by Randy W

I agree entirely with Brad B's review. This was my 4th U2 concert (i saw them 3 times on Vertigo tour: Anaheim, L.A., NYC) this was my first time having GA tickets. Ever since the first time i saw U2 i dreamed of getting GA tickets and getting into the inner-circle! I had been reading up on various blogs what to expect in lining up for GA at U2 concerts. Of course they pointed out the pros & cons to the whole process, but overall that it was a positive experience and everyone in line was courteous as you would expect of U2 fans, a community atmosphere. Unfortunately, that was the exact opposite of what we found Sunday at the Rose Bowl. I cannot speak to what happened with the wristbands handed out the night before and then not honored the next morning, but i would have been furious if that happened to me. Me and my wife and another couple arrived at 8am to get in line. We had to walk what seemed like a mile walk from our parking lot on one end of the bowl to the line on the opposite end on a muddy golf course. Arriving to the line itself at about 8:10 put us at 800th in line. Security came around with volunteers to write numbers on our wrist, then came back around at 1pm to pass out wristbands. We tried to make the best of it, bringing chairs & picnic. Thank goodness we were in the shade, however right behind the smelly port-a-potties which had a constant line of at least 20 people all day. At 3:30 me and my friend left our wives in line to return our chairs to the car. on the way back we received a call that they had started to move up. We ran to find everyone bunched up. Utter chaos ensued! we stood there for 45min still listening to soundcheck before they even started to let anyone in. We were all squished in in the mud and trash for 45min! My wife said they were just standing in line when everybody just started running to the front with no warning. My wife was almost trampled! and was shaken by the time i found her. comparing numbers to the people around us in this new cluster of a line, we were standing next to people with numbers from the 400's to people in the 1800's! even people who had just arrived with no number, no wristband! the number system was completely useless at this point and there was nothing we could do about it. we finally got in but were seperated from our friends when they stopped the turnstyles momentarily to stop people from pushing forward. It was a mob mentality of the worst kind! we did get into the inner-circle on the right side only to be bunched in so tight that we felt like we couldn't breathe. no personal space whatsoever. We tried to tuff it out but i could see in my wifes eyes that it was not going to work. At this point there would be no way to get out to go to the bathroom etc. and make it back in our spot, it was too cramped. And we still had another hour before black eyed peas went on! We left the inner-circle and opted to go straight in-front of center stage about 20 people back from the walkway. It got cramped later on but nothing near as bad as the inner-circle. I kept blaming security for their lack of organization and oversight of the line, which did factor into the problem. But when it came down to it, it was the people in line (i wouldn't call them fans) Some of the rudest and most inconsiderate people i have ever seen! I dont know if it was the fact that we were in L.A. or that it was such a large event, probably a little bit of both. This has ruined the GA experience for me. Never again. I will be buying assigned seats to the just announced Anaheim show next year. I know this was an isolated event and that usually the line-up goes much smoother, but this one event has ruined it for me.
As for the show itself. I thought they put on a great show as always. I cant wait to see the DVD. There did seem to be some audio problems at various times and the band and crowd response seemed to be a little off at times. Its almost like they were trying to hard because of the filming, and the crowd response wasn't the greatest. Maybe i'm wrong about that & maybe it was all the days events & my tiredness. But dont get me wrong, U2 puts on the best show and the concert itself was amazing. I look forward to buying assigned seats to Anaheim in 2010, arriving shortly before the show, and avoiding all the chaos and people in the GA.

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