U2 Puts On A Show

A picture of what Dodger Stadium might look like

In 1993, I got to go see U2's "Zoo TV Outside Broadcast Tour" at Dodger Stadium due to the fact that my ex's mother had basically purchased a row of tickets. When she called me to ask if I wanted to go, it was evident that she had no idea that the band was at all huge or that the show had sold out. Not counting a group trip to see Paula Abdul and Boyz II Men when I was 16, this was my first "Real" concert, and it was fantastic. It was huge. They had a belly dancer on stage, Bono spoke to my heart with his liberal world-view, and there was a video segment which allowed Bono do duet with Lou Reed on Satellite of Love (and I have loved Lou Reed since far before age 16). It took an inordinate amount of time to get from Orange to Los Angeles and we bought tee shirts from vendors who were basically standing out on the Freeway which was so far backed up that they were in no danger of physical harm. I honestly don't remember if I bought that tee shirt or if it was bought for me, it was a long time ago. (Holy crud, 18 years ago doing the math) I have no idea what happened to that tee shirt, but if I had held on to it, I would have worn it last night. 

The stage resembled "some type of crustacean."

A few weeks ago, my friend Sara left me a voicemail message while my phone was in my locker at the Y. She wanted to know if I would be at all interested in going with her to the U2 360 concert at TCF Bank Stadium, as her husband was not particularly interested. She specified that she had obtained the tickets so long ago (this show had to be rescheduled about a year ago) that she wasn't even going to ask me to pay her. Would I ever! 

The TCF Bank Stadium on the University of Minnesota campus is very new, very nice, and very crappy with regards to parking and traffic control. Umbrellas and backpacks are prohibited, which is great when the forecast calls for rain. I decided to go poncho-free, partly because Sara had only been able to locate one when she was on her way, but I honestly wouldn't have chosen a poncho because being plain wet is better in my opinion than being clammy with the feeling of wet even though your brain knows your dry.

Interpol was the opening act. Not super familiar with them. We tried to look them up online, but both my Blackberry and Sara's iPhone were having data problems. 60,000 people all trying to update Facebook creates problems with the network. Imagine that. 

To pass the time, we watched the stagehands through the binoculars as they tore down Interpol and got everything ready for U2 (I saw someone I know on the crew, which is a testament to Sara's awesome binoculars!) We determined that the setpiece resembled some sort of crustacean. 

Around dark, the show actually began. It was quite good, and if you hadn't bought a ticket and were outside, you should have been able to hear just fine. Bono used the rain as an excuse to sing snippets of "Rain" (by The Beatles), "Singin in the Rain" and "Purple Rain" (local area statute requires at least one Prince acknowledgement by all visitors).

"It's A Beautiful Day" was performed as a "duet" of sorts with NASA Commander Mark Kelly (husband of Gabrielle Giffords, and if you don't know who she is, look it up).
Because YouTube is Awesome, here it is:

 

Sound is kind of iffy, but this will give you the general idea

At one point, Bono dedicated the song "Stuck In A Moment" to Amy Winehouse, as she had passed away that day, and about halfway through the song the Aquatennial fireworks started in clear visibility to most of the people in the stadium, as if she had answered the dedication somehow. 

I'm wearing a hat.

The fireworks lasted for several songs and the rain got harder as the evening progressed. I looked around and there were a few empty seats and a lot of ponchos. I thought I was okay because I was wearing a hat. Bono was wearing a hat as well - in fact, he brought two hats, he actually changed his hat at one point, so I felt justified. Adam Clayton took a different approach and took his shirt off. Now there's a guy who obviously works out... The rain was starting to get on my nerves when I started thinking about how in Zen Buddhism they talk about being able to "sit" through anything. Well, I wasn't going to "sit" as my seat was wet, but I supposed that the same logic could apply to standing and by default, that logic could also apply to dancing. I decided, therefore, that I would "dance" through the discomfort, and I found 

that I was not uncomfortable at all. The rain was rather invigorating, looked really neat falling through the lighting, and not too long after it stopped raining, I was moderately dry. 

Getting home was a new adventure. We were initially going to look for a cab, but there were none to be found. With my personal knowledge of the bus system, I got us onto a 6 to head for downtown. The sea of people walking into traffic at this time was unnerving. Do they no longer teach kindergarteners that it is an inherently bad idea to walk into traffic? We made it downtown though, and after a walkabout seeking a cab for the final leg of my journey (not Sara's as she had parked at my place), we resigned ourselves to wait for the bus. 

Upon entering the bus, in the seating section known lovingly as the "peanut gallery" there was a tall skinny man wearing 4 pairs of sunglasses and a homemade tee shirt that said "BORN BONO." This was nothing compared to the nonsense coming out of his mouth. I tried, I tried so very very hard not to pay attention to him, but in the last bit before our stop when he declared "I'm going to take off my pants!" I just burst into laughter. (Note: this individual was so high on whatever it was he had taken that I seriously believe that he lacked the proper dexterity to remove an article of clothing.)

A picture of what U2 might look like.

Although I still kind of prefer seeing smaller bands in smaller venues and being able to see the whites of their eyes, this was an amazing concert experience and next time they're here I'm actually going to make a concerted effort to obtain tickets of my own.