by Matt

Well, U2's first show on the East Coast this year, and it was the standard set...but it was an awesome show; I felt like I was in a small club...the smoky atmosphere throughout was cool.

Before I give you the show review, here are some true (and my sarcasm will ring through here) accounts of the STRESS of the GA floor process:

First, I think ever member of U2.com showed up for this concert. We arrived at noon and were already 200th in line. Okay, okay...random selection into the ellipse. No big deal - I'm in U2.com, my line will be shorter...NOT! When they lined up the two separate lines for entrance, the U2.com line was as long as the non-member line. They told us that the fanclub line would move faster...and it did - we split into two lines as we approached the door, and then merged back to one. What was annoying was that people who were WAY BACK in the original GA line where going right to the front of the GA line to get in while they set the line up(it probably would have been better for me to deny my membership, I would have gotten in faster). They most annoying part of the whole thing was this - I live in Philadelphia. Bought my tickets through the fan club, no problem. The people behind us in line were from Cleveland, the people in front of us...Dallas. Who gets into the ellipse? They do of course! We go to the main floor only to find it's 5 - 10 rows deep alread outside of the heart (and we were only 200th in line!). There were like 50 people inside that oval...which was annoying to watch that fill up during the Kings of Leon set.

Here's my advice - Do Not Waste Your Time waiting in line all day for GA. Your chances of getting in that ellipse are no better than if you show up at 8:00 PM and get lucky then.

I would like to thank the straw-hatted moron for his jumping around un-controlably during the show...those of you on the left side of the outer ellipse and were 'lucky' enough to bounce off of him know who I am talking about. I found pleasure in watching you fall four times when you tried to crowd surf.

Okay, onto the show...

The City of Blinding Lights is by far a great opener (I liked it even better than Elevation from the last tour). Love and Peace is much better live than on the album. It seemed like there were some sound issues during Vertigo...the band seemed 'off' on their performance of it (anyone else notice?) - but it still rocked.

The Achtung Encore was alright. I would prefer End of the World and Ultraviolet or something like that, much much more. But, again, I'm not in the band.

Despite what past reviews of the song said, I truly enjoyed Yaweh at the end of the show. I would prefer it in the middle with another acoustic song with all four band members at the edge of the ellipse, but you can't have everything.

Bono said that they would see Philly in the fall when they return (losing sight of the fact that they will be back next Sunday the 22nd). He also spoke about Philly's role in the Live Aid concert in 1985, something that he thanked us for. I did not get the dedication of Runnning to Stand Still to the troops...and the Human rights doctrine at the end of it? That would have made more sense to play it during Pride.

Overall, the whole show is U2 at its best. What amazes me is that I loved the show despite it not being a Greatest Hits show (I'm glad they don't make it a greatest hits show). It keeps it fresh and intriguing.

Looking forward to the swamps of jersey on Wednesday, and Philly next sunday.

Return to previous page | Post a Review of this show!