October 16, 2009

LilSis and I are still in Sin City, so we're super excited to have an awesome guest poster today!  SAA is a coworker of mine, and she had the incredible opportunity to see U2 live in Dallas the other day.  Call me jealous!  She's agreed to share her experience with us all, so take it away, SAA!

Photo by SAA!

It's hard to describe a concert experience like U2's 360 Tour in the new Cowboys' Stadium Monday night.  Was it epic?  That's close, but it falls short.  Life changing?  Well, I don't want to be dramatic…but that might be more like it.

The story started when I lucked into a last-minute ticket for the Dallas stop on U2's 360 Tour on Monday.  Basically, a friend figured out he wouldn't be able to make it because of work, and $65 and 24 hours later I found myself a mere ten yards from the 2-inch platform shoes of Bono himself.  Yes, Bono wears 2-inch platform shoes because, yes, he has a bad case of Short Man's syndrome.  But I digress.

If the Cowboys' Stadium isn't staggering in and of itself, walking inside and seeing the towering, alien-like 360 Tour stage will make your jaw drop (see http://360.u2.com).  Add 70,000 people and the era's greatest (arguably) rock band, and, well…the phrase “life-changing” doesn't seem as dramatic.

I could try to go into detail about what it felt like when The Edge strummed the first note of With or Without You (my personal favorite), or when Bono made eye contact with me from only eight feet away and I went weak in the knees, or when the stadium sounded like it was about to burst during Where the Streets Have No Name.  But I'd be setting myself up for failure.  Words just can't do it justice.

I will say that U2's old stuff will always be nearer and dearer to my heart than their more recent songs.  They actually opened with two songs I didn't know from their newest album, and I had the sinking feeling that the concert might be a let-down.  But, happily, the set list only got better from there.  BigSis had predicted that Bono would find a way to throw in a political issue, and she wasn't wrong: before the concert started, event staff passed out rather creepy masks of Aung San Suu Kyi (picture here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:U2360-Suu_Kyi-tribute.JPG), an imprisoned Burmese democracy advocate, for those of us on the floor to wear during Walk On.  But really, Bono wasn't preachy about it, and it was a worthwhile issue.  I can't say I'd personally like for thousands of people to be wearing my face on a mask, but maybe that's just me…

Unfortunately, time won't permit a longer post.  But I will leave you with this advice: if the 360 Tour is coming to a city near you, go.  It will be something you tell your kids and/or grandkids about some day.  Thank you, BigSis and LilSis, for the posting space.  And, in the spirit of U2, walk– err, blog on 🙂