by Steve

I couldn't agree more with those of you who have commented on it not starting off as a very "Beautiful Day", as the wait in GA line was indeed quite brutal. Cold and Windy beyond belief for the middle of October, even in Chicago. Made all the more difficult by the fact that there were indeed numerous line jumpers, some apparently 'authorized' by the fans handing out the now infamous numbered playing cards. We counted the line in front of us on four different occasions, @ 10am, 12pm, 2pm and 4pm, and not once were there more than 200 people in front of us. And that included counting every tent and blanket as four people (whether occupied or not), every empty chair, every live or dead body, even every dead squirrel on the side of the road. Yet, once the cards were handed out, we got numbers 348 & 349. Once the line actually tightened up, things only got worse, as at least 400+ people were in front of us. It's too bad that u2 and their management company didn't do the right thing for all venues, which would have been to hand out wristbands at 1pm (as was done at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee in May). Oh well...on to the show.

Garbage was a very good opening act for u2, and sounded really good, technical difficulties aside. Something that actually seemed to work in their favor, smoking amp and all. It was nice to get the chance to see them play in front of a large audience, after having seen them play in much smaller venues around the Madison area. Needless to say, they played pretty much their 'greatest hits', which was more than OK. The lyrical changes on "Only Happy When it Rains" (to "only happy when it breaks") after the meltdown was pretty funny.

Lots of anticipation after they left the stage, however, as of course we were all there to see u2 rock the house. Including lots of folks who felt entitled to step in front of those of us who had already staked out spots along the rail on the outer front left side of the heart. Many, many thanks to everyone in our area, as none of those self-important cutters got in, much to their chagrin. (Whatever possesses people to think that butting into an already occupied spot is utterly beyond me, but I guess that courtesy and politeness are an art long ago lost on many----see the GA line cutters above as well!)

The show itself was very good, although I would tend to agree with some of the other reviews that have indicated that u2 was not in top form tonight. Having seem them numerous times over the past 15 years, I would not rate tonight's show in the top 4-5. Sadly, Bono's voice has gotten progressively worse as this tour has gone on, and that was more than likely the reason behind the brevity of the concert. One hour and 45 minutes seemed way, way too short and left me feeling very much as if there should have been at least a little bit more. Actually, given that it may be their last time ever playing Chicago, lots of us were expecting a break in protocol and a true second encore for this second show, which the crowd was definitely cheering their hearts out for.


It was really nice to hear some of the nuggets that they did play, including "Desire", "Stay" and "All I Want is You", but the exclusion of "The Fly", "Mysterious Ways" and a few others was very noticeable. The older songs that they played were quite good, but it would have been so very special to have them pull out a few real gems, say songs like "Exit" or even "Gone". (I've completely given up on ever hearing "Acrobat", a song never played live for some strangely unknown reason. Which is still a mystery to me, as it would be so incredibly powerful. A real showstopper, in my humble opinion. Oh well....) All in all, a good show, yet one that left me feeling quite melancholy. And nostalgic, as it still seems like only yesterday that they were rocking the rafters off of the Aragon Ballroom and people were still singing "40" at least ten minutes after the show was over. "40" resonated for quite a long time out in the late night streets of Chicago that magical night not so very long ago.

This 3rd leg of the tour has a feeling of goodbye written all over it, as in there may never ever be another major u2 tour folks. It's been a wonderful ride guys! Thanks for all of the amazingly good times and memories. And here's hoping that this isn't indeed the end, but only a wayside on the road for even better things yet to come.

Don't ever let the bastards grind you down!!!

Peace to all!

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