from The Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. –– At age 79, Sen. Jesse Helms has experienced what's usually a preteen right of passage – he attended his first rock concert. The North Carolina Republican was invited to a U2 concert in Washington by his friend Bono, lead singer for the group.

"It was filled to the gills, and people were moving back and forth like corn in the breeze," Helms said. "They had that crowd going wild. When Bono shook his hips, that crowd shook their hips." Bono and Helms – known for his unbending conservative positions on issues such as abortion, gay rights and federal funding for the arts – struck up a friendship last fall when the singer lobbied the senator on international debt relief. Helms and his grandchildren watched Thursday's show from a sky box. They were invited backstage before the concert, where Helms met U2 guitarist the Edge. Helms said he was impressed with the Bono's stamina. "I don't see how he lasts physically," he said. "He runs and skips and just goes and goes." Helms also said he turned down his hearing aids and put his hands over his ears during the concert because it "was the noisiest thing I ever heard. It was so loud I couldn't really understand what he was saying."