U2: Elevation

U2: Elevation Tour
Centre Molson
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
28 May 2001

U2's triumphant return to Montreal made the front page of ALL the local papers! There was even a HUGE retrospective on U2's career in one of the dailies.

One of the most impressive things about a U2 concert is how they open the show. With ZOO-TV, Bono stumbles on to the stage, back lit by the static on the huge TV screens of the "Outdoor Broadcast" as he sings Zoo Station.

On PopMart, the band is escorted on to the floor of the stadium to an amped-up, spiffed up version of Pop Muzik. Bono dukes it out while wearing a boxing robe given to him by Oscar de la Hoya as he parades down the floor, then breaks into a funky dance as he enters the stage (who says white boys can't dance?). Mofo is the opening song: "Lookin' for to save my save my soul..." By the way, there's a big ol' heart on the back of that robe.

Now, with Elevation, the band enters the stage with the lights up and an "Easternized" rendition of Elevation playing in the background. From Day One of the tour, the crowd knew the words to Elevation and as soon as the music starts, everyone is singing out the OOoooo - Ooo to the citar-driven Elevation chorus. Then, Bono erupts and Elevation, the song and the show, kicks off in earnest. Cleverly, the lights are shut off and "subterannean" stage lights are turned on as Bono sings "Living like a mole now, going down, excavation...".

No matter how they do it, they electrify and energize the audience from the word Go.

This was the night I had my photo pass. After the first three songs, I packed up my equipment and was allowed to stash it under the catwalk (that would be the right-hand side, toward the front of the main stage). That alone makes this one historic. But, following the photo pass bit, I returned to the heart of the stage for the remainder of the show. It's an incredible experience to be in there and this arena-scale concert takes on all the intimacy of a nightclub act. You're surrounded by the band and are in a world of All Things U2. An absolutely incredible experience!

This time around, Bono was paying the price for last night's tour de force and was a bit under the weather. Still, he was a trooper throughout the 2 hours-plus show and at times signaled the crowd for more "support" to take him to the next level. There was less banter and playing with the crowd and Bono overlooked introducing the band altogether!

It was a shorter show, but somehow more intense and passionate, especially as Bono talked about 25 million Africans suffering from HIV during Pride. He encouraged the crowd to contact the drug companies to tell them how they can be a part of something bigger and make things happen for those in desperate need. He emphasized the need to advance from working for civil rights to human rights - the right to live like a human being.

An Irish flag caught Bono's attention during Sunday Bloody Sunday and he had the crowd toss it down - from waaay up in the nosebleeds to the side of the stage. He draped it on stage right as he sang "Johnny was a good man..."

Bono pulled a girl on to the catwalk during The Fly (and, like an a**hole, brushed her off with the lyrics, "gotta go, yeah, I'm running out of time" as he looked at the (non-existent) watch on his wrist).

The Official Set List (although not entirely adhered to; for example, One and With or Without You were not played!)
Elevation
Beautiful Day
Until the End of the World
Real Thing
Mysterious Ways
One
Stuck in a Moment
Kite
Gone
New York
I Will Follow
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Angel of Harlem
Ground Beneath Her Feet
All I Want is You
Where the Streets Have No Name
Pride
Bullet the Blue Sky
The Fly
With or Without You
Walk On

#8-)3

TC