Monday, September 26, 2005

U2 - Vertigo - Milwaukee, WI

I knew it was going to be an great show when Bono came out sounding good. After a couple of songs, he was still sounding awesome. The whole band was just tight.

Opening song was City of Blinding Lights and the stage set and lighting lived up to that. It's a good opening song. I would still like to hear Vertigo as the opener, but that's the breaks.

No big surprises, just a good show. It's not destined to go down as a classic, but it was definitely an A Team effort. Bono and the boys were practically giddy with the mix of it being the 29th anniversary of the day they met, the Provisional IRA announcing they will destroy all their weapons, and the World Bank agreeing to forgive a bunch of Third World debts.

Not much in the way of politics from Bono. Like I said, he was just downright giddy. So, it was all rainbows and unicorns on that front.

We, did learn that The Edge is from the future...so perhaps the whole outer space thing wasn't right after all. Unless, of course, he's from both space and the future. That would explain a lot. It also rules out the possibility of ever being as cool as The Edge.

Bought a handful of ONE wristbands and passed them around to our group o' people. Bought a tee-shirt and a poster. What can I say? I'm a dork that way. Besides my ticket was free, so I could afford to fill the band's coffers a bit.

Highlights definitely included the two hotties right in front of me. The cuter of the two soared in my estimation when she finally cut loose during Bullet the Blue Sky. They were both dancing pretty hard before that (Sunday Bloody Sunday had brought them jumping to their feet), but she really got into Bullet while her friend left to get another beer. C'mon, you just don't get beer during Bullet - go during Jahweh or something...

So, she got into it and the cropped cardigan sweater slid off. The white spaghetti-strap tank was a much nicer sight for sure.

Her friend later climbed over her seat to get out of my row - which Eric and I had the end of to ourselves - and grabbed my leg in the process, thus redeeming her stock somewhat. I have to say, she was one of those bounce up and down dancers, which combined with leaving during Bullet, left her with a lot of redeeming to do.

As is often the case, the two cuties made my night. and made an already excellent concert that much better.

Anyway, back to the music. Bono was singing great. He was actually really, really good when he did the Pavarotti solo in Miss Sarajevo. I was impressed. He also tossed off a pretty good off-the-cuff rendition of Old Man River.

The Edge was on, of course. He seemed really crisp. The other boys certainly followed suit and all told it was a good night for the band and an incredible night for me.

Now, I'm finally winding down...maybe more later.

Here's what they played:

City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
Elevation
Cry / Electric Co.
The Ocean
Still Haven’t Found
Beautiful Day
Miracle Drug
Sometimes You Can’t Make it on Your Own
Love and Peace or Else
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet The Blue Sky
Miss Sarajevo
Pride in the Name of Love
Where the Streets Have No Name
One

First Time
Wild Horses
With or Without You

All Because of You
Crumbs From Your Table
Yahweh
40

17 comments:

thephoenixnyc said...

Aesome, a nice review. I am getting really excited for the MSG shows. October 7, 8, 11, 14. I'm definitely going to two of them.

They have really mixed up the sets a lot on this leg of the tour.

Cheers

jenbeauty said...

Every time I have had an opportunity to see U2 something in my family came up. I have yet to see this band and was bummed that once again I missed them. I may be 60 before I get the next chance!

Miranda said...

Glad the concert didn't disappoint :)

Shawn said...

phoenix - I'm definitely jealous...first Ireland and now a couple of NYC shows.

It was a good show. I just read a review on U2.com that captured a lot of the same stuff, but in a more informed way. It was nice to see that all the stuff I thought was pretty special was noted by someone who sees a lot of shows.

This would be show that would be nice to have a bootleg of, not only because I was there, but because it was tight performance and the sound was really good in the Bradley Center.

jenbeauty - I feel your pain. I've missed many concert because of timing or things coming up. It sucks...

m - Yup...good all around.

kris said...

Amazing. I wish that I could do something as well as they have for all these years.

The Zombieslayer said...

Good to see you're seeing shows. Why do so many cuties like U2 so much? I'm in the middle with them. Loved Achtung Baby and liked Joshua Tree but besides a few songs (like New Year's Day, to which I got a New Year's kiss from a chick I had a crush on for 3 years), not really into them.

I know that will get me in trouble because they're that one band that everyone cool seems to like.

Laura said...

When I think beer, I think Yaweh... that's funny.

Sounds like a great show.

Jason said...

I missed them this go-round and last saw them all the way back during the Joshua Tree tour, but I'm sure I'll catch them again someday.

begins with v said...

so glad you had a good time! I can't remember the last concert I went to...maybe it was Tonic...

Greg and Meara Harrington said...

Pictures from inside the ellipse at U2 concert in Milwaukee.

http://gmharrington.blogspot.com

Shawn said...

Thanks for the link Greg. Great pics from a great show.

I'm a bit jealous of your spot up there. Sounds like they went to a deserving guy though. Cute dog on your blog, by the way.

Anonymous said...

how did you score free tickets?!? i would pretty much pay any amount to go see u2 if i wasnt able to get tickets right away, but free always makes things better!

good show though, huh?

i too was going to buy a t-shirt and other various u2 nerd items, but by the time the show was done i was just like "i'll buy that online." still havent done that though...

Shawn said...

Neill - I got my ticket as a birthday present from my brother and his fam... I think he was actually going to go but 1) he needed to score a quick b-day present, 2)he got invited to the Packers game that day, and 3)he realized that I'm far cooler than him anyway and should probably be the one to go. So, I went with a bunch o' people.

In a weird of weird moment, I realized that you can actually see me in your pic of the seats looking back from the stage... I know it's me because I was right above one of the entrance things and there was no one around our spot until right before U2 fired up. Am I the only one who thought it was bizarre how empty the place was until right when the band took the stage? Late crowd for sure.

G said...

Like your review. Was searching for U2 and found your blog. I saw them earlier this year in Manchester - absolutely incredible night. Great to see other people experiencing the same thing!

Shawn said...

G - Thanks for adding an international flair to my blog...

I loved the review you did of the Manchester show. It was really engaging.

I think that's one of the cool things about this band. That they span so many divides. And the fact that they so clearly enjoy doing what they do and love sharing it with their fans.

Anonymous said...

nice brother you got there! im not sure if ive received anything for my brithday from my brother, ever.

and that part about you being in one of my pics...thats nuts! the internet links stuff up pretty weird, doesnt it?

Shawn said...

Hey Sasstastic - I just knew all cool kids were there! Where were you at? I was on the far end, straight across from the stage. It was a bit far away, but that didn't seem to matter...