Well I was disappointed twice… that I was not able to make it to another U2 concert. Ever since I was just a freshman in high school, I was a huge U2 fan. I remember sitting in class on a hot Miami day, when I heard on the news that U2 was arrested in LA… well, we all know that story right? (that was for “Where The Streets Have No Name” c.1987)

Ever since then, I’ve tried to get out to as many U2 concerts as I could get to. I had just missed the Joshua Tree and their Rattle And Hum (Love Town) tour… and it was quite awhile until I had to wait for them to come back. And they did…

This time, I was more independent. I had my wheels and my own money. No more begging my mom for cash or for her wheels to get to the concert… And so it began. Ever since ACHTUNG BABY, I went to several different concerts of theirs. And each one, I’ve always made it a point to stick the ticket stubs into the CD Case of the current tour.

Unfortunately, I missed the VERTIGO TOUR and 360 TOUR. Vertigo Tour, I missed because I was working on building my comedy, plus since I’m a bit older now, I don’t have the patience to really deal with the crowd. As much as I love to sit in the stadium/arena and feel the energy - it’s the aftermath of the pushing and cattle prodding that everybody does to get out of the parking lot. And when you’re at a U2 concert that’s SOLD OUT… you’re looking at just idling your way out of the parking lot.

Don’t get me wrong, their concerts are always awesome. And you never know what you’re going to get. So when they announced the 360 Tour… I was a bit disappointed that they weren’t doing a show down here. The closest one was in Tampa, which was 3 weeks ago. My alternate venues were Atlanta and worst case - Dallas. Needless to say, I’ve missed all 3. (I would have driven to Tampa, Atlanta and flown to Dallas)

To be honest, it wasn’t because I didn’t want to deal with the crowd. In fact, I was looking forward to meeting other U2 freaks… but ironically, I couldn’t make because, well… I’m broke. Yeah, it sucks… and you don’t need me to tell you. Cause we all know what it’s like to open your wallet and see your last small wad of cash - hoping that some job will come your way so you can stop eating that 1 MEAL A DAY budget diet. Hell, I’d be happy to stop eating that $1 frozen food they call “Macaroni and Cardboard” ~ damn nasty.

Anyway, I sucked it up - dealt with the idea of missing out on another concert…

Until I came across the ad-space I saw online for the YouTube U2 Rose Bowl concert. Hmmm, well, it’s just as good as any and besides, I didn’t have to spend the $$$ for tickets. Although I wasn’t physically there, the show was actually quite » AWESOME.

I looked back on my earlier review of the NO LINE ON THE HORIZON album and let me say, I have to rethink about some of the critiques I wrote. Just watching the live performance, it’s so much different than the studio. I actually prefer the live recordings from tonight’s show. One of favorites from tonight is the conga version of “I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight” - I am absolutely a fan of the live performance!!

Even “Get Your Boots On” was thrilling to listen live. Its so much better. If anything, the studio album does no justice to the actual LIVE PERFORMANCE. To top it, tonight’s performance has the classic U2 songs - including one of my all time favorites - “Unforgettable Fire” which was, surprisingly, performed right after “Until The End of The World”. (in the past tour, it was New Year’s Day).

The set also included tracks from the Zooropa days as well. And I totally miss that cute Cosmonaut character they created… leading into a rare live performance of ULTRA VIOLET. A truly great Achtung Baby track. Like the Zoo TV tour, with a broadcast of Lou Reed - tonight they had Commander Frank De Winne from the International Space Station making a call from outer space to the concert. How cool is that…??

The show even has some humor when Bono introduced the band in relations to the Hollywood stars. “IN LOS ANGELES ALL THE STARS ARE OUT TONIGHT…”

Larry Mullen is James Dean.

Adam Clayton is Clark Gable, the Red Butler of U2, frequently Gone With The Wind…

The Edge is… well, the Mad Scientist of the band, Mr. Spock. If you know anything about The Edge, that suits him so well! Boldly goes where no guitar player has gone before…

And Bono considers himself as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny Divito, and Dennis Hopper.

Of course, what’s a U2 concert in LA without the stars? Scarlett Johansson, Tom Preston, Bobby Shriver, were named a few by Bono, on top of that, the Join(RED) and ONE.ORG were also part of the event. During the encore, Desmond Tutu made a special video for the opening half, most of it subtly referring to Join(RED) and the ONE.ORG. The message spoke about lives that have been touched by these organizations and the many people who have and continued to help a worthy cause.

What’s even more amazing is the production value of the show. The streaming of the entire event. I swear I counted at least 15 cameras recording tonight… and I was asking myself - “is this live?” Other than some of the bogged time, the overall stream and broadcast was really impressive - especially for a 2.5hrs of stream.

Of course, one would have to ask - is this going to be on DVD? So, a little research on Google, I discovered:

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The 25 October 2009 concert at Pasadena, California, was filmed for a later DVD release. The shoot was directed by Tom Krueger. The concert was also streamed live on U2’s YouTube channel, and archived on the website for later viewing. The feed was initially going to be available only in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States, but this was later changed so that the stream would be available worldwide. It was the first time a concert has streamed live on YouTube. It was the first time since 1983’s Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky that the band have intentionally filmed over a single night.

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You bet your ass I’m going to buy that DVD when it comes out. But here’s the best part… I found out that they’re doing a 2010 North America Tour. And guess what? Miami is on the list for July 9, Friday.

I’ll be looking forward to going, but until then… I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go To A U2 Concert Soon…

Last I check, YouTube has been replaying the show for the past couple of hours. So if you missed it, check it out on YouTube/U2.

Set List:

• Breathe
• Get On Your Boots
• Magnificent
• Mysterious Ways
• Beautiful Day / In God’s Country
• I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For / Stand By Me
• Stuck In A Moment
• No Line On The Horizon
• Elevation
• In A Little While
• Unknown Caller
• 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

1st Encore:

• One
• Amazing Grace
• Where the Streets Have No Name

2nd Encore:

• Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
• With or Without You
• Moment of Surrender