I'll go through as I have time tonight and flag the good ones for upload directly here.
I'm glad you enjoyed my thoughts on the show. Like many of you I'm sure, this band has been with me since childhood. I've noticed that, as an album, this time in their lives is one of reflection on the past. The tour, and setlist obviously reflect this as well. What has surprised me is how much this tour has resulted in my own reflection on my own past with this group. They have quite literally been with me since I was about the same age Bono was when he lost his Mum. I've been fortunate enough to grow up in the Boston area, so Carter Alan and WBCN have both played a very prominent place in my life. I can remember hearing Gloria and New Year's Day on the radio long before U2 was a household name. I didn't really discover them until after the Red Rocks show, however, when I first saw the Sunday Bloody Sunday video. That was a major turning point in my life, and I very vividly remember that video coming on MTv that day and being blown away. It quite literally changed my life, as I've been an obsessive fan ever since.
This tour has brought back scores of old memories for me. All good, all related to U2. They have been a band to see me through ups and downs in life, and they have been there for every occasion. But, to bring this back to reflecting on the past, one thing I've found fascinating with this tour is the setlist and how they juxtapose old songs with new about the same period in their lives that they're reflecting on. The most blatantly obvious example of this is Sunday Bloody Sunday followed by Raised By Wolves. 2 very, very powerful songs with extremely vivid imagery (made even more so by the big screen on this tour) about the same exact event. The first is about anger, anger towards those who committed such a violent, senseless act, and of confusion, not understanding why or how someone could do this. The latter, about the same, but wondering also how, after 30+ years, there's been no closure on this event, and though Ireland has found peace, the rest of the world seems no closer to it. I didn't quite get what Raised By Wolves was all about until last night. It hit me, and it hit hard. I'm not one to really focus on lyrics, I'm much more about the intensity and passion of song as a whole and the ideas the song is all about (which is why Bad is my favorite and such an important song) rather than the actual words being sung.
Anyway, that's a few more thoughts about them, the show, and this tour. I'm actually quite surprised at the emotions last night's show has stirred up in me. All good, some very nostalgic. I'd love to hear others' thoughts about their experiences as well. Especially if you were there last night, but from any other show as well, Boston or otherwise.
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Paul
