U2 had not been to Kansas City since 1997, and I think I know why. Kansas City was one of the few larger venues in the U.S. to not sell out, falling just short of filling Kemper Arena. But for the 14,500 who were there, it can only be described as a near-spiritual experience.

To step back a second, I must give credit to Garbage, who played a great set and did very well playing in front of an audience who obviously cheered the end of every song because it brought them that much closer to seeing U2 take the stage.

But when U2 took the stage, there was no fanfare, no exploding lights, and no thundering countdowns. They simply walked up, got an immediate wild standing ovation, and just started playing. Elevation kicked in, and half-way through the song, the lighting finally took shape. And was the stage ever beautiful the whole night. Every colorered spot, every flood light, disco ball, and LCD screen was used to perfectly match the mood of the music being played.

And as for the music, well what can you say? Although U2's music has never been technically overpowering, they simply have that groove that few bands can match. The were all at top form, although they admitted they were a bit 'rusty' after playing Desire.

All in all, it was a night I shall not soon forget. To those 500 or 1,000 people who didn't go that could have, your loss.

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