Yes, the reports were true…it was absolutely bone-chillingly cold in Hartford yesterday, but not *as* cold as Montreal (so I’m told). Despite the below-freezing temperatures and the occasional snow squall, fans (myself included) waited patiently by the back entrance of the Hartford Civic Center to greet the band as they arrived. After hearing about Bono’s Christmas list for Santa in Boston, two fans were able to personally deliver Edge’s train set to Bono. As we all shivered, Bono was kind enough to greet the fans, sign a few autographs, all the while keeping a scarf around his neck and mouth to protect his throat as best as he could. (He’s always overly generous to fans, and on behalf of the 30 or so of us out there, thank you for sharing our shivers!)

As for the show - it was *the* tribute to John Lennon, with several references to the tragic day 25 years ago when he was taken from this world. It was as if they had used the Boston 12/5 show to practice for Hartford. When Bono and Edge went to perform Norwegian Wood, there was a great deal of feedback during the first 20-30 seconds of the song, as if the spirit of Lennon came into the room to tell Bono something. After the song concluded, Bono let everyone in on a secret that there was more to come later on in the show. Sure enough, both Help and Instant Karma made it into the set. Earlier in the night, he sang a little bit of Happy Christmas (War is Over.) As mentioned on U2Tours.com, Bono’s introduction to Original of the Species was more of an ode to John Lennon, saying, “Everything tonight is in the memory of John Lennon. Here is a song we stole from him.” During Pride, he sang “Sing this song for Martin Luther King….for Rosa Parks….for John Lennon.”

Before performing Help, Bono congratulated Edge on all of the work he had been doing on behalf of Music Rising, to benefit the hurricane survivors in Louisiana. He also thanked all of the One volunteers for their work down there and then introduced Help as “a show tune.”

Most of the fans who have submitted reviews on U2Tours.com hit the nail on the head about the show - it didn’t match the intensity of Boston, but then again Hartford is a smaller market. Many in attendance had seen the show either in New York or Boston as Hartford is in between both major cities. The audience did sing its hearts out during Pride, Mysterious Ways, and even hitting the high notes in Original of the Species. The breakout performance of the evening went to Jacob, a young boy brought up on stage to sing “No More!” during Sunday Bloody Sunday. He really got into it - screaming it at one point (I forget how high pitch a young boy’s scream can get). Bono’s genuine laugh and amazement when he said his name was Jacob was priceless, saying “he IS a son of Abraham!”

Bono thanked Connecticut’s Governor Jodi Rell, and a whole bunch of other politicians on behalf of the work he’s doing, as well as a few poets and other special guests in attendance before breaking into One. He also said, “Seven more dates to go. I’m gonna miss it - 20,000 screaming people greeting you as you get out of the shower.” You know they’ve got the countdown going for the end of this leg of the tour.

This is it ’til Portland for me, but we have other @U2 staffers picking up the torch to bring you updates from the other locations. For photos from last night, visit here.

Oh by the way…if you’d like to buy the keyboard Adam and Larry use,…Amazon.com sells them - but you’ll have to put the key markings on there yourself.