by Clarissa

Just wanted to add my 2 cents to the above reviews. It was my first U2 show, and it was a beautiful thing. It was such a thrill to finally see one of my absolute favourite bands live--even though I wasn't as close as I would have liked to be, but I had a nice panoramic view. The opening where they walked in with all the house lights on was sure a surprise, though personally, I think I prefer more traditional dimming of the house lights. I guess I was taken by surprise and for whatever reason I didn't feel like I got deeply into the show till the third song, though I did my share of yelling and jumping up and down before that!

The setlist could hardly have been much better. They did 23 songs and among those were songs I wanted to hear so much, like Bad and Streets. Bad was just too moving to properly describe--my favourite part of live versions is always where Bono goes "fade, fade, fade away" and the drums, bass and guitar come crashing down. And when he threw in a line from 40 I was pretty close to tears. I knew what the start of Streets would be like, having seen videos, but when those white lights came out and everyone screamed and threw their arms in the arm, it was just an incredibly powerful rush. Loved New York, with Bono crooning into the mike in the soft parts and dancing in the loud parts as the lights nailed his shadow to the screen. And Edge's solo at the end--I got massive chills. Gone was a fine choice off Pop, one of the songs on that album I actually like. Sunday Bloody Sunday, what a thrill to hear such a great old-style version of that song! The audience was so into it, clapping in rhythm (though not always the best of rhythm!) as directed by Bono. In a Little While was done so beautifully I almost cried. I enjoyed seeing Bono and Edge performing Ground Beneath Her Feet together, in the intimacy of the spotlight, harmonizing beautifully on the chorus, though some people took advantage of the song for a bathroom break. The Fly was great, particularly with its new, almost acoustic opening, and the words flashed on the screens seemed like a tribute to ZooTV. Bullet the Blue Sky was perfect, dark and threatening, starting with the stage drenched in blood red light, and in the "one hundred, two hundred" section Bono shining the light around the audience--I was totally thrilled by that, for whatever reason. Overjoyed to hear Pride, which they had just added a couple of concerts previously. Beautiful lighting during WOWY, and Bono pulled up TWO girls in this song. One/Wake Up Dead Man (that sure took me by surprise) and Walk On were beautiful closers. Walk On sort of loped along, a bit looser and maybe more beautiful than the original. I know I've used the word "beautiful" too many times in this review--but that's how I feel about it.

My only complaint, besides the massively overpriced merchandise: the acoustics didn't seem like the best. I found Bono's voice, which was in great shape, to be sounding kind of muffled. It could have been where I was sitting--it sounds from others' comments like the sound was best on the floor--or the earplugs I was wearing to filter out the harsh sounds (I've finally decided to start protecting my hearing...). They balanced the levels pretty nicely, it was just the voice and sometimes I found that a bit distracting. But it was such a great show and a great experience that I should not complain. I so wish I could see them again on this tour, though I doubt it will happen...but you never know...

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