by Dusty

Ladies and gentleman, I have been elevated.

But before I get to the show, let me just comment on the rest of the day. I had a general admission ticket and arrived in line about 9 AM. I had heard fairly negative things about how the MCI Center staff was handling the line, and it was indeed a mess on their part. However, some really great fans kept things very organized with a simple number system, and things went off without a hitch. Thank you to those fans.

I was in the heart about 3 rows back directly in front of center stage. I was pleasantly surprised by PJ Harvey, though the acoustics for her performance were awfully muddled. It was still a great performance, and the fans were more into it than I would have imagined. However, I forgot all about her very quickly.

The band came on, as usual, with the houselights up, and kicked into an ecstatic version of Elevation. The entire heart was bouncing at this one, and everyone sang every lyric as if it were a 15 years old classic. My adenaline was flowing.

Beautiful Day-I was still dizzy from Elevation, but this one was as solid as ever, and a real crowd pleaser. No 'Goal is Soul' though, oddly enough.

Until The End Of The World-This one really got the crowd going. The strobe lights were a great touch and people were quite loud during this one. Gotta love the Bono/Edge showdown on the ramp.

New Year's Day-This one was a pleasant surprise since I hadn't seen it regularly in awhile on the setlists. Edge's keyboard/guitar juggling act is always entertaining.

Stuck In A Moment-Bono didn't directly dedicate it to Micheal Hutchence, but we all knew who it was for. It was a nice slow-down from the rampant pace of the beginning of the show.

Kite-A wonderful rendition. I really love this song live, and it was a nice foot tapper while I caught my breath.

New York-The strobe lights were on again, and the crowd was bouncing. I was surprised the DC crowd was so accepting of a song called New York. Very rocking live song.

11 O'Clock Tick Tock-Bono grabbed a guitar and said "This is a song we don't play too often, it was our first single......11 O'Clock Tick Tock." I nearly soiled myself. The heart felt like an earthquake during this one, and I felt like I was in heaven. Bono's voice sounded like he was 20 again. One of the best moments of the show.

Sunday Bloody Sunday-No time to recover from 11 O'clock. This was one of the biggest sing alongs of the night. The band was really into it too. Really is a timeless anthem.

Sweetest Thing-I thanked God for a slower song, since I was about to pass out. Everyone sang for Bono on this one, though he didn't need the help. The cutest moment of the show with the B-man sitting at the piano.

The introductions were the usual comical bantor, as the band all moved to the tip of the heart.

Desire-Everyone was clapping the bassline to this one, and it put a smile on everyone's face.

Stay-Bono defended the bands "arty" phase (their best phase IMO) with an acoustic version of this one. I was in awe as the entire arena sang the "ohohohoh" backing vocals in perfect unison to the beat.

All I Want Is You-I was praying for Bad, but this one was great in its place. Bono's voice was on for this one, and Edge went off at the end of it.

Where The Streets Have No Name-"What can I give back to God?" When I saw the red screen I knew it was time. The entire city jumped during this one. Everyone sang every note, and it was close to a religious experience.

Mysterious Ways-Bono intorduced this as "a dance song put to rock music," and did some funky little dances during the tune. Seemed to mesmerize the girls up front. Solid performance.

The Fly-Spectacular. The crowd was booming again, and Bono got his second wind during this one. He ran 3 laps around the stage at the end of the song as he disappeared before the encores.

Bullet The Blue Sky-Everyone in the heart gave Heston the finger, to my delight. This was an intense performance, and my friend beside me even started head banging during the nasty solo. He sang the last little bit with a fan from the crowd, who said "I just want to have a good time." Bono synisterly replied "So do I."

With Or Without You-This one had its problems. Edge's guitar was not tuned properly, and the sound didn't sound exactly right. You could tell Edge was irritated. But Bono's deep, rich vocals on this one made up for it. His voice truly sounded great on this one.

Pride-The biggest bolt of energy of the night. The entire heart was jumping up and down, and trying to outsing Bono at the same time (to no avail). Bono was actually hitting the chorus really well, which totally blew me away. I was proud of that man at the end of this one.

One-Bono started his political speech before One, and the crowd was very receptive to it. However, Bono knew when to shut up, and jokingly commented "I could go on for hours...", then kicked into the song, which brought tears to eveyone's eyes. Everyone in the heart held up one finger, as we all knew what was coming next.

Walk On-Again, Edge had some guitar trouble at the beginning of this one, but the problem was rectified quickly. This was a big sing along, and nobody wanted the night to end, but we knew it had to.

The band thanked the city of DC, and left the stage as gods to us mere mortals.

I was absolutely floored by Bono's voice, especially during Bullet, WOWOY, and Pride. 11 O'clock Tick Tock and Streets were probably the highlights, with Pride and The Fly close behind. I don't see how anyone could put on a better show.

You've got the job boys. Wait, my mistake. You never lost it.

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