I’m sure I speak on behalf of many of our readers who follow more than just U2 (amazing as it may sound) when I offer the suggestion to our favorite group of Irish musicians that they should FINALLY allow fans to download copies of their concerts through U2.com for a nominal fee.

Starting on September 1, Pearl Jam will be allowing its fans to download for a very reasonable price high-quality, DRM-Free, digital recordings available just hours after the band’s live shows through the band’s website. Metallica fans have been able to download concerts, also for a reasonable price, for some time now either in mp3 format or FLAC lossless.

I think U2 fans would spend upwards of $20 (which is more than what Pearl Jam or Metallica charges) to be able to download a concert off of U2.com.

Here’s why I would spend money for this:
1) There are a bevy of sites online (too many to mention) that allow fans to download and upload concerts for free. However, bandwidth being what it is, as well as connection speeds globally, it can be a painful experience for those with limited connections.

2) I’d prefer to pay the band their royalties and legally download their material. (Call me old-fashioned, but if they created the music, then they deserve my cash). I’d also prefer a copy of the show vs. an overpriced T-shirt any day of the week.

3) It allows the fans to ENJOY the show for what it is - instead of having to sneak in recording equipment in places recording equipment doesn’t belong, and then having to worry about some idiot standing next to you screaming out “I LOVE YOU BONO” during the concert. (I’ll admit it - my apologies to anyone who tried recording the Worcester 3/13/92 show from the floor - I didn’t know bootlegging etiquette and I spoiled at least 1 recording of the show with my off-tune singing and i promise i’ll never do that again! - but i digress).

4) This is a benefit U2 could offer to U2.com subscribers - let’s face it, they have to figure out SOMETHING to lure tens of thousands of us to spend our $40 to renew in the winter. This would be a great benefit to the fanclub membership.

Here’s why U2 won’t do it (let’s be serious here - do you *really* think they’ll do it?)

1) They’re perfectionists. Every commercial release they’ve sold has been edited, then re-edited, and re-edited again. They don’t like to show their warts - even though those are the best parts of their live performance…shows they’re human.

2) If fans are already doing it (somewhat successfully) for 25+ years, then why should they spend their time here? Bono has said, “We tell people who come to our concerts that they can tape the shows if they want. I think it is cool that people are so passionate about our music.” However, Interscope has been cracking down on some sites for copyright issues - so, it would be nice to have U2 offer a legal alternative to fan favorite activity.

3) Have I mentioned they’re perfectionists?

Let’s face it, it’s a guaranteed revenue stream for them! Who wouldn’t want to make more money, right? Look at how successful Pearl Jam has been in releasing their live material - you can’t tell me that Principle Management hasn’t seen the greenbacks they’d get as a result of finally allowing legal downloading off of U2.com or iTunes. As a long time collector of live material, I would GLADLY pay U2 to allow me to download the material legally. Wouldn’t you want a copy of the concert you just witnessed to remember the night by? I know I would.

As a side note - U2’s tour management has been crunching numbers to see how to limit expenses to bring their live show to South America and to Australia - the band want to perform there, but freight charges and fuel is limiting their ability to travel (even though dates have been tossed around)….you can off-set these touring expenses through revenue generated from downloading the live material. So, Craig w/TNA…consider that when you’re crunching numbers during the third leg of the tour!

If you’ve tried to sell TicketFast tickets to another fan recently, you know it’s not easy. Most fans are aware of the risk involved, and won’t buy TicketFast from someone they don’t know personally. (I wouldn’t, sorry to say…..)

So the thing you want to do, especially before the 3rd Leg starts (in a little more than six weeks), is get your TicketFast tickets converted to “hard” tickets. Easier said than done. If you call or email Ticketmaster Customer Service, they’ll pretend they don’t know what you’re talking about and then they’ll flat out tell you it can’t be done. You have to call them several times or be ready to bother them all day via email in order to get information from them about how to do this.

I chose the email route today. Here’s the full text of the email exchange.

It began when I submitted this via their online Customer Service contact system:

“If I am the original purchaser of TicketFast tickets, what is the procedure to have those converted into “hard” tickets?”

Simple enough question, right? Well, when I submitted the question, TM took me to another page where I was told that my question really WASN’T submitted, and instead they thought this might answer my question:

The answers below were automatically selected to assist you with your questions. If no solutions are listed or the solutions are not helpful, select “Submitting Question” to submit your issue to our support staff. The answers to the following questions may be relevant to your question:

Title: Which email from Ticketmaster contains my ticketFast tickets?
Link: click here

Title: What is ticketFast?
Link: click here

Title: What if I experience problems while ordering or printing my ticketFast ticket(s)?
Link: click here

Title: Will my ticketFast printout be accepted for entry into the event?
Link: click here

Title: How can I purchase tickets using an internationally billed credit card?
Link: click here

At the bottom of that page, I found another SUBMIT button with instructions to click it only if they hadn’t already answered my question. Ummm … click!

Credit where it’s due: I got a human response only 27 minutes later. Sadly, it was useless:

Dear Matt,

Thank you for your e-mail. There are many conveniences to purchasing ticketFast as your delivery method! Some of these conveniences include:

-You get your tickets right away, no will call lines or mail delivery to wait for.

-You print them at your convenience.

-You can forward them to others attending the event so they can print their own tickets. TicketFast tickets are transferable, as they are used in the same manner as traditional tickets.

-You can change the method of delivery, depending on the time frame and have them either mail or shipped via UPS to your billing address, or have them waiting for you at the Box Office Will Call Window.

If you have any further questions, please reply and include all previous correspondence.

Thank you for using Ticketmaster, where we really appreciate your business.

Sincerely,
Martin

They really appreciate my business, but they don’t read my question. So I wrote back:

Thank you for the quick reply.

I understand the convenience of TicketFast, but that doesn’t answer my question.

If I am the original owner and am still in possession of TicketFast tickets, how do I get them converted into “traditional” or “hard” tickets? I’d like a step-by-step procedure, please. I have Ticketfast tickets and want to have them converted into traditional/hard tickets. How do I do it?

Thanks,
Matt

Again to their credit, I received another email reply very quickly. This one arrived 46 minutes later:

Dear Matt,

Thank you for your e-mail. In order to process your request, we require additional information. Please provide the following:

Name on the account:
Credit Card Number:
Event:
Facility:
Date of Event:
City and State of Event:
Order Number:

If you have any further questions, please reply and include all previous correspondence.

We really appreciate your business.

Sincerely,
Miguel E.

Now, in hindsight, that may have answered my question right there. But that’s not how I understood it. When he starts by saying “in order to process your request, we require additional information” it sounds to me like, “We’re not going to answer your question until you give up all your personal information.” Well, I didn’t like the sound of that, so I wrote back:

Miguel -

Thank you again for the quick reply. I’m sorry, but I don’t see why Ticketmaster needs to know my account, credit card number, event information, and all that other stuff. I’m asking what should be a simple question, completely unrelated to anyone’s personal details:

If I am the original owner and am still in possession of TicketFast tickets, how do I get them converted into “traditional” or “hard” tickets?

I assume the procedure is the same no matter what my account name and credit card number is, right? So I’m asking - what’s the procedure? Thank you in advance.

Matt

And again, another quick reply — they really do deserve GREAT credit for being so quick to answer emails — this one from Martin who very clearly explained exactly what you need to do if you want to convert TicketFast into hard tickets:

Dear Matt,

Thank you for contacting us. If you wish to convert your ticketFast tickets into hard copy tickets, please provide us with the following information:

Name on the account:
Credit Card Number:
Event:
Facility:
Date of Event:
City and State of Event:
Order Number:

Once we have accessed your order, we will cancel the ticketFast ticket and issue out hard copy tickets. This can only be done by either calling Ticketmaster’s Customer Service department or by emailing our Customer Support team.

If you have any further questions, please reply, and include all correspondence.

Sincerely,
Martin

Thank you, Martin. And those of you with the patience to read all the way to the end, you know how to do it, too. Remember — only the person who bought the TicketFast tickets can do this.

Thanks go out to Ayaz for giving all of us hope that we can be rockin’ out to great music well into our 80s. She is 79, hails from the Northeast part of the United States, and caught her 3rd U2 show at Croke Park recently. All of you Bonophiles out there - watch out! You’ve got competition! (Photo (c) Ayaz Asif)

I sit here in Cali, a little over two days after U2 finished their third triumphant show at Croke Park in Dublin. I am completely jetlagged. I can’t figure out what time it is. I’m craving American food. But I can’t stop thinking that I got to see something special on Monday night.

Here’s how I spent my Monday.

Woke up in London after a too-quick visit with best friends. Got on the tube which took me to a train which took me to a plane which flew me to Dublin. Calling Southwest Airlines, did you know that Ryan Air has taken low-cost flying to such an extreme that they no longer have seat pockets on their aircraft? Those wily Irish.

Quick shower at the hotel, quick bag of chips (crisps for our European readers), into a cab to get in line. It’s about 3 p.m. It is hot. Even for this California boy, the sun is beating down. Luckily my melanin-fortified skin can take it. I think I saw about a dozen Irishmen burst into flames around 3:30 from the sun.

One of the weird things about a show of this magnitude is that you find yourself looking at familiar faces even though you might be 4000 miles away from the last place you saw them. As we walked up to the venue, who is in line for the outhouse but Dancing Alli and Professor Barbara, both of whom were last seen by me in Seattle. DA lives a couple miles away from me here in God’s Country. Other faces pass by my recognition filter. Is that the guy from Vegas? Is she the same one that danced in Vancouver? Half a world can’t separate us, can it? When the Hajj takes place, many of us feel like we need to go. It’s our duty.

SP and I are in the seventh cattle stockade row. Announcements are made. In the sixth stockade row is Bridget Little Edge, who I last hung out with at the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame when the U2 exhibit opened. That was a pleasant surprise.

The thing about the staff in Dublin, and there are more security than I’ve ever seen at any show, is that they’re friendly. They keep people in check, but in the politest of ways. There is no us v. them mentality to the security staff, which is how I feel the US people think of concerts. The guy announced that we’d all get in the pit and not to run, but one thing that security never understands is that just getting in the pit isn’t good enough. Everyone has their preferred space. Right at the front for the brave people, at the back of the enclosure for short people who need space. My preferred place is against a catwalk barricade so I never have to turn around. When SP and I finished our patented “fast-walk” we saw that DA and PB were exactly where we would have gone. There was room for our butts along with theirs and we sat down for the next two and a half hours. Met Jenny sitting next to us who was six months old when Live Aid was broadcast, making me feel even older than I am.

So there we were. Inside the pit. Facing the Adam side catwalk. The target platform was just to our left, the main stage, just to our right.

And the people came. Little by little the place filled up. Bathroom breaks, hand stamps, snacks, discussions, laughter, sunburn. An extremely beautiful day on the floor of Croke Park.

The crowd appears to be late arriving as The Bravery starts their set. The crowd, such as it is, is very supportive of them. I don’t recognize any songs. They look like a five-piece Stray Cats tribute band. They’re good. And they preen just enough so that they don’t look like they’re nervous to be playing in a venue larger than they’ll ever see again.

Break. Then Ash. The crowd sings along. The pit is full and rowdy in the best of ways. The stands are still not filling. At this time on Friday and Saturday we were well into a wave. After Ash there is some fun with a beachball. It falls again and again into the barricade, but instead of popping it, as security would in the US due to a beach ball’s obvious terrorism link, they perform relatively expert volleyball serves. On two occasions, a security guy does a free kick from the target platform itself, to the cheers of the crowd.

It’s showtime. 8:45. No band. No Arcade Fire. Interpol, then Killers, then David Bowie, then the CD restarts with “1979″. Where is the band? Is it because it’s light out? The sun is actually hitting the right fourth of the screen. The wave is gaining power after a lackluster beginning with boos all around for the top right section which can’t seem to follow it across the floor.

Then Rocco walks out to the Edge side target and watches the wave go around, offering encouragement on his microphone. He says prophetic words. “Night One was cool. Night Two rocked. Night Three will kick ass.” The crowd goes crazy, as expected. His reason for the late start? The sun on the screen and the late arriving crowd. Now it’s past nine and my entitlement sense is kicking in because of the 11 p.m. curfew. Will we get a shorter show? No encores?

It’s well after nine when Arcade Fire finally plays. The boys take the stage and launch into Vertigo. Oh well, same setlist, at least we’re in Dublin.

They look good close up. I’m surrounded by people who sing along and jump. Not like the back of the place. Bono bounces with arms outstretched. The song ends and we all get ready for whatever official BOY song is next. But wait, what’s this? ABOYou. Not usually seen until late in the setlist, it makes a very early appearance.

Gloria. Crowd goes crazy. Elevation, we’re jumping and my knees hurt, but I’m not complaining. The false start still gets about 75,000 jumping prematurely. Remember that these shows aren’t for us. Or are they?

An Cat Dubh is next. Before the show, while we were meeting the people around us as we sat against the barrier, Irish Alex, with a thick accent, told us that the correct pronunciation was “Un Caht Doo”. So let it be known from this day forward.

Into the Heart was a song I thought I’d never hear live. Then they brought it out at the beginning of this tour, but the crowd response wasn’t what they wanted. I feared it would be gone forever during the third leg. I’m going to admit something here. When I got my iPod they were offering free engraving on the back. I had seventeen words to work with. I chose the same ones that have been on my license plate frame since 1985. “Into the heart of a child, I can smile, I can go there.” So hearing Bono sing those words in Dublin was one of those transcendent moments I’ll never forget. He also pulls up a little girl in a cowboy hat. They walk to the tip of Edge’s target and Bono takes her hat off and he puts it on his head. He tries to give it back to her, but can’t. It’s stuck on his ear monitor. Beautiful Day starts, but Bono is stuck trying to get a hat off his head. The girl offers help and shows him how to loosen the string. There is no hat wrangler on staff, though there is a headband wrangler on the payroll. The hat finally comes off averting an emergency.

Beautiful Day plays. Then ISHFWILFor. Bono is about to announce the next song, but the crowd continues to sing and he waits for us while smiling. Then Edge sits at the piano. New Year’s Day? October into NYDay? Sweetest Thing? Nope. Original of the Species. Edge not playing his best, the band not coming in until halfway through, but a great song nonetheless.

Then the song that causes the most tears the most quickly for fans of the band. Bad. People in the pit are beside themselves. It sounds great, the back of the arena is standing, everyone watching Bono on the left target ramp. Fabulous. As the song is ending, he begins singing “I met my love, by the gas works wall. Dreamed a dream by the old canal…” Dirty Old Town makes the Dubliners go right into their singalong mode. Fun, fun, fun.

COBLights finally made use of the screens. MDrug is dedicated to Christopher Nolan, who the song was written for and is actually in attendance. Bono recites some of his poetry before singing. Then SYCMIOYOwn starts and Bono is finally coming down our ramp. As he makes his way, an Irish flag is thrown, so are sunglasses and a cowboy hat. Note to fans: Bono is about to sing a song about his late father and what he meant to him. He will not stop what he’s singing about to put on the hat that you just threw into his path. This bugs me every time. Are you offering him a present? If he touches your hat and then throws it back is that some kind of connection? For feck’s sake, let the guy sing a song to his father without you thinking that you can become part of that song. Because you can’t. Ok? It’s his song, not yours. End of sermon.

I’ve written before about being directly in front of him when he sings the opera note. And about being in the very back as he sings that same note. The former has much to recommend it over the latter. The three screens again have close-up, medium, and far away shots of Bono. The rest of the band is his support in this one case. He is steps away when he hits the note this time, along with the crowd. It’s pretty cool. I’m again close enough for him not to need the microphone and this is one of the rare chances to look into his uncovered eyes.

LAPOElse brings Larry down our side. The headband wrangler does her job and Bono is outfitted and drums exactly as goofily as he’s done all tour. Sunday Bloody Sunday is again a highlight as the entire place is standing and dancing and pumping fists. Bono mentions that the English army made a mistake in Croke Park during the first Bloody Sunday and the coalition forces are making the same mistake as the British by imprisoning Iraqis without a trial. We’re told that’s called internment. BTBSky. RTSSTill and we’re actually in the fog. Pride into Streets. Willie could have proven how special Dublin 3 was by replacing the flags with the red screen, but no such luck. I look back during the lights portion. Everyone is standing.

Bono continues his streak of not being able to read a calendar as he says during the interlude to One that “for the past couple of days we’ve asked people to take out their cell phones…” As we all know, since the first show in San Diego, the cell phone portion of the show has been part of the permanent setlist. One begins, but Edge can’t for the life of him find the right note to come in on. Bono looks at him as if to ask if they should just start it over. These mistakes that Edge makes during this show will prove to make it much better than it otherwise would have been. He made countless mistakes at this show, thereby proving that he’s human. I’d like to thank him for that.

One plays, but instead of the Fulani Chant that Bono and Edge have been doing at the end so far this tour, Bono goes back to the Elevation Tour by singing “you hear me coming Lord, you hear me call…” The geekiest among us go absolutely nuts realizing the rareness of this little piece of music. Then before we can catch our breath from our good fortune, Bono says “Only for you Dublin” and begins singing Unchained Melody. What else can happen? Holy shit.

They leave the stage. What about the curfew? Will we get any of the ZooTV stuff? How will the end the show?

The slot machines on the screen tell us that we’ll get the Zoo stuff. Zoo Station and we are completely covered in fog. Bono comes out way before his video image is finished putting the crowd in the position of figuring out which Bono is the real one. He marches towards us wearing his uniform, Edge is on the other platform singing “It’s alright, it’s alright”. The Fly is next and the screens look spectacular up close.

Next up the blue lights and WOWYou. For Dublin 3 all bets are off. Bono will add the “We’ll shine like stars in the summer night…” he has to. It’s Dublin. He looks to Edge at the end and I figure this is it, I can die now. But even after an extended ending bridge, they finish up as usual. I’ll keep my memories of PopMart. It was the only thing we geeks could have wished for after the show was over, that extra little bit.

Then the show ends with the second performance of Vertigo. We get the Stories For Boys ending. The lights are bright,the crowd excited, and we’re set to go home. After all, the screen still says, in cartoony cursive, “The End”.

SP and I turn towards each other, happy in the show, glad to have experienced it, then I notice something and say to him “the keyboard is out there, we’re getting Yahweh.” PB and DA can’t believe their luck. It’s way past curfew. They don’t appear to be ending this show anytime soon. The band leaves the stage for a bit and all indications were that it was over. But they begin playing it, with the animation on the screens. Larry is nowhere to be found as his part gets nearer and nearer and I can picture him backstage urging the band to call it a night. He completes his assigned keyboarding task and the song ends.

Bono mentions that the last three days have been more than they could have hoped for. I believe him.

They’ll leave now, right? Wait a minute, is that a bass that Edge is holding? Now they’ve done it. We’re going to end the Dublin portion of this tour with “40″. And not your run of the mill “40″. Bono gets the spotlight, which isn’t really strong enough to reach the way back. He does a couple of laps of the stadium with it. He sets it up, takes off his rosary beads and hangs them on the microphone stand and waves goodbye. A couple subtle differences happen then. Adam, who always seems to be in a hurry to get off stage the second Bono does, keeps playing. He hits some chords, does some Edge-like picking work on the guitar and after an Adam-eternity, leaves the stage with a wave. Edge is next. Then Larry is alone drumming. He plays along with the crowd as always. He stops playing while the crowd sings “How long…” like he always does, but this time, he lets the crowd sing two, maybe three choruses by itself before launching into his loud solo, which he also plays longer than normal. Then he stops, walks to the very, and I mean very, tip of the main stage where he waves all over the place, and walks out.

We are spent. We are hugging each other. Can you believe Unchained Melody? Dirty Old Town? “40″? People are smiling as they leave the stadium.

It’s so hard to write down how a show is better or worse than another show. But this one was better than most, and not just because of the shuffled setlist. It seemed to me like a thank you to Dublin. It wasn’t technically perfect, but I’m sure that the shows at the Dandelion Car Park weren’t technically perfect either, but we all wish we were around to have seen them.

Bono spoke out against the coalition forces in Iraq, the band did snippets we haven’t heard for years, songs were debuted for the European fans, the setlist was shuffled. No one knew what would happen next.

It reminds me of what it used to be like to be a U2 fan. Before the internet. Remember when we didn’t know the next song or what the stage would look like? We didn’t know what would open the show and we cheered long after the last song because we didn’t realize it was the last one. That’s the vibe I felt on Monday. They still found a way to surprise us, even me, and my name is Answer Guy.

They had a crane to film the Saturday show. Monday, they had photographers with huge lenses (in this case NOT a euphemism) following them all over the place. In some shots on the big screen, Edge was blocked by the outline of a photographer. The band actually bowed backwards, much like they did for the Rock’s Hottest Ticket Time cover all those years ago. Were they taking photos for another version of the program, or for DVD artwork? I wouldn’t mind reliving this show again.

So now I’m back from visiting my favorite band’s city and I’ll have to wait for my favorite band to visit my city in November.

I feel spiritually fulfilled, ready to take on new challenges. I want to thank all the people I met for the first time and those I’ve seen at other worship services over the years. And a special thanks to SP, who dragged my ass out of California in the first place.

Not a bad three shows, all things considered.

Answer Guy.

Hey all–

Flew over here to London this morning with my best mate (friend) to see his pregnant wife and to feel like a rock star. I’ll be back in Dublin for the final show tomorrow.

Friday’s show was fantastic, not because any great new songs were done, but because those songs were being played in Dublin. Every time New Year’s Day or Pride came on, and I was about to lament yet another performance of a ‘greatest hit’, I’d tell myself to calm down, I was in my band’s hometown. I was standing on the sportsfield of a team that plays in Dublin. I had walked through Dublin streets to get there and would enjoy walking back through them after the show with what seemed to be 100,000 of my closest friends.

I’ve already spoken less than eloquently about the emotion of a stadium full of people singing along word for word to some of the best songs ever written. I can’t seem to shake that vibe. “If you walk away walk away, I will follow”, dancing, screaming–I watched grown men tear their shirts off, get on their pal’s shoulder and wave their shirt around and around like they were signaling a rescue plane on a deserted island. People spontaneously hugging. It was so cool. So cool in fact that I spent much of Friday and Saturday nights watching other people watch the band.

Let’s be honest, you can’t see much from the 50 yard line in a stadium. The screens are there, the lights do their best, but really you have to go for the experience, not the intimacy. During SYCMIOYOwn, I looked at SP and remarked that we were roughly 50 times further away than we had been at any of the four US dates we attended when Bono sings his note. We had been next to each other at the rail at the tip of the ellipse when he sang that note at three separate shows. Close enough to not need the microphone. Friday night, we were about 50 yards away, even though Bono had gone through the trouble of standing on one of the target ramps to get closer.

My point is that none of these stadium shows can give you the feeling that you’re watching a bar band play their hearts out. Every gesture is exaggerated, every kick of Bono’s high-heeled shoe is bigger than the indoor version. It’s a shame that both continents can’t enjoy both kinds of shows from U2. There is something to be said for variety. Which brings me to Saturday night.

But first, Saturday day. And I’m only telling you this because you’re probably as geeky as I am about U2. After all, you’re reading this instead of doing something worthwhile like balancing your checkbook or clipping your fingernails.

If I say that on Saturday, a cloudy Irish weekend day, I went to The Castle, you have your choice of two. And no concert has ever taken place there. That’s right music fans, I was in a tiny car for more than five hours in order to spend 30 minutes in a place the band had spent a total of one day. SP, GH, and I rented a car and GH, a Londoner who knows which side of the road to drive on, took us barreling through the Irish countryside, with directions at the ready (thank you u2 germany!) It took awhile, Irish radio is not the U2-centric place I thought it might be (Kelly Clarkston? Please). Finally, we neared the town, we took one wrong turn, and there it was. Moydrum Castle. Right. There. On. The. Cover. Of. Your. Unforgettable. Fire. Album. Cover.

There were already people there. A couple who may not have known the name of the place, but at least they knew it had something to do with the band. SP and I posed in Bono and Edge position. We took way too many photos than was necessary. Here’s the thing: it looks sort of fake in real life, sort of tiny and unremarkable. But when you see a photo of the place, it looks wondrous and imposing and perfectly covered in ivy. I’ll post a photo or two when we get home. But it was way cooler than I thought it would be.

I’m curious if any out of towners, here in Dublin for the shows, have been out to Bono’s house. And if so, how many people are hanging around there? The family must be living somewhere else this week, right?

SP and I discussed what other holy treks we needed to take to be considered the biggest U2 fans in the world. We’ve been to his house (individually, several years ago), we’ve been to the Castle, he’s been to Slane and Germany’s Zoo Station. We figure we’ll end up at the late, great Joshua Tree spot sometime in the next few years. Then we’ll have done it.

If you find yourself with an extra day, go see the Castle. But go with other freaks because civilians just won’t understand.

Now it’s Saturday night and we head to the show much later than the night before. We get there while U2’s crew is setting up. We place ourselves on the floor on Adam’s side. But I’m feeling strange. This happens to me sometimes.

There are just too many people. They’ve had all day to drink. They know what to expect and where to stand now. I begin to get antsy. Vertigo, OOControl, during which I look up and see the stands shake and dance. Electric Co., Elevation. I pogo, but the zeal isn’t in me. Am I tired from the drive? Is the show less energetic? NYDay, BDay, ISHFWILFor, all songs I don’t necessarily have to hear again live. Then they do it. They say, F-You AG, try and be nonchalant about this next one, big boy. All I Want Is You. Like a Pavlovian Dog, I get quiet and weepy and I leave my friends and walk to the very back of the stadium, singing the whole way. People seem to sense my need for a walk and they part as I move while singing. A girl is taken out of the crowd for a hug, the fans cheer wildly. By the end of the song, I’m in the very back–back by the special needs fans, watching the sheer size of the production while listening to a song that needs no production to talk to me.

I would stay at the back for the remainder of the show.

This gave me a vantage point for people in the far corners. Can they be happy with their seats? Can they see anything? Will they sit down the entire time? No, No, and No. City of Blinding Lights had all the dancers (who congregate on the rear floor) jumping crazily, myself included. The music still makes it to the back, I can assure you.

MDrug and SYCMIOYOwn don’t properly translate to the rear, but the screen visuals help. MDrug has a heartbeat and Sometimes has Bono huge, Bono medium, and Bono close-up on three separate screens as well as Father cartoon figure on another screen. During LAPOElse it becomes clear that Bono’s goofiness and lack of coordination during the drumming part unfortunately does make it to the back. But the crowd loves it. Remember, these shows aren’t for us. They are for a person who might say, as one did in the paper yesterday “I’m U2’s biggest fan and this is my first show.” Let them have their fun. Let them cheer when Bono beats a drum like a crazy Samurai.

SBSunday. There is no way to describe this. Everyone stands up. Even the corners. People who were all but passed out from drinking are suddenly revived. Couples kiss, pals hug in a non-threatening though homoerotic manner. The fans in the wheelchairs almost stand. Fans rush from the back of the pitch towards the front in an effort to get even more into the event of the show. Hands wave, flags come out. And everyone sings. Everyone. It is incredible. Tears in eyes, everyone sings.

And I’m taken back to 1984. SBSunday is my entry point into U2. I knew them. I knew some other songs. I despised New Year’s Day and its accompanying video. But that Red Rocks SBSunday changed my life. Literally. I’m sitting in Europe right now because that video was in heavy rotation on MTV in the Summer of 1984.

There was no red on Saturday, no fog, no white flag, and thankfully, no mullet on Bono’s head, but the song is still there. And it means a hell of a lot to a lot of Irish people. And they sang. Loudly. In unison. That will be the one thing I remember about this trip. The singing.

Bullet has new night-vision explosion imagery. RTSStill gives the casual fan (read: not us) a chance to talk with each other. There was a lot of talking at both shows. Way too much.

Pride, whatever. Streets is next. Can they do it? Will it work? Will I feel it from the back? Good luck fellas. I spend much of time looking up and around and backwards. When the roar of recognition starts (yes, minutes after you already knew what was coming) everyone goes crazy. Bono is saying something–nonsense in most people’s minds, probably–and those flags on the screen aren’t as cool as the red screen, but come on, it’s Streets for feck’s sake. I am going to dance. With abandon.

I find myself jumping up and down like a teenager in spite of myself. In spite of my soar back and tired feet. Everyone else is doing likewise. We are all jumping. We are all smiling. We all feel good. Isn’t that why we come to these things? I face the back for the white lights. They reach the back. They reach that poor lad in the back row of the corner. And at the end of the song, as a sort of wink, the screen is completely red.

The One cellphone thing still makes me feel too George Orwell. But everyone knows the words.

I’m looking forward to the ZooTV stuff from the back. That screen is big, I may as well take advantage of it.

Bush: booed. Blair: booed. Spaceman: cheered.

Zoo Station. Bono is in front of the screen. It’s 1992 again. Willie is a genius. That’s all there is to it.

The Fly words? Fantastic. My girlfriend ____________. Letters become words become sentences become lies. Nice.

MWays, I’m tired of. Sorry wannabe Bono dancing partners. I don’t miss this song when it’s not in the set. Bono sort of looks for a partner, but seems to give up. Or was he looking for…

Matt from Canada gets his big break. It pays to advertise. SP, no stranger to this dream come true scenario will critique when I meet up with him after the show. Plays Party Girl. A bit off-tempo, but the crowd can’t believe his luck. It’s as if they have never seen U2 bring a musician on stage to perform. These Shows Aren’t For Us. But we can still enjoy them. Though not as much as Matt did.

There are three left. ABOY is well-received. Yahweh has a new Keith Haringish animation to go along with its lyrics.

And Vertigo again. This pissed me off when I heard they were doing it twice. But now I think I like it. 1) It tells everyone the show is over; 2) it harkens back to gigs in the old days when they were forced to play a song or two twice; 3) Even the laziest fan can’t claim to have not heard it as it was played 2 hours previously; 4) It gets everyone dancing and energized for their long walk home. It proves that the fans still have something left in the tank. And the lights look cool.

“The End”. It must be true because the screen says so.

Which show was better, Friday or Saturday? I don’t know. Friday was new. Saturday was further back. Better songs on Saturday. More tired on Saturday.

I watched both of them. In Dublin. Surrounded by mostly Irish people.

I’ll watch the third one tomorrow.

See you there.

Answer Guy.

Notes since last time:

–>It doesn’t rain here, it sort of spits in a sideways manner. We walked through the rain, with the other billion people, through neighborhoods I didn’t recognize. The stadium is huge. You get on the field and look around and are amazed at its size. It rained on and off during the Radiators’ set. I realized that I had never been rained on at a concert before. This California Boy was not used to this. It was miserable. I was underdressed and wet by the time Snow Patrol came on. The crowd was happy and supportive and began some of their only-in-Europe behaviors early in their set. It was still raining when U2 took the stage.

–>The any-wall-type-area-is-fair-game-for-peeing rule was still in effect under the stands. Large, burly guards were put into place to stop it, but what could they do? Lines for toilets were way too long. I held it until this morning. Just kidding.

–>At about 8:35 the wave was in full effect. It was pretty cool. The crowd was antsy and ready for the show.

–>The lighting board began filling up with the usuals, Ali, Morleigh, Edge’s parents, kids about the bands’ kids’ ages, Jan and Mr. Wenner.

–>Arcade Fire. Fans taking group photos with their phones. People smiling. Everyone wet. Really wet.

–>You can look to U2tours or u2log to get a review. I never know if a show is musically better or worse than the one that came before. Here’s what I am absolutely sure of: I will never feel a chill (both figurative and literal) like I did when they played I WILL FOLLOW and every voice among the 80,000 sang as loudly as possible. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. It’s too light out for the light show, I’m quite a distance from the band, I’m freezing, I’m behind a group of men who were tall enough to play for the Knicks, and yet….I’m in Fecking Dublin singing along with actual Irish people (not American Irish people who own a flag or t-shirt) to a song I’ve only heard live 39 times previously. Magical. You know why it was special. The fans that live in Ireland, have followed them as they’ve conquered the world. The fans who live in other countries have literally followed them back to their hometown. That’s what I did. I followed.

–>During Electric Co., Bono added Bullet with Butterfly Wings snippet. During Sunday Bloody Sunday, I felt what the words meant more so than I ever had before. It’s not just a cool song here.

–>During the slower songs, even Running…, the crowd talked like they were at a house party. I guess you get that at any stadium show.

–>We were far enough back where we weren’t smushed. I wished I was in the front, but I’m glad I didn’t wait in the rain all day.

–>There were groups of drunk people jumping and screaming and hoisting each other up. It wasn’t too bad.

–>When the lights finally did work, it was something special. Especially the ZooTV stuff.

–>At the end of Streets, the huge screen was bright red, just like I remember.

–>We lament the setlist at every show, but I watched the stands, as I often do, and the Running to Pride segue, meant that all the semi-fans who sit immediately stood up for a song they recognized. The band is all but forced to play the hits and from what I saw it works. Every arm upraised, every seat empty, even in the back. It was a sight to see.

–>Cool Croke Park tourshirts are available. My first merchandise purchase since a PopMart hat.

–>We’re off to the Unforgettable Fire Castle now. Talk to you later.

AG.