Just to clarify, although I too am affiliated with the entertaiment industry, I am not a bigwig or celebrity but rather someone with a lucky connection within the event production (Dick Clark Productions/HFPA). Whether U2/Bono were there or not, I would be at the show so long as the ticket allocation allowed; I do not go every single year etc. The past two years with the U2 connection has just been a bonus.
Tickets and access to the after parties are always a mess for these Hollywood functions. I mean, I had a ticket this year, when countless non-nominated celebs, industry execs and shakers (such as politicians) were denied a ticket. Go figure!
Regarding the afterparty situation, Miramax (where U2 was) stuck out last year as violating some of the ground-rules of the Globes afterparties, and they weren't the smoothest-run gig this year either (they gave out gift bags when they were told not to, not that I minded!). I overheard someone mentioning that Miramax may not be welcomed back next year to host a party (knowing that studios need to be invited back to host parties), although this has nothing to do with this thread.
One U2-related thing I recall about Miramax last year was when Tour Manager Dennis Sheehan was DENIED re-entry back into that party by Miramax people, after he retrieved a shall for Morleigh, because he was a nobody in the world of movies and tv. From what I heard, Miramax in particular is also poor when it comes to taking care of the voting population (Oscars/Globes), by scheduling inconvenient screening review times etc.
Regarding Ali, I don't believe she pulled him back to Ireland, because all indications were that she too was supposed to have been there. But we are not them, and we may never know or need to know what happened. It looks as though Andrea Corr simply took Bono's ticket (and alcoholic beverages) this year.
Hope this confused you even more, Mel! J/k!
Hey, you still didn't say when/where you took your pics of Gavin and gang!!!
U2 friend's 
That waffle was delish! And then a handful of us went shopping at this cool record store I hadn't been to before... Even scored myself a copy of UABRS on vinyl with the original Electric Co. -- unedited -- for only $2.99! I was like 
!
, lol. (You should see some of my "sticking the cam out the window while driving shots" -- haha... they're terrible!) But *shrug* One thing I learned back then was that you should always have a cam coz you just never know...
