U2 in Chicago 9-20-05

What a wonderful concert I attended last night in Chicago – my first-ever U2 concert.  Major thanks to my friend and colleague Ron Sjoerdsma for getting the tickets (nearly 10 months ago!) and for going with me.  The two of us were a couple of wild and crazy guys in Chicago – OK, not really – we sat in the third level and whined about how loud it was – but we both had a great time and U2 was fabulous.

Opening band Dashboard Confessional didn’t do much for either of us except burn a couple of cilia in our ears which we could have used later on.  By the time Bono and the boys hit the stage it was 10 PM Michigan time (and remember – we had a 2 ½-3 hour drive ahead of us) but I was wide awake and really impressed with the lights and the show.  I’ve never seen such a light show and the artistry and creativity were amazing.  The “City of Blinding Lights” opener was SO COOL and when Bono started singing “hello, hello” and crowd counted off “uno, dos, tres, catorce” I realized that I was in the midst of a LOT of serious U2 fans and that proved to be true all night.  The intro to “Elevation” was also full of crowd response.  The way Bono and the band worked with the crowd and seemed to be able to improvise things on the spot (while still being incredibly choreographed) was inspiring.

An acoustic version of “Yahweh” early in the night signaled that they were mixing things up from the Toronto shows and they did all night long, even playing “The Ocean” from Boy.  Too many highlights to list separately except I need to say that I’ve now finally heard “Pride” and “”Where the Streets Have No Name” live so I can be content that my concert life is now significantly more complete.

Home at about 2:35 AM and really really tired at work today but it was worth it.