again, taken from my huge post in the fan gathering forum..
long read... but it just HAD to be written
Day 3
Arrived at the GA lineup at about 9:30am or so, and was 101st in line. This time around, the lineup was so much smoother. GM Place staff split the lines a LOT earlier, and the numbering system worked a lot better. We were also nicely spread out, and there was a lot of room for everyone. Again, read the paper, and I got some Quiznos and bubble tea for lunch, boy did that taste good!
At about 5pm, there was buzz that someone from the band might show up near the GA line near the entrance to the GM place garage. security set up a perimiter and everything, but unfortunatley, nobody showed.
Soon enough, came the moment where we were going in through the doors. I went through... again, with my "come on baby" chants... but nothing, blue screen of death. I went with amarks86, who was right behind me, but something screwed up with the scanner, so I had to patiently wait a minute or so for them to fix it, when he finally got through, he went up to the laptop, scanned, it lagged... for the LONGEST 5 SECONDS EVER! ... but then..
VERTIGO! VERTIGO VERTIGO!
Ellipse baby!!!!!!!!!!
That was just, wow, so excited, quickly rushed down to the ellipse entrance, like 3 staffers told us to calm down and slow down...
in the ellipse, we got a spot RIGHT in front of where Adam would be, right on the railing.
We also ran into some of the people we met in in the GA lineup who also made the ellipse and we all congratulated each other, good times, good times. The anticipation for the show now was incredible. Watching the Boston and Slane DVD's and the inside of the ellipse, I just dreamed of being able to be inside it, let alone RIGHT ON THE RAILING!
My mom was also at the show, I originally had a second row side stage balcony seat that upon scoring another GA, I gave to my mom for her birthday, which afterwards she told me it was by far the best birthday present she's gotten. She recently really fell in love with the band too, after I started listening to them and watching DVD's a lot in the recent months.
She also said my face was on one of the fan-cam's the whole time during the setting up of U2's stage, which seems kind of... weird...
We were alse right by the stage camera on the rail and snuck a peek at last night's setlist which was still taped on that showed four songs being filmed.
I was so excited the WHOLE time. When Kings of Leon hit the stage, I was cheering them on like crazy. I think I even remember hearing myself yell "YOU ROCK BASS PLAYER!" As well as singing along mimicing Caleb's crazy singing style during the Bucket, which I'm sure made me look like a complete fool.
When U2 hit the stage, it wasn't even an arena show anymore. It turned into something so personal, and so special. It was just incredible. It was just me and the band, nothing around me was there anymore. I felt the freedom to scream at the top of my lungs, sing whenever I felt like it, be attentive and just watch in awe and wonder, as well as just go nuts. It was incredible.
When the band hit the stage, seeing Adam up close was the coolest thing ever. All of them though, there are so many neat little things that you can only notice when you're co close. Adam and Edge making faces at eachother sometimes. Edge just starting blankly into outer space, then noticing something and making a quirky face.
Back to Adam though. Bass players rock, and it was awesome being on Adam's side, because I too am a Bass player, and it was so damn cool to see such a pro up close.
During one of the early songs, I forget which one, possibly Beautiful Day or Vertigo, Bono was out on the Ellipse singing, and everyone around was watching him. I turned around to Adam and started bobbing my head to the bassline, while I was doing it, he looked at me, smiled, then I smiled, then he made an even bigger smile for a few seconds and nodded before finally turning around again.
Some songs, the ones that knew how to play on bass, I would air-bass to over the edge of railing, such as New Year's Day, Bullet the Blue Sky, and Sunday Bloody Sunday, a couple of times Adam noticed and just started to chuckle, which then made me laugh too. I wonder how many times he actually noticed, because some songs, like Bullet, I'd be doing the air-bass, but watching Bono the whole time, especially during the whole blindfold "Jesus, Jew, Muhammad, It's true" bit. I'm sure he noticed on more than one occasion though
There were also these two girls that pushed their way beside me, and were really annoying. What was hilarious though, is how they kept flirting with Adam, and then he winked at them a few times.
The annoying part, however, is that 1) On more than one occasion, they said "Come on, when are they gonna play something we know!" during the first half of the show. and 2) During the intro to Miracle Drug, when Bono was giving the story about it's inspiration and who it's about, they WOULDN'T SHUT UP! they kept yammering about stupid shit, I really wanted to smack them or at least yell at them, but I resisted, for one reason or another. They were really annoying though.
Another great moment came during An Cat Dubh, which is such a great live song. Near the end, after Bono did his cat crawling around the ellipse, he came back onto the main stage, and did some of his cat growls. I was really enjoying myself, and then Bono did the final big growl right at me, which I returned right back to him as strongly as I could
That was a really great moment that's forever stored in a flash memory in my mind, clear as day
The rest of the show was just so magical, it was very very magical.
Haha, speaking of magic, during into the heart, which Bono pretty much sang all of lying down, and playfully interacting with the crowd off to the side of the ellipse, he did some little hand tricks that parents often do to their kids. Those ones where you'd hit your fists together, and opening and closing one or more fingers with each hit... that was a nice moment.
Some more awesomeness happened during electric co. On Edge's side of the ellipse, these girls had a "Miami <3's U2" sign. Bono noticed it, and busted into a few lines of Miami, I heard Miami, My Mammy... and a few more lines which weren't really audible, but rhythmically sounded a lot like Miami. Then he went right into Send in the Clowns, and he asked those same girls to toss him some lipstick to put on.... he was gesturing around his lips, but the girls had no idea what he wanted, until eventually they realized it and started going through their bags, and Bono smiled and started nodding, like 5 lipsticks went flying at him, but he got the one from the sign girl and put some on for send in the clowns, and then wiped it off with his towel.
But it was all so incredible, seeing everything so up close, it was literally like living in a dream. Such an incredible and personal experience. It was like having the band in my own living room. Something that I don't know I'll ever ever experience again, but having experienced it once, I'll always have that incredible memory.
It was probably the most fun I have ever had, in anything I've done before. I might have even been having too much fun, as pointed out by trevster2k who saw me from his seat on the back of the stage
It was incredible though, I couldn't stop moving, I couldn't blink. There's so much that goes on. So much energy, so much everything. Amazing, just amazing.
For those of you that say seats are better than GA because of all the fuss and pushing and everything. If you do manage to get into the ellipse, and right against the railing, it'll be the most amazing thing you could possibly experience, making everything worth it. Unforgettable, simply unforgettable.
Too bad I didn't see more of Edge tough, although it was awesome during 40 when he was on our side, btu even Adam went to the other side of the stage on some songs, and during 40, Edge was just in some sort of trance-like state.
I didn't have a camera, but amarks, who was two people (the annoying girls) to the right of me, took some with his camera phone and posted in a few in another thread.
All in all, I had the most amazing three days of concerts possible. I experienced the best of everything there was to experience at a U2 show. The best seats for the COBL shoot. Then the tip of the Ellipse with Samurai Bono and the rest of the ellipse antics, during one of the most powerful and magical shows the band ever put on. To the third day, and simply the most special and unforgettable experience being right there, right by the band, sharing laughs with Adam and growls with Bono. Writing that just brings the biggest smile to my face, it was just, so magical, all of it.