Here are my impressions, this was my 20th U2 show, fourth tour, but with the exception of PopMart all my other U2 shows were in arenas. I had GA and was in the circle (most of my previous shows were GA too).
SO, I had a fantastic time, it is so awesome to see them live again. I was with a large group of friends, most of whom had never seen U2 live before, and they had a total blast. That being said, yes it was the first show of the tour and there were several screw-ups which affected the overall energy and flow (not just One, but Still haven´t found, WOWY, and other minor things). I also saw the first Elevation night in Miami and as I remember it seemed much more tight than last night. So I must say this was definately in the lower end of the shows I have seen. Still, U2´s worst show is still an amazing experience and way better than most other live bands.
I don´t think Breathe was the best choice as an opener, but overall the first half of the show was really great. The energy was great, things were flowing etc. Being in the circle is amazing, it´s like seeing them in a club but having as a back-drop a stadium with 100,000 and a beautiful sky over your head. Umbelievable
Then somehow things went down, it seems to me from Walk On, and I unfortunately have to blame the Ang San Suu Ki masks and the Desmond TuTu speech before Streets. Btw, I am not someone who has any major with Bono´s political campaigning, quite the contrary, I fully support him and I think people who expect politics to be completely out of U2 shows should go see another band. BUT, the way they did it just does not work and it sort of killed the mood. No one was really wearing the masks, although many held them in their hands, which was ok, but it didn´t really work the way Bono seemed to have hoped. Streets should start as it always has before, with an awesome segue from another song. Now Desmond Tutu is talking and people are listening to his speech (which is good, that´s not the problem), instead of getting excited when the music starts, and as a result the song felt quite flat, which is a big problem I think since Streets is supposed to be this super-intense moment, lifting up the spirit of even the ´worst´ show. They did bring back the full lights at the beginning though which is good, but the energy and build-up was not what it should be.
Then after the One screw up, the energy of both the band and the crowd sort of went down, they obviously did not seem very pleased with themselves, and the crowd felt kind of uncomfortable.
That being said there were several high points:
-The stage is awesome, I totally love the way they use it
-Bono sounded great, I don´t know what people who said he sounded bad are talking about. Ultraviolet and MOS were amazing vocally.
-Unknown Caller was GREAT. Much better than I expected. They put the lyrics of the chorus on the screens so everyone was chanting and it really worked
Probably the best song from NLOTH along with Magnificient IMO
-I think MOS will also be great live, but it seemed unrehearsed last night. Not entirely convinced it works as a closer but I think if they nail the live version it could
-Loved Angel of Harlem with the Michael Jackson snipperts. UF was great as well, I was so happy and emotional to hear that song live, but the crowd was not that enthusiastic.
-Ultraviolet was amazing, absolutely love the way the re-worked the song
-Vertigo totally rocked the house, people can say what they want about this song, but it kicks ass live.
-SBS was great as usual, it´s a classic, one of the best songs ever written and a sure crowd pleasure, it totally belong sin the set-list
Pride was good too, with modified ooh ooh chants at the beginning. I personally don´t care whether or not they play this song. WOWY was a bit flat, I love the song but they can´t seem to play it live like they used to.
I am not sure what is my verdict on Crazy Tonight. On one hand I like the song and loved the live version from Letterman so I was looking forward to hearing it live. But I must say the dance version adds a different twist to the set, and it´s great that the whole band comes on the rail with Larry on the Jimbe.
So overall no, it was not U2´s best show and in a way I was a bit dissapointed. It started well but ended kind of weirdly. But I really don´t think there is any reason to worry, they need to work out the pace and flow of the show and set-list, and work a bit more on a few songs (also try not to fuck-up old ones like One and WOWY, although it seems Bono was having some problems with his monitors so I think that´s why it went bad), BUT I´m sure this tour will be awesome, and that when I see them again in Dublin in 3 weeks things will have improved a lot already
