by Sami Pöyry

Whoa! What a night.

This was my first U2 concert and a dream come true. I travelled from Finland just to see this concert and while it cost a lot of money, it was worth of every penny.

I got a good place in the field, just two meters from the B-stage. The first supporting band The Soundtrack of our Lives is a great band and they really rock live, but thirty minutes is too short a time to get into their groove. Razorlight was okay, I guess, but nothing really interesting. Then the anticipation started to rise in the stadium...

As U2 hit the stage I went nuts and so did the other 58 476 people there too. Vertigo is just a perfect opener for a concert. I had avoided reading the setlists but I did know they would play some old stuff in the beginning. So, when the opening chords of I Will Follow ringed out, I was a little bit disappointed as I had waited for An Cat Dubh or some other more rare song. The song rocked anyway, but after that as they launched into The Electric Co. (sadly missing "The Cry" -intro) I finally understood the fact that I had actually known ever since I knew I would see them live: This was destined to be the gig of my life. Bono's ad-libbing at the end was just great.

Elevation, New Year's Day and Beautiful Day continued with the high energy of the show. As they ended Beautiful Day with a snippet from Blackbird, something inside me clicked. An undescribable wave of emotion shook me and as I Still Haven't Found began, I started crying incontrollably.

And the tears continued coming through All I Want Is You, City of Blinding Lights and Miracle Drug. Then I picked myself up and kept myself together during Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own. Well, at least to the point where Bono just kept singing the word 'sing' in the sentence 'Can-you-hear-me-when-I-sing'. Then I collapsed again for the rest of the song. That part of the song was incredibly high on emotion and I think I saw tears in Bono's eyes too during Still Haven't Found.

The dark part of the show was powerful and I love the way they keep changing Bullet's appearance on every tour. This version was intentionally lazy in some prowling way. It send chills down my spine when Bono laconicly sang 'hooray, hooray'. It is amazing how emotionally precise singer he has become. He might not hit the high notes the way he did, but the emotional power is huge. And his voice actually WAS in top-shape that night.

As Bullet faded out and The Edge stepped behind the keyboards and the first notes came out I thought they would play Running To Stand Still, but what followed was a magnificent version of Miss Sarajevo. Gosh, how well Bono did the Pavarotti part.

Then came the usual Pride-Streets-One -part. Though I love every one of those songs, I didn't fully connect to them emotionally. Still amazing stuff however and I guess it was just that I had spend all my tears earlier in the show. The Human Rights Declaration was chillingly represented. After One it started raining and we had time to put our raincoats on before the band returned to the stage. The rain didn't harm the atmosphere at all, It just relaxed the band and the audience more, if there was any more to be relaxed. And we got to hear 'Rain' too!

Then followed the Zoo-flashback with Zoo Station and The Fly. Dear Lord how they rocked. Brilliant stuff, unlike what followed. With or Without You was just a wrong song in a wrong place. It doesn't fit in its slot at all as it cuts the energy. One of the best aspects of the concert was how they glided from one emotion to another so subtly but at this point they really failed. I just wish they had played The Original of the Species instead.

All Because of You was good, but it didn't rock the way it should have done. I think it comes better off on the record. As a drummer I must admire how light Larry's playing looked and how it still was delivered with awesome power. The replacing of Yahweh with Party Girls was just brilliant. I think Yahweh is the only weaker song on Atomic Bomb but I would have loved to hear it live though. But Party Girl... Oh my, what a great solo from The Edge and wonderful participation from the audience. We did our 'oohs' just like on Under a Blood Red Sky. The song loosened up the ending and the reprise of Vertigo was one hell of a party. What an unbelievable night and what a surreal feeling to see the house lights come up again.

I'd like to point out that the symbiosis between the band and their set with all those lights and video walls is second to none. They used the LCD-wall to reach the maximum emotional impact, whether it was a question of using it subtly or blasting off. Stage Designer Willie Williams has truly deserved his place with the best in the world. It has to be said though that the greatest visual aspect is the Lord Adam Clayton, the coolest bassist on the planet. It almost makes me want to be a bass player too.

All in all, thank you U2 for offering me the best two hours and fifteen minutes of my life.

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