by Tamara (shooboxx)

Okay I went to last nights (4/10) show... heres my impressions...

1st off ... gotta get my GA complaints outta the way. HP Pavilion has a pretty decent system set up ... you go in the AM and at 8:00AM they hand out numbered wristbands and are told to leave and come back and line up at 3:00pm according to the number on the wrist band. This was great cause I was exhausted and cold and needed a shower. :) The people who were there Sunday AM keeping track of the people were a very nice couple. Actually everyone one around us were super nice kewl people (my husband and I were 10 & 11 in line) . Once we returned to the arena in the afternoon, everything seemed to be going fairly well and in an orderly fashion. Everyone lined up according to their numbered wristband (Normal GA & Fan Club were separate as always). There was a bit of unneeded vocal bitching by some about both lines being let in at the same time....but I was expecting that since its been the case in every previous show. Unfortunately the staff at the Arena were apparently completely unprepared to deal with letting a huge GA crowd in. They basically just opened the gates and it was a free for all for everyone to rush in . It really sucked. REALLY sucked. I was really insanely pissed for a quite awhile after that fiasco. Im kinda over it now though ;-) There were two guys in front of us who were the first to score Ellipse and they totally deserved it – I was a bit (okay A LOT ) jealous seeing it pop up on the screen and knowing I was next to get scanned with no chance but was glad they got in.
Nonethess, I was still on the rail, outside of the ellipse off to the right. It was a great position and I was glad I wasnt getting smushed too much as I am sure I would have been if I had been closer to the center area.

Okay the show.... KOL are horrible. I REALLY REALLY tried to keep an open mind but by the third song and my ears ringing, my mind closed. I wish I could have closed my ears.
As stated before... the sound in the Arena wasnt very good - everything sounded just a bit fcked up - too loud and just not clear.
Bono seemed to be in a bit of a dramatic mood ... a smidgen of MacPhisto showing through as the show opened with Love & Peace. He said something about how we should know about love & peace since we (Bay Area folks...) "started this shit" :) loved it! Vertigo, of course rocked. Elevation was very kewl - starting out just acoustic with the whole arena singin then kickin it into gear.
Then they started in with the Boy songs – Cry/Electro Co rocked immensely. A Cat Dubh was hot as hell with Bono doing his cat crawl and meowing… I nearly fainted I think, and was imagining he was looking right at me (a girls gotta dream right!??). He found a long slender hand in the Ellipse to carress and I think he licked her hand too… it was all very… umm… catty… but insanely kewl (I might get an award here for most usage of word kewl ..which really isn’t a word… umm that’s kewl)
Bono spent a lot of time out on the cat walk during these first few songs – which was great. Even when they were on the main stage though, I had a great view and didn’t feel very far from the stage even though I was on the outside of the Ellipse.
City, Miracle Drug, Sometimes, great trio of new songs. Bono seemed to be kewling off a bit from the dramatics… which I was a bit sad to see go but the show was going into a more somber mood. The snippet of The Hands That Built America made me almost like the one U2 song I don’t like. It fit perfect in BIBS and the tone was great. Bono looked a bit flustered that the crowd was caught up in “OH OH OH OHs” at the end of Pride when he wanted to direct us to an Africa chant…but he played it off well. One actually seemed a bit off… don’t know exactly why but it just wasn’t clickin for me.
Original of the Species was played and I was very emotional during this song (it’s the mom in me I guess). It’s one of my favorites on the album and to hear it live, when I didn’t expect it, was amazing. Thank you U2 for playing this song!!
The encore was great with The Fly (although I was looking forward to Zoo Station). Iris was rocking with the belly dancing – she worked it perfectly! Lucky girl!!!
The end of the show was a bit heavy handed for me – being a heathen, I don’t feel the connection with Yahweh… or 40 much…but Larry…. Larry got me into it. Larry was amazing all show --- even taking the prodding from Bono to sing with a smile.
Oddball bits: I forget was song, but Adam walked around the outside of the Ellipse and I waved at him – he looked like he acknowledged it, but it probably was my imagination. Bono put on some lipstick, and made a comment about it being the Bay Area. Very cute.

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