Can I just say this was possibly the best 24 hours of my life, starting with the evening before the concert. We got into Dallas Friday night in time for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Dinner was fantastic and the cheesecake we took back to the hotel because we were too stuffed to eat it at the restaurant was fantastic, even though they forgot to give us utensils so it became finger food. Enough said . . .
The next morning we arrived at Six Flags over Arlington and were something like the 6th car in line to get in. Within the first hour and fifteen minutes we'd been on 3 roller coasters. The crowds began to build after that, but the most we waited for a ride was an hour and 20 minutes. It was 75 and sunny, absolutely beautiful. So we rode roller coasters until 3 or so, then headed back to the hotel.
John and Kim Marquette met us at our hotel at 4:30 and we made our way to the "historic West End" section of Dallas and the Spaghetti Warehouse. Boy did we eat. We had plenty of time (this was the anti-Chicago in many senses of the word) so we enjoyed a liesurely dinner and stroll through the West End.
We got to the AA Center just as they opened the doors at 6:30 (told you we were early) and I panicked as I saw the "absolutely no cameras" sign and the "metal detectors in use" sign by the door. Well, I figured I'd chance it and keep the camera I'd borrowed under my shirt and see if the metal detector went off. Thank heaven for plastic cameras cause no one gave me a second look and into the arena we went with camera in tow.
Damian Marley sucked. The jamaican accent was far too thick to understand a word he said. The volume was too loud and the bass guitar was louder than everything else. Get this, he had a guy on stage and all he did was wave a Jamaican flag the entire time. I wish U2 would get opening acts that was of their caliber so we didn't have to suffer through junk.
I have to say that the perspective from behind the stage was interesting and different. It was not bad at all compared to the view from far away we had in Chicago. However, the sound was infinitely better. Something about the accoustics in our location were 10 times better than Chicago. I even took my hi fidelity ear plugs I bought out half way through because the sound was so good and clear. It was amazing.
The feel from the Chicago show was different too. I think they were trying to hard to prepare for the DVD taping in Chicago and weren't able to really let go. All the boys seemed very relaxed and into the show this time though. They were very informal and interactive all night long. The setlist was amazing, with Stuck in a Moment showing up as well as the big surprise of the evening: they pulled a guy out of the audience and he played Angel of Harlem with them. First of all, what a treat to hear that song. Secondly, the guy was freaking amazing on guitar. He'll never forget his 10 minutes of fame, especially since Bono swapped sunglasses with him at the end. They ended with Yahweh and 40, which was a perfect way to finish. All in all, my best U2 experience ever. I didn't think they could top the previous two, but this was head and shoulders above the rest.
However, I must say one additional thing about the four individuals sitting next to me. They are absolute idiots. First of all, they were completely drunk before U2 ever came on stage. Secondly, it became apparent that they were only there to hear the Joshua Tree hits and nothing else. They hadn't kept up with anything else having to do with U2. During Miss Sarejevo, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and One they repeatedly stood up and yelled at the top of their lungs, "This is b s t" and "Get this b s t off the stage." I didn't let this ruin my evening, but I was sad and disappointed that they took up 4 seats that better fans could have inhabited.
We got back to the hotel easily and enjoyed setting the clocks back an hour which meant we got a normal night's sleep even though it was already late.
2 comments:
Holy Freaking Crap!!
Can I just say this was possibly the best 24 hours of my life, starting with the evening before the concert. We got into Dallas Friday night in time for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Dinner was fantastic and the cheesecake we took back to the hotel because we were too stuffed to eat it at the restaurant was fantastic, even though they forgot to give us utensils so it became finger food. Enough said . . .
The next morning we arrived at Six Flags over Arlington and were something like the 6th car in line to get in. Within the first hour and fifteen minutes we'd been on 3 roller coasters. The crowds began to build after that, but the most we waited for a ride was an hour and 20 minutes. It was 75 and sunny, absolutely beautiful. So we rode roller coasters until 3 or so, then headed back to the hotel.
John and Kim Marquette met us at our hotel at 4:30 and we made our way to the "historic West End" section of Dallas and the Spaghetti Warehouse. Boy did we eat. We had plenty of time (this was the anti-Chicago in many senses of the word) so we enjoyed a liesurely dinner and stroll through the West End.
We got to the AA Center just as they opened the doors at 6:30 (told you we were early) and I panicked as I saw the "absolutely no cameras" sign and the "metal detectors in use" sign by the door. Well, I figured I'd chance it and keep the camera I'd borrowed under my shirt and see if the metal detector went off. Thank heaven for plastic cameras cause no one gave me a second look and into the arena we went with camera in tow.
Damian Marley sucked. The jamaican accent was far too thick to understand a word he said. The volume was too loud and the bass guitar was louder than everything else. Get this, he had a guy on stage and all he did was wave a Jamaican flag the entire time. I wish U2 would get opening acts that was of their caliber so we didn't have to suffer through junk.
I have to say that the perspective from behind the stage was interesting and different. It was not bad at all compared to the view from far away we had in Chicago. However, the sound was infinitely better. Something about the accoustics in our location were 10 times better than Chicago. I even took my hi fidelity ear plugs I bought out half way through because the sound was so good and clear. It was amazing.
The feel from the Chicago show was different too. I think they were trying to hard to prepare for the DVD taping in Chicago and weren't able to really let go. All the boys seemed very relaxed and into the show this time though. They were very informal and interactive all night long. The setlist was amazing, with Stuck in a Moment showing up as well as the big surprise of the evening: they pulled a guy out of the audience and he played Angel of Harlem with them. First of all, what a treat to hear that song. Secondly, the guy was freaking amazing on guitar. He'll never forget his 10 minutes of fame, especially since Bono swapped sunglasses with him at the end. They ended with Yahweh and 40, which was a perfect way to finish. All in all, my best U2 experience ever. I didn't think they could top the previous two, but this was head and shoulders above the rest.
However, I must say one additional thing about the four individuals sitting next to me. They are absolute idiots. First of all, they were completely drunk before U2 ever came on stage. Secondly, it became apparent that they were only there to hear the Joshua Tree hits and nothing else. They hadn't kept up with anything else having to do with U2. During Miss Sarejevo, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and One they repeatedly stood up and yelled at the top of their lungs, "This is b s t" and "Get this b s t off the stage." I didn't let this ruin my evening, but I was sad and disappointed that they took up 4 seats that better fans could have inhabited.
We got back to the hotel easily and enjoyed setting the clocks back an hour which meant we got a normal night's sleep even though it was already late.
Oh, and here's a link to pics:
http://photos.yahoo.com/newajm2002
Post a Comment