Dear Friends:
This last weekend, I had the unbelievable opportunity to see my favorite band perform live. When I say "favorite" - I'm not joking around. U2 has been at the very top of my list for almost 35 years! My best friend and I discovered them back in high school...which should now help you understand just how old I am ; ) We instantly loved the music and the messages...and have stayed devoted fans ever since. I have been very, very lucky to see them perform many times. Even back when I was a college student and had to scrimp and save my money to even afford tickets.
I remember one concert tour in 1986 (Conspiracy of Hope) that was only making stops in the largest cities, including San Francisco. At the time, I was a student at Brigham Young University in Utah. My buddy and I hopped in my car and drove the 800 miles to be able to see that show. Totally worth the lack of sleep ; )
This year, U2 is on tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their biggest album: The Joshua Tree.
The closest tour stop was in Dallas, Texas. My sweet wife was nice to agree to drive for four hours to go see the band. In addition, we were lucky to have some great friends come along - with their kids - to make a really fun weekend out of it:
We arrived in Dallas and after a little rest, went to the AT&T Stadium in Arlington. This is where the Dallas Cowboys play football. The stadium is huge - no surprise there. What was a surprise was just how great our "seats" were. Since I've been a U2 fan club member for so long, I had access to some pretty great tickets. We were in the "Red Zone" - located right next to the stage. The event had a traditional "A" stage on one end of the stadium, with a smaller "B" stage located about 50 yards into the middle of the show floor. Here's how close we were to the smaller stage:
We were actually located in between the larger and smaller stages. I had to use a panoramic feature to even get the whole thing in a single picture:
The show began with the band walking out onto the "B" stage...it was electric. They began with "Sunday, Bloody Sunday." Here's a sample of how close we were, as they walked past us:
They played another song from the "War" album - New Year's Day. Edge walked over hear us, and played both guitar and the piano on this song:
We also had Adam Clayton, their bass player, come over in front of us for a little while....
As they moved back to the "A" stage for "Where the Streets Have No Name", you began to appreciate the GIANT video screen behind the stage. Here's the crazy part - AT&T stadium has one of the largest video screens of any football stadiums in the country. I've seen games there, and it's amazing. However, the screen for this show simply dwarfed that one. You'll see how they used it in this song....
After viewing the clip, this should give you some perspective on just how large it was. I point at those tiny dots, which are the band members that were standing in front of the screen in the video clip:
The imagery on the screen reflected the sentiments from the original Joshua Tree album. They showcased the landscapes of America - particularly of the Southwest:
At other times, the screens were used to show up-close images of several band members, across the stage:
Here's a shot to prove that I was actually there ; ) I actually wore ear plugs for the entire show, as we were really, really close to the speakers. I could here the songs perfectly, even through the plugs!
One song that the band has never played in concert - is actually one of my favorites. The version that they performed was a bit different from the album, which was great. I heard some horns backing up the vocals...and loved this new mix. On the screen, you saw a Salvation Army band performing the horn section part. I've since tracked down this new version and have been playing it ever since:
More gorgeous imagery from the giant video screens. I could have snapped pictures all night....but I tried hard to just enjoy the music. I love the combination of fantastic music (that was so familiar) and eye-popping visuals:
I believe this is what constituted a "costume change" for Bono ; ) He walked out by himself to the "B" stage during the song "Exit":
The regular part of the concert ended with the last song on the album - "Mothers of the Disappeared". The song is both haunting and inspiring. It was inspired by a formal group of women in Central and South America, whose husbands and children were forcibly abducted by the military dictatorships in Argentina, Chile and El Salvador. The video on the giant screen was of these women...holding candles in honor of the "disappeared"...it was mesmerizing:
The crowd went crazy when U2 left the stage. Soon after, images started appearing on the big screen, and we were introduced to Omaima, a young Syrian refugee. The video then showed life in a Syrian refugee camp. It was difficult to see what life was like...and then see the utter destruction from several Syrian cities...I had a lump in my throat, thinking of the children. The band came back on stage and started a "tribute" to women - the women in the stadium and around the world:
While the band played, a giant banner of Omaima was passed around the lower bowl of the stadium - it was really cool...
Fittingly, U2 sang "Ultra Violet (Light My Way)" in honor of women around the world. They showed pictures of courageous women from all walks of life on the screen:
They performed other songs...and I caught this, as Bono was walking back to the main stage...a little shout out to Texas:
This was still the encore - and the band played a couple more songs that brought the audience to their feet. This is "Elevation" and I love seeing all the people react, when they brought the house lights up:
I could go on with more clips...but I think you get the idea ; ) We snapped a picture when the show finally closed, as the lights would show how close we were...a little better:
I'm so glad that I went to the show...and to share the experience with my wife and friends. It's such a terrific way for us to spend our 12th wedding anniversary ; )
Thanks for reading!
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