by Yusuf

This is my second U2 show. My first was just three days prior on April 2nd.

We had general admission tickets and waited in line from 1pm. Low and behold, one of our tickets scanned us to be in the ellipse! We were front row, a bit to the left of center.

At about 8:45 pm, a track starts playing with what sounds like Bono’s voice saying, “everyone, everyone, everyone, everyone, EVERYONE, EVERYONE!” I think this signifies something he said in the Anaheim show: “we are all equal, everyone! Everyone! Everyone!” As this voice goes on, the bass at the beginning of “Love and Peace or Else” kicks in and the four band members walk onto the ellipse each holding a tremendously strong flashlight. They walk around the ellipse shining their light at the 20,000-plus fans that are yelling and screaming. Bono and Larry stop at the front of the stage and Larry begins playing a lone drum that’s sitting at the top of the ellipse as Bono works the crowd. The Edge and Adam are back onto the main stage and they’re playing. Then Larry heads to the main stage and Bono starts playing the lone drum like a madman – it’s great. Then they break into “Love and Peace or Else” followed by “Vertigo.” We're so close that we can see Bono's spit. After “Into the Heart,” Bono takes a child from inside the ellipse and walks him around the ellipse. He asks his name as they walk and the kid says, “my name is Jack” – tremendously cute kid. Bono then says, “Jack, this is the beanstalk.” He then tells the child to raise his arms in the air and look up and Bono does the same, and confetti starts coming down from the ceiling. It looked incredible! Then Bono brings the kid to the stage and tells him to sit near the drum set as they break into “City of Blinding Lights.” Bono plays to the crowd as well as to the child to make sure he’s alright! Bono talks about science and how it’s needed before they play “Miracle Drug.” Bono talks about Los Angeles. He says he loves L.A. because more people here make a living using their imagination than anywhere else in the world. Sometime during the show, Bono wears a white bandanna with different religious symbols on it, and starts pointing it and naming the different religions and religious leaders. They play “Mysterious Ways” and Bono gets a hat from the crowd. He takes off the hat and holds it out, and people start throwing quarters at him. He takes two quarters and puts them over his eyes. After this song, the band heads off.

They come back a few minutes later and start with “Pride in the Name of Love.” During the part at the end with everyone chanting “Oh-oh-oh," Bono starts talking about equality and how everyone is equal. He starts a “Hallelujah” chant and then starts saying the names of different countries/continents.. He says “America, Europe, Africa! Africa! Africa!” as they break into “Where the Streets Have No Name” with different flags shown on the beaded screen. Edge starts the riff for “One.” Bono talks about how he’s looking for one million Americans to help stop AIDS and end poverty in Africa. He says he’s not looking for your money, but for your voice. He then tells the crowd to take out their cell phones and hold them up. I turn around and it looks like the entire place is filled with stars. It’s beautiful. Bono says he wants to sing “One” in the dark. They head off the stage with this song. They come back on and start with “All Because of You,” they then play a gorgeous stripped down version of “Yahweh” and close the show with “40.” As they end the song, the crowd is chanting “How Long to Sing this Song.” Bono leaves first, then Adam leaves, then the Edge leaves, and Larry is playing the drums alone on stage and people are still chanting “How Long to Sing this Song.” Larry then leaves and the lights come up.

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