It was at my 11th U2 show, Tuesday's 360 stop in Oakland, that I crossed the line from fan to fanatic. I became one of those people who jumps and hollers with the thrill of recognition after just a few notes of a song are played. I was in heaven.
I've been waiting 20 months for this show to happen. Our tickets were purchased in October 2009 and the show was supposed to have taken place last June. The wait, though excruciating at times (more so for people who had made non-changeable travel plans last year and could no longer afford to go to the rescheduled shows) but the band's performance Tuesday more than made up for it.
The set list got a big overhaul from the fall 2009 leg. Gone are a big chunk of the "No Line on the Horizon" tracks, which I guess makes sense with this tour no longer being about promoting that album, and in are quite a few Zoo-era classics, thanks to the upcoming 20th anniversary of "Achtung, Baby" (and, yes, there's going to be a special edition remaster of that to ask Santa for).
"Breathe," which was the opener last time around, is one of my favorite tracks on NLOTH, so I was sad to see it go, but switching it for "Even Better Than the Real Thing" is nearly even for me. From there, the band powered through four more songs. The guys came to rock, and they did.
A tiny interlude came after the incendiary "Until the End of the World" with Bono talking about Lou Reed and how he influenced U2 to do recording in Berlin, sessions that wound up on "Achtung, Baby" and "Zooropa." It's just Bono and Edge on the stage at this point, Bono talking about the development of a particular song, Edge armed with an acoustic guitar. "They're going to do 'Stay,'" I thought. As the story progressed, I knew it for certain; Bono and Edge were going to play one of my all-time favorite U2 songs.
I was over-the-moon thrilled. The rest of the audience took that time to sit down. Same thing happened when the band played "Miss Sarajevo." I know neither of those songs are big hits, but both are beautiful and deserve a little more respect, to my ears, anyway.
The set list was a great mixture of the must-hears ("Pride," "One," "Streets") and little gems ("Zooropa," "Scarlet," "Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me"). Even though now I can think of some songs I wish had been included, there was nothing glaring that night. At no point did I feel gipped of anything.
As strong as the set list was, the band was even stronger. Bono has gotten himself back into fine fighting form after undergoing emergency back surgery last year. He ran and jumped and kicked and even swung from a microphone. Larry was loose and peppy and even took to the microphone at one point—talking, singing and smiling. Adam was cool as always. Edge was phenomenal in every way, his playing was electric (the changes to "Mysterious Ways" were so dirty and fantastic), his performance confident. As I texted my friend, he was in FINE form Tuesday night.
I have two more U2 shows to look forward to next week, shows 12 and 13 for me. I can't wait to see and hear how the guys top Oakland for me.
Tuesday's Set List:
Even Better Than the Real Thing
I Will Follow
Get On Your Boots
Magnificent
Mysterious Ways
Elevation
Until the End of the World - Anthem - Where Have All the Flowers Gone
Perfect Day - Happy Birthday
All I Want Is You
Stay
Beautiful Day - Space Oddity
Pride
Miss Sarajevo
Zooropa
City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
I'll Go Crazy (remix) - Discotheque - Life During Wartime - Psycho Killer
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Scarlet
Walk On
Encore 1:
One
Will You Love Me Tomorrow - Where the Streets Have no Name
Encore 2:
Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me
With or Without You
Moment of Surrender
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