by higherlove

Yesterday. A day when the only irish people I know and have met 4 times over a decade came to my town to play.

For four hours I sat and watched the chaosity. A floor spot was 300$ out of the question. But 12th row beside Edge was just fine.

The question was what was this really about. I found myself smiling as I waited to get in. Just smiling. That feeling when nothing can knock you down. It wasn't conjured but revealed. Reality after a daydream. It's like it was always there but tonight I noticed it again. The world jarred into stellar alignment and my surroundings have meaning. Everything has meaning. All is well.

Highs - The volley beach ball game that took place prior to elevation in the crowd (I had two crosscourt hits)...the arena wide wave that fueled the intensity minutes before they took the stage...the simplicity of the set and the band. They were just them. Nothing special just a band playing most of their set from the main stage - 3 guitars and the truth...Bono's 'bucking bronco' pose, a perfect replica of the mural on the oil wells as you leave Calgary airport...the ecstatic frenzy when Bono went mad on his harmonica at the end of Desire which of course led into BAD which I hadn't heard in concert before (well just in Monica's room!)...the look that the four of them had when they played stuck in a moment as if hey this is just plain fun..."when the sun has had its day"...In a Little While so stripped down that you could imagine singing it unaccompanied to your girlfriend..."Cool town!"...some crazy ass dressed guy with blond bleached hair with a top hat that obviously was an acquaintance of Bono sitting a few rows in front of us.

Lows - The guy beside me who hopelessly hit on his date who wanted nothing of it...

I was thinking about how many songs these guys have released since Achtung. Absolute staggering. And it only means one thing - every concert will be more painful than the last. There will always be more I just want to hear. We have a double CD - how about a double show?

I made an effort to watch the band. Not the screens. I figured that I can always watch them in streaming video but tonight is one in few that are trails cross again. I found people staring at the big screens - TV attics. Beside me, a big hulk barely grooved and seemed to be unaware of the symphony around him. My amazement was only topped by my own lyrical anthem (startling since I typically remember lyric as well as Bono). I don't think I missed a beat.

Our encore ended with a fanatic walking on the stage. Bono called him back from the tackles of security and gave him the guitar but to no avail - he was late for a Chicagoesque People Get Ready.


HigherLove walking onward with an anthem in my head...

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