A city of pouring wind and rain became a city of blinding lights for opening show of three in Boston.
This is not a Spanish town,'said Bono, 'this is an Irish town', which was pretty clear with his unique introduction to Vertigo aon, do, tri , ceathair' (That's Gaelic by the way!)
The band were at the top of their game last night for a set which opened with a deafening reception for City of Blinding Lights and closed with eighteen thousand fans singing '40' more than two hours later.
One sure sign a show has really rocked is the speed at which fans start submitting their own reviews on our Subscribers site here at U2.Com. Last night reviews were arriving within minutes of the band leaving the stage and distance was evidently no object:
'I came from La Paz Bolivia, South America, more than 5000 miles,' says one fan. 'And it was really worthwhile.'
For others, the inclement Boston weather, heavy rain and fierce wind, was all forgotten with the opening chords of City of Blinding Lights.
'Entering Fleet Center is a blur,' writes one fan. 'And I would be hardpressed to explain the feeling of raw emotion that overtook me as the globe lights rose from the stage and Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton took front and center. Boston was surely in the mood to leave the ground.'
From City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, and Elevation the band arrived at 'a song we wrote before the war', as Bono put it, introducing a dazzling segment from the late 1970's with Cry/Electric Co. and The Ocean. And If ever there was a city to talk about the future it was Boston and tonight. Bono made special mention of Marvin Minsky from MIT, widely known as the 'father of artificial intelligence'.
'We're excited about the future,' he rapped. 'We like to be in a city that has faith in the future ... we have faith in God to inspire science...this is Miracle Drug.'
Larry ignited Love and Peace from the tip of the elipse, as the band performed a fierce quartet of tracks (Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky and Running to Stand Still) which segued perfectly into the words of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights high on the screens above.
Incidentally, the rhythm section were again in top form which did not go unnoticed at the Boston Herald which pointed out in a glowing report. 'Drummer Larry Mullen Jr. and bassist Adam Clayton were locked in a tight pas de deux all night, careering through ``The Electric Co,'' giving life to the heartbeat in ``Beautiful Day'' and playfully putting sex into the grooves of the bluesy ``Love and Peace or Else.'' '
The level of energy from the audience and the sheer volume of interaction has not been topped on the tour to date. Didn't matter how old you were or how many other shows you had been to, this was a special night.
'This show was absolutely kick ass!' as one of our reviewers, put it. ' It's the best concert I've ever been to. I'm only 12 but I know that years from now I'll be saying that this will be in my top concerts. .... I literally thought I was in a dream because it was just too incredible to be real. Throughout the whole concert it was just pure amazment. I don't think I ever stopped clapping my hands. Nor did the audience ever stop singing...'
