by William

Woo Hoo!!, Woo Hoo Hoo!. Well it was the 2nd night of U2's Elevation Glasgow jaunt and after last nights concert excellence I really wondered how the band would match what went on last night, but by the love of God they surpassed it!!!!.

I still can't believe what I witnessed tonight, I laughed, I cried, I jumped for joy, I went through every emotion in the book and all the way the band held us in the palms of their hands.

The crowd was in a state of frenzy, I actually had tickets for the seated area but with a nudge,nudge here and a wink, wink there I got a swap for standing and found myself back in the Heart!!!!. Whereas last night I was right at the front looking at Adam, tonight I took up residence at the point of the heart so I could see the screens and get the bigger picture, the outcome?........AWESOME!!!.

I seriously need to dig out a dictionary to find out new words to describe how good U2 are live, Bono said at the start of the tour they were Re-applying for the best rock band on the planet again but in the fans minds there never was any doubt who was wearing the crown, who had always been wearing the crown.......Bono,Larry,Adam and The Edge, four tiny wee Irishmen who make a noise big enough to rock the planet. The only folk that questioned the Bands standing was the media, the fans always knew the answer.

We kicked off with 'Elevation' and the crowd seemed even more up for it than the night before, the measure of this was the heat in the heart, I was soaked to the skin in sweat four songs in, whereas the night before I was merely damp.

Quickly 'Beautiful day' and 'Until the end of the world' were past us, Bono had the place Jumping with his shaking Dancing style, the place went wild and then when The Edge and he met at the tip of the heart, fireworks were going off as they duelled with Bono ending up lying down kicking The Edges guitar.

Then came the first suprise of the night as 'New years day' was introduced and all the die-hards were in heaven, but an even bigger treat was just around the corner. Bono spoke about the roots of the band and talked about how far they had come this song kicked off and for the first 10 seconds I thought it was 'The Electric co' but it wasn't it was 'Out of control' and thats exactly how it sent the crowd, Bono stated "This is for you" and pointed out to the crowd and heaven beckoned again.

'Sunday bloody Sunday' saw Bono urge the crowd to 'Get up, stand up...Stand up for your rights' and if anyone wasn't singing along, I couldn't see them, it was deafening.
We then had 'Stuck in a moment' followed by an emotional 'Kite' the most poignant moment of the whole set, where Bono spoke about how growing up he never really got on with his dad and how years later they were reconciled and he was glad of that and he could see where his dad was coming from, it was so emotional, especially when Bono was visibly crying. as was most of the crowd, you just wanted to reach out and hold him, I swear I really can't begin to understand what it must be like for him but I do know his Dad would be proud of the way his son is carrying his name and memory.

Then came the suprise of the night 'Angel of Harlem' no-one expected this and the crowd was again lifted to a new level. At the end of the song Bono, Invited Larry and Adam down to the point of the heart to join in with a wee acoustic bash at 'Desire' which had me jigging my socks off, they were all within touching distance as well and I just felt so privalaged to be in that room, witnessing what I was.

'Staring at the sun' was followed by 'All I want is you' which segued into 'Where the streets have no name' and the whole crowd was bouncing along at pace, I read a quote the other day from the guitarist in Travis and he said that each song in this set is like a bookmark of your life.....how true is that quote?.

I couldn't beleive that after 'Mysterious ways' the band were going off, it felt like they had just got started but a quick look at the watch showed that they had been on for nearly an Hour and a half?????. Where the hell did the time go?. This gig was flying by at an Unbelievable pace. Before I knew it the band were waving and walking off, and I was
screaming ........NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!, Come back!!.

Then came the one defining moment that you always know you are going to witness at a U2 gig, you are always gaurenteed a moment that defines the whole gig for you and my moment came during the first encore 'Bullet the blue sky' Bono started a rap that involved mentions of John Lennon and so on but his voice kept growing and he repeated the phrase "Pull the trigger on a rock and roll Ni**er" and built it up into that amazing level that only his voice can go to (That phrase is from a song , can't remember who and I couldn't hear some of the words but Jesus the goosebumps and the shivers that were taking over my body), That was my moment. WOW. Don't you love the way they keep re-inventing 'Bullet the blue sky' into this amazing piece?. It is a phenomenally powerful song, Add to that the imagery and the genius of U2 and the outcome is irresistable.

Then we heard the strains of 'with or without you' and I knew our time together was coming to an end, always at a U2 gig when I hear this song, I get upset as I know it's almost over, I'm sure there are other fans out there who feel the same.

Into the final throes and we had 'One' which saw Bono asking the people not to be scared of polititions because deep down those politicians are scared of the power of the people, How is it Bono can get across a message so much better than various polititions and so forth, I think it's because he is sincere and has our respect.

Finally we got to 'Walk on' and we had U2 karaoke kicking off big time.........'you got to leave it behind' repeated over and over again and thats all i could think of when the band had departed, I had to leave it behind, but I didn't want to , I wanted to be there forever, I didn't want it to end.
It broke my heart to leave but it also exhilerated me just thinking of those two gigs that are probably the greatest I have ever witnessed.

Tonight Glasgow is a happy place, The fans are going home with memories that will live with them forever, the critics are well and truly silenced and in me there is one U2 fan who is not alone in thinking that the best rock band on the planet has just left the building.

Sorry for rabbitting on here folks but, I just can't stop singing the praises of this band. Doubt them if you are insane, write them off at your Peril. U2 are Rock.

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