by Lisa

The briefly named "Larry Mullen, Jr. Band" was in fine form at the Rose Garden on Easter Sunday. From the beginning, when the band walked on with all the house lights up to the very end, when the last thing we saw was the back of Edge's great "16" shirt, it was a fabulous, inspirational evening.
Great variety of songs from ATYCLB and their previous albums. I'm glad they kept some of the older favorites like Pride, Sunday Bloody Sunday and Where the Streets Have No Name. Their fans span so many age groups now that it's great to hear songs from each different "era." I became a fan with the Joshua Tree album so would have been really disappointed not to hear that seminal song for me, With or Without You.
The stage set-up was really good, not overwhelming as on the Popmart tour but complimenting and enhancing the music. There was a lot of variety from strobe lights going around the heart-shaped catwalk to five drop-down opaque screens on which were reflected shadows of the band during one song and maps of constellations during another, to pop-up video screens behind the band that displayed James Bond-style dancers during Mysterious Ways. I especially liked Bono's interaction with the video screen dancers (Nice butt, Bono!).
One of my favorite parts was when Bono introduced the band, calling each one out onto the catwalk. It was great to see Larry come out from behind his drums and receive the adulation he deserves.
Bono's crowd interaction was wonderful, too. The girl in the red sweatshirt with whom he danced on the catwalk and the little boy he carried across the GA section and out of the arena on his back, will have incredible stories to tell!
Thanks, U2, for coming to Portland, for being the greatest band of all time and for an awesome night that I'll never forget.

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