by Brian

Very, very strong show. Bono's voice was in great shape (Kite was particularly impressive, I thought -- but that might be because I hoping to hear it but not sure if they'd play it) and the band was strong. Even with Mellon's bad acoustics, everything sounded great. Some songs really were impressive live vs. studio versions -- UTEOTW, Stuck in a Moment, In a Little While... Even The Sweetest Thing was entertaining (sorry folks, I just do not like that song) thanks to the instrumentation -- I think Larry get the credit on this one. And I Will Follow absolutely rocked.
[As Ron said, in his review: I would love to get a copy of this show. If anyone has one, please drop me an e-mail.]
While IWF had as much, if not more, energy as ever, it's interesting to see how Bad and Bullet the Blue Sky are evolving -- Bad didn't get any heroin/best friend intro and, while still strong, has had maybe four minutes of Bono's whooping (which I miss) trimmed away. After the Charleton Heston/guns video intro, Bullet was strong but now Bono delivers "Outside it's America" by whispering America -- the fiery rage the line once had live has been replaced with a delivery you might expact of a secret that everyone knows but is afraid to speak aloud. I like both deliveries... And I was a little (only a little, mind you) disappointed that their not tacking on the "and we'll shine like stars..."
Music aside, the scaled-back show was still very impressive. The stage is brilliant (I kept waiting for Bono, the Gerald Ford of rock stars, to fall while straddling the heart catwalk and the general admission railing), lighting is spectacular (the pillar scenes behind the band are awesome -- especially during Mysterious Ways and I thin it was WTSHNN), and band showed what a rock show should be. They really seem to be enjoying this tour and the adoration of fans. Bono twice was apologetic about Pop and I can't be sure I heard him right because of all the crowd noise, but I think he referred to the Popmart tour as the "self-mutilation tour." Of course, there was ton's of interaction with the crowd and he thanked us a couple times for spending our cahs on the expensive tickets.
The band -- Bono and the Edge in particular -- lingered on stage after the main set and encore, savoring the moment. And who can blame them -- it really felt like a special show.
Oh, and the Edge opted for a red "Viva Zapata" (While introducing the band, Bono quipped something along the lines of "he's going to bring peace to Mexico City") shirt instead of a numbered tee.

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