by Clydella Birkholz

After a 12 hr. drive, U2 put on one hell-of-va great show for us! Every song went off without a hitch. The band was in top form.

One thing no one has mentioned before is that Bono was onstage BEFORE U2 officially took the stage! Yes! Because of the forecast for rain turning to snow, after Rage left the stage, the crew put up some plastic covering over the drum area, and I noticed that there was someone on stage who wasn't doing anything except observing the progress. So I whipped out the binocs and LO! Bono himself was overseeing the progress! Bono was sporting a 3-day growth of stubble and had a baseball cap and hooded jacket and made sure that he didn't face the crowd. He was onstage for at least ten minutes and the ppl in front row didn't have a clue! He disappeared in time to go do a quick shave and don his "boxer" get-up. He had a great time fooling the crowd, chatting with an attendant, bouncing to the intermission music. All smiles. I was not hallucinating! The Bono sighting was witnessed and confirmed by all the fans around me. We were in the stands, just in front of the stage on the right side.

I don't agree with some other ppls observations that the crowd didn't get into the new stuff. All the ppl around me were singing to every song. Everyone around me was wildly enthusiastic about all the songs played.

During "If God Will Send His Angels," Bono and Edge did a skit out on the runway. Bono wouldn't let Edge cross a line marked by Bono's guitar, towards the end they made up and Bono hugged Edge. How touching.

The lights "bulleting the blue sky" were really cool. I am glad it didn't snow, but you've got to admit, it would have looked really neat in those lights.

I wish they had done some songs acoustically, however. I saw a video spotlight of U2 where "Please" wascomme acoustically while they were rehearsing for the tour and it sounded really nice. "All I Want Is You" would also be very nice done acoustically.

The screen is designed to be best viewed from the back of the stadium. We were to the side, just a section in front of it and couldn't see it very well, but it was still impressive. Because of the size of the screen, no seat in the stadium would have a bad view. We plan on seeing them again in Winnepeg, Edmonton, and Minneapolis so we can see the tour evolve and enjoy the show from all angles. The giant yellow arch is painted with a neon yellow that looks great when the different colored lights are shown on it.

I don't care for the Village People costumes, especially the muscle shirts worn by Bono and Edge. I'd prefer that they were themselves as I do go to the concerts to see them and to hear the music, not to see the stage and costumes. Hope they give them up by the time I see them in June and October.

I also hope the set list changes a bit. I like to see several shows of a band's tour so that I can see how special each can be, as well as see all the songs I love performed live.

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