by Matt McGee

Couldn't get to the arean tonight until pretty late. By the time I found a spot to park and stood in line with all the other late-comers, I was able to catch about the last minute of PJ Harvey's set and that was it.

So after seeing the first two shows from inside the heart, I got a new perspective tonight -- from on the floor but back near the mixing board.

The verdict? No comparison to inside the heart, but still very, very good. The bottom line is that U2 puts out an energy inside the arena that you can't help but feel no matter how near or far.

The show was very good, same setlist as they've been playing. Some fond memories from this show:

* Watching Paul McGuinness hang out at the sound desk. During Sunday, Bloody Sunday he started to survey the entire arena, watching the fans' reaction. The entire crowd was singing and clapping in unison, and the look on Paul's face was great -- it was that 'proud Papa' look, 'look what my boys are doing tonight.' I wish everyone could've seen that expression.

* About halfway through the show, Edge's parents came out from inside the VIP area and watched the show on the floor with the rest of us. (If you must ask, it's because Edge's Dad is a dead-ringer for his son.) I somehow got the courage to try to say something to him, and executed it in such awkward fashion that I'm sure it was the talk of the night backstage. After Mysterious Ways I took about 3 steps forward then turned back and right towards Garvin. He didn't look at me, and completely ignored me when I yelled "Great show, isn't it?" (Duh.) I can't blame him at all, I would've ignored me, too. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Overall, the crowd tonight was one of the stars. Very intense and loud all night long, no one sitting down anywhere. Another great show.

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