Who knew such a standard setlist could still result in such a wicked show? I admit, I was nervous, watching the lightning in the distance, and coming closer, and closer, complete (finally) with thunder mere seconds after the strikes, so we knew it was there, and not just off in the distance.
They had emergency evacuation procedures posted around the stadium (even on the jumbotron before the show), and the word was that if there was lightning in the area, the show would be delayed. I thought for sure we'd escaped the threat of storms. The heat had dropped at least 10 degrees by show time, and it didn't feel nearly as humid as it had been.
I don't know - maybe a direct hit to the Claw would have finally caused someone to make that call. It was crazy. I think the rain started, lightly, during Mysterious Ways, and then it continued throughout the bulk of the show, torrentially so at times.
Thank god my mom brought ponchos, and had it not been pouring rain, I would have taken a picture of us in our drenched ponchos. (My folks enjoyed the show; my step-sister really loved it.)
The crowd was amazing. The only people I noticed sitting in our section were my parents (their feet hurt!), and only a few people left early, that I could see. A couple in front of us left before the encore, and one guy left immediately after the closest lightning bolt, but that was about it.
The floor was maybe the most packed I'd seen on the tour - you could tell it was smaller. Really, not a bad seat in the place.
But yeah, the band? I don't know what it is about rain and these guys, but it gives them super powers or something. The crowd loved Bono's Singin' In the Rain snippets, and he got us singing it as they were leaving the stage again.
They seemed like they were having so much fun, and Bono seemed so impressed by the crowd reaction, I thought for sure they were going to bust out with something different, but oh well. What a great show.
(Note of minutiae only of interest to U2 nerds like us: Edge's guitar went a bit wonky during Until the End of the World when he first tried to go onto the bridge, and I guess he didn't want to risk it happening again, so he wasn't on the bridge for the ending bit where the bridges move together. Boo!)