May 9, United Center in Chicago

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Great show!!!! :drool: :drool: :drool: They sounded FANTASTIC - the opening COBL was spectacular - they sounded excellent and Bob was full of energy and really belted it out. Tons of confetti fell from the ceiling. I was on the outside (middle) of the Ellipse - great view. Bono, Larry, and Adam played right in front of me a few times - I was only a few ft away from them :drool: :drool: :drool: It was cool to hear Electric Co but I was disappointed to not hear Gloria. Oh well you can't have it all.
My sister fainted (very hot in there) during the first encore. Not one fan helped me - nice. Other than that it was a great show. If I were to be real picky I'd say "Pride" has lost some of it's sparkle live but it still sounded great. :drool:
 
Hi Heather! IDOB was down, but I knew I'd find you here! Glad to hear you had a great time, sorry to hear about your sister. Glad you made it into the ellipse.
 
This is the 'official' May 9 thread, I do believe!
Much more from me coming later this morning.
Live on wireless from the cafe at the Cass Hotel, which has become an Interference family gathering hub for this week of wild U2opian wonder . . .
Anu
 
Jenn121 said:
Hi Heather! IDOB was down, but I knew I'd find you here! Glad to hear you had a great time, sorry to hear about your sister. Glad you made it into the ellipse.
Click to expand...
Hey how's it going?
Yeah it was a lot of fun except for my sister passing out. I would love to go again. If I had GA again I'd have to be up against the rail somewhere so I could get air. It got extremely sweaty in there! I didn't bring my camera b/c I didn't feel like dealing with it - could've taken excellent close up photos of Larry, Bono, and Adam. Man, Bono and Larry look really small and skinny in person. Looked great though - Adam too - he was all smiley. I hope they find the show worthy for DVD.
I'm listening to the Chicago radio stations trying to win tickets for tonight or Thursday :drool:
 
Sorry to hear about your sister too.I was feeling very woozy myself!

Congrats on being in the eclipse.I was 64 and my daughter was 65,so we were second line from the rail,about middle of the stage,so it was a great view!I agree as many times as I have seen Bono on tv ect...he is very small,and so is Larry,but loves them both :)

For me the concert was simply a wonderful and spiritual time,one that I will never forget.It was the first U2 concert for me and my daughter,so it was a great time for us both.Iam tired and in lala land,so sorry for the short review!

Plus Iam very down,like some peeps have mentioned before,of it being over now.

Rhia
 
I'm :( about it being over too! I am still listening to the radio hoping someone's giving tickets away! :drool:
 
A complaint: the crowd was horrendous during "40." Just terrible. I'm sure that we were all fine, but there's absolutely NO chance that that will end up on any DVD or whatever. I was like a madman, trying to get people to keep singing (or start, for that matter), but my psychotic ravings did nothing to help the situation. That was the low point of an otherwise phenomenal night where even the band's fuck-ups weren't of any concern because of the spectacular connection between teh band and the crowd. Still, it ended things on a sour note, for me...especially after the more-than-solid singing after Saturday night's show.
 
If you shout... said:
A complaint: the crowd was horrendous during "40." Just terrible. I'm sure that we were all fine, but there's absolutely NO chance that that will end up on any DVD or whatever. I was like a madman, trying to get people to keep singing (or start, for that matter), but my psychotic ravings did nothing to help the situation. That was the low point of an otherwise phenomenal night where even the band's fuck-ups weren't of any concern because of the spectacular connection between teh band and the crowd. Still, it ended things on a sour note, for me...especially after the more-than-solid singing after Saturday night's show.
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Yes, the singing by the crowd on 40 from 5/7 to 5/9 was like night and day! I think they'll need something more from tonight to put it on a DVD.
 
IMO...

It was a great show but not "religious" like my experiences at Fall Chicago Elevation show and my first show in 1985. Admittedly, I was next to the stage for both shows versus excellent seats for this one.

Here are some of my thoughts:
* Elevation Fall 2001 was right after 9/11. We NEEDED U2 and you could feel that in the show (esp during scrolling of victim names)
* I suspect there was a higher energy level in the Elevation heart because you had to wait 12+ hours to "prove" your worthiness to be there. The elipse looked a little subdued...but I was not in there.
* RTSS was an odd dedication to troops. I found the rendition flat compared to the previous tours. I like it acoustic and Bono's overly dramatic "shooting up." It usually gives me chills.
* I really missed Bono running around the heart during WTSHNN. That was so awesome.
* The light curtains were distracting from side seats.
* Personally, I prefer the acoustic Fly version
* Audience was lame on 40 (me included)
* I LOVED hearing An Cat Dubh live!!! A highlight of my U2 experiences.
* I would have liked to have heard Kite, Stuck, Walk On instead of some of the older songs that get played every tour.

Can't wait for my Fall GA experiences. I am sure the set list will be changed by then.
 
Re: IMO...

mdonal01 said:
It was a great show but not "religious" like my experiences at Fall Chicago Elevation show and my first show in 1985. Admittedly, I was next to the stage for both shows versus excellent seats for this one.

Here are some of my thoughts:
* Elevation Fall 2001 was right after 9/11. We NEEDED U2 and you could feel that in the show (esp during scrolling of victim names)
* I suspect there was a higher energy level in the Elevation heart because you had to wait 12+ hours to "prove" your worthiness to be there. The elipse looked a little subdued...but I was not in there.
* RTSS was an odd dedication to troops. I found the rendition flat compared to the previous tours. I like it acoustic and Bono's overly dramatic "shooting up." It usually gives me chills.
* I really missed Bono running around the heart during WTSHNN. That was so awesome.
* The light curtains were distracting from side seats.
* Personally, I prefer the acoustic Fly version
* Audience was lame on 40 (me included)
* I LOVED hearing An Cat Dubh live!!! A highlight of my U2 experiences.
* I would have liked to have heard Kite, Stuck, Walk On instead of some of the older songs that get played every tour.

Can't wait for my Fall GA experiences. I am sure the set list will be changed by then.
Click to expand...
Overall I had a great time but I agree with WTSHNN - right away I was disappointed that they didn't do the lights and Bono running thing - that really built up a lot of excitement last tour. I know not everything will stay the same tour after tour but it wasn't 1/2 as exciting this time. I was disappointed in some of the crowd that they didn't keep the energy level up at all times - esp b/c we were being taped and I didn't want Chicago looking like a lame-a** town!!!!
 
Re: IMO...

mdonal01 said:
It was a great show but not "religious" like my experiences at Fall Chicago Elevation show and my first show in 1985. Admittedly, I was next to the stage for both shows versus excellent seats for this one.

Here are some of my thoughts:
* Elevation Fall 2001 was right after 9/11. We NEEDED U2 and you could feel that in the show (esp during scrolling of victim names)
* I suspect there was a higher energy level in the Elevation heart because you had to wait 12+ hours to "prove" your worthiness to be there. The elipse looked a little subdued...but I was not in there.
* RTSS was an odd dedication to troops. I found the rendition flat compared to the previous tours. I like it acoustic and Bono's overly dramatic "shooting up." It usually gives me chills.
* I really missed Bono running around the heart during WTSHNN. That was so awesome.
* The light curtains were distracting from side seats.
* Personally, I prefer the acoustic Fly version
* Audience was lame on 40 (me included)
* I LOVED hearing An Cat Dubh live!!! A highlight of my U2 experiences.
* I would have liked to have heard Kite, Stuck, Walk On instead of some of the older songs that get played every tour.

Can't wait for my Fall GA experiences. I am sure the set list will be changed by then.
Click to expand...

I totally agree with you on most of those! Though I thought The Fly was cool and you couldn't really see through the light curtains from where I was at, I would have loved to have heard Walk On instead of Yahweh.

I don't mean to downplay U2 by any means, but I did feel like something was missing. Maybe it was because, like you said, my first and last show was in October of 2001 and we needed U2, but it just lacked something. I'm not sure what.
 
A+ The show was outstanding, I just flew back to RI from chi-town
this was concert number 34 for me and it ranks in my top 5 all-time. The sound was excellent and the band's energy was off the charts. During electic Co. I thought I had traveled back in time
with Bono bouncing around the ellipse not looking at all like a 45 year old while Edge's guitar ripped through the arena. My only negative comment would be the crowd, they seemed to hold something back and I know not why. Well looking forward to three shows in Boston can't wait. By the way did anybody else see that 7 foot giant who played party girl during the encore.
PEACE - LOVE - & BOOYAH
referee
 
referee said:
By the way did anybody else see that 7 foot giant who played party girl during the encore.
Click to expand...

Aw, come on, she's not all that tall. :wink: Tall, yes. She's just got legs for miles like all us good Dutch folk. :tongue:
 
We were in the second tier, behind the stage, Adam-side. ;-) We had been behind the stage for the Elevation tour at Notre Dame and they "played" to us a lot on that tour -- not this time. I think maybe cause of the filming. Besides, we didn't mind just looking at their behinds most of the night. I wondered how many people around us were Pleba girls.

My sister and I also discussed this show didn't have the spiritual feel that the Elevation 10/10 show had, and realized it came to 3 things: 9/11, Bono's father's death, and our mother's death.

But it was a *kickass* show. The only time I sat down was to change the batteries in my camera. I sang. I danced. I stomped. I screamed. I "woooooooed". I chanted with my fist in the air. I cried. I laughed. I pointed. I jumped up and down. When my throat got too sore from singing at the top of my lungs, I whistled through my fingers long and hard enough to make myself dizzy.

Loved Adam's interaction and big smiles. Loved Larry's little waves and his trot back to his drum kit. Loved hearing "Zoo Station" (I never in my life thought I'd hear that song live!) Loved the fact the ended with 40 instead of a second Vertigo. Love Edge's church-bell guitar and his guitar playing in general. Loved Bono's working the audience. Loved the fact my brother and his wife were up in third tier behind us. Loved the fact my other sister and a nephew were third tier, middle arena. Loved the fact after the concert we met in the lobby and took family pictures. Loved the fact we think we saw Larry and the Edge as they left.

I'm going to Tampa with my daughter in November and hope to high heaven that show is as good as this one!
 
i just got home from driving to chicago (8 hour drive). this being my first u2 concert, i don't have any shows to compare it too, but overall i thought the concert rocked.

it was extremely hot in the UC, but i felt that the crowd did fairly well.

40 was a disappointment, since i felt as though i was the only one singing in my section. (it's not hard to keep singing "How long to sing this song).

that girl, Laura was her name, was pretty tall and Bono made sure to make a reference of it. I don't know how she was able to get up on stage and take the guitar (pre-planned maybe????), but she did a really good job on Party Girl.

There were several instances of awesome crowd energy, especially during Elevation, Vertigo, LPOE, WTSHNN, New Years Day and SBS. These songs will definitely show the crowd on the DVD.

I had rear stage seats, 2nd level, edge's side, and the lights weren't that difficult to see through. They did have one strand that was screwed up and displayed the wrong color during the whole show.

All in all, the show was a really good show. Bono played to the crowd well and the place was rockin' most of the time with the exception of 40, Zoo Station and The Fly.
 
Weak Audience, Nasty Reviwers Create Hurdles for U2 at 5/9/05 Chicago Show

I love U2. I think they are the finest popular music act the world has ever produced -- eclipsing even the Beatles and Elvis because of the depth of their insights, the weight of their subject matter, and the beauty and transcendence of their music.

I had a complicated reaction to their 2005.05.09 Chicago show. I was in the third balcony directly opposite the stage, in a location that had great sight lines but was pretty remote. Looking down at the audience over the course of the show, it seemed to me that the crowd -- both in the balcony and elsewhere -- didn't really step up to the plate.

They got into certain tunes -- like New Year's Day and Love and Peace. But they didn't bring their A-game. The crowd, that is. Because to have a magical show -- not just a good show -- not only does the band have to step up to the plate, but the crowd does, too. One side puts out energy and the other responds and it goes back and forth like a tennis match until there isn't a back-and-forth anymore, there is just a one-ness.

The band seemed to put out their energy, and the crowd seemed to respond -- but only with some reservation. A lot of the band's energy seemed to slip between people and fall clattering to the floor. It wasn't captured and valued, wasn't treasured and amplified and sent back to them, as it needs to be for a show to "go off."

Bono can usually overcome this by continuing to reach out confidently and fearlessly. But I think this task might have been a little harder than usual. I think a telling remark came early in the show, when, in Beautiful Day, Bono twisted the line "You love this town, even if that doesn't ring true" into "You love this town, even if they give you a bad review."

The previous Chicago show was given less-than-glowing reviews by the two major Chicago papers, the Sun-Times and the Tribune. The Tribune complained that U2 trotted out too many old warhorses (New Year's Day, Bullet the Blue Sky) and not enough new material -- that they were in danger of becoming a has-been nostalgia act like the Rolling Stones. The Sun-Times reviewer lambasted Bono for being "pointlessly pretentious and preachy" and attacked the show as something as phony and manipulative as a Brittany Spears concert.

I can think of strong arguments against these journalists' critiques. But I also think such a concerted attack by the mouthpieces for the Chicago community must be pretty dispiriting to the band. It makes Bono's job especially hard. His job is to give out that energy, to push for that connection, that intimacy, that one-ness. Like with any relationship, to achieve that intimacy requires trust. And I think the caustic and belittling reviews had, to a degree, volated the trust that Bono had in us, the Chicago audience -- that if he reached out, that we would reach back with the same sincerity and openness in return.

I think people in general, even Bono, are naturally more careful and reserved when they are not sure how their gestures will be received. And I think the crowd is more reserved they are questioning the motivations of the band ("Is U2 really a bunch of washed up egomaniacs simply manipulating us and riding false ideals to a bigger payday, as the Chicago press had proclaimed?"). These reservations -- on the part of Bono or the audience -- undermine the magic and possiblities of a U2 show.

I think Bono's feelings of being vulnerable, misunderstood, and the target of misdirected attacks were expressed pretty clearly when, during a tempstuous crescendo, he repeatedly howled a lyrical couplet from Chicago's own Smashing Pumpkins, "Despite all my rage, I'm still just a rat in a cage." It seems to me that he tries pretty hard to overcome the barriers of ego, complacency, and greed in amazingly new and inventive ways -- and yet is met with poorly considered poison pen letters from reviewers who criticise him for just those things.

This may sound silly, but I hope that in the future, the audience will remember that it has responsiblities to step up at a show, too. Maybe it's all of us sitting in front of TVs, but I think we have become a pretty passive lot. We need to give something to get something in return. And when both sides are giving, that's when the magic happens.

As for the harsh reviewers: I have to say I am looking forward to a time when journalism and reporting are no longer in the hands of a few. Right now, even if an artcle is based on poor information or formed around an extreme viewpoint, it still given great weight and acceptance if it has been published in a widely-circulated newspaper.

As we've seen, some of these ill-conceived, overly-weighted articles can do real damage the greater community by undermining the sense of respect and trust we have in one another. They can divide band and audience -- or red state and blue state; or Christian, Muslim, and Jew.

Hopefully, in the future, through blogs and chat rooms, text messages and websites, we will continue to bring the power of communication out of the hands of the few and into the hands fo the many -- so that we can talk to one another more directly and develop the trust and understanding that this world needs to make it to the 22nd century.
 
After having seats for May 7th, this show absolutely blew me away. I was in front of the stage between Bono and Adam. My god! I can't even describe my feelings to you. It was a truly awesome experience.
 
I had upper level seats in comparison to my GA's on Saturday. It's a completely different experience, the lighting was incredible to see from up high.

The concert started out great, seeing Electric Co. was a major highlight. Vertigo wasn't screwed up like it was the first night. Bono seemed really energetic and used the ellipse more. As the more intimate part of the show began I felt a little distant from the concert, but it still was a fantastic experience.

I talked to a bunch of really huge U2 fans (including Laura, Chizip, and starsgoblue) after the concert in the GA line, that was really fun.
 
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