U2

It's 2:30 in the afternoon and I've just woken up with legs that feel as if all the tissue apart from the nerves have been replaced with lead. The nerves are obviously still working since they're repeatedly telling me that they hate me for the abuse they've had over the last few days, the football, the long walks and now a whole evening standing and a lot of jumping about. It was worth falling out with my legs though, because last nights U2 gig was incredibly, wonderfully awesome.

I've been lucky enough to see some great live bands. I've seen Coldplay, Oasis, the Manics, the Vines, Radiohead, Blur, even seen Paul McCartney sing 3 hours of Beatles songs (which was also wonderful), but last nights gig was possibly the best gig I will ever go to. The sound that these four people manage to create is truly incredible. The music was wonderful, U2 have some amazing songs and they sound even more powerful and beautiful live. As I stood 6 foot from Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen you could see the relationship between them, see as they worked together and how Bono led them through the set. There were little moments when Bono or the Edge would improvise at the end of a song, and the rest of the band responded and went with it. And they played pretty much every song that you'd want them to play. This was the set list:-

'Vertigo'
'All Because Of You'
'The Electric Co.'
'Elevation'
'New Year's Day'
'Beautiful Day'
'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For'
'Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses'
'City Of Blinding Lights'
'Miracle Drug'
'Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own'
'Love And Peace Or Else'
'Sunday Bloody Sunday'
'Bullet The Blue Sky'
'Running To Stand Still/Walk On'
'Pride (In The Name Of Love)'
'Where The Streets Have No Name'
'One'
'Zoo Station'
'The Fly'
'With Or Without You'
'Yahweh'
'Vertigo'

The music was incredible, but that wasn't what made this gig so special. There was a power behind the music that wasn't just the quality, there was a real honety behind what they said and sing. As they dedicated 'running to stand still' to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (the democratically elected president of Burmah who this week celebrated her 60th birthday and her 2,523rd day under military detention, under house arrest) and 40'000 people cheered as the UN statement of human rights appeared on the screen, then later as Bono told us "This is the year and this is the moment. Make Poverty History is only a slogan, but behind it is sense. This is the start of the twenty-first century, we can eliminate apartheid, slavery and poverty, and make sure that the journey to equality goes on." and the crowd cheered, and the band kicked into 'Where the streets have no name' it felt like a moment that could change history. Not the concert, but the idea that there were 40'000 people that agreed with Bono, with me, made me feel like maybe the whole Make Poverty History thing could actually make a difference. As the band sang about love, about peace, about co-existence, there was a real truth and depth to what they sang and how the crowd responded. It was a spiritual experience, an emotional experience (yes, there were definite tears in my eyes as they went from 'walk on', through the human rights and into 'pride in the name of love') and that made the concert really stand out from others.



Oh, and I was stood 6 foot from Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen and they rock harder and truer than any other band I've ever seen.