Feeling So Random

Went to see Thirty Seconds to Mars last night and ended up on stage this close to the drums.

Will share the story, but realize that I need to tell a story of a story to get to that story because.. well.. i'm me. Keep an eye out; mayhaps all 3 stories will get posted by New Year's.

Sitting here working on another Etsy update - Pink Ribbon earrings for October. They are a mix of cute ones from last year and awesome new ones so there both new and old pictures to go through, but I am really distracted by the fact that my chest smells like tacos from a wee lunch incident.

Had dinner Saturday at fTM Miriam's new apartment; she lives in an actual Baltimore rowhouse.

It is beautiful.

She made Lydia's Stuffed Squash, so named because Miss Lydia had it last year and loved it so much that she has been asking Miriam to make it again.

Stuffing of quinoa, onions garlic, carrots, cranberries, apples and walnuts is cooked inside of a roasted acorn squash.

It is autumn on a plate.

As my first experience with acorn squash like this I am delighted to report it was yummy.

And yes, Lydia joined us for dinner because how can you have Lydia's Stuffed Squash without her?

Last week the hardwood floors in the foyer of my building and the steps going to the upstairs apartments were stripped and sealed. We couldn't use the front door for several days, but they do look incredible.
The down side?
It smelled like varnish and decay, with an under note of natural gas.
I slept with the windows open, fans on and several extra blankets but I think there might have been some long-term brain damage. I mean, nothing that smells that bad can possibly be good for you. Plus, I spent so much time around flammable chemicals  the last 20 years that I was in a state of heightened awareness on the lookout for a non-existent chemical leak.
For three days.
 It was exhausting.

At the Parisian Flea one day I saw this box -Beaver Finger Ring Cutter- and was like what?
Those words make no sense in that order.
Opening the box I found a truly alarming looking instrument:

Beaver. Finger. Ring. Cutter.

Pointy, circular bladed, sharp hooked, wicked looking thing.
Does it cut fingers?
Where does the beaver come into the picture?
I ask Andrew and he told me that it is for when someone has a ring stuck on their finger.
WHAT?
MENTAL MORSEL:
It cuts the shank of the stuck ring so that it can come off of the finger and it is made by a guy whose last name is beaver.
Even knowing the answer I am still a bit confounded every time I see the box.

Earlier I was on the phone with fTM Erin arranging to go visit tomorrow when she uttered, No Collin, you can't be naked in that rocket. I just imagine her 3 year old being like, Well which rocket can I be naked in? because that was my first thought. When I stopped laughing that is.

a little Friday randomness

I reached into the drawer at work to grab a marker to change a sign. After using the red and the blue ones I went to put them back and realized the box was not in rainbow order. Immediately I dumped them out and made it right.
Made it right?
hmmmmm...
I'm not compulsive about everything, but sets of coloring implements must be in rainbow order. Must. Be. How else would I be able to find the exact color I need instantly? Today is the first time I really realized i'm compulsive about it.

 

Goofy wears Goofy slippers.

 

Really.

The state flower of Maryland is the Black-eyed Susan which I have always considered to be a more serious version of daisies.

I took this picture two weeks ago because July and August is the peak season for Black-eyed Susans in Maryland.
MENTAL MORSEL: Since The Preakness is run in May, the blanket of flowers that is draped over the winner is not made from Maryland Black-eyed Susans; in past years they have been brought in from other states or are yellow daisies with the middles painted black. 

How come you can sit in a store all alone for hours and as soon as a customer walks in you have to piddle?

Street performers and buskers make me happy and I have a special affinity for living statues.

Today's Public Service Announcement:
Do not -for any reason- grab the barrel of a curling iron that is turned on; it is hot, people.
BTW, if -for any reason- you do grab the barrel of a curling iron that is turned on not only should you run cold water on it, submerge your hand in an ice bath for 5-10 minutes and it won't blister. Don't ask me how I know or why I am bringing it up today.

i didn't need that other stick

Ever wonder what music geeks do when they hang out?
Ron had just acquired a bunch of new lighting features and wanted to test them.
Just plugging them in would have been oh so boring so he positioned about eight of them around the electronic drum kit in his basement and proceeded to "amuse me" (read: amuse himself).
[video is just over 2 minutes of various styles and beats with much stick twirling; the post title comes from the very end of it; the lighting was much cooler live]

 

Okay... i'll admit it: he amused me, too.
He's a dork, but i love him.
I am not a big fan of electronic drum kits in general.
There are songs that totally benefit from their sound, but live i much, much, much prefer acoustic. Plus, when i met Ron approximately 900 years ago he always had his acoustic kit set up; it was the kit that i used to roadie for him during the Rare Forum/Letterbox days.
Combine those facts and you'll understand why i am generally whiny about the electronic kit being set up instead of the acoustic.
He is constantly trying to convince me that as technology gets better the electronic sound gets better, electronic kits can mimic acoustic kits, but not vice versa, these disturb the neighbors less because you cab plug in headphones and that all of the different sound settings and modules creates incredible diversity within one instrument... blah blah blah...
Forthwith after the previous video he once again started campaigning for me to come to the electronic drum kit side by hitting buttons and trying combinations to showcase its amazing versatility; I swear you'd think he was trying to sell me one.
Here are some video snippets:
37 seconds of an open steel sorta sound

36 seconds of a more jazzy/ standard sound morphing into a roundish Rush sound

34 seconds of some crazy sounds, which was my favorite (i also love in the middle when he just shrugs his shoulders like i don't really know what this is but i guess that i'm gonna go with it)

26 seconds of an interesting delay that he figured out and wanted to try to recreate later so he asked me to record it (it is really fascinating to watch his stick hits and compare them to the sound so that you can see and anticipate the delay period... sorry, have i used the phrase music geek yet in this post?)

We were at it for a goodly portion of the night and i drew several conclusions:
1. all of my friends are characters; i mean, Ron is one of my most normal friends
2. sparkley lights make me happy
3. i want light effect features in my house
4. drums really, really, really are my favorite
5. electronic drums can be cool, but they are better when they are set to play interesting and unusual percussive sounds instead of trying to sound like acoustic drums
6. if you want the sound of acoustic drums, just play acoustic drums
7. private performances are the best
8. especially if they include lights that change with the music
9. i still wish he had the acoustic kit set up
10. he didn't need that other stick

Hot August Blues

There is an all day blues festival in Baltimore at the beginning of every August (as one might gathered from the post title) and i've wanted to go for years. The problem was that i didn't have any blues-loving friends to go with me. But this year, this was the year that i was going to Hot August Blues, dagnabit, even if i had to go by myself because this year Trombone Shorty was playing.
Mayhaps you remember me falling in love with Trombone Shorty in the Spring.

Imagine my surprise and delight when Will and Jami suggested going to HAB to see him together!


I'd been to Oregon Ridge years ago to hear the symphony, but this is the first time i've attended a concert there as an adult and, believe it or not, my first all day music festival. The sound in the park is amazing; the stage is at the bottom of a hill so the sound is nicely reflected.
We staked out our seats, listened to a few bands (not that they weren't good, but i don't really remember much about them as i was kinda just biding my time for Mr. Shorty), looked at the vendors (Jami got a great hat) and indulged in crazy fair food (the corn on the cob was the best and i tried deep fried Snickers because... well, why not?)
 Finally, it was Trombone Shorty time.
Even from our seats where he appeared to be about 12 inches tall, the sound was great. I love, love that he carried out his own trombone and trumpet instead of having a roadie set them up on the stage ahead of time.
Oh, did i not mention that he plays trumpet as well as trombone?
 And sings?
 And leads the band?
 And dances?
I had to get closer.
[i wanted to see better, but it might have had something to do with a chatty guy who i finally realized was hitting on me (i assume people are just friendly) when i caught Will's expression of supressed laughter mixed with the do-you-need-me-to-get-rid-of-him look after he said, I'm Skid, by the way; Skid Row.]
Rude, awful people elbow their way to the front past folks who have been legitamitely standing there for hours which makes me so mad, but you can get there by being watchful and polite. It also helps when you are short so people don't mind if you slide into a hole in front of them cause they can still see.
 [don't even get me started on tall people who step directly in front of others ignoring the fact thay they are blocking everyone - selfish, self-centered jerks; but i digress]
 Slowly, but surely i worked my way to the front row stage right, next to the press section, affording me this unobstructed view:

The whole band -Orleans Avenue- was crazy tight and clearly enjoying themselves; here is a wee snippet for ya:

Let's zoom in a bit, shall we?

Several times Shorty left the stage and came down into the grass to be closer to the crowd who ate him up like warm pecan pie.
 Security had their hands full shooing people back behind the ropes as rampant dancing had broken out and folks were hopping into the open grass for more room.



Near the end of his set Warren Haynes from Gov't Mule -the last band of the night- came out and played with them. The energy was amazing and finished of what was easily the best set of the entire day.


After Trombone Shorty left the stage, Jami found me -she and Will hadn't come all the way to the front wuth me, but had kept an eye on my location to make sure i was Skid Row-free - and waited with me for him to come out to meet and greet.

People started out in a line acting like civilized human beings, but it quickly dissolved into a free for all. I didn't get to hear Jami yell at one guy for jumping line as i was too busy trying to ascertain if the older lady with glasses actually knew Shorty as she hung onto him as he talked to various people.
Once again, taking advantage of tiny openings while being patient and polite does pay off. Trombone Shorty -or my friend Troy, as i call him now- was very nice and appreciative as he signed my CD booklet and posed for pics. My camera chose that moment to have a breakdown and he didn't move away, but asked if i had my phone with me to take pics or if someone in the crowd could take a pic with their phone and mail it to me. Like i said, super nice and cool.


Do not hesitate if you ever have the chance to see Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue perform.
It will be a show to remember.

Mars300

The first part of this adventure can be found here.

Have you ever tried to run in a floor-length lace and sequin gypsy skirt that is soaking wet?
I wouldn't recommend it.
I swear that my skirt had the same specific gravity as galena as i pounded up the rather creepy side stairs of the Hammerstein Ballroom to the second mezzanine, but by jiminey i was on a mission.
I bought the tickets right when they went on sale so i could have gotten floor seats, but when you are 5'2 and three-quarters there is no point of being on the floor unless you are guaranteed to be in the front row, so i went with the balcony knowing that i'd be able to see even if i didn't get to the very front.
But, i did indeed get to the very front.
In fact, i could have had front and center, but i chose to go front and slightly stage left because that was where the drum set was and we all know that i have a deep and abiding love for all things percussive.
Then, it was time to wait.
The ushers wouldn't let us stand at the railing until show time so i sat in my seat and waited.
And waited.
Lordy, time was moving slowly.
Look, the ceiling is cool:

sigh... too dark to read my book...
waiting...
Talking to the sisters next to me that had been standing in the rain for 13 hours; feel a smidge guilty that i only stood in the rain for 2 hours and have the same seat.
Do i hear music?


my view, without zoom :-)

The big screens over the stage start playing 30 Seconds to Mars videos.
The crowd goes bonkers.
It is still nowhere near show time, but using videos to fluff the crowd is brilliant. I've never seen a band use their own music for the pre-show wait, but now i wonder why everyone doesn't do it because the atmosphere in the ballroom was crackling electricity.
Final sound check; I enjoy that the techs can just ignore the blaring videos.
waiting...
Video screens cut off mid-song, lights go out and IT IS TIME -
...for the opening band.
sigh...
I understand the point of having an opening band, but i swear that 8 times out of 10 it is just a disappointment. And this opening band... i'm not even sure if they were one of the 8 or one of the 2. In fact, their whole set made me feel like i was really drunk. Semi Precious Weapons are a New York band that put a lot of energy into showmanship. The frontman was a charismatic freak (i mean that as a compliment) that got the front of the crowd really riled up, but up on the balcony i was contemplating their lyrics, such as Put a diamond on it and bite down or the classic She wants free booze, no rules and you. They were really something and I was certainly entertained, but i'm not sure it was in the way SPW intended.
Finally, finally, finally 30 Seconds to Mars took the stage.
They were amazing.
I described Muse as more than epic and U2 as a spectacle. 30STM had all of the flash and lights and lasers and sound and giant inflatables of an epic spectacle,

but the whole show felt much more intimate.
It had something to do with the size of the ballroom, but it really came from how the band interacted with the crowd. This was the last big concert of a 2 year tour and they held nothing back. The crowd, in turn, projected raw energy back to them. It was unlike any other concert experience i've ever had.
The frontman, Jared, talked to the crowd throughout the show and i could see the guitarist, Tomo, and the drummer, Shannon, interacting with the people on their sides of the room between songs.

Plus, since this was a world record breaking show (more about that later) it was being streamed via VyRT so Jared would interact with people all around the world while telling us what they were saying.



It felt like a huge house party with a much better band than you could ever actually get for a house party.
In the rush to get ready i'd left my earplugs in Baltimore and was pleasantly surprised that except for when the opening band was playing i didn't miss them. It was actually appropriately loud with the sound fully filling the room, instead of needlessly ear-splitting and generally the sound engineer did a nice job (i would have mixed Jared's mike louder, but then again i am never really happy unless i am running sound myself).
Like any good play list there was a good mix of super-high energy songs and quieter moments,

like when Shannon came out from behind the drums to play a Tibetan singing bowl (really) and guitar for a song he wrote from the last album

or when Jared showed up all the way at the back of the audience on a tiny stage next to the sound board to do several acoustic songs; basically he was right below me and about 20 feet to my right. Again, the music was fantastic, but what really struck me was the genuine emotion filling the room. He talked about how this was the last time he would get to do this for who knows how long and sang his heart out on about 4 songs, taking requests from the crowd.
Partway through his acoustic version, i saw Tomo and Shannon come back to the main stage (even with Jared 20 feet away, my eyes naturally look toward the drums; i think it might be a clinical condition) and launch into the full band version

at which point Jared stepped onto the security barrier for the tiny stage and indicated for the crowd to part between him and the main stage. They did and he leaped down to the floor, running through the crowd, singing. It took me completely by surprise; i have never seen anything so insane. The crowd let him get part way before they started to close in and he almost made it to the stage before they gobbled him up like an amoeba.


He's almost to the stage



Holy crap, where's Jared?

Security managed to dig him out -still singing, by the way- and bodily threw him over the security barrier onto the catwalk. I enjoy a wee touch of insanity in my frontmen.

At this point in the post i'd insert a video snippet of them nailing my favorite song of theirs, Closer to the Edge, but i was dancing so hard by that point in the show that i kinda flailed my camera into a metal pole and she was understandably a bit persnickety after that so i thought better of trying to shoot video. [note: the link on the song title is a performance video of it, so you can kinda get the idea]
Before the concert it would be fair to say that Shannon Leto was my drummer crush. His self taught playing style delights me to no end when in song after song he makes awesome choices that no classically trained drummer would even consider; he embraces full tonality like a rock drummer, but is more polyphonic and rhythmic like a jazz drummer. [if i just lost you, i mean that he is really different from other drummers, but very good] Now that i've seen him play live i think that he might be my one true drummer love. I can't imagine ever finding another drummer that i'd rather watch play. I won't subject you to a song by song analysis, but trust me, i could.


that is a bitchin' kit



intense much?



Almost at the end of the concert a gentleman in a suit from Guinness World Records took the stage.

At some point someone counted up the shows that 30STM had played on this tour and realized that with just a few more it would be a world record. Hence the shows added in New York even though the last leg of the scheduled tour was in Europe.

Here, rather out of focus (my wee pink camera was throwing a full on fit at this point about how i treat her), is Tomo, Jared and Shannon receiving the certification of playing the most number shows for a rock band on the same album cycle, which is why the whole weeks events were called Mars300. [i think the final official number was 309 shows in something like 745 days]

The set list was mostly from the last album This is War and the hits from the previous A Beautiful Lie, but one of my favorite parts of the show was when the band pulled out some earlier songs. Jared called for requests and they'd just play bits and pieces of songs. Tomo talked to Jared with his guitar, playing riffs from various things to suggest what he wanted to play next, some of which elicited an Are you kidding? or I don't think the bass player knows that one. My favorite reaction to a suggestion was Jared looking hard at Tomo and saying Okay, let's at least try to get through the chorus. It seemed like the band was making every second that they had left on stage count; they were having as much fun -if not more- as the crowd.
I don't have any pictures of the last part of the concert where Jared pulled a 5 year old from the crowd and talked to her like there weren't thousands of other people present -it was adorable- or the very last song where about 60 or 70 people from the crowd were on stage singing and dancing with the band.

Or when Jared stopped the song in the middle and called for medics because someone was hurt in the pit. Yep, he just stopped singing. I know from being on stage on a much, much smaller scale that when you are really on an adrenaline high from a great show it is hard to see around you so i am frankly shocked that he even noticed that there was a problem. Not only did he notice, but he took action. MTV News (an oxymoron if there ever was one) reported that a woman had been trampled, but in fact she slipped while dancing [a girl that had come from New Zealand for the concert was next to me at the merch stand later and had been standing next to her when she went down]. The band handled it really well, giving us updates about what was happening and telling us not to leave. Once the medics took her out took cheering from the crowd, the band started right back into the song. Awesome.
To finish out the whole reckless-at-a-rock-show experience i decided to find the stage door and wait for the band. Though i did meet Nickel Creek after their show it was pretty much by a coincidence; i've never intentionally tried to wait for some one famous and thought that it would be a fun new thing.
Did i mention that it was raining?
And really cold?
Getting colder by the moment?
But by jiminey when i make up my mind there is a deep streak of stubbornness to back it up.
I didn't risk the camera in the rain to take pictures of the other few brave/crazy bedraggled souls waiting along with me next to a block-long line of full garbage dumpsters.
The bad news is that 30STM does their Gold Ticket meet-and-greets after the concert instead of before like other bands, so they were occupied inside for over 2 more hours while we were outside in the rain. The good news is that it was so cold, so wet and so late that there were only about 20 of us outside of the stage door when Shannon and Tomo came out.

It was obviously too nasty for autographs and pictures, but Shannon came over to talk to us quickly while Tomo loaded up the taxi. He was honestly incredulous, What are you guys still doing out here? It's freezing. You need to go home and get warm; take care of yourselves.
So i caught a taxi back to the hotel (much easier at 2am), took a hot, hot bath and went to bed; then back to the train station in the morning to get back to work in the afternoon (which in the spirit of full disclosure i admit that i skipped any way).
I loves me a good adventure and good music.

i'm in the yellow oval

quick conference redux

Two weeks later and i'm mostly recovered from the national conference that my museum hosted. It was really fun, in that challenging, stressful, frantic, no-sleep kind of way. The only real downside for me was that I did not attend any sessions where i wasn't speaking or volunteering; there just wasn't time.
I spoke at an all day workshop about educational outreach basically highlighting the 2 outreach programs at my museum because we were the hosts. There was a session on physics demonstrations (that fTM Jonah titled May the Forces be With You. Really) where i shared our zipline CO2 demo for Newton's Third Law and TM Chris' amazing portable version of a periodic wave machine (though a standard thing in museums, i've never seen one for outreach before; he did such a great job):

There is a showcase of coolness on Sunday every year in the Exhibit Hall called Live Demo Hour and the host museum normally does something. Along with co-worker Chris i shared our Squirty Sphere and Ping Pong Cannons:

From those pictures everything looks well and good, but i have to admit that i totally screwed up on stage. I was nervous as 300 of my peers from around the world, as well an informal science education celebrity (yes, there is such a thing and we'll get to him in a minute) were watching plus I was the first act, so i misspoke one of my explanations. I know the right explanation, i just said it wrong.
You know when you say something wrong and you don't even realize it until someone points it out later?
That was me.
Was the person who pointed out the error my boss?
Yep.
As soon as it was posted to YouTube did people immediately start commenting on the error?
 Yep.
Will i let this haunt me for the rest of my life?
Probably.   
sigh...
BUT, before i humiliated myself in front of the entire science center community, i got a chance to meet Steve Spangler. He's like the Bill Nye for educators instead of the public; you might recognize him from the Ellen Show. When you meet someone that you admire, you're always afraid that they might be a jerk in real life, but Steve was friendly, down-to-earth and genuine. He was also in the Live Demo Hour show and after rehearsing all morning with him, I finally had to ask to have a picture with him; the exchange went something like this:
ME: Steve, I've waited all morning, but can i please have a fan-girl picture with you?
SS: Of course, but we have to take it with my camera first.
ME: Why in the world would you want a picture with me?
SS: You're the one doing the show; i'm gonna post this on Facebook.
ME: You're awesome and cool and nice and give us geeks a good name.
(that last bit was luckily only inside my head)

On Monday, i was the session leader (along with fTM Miriam who is the other supervisor) for an all day outreach session in local schools; presenters from my team, Miriam's team, Seattle, Hawaii and Boston did programs with kids where other educators could observe. This year we had the largest attendance in the event's history.

And in a rare moment of personal growth I decided at the last minute not to perform myself, but to have TM Chris (who built several of the props) and TM Sam (who designed the show) do our new show for the group. Here they are causing fire with refraction:

The whole experience was amazing and something i have been looking forward to for a long time. But as with many big events, i was happy to do it and am equally happy that it is over.

360 degrees of AWESOME

Waaaaaaaaaaay back in December i get a text from my friend Ron: Trying to buy U2 tickets. Do you want one?
My reply: YES!!
His answer:

Oh wait; that's right; he didn't answer.
I never heard another word about it.
Nothing.
I figured that he hadn't been able to get tickets; i didn't ask him about it because of what we refer to as the Vertigo Tour Incident. [he only had one job that day - get us tickets to Vertigo. That's it. One tiny little task. But did he get them? NO. Years later and we -that is I- still refer to his utter lack of getting us tickets] I was disappointed, but told myself that it was better in the long run cause i couldn't really afford a ticket any way.
Time passes.
We celebrated New Year's together.
Billboards for the show appear all over town.
We did Lynn's Super Bowl Party together.
Time passes.
We hung out on multiple occasions.
More time passes.
We are sitting at the Phoenix in Old Ellicott City a few weeks before my birthday talking about -wait for it- music. I'm introducing him to 30 Seconds From Mars (on YouTube, people; not in person) which leads to a discussion of Muse which leads to a discussion of U2 and he says something about going to the show
silence...
What? says I.
The show is only 6 weeks away says he. Pause for him to notice my bewildered expression. I did tell you that I got the tickets, right?
?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Why no; no, you did not tell me that we have tickets. In fact i spent the last 5 months sighing sadly every time i drove to work and had to pass a giant billboard about the show in the morning. Every day. For 5 months.
Then the sheer joy set in, then the jubilant screaming, then the people at other tables are looking at me like i had gone nuts. It was quite the sight.
He'd simply forgotten to tell me that he did indeed secure the tickets. After the Vertigo Tour Incident he was not going to fail again. He was sure that he had told me that he had tickets.
Let's just take a quick moment to talk about Ron.

I love Ron.
We have been friends for 17 years.
He's one of my oldest friend's step-sister's uncle. (really)
He dated one of my best friends for 2 years. (then she dumped me, she dumped him and disappeared)
He dated another one of my friends for another 2 years. (then he dumped her, she dumped me and disappeared)
We can talk about music all day, every day and still not run out of things to say.
He's a music teacher, an amazing drummer and generally a good guy.
But he is also a giant goof ball.

Really. A Goof Ball. I couldn't stay mad about not knowing we had U2 tickets because 1) that's just the way Ron is and 2) we HAD U2 TICKETS.

This tour is called the 360 Tour because they are performing in the round with a ginormous 30 foot tall stage that in the daylight looks quite a bit like a headless dragon to me, though Ron wanted to know that was the deal with the cheese buttons. The main stage was in the center with bridges out to the catwalk and a huge, huge, huge circular video screen. By having the audience around the stage instead of just in front of it, everyone could be closer. Even way up in the fifth level, I wasn't any farther away from them in this stadium then i would have been in an arena.

As night fell, the video screen scrolled all sorts of tidbits of information (like 17 babies have been born to the crew so far during this tour) and showed the current time all over the world. Finally, all of the lights in the stadium went out, the crazy dragon/octopus/spaceship started to light up and the band walked to the stage. Yep, they just walked to it from the locker rooms. No big production, which is different for them and super cool. You could literally feel the excitement building and cresting as they got closer and closer to their instruments.
Then the awesomeness was upon us.
You might recall that i had a hard time describing the Muse show i went to last year. U2 360 is just as impossible to sum up in words. This is the third time i have seen them and it was everything i wanted it to be.
We can talk about the spectacle that was the constantly changing stage

understated

a little red



white spots

crazy blue spots



more blue



freaky texture lights



small red spots



or no lights at all

 or the fact that the bridges to the catwalk MOVED, even when band members were walking on them, sliding right over the heads of the audience or that the giant video screen was made up of tons of smaller screens that descended like a cone of moving images around the stage

 

or that the spire at the top lit up like a flaming sword

and pulsed

and turned into a giant disco ball











But, unlike PopMart, it wasn't all just spectacle. Though a stadium tour, you really did feel close to the band. There was a real connection. Bono was in a thoughtful mood, talking a bit about recovering from surgery and being grateful that he could be there. There was, of course, political discourse as well, but it felt genuine, not preachy or contrived. Before starting Moment of Surrender, he had everyone hold up their cell phones and take a moment of silence to remember anyone they'd ever lost. It sounds hokey when i type it, but it was truly moving at the time. And i don't think i have ever had chills quite like the ones i felt when 80,000 people sang the first verse of Amazing Grace together.
Plus, there was the music. The band sounded good. They sounded tight. The playlist was fan-dam-tastic. My favorite song was played third -free pizza to anyone who can name it before hitting play-:

They covered quite a range of their catalog (30 years of albums gives one a lot to choose from) and didn't just stick to the hits. In fact, they did an amazing version of a deep cut from Achtung Baby -so deep, Ron didn't recognize it- that is very close to my heart as i heard it for the first time on a mix tape (yes, i'm old) that fTM Frack made me long, long ago (there are 2 snippets cause i didn't want either to be too long):

And on top of all of that, the concert was 10 years -almost to the day- of when Ron and I saw U2 together for the first time on the Elevation Tour. I had an extra ticket and took him to the show though he wasn't a huge fan at the time. I mean, he liked them when he heard them on the radio (yes, i'm old), but didn't really love them or own any of their records. After that concert -which remains one the the very best i have ever seen- he was sold on their greatness.
Flash forward a decade and here we are again

And as if the spectacle, music, mood, and nostalgia weren't enough, when i asked Ron how much I owed him for the ticket he said Never mind that. I just want you to have an awesome night.
Mission Accomplished!
Thanks, Ron.