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To put it simply, U2 is the biggest band in the world. To me, they are The Beatles of my generation. Nobody can write a song like they can, and though some of their work in the 90s wasn't spectacular, it's hard for me to find a U2 song that I don't like. So yeah, U2 is a big deal. The same goes for their live show. I had never seen U2 live before, but had heard nothing but praise for their live performances. From the moment I walked into Raymond James Stadium, I was blown away. The band wasn't even close to coming on yet, but I found myself in awe of the giant stage that lay before me:
Nicknamed "The Claw" by the crew and "The Spaceship" by the band, this was the biggest stage ever built for any concert ever. "Spaceship" is right. Minutes after the band came out, I felt like I was traveling to another world. Hearing the band play while their stage came alive around them blew me away. Arriving onstage to the sound of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" (a completely appropriate song if you ask me), U2 cranked into "Breathe" from their newest album. The crowd went berserk. All 72,000 people (yes, you read that right) rose as one and didn't sit down the entire night.
U2 played, as Bono put it, "new songs, old songs, and songs we can hardly play". Crowd favorites like "Beautiful Day" and "Vertigo" sounded massive, and old songs like "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" and "The Unforgettable Fire" made the die-hard fans happy. But was amazed me the most, more than the band's amazing talent or the massive stage or even the live satellite feed from the International Space Station (more on that in a bit), was how the band felt so connected to each and every one of the 72,000 packed into that stadium. Maybe it was the way the stage was designed, or how loud the sound was, I don't know. But even though they were 50 feet away from me, I felt as if Adam, Larry, The Edge, and Bono were right next to me performing the songs just for me. This was without a doubt the most personable and intimate stadium show I've ever experienced.
But U2 weren't the only stars of the show, as there was live feed from the International Space Station. Bono spoke to Guy Laliberte, founder of Cirque du Soleil, who was up in space and promoting a charity to preserve water on Earth. That was an incredible surprise and added to the list of things I would never expect to see. Along with Guy, Desmond Tutu made an appearance (this time on a recorded video and not from space) promoting the One foundation, which was followed by U2 playing an incredibly powerful rendition of "One". The main set closed with "Where the Streets Have No Name", which was the loudest portion of the night with the entire crowd singing along. After a brief break, the band emerged once again to play an incredible encore, which had Bono swinging from a hanging microphone and wearing a jacket covered in lasers. The night came to an emotional end nearly two and a half hours after it began with "Moment of Surrender", just like that, the show was over, and we had landed back on Earth.
For me, that whole experience could be summed up in one single moment. Right after the first song, Bono turned to the audience and said, "It is a privilege to be here in the beautiful state of Florida, and to be in this incredible country". Bono turned to his right, looked up at the huge American flag and saluted it, then the band exploded into "Get on Your Boots". It was like a rallying cry, a call for action, and I was right there to answer it. It was right then that I knew that this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It could only be summed up in one word: epic. For those two hours, I felt like I wasn't on Earth anymore. U2 was an escape from reality, like a movie or video game, only this time it was real and was playing out before my eyes. My brain couldn't keep up with what was happening, but I just went with it. I know for sure that nothing this spectacular will ever happen again. And I am more than proud to say I was one of the 72,000 in that stadium that Friday night who was able to experience the greatest band in the world transport us to another planet. I just wish I didn't have to come back down to Earth.
U2's Setlist
Breathe
Get on Your Boots
Mysterious Ways
Beautiful Day
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Stuck in a Moment
No Line on the Horizon
Magnificent
Elevation
Until the End of the World
The Unforgettable Fire
City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight
Sunday Bloody Sunday
MLK
Walk On
One
Where the Streets Have No Name
Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
With or Without You
Moment of Surrender
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