by hibricc

Fifth of seven Boston Vertigo shows, #17 lifetime. Patty and I had GA floor tickets, courtesy of the second fanclub presale. Driving up to the Garden, we were depressed to hear the Red Sox getting slaughtered in the first Divisional Playoff Game in Chicago (they would get swept in three straight). Nothing like a shot at the ellipse to make us forget!

We arrived in the fanclub line just before 6pm, and quickly buddied up with the guy in front of us (Rob from St. Louis, who bought his ticket on the street that afternoon). Knowing that groups of three usually are admitted together, we joined forces and increased our chances of getting into the ellipse by 50%. Good thing, too, as Rob’s ticket was the only one of our three to get the magical “VERTIGO” scan. We were in!

Picked a spot inside the ellipse on the right rear rail, since Bono seems to spend more time on that side, then spent the next hour congratulating ourselves on our good fortune – and shrewd choice of line buddy.

Seen from that vantage point, the show was of course SPECTACULAR. Really, they could have played kazoos all night, and we wouldn’t have cared because we were SO CLOSE! (See the photo above that a girl took from the other side of the ramp during Electric Co. … thanks, Carrie!)

Sure, Bono’s backing track got “exposed” during Crumbs (it was his own fault – he waited too long to sing the previous verse, so it set off the timing), and the encore was supposed to end with Original of the Species / Bad, but it seemed like Larry had had enough and kicked off “40” instead…. But who cares! We were IN THE ELLIPSE!!

Okay, so some legitimate musical highlights: Crumbs From Your Table, Miracle Drug, and for the first time ever, an acoustic Stuck In A Moment.

It’s tough to be objective about this show, since we had such an insanely good vantage point. Better to be subjective and just say this is easily one of the most memorable shows I’ve ever seen. I can’t imagine the December shows being any better… but I’ll still go see ‘em anyway.

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