by Mike

City of Blinding Lights – Great opener. I had read all of the posts/opinions on this and decided to wait for my first show to comment. The crowd got right into it and Bono played it up perfectly.

Vertigo – Awesome. This song was supposed to be played live. Combines with COBL for a great 1-2 punch to start the show.

Elevation – It is by no means their greatest song but it should be a rocker. Not when they play it the way they did last night. The crowd was pumped and singing the ‘wooo-hooo-hooo’ part to start it off. Then Bono delivers a rather flat first verse with minimal band back up. At this point they could still have saved the song but they play another verse in this monotone style before kicking it up a notch. Some of the crowd had tuned out by this point. It was too early in the show to change pace like this. This style worked great with ‘The Fly’ during the last tour. It does not work for ‘Elevation’ on this tour. Hit us with 3-4 heavy/loud tunes right away and leave everyone reeling. U2 drops the ball on this one.

Gloria – Awesome! Such a treat. Too bad everyone around me had such a blank look on their faces. A highlight for me.

The Ocean – Many more blank stares around me. I can’t say I really blame them. Not a classic track by anyone’s definition. The song was slow for this point of the show. From a personal standpoint it was nice to hear (once). I’m hoping for some of the other ‘Boy’ tracks at my next show.

Beautiful Day – What can you say? Anytime you see U2 live it is a beautiful day. The band was firing on all cylinders for this one. A nice little ‘Ultraviolet’ snippet at the end.

Miracle Drug – Played slower than I would have liked. I thought this track was like ‘Walk On’ and could have been sped up or slowed down live (compared to on the album). I’m not disappointment but was hoping for a sped up version.

Sometimes You Can’t make It On Your Own – You can really tell Bono pours himself into this song every night. Very emotional. What was with the ‘walking man’ on the light screen? If you can’t find something cool to do with your effects don’t do anything.

Love and Peace or Else – A Tour De Force! This song takes on a life of it’s own live. Larry on the tom-tom singing the chorus with Bono was great to see. It was never a favorite of mine on the album but I listen to it now with a whole new perspective.

Sunday Bloody Sunday – Did anyone else notice that awkward pause towards the end of the song. Bono seemed to lose the crowd and the energy level just dropped. Not the best rendition of SBS that I have heard. Maybe this one needs to go into a rotation with a few nights off.

Bullet The Blue Sky – The intensity of the song did not come through. I did not like the new ending with “Johnny comes marching home’. Re-write the El Salvador lines if you have to (something more relevant perhaps) but the closing of the song “Into the arms…of America” delivers the punch that last nights version lacked. See above for SBS (rotation) and SYCMIOYO (light screen usage). When the image of the fighter plane showed up I though something cool would happen. Instead if flew along for a bit and the screens go back up.

Running to Standstill – Wow. Edge on the organ. A very powerful moment in the show. Always a favorite of mine. Nice to see it back for this tour.

Pride in the Name of Love – The song was going great and the crowd was loving it but again there seemed to be an awkward interaction with Bono. He seemed to be looking for more of a response to his “global dream’ speech.

Where the Streets have no Name – Another peak. I could care less if the lights weren’t red. This song was meant to be played live and loud!!!

One – A personal favorite. The cell phones were cool to see. I missed the ‘bonus’ verse but still loved the song.

Zoo Station – I was skeptical about this one going into the show. I did not want my memories of Zoo TV tainted. The boys did not disappoint. Edge played most of this right in front of us. A surprise highlight.

The Fly – It rocked but… the words flashing on the screen was done before and done better on Zoo TV. Come up with some new visuals.

Mysterious Ways – Sounded good. I was hoping to see the dancing girl on the light screen. I had to settle for one on stage. A girl gets to live out the fantasy of every other girl in attendance and dance with Bono (she stays on stage for WOWY too).

With or Without You – A nice surprise. Made my girlfriends night.

All Because of You – This song rocked! It is great on the album and it is incredible live. A fantastic effort from the boys on this one. This song alone was worth the price of admission. The people behind me (fan club members) actually left early and missed this encore.

Yahweh – A nice sing along with the band. Larry looks silly on the key board but the song sounded really good. There was confusion on stage before this song. Seems they were going to play it on the ramp but were running late.

40 – It was nice to hear this song but I prefer a bit more of an upbeat closer.

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