On October 31, 2000, U2 released All That You Can't
Leave Behind, their long awaited follow-up to Pop. I missed
the annual Halloween Parade in Greenwich Village in order to purchase
the CD. I nervously anticipated the tour, fearing I might miss the date
that concert tickets went on sale. Saved by Propaganda, the official U2
fan magazine, I pre-ordered tickets for 2 shows: June 17 at Madison Square
Garden and June 21 at the Continental Airlines Arena. I was full of angst
not knowing if the tickets would come, fearing someone might steal them
from the mailbox or the letter carrier might decide to lighten his load
and throw out some mail. Fortunately, they arrived months before the show.
I eagerly prepared for the shows listening to all my CDs and making mix
tapes for my concert-going companions. Both shows had the same set list.
Because of awful acoustics at the garden, the band was drowned out by
fans who sang along to every song. Acoustics were better in Jersey, where
Bono dedicated "Stay" to Moulin Rouge director Baz
Luhrman who was in the audience. He sang the first verse twice by mistake
and paused, forgetting the second verse lyrics. He took a good 30 seconds
to figure it out while the band played on, offering no help. The following
haikus will tell you the rest of the story.
The following is a
review of two concerts
New York, New Jersey
Greenpeace guy lobbies
U2 fans to join Frontline.
Fan says, "Sign me up!"
Lights on. Excitement
Builds. They walk onto the stage.
Sell out crowd goes wild.
Elevation
Ooo-ooh ooo-oo-hoo
Elevation starts concert
Song's goal is achieved
Beautiful day
It's a beautiful
Father's Day, perfect weather
Welcome to New York!
Until the End of the World
Bono is the bull
The Edge is the matador
Conquers with guitar
Mysterious Ways
Video walls pop
up and down. Mysterious
belly dancing broad.
Kite
Light blue colors wave
back and forth. Bono says it's
about breaking up.
Gone
The giant lemon
is GONE. So are the
other songs from Pop.
New York
True to life, Bono
just found a place in New York.
Sinatra tribute.
I Will Follow
Crowd erupts into
sing-a-long. Drunk frat boys dream
of fronting a band.
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bono takes Irish
flag from crowd singing, "How long
must we sing this song?"
Stuck in a Moment You Can't
Get Out of
Perhaps later will
be better. I'm stuck trying
to pen decent haikus.
In a Little While
Slow down my beating
heart. Joey Ramone died while
listening to this.
Desire
Larry plays bongo
type drums. "Desire," unplugged,
I feel, disappoints.
Stay
The band keeps playing.
Lyrics...Far away, So close!
"Red lights, grey morning."
Bad
A giant trash can
light, with holes, revolves on each
corner of the stage.
Where the Streets have no
Name
Music builds, red lights
Running around heart catwalk,
sings, "I want to run."
Pride
Will there ever be
a show where they don't play "Pride"?
Adam strums, looks bored.
FIRST ENCORE
Bullet the Blue Sky
Bono takes spotlight,
flashing it around the crowd,
talks of gun violence
With or Without You
I can't remember
anything special about
"With or Without You."
The Fly
Bono alludes to
egotistical showman
from Zoo TV. SPLAT!
SECOND ENCORE
Bono thanks Father
Bruce for lending them his house.
He is still The Boss.
Pop culture Jesus,
message goes beyond music,
makes world better place.
"For spending your hard
earned money," and "Giving us
a great life. Thank you."
One
One buffalo runs
across one screen. One man sings,
"One love, One life, One..."
Walk On
Pensive song closes
concert perfectly. Bono
croons, "Stay safe tonight."
For more information about U2 and more pics like the ones
borrowed for this article (except for the heart and the fly pics, which
were taken by Christine Horace), check out U2.com
Add your own U2 haikus here.
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