I saw the Sydney Popmart and it was simply amazing. I was in the very front row, right in the corner where the ramp meets the stage, so I didn't get much of what was going on on screen (like sitting with your face an inch from the tv) but it was awesome being that close to something so huge.
My favourite memory of it was actually driving past the stadium the day before on my way to pick up a friend from the airport. Sticking out over the top of the roof of the stadium - the tip of the arch.
Of course the end of that show will never be topped. That day in Sydney was fucking hot, ridiculously hot. It had rained earlier in the night, but cleared up by the time the concert started. The concert blasts away without a drop of rain..... and then, only 3 months after Michael Hutchence died, in his hometown, the city where he died as well, with his family, friends and INXS members in the crowd, Bono kicks into MLK alone right out at the end of the ramp, with those 'Warhol' shots of Hutchence on the big screen. "And if the thunderclouds......"
It starts to pour again. Absolutely bucket down, and there's lightning blasting away over the top of the stadium. Bono is on his knees at the end of the ramp in the rain, yelling something, not into the microphone. MLK makes it's way into One. Bono calls out for all the lights to be turned off in the stadium. All of them. The Popmart screen shuts down completely. There aren't even spotlights on the band members. Complete darkness in a massive football stadium except for lighters, the Exit signs over the doors and the lightning right above. A perfect moment. It stays dark as U2 fade from One into only a few lines of Wake Up Dead Man. The lights never return and U2 slide off stage and away as INXS' "Never Tear Us Apart" kicks in over the PA. 50,000 people sing along. The full 'house lights' come back up halfway through the song and no-one moves, everyone continues to sing along until the song is done. And I tell you, not a dry eye in the house.
Oh, and for most of the night Helena Christensen was standing right in front of me
Best. Night. Ever.
A juggernaut Mirrorball Lemon?
Just joking. It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen when seeing a concert. I had seats up in the stands but we ran onto the field when U2 came on. It was worth getting drenched to see that!
