U2 In Concert

For many years, I've shaken my head and scorned the legions of people who would go into a Sufi-like trance whenever they described the experience of seeing U2 in concert (this affliction is also prevalent in Bruce Springsteen fans). After a while (probably about 1990), I decided that I would simply sit this band out.

Well, 19 years later, I folded, like a cheap suit. I took the Kitten to see U2 at Fedex Field on Tuesday night. My rationale was this--Bono and I aren't getting any younger, and one of us was going to be more likely to sit concerts out as we got older. In point of fact, this could very well turn out to be the last real opportunity I had to catch the Zeitgeist that most folks my age long ago experienced.

I did this with some trepidation, having gone to see The Police two years ago and come away a wee bit disappointed that I was not 20 anymore, and that Sting seemed to phone the appearance in from his villa in St. Tropez. Then, the warmup band performed frighteningly screechy examples of their seemly endless rendition of the same song, which caused the Kitten to sit with her fingers in her ears throughout their performance (for those of you worried about my declining aural health, I turned off my hearing aids so as not to ruin them).

So by the time U2 took the stage, I was ready to be underwhelmed. What a mistake. Bono and the boys are simply amazing. Their energy was endless, their musical skills manifest, and their showmanship top-notch. Yes, we had to put up with Bono's endless moralizing....but it seemed a small price to pay for being thoroughly entertained by a songbook that has been consistently added to by great music for the past nearly 30 years. That these guys started playing together in high school and have kept it together--no, improved it--for nearly 30 years is a wonderful thing.

I'm glad I went, because now I understand the hype. Sorta wish I had gone earlier in my life....