Charlotte, December 12th, 2005

I've been fortunate enough to see them 3 times on this tour before this Monday, but I was left wanting more after the two recent Atlanta shows. Definitely suffered from the post-show blues after that two-fer weekend. The closest show to Atlanta remaining was Charlotte, and I looked and looked for a ticket, but could not find one at a reasonable price and by last week I'd given up hope of going. But, late on Friday, I sent a few emails to some craigslist posts with no real expectations, and one guy wrote back that he had just sold his ticket. I had given up.

Unbeknownst to me, he fwded my email to a friend of his. She sent me an email on Saturday morning telling me she had a General Admission floor ticket available, and was only looking to sell it at face…! So, I of course played it real cool, did my best Rico Suave and yelled YES!!! I'LL TAKE IT!!! The ticket cost $49.50, which, funnily enough, was the cheapest I've paid for any of the four shows I saw this year… We made arrangements to meet up in the GA line before the doors opened, and there was a steady downpour as my friend and I arrived in Charlotte to go to the arena. Almost as soon as I met up with Jen to get in line, it stopped raining, and I considered this a good sign. Who wants a bad hair day for a U2 show, right? ;) So, we went through the entrance routine, and when it was our turn to have our ticket scanned the second time to see if we would get access to the ellipse, Jen handed her ticket over and I quietly thought to myself, just let it be her ticket, so we don't have to check mine and feel the tension rise. Sure enough, her ticket scanned for the ellipse and we were inside! I nearly had heart failure I was so happy. What a funny little bit of dumb luck and fate…

So, I was approximately 10 feet from The Edge all night, but the coolest thing about the Ellipse is they don’t pack it in tight, so any time they went out on the catwalk, I could just walk over to where they were. Amazing. I don't think I can do any justice in words to describe the experience, except to say that I had chills up my spine for most of the night, their performance was literally mind-blowing that close to the stage, and it was simply a dream come true to witness their amazing talent and charisma so closely.

I've followed the reviews and opinions on the various fan sites, and while I agree with some criticisms, when we really get down to it, we should consider ourselves lucky to still get the chance to see such an amazing band, such an amazing live experience. Was the setlist predictable? Yes, but so what - the performance and vital energy was there, as always. This is Bono, Larry, Adam and the Edge - so bloody what if they won't play Acrobat! It's still the boys from Dublin.

I've seen many shows over the years, but being that close, literally in the heart of it all is truly awe inspiring and mind blowing. I spent substantial parts of the show simply overwhelmed by their power and strength and beauty. I don't expect I'll ever top a concert experience like this again, and if I don't, I'll be content with that. It was truly amazing. I wanted just one more show on this tour, knowing they won't be back around again for a few years most likely, but I could not have asked for anything better than this. Wow.

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