let me start off by saying that there were a few things going against me when i was at the philly show

1. a 5 hr drive in from pittsburgh (i know that many ppl drove from a lot further away so this is more of a push than a strike)

2. i was only able to get one ticket so i didn't have anyone else to share the experience with. and was surrounded by people just standing there (o to have a ga ticket)

3. I was in the rear and about five rows from the top, so i couldn't see shite (sorry girls i know some of you would envy a 2 hour view of larry's ass but...eh...i guess it was alright)

all this made for a rather bad concert going experience.

U2 was very good, not great but very good. as this was my 1st ever U2 concert (at age 21) i had some high expectations. i got into the band as an mtv kid at the tender age of 8 (were they ever not on that station in '88?) but i really began to love them with achtung and progressively zooropa. so what i had seen of them live (on video & tv) was the beautiful spectacles of ZooTV and PopMart. i like the edgy, cool, ironic U2 as much (read more) than the 80's incarnation. but i still love this new cd (which is not, with the exception of beautiful day, a throwback to classic form) and was eager to pop my U2 cherry so to speak. and as in most cases is felt forced, awkward, and was over way to quickly. but there were a few moments of transcendence (also as usual).

the Until the End of the World act was better than on the mexico video and as it is my top U2 song of all time i loved it. the only problem was that i couldn't see most of it since they were at the tip of the heart and the excess lighting made it hard to make out on the rear-view (pity) screens. Out of Control was superb and feel privileged to have heard that live. Bullet the Blue Sky tore my head off and for that moment it felt as if bono was finally putting everything into it and continued to for the whole encore (climax). for most of the time he seemed tired and disinterested though. Wild Honey (top 3 on the new cd) should not've been ruined like that it is a fun and upbeat song and could have made for a nice change of pace had the whole band done it (the drums on Honey are key) and bono seemed to acknowledge this. Bad, Pride and ISHFWILF were standard hits and were played as such with little emotion. New Years Day was only a little better. Please, however was a nice surprise and the recent events made it all the more emotional.

the worst part, however was the fact that i couldn't see bono for at least 1/3 of the set. it's hard to connect with someone you can't see, that's what studios and cd's are for. The visuals were set up for the people in front only and having the house lights on most of the time was a very bad idea. it's that darkness that lets most people let loose at a show and flail and scream at the top of their lungs. it prevented the audience (those around me anyway) from fully giving themselves to the band and getting the most out of the experience. to throw us a bone bono does come around and rile-up those in the poo-poo seats but it shouldn't be necessary. if a tour is set up for all to see then everyone should come away with equal satisfaction. i have talked to and read reviews from people who were in the ga area or even in front of the stage and they all seem positively ecstatic about what they saw. so maybe its just me but i think that adding a few more shows and limit the viewing area to the front and front side would work much better. in a year in which i saw Radiohead pull off 4 encores set against the manhattan skyline in the best concert of my life this show left me seriously wanting. maybe next time i'll spend the extra 200 bucks and grab the good seats off e-bay.

if anyone would like to respond please feel free.

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