour.' (Thanks to U2log.com for writing this down completely!!!)
Then they kicked in One, and if I remember correctly, Edge lost himself completely on a solo at the end, wonderful stuff.... to top it off, they also did the "you hear me coming love...) bit, which i absolutely love!
- Wake up Dead man: Bono messed up the lyrics (even though it sounded like he knew what he was doing).. I love this live version, (arnhem first night was even better) but i whish they would go a little further into the song and include the "Listen to the..." etc part.
- Walk on: Man i get a kick out of this song, and out of singing (screaming) it along with the band!!! This song was made for concerts such as these!

Thank you U2, keep on rocking in the free world, you're still the noisiest and the smartest band... maybe we'll see you again next year??!!!!!

You can loose or draw at football, but in rock and roll you'll win...... (Bono, Rotterdam 1992)

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