"Any secrets you'd like to confess, Larry Mullen, Jr.?"

So I know you're all sitting around wondering to yourselves "when's he gonna post about the U2 concert?

How about now?



I don't know if it's one of those old saws or not, but I imagine a lot of people, after waiting a long time for something or other, can build up pretty high expectations in their mind, and whatever it is may not live up to them. The risk is especially high in my case, considering I've been listening to recordings of the tour from the day afer it started up until my recent month-long exile. There's a lot at stake, expecially considering how much it costs to attend a U2 show.

With that said, I'm happy to report that when one is dealing with U2, one's expectations are rarely let down. 'Twas a wonderful show, complete with some golden oldies like 'Gloria,' side-project track 'Miss Sarajevo,' and my new favorite, 'Original of the Species.' At no addtional charge to us, the audience, we even got a cover of John Lennon's 'Instant Karma,' which was surprisingly good. Part of me would have liked one of their own songs, say 'Crumbs From Your Table,' but I don't think I'm going to complain. I think it'd be too easy to nit pick about what was played and what wasn't instead of simply enjoying the show for what it was.

I will admit, though, that on a purely emotional level, this show didn't compare to the Chicago show of 2001. But on an overall level, this might have been better, maybe because the new material is a lot stronger. The house was full, the band was on, save for a timing mishap during 'Bullet,' and all was well.

And the light curtain is very drool worthy.

Did I mention they played 'Original of the Species?' Man, I love that song.

Lots of cool moments during the show: the light curtain, especially suring 'Vertigo,' Bono going ape-shit on his little drum during 'Love and Peace,' the little kid Bono brought on stage during 'Sunday Bloody Sunday,' the "old geezer" playing piano on 'Yahweh,' and Bono and Edge sharing a mad dash* around the stage during 'Until the End of the World.'

One thing I was worried about was that after waiting so long just to get to the show, it would fly by in a blink. Thankfully, it really didn't seem to zip along too fast, so I was able to soak in every moment.

Even better, the seats were dynamite. Pretty good, considering I let the Ticketmaster website do all the hard work.

The only real downer is that now I've got no U2 to look forward to. For the past nine months, it was always there, waiting in the wings. Now that the show's over, it's created a bit of a void. Thankfully, we've got back-to-back 'Tones shows and a couple of Mouth shows early next year.

And hey, more recordings of U2 to look forward to!



She loves you yeah, yeah, yeah
Dave




*Odds are good that Bono would have caught up with Mr. The Edge if Edge hadn't stopped behind Larry's drum kit. Still, I've never seen him up there, and having the entire band clustered together at the end of the song around the drums was pretty snazzy.