by Eric Mann

First off, this was the hottest outdoor concert I've ever attended. A common question asked all around me was, "how can they play in this heat"? Still, U2 pulled off another gem last night in Tampa.

The acoustics were excellent, although I could have used a bit more volume (in the Red Zone anyway). Vocals were crystal clear and dominant over everything else. Guitar, bass, and drums were mixed nicely.

Visually the show was stunning. This was my first show of the tour so everything was new to me. It was my 15th since 1987 so the bar was set high but the show was their best yet. At worst it tied the incredible PopMart experience.

Looking at other setlists from this leg it looks like all Tampa missed out on was "Bad" which is definitely a shame. There were no shortage stadium pleasers though with "Streets", "Sunday Bloody Sunday", "One", "Still Haven't Found", etc. A notable treat was "Stuck In A Moment"
which was impeccable. I'll see another show to catch that number's occasional replacement, "Stay". Those songs prove that Bono doesn't need a bazillion dollar stage and Edge doesn't need a single guitar effect to blow away 75,000 people.

One thing was for sure, U2 was out to support the new album. Seven songs is a lot from their least popular album since "October". I was not a big fan of the new tracks myself until last night. Now, I am COMPLETELY sold on every song I heard. From "Breathe" to Moment Of Surrender", every song belonged in this world class setlist. These are not sugar coated pop songs but after being served on such a mouth watering platter, they're definitely just as tasty.

Simply put, this is not a tour any music fan will want to miss. While other big bands resort to farewell/comeback/reunion shows to draw in crowds, U2 is breaking attendance records the hard way: by supporting their latest album with the most expensive and most generous stage ever built (in the worst economy of our lifetime to boot).

My only concern is that the band will incur physical and mental injuries trying to top this tour the next time out. I hope they're not afraid to strip things down again ala the Elevation tour. Either way, I'll be there.

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