by Nelson

It's always interesting to compare crowds when the band does a multi-night stay in a city. Back in April, the crowds increased in intensity over the span of three shows in Anaheim - the same goes for this trifecta stand @ the Staples Center. You could feel a greater welling of energy and emotion as "Sgt. Pepper" turned into the Elevation remix. Things became downright boisterous as the crowd sang along to "Elevation". During "Beautful Day", Bono made an early grab of an American flag at the tip of the heart and it foreshadowed a running theme of red, white & blue during the show. "Mysterious Ways" replaced New Year's Day for the first time in a long while and I've never seen "Out of Control" played with such blazing fire - Bono's energy made him look like he was 18 years old and Adam repeatedly pumped his bass guitar to the beat. To hear bits of "Into The Heart" in the song was nothing short of shocking. Needless to say, the crowd went beserk when Bono told the story of hearing a U2 song on KROQ back in the day. It was stunning to hear the crowd sing so loudly during "Stuck In A Moment" and "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" - two songs that really only the hardcore fans will sing to. Charming is the only way to describe the young girl pulled onstage by Bono during "Wild Honey" - she was obviously shy and terrified to be onstage - she had no idea what to do with her hands. It must have been Flag Day because an Irish tri-colour was held during "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and Bono once again retrieved Old Glory and ran the heart with it during "Streets". What an amazing night! My date cried during "One" as all the names scrolled. You can't help but be stunned by how many firefighters were killed on Sept. 11. I don't know what else to say about last night - out of the eleven Elevation shows I've attended, this was second only to the Oct. 24 N.Y. show in noise & intensity. L.A. truly stood up and represented. Last night made me proud to be an Angelino. I wish all fans great shows for the final two weeks. I'm bummed I won't be with you. Life should be fragrant - rooftop to the basement.

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