by Ben

Finally.... the Greatest Band In The World comes to Tampa! Having seen them since the Lovetown Tour Down Under, the ZooTv concert (Sydney), and the past 2 (Popmart and Elevation tours) this was probably one of the best performances. I sat in the nose bleed section, directly in front of the stage - the view and the sound was great. U2 seemed full of energy, going around the ellipse several times - catching 3 of them going around at the same time throughout the show. Bono hit all the right notes, did a lot of adlibbing towards the end of songs and less talking. He also brought 2 kids onto the stage and danced with a women taller than him. The Edge was his usual energetic
self. Adam seemed to enjoy it a lot...making rounds on the ellipse several times. Larry was also into it tonight. They played more of the newer songs (no Boy - which I wished they played more of). Some of the surprises were Mysterious Ways, The First Time, Until The End Of The World and Rock The Casbah (during Sunday Bloody Sunday). The crowd was energized at the beginning, but started to fade towards the end. Everyone knew the words for most of the songs, except '40'. Probably, if they had a second night, they might of played more of the older stuff instead of trying to cram in all the new ones in 1 night. However, being Tampa, there were some 'Springer' moments in my section (309), and the ocassional whiff of pot in the air...thanx to the guy in front of me!

High Points:
1. U2 - band & crew
2. Mysterious Ways, Love And Peace, Species,
Streets, Sometimes, Miss Sarajevo, COBL,
Sunday Bloody Sunday, '40'.
3. The audio/visual effects.
4. Great seats (for a nose bleed section)
5. The 'real' U2 fans.

Low Points:
1. The 'Tampa' crowd (see Note)
2. No Boy/October songs.
3. Song selection for the encore.
4. Stuck In A Moment and Beautiful Day (not a big
fan of these tunes).
5. No Guinness at the venue.
Note: To all you idiots who sat down for most of the part, the ones who kept on going in/out to the concession stands and the non-U2 fans who just talked on their cell phones throughout the concert, you should have just stayed home...have some 'class' and 'respect'...the boys played their arses off tonight for Tampa...I guess that's why we only get one visit from them every tour. This is a U2 concert!...not a Bucs/Lightning/Rays game. We don't need your Tampa trash presents here...you could've gone to a local hole in the wall or muddin' to do that! U2 and it's 'real' fans deserve more than this.

OK, enough of the bad stuff. I'm already looking forward to their 06' U.S. stadium tour and their new album (remember UABRS, Wide Awake, Rattle & Hum, Zooropa?). If they don't play in Tampa, it's pretty understandable...but if they do I'd like to
see them play Electric Co., Cat/Heart, A Day Without Me/Brick, Gloria, 2nds, Unforgettable Fire, Bad, Surrender, Control, God II and Twilight.

U2 is the #1 band, thanx for the good times guys...and see you all 'real' U2 fans next time!

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