by ancatdubh

My 13th show, dating back to 1985. Always great to see them in my hometown of Philadelphia.

Overall, a solid performance. Bono sounded great. Adam is flat out cool, a master at what he does. Larry is energetic, pounding (and I mean pounding) away back there. His keyboard performance duing Yaweh (Yaweh, by the way, was simply awesome - it put that song on the map) Edge steals the show, however. He's just electric, a musical genious. He showed his versatility during Running and 40.

COBL was a good opener. Probably would be just as good a closer to the opening set. I thought Vertigo and ABOY would've been a good way to open (a la Elevation and BD during the last tour). Needless to say I enjoyed An Cat Dubh/Into the Heart. Only because mcuh of the crowd did not realize or appreciate this special treat would I say move it further down the set list, but don't drop it.

Miracle Drug is an emotional song. One suggestion for the band. Tell the crowd what its about as an intro. There wouldn't be a dry eye in the house. As for Sometimes, what I can I say, Bono hit the note and you can feel his emotion throughout that song.

As for the war triology, LPOE is incredible live and Bono pounding the drums at the end of that song, just prior to SBS, I'm speechless. Incredible!

Running to Stand Still!!! What a special treat. The crowd in my hometown, I'm sad to say, missed the boat. Many of them sat down in my section and, in fact, were yelling at us to do the same. Are you kidding me? U2 is playing, FOR US, one of their greatest songs (and playing it well, I might add). Edge on the piano, Bono on the harmonica. Just awesome stuff! I will agree with an earlier review. The dedication to the troops, while it has its place in the show, is a bit out of place here.

Streets is always awesome. You could sense an otherwise lackluster crowd come to life during Pride (which, although I could personally do without, seems to have its place during any U2 show) and that life poured over into Streets. IMO, Streets would be a good one to begin the first encore. It would really set the stage for the second half of the show. With that said, Zoo Station was, as everyone has already said, great. Sounded just like 92.

I was happy with the 40 ending. Would I have preferred them ending the show with Bad (Chicago 4)? Of course, but I understand why it played out the way it did. Did I mention Yaweh is now on the map?!

I agree with an earlier review. A few ecoustic songs out on the elipse in the middle of the show would hit the spot. Perhaps Kite, Yawheh, Stay. Then, they could take us right into to Bad and walk off the stage, only to return a few minutes later with Streets. I'm dreaming I know.

A quick comment on One. Its a great song. I did, however, miss "can you hear us."

I'm there next week and still holding out hope Kite will make an appearance. if not Kite, Bad? WOWY?

As for the crowd, I suspect the pricing of the tix contributes to a lot of less than casual fans. Shocked people were sitting down at a U2 show. The band comes around, what?, once in 4-5 years. Shocked at people even thinking about leaving (let alone leaving) before the lights go on and we know for sure our singing "how long to sing this song" is not getting them out for a third encore.

Finally, I did not have any problems with the sound. I was disappointed for those who did experience that. I've heard its been less than desirable in other venues during this tour. Perhaps it remains a work in progress.

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