a few post concert thoughts here, not really a review as much as a reflection on the most recent experience. We just got back from STL today, had a really good time, and oh boy was it really hot and humid!
We decided not to que in line all day because we were okay with just standing in the back somewhere and taking in the show from a different perspective than that of way up close. We really wanted to see the light show and i want to thank those of you who advised me to do so, because there really is a whole other dimension to this show that you don't get to see if you are up close.
We ended up staying out way too late saturday night so getting up early sunday was out of the question anyway. More on that later....we happened over to the stadium around 6:45 and walked right in, no waiting at all. I'm not sure how long the GA line was because as i looked out the hotel window during the day it appeared as if the GA line was smaller than usual, though that might have been because they were obscured by tents and such.
The crowd around us was pretty good, other than a couple of drunken & high morons whom im surprised weren't carried out on a stretcher. Also im amazed at how nobody seems to cheer at all for Zooropa, probably the best moment of the night, wtf people? My only guess is maybe they didn't realize the band was actually playing the song because they were hidden behind the screen...who knows.
Some really funny Bono moments when he talked about the setlist from back in 1981. Also he kept shouting out to the people in the Hilton Hotels a block away and telling the people up there to "turn on their lights". And he made a comment towards the hotel, not sure who specifically he was directing it to, "go to bed young man". Maybe someone knows?
Now for some gripes....not related to the concert in any way at all.
We stayed at the Millennium Hotel, which was a complete cluster-fuck. The hotel had some type of Miss America pageant for 10year old girls going on, and they were everywhere with their tiaras and their banners and their queen sized attitudes. Quite the contrast from Miss Sarajevo where the women were making a statement in a time of war, risking their lives, to these miniature drama queens whose families loaded up the SUV and drove them all over the country so they could compete in beauty pageants and get an early start on their quest to be gossip girl. I love kids, but this was ridiculous.
The hotel was either understaffed or unprepared to handle the guests. I suspect both. The elevators took forever to operate, and i find it odd that a hotel with 27 floors has only 1 level for parking in a 9 story garage. Getting out of the garage this morning was a mess because the mechanical arm didn't work so we were stuck trying to get out for a while....at least we didn't have to pay the $36 when all was said and done everyone just drove off!
Apparently there was a fire saturday evening on one of the floors, im thinking the 9th floor. We were in the hotel bar when some of the guests came down and were pissed because the room next door had caught on fire and nobody had bothered to evacuate them. The manager came by and offered to comp their drinks, of course all of us sitting at the bar expressed our anguish at the situation and we got some free drinks too!
After the bar closed, we went out on the patio and out of the blue there was a family from Georgia who decided to hop the fence to the pool area and go for a swim. The pool was closed at 10 but this wasn't stopping anyone, so of course we joined them for about an hour. I'm really surprised that nobody called security on us because im sure we were noisy. I guess they had better things to do, like checking on the fires and such.
All in all it was a great time, despite the absurd hotel accommodations (we met people who had booked their room back in January and didn't even get to check in until hours after the show because the hotel just didn't have anywhere to put them) and the oppressive daytime heat.
The show was great, not
Nashville great but close enough, the people were great. We met a lot of nice folks from Joplin, Kansas City, Oklahoma, St Louis, Illinois, Wisconsin, and even some fellow interferencers early in the morning before the show (apologize for my drunkenness
). Kinda sad that this has all come to an end for us being our last show and all. Very thankful for the 4 great shows that we got to see with some varying degrees of setlists.
Despite the relief of being back home, where there's no place like home, im sad that this chapter is now officially over for me. Part of me wishes it would just go on and on and on....maybe in my dreams...i sure wouldn't do all of this for any other band.