Sojourning to See U2
4 min readA friend of mine said that seeing U2 in concert would be one of the things that he’d like to do before he died. The way that it sounded, it was sort of like hearing someone say that they would like to attend the World Series or NBA Finals or the Super Bowl of concerts. For a band that seems to have been perpetually on tour since the early 80’s, it isn’t for lack of opportunity that one would miss a show, right? Maybe the analogy is missing something. Maybe seeing U2 is less like going to the Super Bowl of concerts, but more like a pilgrimage to Mecca. Because seeing U2 is not so much about going to show and witnessing an outcome, but it’s about going to a show and having an experience. At least that’s what it’s been like for those of us that placed our lives on hold in order to make the trek to see them on their annual comet-like pass through our solar system.
There is a reason I say that this was more of an experience than the usual visitation from the aliens from planet Dublin. I might even say, for the first time, that this time around it was almost like preparing for an attack. The weeks leading up to the concert, anyone who had tickets to the show was bombarded by emails warning them of several immanent dangers. One, parking was going to be atrocious. Two, you would need get to the Rose Bowl early. For those of us that already live in Southern California, this is like telling us that there’s going to be an earthquake. Yeah, we hear you, but we’re not really weighing the potential gravity of the situation. Like earthquakes, Bono and company have been here before, and we all lived to tell the tale. Well, most of us have anyway. So don’t tell me about earthquakes and expect me to get scared. In Southern California, we sleep through them.
I would like to say that going into this particular show that I understood what I was getting into…two hours of your garden variety rock concert followed by a couple of encores and then the slow drive home. No, that was the Vertigo tour. This was 360. And it was already an event that was already boasting one hundred thousand in attendance and it would add to its own spectacle by broadcasting the show live on Youtube. This ship was global. This ship required that we all bring our telescopes to watch the screeching spaceship crash-land and literally rock our faces off. If only we had heeded the warnings of the email prophets. If only I knew that this wasn’t just going to be another event, maybe I would have been prepared for the ride. If only…
The show started out rather innocuously with Bowie’s “Space Oddity” serving as mood music under the backdrop of a rocket ship and launch pad, I wondered if it would really carry the show towards dizzying heights. I knew I was in trouble when a lady, who turned to me from her seat directly in front of us, told me that she needed to leave because she “couldn’t breathe.” Can’t breathe? This is Bowie and the show hasn’t even started yet! It was if Bono knew, the band took the stage and broke into “Breathe.” She was gone, but I hope she heard him.
Now I’m not going to bore you with set lists or what songs I thought were great or even if Bono’s voice is anywhere near what it used to be. Those things can be the topic of other countless articles that you will, no doubt find on the internet. What else can I add? Was it a good show? If you missed it, you can check it out on youtube. Though, I watched it again and have to say that watching it on my computer doesn’t quite cover the event that it was. What I will say is that from Breathe until they closed the show with “Moment of Surrender” they were relentless in giving us the much promised experience of a Stadium show. So yes, when they were finished, I on behalf of my fellow humans did surrender. Please be a benevolent ruler, Bono. We heard you came in peace.
When it was over and the crowds were dispersing, the grounds outside of the Rose Bowl resembled the aftermath of a major catastrophe rather than your typical concert. Like any natural disaster you are warned about, the warnings that a disaster might be coming still never quite prepare you for what happens after. U2 brought it, and our faces were rocked off turning us all into One Hundred Thousand Zombies shuffling around the parking lot looking for our cars. Some of us forgoing the two hour wait for the public transit to drive us 2 miles were wandering down the streets of Pasadena in the hopes that this would be the faster route home. Going to this concert was an experience that left us contemplating what it all meant while we enjoyed the afterglow of our alien visitation. If we found Mecca – it would be long after our long journey home that we would fully embrace its meaning. I will say this, after witnessing the spaceship land; I can never look up and think about outer space the same way again.
