by Jimmy Nikon

I've been lucky enough to see NY/NJ shows on every tour since "The Unforgettable Fire" and last night's was certainly one of the best I've seen them do. An amazingly powerful performance, excellent acoustics(especially for the Garden!), beautifully effective use of lighting, and a pumped up crowd all combined to send this show through the roof.

Highlights for me: "Where The Sreets Have No Name"-If you wanted to capture everything that's great about U2 in concert (or just great about live rock and roll), then you could start and end with this performance. A perfect integration of light and music. Words can't really express how good this version was.

"Kite" and "Gone"-What a one-two punch! I liked the Popmart version of "Gone" but this one obliterated it.

"New York"-Bono is crowned king of the Big apple.

"Desire" and "Stay"- This was great for 2 reasons. The music and the fact that I had a great spot right by the tip of the heart. It was like having the world's best live band playing in your living room . . . with 20,000 of your best friend's packed in!

"Bullet The Blue Sky"- A 50,000 watt smack in the face. Bono's monologue and use of the spotlight was riveting. Another one for the time capsule.

Just a few closing thoughts.

-It was so nice to see the return of the "starmap" visuals during the encores. One of the best non-musical moments in my U2 experiences. (But it did REALLY make you wanna hear "Love Is Blindness"!)

-Man of the year awards to whoever came up with the seating (standing actually) on the floor. Yes it was hot and sweaty, but that's rock and roll! It was NOT overcrowded and everyone I saw was cool to each other. No pushing or anything . . . just a lot of big smiles at the end of the night.

-Finally, I just wanna say that the 21-year journey from first hearing "I Will Follow" at Lift The Latch in Paramus, New Jersey to last night's masterpiece has been a great trip, a wonderful collection of Beatiful Days. "Lift my days . . . light up my nights."? Oh yeah! To Bono, Edge,Adam and Larry I say "Amen", "Hallelujah", Walk and Rock On!!


JimmyNikon

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