Elevation Leg 1: 2001, North America

Apr
12
2001
Tacoma, WA, US (Tacoma Dome)
2
with PJ Harvey
Show Report
Elevation 2001: Show Number Ten, Tacoma Dome, April 12th

'I'm going to start a rock'n roll band, going to Seattle and never going away..' sang Bono in the middle of Desire tonight.

 And for a moment there, it seemed like he meant it. The set just got longer - although, if it stays that way, remains to be seen.

Tonight, there were a record-breaking 23 songs performed with The Ground Beneath Her Feet back in and a rare  Elevation 2001 airing  for Even Better Than the Real Thing.

>From the opening song, in which Bono adds a line - 'Love this town, Seattle'
- it is clear the band are happy to be here. There is more extemporising during Sunday Bloody Sunday in which, as Bono segues into the now familiar Marley classic, he sings  'Get Up, Stand Up for your rights - on the streets of Washington, Belfast, Derry, Stand up for your  rights...' as the audience clap along in time.

It's  also another family affair tonight with both Bono and Edge's daughters in town for the show. Bono waves to them during In A Little While as the fans sing the chorus, 'We also do weddings,' he explains. 'It's part of our lounge thing.'

'For the Evans's,' he announces at the end, 'That was cool, wasn't it ?'

Even the band introductions extend to the wider family tonight.

'Was that alright?' asks the singer after The Sweetest Thing. The 20,000 strong audience boo, throw beer cans and denounce the interpretation as a travesty. (Just kidding - they loved it.)
'We've only played that one a few times, can you tell?   Edge usually plays
piano but I get to play it on this one.
'I'd like to introduce you to the band - the man who gave us our first and only job, Larry Mullen Jnr,  he's had the same haircut for 20 years.'
Polite applause. Well, volcanic eruptions.
'The first manager of U2 was not Paul McGuinness, the first manager was the poshest member who plays the biggest instrument, Lord Adam Clayton, the jazz man of the band.'
Cue deafening crowd reaction.
'Next up, I want to introduce you to a man with more children than Abraham, all here tonight,  in fact a whole tribe of Evans's here, not just Garvin who gave him his lovely tenor voice but our first roadie Mrs The Edge...and, wearing the No. 33 t-shirt, The Edge!'

The Edge is warmly received.

Suffice to say that the audience tonight are in seventh heaven as Bad becomes Streets via a hint of Sexual Healing and Mysterious Ways becomes The Fly and Bullet The Bullet Sky and With Or Without You and Pride and One and Walk On and they're gone.
2  Fan Reviews
Dan_Phelan - 11 January, 2013
This was the one before everything chang
Took my son again. He made me buy him the skull cap, and the next day he lost it! Bad/40/Psalm 116 into Streets was very emotional and thrilling. A few short months later, the World Trade Center fell, the Pentagon was hit, and a plane crashed in Pennsylvania, and the world changed. I remember seeing Bono sing "Peace on Earth" on the telethon/memorial, and crying my eyes out, for what should have been, but what was never meant to be.
chickadee - 08 November, 2009
First U2 Show
It was my first time seeing the band live, and the first time my fourteen-year-old daughter had ever been to a large arena-type concert. We were so excited! We had great seats, and could see many details as Bono and the Edge rounded the ramp. We screamed, clapped, and jumped up and down as all our favorite songs were played. The most memorable song for me was Until the End of the World. It was thrilling to hear it live, and to see the interaction between Bono and the Edge. After the concert we stayed in a nearby hotel, and couldn't get to sleep for hours as we relived the concert. This was truly a memorable mother-daughter experience, one that I will always treasure. (PJ Harvey opened the concert)
First < Previous 1 - 2 of 2 Comments Next > Last