U2

Boy was this concert complicated.

First of all, Busch Stadium was completely transformed.  There was a spaceship on the field.  It was strange to see!

Second, the highway was closed through part of downtown, which made things slightly more challenging for me, as a non-downtown driver.  However (brace yourselves - I'm about to say something positive about the city!) at least the streets are laid out on a grid in downtown proper!  That means I can pretty reliably find where I'm going, even if I have no idea where I am.

Third, there were so many people that all the cell towers jammed, causing massive communication breakdown.  As such, I ended up watching the concert alone, but it was actually great.  I found a good spot right behind the barricades surrounding one of the sound towers.  There was no one in front of me for about 20 feet, so I could see (a miracle!) most of the time, and I had something to lean on if my feet got tired.  Other than the fact that I missed the first few songs, it worked out okay.

Now, the music itself.  I love U2, especially their albums through the early 1990s, with a special dispensation made for All That You Can't Leave Behind, which I also adore.  And lucky for me, much of what they played was off albums I like!  There were also a couple of songs ("Vertigo," "City of Blinding Lights") off their How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb album, which I own but am not about.

A clip from "Pride (In the Name of Love)." As per usual, sound quality is terrible, so here's where we are in the song:

"...on a barbed wire fence,

One man, he resists.

One man washed up on an empty beach,

One man betrayed with a kiss.

In the name of love,

What more in the name of love?

In the name of love,

What more in the name of love?

[The Edge's guitar interlude]"

Mixed in between the songs were the predictable, but annoying, political statements.  I know that politics is a big part of what Bono does, and if that's his thing, more power to him.  And he is certainly entitled to carry that over to his concerts - it's his band, after all.  But I'm not there for that.  I'm there for the music.

Politics and all, though, U2 was in St. Louis!  Which was awesome!  And I could have thrown something from where I was standing onto the stage!  Okay, that is totally a lie.  I throw like a girl, and not in a good way.  But somebody could have thrown something from where I was onto the stage, and that's a lot closer to the band than I've ever been before!  (Mom and I were hoping they'd stop in while we were staying at their hotel in Dublin so we'd get an impromptu concert in the bar that they sometimes do, but no luck.)

So, despite some kinks, a wicked show.  Party on, party people.