Magic at the Meadowlands

Twenty four hours ago , I experienced something very special at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. In fact, I’d go to far to say it was truly magical. I will never forget it. I held my ticket for this U2 360 show for exactly 20 months. As I listen to the annual U2 Marathon on WBWC in Cleveland with Mary and Todd, I suddenly felt inspired to express some of my thoughts on the show with other fans.

I was so excited for this concert. Those that know me on our forum are well aware I’ve been a U2 fan since their first appearance in the club called the Ritz in Manhattan in the early 80′s. I am the same age as the band. What surprises some is that I’ve only seen them play live 4 times in all those years - the NYC club date, the Joshua Tree Tour in ’87, and 2 dates at the Meadowlands on this 360 Tour in ’09 and last night. I don’t own any U2 memorabilia to brag about nor do I have a huge collection of rare records. While those things are wonderful, I don’t believe that makes me any less of a fan. I am connected to them in my heart where it truly matters to me. I suppose all my excitement got the best of me because when I arrived at the stadium, I walked into the “Male Guests” line to get searched . Oooops! My friend started laughing and then I realized my mistake. I just wanted to get in there! A favorite pre-show moment for me was hearing Gavin Friday’s “Able” . I screamed Gavin and gave him a standing ovation at the end. The people next to me thought I was crazy!

Shortly thereafter, the excitement of the crowd started to build as the lights went down and the boys appeared out of the tunnel. I had a great view of that moment. Some people in our forum complain about set lists but when you are there at that moment, you just don’t care what they are going to play. At least I didn’t. I was thrilled to hear “Magnificent” as it is a favorite of mine on No Line On The Horizon, an album I adore. It sounds amazing live. As the first few songs from Achtung Baby were played, I thought Bono’s voice never sounded better. I could even see a bit of that devilish Mac Phisto in his eyes during “The Fly”. His vocal on “Miss Sarajevo” was breathtaking. It was a big moment for me as I have never heard this beautiful song live. I know Luciano Pavarotti was looking down at his friend and smiling. “Stay” gave me chills. It is one of my all time favorites. ” I Will Follow” brought back so many happy memories as I danced to it. I described Bono as a “beast” that evening. I just couldn’t think of another word to describe this force of nature that jumped on that stage. He moved around like Spider-Man ! Edge played that guitar like he was playing for his life. Cool hand Adam was in his zone playing his groovy bass. He is playing better than I’ve ever heard him play. Larry pounded his drums with the same intensity that he did in the Artane Boy’s Band all those years ago. From the very beginning you felt that they were a band on a mission-very intense yet joyful to be on that stage. The crowd was with them every step of the way singing along, jumping and dancing.

Another personal highlight for me which I was looking forward to for a long time was hearing “Scarlet.” As my forum friends know, I am huge October fan. When Bono sang the word “rejoice” all I could think about was my 3 forum friends at that moment who adore this album as much as I do. One was in Scotland , one in France and one was right there in the stadium with me. A one word lyric so powerful when sung by Bono that I felt their joy in my heart at that very moment. I knew they were thinking of us all day. Though I am so thrilled to have this song make it and remain in the set list, I have a small bit of disappointment that no other song from October made it in. This was such an important, beautiful, and under rated U2 album and it has a big 30th anniversary this year. I wish they would have honored that by putting another song in the set. Still , we can’t have everything we want and that is just fine because what they gave us was more than enough.

The Amnesty International candle lights were hauntingly beautiful carried by their volunteers as “Walk On” played for Aung San Suu Kyi. Her recorded speech was inspiring. What a lovely tribute to this brave woman. When I go to shows, I listen to the music, but I also like to soak up each and every detail. While “Zooropa” played , I watched the night sky light up from the Claw in all the colors of a rainbow as some planes flew above taking it all in from that perspective. When Streets played I honestly thought this brand new stadium was going to crumble to the ground with the force of all the jumping and dancing. I loved watching the fans on the upper tier having just as much fun as the fans down in GA. It didn’t matter where you were. You felt the love from the band anywhere in that place. We were all one as the band sang “One”. I noticed Bono overcome with emotion a number of times. He often put his hands on his heart then offered it back to us by raising his arms out. When he needed to drink some water, we just sang for him as he took a quick break. It was an extremely hot and humid evening - yes, even hotter than a hairdryer in your face! By the way, a “New York” snippet like that would have been perfect there! I had one moment of worry when Bono told us he felt faint. He wasn’t joking. Fans were sweating just sitting there but to do what he was doing on that stage without fainting was nothing short of a miracle.

I must confess I felt long before this show that it would indeed be a special one, but it really turned out to be epic (2 1/2 hours in the tradition of Mr. Springsteen). Epic is the word I thought of as I left the stadium. I just read that is exactly what Rolling Stone is calling this show as well. U2 always puts on an amazing show for their fans, but I do believe New York has special significance to them. Perhaps it is because it’s Bono’s second home and the band spends so much time there or all the wonderful moments they had at their many shows in East Rutherford in the old Giants Stadium. I happen to believe the loss of Clarence Clemons and the presence of the “Boss” Bruce Springsteen in the house is what really made the magic happen there that night. Early in the show, Bono was given a set list from their show at the Fast Lane in Asbury Park, New Jersey in the 80′s. It is a place Bruce often played. He laughed when he saw how many songs from Boy were played more than once simply because they just didn’t have any more songs to play at the time. He did make reference to “Out of Control” being the encore back then which led me to suspect that could be our “surprise” song of this set list. There was a lot of talk of “Bad” , but I feel at the last moment they made the right decision for this night with this crowd. Nostalgia was in the air. It was perfect. I feel Moncton may get “Bad”. Just a hunch.

The most heartfelt and touching moment occurred when Bono took a home made sign from some young fans and placed it up on stage in front of Larry’s drums. It was not that big. It was yellow and all it said in red letters was FOR CLARENCE. I realized then why this show was so important. You could almost feel that Clarence’s spirit was there with us at that very moment. U2 was giving it their all in Clarence’s place for him and for their friend, Bruce Springsteen who is still grieving over the loss of his dear friend. In my opinion, I feel Bruce did not take the stage to join U2 for that very reason.

When they uttered those words “one more” after “Moment of Surrender”, I was like a small child so excited with anticipation about which one it would be! Then I heard the first guitar sounds of “Out of Control” and suddenly I went out of control. As I danced , I closed my eyes and for a brief moment in time , I was back at the Ritz in the 80′s. I could actually smell the beer and feel the sticky floor on my shoes! It was only at the very end that I remembered I was in the New Meadowlands Stadium. I had just come full circle with my beloved band - yes, a 360 ( U2 pun definitely intended here). The 30 years of joy they brought me all flashed before my eyes. A few tears came down my cheek. It took me by surprise. I asked my friend for a tissue because I didn’t want to look silly when the lights came on. I am among friends here so I can admit that to all of you now.

As U2 walked through the tunnel and disappeared , I shouted ” Dream it all up again and come back.” It is probably just as well they didn’t play” Bad”. My friend only had one tissue and that most certainly would not have been enough.

I am no longer a child, but I still believe in magic.

For those not in attendance, here is the magic at the Meadowlands. Enjoy!

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