So, I haven't written any posts about the concerts I've been to lately (many of them have been work related), so I thought I'd sit down to talk about the U2 show I was at yesterday.

To begin, I left my house around 2 pm to go downtown to tailgate with my brother and a friend of mine from work along with his buddy. I parked in a lot near the venue (Heinz Field) so we could tailgate, other lots won't let you grill, drink etc., and parking cost $35! My friend showed up about a half hour later and we started drinking a bit. We didn't have a portable grill so he bought a disposable grill for $6 (an aluminum pan that comes with charcoal and a grill to place on top). That was the best $6 spent ever! That little thing allowed us to grill for about an hour. We also made friends with the people parked next to us and played pong for a while.

At about 6:15 we decided to head over to the stadium for the show (the opening band was slated to start around 7). We got to the venue at about 6:30 and got to our seats around 6:45. The stage (nicknamed "the claw") really is something to behold. It was about 50 yards width/length/height. This was the last show to feature the claw as well since this would be the final stop for U2 on their now 3 year long 360 Tour.

About 15 minutes after taking our seats, Interpol took the stage. I was actually surprised that they had such a smaller band open for them (Muse opened for them earlier in the tour) but this was the last leg too. I have all of their albums on my computer and I've listened through all of them at least once, but I still wouldn't say I'm very familiar with their catalog or call myself a fan. However, they played a very good set and sounded as good live as they do on their records (what you see is what you get). They didn't really have anything to add besides their music, but what do you expect from an opening band? CB and I agreed that it would have been cooler to see them headline a smaller venue and I'll definitely do that if and when they're back in town. I'm definitely gonna listen to them a bit more now having seen them live.

Interpol played for about an hour. Afterwards the U2 crew started setting up for the headliners. While they were getting ready, the screen above the stage (a circular lcd screen composed of hundreds of mini screens in long hexagonal shapes) was entertaining/informing the crowd by listing random facts such as various current times of day around the world, info about Pittsburgh, tour numbers, as well as facts about world poverty.

Here was my view of the show:

Shortly after 9:00, U2 took the stage. It was by far the most epic stage entrance I've ever seen. Nothing particularly spectacular happened (flashing lights, smoke, etc.). "Space Oddity" came on and the entire crowd waited for the four Irishmen to step out on stage, as the chorus for Bowie's song crescendo d through the stadium, the huge screen revealed the band walking out into the stadium, and the place went NUTS!!! It was so epic! As the band walks past the final camera before approaching the stage, Bono smiles and flashes the peace sign. If anybody besides Bono had done that I would have called it corny, but he was a ******* rockstar and such a badass and it suited him perfectly. The band then opened the show by playing "Even Better than the Real Thing," as well as other songs off Achtung Baby to celebrate the album's 20th birthday.

Even if you don't read all of this, watch the video! It is so epic how they take the stage!

I like U2 but I would have never considered myself a U2 fan, but they played one hell of a show! One of the highlights at the beginning was them playing "Mysterious Ways" in which Bono opened by making sex noises and then the Edge laying down the groovy riff to complement Bono. The bridges to the stage swiveled around and at one point the Edge and Bono tried high-fiving each other from the bridges besides one another. You can tell these guys love what they do for a living and that's a great thing to see at a show!

Bono pumping up the crowd to get on their boots!

THE EDGE!!!!!

Once again, Bono being a complete badass!

View of the stage with the screen extended. Really amazing stage!

The band invited volunteers of Amnesty International to participate in one of the songs by coming on stage with candlelit containers.

Another highlight of the show was the band playing "Beautiful Day" with an intro by Gabrielle Gifford's husband (the astronaut whose alarm at the International Space Station was the very same song).

The band played fan favorites as well as some other songs from their catalog (many of which were from Achtung Baby). The band played a special encore of "Bad" for Pittsburgh (they had ended every other show on the tour with "Moment of Surrender") which featured a Lou Reed reference ("Take a Walk on the Wild Side").

All in all, this was a remarkable show, and I got to go for free!!! If any of you have the opportunity to see U2 live and you even remotely like their music, do it! It was quite the experience!

That's pretty kick ass, dude.

So Jealous.