by zoofly

Another great night, but it took some time for me to realize just how awesome it really was. I was in the ellipse for the show on the 20th, and my expectations were kinda doused once I knew I wasn't going to have such a spot on the floor this night. I was 7 people back from the tip of the ellipse, and while it offered a spectacular view of all things going on in front of me, i was having trouble diggin' it. Bono was though, right from the start all the way to the finish. Sang bits of Rod Stewarts 'Do you think Im sexy' at the start of Elevation, and Larry and Adam were in stitches. He made a point to hit the big notes, often removing his ear monitors. Larry was feeling better, he sang on Elevation as usual, but something he didnt do in the previous nights show. Edge was magnificent during Electric Co., doing 'guitar gods' justice i tell you! Adam also came around a few times, really staying for a while at the end of the ellipse during 'Streets' soaking it all in. But what about me? I hadn't moved an inch, I hadnt come close to blowing out my voice...what was the deal?

Then something happened to me. 'Bad' kicked off the encore (surprisingly) and it was amazing how they did 'The First Time' right in the middle of it (it wasnt just a verse, it was the entire song using the 'Bad' tempo), then after Bono has us calling back to him on the "love" parts they bring it right back into 'Bad' and I was in. Everything felt different from that point onward. It was almost like being in the ellipse again, U2 grabbed hold of me! My first time hearing 'Original of the Species' and it works so well with Edge on piano, that was a treat. 'With or Without You' then blew everyones hearts (and voices) wide open. That was a vintage U2 'moment' even jaded 'non-fans' were all abuzz around me. 'Wild Horses' was pretty good, and another great surprise (I got to hear the version in Boston which sounded more upbeat with Edge playing an electric, rather than tonights acoustic) but looking at it, it worked better in this context when you look at what they were trying to do with this set of encores. The past shows really begin with a rock out blast of songs from the early to mid 90's, but this night was different, they wanted to go for the gut, not in the classic rock and roll sense, but in a classic U2 sense, of going in through your heart and soul. 'Fast Cars' might have been the one oddball in there, but once the rather large in stature woman joined Bono for some dancing, it turned it into something sweet and moving. I felt myself in that womans heels, I think many people did. There was still that connection, even from a song many people still know little or nothing about. 'All Because of You' became a celebration of the entire night, of the band, of the songs, and of our fellow fans. '40', I don't have the vocabulary to express how amazing that came off. It was just ON BABY! I've read people say that the Tuesday 20th show was better than the 4 shows in May, (I did have an amazing time during that show overall maybe had more fun) but if they had seen this one on the 21st, they'd most definetly have to revise such a statement. This encore selection and performance of songs has no equal in my mind.
Thank You Chicago, thank you fans (Holly and Sophia!!!!), and thank you to U2.

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