I'm sure that if you're a fan of U2 you've already read the coverage of the band's opening night show in San Diego. To avoid playing music journalist, I'll keep this to a "one man's impression" piece.
I can think of no other occasion for which I would pay sixty dollars to test the limits of my agoraphobia, to be sandwiched between two taller males for two hours and have my fore and aft rubbed by said males' dancing pelvic thrusts, but that's just a little of what I was willing to endure to see a band that introduced me to Rock 'n' Roll. Sure, most of what I saw of U2 came from the four video screens above the stage and countless camera phone screens in the raised hands surrounding me, my view blocked by the heads of people much taller than my midget self. But I was there and no matter what anyone ever tells you, it's always the music that should matter first. Still, lest you think that I would spend a few hundred words gushing on about the show, this was far from a perfect night. For instance:
+The Sports Arena iPayOne Center is a cavernous, ancient building with below-average acoustics. Everything seemed to be slightly muffled, even at floor level. Along with this, the arena's main concourse is narrow and crammed with useless kiosks selling everything from caramel apples to nachos to kettle corn, making the walk to the one smoking area something of a slow death march for the nicotine needy. What more should one expect from a building that once housed the Clippers franchise for five years? For that alone, it should have been razed long ago. [Useless Sports Arena trivia: it was where John Wooden coached his last game.]
+The security for this show was immense. I walked through no less than three different "ticket check" areas, was frisked, sent through another ticket check and a ticket scan, at which point I finally received a yellow wristband which was checked twice before I was allowed onto the arena floor.
+Thirty dollars for a t-shirt?
Most of the other negatives involved personal hygiene issues, so I'll spare you the details. The positives far outweighed:
+The Kings of Leon were very tight and played an impressive forty minute set. Of course, this wasn't their crowd and you could hear a smattering of "Get off the stage" comments from the Top 40 lovers. I would have liked to have seen them more active. They seemed glued to their spots on the stage but with this being the first show and in front of the gathered horde of media they might have been concentrating on--gasp--the music.
+Just before U2 took the stage, the canned music was turned up and a familiar song started blaring through the arena speakers: Arcade Fire's "Wake Up".
+Say what you want about U2, but they don't have the popularity and longevity without knowing how to do it live. For two hours, they gave all of us a tour of their Hall of Fame catalog, from Boy's "An Cat Dubh" to the recent hits to the classics that everyone expects.
+The stage and effects were somewhat less spectacular than I expected, but they did utilize some drop down lighting and some interesting gadgetry and a catwalk that actually brought the band a mere twenty feet from my position on the floor on a few occasions. Alas, I still only caught glimpses thanks to the seven footer in front of me.
+There's something chilling about hearing 15,000 people chanting "How long to sing this song" even after the arena's lights had been cut on and the band had disappeared to wherever they disappeared to. "40" was a nice selection for the finale, especially for a show that carried the theme of unity and oneness.
As I walked out of the arena, my legs stiff and my feet aching from standing for over three hours, I realized that I had just witnessed my final U2 show. Not that the band won't tour again and that I won't feel the urge to see them live, but I have a hard time shelling out that much money for any band or any festival or anything. If this is the case, I'm pleased with my two U2 concert experiences (the other being in 1992). I know I'll have those nights as memories to share with my kid(s), right after I tell him and/or her to turn down that blasted newfangled noise he and/or she calls music.
A few related links and the setlist under the cut.