by Thomas Bell

Another very strong show, my 2nd Staples show in a row.

Tonight, I caught the show from a skybox suite almost directly in the back of the arena on level "B". Surprisingly, the sound was excellent and with the aid of expensive binoculars, I could see everything I wanted to see. Frankly, catching a concert in a Staples suite is a mixed proposition. The suites are like mini apartments that open out to the arena and isolate a person from the heat and excitement of a concert, especially if one is stuck with a stodgy old group of people. Fortunately, I was with a fairly fun bunch and we had a good time.

Changes from last night include I Will Follow, Wild Honey and All I Want Is You in place of last night's Out of Control, Angel of Harlem, People Get Ready and Bad. Also, tonight the band played the first verse of "Peace on earth" prior to Walk On which they did not do last night. This also meant that the 9/11 names completed scrolling by the end of the POE verse instead of being cut off like last night before they were through scrolling.

Adam sort of flubbed the beginning of New Years Day while Larry was playing the intro and in the instrumental break in the middle of the song, Bono was actually playing a bit of "rock, paper, scissors" with some fans up near the tip of the heart. During the intro to Streets, the organ intro momentarily cut out leaving the song kinda bare with just Edges guitar and Larrys cymbals but the band vamped for about a minute and the organ kicked back in and the song took off. During Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bono pulled a fan onstage and wrapped a USA flag around the person during the "wipe your tears away" part of the song.

I'm glad I finally got to see the band play "Wild Honey." I've been looking forward to hearing it for the entire tour.

One interesting thing... From my lofty vantage point, with the projected images on the scrims during New York, it actually evokes the ruins of the WTC. It's something you need to see from the far back of the arena to appreciate.

Gwen Stefani again joined the band for the encore of "What's Going On" and again the audience really didn't get into the song compared to other songs in the set. It's clear the audience just doesn't know the song until the chorus kicks in and even then, you still get the feeling people are going "Huh?"

IMO, a very good show but not quite as exciting as last night's show.

T.B.

Setlist:

Elevation
Beautiful Day
Until the End of the World
New Year's Day
I Will Follow
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Stuck In a Moment
Kite
Wild Honey (acoustic Edge and Bono
Please (acoustic)
All I Want Is You
Where the Streets Have No Name
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Pride

Encore(s):
Bullet the Blue Sky
What's Going On (with Gwen Stefani on vocals)
New York
One / Unchained Melody (1 verse)
Peace on Earth (1 verse) / Walk On

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