by David S.

I'm a young U2 fan, only 19, so this was my first U2 show. I went to the show with my Dad, and on our drive up to Chicago from central Indiana we heard on the radio that the show would be filmed for the tour's DVD, and that it was Bono's birthday. So that really heightened our excitement. We got a hotel room and rode the L downtown, then hopped a bus to the UC. We got to our seats just as KOL come out. The arena was maybe half full, but it was still exciting. I hadn't been to a concert on this scale for quite sometime. KOL were okay. I was familiar with a couple of songs, but was anxious for them to get off the stage so the main act could come out.
I had never heard the Arcade Fire's "Wake Up", but I knew something big was about to happen when the song come on. A bunch of people started cheering, even though nothing had happened yet. Then, the lights went down, and my heart started beating a lot faster.
There was Bono! Small, but in person. Actually, even from our upper deck seats behind the stage, you could see everything very well. Only the very tip of the ellipse was obstructed from view.
COBL was a brilliant opener. Still my favorite from HTDAAB. It was nice to hear some tunes from Boy, especially since I'm sure I was one of the youngest in the building who knew the words to An Cat Dubh. (Or even knew what it meant.) The crowd was a little timid to start, but the awesome stripped-down version of Elevation got 'em going, Beautiful Day was sure-fire, but everyone went crazy as soon as Larry stormed into Sunday Bloody Sunday. It was during that song that I really noticed those in the ellipse start jumping up and down.
I loved the abrupt transition into Bullet the Blue Sky. I know some don't, but I think it's ingenious for them to come up with something original like that after playing the song at nearly every show for almost 20 years.
Obviously, the high point of the show was Streets. I know so much has already been said about the live version, but it's all very true. The album version is excellant, but I wouldn't put it in my top five U2 songs. However, live, no song even comes close to it. Just watching it live on TV gives me goose bumps. But in person, it was an out-of-body experience.
"One" was smooth as usual, only Bono skipped the last verse. Did anyone else notice this? Have they done this at any other show? Seriously, he went straight from "Is it too late tonight..." to "Love is a temple...." Oh well.
The Achtung Baby throwback encore was excellent. It was a like I was able to see a mini ZooTV show. Zoo Station was kind of weak, but I still loved it. For me, the musical highpoint of the night was The Fly. It seemed like they cranked up the volume for it, and the visuals on the video curtains were amazing. What made the song for me, though, were Adam and The Edge. I had never heard the bass line resonate so much. It really added something to the song that you just can't get on the CD. And Edge's solo was his best of the night. It nearly brought tears to my eyes. Every note was perfect.
Mysterious Ways and Party Girl were awesome. You could sense that Bono was really getting into his gigantic birthday party.
The final encore kept everyone guessing. All Because of You was powerful, but I think Original of the Species struck a chord with everyone in the audience. This was the one from the album not consistantly on the set list that I really wanted to hear. It wasn't as full without the Edge on the Guitar, but his piano skills, along with the sheer beauty of the song, seemed to overwhelm the entire audience. I mean, it's not a well known song of theirs by any means, but it felt like everyone appreciated it, and simply listened in awe.
The surprise encore of Vertigo sent everyone away reeling. What a wonderful show. I can't wait to watch it on DVD.

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