my thoughts
well, i also hesitate to post the number of shows i've seen. it?s more than most, but nothing crazy either. i've got to say i have been very fortunate to have gone to so many, and in many different parts of the usa. i worked very hard for all the money i spent on the elevation tour, but more importantly, it was a period of my life where i could, responsibly, trot off across the country. last summer was an amazing experience for me, but, as chris elegantly pointed out in his post, there are many deserving fans who haven't even seen a single show and this needs to be kept in mind, too.
i will come out and say that i had a management pass for the usa leg of the tour. now, i will *not* say how i got it, except that it was through legit channels, and even though i didn?t ever need to buy a ticket to see a show, i almost always did and usually made sure to give the ticket to the most deserving fan i could find. i also spent a lot of $ just outright buying tickets for other people. i did this for friends mostly; people who couldn?t afford the show, or couldn?t score tickets and when i could. i even flew a few friends across country to a show! i know how special seeing u2 live can be for many people, so i tried very hard to keep the karma in balance. it's just so very wrong to have a ticket go unused when you can do something about it!
that being said, there were a few times when i did use the pass to just walk in the building, down to the floor, and into the heart. i travel a lot, and it was mighty convient to not have to worry about being caught off guard if the tour was in the same city as i.
as i reflect on last summer, i sometimes do wonder if it was all a bit excessive. many times i do, of course? but i think what i?ve concluded is that ?what?s excessive? is different for everybody. i mean, i love u2 and all, but there were times when even though i could, i chose not to see the show that night simply because there were more important things to do, or more interesting things to see (in the context of: i?ve seen u2 x number of times, but i have yet ever to see a certain meusum, etc..). also, i know this sounds strange, but i think you *can* overdo it and burn yourself out on u2 and for me at least, lose sight of whats so special about being at the show to begin with. so, for me it was a balance of all the excitement of a u2 show versus trying to keep it real.
interesting post. those are my ramblings.
namaste?
elfyx
