by Ian

I originally posted this to Exit late last night (this morning actually), so I'll be able to correct a few typos and add a few bits here and there. This is what I experienced:

Staging:
Seemed like there was a bit of trickery going on here... During the opener (Elevation), the entire stage seemed rather plain by concert standards (house lighting etc...). However, the true nature of the stage revealed itself in every song thereafter. Without spoiling any of the details, it is very hi-tech. The house lit intro was brilliant and caught me completely off guard.

There are 10 individually focused very high rez black-n-white video monitors suspended from the scaffolding

The much talked about heart shaped catwalk is approximately 60 yards in total circumference. Bono stood at the outermost tip of the heart for a hefty portion of the show.

Tunes:
No surpises folks. Goose bumps all around when the oldies surfaced. WTSHNN was received with a major audience roar. The new songs were received well, but not quite on par with the favs. I would cite their lack of agressive umph as an explanation.

Glitches:
Bono fell off the catwalk into the heart while walking backwards during UTEOTW - he and Edge were engaged in their bullfighter routine. I would hope he landed on a security guard or camerman, but he was slow to stand up. Both he and I were a bit stunned for a short bit. Needless to say, I was cringed everytime he ran around the stage for the remainder of the show.

Edge was getting used to the effects board layout. There were a few effects weren't exactly enqeue.

Bono booted a floor lamp off the heartwalk a short while after the fall. This resulted in him posing in front of another one of the 50ft translucent drapes.

I felt the show came to an abrupt end... there was no 40 chant and having Walk On as the closer doesn't work for me (IMHO)

Highlights:
Bono jumped out into the crowd during the Fly and proceeded to scurry back toward the rear exit of the arena. He was followed by a frantic sea of yellow shirted security members.

I was plesantly surprised by the musical readiness of the band. It was refreshing to hear some of my favorites played more similarly with the album versions. The Fly not being one of those.. it sounded sloppy and disorganized and Edge seemed to be compensating by cranking up the distortion to a frantic level. I didn't even recognize the song for a good few bars.

The stage and lighting are exquisite and deceptive. It was interesting to see Bono cruise around the stage and hear different areas of the arena pipe up.

I've been following U2 for quite a while now and I believe this one of their best shows I have ever attended. In my personal top 3 out of 9 shows attended (spread over 5 tours).

I wasn't planning on attending the second Miami show b/c of ticket prices ($287 so far), but I have to be there ;).

And to answer Bono's closing question of "Did we get the job?" - a resounding yes.

Ciao,
Ian

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