by Lanu

Elevation? Emotion.

It was a very special night, you could smell it in the air. It was Edge's 40th birthday and that helped to create the astonishing atmosphere between the band and the audience during the whole show. It was magic. I have to say that it was my fifht U2 concert (2 Zoo TV indoor at the same venue, 1 Zooropa and another PopMart), but I think I'll remember this one as the most special one. Maybe because I was in the very first row, no one in front of me but Bono and Edge, and that's a totally different thing. It's the real thing, no tricks at all. I can't talk about the lights, the screens or anything. I just saw four guys playing together on stage and enjoying it, like if it were the first time. As simple and powerful as that. Edge had his eyes closes for half of the show, feeling every note, Adam had the word satisfaction written on his face, Larry even smiled and Bono was sweating pure emotion. No giant lemon can top that.

Edge was the real star, at least for the people inside the heart. We sang Happy Birthday for him several times before Bono decided to do so with the rest of the audience, and there were people with custom made t-shirts about Edge's birthday! But there were some surprises too.

The first one was "Spanish Eyes". I think the last time they played it was in San Sebastian (14th May, 92), and it was great they decided to play it again as a special present for us, though they didn't remembered it very well. Bono was reading the lyrics and repeated some verses. Actually, it was longer than the studio version and it was funny seeing Bono and Edge looking at each other like saying 'Hey, man, how are we gonna end the song? How was it?'. But that's the kind of things that made the show so special.

And now comes my moment of the night. Just after "Wake Up Dead Man" I shouted 'Party Girl!' at Bono, who was right in front of me. After "In A Little While" -which wasn't included on the set list (at least the one I got after the show from a roadie)-, Bono started singing Happy Birthday along with the crowd for Edge, who was with him at the tip of the heart. Then Bono started to talk to Edge, asking him to play a song, and Edge started trying to find the chords or something. He changed his guitar for an acoustic one and... "Party Girl"!!! I couldn't believe it!!! They didn't remember the song very well, especially Edge (that solo...) but it was unbelievable. I know it will sound arrogant, but I think it was my fault. It wasn't on the set list.

Other highlights were "Mysterious Ways", with the girls carrying birthday cakes for our favourite guitarist and sitting on the screens portraying pictures of him, and an awesome performance of "Bullet Of The Blue Sky", always different, always excellent (I don't understand why Edge doesn't play like that in more songs). And the most moving moment of the night: Bono singing "Kite", dedicated to his father, with tears in his eyes and his voice almost broken. I had a lump in my throat.

The Palau Sant Jordi was a big heart, beating so hard it could have exploded. When Bono said 'Good night Barcelona, thanks for an amazing night', he really meant it. You could see it in his eyes.

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