Monday, October 05, 2009

You Too

I gave a good fortune to visit Charlottesville on Thursday evening October 1 to fulfill one of my greatest desires, to see U2, the world's rock band, perform live in a stadium concert.

My wife, daughter, sister, and I had seats low in the stands at what could best be described as the back of the arachnid stage. If it were a football game, I would have been able to leap onto the field within seconds. As it was, there were more yellow-shirted event staff than UVA football players on a Saturday (or fans for that matter).

Muse, another wildly popular band, opened for U2 and blew up the sound system with their unique homage to Freddie Mercury and U2. Bono and company appeared on stage to the countdown from Bowie's "Space Oddity."

From the first moment, the set exploded with sound and energy. No greater rock show have I ever seen. I'm rather old-school U2, so I really appreciated the performances of Sunday Bloody Sunday and Mysterious Ways among other classics. However, their Go Crazy and Boots performances were quite astounding as well.

Usually, I end up uncovering quirky stories surrounding the events in my life. This concert experience was no different. The crowd was remarkably varied with many, many people older than me in attendance. In fact, as we were stuck in traffic for a moment before the show, we observed a car filled with four OLD people stop and the inhabitants asked a scalper how much the tickets were going for. They were ready to make the purchase when they realized that the concert would be in an open air stadium and not inside. That's when traffic became unstuck in time.

After we got to our seats, we discovered that our neighbor was a 50+ year old man AND HIS MOTHER who were traveling around the country following the U2 tour. The mother, who was smiling and probably close to 80 years old, was sporting a U2 360 Degree Tour Chicago shirt. Libby informed us that the man, who was sitting next to her, couldn't really hold a tune. At the end of the concert, however, he was able to give us a point by point run-down of how the show was different from all the other shows he and his mother had seen.

Please enjoy some of these songs captured on You Tube.

Mysterious Ways


Most of the videos I've linked below were taken by some intrepid concert goer who just happened to be positioned right in front of The Edge at the foot of the stage. I find it interesting that the sound that close to the stage is not nearly as imposing as it was from our seats. Perhaps that's by design to protect the aging star-studded ears.

Space Oddity/Breathe (From Boston Concert in HD)
This is how the concert began in Charlottesville as well. The Charlottesville set may have been even more massive than the one in Boston.

Sunday Bloody Sunday
This classic never gets old. U2 uses it to make political statements.

I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight
This song is like U2 on acid. The faces on the 360 degree screen are mind-blowing.

Get Your boots On
High energy new stuff. I imagine that eventually they will create a thousand different dance mixes to this one.

Walk On
Classic.

Ultraviolet
You simply won't find a more peculiar performance. The giant spaceship set/arachnid begins to speak and then Bono appears on stage all lit in red laser lights swinging from a red steering wheel/megaphone microphone. Definitely over the edge.

Moment of Surrender

Amazing Grace/Where the Streets Have No Name

Amazing Grace/Where the Streets Have No name (Boston version in HD)
I believe this song was the highlight of the show. Bono began it and it built into Streets.

Stuck in a Moment
Another mellow moment.

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Another Classic

Your Blue Room
A lot of people sat for this one, but I found it oddly comforting.

Elevation
To hear the Hooish crowd get jacked was something to behold.

Vertigo
Uno dos...


Muse brings a certain energy that few bands can muster.
Muse Uprising

Muse Hysteria

Muse Knights of Cydonia

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