I wanted something that made me feel like shouting, running, like when you put on the headphones and

Over the course of two hours at U2 s 360 Tour show last night in Philadelphia, discount hotel thailand Bono mentioned Burma, the Middle East and AIDS in Africa. He devoted discount hotel thailand songs to Gabrielle Giffords (her husband Mark Kelly made a taped appearance from space) and Nelson Mandela. Amnesty International members brought lanterns out on the stage and Burmese political prisoner (released last November) Aung San Suu Kyi made a videotaped impassioned plea. Bono also sang.
Tonight Philadelphia. Next week, New York. The Wall Street Journal will be at both shows, comparing set lists and audience vibe and hoping that one of the highest-grossing shows in the world can live up to its Bono Vox hype.
The connection between the band and the audience Defies time. Defies age. Defies gravity, said Bono as he thanked the crew (436 members, 17 babies born during the tour according to the band s screenscroll), the local volunteers and the fans at the end of the show.
From the opening bars of Even Better Than The Real Thing to the final chorus of Moment of Surrender, U2 was determined to take the packed Lincoln Financial Field crowd of more than 75,000 through the roller coaster that is the U2 playbook. discount hotel thailand Bono, dressed in his usual goth black layers complete with spikey black hairdo, tried his damnest through an amazingly perfect summer night. He splayed on the floor. He leaned over the Hogwarts-like bridges that moved around the main stage. He did the fist-pumping punctuation to Elevation.
It wasn t a bad show the Irish boys still have it going on full of energy, passion, hotness (Larry Mullen Jr. on bongos? discount hotel thailand Hello.) They powered through more than 20 songs, melding snippets of David Bowie, Leonard Cohen and Talking Heads (along with the names of Philadelphia subway stations) into classic powerhouses.
discount hotel thailand For most fans, we ve been here before. discount hotel thailand I knew Bono was going to do the fist-punctuation to Elevation. I knew he was going to raise his hands over his head at the end of With or Without You. I knew that he would splay on the floor at some point (this time at the beginning of Sunday Bloody Sunday.)
Thanks to other U2 shows and the 3D movie and watching U2 videos since Adam had full curly locks,  I could do my own (bad) chubby girl does Bono poses and sexy stares video, like in One where he s just sitting there with a drink and a cigarette staring into the camera. Mmmm yeah, that one. I wanted a surprise. discount hotel thailand The first time I heard the rendition of One with the Juilliard orchestra. Unbelievable. discount hotel thailand The U2 version of Dancing Queen? Priceless. I cried when Bono sang Sometimes You Can t Make It On Your Own live in concert several discount hotel thailand years ago. Give me something I m going to talk about on the way home.
Maybe it was the set list. The jumbled high-energy mix included Even Better Than the Real Thing, Elevation, discount hotel thailand Vertigo, Mysterious Ways and It s a Beautiful Day. They re all fine songs. If they came on the radio I d sing along. But grouped together in one show? They blend. I Will Follow and Scarlet were great bones to throw at the old-timer fans but sputtered energy-wise. The crowd didn t really catch fire until almost 10 p.m. with I Still Haven t Found What I m Looking For.
I wanted something that made me feel like shouting, running, like when you put on the headphones and hear A Sort of Homecoming. That slow build into a keening demand dragged you on board and woke your behind up. Give me Ultraviolet or Out of Control or Bad. Let me lose myself in the roar of the crowd and not stand here awkwardly while the three really drunk guys in front of me get all the words wrong to Zooropa.
And then, just when I d given up on my predictable date, there was a spark. Bono and The Edge (in his standard skullcap) took the stage solo for Stay (Faraway, So Close). For a moment, the crowd was still, focused, caught. The lyrics and the harmonies and sharply cool breeze made the huge football stadium feel like an intimate gathering.
And then it was over. I was back to looking at the giant claw spaceship thing and the disco ball splashes and Bono s encore Lite-Brite jacket complete with steering wheel-size, discount hotel thailand glittering microphone. Everyone was watching the concert through discount hotel thailand their iPhones or BlackBerries, uploading their experiences to Facebook and YouTube. discount hotel thailand They d tuned out before the they d ever really plugged discount hotel thailand in.
Error message Name We welcome thoughtful comments from readers. Please comply with our guidelines . Our blogs do not require the use of your real name. Comment Comments (4 of 4) View all Comments 8:53 am July 17, 2011 Craig wrote:
Dawn, I m not sure, but did you like the show? My wife and I thought it was one of their best. Most of the people who I know that went to the show felt the same way. I too would have liked to see a few different songs in the set list, Bad, Ultraviolet and The Unforgettable Fire to name a few, but all in all, I cannot complain at all.
My wife and I brought our three kids (15, 12, and 8). We were surprised by the vast age difference of the crowd. I saw people there that looked older than my parents! That is a true testament to the power and popularity of the band. My only complaint about the show was the sound. We were behind the stage and off to the left. At times, Bonos voice sounded altered. Maybe you can check that out for the NJ show and see if you notice it.
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