by Lee

well, here's my thoughts on last night's show. this was my 5th elevation show and must say that it was one of the best. i was in miami opening night, minneapolis, chicago on may 12th, and chicago oct 16th previously. after the last show in chicago, i was hesitent to go agian because it looked like the band was really hurting the last time i saw them. (bono's voice and the hour and 40min show) plus bono's voice sounded strained on leno and letterman. i must say that he had his voice last night!! the band also looked like they really wanted to be there. they were all smiling more than any of the previous shows i've been to. adam also moved around quite a bit! anyway, my roomate and i left iowa at 3pm and rolled into kemper at about 8pm to find that traffic was a mess. i was told that it was because there was a likin park concert nearby. anyway, we couldn't find out where exactly we were supposed to enter the arena because we had GA tickets and the doors for the GA gate were closed. so we walked through an open door at the arena and walked right in without anyone asking us for tickets! finally we found the line where the wristbands for the floor were being handed out and we were set. finally, the concert...

elevation opened and right away it was clear that the acoustics were going to be great. adam's bass shook the floor as they started playing and you could see that it caught quite a few of us off guard. the concert wasn't as loud as in chicago, which was fine with me. i really wasn't looking forward to being deaf for the next few days anyway. from what i understand, each venue presents its own acoustical challenges and volume level it adjusted and set accordingly each night.

beautiful day was awesome. it's at this point in the concert when i marvel at how well done the lighting is. i think it's great at the end of the song when just bono and edge finish the last verse as the lights dim.

unitil the end of the world was great too. i'm so glad that this song has stayed in the setlist. it's obvious that it's one of their favorites to play. as always, in mid song bono navigates to the tip of the heart and steps out while everyone grabs at him. we were three rows away at the very tip of the heart and although i couldn't reach out, my roomate did and probably still hasn't washed his hands. same ending as always with bono the bull getting his arse kicked.

new years day. so cool. this is when it became obvious that bono had his voice back. probably my favorite song of the night. he really let loose on this one.

i will follow. total crowd pleaser. everyone was jumping and singing along. during the song bono talked for what seemed almost 2 minutes telling a story about how he couldn't get a beer in kansas city to celebrate a record deal. he then said, "but i'm old enough to join the army!" everyone got a kick out of it.

sunday bloody sunday. as you'll understand here in a second, my favorite part of the whole night, something i'll never forget for my whole life! i debated whether or not to bring an american flag with me or not to kansas city. once there i almost left the flag in the car because i didn't want to carry it along all night. but, i made myself bring it in and unfolded it as soon as i will follow was ending. nervously i waited as bono sang on the main stage, wondering if he would come down to the tip and take the bait. as he started walking toward us, i saw him stop and get a flag halfway down the heart and i thought, oh well it was a nice try. then i saw that he had gathered an irish flag and he was comming to get mine! he reached out and the girls in front of us handed it to him. quite honestly, i don't remember much else until he handed the flag back because i was so worried that someone else would take it. i had afterall taken the thing off the front of my parents house before leaving town and they would be wanting it back. as bono began to hand the flag back, he reached out as far as he could and looked right at me knowing full well that i wanted to get it back. i thought it was so cool that he remembered who gave it to him. (my parents probably think this is cool too) the flag is now back on the front of my parents house and i'm debating what to do with it. any suggestions?

stuck in a moment was next, but i really don't like the song a whole lot, so next. i guess the song is all right, but the video blows.

kite. bono talked about how he wrote the song for his kids, but it turned into a song about his father. awesome song, can't imangine that they won't release this one. it's to good to not be released.

desire. very funny. edge's guitar was messed up at the start and you could tell it was pissing him off. they finally got under way, but at the end bono couldn't find the right notes on the harmonica. he tried twice before finally getting it to work the third time. he then said something about that's what happens when you don't play a song for awhile. you get "roosty" as he put it.

angel of harlem. it was never one of my favorites until last night. an outstanding version. the band really sounds good playing this one. now i like it all over agian.

please. can you say scary?! a very spooky acoustic version that was just bono and edge. i loved it.

bad. agian, a crowd pleaser. done very well. i love singing along to this one. i didn't like the addition of "when i look at the world" though. i don't really know why, except that i was on my toes for what seemed forever waiting for streets to be played. i think that's the only reason why i didn't like it. i just love this next song...

where the streets have no name. someone said under this concert review that it's the best song ever played live, and i agree. when the lights go up at the start of the song, you'll never see any crowd anywhere get as excited. ha ha to all the suckers stuck at the likin park concert 2 blocks away. if they only knew what they were missing...i used to work concerts and have been to about a hundred of them, so i guess i speak by experience for saying this.

still haven't found what i'm looking for. when the song first started, i thought it was mothers of the dissapeared because i've watched the mexico popmart concert so many times. sounds just as it did on that tour.

with no time inbetween the last song, pride started. edge hit his guitar the same way that it starts on the radio edit, and it sounded great. this was the most excited part next to streets as the whole crowd was bouncing up and down. also had the king speech added in, first time i've seen this done all tour.

bullet the blue sky. i love the red lighting during this song. this one always seems very emotional to the band. no gun videos or scolding done by bono in this post september 11th world. sometimes thay end the song with bono saying "into the arms, of." without saying america. but this time he kept yelling america, like 5 or 6 times. thought that was pretty cool. he had the spotlight going and all that stuff too.

what's going on. i don't really like this song either. they didn't play it all the way through, and that was okay with me.

new york. agian, not one of my favorites, but there is no denying that edge makes his precence felt during this one. it sounds great live.

one. bono talked a little about drop the debt and then sighed real loud as if, "what should i say next?" he didn't say anything, he just held his hand up pointing to the sky with his index finger signifying one. sometimes nothing needs to be said, i guess. the airplane victims names scrolled, as did the NYPD and the FDNY names. there is so much emotion during this song that just can't be described. this led into peace on earth, and as the names of the victims were just ending, so did the song. perfect timing.

walk on ended the concert, as usual. done quite well, although i liked the earlier versions of hallelujah, as opposed to this one. but no complaints, it's an awesome song

well, if you're still reading this, hope you enjoyed it. it only took me an hour to write all of this. i don't think i'll ever go to another concert by anyone else. i feel so blessed to have seen the most talented band in the history of the world this many times. what an experience. thanks for everything u2. please go on tour one more time!

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