I was at the Las Vegas Popmart show, in row 20 on the field.
I actually had a ticket located in the back, but security was lax and I snuck up to the front.
Getting tickets was easy, plenty of good seats available at the box office just before the show, no line.
I remember being appalled at having to pay $50 for this concert, what a ripoff!
Rage Against The Machine opened, and by the time they were through, the first 30 rows of plastic chairs on the field were destroyed. Who the hell decided to use chairs at an outdoor U2 show?
Between sets, new chairs were brought in. Naturally, like a typical Las Vegas show, most of the people in these chairs near the front were rich wannabes, people who just wanted to be seen, or who were trying to impress their girlfriends.
I only found one other guy in the front who stood with me and sang every song they played, including the Pop stuff. Most of the other people around us just sat down and nodded their heads. Expect the upcoming Vegas shows in November to be the same way... full of non-fans who know maybe three songs.
I only remember U2 flubbing up only once during the show, when they had to restart one of their new songs (don't recall which). Everyone laughed and thought it was cool, actually, made them seem human. Other than that, they sounded great to me.
Of course, we were so blown away by that gigantic stage set and huge TV screen... U2 could have played 'Chopsticks' all night and still got a standing o.
The whole problem with that PopMart Tour was that it followed an unpopular album, at least here in the States. Many people I spoke with after the show said that they only liked U2's "old stuff". The new songs didn't go over very well live (how many Pop songs have they played on this tour? None? Hmmmmm...).
It's easy to criticize and nitpick a live recording.
If I could go back in time, however, I'd pay a lot more than $50 to see that show again, no problem.
