U2’s 2005 Vertigo Tour hit Vegas Friday, November 4 and Saturday, November 5. My friend and I were lucky enough to get tickets to the Friday show, nosebleed I might add. It didn’t matter, in the smaller, intimate arena of the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the band could be seen anywhere, especially with the ellipse stage jutting out into the crowd. Damien Marley opened up the show and wasn’t bad for warming up the audience. Once U2 came on, the crowd exploded into a burst of screams and cheers. They started with a great performance of “City of Blinding Lights” and right away went into “Vertigo.” One of the greatest things about a U2 show is the connection between the audience and the band. As the band played their songs, the audience, no matter how different everybody was, came together with one thing in common, the love for U2 and their music. From “Vertigo,” they played “Elevation,” “Electric Co.” and “The Ocean,” all of which were flawless performances. After that came one of the best performances of the night. As U2 played “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” mostly acoustic, the connection between the audience, and the band members themselves, was phenomenal. It was like we were all one, everybody, including Bono, singing they’re hearts out. After that it truly was a “Beautiful Day” as the crowd joined in on that song and from there Bono went into a narrative on The Edge as he introduced “Miracle Drug.” “Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own” followed, and “Stuck In a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of” was dedicated to Michael Hutchins, a friend of Bono’s who committed suicide. After that, U2 got political with “Love and Peace or Else,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “Bullet the Blue Sky,” during which Bono put on a CoeXisT headband, a symbol for peace between Islam, Jews, and Christians, stating that we’re all sons of Abraham. Following “Miss Sarajevo” the Declaration of Human Rights was played over the big screens. “Pride (In the Name of Love)” was dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and Nelson Mandela, and an awesome performance of “Where the Streets Have No Name” was accompanied with a backdrop of African flags. The arena was turned into the Milky Way as Bono asked everyone to get out their cell phones and join the ONE Campaign to stop poverty in Africa, after which the band appropriately played the song “One.” The first encore consisted of “Walk On,” “Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses” and a very intimate performance of “With or Without You,” in which Bono picked a random girl from the audience, hugging her as he sang the song. The second encore started with “All Because Of You,” Yahweh” and the big finale was “40,” a song roughly taken from Psalm 40. U2, a band of four, has that gift of turning the arena into a community. There are people from all different backgrounds and even countries that come to a U2 show. Before the show starts it’s just a mess of people with a similar taste in music, but by the end of the show, everyone has a connection with each other, something only U2 can do. From the white flag to the ONE Campaign and “Sunday Bloody Sunday” to “Vertigo,” U2 remains to be one of the greatest and most influential bands in the world, and they’re certainly not planning to retire any time soon.

tourdb © 1997 - 2008 tourdb (at) popsmart (dot) org