by Liz Z

Tonight was my second time being in GA for this tour and fourth show overall. Since I had watched the show about 12 rows back from the Edge on the main stage for my previous GA, I decided to try the smaller stage on Adam’s side to change things up.  I got on line outside in the sweltering humidity outside MSG around 6:10 and was probably about 300 or so in line.  Behind me were two young men who had won tickets from One.org, and this was their first U2 concert! I was super excited for them and mentioned that they were very lucky – tickets were being sold on TM resale for over $1,100 for GA that day! Now, I wonder if people actually bought them at that price…. I had been hoping to get an extra ticket for my husband to join me.  But, I’ve done the GA alone before and am usually lucky to make friends with the other fans around me.  Same this time – I had a great time talking to two couples. One guy had the same first U2 show as me – RFK Stadium Popmart. And the other couple lived in my old neighborhood in the city.  While waiting for the show to begin, I noticed the band’s manager, Guy Oseary in the Riser #2 pen.

I knew I had picked a good spot when I noticed the fans on the railing had very low GA #s on their hands. My spot turned out to be amazing. The band spent so much time on the North side of the stage, and I was able to have a great view of Edge’s piano playing, U2Brother being called up for the Meerkat, etc.  My favorite part of the show was seeing Bono up close during “Until The End of the World,” one of my favorite songs.  Watching his hand movements acting out the lyrics was awesome and when he spit out water onto the crowd, I got sprayed!  I also got to notice just how hard working The Edge is during this show. The guy does not take a minute to rest. As the band segues from one song to the next, he is moving from piano to guitar seamlessly; all the while moving around the arena, dancing, playing and singing at the same time.  I also noticed him winking at the audience and nodding – perhaps to someone in Riser #2?

I was super curious as to who might join the band onstage after having missed Gaga and Fallon’s appearances.  But I was even more surprised that Bono had invited the firefighters and the good Samaritan who had called emergency services for him when he had his bike accident in Central Park. The firefighters were quite jovial and handed Bono a glass of Jameson whiskey, which he sipped and handed to a guy near to me.  The woman took the mic from Bono and had an opportunity to tell her story, but her 15 Seconds of Fame was not quite what it could have been.  She corrected Bono on where she lived and said that she stopped to help him because “she was from Virginia where people are nice, unlike New Yorkers.”  The crowd completely boo’ed her.

As for new songs, I had hoped to hear “Two Hearts” but tonight’s special song was a full rendition “Satellite of Love” with Lou Reed on the TV.  I was also excited that “The Fly” was the intermission song. Both recalled ZooTV, a tour I was too young to see, so that was special for me. 

As for special guests, it was awesome to see Paul Simon brought up for the “Mother and Child Reunion” extended snippet/song.   Since the last show, I had been intrigued by the lyrics and meaning behind the song and had been trying to find out more information about it online.  There don’t seem to be many interviews with Paul about the song.

For “One,” Bono continued the recent tradition of having the fans sing in lieu of him –he kicked in half way through.  The execution was much better than what I had read about the previous show’s performance.  At least the floor sang well…. My friends in the 200s said people around them were a bit confused with the lyrics and would have preferred to hear Bono sing – after all, that’s what we came for!

Overall, each show I have seen keeps on getting better and better. Bono’s voice sounded amazing after a few days’ rest and his talking in between songs was quite nice.  I enjoyed hearing his quips that the Beatles were actually Irish and tribute to John Lennon after being part of John Lennon Day the previous day. 

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