It's A Beautiful Day

14th of July
3:45
Alarm clock rings
Sound on the phone telling me its the day I've been waiting for
There's only one thing going on in my mind
One

Concert day. The day I've been waiting for since September 20th, 2009. 1 year, 9 months, and 24 days. I counted down the days, all 662 of them. I counted down the hours, all 15,888 of them. I counted down the minutes, all 953,280 of them. At times I was even counting the seconds, all 57,196,800 of them. But now, the countdown was finally over. The clock had hit zero. It was finally July 14th. To steal a commonly used phrase on the U2360 Tour, "What time is it in the world? Showtime"

I couldn't sleep, the night of the concert. I didn't crawl into bed until 12:45am but whatever. Its not like mattered what time I tried to go to sleep, because I just couldn't close my eyes for five seconds without feeling a wave of excitement. I only slept in fifteen minute intervals basically. I knew it was bad because I would be away from 3:45am until when I got back to the hotel at around 2am, but I was too excited to sit still

We (my brother and I) get in the car at around 4:30am and hit the road. My brother listens to songs like Zooropa, Out of Control, Magnificent, The Unforgettable Fire, and Get On Your Boots on full blast on his iPod. I couldn't help but overhear and get even more excited. The hour and a half drive to Lincoln Financial Field felt like it took years, but once we crossed the Delaware River and saw the Linc in the foreground, I felt like my wait had been worth it.

I saw the spire on top of The Claw (U2's aptly named stage) as we passed by the stadium. I literally squealed with excitement. That sexy piece of half-machinery, half-fifth band member was calling my name, as if to say welcome back. I couldn't help but to stare, but the time to be awe struck was later, as my brother and I had a long day ahead of us in the General Admission (GA) line.

A little backstory, we have GA tickets. These are floor "seats", where in order to get the spot you want, you need to line up as early as possible. I originally wanted a spot right on the rail along the outer catwalk. Not inside the "pit", but on the outside of the catwalk. After scouring different GA guides, "how to's", and a few trustworthy forum buddies, I decided that 6:30am would be a solid time to line up, and 6:30am was when we got there.

The GA line was tremendously well organized. I had heard horror stories of GA nightmares in Montreal as recently as last week, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But as soon as we entered the parking lot, event staff directed us to the line, and a woman gave us our numbers, 242 and 243, as soon as we got to the line. A man came around with a clip board shortly after and wrote down our names, which assures no one can cut in front of us. So with the formalities of joining the line aside, all that was left to was to hang out and make friends.

Beach chairs deployed, bag of food and drink ready to go, and an early morning chill in the air, the GA wait had begun. Shortly after we sat down, the women in front of us in line (#240 and #241) asked us to watch their stuff as they went to the bathroom. They went, came back, and we began simply chatting. They asked if this was our first concert, first time doing GA, and where we were from and my brother and I asked the same questions right back. Turns out Erin and her friend met in college, when Erin was showing off a picture of her and Bono to her classmates and her eventual U2 concert partner. They went to their first show together in 1992, as they attended the infamous August 16th, 1992 Zoo TV show in Washington DC. They attended the Popmart concert in DC, multiple Elevation and Vertigo Tour shows as well as 2009 U2360 Tour shows, and were now attending their second to last show this year. Talk about a U2 resume. Anyway, I had seen U2 before but this was the first time doing GA, so these women took us under their wings for the day. They shared stories of U2 concerts past. They gave us extra water they had. They gave us advice on handling the GA line and the rush into the stadium. To say they were wonderful would be an understatement. U2 fans truly are the best.

The woman behind us, though, was not a U2 fan. This 23 year old teacher named Marissa with a pale Irish complexion was number 244 and she was all alone. From Dublin of all places, she admitted she only knew a small handful of U2 songs and was only there because her boyfriend who bought her the ticket told her to get there at 6:30am. So there she was, with nothing but a bottle of water and a newspaper. No sun umbrella (as it would go on to be 90 degrees), no food, not much water, and not a clue of what to expect. So doing as any good U2 fan and good person would, Erin, her friend, my brother, and I offered her extra water, food, and our friendship. Within hours, this gorgeous Irish girl with the white skin, ginger hair, and pretty smile was soon best of friends with the Barca boys and the 40-something year old pair of U2 concert-heads. Such an odd group we had, but a dynamic one nonetheless.

We all shared personal stories like what we all do, how college is treating me, how Marissa's class is going, how Erin's friend's upcoming wedding is being planned, and most of all, how excited we all were for tonight. We talked for hours on end, as if we all knew each other for years. U2 truly brings people together.

Speaking of U2 bringing people together, I was lucky enough to finally meet some truly incredible fellow U2 teenage friends in person. Well one of them I had already met, but it was still a joy seeing her again. When people say "U2 are an old people band", I have to disagree. There are SO MANY people around my age that love U2 as much as I do, you just have to find them.

Anyway, as these kids furiously make signs for The Edge, with one even creating a BEAUTIFUL Gibson guitar out of string (or something along those lines) it is evident that there are some diehard fans out there, but none are as diehard as these kids enjoying the power of U2 as if they had been fans since Boy. These people know how special meeting them was, no need to just go on and on about it, because I will never stop.

10am becomes 11am. 11am becomes Noon. Noon becomes 1pm. 1pm becomes 2pm. U2's crew usually soundcheck some songs around this time. And surely, around 2pm, the sound of The Claw coming to life perks up the ears of the thousands in the GA line. I look over at my brother and say 'get ready for this". Not soon after I say it, the opening guitar notes of Zooropa ripple throughout the air. My brother's favorite song (along with Stay). His eyes light up like stars. He realizes its the never-been-played, trippy, rare Zooropa guitar riff and he's in amazement. After the crew sound checks City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Moment of Surrender, and (surprisingly) Breathe for 20 minutes straight, U2 comes on themselves and (surprisingly) soundchecks the studio version of Magnificent. Breathe has not been played since October 28th, 2009 and Magnificent has not been played in over a month, as The Fly took its spot. Also, most 2011 shows have seen a silly remixed version of Magnificent, so we were surely expecting a surprise tonight. And we got one for sure

U2 stops soundchecking. Gates open. Total shit show begins. My brother and I RUN to find a spot, and we find a PERFECT one inside the inner pit, directly on the back rail about 20 feet right of center on Adam's (the bass guitarist) side. Insane. We frantically hug at how worth the wait was. We take pictures. We scream. We take video. We marvel at The Claw. We freak out at the fact that Bono will be walking that very catwalk that is less than 60 inches away from us. We wait for U2 to come on

9:15pm. Ground Control to Major Tom. Space Oddity, the David Bowie song U2 walks out to the stage to, hits the PA. The screen comes to life as we see U2 walking through the tunnels of the Linc. Smoke billows out of The Claw just like a space shuttle taking off. U2 arrives at the foot of the stage. Lights go out. Total darkness. Pandemonium. The crowd ERUPTS. I erupt. My brother erupts. U2 is seconds from taking the stage. Space Oddity morphs into the backing guitar track of Even Better Than The Real Thing (the 4th single off U2's legendary Achtung Baby album) as a yellow spotlight traces the crowd. 9:20pm. What time is it in the world? SHOWTIME?

1. Even Better Than The Real Thing- BUM BUM, BUM BUM. Larry takes the stage and begins the pounding drum beat as the yellow spotlights illuminate the night sky. The Edge then hits the stage and plays that sexy guitar solo we all know and love. Adam hits the stage with a smile on his face and a bass in his hand and soon enough, the song erupts into a dizzying flurry of red, yellow, and white flashing lights as Bono struts on stage. He yanks the microphone back as if to crank the band up like a jack in the box and then releases that angelic voice from his throat. "Give me one more chance, and you'll be satisfied. Give me two more chances, and you wont be denied". Even Better Than The Real Thing was such a dynamic and incredible opener, a perfect way to start a loud and energetic show

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjjTfyvMEl8


The Fly has been played second at every single show for the last month. But when The Edge grabs his Gibson guitar (not the one used for The Fly), I knew that the one song I had always wanted to see live was up next

2. I Will Follow- U2's first big hit, the second single of U2's debut album Boy in 1980 begins with The Edge's signature punk-ish guitar riff that gets everyone jumping up and down. The song Bono wrote as an 18 year old as a tribute to his late mother who died when he was 14 tore up the stage. The energy was palpable and that guitar riff is unforgettable. It was everything I had wanted and more. "If you walk away walk away, walk away walk away. I will follow. Your eyes make a circle, I see you when I go in there. Your eyes, your eyes, your eyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyes" Incredible.



3. Mysterious Ways -Back to normal in terms of the setlist. U2's biggest and best dance number featured one of the most unforgettable moments of my life. Edge provides the music and Bono provides the moves, as all 75,000 of us in the crowd get a groove on, dancing our hearts out. Here, the band makes use of the catwalk for the first time. During the bridge of the song, I notice The Edge making his way towards us from the right as Bono makes his way towards us from the left. I said to my brother, "THEY'RE COMING" at which point he captured an amazing picture of Edge. Soon after, Bono and Edge are singing the final verse of Mysterious Ways together just feet from us. The two men I idolize the most are basically within arms reach. I die and go to heaven. My life is complete. Bono dances and sings the last minute of Mysterious Ways two feet from me. Heaven indeed



4. Until The End Of The World / Where Have All The Flowers Gone? (snippet)-Right up there with I Will Follow in terms of songs I've been dying to see. A song describing a conversation between Jesus and Judas, a badass light show accompanies powerful guitar work from Edge alongside Larry and Adam's driving rhythm section. If I try to describe this song live with words, it would be impossible. Just check it out for yourself. The duel between Edge and Bono at the end on the bridges is the best part, as Bono was right over me as I touched the underside of the bridge. "JUDAS!!!!"



5. Get On Your Boots- The lead single off of 2009's No Line On The Horizon, Boots is always roaring live. An awesome rocker that better appear on future tours. "THE FUTURE NEEDS A BIG KISS" anyway



6. Magnificent-And here was the biggest surprise of the night. Magnificent's first performance since June 17th and the first performance of the studio version since April 13th. One of my brother's favorite songs so I was so overjoyed for him. There is NOTHING in U2's catalog like the guitar intro to Magnificent. NOTHING. You WILL be captivated. "Justify, til we die, you and I, will magnify. Oh oh oh. Magnificent"

7. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For / The Promised Land (snippet)- The 'sing along" song of the main set. After Bono recognizes the obvious and truly special bond between U2 and us fans, he surrenders the microphone to the fans as we all join in in a joyous rendition of the first verse. "I have run, I have crawled, I have scaled these city walls, these city walls. Only to be with you, only to be with you. But I still haven't found what I'm looking for." A moment where everyone in the stadium shared the same voice. Us and the band, we were all one.



8. Stay (Faraway, So Close!)-The acoustic song in the set comes in the form of Stay, the second single off 1993's Zooropa, the follow up album to Achtung Baby. There is nothing more magical than a Bono/Edge acoustic number and Stay proves my point. It is my brother's favorite song and one of my favorites as well, so I was beyond overjoyed that we were sharing this moment together. I wonder if he saw me crying during the OH OH OHHHHHHHHH part of the bridge of the song. "If I could stay, then the night would give you up. Stay, and the day would keep its trust. Stay, with the demons you drown. Stay, with the spirit that I found. Stayyyyy, and the night would be enough. Oh oh ohhhhhhh...."



9. Beautiful Day / Space Oddity (snippet)- "Hello Philadelphia, from the International Space" cries Mark Kelly, astronaut and husband of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. The intro to Beautiful Day is almost as beautiful as the song itself. But everyone knows Beautiful Day is my favorite song and how much it means to me. I have no need to describe how I felt/acted during the song. You all can figure that out on your own. But the most glorious part was the ending actually. Bono repeats Mark Kelly's words "tell my wife I love her very much" in such a moving way <3 'TELL MY WIFE I LOVE HER VERY MUCH, SHE KNOWS"



10. Elevation- Bono sang almost the entire song 5 feet from me. Someone else can try to describe that moment for me, because I can't wrap my head around it yet. Insane song, everyone looked like they were on pogo sticks. Calf killing but it hurt so good. "EL-E-VA-TION!!! WOOOHOOOO, WOOHOOOO"

11. Pride (In The Name Of Love) - An all time U2 classic that I was seeing for the first time. Boy does it take off live. Bono nailed the high notes of the chorus while the crowd bellowed the "oh oh oh oh" part like its collective life depended on it. Maybe the most excited the crowd got all night. I can finally say I saw Pride live, amazing. "In the naaaaaaaaaaame of love"

12. Miss Sarajevo - A song on an album where U2 uses a moniker instead of the name "U2", Miss Sarajevo features a soft piano part played by the Edge with dramatic operatic vocals, originally from Pavoratti, that Bono nails with the efficiency of an Irish tenor. After all, his father Bob was one. What Miss Sarajevo excels at is the PERFECT transition into the next song...

13. Zooropa - "Is there a time, for asking questions?" states Bono at the end of Miss Sarajevo, at which time the screen begins to unfurl as questions like "Is love really all you need" and "what the fuck" ring throughout the stadium. The questions become more numerous and indecipherable, just like the questions segment in the beginning of the studio version of Zooropa. Sure enough, out of the questions segment comes the "WHAT DO YOU WANT?" cry, followed by the EPIC wah wah guitar. The greatest song of the night. If you told me just a few months ago that I would see Zooropa live, I would have called you crazy. But hey, uncertainty can be a guiding light. Highlight of the night. Thank you, U2 for pulling Zooropa out of its grave

14. City of Blinding Lights - After the theme song of the Teletubbies plays at the end of Zooropa, City of Blinding Lights begins. A seamless transition for sure, and I'm not being sarcastic. My 2nd favorite song of all time, U2 proved to me that I made a great choice. The song was simply gorgeous and Bono was on point, with the exception of a minor mistake in the second repetition of the chorus. I still get chills thinking about that song. "The more you see, the less you know"

15. Vertigo / I Know It's Only Rock And Roll (But I Like It) (snippet) -All tour, the two songs in the set from 2004's How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb have been paired together and for good reason. They sound great together. Who doesn't love Vertigo, I know I love it. U2's best rocker? I think so. Another ripping performance on Thursday night. "Hello hello. Hola. I'm at a place called Vertigo"

16. Miss You (snippet) / I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight / Discotheque (snippet) / Life During Wartime (snippet) / Psycho Killer (snippet) - Just like the substantial snippet inside it, this song belongs in a discotheque. Techno, rock, and club music all rolled into one 6 minute epic show of lights, the Crazy Tonight remix gets even the oldest fan and the youngest child dancing like they own the dance floor. You can try all you want, but you just can't NOT dance to this song. The SUBSTANTIAL Discotheque snippet adds even more flavor to the song too. The lead single off 1997's Pop, Discotheque was MADE to be mashed up with Crazy Tonight and you can hear all 70,000 people in the crowd scream "YOU CAN REACH!!!!!" along with Bono. "I know I'll go crazy if I don't go crazy...TONIIIIGHT"

17. Sunday Bloody Sunday- Bono layed down DIRECTLY in front of me and sang the first verse. Thats all I need to say. Nearly 30 years after the song was released, it's still played with an unmeasurable power. Tremendous

18. Scarlet - An unplayed, forgotten song from 1981's October album has suddenly become the most beautiful song of a 2011 U2360 show. Simple drums, simple guitar, simple piano, and a simple lyric all wrapped into a celebration of the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. "REJOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE. REJOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE"

19. Walk On - Continuing on from Scarlet, the celebration of Kyi's release is celebrated with the song written for her back in 2000. Along with Beautiful Day, Walk On made me a U2 fan and I will always love this song more than most U2 songs out there. The perfect way to end the main set. "All that you fashion, all that you make. All that you build, all that you break"

20. One - A timeless classic for a reason. One of U2's best songs. A song where everyone sang, everyone had their arm around one another. Everyone was....One

21. Hallelujah (snippet) / Where The Streets Have No Name- Hallelujah is one of the greatest songs of all time, no matter who is singing it. Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and Bono. I had never heard Bono sing the song before, but he absolutely nailed it. Simply gorgeous lead in to Streets. And Streets is Streets. Nothing else to say. Streets IS U2. Streets IS why U2 fans come to the show. It is the pinnacle of the show, the summit of the mountain. I laid back against the railing and just reached my hands up towards the red screen and towards the heavens illuminated by the spotlights shining up to it. Truly an out of body experience.

22. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me - The first song of the last encore sees Bono using a microphone that hangs from the top of The Claw in the shape of a steering wheel with lasers and light shining from it. Bono also wears a jacket with thousands of red lasers shooting from it. EASILY the greatest thing about this tour. The smoke, the lasers, the mic...all combine for an epic visual. Oh yea, the song was pretty fucking great too. I'm officially in love with the song. "You're a headache, in a suitcase, you're a star"

23. With or Without You - The jacket and microphone remain, but they change color from a deep purple into a depressing shade of blue as Bono laments during the lyrics. "I wait without you. With or Without You. With or Without You" The last of three crowd sing alongs, a disco ball sends beams of light all throughout the stadium as men, women, and children alike weep at the beauty of the moment. Indescribable unless you see it live.

24. Moment of Surrender - One of the best concert closers U2 has ever had. A 7 minute long epic ballad of a man on the edge of his rope, just trying to hang on. The "ohhhs" sound like yelps of mourning and Bono sings the song to perfection. He hits every devastating note and pours his heart out into the lyrics. People may think the song is too much of a downer to end the show on, but I think its absolutely perfect. It puts life into perspective. It's relaxing. It's touching and beautiful too. Bono puts his hands over his head and cries as the song ends, just as many in the crowd do. He and us alike realized what a special night we all just had, and no one wanted to leave. So the band decided to stick around for a bit

25. Happy Birthday - Before departing for good, the band all sing Happy Birthday for Nelson Mandela. A cute gesture of love for the South African leader who Bono deeply admires. With that, Rocket Man by Elton John hits the PA, the house lights come up, the band departs, the show ends, and my soul comes back to Earth.

Thursday night was the greatest night of my life. Thank you, U2. I will never forget you or this night. I've had an awful summer and for the first time in many years, I can unfortunately say that I am unhappy. But thursday night, all my troubles were gone. I got lost in the music. U2 saved my soul years ago, and they saved my soul again this summer.

I made eye contact with Bono during City of Blinding Lights. I hope he read the look in my eyes, a look of gratitude and sheer joy.