Seats: General Admission – Front Row Centre
It had been two weeks since I last saw U2 at the roller coaster shows of Anaheim. I love back-to-back shows because you are guaranteed different songs (certainly for the second show), which means a lot to us traveling fans. The first show was a standard set-list. That was not surprising for those of us who follow the set lists. That is not to suggest that the concert was without any special moments. It was a nice touch to hear a bit of Tryin’ to Throw Your Arms Arms Around the World after Mysterious Ways. I’m all for having anything Achtung Baby related to these shows.
I’ve also enjoyed the snippet of Where Have all the Flowers Gone? after Until the End of the World. Bono references the cities that are part of the so-called Arab-Spring – the series of civic protests in the Middle East.
UK’s Prince William and his new wife Kate were visiting Canada at the time, and it was funny to hear Bono introduce the band as members of the royal family. Larry was compared to as Prince William, Adam like Kate, Edge as the Prince of Wales, and Bono as one of the Queen’s Corgis (herding dog).
After Walk On, I always get a kick out of singing You’ll Never Walk Alone (Liverpool and Celtic’s anthem). You’ll Never Walk Alone is touching and in tune with U2’s ethos. The song is about never giving up hope despite the trials and tribulations we face. It’s no wonder that Bono had added these lyrics to the end of Walk On in tribute to Aung San Suu Kyi. Near the end of the show, the skies started to drip during Moment of Surrender. By the end of the song, it was an apocalyptic, torrential downpour. This prompted Bono to appropriately snippet The Beatles’ Rain before leaving the stage.
