U2: What I Was Looking For

We saw U2 on Monday night. I'd never seen U2 before, which seems impossible somehow, given how long I've been listening to them, but there it is. My favorite music tends to be small and introspective, so it might seem at odds to love a band that embodies stadium rock the way these guys do, but I can't help myself (nor do I want to). U2's songs are bigger than life, and finally hearing them live was a total treat.

The scene... we were close! We were in the fifth row right behind their "360 degree" stage. I use quotations because while the band definitely played to the crowd on all sides, we probably spent more time looking at their backs than not. That said... it was still pretty awesome.

As close as we were, you'd think I'd take some killer photos. Not really. Between the lighting, fog, and perhaps (hint, hint) my need for an upgraded camera, the intended closeups came out a tad awkward. Here's an awkwardly lit Edge so you get the idea:

I love this shot from the back:

My videos turned out much better.

"Where the Streets Have No Name" ... does this song ever get old? Nope.



I love a good crowd sing-along. Here's 80,000+ singing "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For."



"One." This song is just beautiful, still. And the video intro by Desmond Tutu compellingly spoke of the work being done to fight AIDS in Africa.



Bono picked out a 14-year-old to run the stage with him during "City of Blinding Light." I love the kid's "am I supposed to leave the stage now?" awkwardness. That's me giggling at him.



For "Sunday, Bloody Sunday," the scene was draped in green in honor of protesters in Iran.



"SBS" is one of my favorite U2 songs. At the concert I was remembering putting this song on a mix tape for my hometown bff Heather, and then listening to said mix tape en route to the beach back in the day. So to indulge me, here's a bad video just because I want to hear more.



Bye bye, U2!