this whole story about 'security sucks', bugs no end...
sometimes you 'win', most often, you don't...i've been lucky where a lot of people haven't, but it was always a 'right spot at the right time' sort of thing.
i had my first meet & greet in los angeles in the spring. we waited and waited, and all during that time, john was the embodiment of gentlemanliness. he chatted us up big time, he even told us he wore boxer shorts!! i got HIS autograph as well, and he was smilingly shy about it. bono eventually came out, and worked the crowd, and even then not everyone got an individual moment with him, or something signed. it just turns out that way. john then takes bono away when john says so, bono waves to the unlucky ones, and that's it.
fast forward to chicago in the spring, and it's the edge on one side of a line-up, and that was it. not EVERY single person gets a moment! there is no 'contract' to get to every single person. and the last time i got to meet them, it was late, or early depending on how you call it, in the night after the first toronto show. edge came out, and spent nearly a half hour with us, had convo's, signed stuff, and was as charming as could be. BUT, there were only about 20 people, so he had the time to do it. same with adam a few minutes later.
another thing missing from this, is FAN safety. john isn't just concerned with bono, but the fans too. i caught bono entering the garage in wash. d.c. 40 or 50 people were all behind this 3 foot high concrete bulwark, and when bono got out of the car, hordes of people rushed, and some in the front fell off the ledge, and could have been hurt. back in the car bono gets, and it's done.
as for the aussie shows, remember, the guys had just been getting burned by the 'e-bay' phenomenon. people showing up at the book signing clearly NOT being fans, and the lads starting to sign 'for e-bay' on things. same goes for abbey road. people showed up with arm loads of stuff to sign, and i don't think it takes a huge leap to guess what they are all about. re-selling on e-bay seems to be a big thing with u2 stuff now more than ever. in OZ, i've read that parents showed up with their children, armed with 45's, album covers, and pushed them forward. and larry signed one thing, 'happy e-bay', and moved on.
so there is a lot that goes into this 'meet & greet' thing nowadays. security has to think about the band, the fans, and their own personal feelings about signing things. not everyone will get their moment, and to be disappointed because they SAY they'll get to everyone, and they don't, is rubbish. i understand disappointment at not actually having had your moment, but plenty of other people are in that boat with you. there is no contract. you takes your chances like everyone else.