by John Coughlin

I have been a die hard U2 fan since 1980 and this was my fourth time seeing the band live. It has been a long wait since the ZOOTV tour and I have been anxiously awaiting their return. I went to the show wondering if the band would live up to all the hype this tour has generated. I had good seats sitting center stage, second section back.

Fun Loving Criminals opened and played well. The sound was good and they were a good opening act. I was glad it wasn't Rage that opened.

The lighting during the show was good, especially on the arch, and the 7000 sq. ft. screen was a great idea that enabled everyone to see some good close-ups of the band but was a little off color and out of focus at times. The entrance the band made was great, they threaded their way through the crowd and opened with the hard driving beat of MOFO, followed by a great rendition of the oldest song they played off on the set, I WILL FOLLOW. Musically The band was on the money all night. The EDGE'S guitar work was as usual perfect. Larry and Adam played solidly on drums and bass respectively. BONO as usual put on a good performance although his vocals were hard to pick up and seemed to be slightly out of sync with the band during a few of the songs like, Even Better Than The Real Thing, Where The Streets Have No Name and With Or Witout You. All the material off of POP sounded great especially MOFO, MIAMI, Gone, Disco. Songs that sounded exceptional were Pride, Until The End Of The World (Edge jammed), Hold Me Thrill Me, and a excellent funked out version of Mysterious Ways. I thought the lemon was cool and liked the entrance for the encore.

I liked the song selection and the mix of old and new. It was good show that I wish could have lasted a little longer, for $52.00 it seemed a little short.

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