Spectacular! The set. The music.
The Message. Awesome night.
We were on the floor of the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh.
A walkway went from the stage in a complete circle
right through the middle of the floor.
It was just so fantastic to see these guys so up close and personal.
The first time around, Bono actually leaned into
the crowd and they held him up. I thought he was going to
body surf for a second! Just incredible!
And the rest of the set was great. I loved the light curtains.
Exactly designed for an indoor arena.
The sound was great. Bono's voice was tops.
They performed for probably two and half hours, counting the
two long encores. I was never so pumped
as when they broke into "Sunday, Bloody Sunday." It was riding
on the top of a hot air balloon, the mood kept
rising and rising. Then mellow a bit, then swoosh back up.
I never yell at concerts, and I was hoarse afterward.
And the crowd was really into it -- at one point,
Bono looked around and just said, "Incredible."
At the end of the first encore, they did "With or Without You,"
and at the end the crowd was the only sound,
voicing the main theme. The band got quiet and the place was rocking.
The sound from the stage must have been great.
Bono looked around and you could see him voice the word,
"Wow!" Just great music.
And this was so much more than just a concert.
Even songs I thought I knew, like "Where the Streets Have
No Name," took on a different meaning to me,
as I began to see Bono's complete committment to a better world.
He would contantly return to the theme so central
to his being -- that we need to do all we can to make this a
better world. At one point, he asked everyone
to hoist their cell phones, and turn the arena into the Milky Way,
as all the other lights were turned off.
Then he asked people to text their names to the number at one.org,
the campaign to make poverty history. If
you can't get to a U2 concert, you can go to one.org and help
do one of the things that drives Bono.
As great as the atmosphere was, and as tremendous
as the music was, you came out of that concert understanding
how committed Bono is to making a better world.
Naturally, he has a much bigger voice than most of the rest of us,
but his point is that we have the numbers to
turn the tide of this country and the world if we band together and
participate in the solution, no matter how little.
Just figured I'd include the wristband we had
to wear on the floor and the ticket.
Keep up the good work, Bart!
John in Kent, OH
