by Kristin

11:00 pm on Monday night after the show. I get out of the United Center and head towards the GA line to sign my name on the GA sheet. My friend is waiting for me and we prepare for the 16 hours that we have to spend waiting for moment they will let us in for Tuesday's show. Yes, it was cold and rainy(we did sleep in our car, though), but the pure joy I am feeling now overpowers any tiredness or achiness of waiting. We finally get let in the next day about 6pm and my friend and I claim spots in the second row directly in front of Bono. I couldn't believe this opportunity of being able to see them so close.

Garbage is a great band, even if they did mess up. The guitar player's guitar went out and the machine that it was plugged into started to smoke. Shirley Manson was cracking up and told us that the sound guys said into her earpiece that they didn't have "too big" of a problem. Shirley said she would, instead, take questions from the audience(those closest to her in the heart). The girl she asked said "Play a song for Argentina". I thought that was pretty funny. After many attempts to get her to sing solo or get the drummer to do a drum solo, they kinda played Day Tripper by The Beatles. They got the guitar working with 5 minutes left in their set and played I'm Only Happy, which Shirley appropriately dedicated to Argentina. Very entertaining.

The goal...The goal...is Elevation!
What soul, what energy, what an opener. My friend and I started to shed a tear when Bono first appeared before us because we had never been that close to our hero before. It is a moment in time that will and cannot ever be forgotten. The Edge also had the same t-shirt on as me, which, of course, we had planned! After a few of the beginning songs, Bono spoke that he and the boys were thinking of moving to Chicago. He said Edge could open a grocery store, but edge suggested a hardware store, instead. Adam could be Larry's security guard, but I forget what he said Larry would be doing. Then he said that he, himself, would run a ??????. No one knew what the heck his lingo meant, until he said something about putting kids in it. Then we all shouted, "A Daycare", and he said, yes, a daycare.

I missed Bad in the setlist, but I was so happy when they played Desire, All I Want Is You, Stay, and Wake up Dead Man. Stay is such a moving song and definitely should "stay" in the setlist for every gig. During Pride, this guy behind me handed Bono a MLK poster, which he went and tried to place it in fron of the drumkit, but ended up needing some tape. He mentioned what a production that turned out to be. Bono's speech before "One" was very moving. He talked about being a young lad in Dublin and taking two buses to a small coffee shop where he would read. He said that one time he went, an hour after he left, the street and surrounding area was bombed. He said that a lot of Irish Catholics were put in the category of these bad people(I don't remember the full story), and that was unfair because there were only a few extremists doind the evil deeds. He tied this experience to the September 11th incident and that we must not blame Islam or muslims as a whole, something that I have believed strongly in since 9-11. Bono then went into "One", which was amazing and made it even more so since I could see every expression Bono made during it. He really does deeply believe in U2's songs. None are throwaway. Each song touches each person differently, and that is why we all have a favorite.

The concert ended, Grace came onto the overhead speakers, and the heart began to be dissembled as I worked my way up the stairs to leave. We made our way to a few open seats that looked out onto the heart on the 100 level. I savored that last look from the last of my Elevation shows. I remembered the May 12th show, my first U2 show ever. Then the May 15th show, which gave me front row seats in front of The Edge and a few setlist surprises (11o'clock Tick Tock and Out of Control). October 15th show, was like a reunion with an old friend, except you are both older and wiser. October 16th show, smack dab, second row in front of rock's most passionate and truthful performer. What more could I have asked for, I thought, as I looked at the empty stage. Absolutely nothing. I was blessed 4 times to see U2 and I know this. The music had stopped and the show was over, but I could still hear the melodies and words spoken that night linger in my head, heart, and soul. Yes, U2 did touch my soul. I don't just say this because the Elevation tour was "supposed to be about soul, but because it really "was" about soul. I snapped my last photograph of the heart and stage and headed outside thinking that I was not only witness to the greatest show on earth, but a full participant. I had felt that spirit in the air that Bono had talked about being in the building. I pictured Bono singing Kite that night, "Did I waste it. Not so much I couldn't taste it...", and I shook my head and said "No". U2 gave me so much more than what I had paid to see them. The shows have ended, but no one can ever take away the experience. Thank You.

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