Now maybe not everyone does this, but as someone infatuated with live music and lists, in moments of my mind wandering, I’ve crafted various bucket lists of which bands I want to see. Since I started crafting such lists several years ago, one band always unequivocally held the top slot, Irish rock gods U2. Though I have had some terrible luck getting tickets to the big events of the year, I secured my ability to get a crop of tickets to the U2 360° Tour by signing up for the U2 fan club. The various little perks and extended web access seemed inane to me, I just wanted the opportunity to purchase top notch seats for their September show at Fed-Ex Field before the general sale.
By the day of the concert, half of the original people that I purchased tickets for were no longer coming, though it was pretty easy to find other people to go in their place. After a little arm twisting on my part as to our hour of arrival at the show, I convinced Joey, Katie, and Mike to get in line with me by mid-afternoon so that we could secure a good spot at the show. We metroed out to Fed Ex Field and hopped in line by 4pm, only 1,100 people from the front. We killed the time chatting about U2 and world politics, while avoiding the throngs of do-gooders from Greenpeace and the ONE Campaign who tried to convince us that we could save the world if we just gave them our email addresses.
At 5pm, the doors opened and we rushed through the stadium towards the field, surveying the territory for the best vantage point we could find. The tour was named the 360° Tour, because of the new special stage that was developed for the show, a spaceship like platform with spider-esque legs jutting out to each corner. Though there is a clear front and back, a circular stage surrounded by a walkway allowed the band to showcase their talents to every corner of the venue. Much to my delight, I found that we were early enough to gain entrance into the “inner circle,” located between the stage and the outer walkway. The four of us settled into a cozy little spot in the crowd towards the back right side of this circle about 40 feet from the stage.
Another friend of mine, Nico, had come to the show separately with some other friends. Fully committed to the experience, he had gotten in line first thing in the morning in hopes of getting one of the best seats in the house. He had positioned himself at the back of the circle, halfway between the left and right sides. There wasn’t really enough room where Nico was standing for my group to join him, though he and I were able to briefly chat. Though my group showed up hours after he did, I didn’t think our seats were too much worse than his. Schiz, another friend of mine, for who I had purchased tickets was planning on meeting us. However, work and traffic kept him from getting to the venue in time for the start of the show, so the inner circle was already full by the time he arrived. Without our additional friends, we chatted with surrounding fans in anticipation for the show. This worked out well as we were able to get a large group of people standing in the area to agree to act as a single group so as to ensure that outsiders didn’t try to weasel their way into our spot, particularly when someone had to venture to the bathroom. The crowd was a mixture of young and old, including our group of first timers as well as seasoned veterans whose love of U2 began on the War and Joshua Tree tours in the 80’s. The thirtysomething couple next to me were obvious long time fans and was trying to instill their love of U2 in their seven year old daughter, who they hoisted onto their shoulders for the entire show.
As day turned to evening, we waited for the opener, award-winning English alternative rock trio, Muse, to take the stage. Openers for U2 would normally be headliners in their own right, so it was clear that Muse were seasoned performers. Though I didn’t specifically recognize any of their songs, their powerful guitar rifts and their singer’s vibrato voice reverberated well throughout the stadium and excited the crowd. After 45 minutes of lights and music the crowd was primed for the main act.
Again, the lights went down and the crowd cheered wildly as lights flashed and smoked billowed onto the stage. Then the spot lights redirected towards a lone figure hurrying across the stage: Larry Mullen Jr. sitting down to his drum kit. He pounded an unfamiliar intro as Adam Clayton and The Edge took up positions to my right and left, respectively. Finally, Bono sauntered to the center microphone as Larry’s drum beat became more familiar and Adam and The Edge finally started pulling strings. Bono then grabbed the microphone and began the first verse of “Breathe” as lights flooded the stage and the stadium erupted with sound.
I was thoroughly enjoying the spot that we had picked out. Most of my attention focused on the band, yet I was still far enough back that I could enjoy the lights on the stage and the projections on the LED jumbotron. Since their new album, No Line on the Horizon, isn’t my favorite in their catalogue (as I expect is the case for most fans), hearing three songs of it early in the set was a smart choice on their part, helping to build anticipation for the staples tunes we were all there to see. A few songs in, we began hearing more classic selections like the danceable “Mysterious Ways”, the gospel influenced “I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For”, and the sound effect laden “Elevation.” By this point I was already jumping up and down and dancing enthusiastically as the rest of my group watched in amusement at how excited I was to be at the show. More than once I noticed that I was the only one in the immediately vicinity dancing or that my head rose above all others when I jumped up and down in excitement.
Periodically, each member of the band, individually or in pairs, would make their way to the outer stage, still wirelessly mike'd, to get a little closer to the crowd. Though they would often be facing away from us at this point, this would be the closest we would get to any of the band members during the show. Since we were towards the back of the section, almost against the back railing, sometimes it was within 10 feet. Often, we’d rush towards each band member, causing our positions within the audience to shift slightly. U2 chose a set list that carefully ramped the crowd up, then brought it back down, interlacing slower, melodic songs like “Your Blue Room”, “Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of,” and “The Unforgettable Fire” with more upbeat songs like “Beautiful Day” and “New Year's Day.”
Somewhere around the midpoint in the show, the multimillion dollar stage justified its expense when the tessellations that comprise the jumbotron screen spread into a massive latticed structure displaying lights and disjointed images. At the other end of the stage, Bono invited a young boy onto the walkway with him, chatted with him privately for a moment, and then proceeded to serenade the boy and the audience with “City of Blinding Lights.” Fitting since Bono once described it as “a song about innocence, naivety.” Not surprisingly, it worked well, with the slow building start providing the opportunity for him to sell the setting to the audience and the crescendo providing the opportunity for the young boy, borrowing Bono’s trademark sunglasses, to enjoy his luck parading around the stage with the rock star. Additional heart pumping songs, “Vertigo” and “I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight” bridged the gap to “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” a staple of U2 concerts featuring a militaristic drumbeat, harsh guitar rifts, and melodic harmonies. The anthem helped catapult U2 from an 80’s college band to international stardom. Originally written to describe the anguish the band felt from The Troubles in Northern Ireland, the song has since been adapted to protest more recent acts of terrorism and oppression including September 11th, the 2002 Bali Bombings, and most recently the Iranian election protests. During the song, Bono invited a Persian-looking man to help him wave the American flag on stage. Of course, this particular man happened to be wearing a turban, meaning that he was most likely a Sikh, and therefore most likely Indian not Iranian, but who knows. Besides, with the images of the Sea of Green and Persian script scrolling on the screen, just being some shade of brown was close enough for most of the audience to get the point.
After shouting “No more” a dozen or more times, the tempo slowed substantially for “MLK” and as the intro to the next song, “Walk On,” began, Bono took the opportunity to relate to the audience another political story, that of Burmese dissident Aung San Suu Kyi, who after being elected prime minister in 1990, was imprisoned by the military junta. At this point, many in the audience donned the paper masks of Suu Kyi that were distributed prior to the show. While eerie, it was a powerful message of solidarity, further promoted by a legion of Amnesty International volunteers who marched across the outer platform.
After finishing the inspiring and emotional anthem, U2 left the stage briefly while a freedom rally cry from Desmond Tutu played on the video screen, encouraging the good people of the world to act as one in the face of tyranny and subjugation. U2 returned to the stage for their rendition of “One” in furtherance of the idea of promoting human rights and social justice, with subtle hints to Bono's charitable organization, the ONE Campaign, dropped in the visual imagery of the performance.
Despite all the political and human rights messages inserted into this point of the show, none of it seemed over the top or out of place, as it was seamlessly incorporated into the performance. Just being there made me feel like the single act of attending a rock concert was a force for good and change in the world. Much of this is due to Bono’s intense passion for these causes, making it his mission to have lasting impact on the world, inspiring the audience, regardless of political affiliation, that our generation can bring an end to poverty and oppression and peacefully bring democracy to those who desire freedom. I think that even the most hardened cynics in the audience couldn’t help but feel inspired. Perhaps I should have been more liberal with my email address while waiting in line.
The political messages subdued for the final few songs as The Edge’s familiar repeating guitar arpeggio took shape in the intro of “Where the Streets Have No Name.” While it was a song that I had always loved, I had never been able to fully appreciate the throbbing bass, intentionally cracking vocals, and climactic melody until seeing it live, dancing and jumping around with the rest of the audience. I only had a moment to catch my breath during a brief encore break and “Ultra Violet (Light My Way)” before the one of the most familiar bass lines in music (for me at least) took shape for a emotional performance of “With or Without You.” A brilliantly lit microphone descended from the rafters of the stage and created a glowing red orb of light into which Bono sang. His jacket lit up equally as he grabbed the dangling mike and swung from side to side. It was only during this final crescendo when Bono lost his grip of the microphone long enough to miss a chorus of the song that I decided to get lost in the music pick up the slack for him, as did much of the rest of the audience, as we belted out the words and swayed side to side. I could tell there was a broad smile on my face that had been there for quite some time. Again, the tempo slowed as I caught my breath and the night ended with “Moment of Surrender.”
Though my expectations were high for my first U2 concert, they were all met or exceeded. My seats were great, I was surrounded by old friends and new camaraderie, the sound was intense, and the set list was perfectly crafted. It was obvious as to why U2 has been considered one of the world’s premier acts for the past two decades. Mike remarked to me on the way out as roadies were already tearing down the stage around us how effortless U2 made the performance seem, as holding the attention of almost 100,000 for two hours had now become second nature for them. And while I might have now been able to cross U2 of my bucket list, it only increased my desire to see them again in the future and cemented my appreciation for their talent.
By the day of the concert, half of the original people that I purchased tickets for were no longer coming, though it was pretty easy to find other people to go in their place. After a little arm twisting on my part as to our hour of arrival at the show, I convinced Joey, Katie, and Mike to get in line with me by mid-afternoon so that we could secure a good spot at the show. We metroed out to Fed Ex Field and hopped in line by 4pm, only 1,100 people from the front. We killed the time chatting about U2 and world politics, while avoiding the throngs of do-gooders from Greenpeace and the ONE Campaign who tried to convince us that we could save the world if we just gave them our email addresses.
At 5pm, the doors opened and we rushed through the stadium towards the field, surveying the territory for the best vantage point we could find. The tour was named the 360° Tour, because of the new special stage that was developed for the show, a spaceship like platform with spider-esque legs jutting out to each corner. Though there is a clear front and back, a circular stage surrounded by a walkway allowed the band to showcase their talents to every corner of the venue. Much to my delight, I found that we were early enough to gain entrance into the “inner circle,” located between the stage and the outer walkway. The four of us settled into a cozy little spot in the crowd towards the back right side of this circle about 40 feet from the stage.
Another friend of mine, Nico, had come to the show separately with some other friends. Fully committed to the experience, he had gotten in line first thing in the morning in hopes of getting one of the best seats in the house. He had positioned himself at the back of the circle, halfway between the left and right sides. There wasn’t really enough room where Nico was standing for my group to join him, though he and I were able to briefly chat. Though my group showed up hours after he did, I didn’t think our seats were too much worse than his. Schiz, another friend of mine, for who I had purchased tickets was planning on meeting us. However, work and traffic kept him from getting to the venue in time for the start of the show, so the inner circle was already full by the time he arrived. Without our additional friends, we chatted with surrounding fans in anticipation for the show. This worked out well as we were able to get a large group of people standing in the area to agree to act as a single group so as to ensure that outsiders didn’t try to weasel their way into our spot, particularly when someone had to venture to the bathroom. The crowd was a mixture of young and old, including our group of first timers as well as seasoned veterans whose love of U2 began on the War and Joshua Tree tours in the 80’s. The thirtysomething couple next to me were obvious long time fans and was trying to instill their love of U2 in their seven year old daughter, who they hoisted onto their shoulders for the entire show.
As day turned to evening, we waited for the opener, award-winning English alternative rock trio, Muse, to take the stage. Openers for U2 would normally be headliners in their own right, so it was clear that Muse were seasoned performers. Though I didn’t specifically recognize any of their songs, their powerful guitar rifts and their singer’s vibrato voice reverberated well throughout the stadium and excited the crowd. After 45 minutes of lights and music the crowd was primed for the main act.
Again, the lights went down and the crowd cheered wildly as lights flashed and smoked billowed onto the stage. Then the spot lights redirected towards a lone figure hurrying across the stage: Larry Mullen Jr. sitting down to his drum kit. He pounded an unfamiliar intro as Adam Clayton and The Edge took up positions to my right and left, respectively. Finally, Bono sauntered to the center microphone as Larry’s drum beat became more familiar and Adam and The Edge finally started pulling strings. Bono then grabbed the microphone and began the first verse of “Breathe” as lights flooded the stage and the stadium erupted with sound.
I was thoroughly enjoying the spot that we had picked out. Most of my attention focused on the band, yet I was still far enough back that I could enjoy the lights on the stage and the projections on the LED jumbotron. Since their new album, No Line on the Horizon, isn’t my favorite in their catalogue (as I expect is the case for most fans), hearing three songs of it early in the set was a smart choice on their part, helping to build anticipation for the staples tunes we were all there to see. A few songs in, we began hearing more classic selections like the danceable “Mysterious Ways”, the gospel influenced “I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For”, and the sound effect laden “Elevation.” By this point I was already jumping up and down and dancing enthusiastically as the rest of my group watched in amusement at how excited I was to be at the show. More than once I noticed that I was the only one in the immediately vicinity dancing or that my head rose above all others when I jumped up and down in excitement.
Periodically, each member of the band, individually or in pairs, would make their way to the outer stage, still wirelessly mike'd, to get a little closer to the crowd. Though they would often be facing away from us at this point, this would be the closest we would get to any of the band members during the show. Since we were towards the back of the section, almost against the back railing, sometimes it was within 10 feet. Often, we’d rush towards each band member, causing our positions within the audience to shift slightly. U2 chose a set list that carefully ramped the crowd up, then brought it back down, interlacing slower, melodic songs like “Your Blue Room”, “Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of,” and “The Unforgettable Fire” with more upbeat songs like “Beautiful Day” and “New Year's Day.”
Somewhere around the midpoint in the show, the multimillion dollar stage justified its expense when the tessellations that comprise the jumbotron screen spread into a massive latticed structure displaying lights and disjointed images. At the other end of the stage, Bono invited a young boy onto the walkway with him, chatted with him privately for a moment, and then proceeded to serenade the boy and the audience with “City of Blinding Lights.” Fitting since Bono once described it as “a song about innocence, naivety.” Not surprisingly, it worked well, with the slow building start providing the opportunity for him to sell the setting to the audience and the crescendo providing the opportunity for the young boy, borrowing Bono’s trademark sunglasses, to enjoy his luck parading around the stage with the rock star. Additional heart pumping songs, “Vertigo” and “I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight” bridged the gap to “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” a staple of U2 concerts featuring a militaristic drumbeat, harsh guitar rifts, and melodic harmonies. The anthem helped catapult U2 from an 80’s college band to international stardom. Originally written to describe the anguish the band felt from The Troubles in Northern Ireland, the song has since been adapted to protest more recent acts of terrorism and oppression including September 11th, the 2002 Bali Bombings, and most recently the Iranian election protests. During the song, Bono invited a Persian-looking man to help him wave the American flag on stage. Of course, this particular man happened to be wearing a turban, meaning that he was most likely a Sikh, and therefore most likely Indian not Iranian, but who knows. Besides, with the images of the Sea of Green and Persian script scrolling on the screen, just being some shade of brown was close enough for most of the audience to get the point.
After shouting “No more” a dozen or more times, the tempo slowed substantially for “MLK” and as the intro to the next song, “Walk On,” began, Bono took the opportunity to relate to the audience another political story, that of Burmese dissident Aung San Suu Kyi, who after being elected prime minister in 1990, was imprisoned by the military junta. At this point, many in the audience donned the paper masks of Suu Kyi that were distributed prior to the show. While eerie, it was a powerful message of solidarity, further promoted by a legion of Amnesty International volunteers who marched across the outer platform.
After finishing the inspiring and emotional anthem, U2 left the stage briefly while a freedom rally cry from Desmond Tutu played on the video screen, encouraging the good people of the world to act as one in the face of tyranny and subjugation. U2 returned to the stage for their rendition of “One” in furtherance of the idea of promoting human rights and social justice, with subtle hints to Bono's charitable organization, the ONE Campaign, dropped in the visual imagery of the performance.
Despite all the political and human rights messages inserted into this point of the show, none of it seemed over the top or out of place, as it was seamlessly incorporated into the performance. Just being there made me feel like the single act of attending a rock concert was a force for good and change in the world. Much of this is due to Bono’s intense passion for these causes, making it his mission to have lasting impact on the world, inspiring the audience, regardless of political affiliation, that our generation can bring an end to poverty and oppression and peacefully bring democracy to those who desire freedom. I think that even the most hardened cynics in the audience couldn’t help but feel inspired. Perhaps I should have been more liberal with my email address while waiting in line.
The political messages subdued for the final few songs as The Edge’s familiar repeating guitar arpeggio took shape in the intro of “Where the Streets Have No Name.” While it was a song that I had always loved, I had never been able to fully appreciate the throbbing bass, intentionally cracking vocals, and climactic melody until seeing it live, dancing and jumping around with the rest of the audience. I only had a moment to catch my breath during a brief encore break and “Ultra Violet (Light My Way)” before the one of the most familiar bass lines in music (for me at least) took shape for a emotional performance of “With or Without You.” A brilliantly lit microphone descended from the rafters of the stage and created a glowing red orb of light into which Bono sang. His jacket lit up equally as he grabbed the dangling mike and swung from side to side. It was only during this final crescendo when Bono lost his grip of the microphone long enough to miss a chorus of the song that I decided to get lost in the music pick up the slack for him, as did much of the rest of the audience, as we belted out the words and swayed side to side. I could tell there was a broad smile on my face that had been there for quite some time. Again, the tempo slowed as I caught my breath and the night ended with “Moment of Surrender.”
Though my expectations were high for my first U2 concert, they were all met or exceeded. My seats were great, I was surrounded by old friends and new camaraderie, the sound was intense, and the set list was perfectly crafted. It was obvious as to why U2 has been considered one of the world’s premier acts for the past two decades. Mike remarked to me on the way out as roadies were already tearing down the stage around us how effortless U2 made the performance seem, as holding the attention of almost 100,000 for two hours had now become second nature for them. And while I might have now been able to cross U2 of my bucket list, it only increased my desire to see them again in the future and cemented my appreciation for their talent.
