by Watts

Hey Everybody!

We had a great time at both shows in beautiful Sunrise. Many thanks
to my wife, a Goddess, who agreed to the strange trip. Rather than
face the drive and time a drive would have taken to see Charlotte and
Atlanta, we decided to fly and make a U2 vacation of the two shows in
Miami. So glad we did, but now I wish I were in Charlotte tonight....

So much has been written about the shows, I'll just try to add some
interesting tidbits from our experience. First off, we met/saw fans
from the following countries: Canada, Australia (Hey Darren!),
Brazil, Ireland, Turkey, Russia, Japan, France, Italy, I'm sure there
were more.... Does this happen with ANY other band? Bono once said
U2 were about breaking down borders, and Miami was the perfect place
for that. One taxi driver (strangest accent...kinda Bob Dylan early
70's thing) told us that "the best thing about Miami is that it's so
close to America". A truly inter-continental atmosphere there.

On opening night, we were positioned behind a couple who were on the
rail by the "X" on the heart on Edge's side (about halfway up....just
closer to the stage than that picture of the girls holding license
plates;-) Some drunken college guys were (editor's note...I had to
cut out all the bad things I had to say about a very few number of
the fans at the show....you just have to expect that at a concert,
even for a U2 concert.)

"The Fall"
While Bono wasn't falling....falling at OUR feet, he fell at
somebody's feet! From my vantage point, Edge was directly in front
of me and Bono was backing up as Edge "pushed" Bono toward the bottom
tip of the heart, doing that "End of The World jive" they've done
since Zoo TV. Though I didn't see his feet, (couldn't tell if he
slipped, but I think he just stepped back too far inside by a foot),
I did see him fall straight over backwards over the inside of the
heart into the little security area. The expression on his face
leaves no doubt that it was an accident. I couldn't see over the
elevated stage to see the landing, but I heard later that he winced
in pain when he hit (I presume the floor with his back!) Edge and
the band just kept on going and Edge looked over to see if Bono was
OK....
huh....kinda like the "Stuck" video, eh? Next thing I see is Bono
lying on his back on the stage with a very serious look on his face
as he leaned up and faced the Edge. He gets up and keeps
going....they're finishing up the song on the other side of the heart
and Bono & Edge catch each others' eyes and they both grin....wow!

Later, Bono "faked" a big limp as he rounded the stage...either that
or it was one of his Popmart dance moves;-) Also, at one point Bono
was hovering above us on the elevated heart, singing New York and
sweating like mad.....I saw it coming. He makes a big motion with
his head and whap! My wife's been hit by Bono sweat.....oooooowwww!
gross!

After we just couldn't take it anymore, we moved from our "prime"
location back into a more relaxed area to the side and back a good
bit. While my wife left the floor for a break, I leaned on a rail to
stretch my back (Am I getting too old for this?) and was accosted by
a security guard. He wanted me to come around to the other side of
the rail, and I obliged and explained I was waiting there for my
wife. I was standing on the "right" side of the rail (the side he
told me to stand on) and he came at me again. The guy was 6' 5",
shaved head, about 270lbs. "Have you got a problem?" he yelled at
me....I look up like, huh? what have I done? "Didn't you HEAR me, no
one on the blah blah"....it was loud in there and I don't know what
his problem was to this moment. I said "I paid for floor, I'm on the
floor...what do you want?" He pushed in close to me (I'm 6' but no
weightlifter to say the least) and looked down right in my face and
again yelled "Have YOU GOT a PROBLEM? Cause if you do I can kick you
out of here. NOw have YOU GOT A PROBLEM?" I stood my ground and
yelled back at him "I Guess NOT" just to try to get him to go away, I
mean, I'm missing the concert, man! I think he was trying to get me
to respond "You're my problem" at which point he would have hauled me
out. My response worked as I didn't see him again....the show was
almost over. But, you know, thanks dude for the memory! What a
joy....freakin' steroid-usin', Henry Rollins listenin' jerk just had
to light somebody up, I guess. Thanks for letting me vent.....I
couldn't wait to get that out!

Highlights for me included "In A Little While" which I just love.
They've worked on it pretty good, but there's still room for
improvement....looked like Larry wasn't going to join in there for a
while... Edge's guitar in that song is just pure magic to me! Steve
Cropper, eat your heart out! Another was everytime Bono or Edge
walked by when we all went nuts.... Edge's vocal on "Stuck", the
blinding guitar on "The Fly", too many to name.

The show was just fantastic....more strpped down, you've heard all
that I'm sure. Bono's been messing up/rearranging/forgetting/making
up lyrics since U2 started out I guess, and it was no surprise that
he did the same on many songs in Miami. Guitar changes were frequent
and there were a few very minor glitches but nothing glaring. About
the setlist....I thought both nights were terrific. Many rockers
played full-tilt!! Sure, I'd rather hear lesser-known songs
like "Like A Song..." or 'Red Hill Mining Town", but there's no
complaining about the song selection...flat out rocks with plenty of
soul to boot! And it's sure to change early and often, I'll betcha.

Overall,opening night was a great experience. Met lots of cool U2
freaks and survived the real freaks. But the best was yet to come
for us because on Monday we had a mission...to get INSIDE THE HEART.
Will we make it? Stay tuned.....

Watts

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