by Nick

This was my first U2 show ever. At 7:15, we claimed our seats, which were to the right of the stage. We were fairly close. THen, we sat through Kelis, until 8:15. Then we all dispersed to buy drinks, and use the toilets, then back at 8:40. At 9:00, we heard over the sound system, the spunky remix of Elevation. And then the crowd started getting wound up, singing along with the Woo!s. The the band arrived on the stage, with the house lights still on, U2 exploded into the supersonic "Elevation." With the crowd still reeling from that, they proceed to play the extremely loud "Beautiful Day," which was aided by skilled lighting affect. That was followed promptly by the familiar "Until the end of the World," Where the Bono and the Edge venture for the first time onto the heart-shaped walk-way, taunting each other, sparring each other up and down the walkway. Then, a high pitched effect was spurted out over the sound system - Which gave way into a mad performance of "Discotheque." Half way through, the swirling sounds coming out of Edge guitar somehow turned into a short version of "Staring at the Sun," which teh crowd happily sung along to. Introducin the next song, Bono tells of a conversation with him and his father. Then they went into Kite, the poiniant heart-twisting classic. "New York" followed shortly, and a brillitant version it was. The highlight would have to be when Bono ventured out onto teh walkway, and a sheet was suspended, and a stobe light cast Bono's silouette against it. Then, they spun into a "Out of Control," and allthough this is one of their much lesser known tracks, it was recieved with great enthuisiasm from the crowd. AT the end, when Larry's hypnotic drum riff came on, the audiance immediately knew it could only be "Sunday Bloody Sunday." Half way through, Bono broke into that Bob Marley song, that goes "Get up, Stand up, Stand up for your right," which the crowd joined in on. The crowd left ecstatic from that, Bono and the Edge played a softer song, "Wake up Dead man." Without warning, the band broke into "Stuck in a Moment," and the crowd managed to drown out Bono. Then Bono introduced the next song as a gospel song about a hangover, and it was time for "In a Little While." I remember when the Edge did a bit of solo singing during that number. Bono and the edge ended up at the point of the heart, where they let Larry and Adam go for a quick drink, while they played an acousitc rendition of "Stay Faraway so Close." Next it was time for a beautiful version of "All I want is you", with some new guitar sounds which I've never heard used in that song. The highlight of that was the crowd singing along with Bono "All I want is, YOU." no sooner had the song ended then the familiar organ sound of "Where the Streets Have no Name rang out, and Edge's beautiful ringing riff filled the Stadium, and as the adrenaline rose higher and higher, when teh guitar exploded, Bono sprinted round the walkway, about twice, before starting "I want to run." The a new sound was heard, which led some people to believe that it was to be Last Night on Earth Next, but no. When teh bouncy guitar started up, it was clear theat the next song could only be "Mysetious Ways," the crowd singing with as much passion as Bono. Then the old classic "Pride," kciked in, and the audiance went wild. During Edge's solo, the crowd took cues from BOno as to when to yell. It was spectacular. Then, they went off-stage, and played on the screen was Charlton Heston saying "A gun is not a good thing, a gun is not a bad thing, a gun in the hands of a bad person is a bad thing. A gun in the hands of a good person is no threat to anyone, except bad people." Then Edge hit the note of U2's agriest song "Bullet the Blue Sky," which absolutely blew me away. The ending was like nothing I've ever heard before. Then it was back into familiar territory with "With or Without you," which was ended with Bono singing over the song "Love will tear us apart." Then they left the stage. It was not too long before they came back on, and, dropping all the screens and complex lighting, they played "Party Girl." The opening riff of "One" rang out, and Bono gave a long speech. This song was ecstatically revieved by the crowd. Then, the loudest song of the night, and extended version of "Walk On" filled the Arena. The song felt like it would never stop, and no-one wanted it to. Saying their goodbyes, U2 left the stage, with Grace playing over the sound system, my body exhausted from dancing, and my throat, sore from singing.

The highlights of the evening would have to be Bullet the BLue Sky, Sunday BLoody Sunday and out of Control.

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