Not exactly travel, but U2 is a BFD

U2. One of the few bands of which I own multiple CDs. Whose songs I can and do get pumped to sing. In concert in Houston. Doesn’t get a whole lot better than that.

I was pumped about this concert when tickets went on sale last spring and bought tickets almost immediately. On Wednesday, I finally got to go experience U2 live, and it surpassed every expectation.

I’m not one to gush needlessly, but it was freaking amazing. I’ll try to do it justice. If you don't trust me, here's the Chron blog on the concert.

The concert was not sold out, but it really felt like everyone in Houston – my co-workers, our players, friends – knew that U2 was playing that night. Our seats were in the 500 level in the end zone farthest from the stage, so not close, but the view was still pretty decent.

I’m not a big concert-goer, so I wasn’t really prepared for the sound levels that come with an event of this magnitude. With Muse, the opening band, playing when we arrived, it was really loud. With a game on Sunday, I spent the whole night just a little worried about my ability to broadcast, so I tried to limit my yelling to the girls and my singing along.

The stage for the 360 tour has gotten a lot of attention, and it was pretty darn impressive in size, scope, and variety of color, material, and medium. I really liked the full-circle catwalk that surrounded the stage, connected to it by one permanent walkway and two bridges. But I didn’t think too much about it beforehand.

It became a big part of the show. The production value was incredible. They used so many different techniques for and methods of using the stage, yet you rarely thought about what was going on with the stage – it seemed to flow organically as part of the show. At one point, they lowered the video board from the top of the “spaceship” almost to the floor, but I totally missed it. This being the centerpiece of the show, that was no small feat.

Of course, as soon as he stepped on stage, Bono was the real centerpiece of the show. As a pretty casual fan, his was the only individual name I knew, but whether I had heard of him or not, he was clearly the star and (duh!) really good at being one. He worked all parts of the stage and walkway, he threw his arms up in the air as if celebrating, he jumped in rhythm, he got the audience swaying their arms to the beat, and he pretty much controlled 60,000 people for two hours. Incredible. That picture links to a Chron photo gallery.

Pretty early in the show he did the move where he pulled a woman out of the pit to dance with him on stage. She just about lost it. Weak in the knees does not do justice to the expression on her face and the language of her body. It was freaking hilarious. She and Bono will always have Houston. He went the whole nine yards, too, kneeling to kiss her hand as he moved on to the next song and everything. Not sure how Mrs. Bono feels about that, but I guess it’s part of being married to a rockstar.

I won’t attempt to describe the music. I love U2’s music and have so much respect for its staying power, and they really did a good job of mixing up eras and albums throughout the night. But of course, it really comes down to the big songs. I’ll remember the night and the atmosphere and the set, but what everyone is really going to remember is the big songs. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking for, Beautiful Day, Elevation, City of Blinding Lights, One, Walk On, Where the Streets Have No Name, With or Without You. Those are the eight I remember vividly, and why not? What a collection of songs.

Three of us had stated our favorite song in advance, so Kido was delighted with City of Blinding Lights, but Lise and I were a little worried when the band went under the stage for the first time about 80 minutes into the show. I knew there would be an encore or two, but I started to be worried we wouldn’t get everything we were hoping for.

Never fear. They put on another 40 minutes of show, stretching the whole set to a full two hours, including Where the Streets Have No Name (my absolute favorite; brought the house down, in my mind) and later With or Without You (for Lisa, and of course one of my favorites). Each of those eight songs lifted many of the audience members to ecstasy with its uplifting yet heartbreaking melody and lyrics.

I also liked how they worked in occasional bits of other songs – Stand by Me and Amazing Grace being the most prominent in my mind – just to add a little something. Definitely not on the CD.

So many of its songs are humanitarian in nature, and U2 of course was overtly political with references to situations in Burma and Saudi Arabia. Bono also made clear efforts to play to the crowd and let everybody know they appreciated the city (basic concert-giving 101, I’m sure), making lots of references to NASA after their visit the day before. Of course, with a spaceship set and a grand concept of the planet, it was an easy and appropriate way for U2 to relate to Houston.

The bridges moved around the circle. The big video screen moved up and down and appeared to have panels that could rotate to completely change how it was perceived. Lights shot to the open sky (Reliant with the roof open was apparently a big deal in the build-up; it definitely made for a much better atmosphere). A neon-lit microphone descended and doubled as a swing for Bono. It was just a crazy show. Spectacular and over the top and awesome.

I would pay big bucks to do it again in a heartbeat, and post-show letdown definitely feels a little like the day after a holiday. Only there’s no U2 concert here next year! But still, what a show. Unforgettable.