May 18, Continental Airlines Center in East Rutherford

[villavarian]

I keep forgetting things to add...

One of the coolest moments of the night was when many people in the audiende opened their cell phones and held them up. It made for a really cool effect, having thousands of lighted cell phones being held up. It was kind of like the lighters of this milennuim.

 

[bombergirl1978]

wow, great review numb.

I can't help but smile myself, everytime someone talks about Adam smiling

 

[Shawn Bonneau]

My best U2 show yet. Amazing setlist, heard Gloria. Yessah.

SMB

 

[pookybear]

This was my first U2 show actually, and I experienced a lot of it in disbelief, disbelief that I was actually seeing them and disbelief that I had gotten into the first row of the ellipse. I thought COBL, with all the lights and confetti, was a fantastic opener... I can't see the opening notes of LAPOE having the same kind of effect as the ones from COBL did. The moment COBL started, the moment the lights went up during WTSSHNN, and Bad (which I had been looking forward to so much but thought wasn't gonna happen that night) at the end-- were probably the main highlights of my night. Not to mention the amazing Edge solos (The Fly!!! ) and the fact that Adam was right in front of me the entire time and even smiled at me (ok I think I've been gushing too much about Adam in these threads, I better stop).
I wasn't particularly crazy about the punk version of ISHFWILF, but the Bank Robbers looked like they were having the time of their lives... I felt really happy for them.

 

[Zoots]

Oh man! My first u2 show... and what a show it was! I was way the hell up in section 236 but still ended up with a headache and sore vocal chords. I can't imagine what would have happened if I had been in the ellipse. What a great show! As Numb1075 mentioned... great review btw... Fly was fantastic. Loved the 'Everything you know...' bit from Bono. The zoo tv visuals combined with the great performance made it one of the big highlights of the evening for me. And the intro to Zoo Station with the images of the Zooropa babyface thingy in a slot machine was I just about died when the offbeat riff and drums started. Other highlights, I would say were City as opener (w/ confetti ), LAPOE, Bad, RTSS and Streets (w/ flag colors in the background). Oh... and I was so glad they played The Ocean! I mean.. who would've thought! Didn't like Bullet much cos they totally skipped the 'this guy comes up to me...' part... that's what I was looking forward to cos I knew Bono would ad-lib the hell out of it. Although... the song's a little too old school anyway. Also wasn't impressed with the high speed version of ISHFWILF... WTF! But overall, excellent show. Wish I was going to the NYC one.

 

[kikehisy]

It's not really a show review so I won't post it here, but over at Fan Experiences I just posted the story of how my friend and I got GAs for the 5/18 show from the box office just minutes before U2 came on stage--what a fan experience indeed!

 

[chazman151]

A little late (well, very late) with my comments, so as I agree with most folks comments that it was a great show, here are some lil tidbits:

-Took my nephew with me (his first concert). Got GA tickets thru the presale, and also got inside the inner round thingy!! (Bomb Shelter). Talk about spoiling a kid

-It's now 3 days later, and my hearing is finally back to normal. How do you people go night after night? On the ride home I thought my radio was screwed up, but for a solid day after the concert, peoples voices sounded like they were on helium. Or how the adults sounded on the Charlie Brown TV specials (Wah..wah wah wah).

-I can't complain about the way the lottery/scan deal worked allowing us to get into the bomb shelter, but it's sad when you have some folks so close to the stage who didn't know the names of half the songs. Maybe there can be some sort of test...

-I thought Bono's voice sounded real good...better than what I heard from Chicago on GMA. I guess that's how it is..some nights it's better than others. The Edge was in top form. Adam is one cool cat. I thought I saw Larry smile once.

-I still have the smell of pot on the clothes I wore to the show. When I open the hamper, I smell Columbia and New Jersey.

-Getting out of the arena was a nightmare. They're doing some sort of construction there, and you had 15,000 people trying to walk thru this narrow tunnel. Felt like cows being led to slaughter. Then another 30 minutes trying to get the car out of the lot. Makes you appreciate MSG so much more.

-I hope all the folks who spent the entire concert trying to take pictures with their camera phones had a good time. Maybe if they go see the boys again they can, you know, watch/hear the band play a few songs.

-Did I mention the Meadowlands suck?

Seeing them again tonight at MSG, but I'm way up in the upper reaches

Going from earbleeds to nosebleeds..

 

[ZOOTVTOURist]

As posted on U2-vertigo-tour.com (as great site as ever ...)

Stories For Boys?

Also for the second night in the Meadowlands area, U2 build their set up on the musical landscape of "City Of Blinding Nights" (see also my review on 05/17/05), starting from etheral sounds to punk-rock. Then Larry hits the drum intro for "Vertigo" and it stuns the crowd. Plus tonight there is a special for set-list watchers reserved: Bono steps back to the band's origins and inserts some lines from their first B-Side ever: "Stories For Boys", sung beautifully. Also there is a reference to Elvis Costello - obviously in the house - with his own "Pump It Up" also being put in HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOMB's first single. Then the new arrangement "Elevation" has the crowd being an impressive choir again for the first verses, before rocking the hall in its full band version. Now tonight not one of the BOY tunes having been performed the night before, is chosen. Instead Bono talks about the next track being from the first album, then putting it right to the second. This means we get something from an album, U2 have not been held high live for the last 15 years: OCTOBER. And what a tune it is: "Gloria" being played with power and belief, you might never understand, why the tune has had to go that long. Bono is in high spirits, stretching his arme to the left and right, while Edge, Adam and Larry give evrything they have - as does the enthusiastic audience, too, with surprisingly many, many fans appreciating the tune's return as much as I do. The ending sees a snippet and so a tribute to another "Gloria" - whether it's the more sexual pointed Van Morrison version or Patti Smith's dramatic statement, you never know: "G-L-O-R-I-A". Then BOY returns with another great choice for die hard fans: Bono meets Oscar Wilde's novel hero Dorian Gray; the U2 singer reflects the myth of everlasting youth and the beauty of "The Ocean" at Jersey's shore. This track not having been performed since 1982 (!) may never have sounded better than sung by the Bono of his age right now. The usual enormous rocking "Beautiful Day" with its nice link to The Beatles "Blackbird" is next. Then the fixed bunch of HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOMB tracks comes around with the emotional "Miracle Drug", Bob Hewson's farewell "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" and the political "Love And Peace Or Else" with Bono transforming in a rocking "Ninja". "Sunday Bloody Sunday" with its reflective, mourning middle part is a great relief for everybody in the audience and still of importance. So is "Bullet The Blue Sky", filled with new guitar sounds and Bono as a lindfolded, maybe wounded Guantanamo Bay-like prisoner of war pleading for help and rescue. Also tonight Bono sings lines from "The Hands that Built America" and "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" as snippets. Then the next THE JOSHUA TREE tune comes around: "Running To Stand Still" in its celebrated classic piano band version with a harp intro, Bono on acoustic guitar and "Hallelujah" as a snippet. After the "Human Rights" interference, very inspired versions of "Pride (In The Name Of Love)", "Where The Streets Have No Name" and "One" follow. The encore starts with ACHTUNG BABY again: "Zoo Station" with Bono marching on the catwalk, "The Fly" with its new killer solo by The Edge and "Mysterious Ways" getting some the loudest cheers of the evening. All Because Of You" with Bono on tambourine opens the 2nd encore; "Yahweh" on the egg tip is next. Then Bono brings up three guys in stage, who have requestes to play with the band. So those "Bank Robbers" - a local punk combo - get to the main stage and play together with U2 one of the most remarkable versions of "I Still Havent Found What I'm Looking For". With Bono and one guy sharing the lead vocal's microphone also The Edge on acoustic guitar and Adam join in - and so does Larry accompaining his younger colleague on the other drum kit. For the third verse the "Bank Robber's" guitar player speeds up the tempo, much to the delight of Bono being happy finally to play a punk version of this tune. What a great moment! And another one follows: After the guys have left the stage, U2 play a nice version of "Bad" as the show closer with a snippet of "40" and a proper ending of this tune a la "Wide Awake In America". Thank you, U2, for this beautiful 2nd night full of surprises!