by hibricc

Sixth of seven Boston Vertigo shows, #18 lifetime. Patty and I had fourth row seats in Loge 18, directly behind the stage. After seeing the show from inside the ellipse back in October, we wondered how this vantage point would compare. We’d seen the Elevation tour from behind the stage, but not this close.

Opening act was a band called Institute, Gavin Rossdale’s new group (formerly of Bush). Predictably, the big cheers were for Bush songs. Surprising to see Gavin perform out on the ellipse, first time I’ve seen an opener use the ramps.

The thrill of this show was being right behind the stage, and seeing the band enter the arena and walk beneath the stage. Looks like a little dressing room in there, with racks of clothes and a “last glance” lighted mirror. And we were very close, although the band didn't play to the rear very much at all. Still neat to see the show from this angle, though.

It seemed like the show took a while to build up the energy level, with nothing really inspiring during the main set. Ahh, but the encores…

The band opened the encore with a blistering Until The End Of the World that found Bono chasing Edge around the circumference of the ellipse. And not just a brisk walk either – they were literally RUNNING. The acoustic Stuck In A Moment was excellent again tonight, and Bad is probably my favorite closer… which is what lots of people thought it was, as they headed for the exits at the end. But from our seats, we could see that the band hadn’t left the area beneath the stage. Might we get an unprecedented THIRD encore? Yes, incredibly, the band came out for yet another set, ripping through All Because Of You, and finishing with the rarely played import track Fast Cars. This last one was pretty ragged (Bono forgot most of the words), but the band laughed and smiled throughout.

Probably not one of the “best” U2 shows I’ve seen, but another unique experience that I’ll talk about for a long time (“remember that time they played THREE encores?”).
One more shot at the ellipse tomorrow night…

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