U2: Elevation

U2: Elevation Tour
Thomas & Mack Center
Las Vegas, Nevada
18 November 2001

The day started with a pit stop at the Excalibur for some lackluster jelly-filled Krispy Kreme donuts. The taxi hailer guessed I was bound for the Thomas & Mack before I said a word. Was it my green sweatshirt or the box of Krispy Kremes that gave me away? I was totally incognito!

Arriving at 8:45, I saw the line walking across the parking lot from its camp out spot across the street. Even that early, I was number 303 in the GA line. More alarming, there were about 130 camped out by 5:30 a.m. and 200 by 7 a.m.. I was disappointed I didn't get a wake up call from the groupies I met the night before at New York, New York. Happily, though, U2Tours.com folks were right in front of me, a good group to be around. Their crew included Scott, who got to play guitar with the band at an Oakland show just 48 hours earlier.

There were some familiar faces in the line, including the same faux Bono from Denver and a couple folks from the Slane gigs. The thought that this was, for now, the end of the road for me kinda hurt. As frustrating as the uninformed security guards, the line Nazis, the line crashers, and some of the "too far out there" fans can be, it all adds to the experience. Then there's the ticket-sale stress and the stomach-churning anxiety of wristband stress. Yeah. Having this much fun is a LOT of work!

Mercifully, the Vegas security crew followed the line number scheme and everything went off like clockwork. One blonde girl sporting a cowboy hat thought she could butt in line, but the crowd let her know otherwise. She had already been pulled on stage by Bono THREE times and she thought she could just should up and hang out with her mom in the middle of the afternoon. Uh, no. (Unfortunately, she still wound up making her way to the front of the heart! Damn!)

I digress. Sorry.

The first surprise of the evening came when Adrian Young, No Doubt's drummer, arrived on stage, dropped his "No Doubt" shorts, and showed off his rather ornate Speedo-esque outfit. (In Denver, he was wearing a pair of diapers.)

Ahhh... yes! No Doubt are far more entertaining than PJ Harvey.

After all the dust settled, I was actually standing to the side of, and slightly in front of, those who were to phone me when they had gotten on line at 7 a.m.. With so many vantage points, being 303 is bad news only if you're obsessed enough to absolutely, positively be in one specific spot. I, on the other hand, prefer the more spontaneous "get the best view possible" approach.

The heart was more crowded than I had experienced before, far more than the standard 350 were in there. The crowded confines limited my jumping ability, unlike Denver, where I was popping up and down like a jumping bean. They were kinda pushy in there too, especially when Bono was at the front of the stage.

Bono has done this at all the shows, but it was more striking in Vegas, Sin City, than anywhere else: At the show's start, he struts to the front of the stage, then kneels in a Catholic prayer. Then he jumps up to el-e-vate the crowd. Simply terrific stuff!

Another issue I had was the dramatic increase in the number of posters people deemed necessary to bring into the heart in hopes of drawing the band's attention.

Nonetheless, it was a special show with some unique moments.

Beautiful Day's lyrics were slightly altered. Now you "see Adam Clayton right in front of you."

The Edge was sporting a "Champions of Tomorrow" T-shirt with what appeared to be a basketball spinning on a finger.

As with Denver, I got Bono's smile again during Stuck in a Moment. Not sure if it was the magical Mattimus cap or my belting out the lyrics. That smile is priceless.

"Take it to Church": I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For.

During New York, a couple of the alterations were a reference to New York's will and how things can change in September. Religious nuts and political fanatics - they don't belong in New York. Also, of course, "even Las Vegas loves New York." An "I Love New York" T-shirt was thrown on the stage. Bono draped it over the mike stand and then put his American-flag-lined jacket over the shirt.

There was another lucky audience member chosen to get on stage. They played People Get Ready and Julie Crick was the girl on the gee-tar. Bono had fun with the lyrics, singing "she likes Edge best" and referenced Julie's "bare feet" and "sandals" on that train to Jordan. Julie was an excellent guitarist, by the way.

During Bad, Bono kneeled down and nursed the lighter of a person at the front of the stage. It gave the song an incredibly intimate feel; it's the best I've ever heard that song and it added a new dimension to it. From Bad, Bono made a smooth segue to Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses. Good stuff!

Pride. I love that song, and I love when the play portion's of Martin Luther King's inspirational speeches. It pulls together what the band stands for nicely.

Please has more relevance for the U.S. now. It's no longer a song "just" about the Troubles in Ireland. The lyrics "September... streets capsizing... spilling over, down the drain... shards of glass splinters like rain, but you could only feel your own pain" have a whole new significance now.

Wild Honey had a lot of bounce to it tonight, with Bono jumping around, for just a bit, like a monkey.

Bono dedicated Kite to "Kate," the Australian girl standing behind me (this was supposedly her first ever U2 concert; her boyfriend had a sign hovering over her head, but I'm not sure what it said), Elvis to stage right in the Gold Circle, and Quincy Jones, in the Gold Circle stage left.

Fittingly, Bono (wearing a cowboy hat taken from a fan down at the tip of the heart) offered a nice rendition of Can't Help Falling in Love in this town that so embraced The King. Nice touch.

Bono also made some funny comments about Vegas, including a reference to PopMart and how Vegas was the only place where their giant glitterball lemon seemed "ordinary." He also recalled a humorous anecdote about being at a boxing match with a guy that knew something about boxing, Sugar Ray Leonard. And of course, about meeting The Chairman of the Board in Vegas.

Gwen joined Bono on stage for What's Going On? Her very large belt came undone and Bono graciously helped her get it buckled again.

Full set list: Elevation - Beautiful Day - Until the End of the World - New Year's Day - I Will Follow - Sunday Bloody Sunday - Stuck in a Moment - Kite - Wild Honey - People Get Ready - Please - Bad / Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses - Where the Streets Have No Name - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - Pride (In the Name of Love) - Bullet the Blue Sky - What's Going On? - New York - One - Can't Help Falling in Love - Walk On

After all those shows, this was the first time I noticed Bono's green guitar has "The Goal is Soul" in a golden script across the body.

Finally, at the end of Walk On, Bono repeated several times: "Show your heart and soul." It was the perfect note on which to end this phase of Operation: Soulvation.

#8-)3

TC