by OSU Bill

As the 2nd show I have seen on this tour, and the 11th time overall I have seen the Lads, I would describe the lone NYC stop as 'epic'...Situated at the top of the ellipse, in the front row, hanging onto the barrier for dear life, with one young couple from Florida on my left (seeing U2 for the 1st time), and two guys from the Bronx on my right (veterans of their tours), I was in great company to see their Madison Square Garden gig. Although I have yet to be inside the ellipse, I must say that being on the rail is a great spot to both see and hear - my ears are still ringing - is the Garden the world's loudest place, or did Joe O. have the amps turned up to 11 (ala Spinal Tap)? My Staples Center show openend with 'Love and Peace', which was great because Bono sang almost the entire song right in front of us in April - Seeing 'City' open this show was better, especially how Bono snuck through the outer edge of the ellipse, undetected except for my Bronx buddies, who were each about 6'4" tall...How you can spot a small Irishman like Mr Hewson in the dark is beyond me, but I digress...
I must say, musically, the highlight of the show is still Vertigo, especially the segue from 'Stories for Boys' back into the seething guitar of The Edge. Other highlights were watching a young couple weep at the sight of Bono wailing through 'Sometimes'...even Bono's security guard stopped to console them. The arena lit in full during 'Streets' was breathtaking, and the Achtung, Baby part of the show rocks - Mysterious Ways still sounds like it did back in Chicago in the spring of 1992... Holy toledo - is that album really 14 years old!

Anyways, until NYC in October 2005....

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