by Liz Z

Newark, A New Venue in New Jersey 

Being in the Red Zone at Friday night’s show felt like we may as well have been as close as the lucky fans at the Apollo Theater show! This was the smallest arena I’ve seen the band play, even more intimate than Long Island’s Nassau Coliseum. The GA section was maybe 60% of the size of MSG. There wasn’t even a VIP section on the North Side. 

My husband and I were bound and determined to have a great time at the show.  It was the evening of our birthdays, so we splurged on the Red Zone, something we’d never done until this tour.  We’d seen e+i three times before, but our last show was in far-away seats at MSG, which left us longing to be closer. 

Before the show, we quickly visited the small but entertaining Grammy Experience Museum attached to the Prudential Center. On display were various rock artificacts from Grammy winners and local rock legends, as well as a special exhibit devoted to Taylor Swift. I loved seeing Whitney Houston’s 80s dresses and my husband loved playing a drum set virtually with Max Weinberg of The E Street Band.

Watching the venue fill up, the NJ crowd struck me as being real music fans. The vibe just oozed of people who looked like they played in a band, had been a roadie, or had a great story about growing up near Bruce Springsteen.  In fact, we saw the lead singer of the Unforgettable Fire tribute band in the Red Zone (wearing a Clarence Hotel shirt!) and boy does he look like Bono! I must have been right about the crowd, because at the end of the show Bono thanked the U2 crew and said how “many of them would be happy to sleep in their beds tonight!”  No surprise then, the sound was maybe the best sound of all the shows I’ve seen this tour.

Friends may wonder why we see U2 play so many times, but for me, there are always new layers of the show to absorb. I felt like I really connected to the music tonight, the new songs in particular. Listening to “Lights of Home,” watching Edge sway and play so melodically, I realized, that in essence, it’s a gospel song.  I’d been impressed by the crowds at the Long Island and MSG shows singing along to the new songs, but especially so for tonight’s performance of “Love is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way.” The crowd continued singing after the band finished and Bono gave the crowd a look of mutual adoration, taking out his in-ear device to enjoy the moment.

It was also one of the most moving renditions I’ve seen of “One.”  Bono introduced the song and dedicated it to the five victims of the recent shooting at newspaper in Maryland. He stood for a long time with one finger in the air at the start of the song.  “One” has taken on a new meaning this tour with the visuals of children in helmets going to school and going about their daily routines.  Towards the end of the song, Bono struggled with his ear piece, even ripping it out.  A crew member helped fix it while he finished the song with the house lights off, arena lit by cell phones. It seemed as if Bono had put his whole self into the song and was struggling both emotionally and physically. 

At times, the show seemed to have a fast pace tonight. The images on the screen for Sunday Bloody Sunday seemed to flash by quickly, at least compared to our last show from the seats.

There were no celebrity call outs, but during the “You’re The Best Thing About Me” intro, Bono joked that his son John has been at recent shows taking pictures of “everyone but me," He also mentioned that his wife Ali was at Springsteen on Broadway that evening - you knew there had to be a Bruce Springsteen reference in New Jersey!

I read online after the show that this was the first venue other than the NJ Meadowlands that the band has played in 35 years! Apparently everyone else was excited about Newark because the tour date t-shirt with Newark stamped on it had sold out in several sizes by the time we made our way to the merch booth. It would have been cool to commemorate the unique venue location and special concert – if you’re reading this and have a Large you’d like to unload, please let me know! I love that the band is playing different New York tri-state area venues other than MSG (I’m now rethinking my decision to forgo their last North American tour stop at Mohegan Sun, also in the greater NY area). Overall, Newark’s Prudential Center was a great place to see a show – the great sound and intimate general admission set-up were key to us having a great experience. Plus, there are plenty of hotels, bars and restaurants within walking distance of the arena, making it a fun place to spend the evening. 

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