U2 in Phoenix

I was nineteen when U2 released their seminal album The Joshua Tree and to say that it affected me would be an understatement.  I had been a U2 fan already but this album rocked my world, literally and figuratively.  I was wide awake, for maybe the first time in my life, and I was deeply passionate about history, philosophy, literature, politics, and activism.  Bono was my guru and I worshiped at the altar of his poetry.  So when U2 announced a tour in commemoration of its 30th anniversary, I was really bummed when I noticed that SLC (or even Denver) was not on the schedule.  The closest city to me was Phoenix and since it is completely crazy to drive ten hours just for a concert I tried to put it out of my mind.  After all, I had seen them in concert so many other times.  I held out until mid-August and then, in a moment of madness, I bought a ticket.  You see, whenever I do crazy things like drive ten hours just to see a concert I am always so glad that I did it when it's all over.  Experiences like this become some of my best memories!  The concert was absolutely amazing!  Bono's voice is definitely not what it was but I've never really considered him to be a virtuoso.  Rather, I have always thought of him as an incredibly passionate performer and he gave an epic performance on Tuesday night!  Bono somehow has the ability to make a venue like the University of Phoenix Stadium feel intimate and that, out of a crowd of 50,000, he is singing just for you!  I love Bono.  I love him unabashedly!   The stage featured a massive panoramic video screen with an outline of a Joshua tree and a runway leading out to the floor with a smaller stage that also looked like a Joshua tree.  When the house lights dimmed, it looked like someone was walking along the runway and it turned out to be Larry Mullen, Jr. who began the instantly recognizable militaristic drumbeat of "Sunday Bloody Sunday."  The Edge and Adam Clayton soon joined him on guitar and bass and then the crowd went into a frenzy when Bono started singing.  They continued with "New Year's Day," "Bad," and "Pride (In the Name of Love)" out on the small stage.  Then the the screen turned red with the giant Joshua tree in black and I had goosebumps when I heard the opening notes of "Where the Streets Have No Name."  U2 played The Joshua Tree in its entirety track by track, in order!   The videos accompanying each song were shot by Anton Corbijn, who did all of the iconic photography for the album.  The images were dazzling.  My favorite songs were "With or Without You" because it is my favorite song on the album, "Bullet the Blue Sky" because it always gets me riled up, and "One Tree Hill" because it is rarely performed and Bono gave such an emotional performance of it (it was written for his friend Greg Carroll who died in a motorcycle accident and Bono dedicated it to him before singing it).  Honestly, it was worth the ten hour drive just to hear that song!  For the encore, the band sang "Miss Sarajevo," "Beautiful Day," "Elevation," "Vertigo," "Ultraviolet," and their new song "You're the Best Thing About Me."  They ended the evening with a mind-blowing performance of "One."  All of the lights were turned off and the audience used their phones to light up the arena.  I will never forget that!  It was a crazy thing to do but I am so very glad that I drove ten hours to see this concert!

Note:  The opening act was Beck.  I have always wanted to see him so this concert killed two birds with one stone!  He also put on an amazing show because he is just so damn cool!  My favorite songs were "Loser," "Where It's At," and "Wow."