by Jeff

Drove in from Detroit for Saturday's show. This was the 10th time I have seen the band perform (the 4th in Chicago). I can honestly say this show was somewhat uneventful for me. I usually look forward to Chicago shows because the band pulls out "all the stops" and you see many surprises. Three main things were missing from a typical U2 show that I witnessed on Saturday night.
1) band interaction with the crowd. Minus the conducting Bono did when the audience took over a chorus, Bono did not interact with the Edge or the crowd. No one was pulled on stage. Everything seemed mechanical, except for Adam.
2) Flow of songs. In past concerts, many songs flow into another, like Bad into Streets, ect. Every song seemed to end, pause, then start the next song.
-The taping of the DVD may have caused the above events, but still is no excuse.
3) The band seemed a little off in the beginning of the show. Examples: Elevation and Miracle Drug. I would expect this within the 1st couple shows of a new tour but not a month into a tour. I know the band likes to reinvent songs (for example, the new version of Bullet was great) but the spoken word Vertigo and the new Elevation let me unsatisfied.
I guess the best part of the show for me would be the ZOO TV set as an encore. I was great to hear Zoo Station again.
To many it was a great show. As a matter of fact, I discussed the show with someone who saw U2 for the first time on Saturday. They thought it was the best concert they had witnessed. And that is the point, for the long term fan like me (14 years), the show was just average, especially with Propaganda fan club seats in section 322.
I hope the band "elevates" their game in the fall when I see them in Boston, Detroit, and Vegas.

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