5/21/05
This was the second time I was in NYC this year, but this time I was not going to miss U2 again. I assured this back in March, when I scoped out a spot in cyberspace the day tickets went on sale. Even still, I ended up with nosebleed seats at the top of Madison Square Garden. But who cares? I was going to see U2 afterall, and after 25+ years of their incredible music, this could be their last tour.
Holli & I rode a bus into the city on a sunny but brisk Saturday afternoon. We were animated, talkative, and high from the excitement of the show. We arrived at the Port Authority, and walked 8 blocks north on 9th Ave to 50th Street to an Ethiopian restaurant called Meskerem. It was a quaint dark place with closed-in tables and a variety of faces at each corner. The key characteristic of Ethiopian food is that it's communal, and is typically served with flat bread called "injera," which we used to scoop up juicy morsels of chicken and lamb curry dipped in savory sauces. It was the perfect start for our evening.
It was my first try at Ethiopian food, and I have to admit it was difficult for me. Not because the food was bad, but because of my OCD which had me imagining a dingy chef in a wife beater shirt coming out of the tiny bathroom next to the kitchen without washing his hands, and the food being prepared with grungy mitts, and as the food came out, someone in the bathroom pops out letting all the germs & bacteria fall on my food. Which of course, we ate with our hands that were filthed by merely opening the door, and handling sticky menus, and touching the table which was cleaned with a nasty wet rag that harbors microscopic bacteria... OK I'll stop now.
As we attempted to enjoy our Ethiopian meal, it began to rain, pour to be exact. It poured buckets while we scampered back to the subway as profiteers tried to sell poorly constructed umbrellas for $15 each. We declined and made it to the Gardens without melting.
We took one escalator after another as drunken mooks sang bad renditions of U2 songs, and girls in slinky outfits slid their way into the arena. The Kings of Leon were already playing when we finally made it to the top of the arena to our seats high above mid-court. I kind of liked the Kings of Leon, buy you have to admit that as the opening act for the biggest rock band in the world, they were not going to impress a lot of people. The Kings of Leon didn't care, they just kept rocking while people casually ignored them until they exited.
Finally, the lights dimmed and the crowds cheered, ready to explode as the excitement built when the piercing noises and delays of The Edge's droning guitar started to echo in the arena. Then U2 broke into a cut from the new album, "Miracle Drug" as the deafening roars of the crowds filled the air. It was powerful. There were several notable parts of the show:
The first was when the boys broke into "Sunday Bloody Sunday," which just electrified the place as people began to recognize the drumbeat march as if it were a theme from their youth. The second was the elliptical stage which brought Bono intimately close to the crowds. Even so much as to pull a young woman up on stage who hung from his neck as he sang "Mysterious Ways." And in front of thousands of people, she looked like she was going to climax (sorry for being crude). The third, was "Yahweh" in which the throngs of people cried out like a gospel chorus creating this incredibly spritual atmosphere. It didn't matter that the four people in front of us were toking a few joints in a clandestine manner. Finally, one of their two encores brought "Original of the Species," which Bono asked his bandmates to play as an improptu dedication for his daughter's birthday.
All in all, it was an incredibly amazing and uplifting experience. We overheard people on the way out describe the show as "worshipful". We were definitely high from the show and perhaps from the secondhand smoke. By then, it was past midnight and we had to take the 1 a.m. bus out of the city. Holli & I had no cares at that point as we frolicked in the lights of Times Square singing U2 songs to one another.
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