by zoodoctor

This was my third Vertigo show, after NJ2 and MSG 6. Went with my lovely wife, and 2 wonderful friends (in part of a weekend celebration for my buddy's 40th B-day, and their wedding anniversary.) First of all, Phillips Arena is a great venue, intimate, easily accessible, and we had great tix, sec 115 at the level of the tip of the ellipse.

The crowd had tons of energy, and the Boys clearly fed off of the enthusiasm. Frankly, the crowd was louder and seemed more into it than my other shows, possibly, since this was a Sat night show. I could not hear the begining to BD or UTEOTW, not due to acoustics issues, but due to the crowd!

My personal highlites: OOTS was superb live, and belongs in the main rotation. The 2 Achtung Baby encores were life-altering...Bono did a lap around the ellipse while the Edge jammed with Larry and Adam behind the drumset at the end of Until. MW was cool as always, but it was sort of curious that Bono called up a Fan to dance at the end of the song. And the Bad-Power to the People close is quite breath-taking, as Bono and the crowd keep singing the chorus after the band had left the stage. Bono nailed the Pavarotti part of MS! And I had never heard MLK live, which is something I will never forget.

Interesting Moments: The Edge had a Guitar issue at the end of SBS...broken string?...and Dallas brought him a new guitar quickly and missed only a
few notes. Bono or the Edge missed the opening cue for Stuck and smiled at each other and started again...very cool!

(Minor) dissappointments: Miracle Drug and Yahweh were sorely missed by me although this is a minor complaint. I have yet to hear 40 this tour and have 1 more show to go.

Anyway, the show was a typical, fantastic experience that any music fan, let alone a U2 fan needs to experience at some point in their lives. If we are lucky, the boys will stay creative and healthy for decades to come!

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