by Motorboat Jones

Keep in mind when reading this that U2 is my fav band by leaps and bounds,
but yesterday just kinda' sucked. The previous 2 shows that I'd gone to on
this tour had ended up giving me 2 of the finest days of my life, religious
experiences even, but yesterday was an altogether different thing. This is
also in chronological order so I don't have to decide which is worst...

1) Paying $127 apiece for the GA tix I and my 3 friends had.

2) Getting there at 5:15 in the AM only to find out that I'm 104 in line
and people were allowed to camp out even though I had called the UC in
advance and been told it would not be allowed.

3) Having our tent break because of the winds at about 10 AM.

4) Paying $36 altogether for parking for our 2 vehicles.

5) Being asked to turn off the U2 music I had playing on my stereo by a
group of people in the GA line because they "wanted to be primed for the
show, and listening to U2 music would ruin it for them."

6) People freaking out at 4:30 about line jumpers, which consequently
caused about a 10 person group to perform shakedowns.

7) Garbage blowing their effects unit and cutting their set short by 2
songs.

8) Bono having little/no voice and having to sing from the top of his mouth
all evening.

9) My wife developing an extreme headache/feeling faint due to the cloud of
potsmoke that had gathered in the heart, subsequently causing us to leave
and sit for 11 songs on the side of the stage next to the heart ramp with no
view. She reacts poorly to such things because of a migraine/seizure
disorder.

10) The Edge struggling with his playing due to having to drop every song a
few keys for Bono to try to sing.

11) U2 cutting their setlist short by 3 or 4 songs and ending their set
after only 1 hr. 45 mins.

This was my first and last U2 show I'll see in Chicago. Everytime I go see
an act in Chi-town it just doesn't add up. Bands put on better shows
elsewhere. No offense people, but the Indy and Detroit shows had fans in
much better spirits, showing much more emotion, and handling themselves much
better. Bono even said something to the effect that the "people in front
don't like me."... so he went and sang at the tip of the heart for 3 songs.
Bono was struggling, and nobody gave him any energy to feed off of. This
all probably had something to do with the fact that about half the people in
the heart were trashed/high, which at the previous concerts I don't remember
there being but a few. Definitely the weakest show of the 3 that I've seen
this tour. I'm sure that SLC is going to be 10 times better, and if anyone
went last night for their first U2 experience, please go again, just not to
Chi-town, because it can be so much better.

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