by David

U2 didn't perform "Night and Day", but those words could describe my experience and thoughts about U2. I'm a long time fan going back to the song "A Celebration". I've embraced U2 for so long, but had my first roadblock experiences with their last two albums. Despite Bono's praise for their most recent work, I think they have finally started a slow decent down with plenty of filler tracks.

Of course, U2 live is still going to be a delight. And they were. For the most part. My wife really wanted to attend her first U2 show so we picked up some behind the stage tix on Ebay for face value. I was pleasantly surprised with how wonderful seats like that could be. We were in the upper deck, but felt close to the stage and with most of the action being unobstructed there is no way I would have paid three times that for better seats. Good choice for anyone considering the "cheap" seats.

The light show was fantastic. Great stage set up.
No problems with the energy of the band and sound. Most of the set list was a nice mix of old and new, however, as I just mentioned, I'm not a big fan of some newer songs. Actually, it was funny that they performed my two least favorite U2 songs followed by my all time favorite. "Original of the Species" is just a downright nasty bad song. Can't believe they actually put that song in their set. And I've always hated "Stuck in a Moment". It's just boring and was probably the first dagger I ever felt in the U2 canon. Yeah, I'm including "Pop"!

But ending the show with "Bad" made up for it all. Happy we got to see that since they don't do it every show.

Bono's voice sounded shot at times, but then he came out and blew my socks off with his take on Pavarotti during "Miss Sarajevo". There's some more "night and day" contrast to me. I also sometimes tire of Bono's vague attempts at creating some kind of spiritual message. The comments about Abraham in relation to the three major religions was stupid to me. But, it's okay... that's part of who Bono is.

My wife loved the show. I enjoyed it. I'm really glad that I got to see them twice back in '92 not only because they might have had just a bit more to give in concert, but because of the setlist. I doubt I'll attend another U2 show if their albums continue down the same path.
This sounded like a negative review! I don't mean for it to be like that. You really can't go wrong with the overall experience.

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