by DanP

There’s no way that I can be objective about tonight’s show (my 5th Vertigo show) because I had floor seats. We got to MSG around 6 PM, waited for a few hours, and wound up in the front row of the floor (at the center of the outside of the ellipse). Being about 3 feet from Bono, Edge, Adam, and Larry during different points of the evening is truly special. So, if you have floor seats to an upcoming U2 show, please heed this advice: Get to the show early and don’t worry about whether you get into the ellipse or not (a random lottery determines if you and your partner get in or not). If you show up when they open the arena (usually 1.5 hours before show time), then you’ll probably wind up in the same position that I did. If you arrive as the opening band starts, you’ll probably be about 4 rows deep, which still isn’t bad. But if you show up just for U2, and skip the opening band, you’ll be 20 rows back and be missing a great experience. So, if you get into the ellipse – then GREAT – but if not, then don’t worry…you got there early and you’re going to position yourself at the center of the ellipse and let Bono and the boys come to you. When you can hear Bono’s passion in “Sometimes You Can’t Make it on your Own” and Larry’s drum in “Love and Peace or Else” directly (as opposed to through the sound system), you will forget all about being inside the ellipse. They are so close to you that you can actually hear the split second delay from their mouths/drums to when you hear it again through the sound system! Again, it’s truly impossible to write an objective review of U2 when you feel like you were part of the show. But, my impression was that Bono had 80% of his voice and 90% of his energy back after the previous night’s problems. The sound at these show’s is unbelievable – as long as you wear professional earplugs. I remember going to U2 shows and the sound was mediocre at best. Not anymore. Joe (their long-time sound guy that they recognized tonight) is doing an amazing job and all 5 of the Vertigo shows that I’ve seen have had unbelievably great sound – similar to what you’d expect from a Pink Floyd or Rush show. One can really hear the different tones coming from Edge’s varying guitars. One thing though, Joe must be losing his hearing, as these U2 concerts really do require earplugs as they are louder than the average heavy metal concert. A final thought: Keane is a great band that you’re going to be seeing on the charts soon. Get there early and enjoy. One day you’ll be hoping to get floor seats for a Keane show and you’ll wish you had seen them back on that U2 tour in 2005. See you at Friday’s show (and my final Vertigo show)!

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