April 1988: My fascination with U2 started, with their live performance following their acceptance of “Album of The Year and Best Rock Duo or Group with Vocals” for “Joshua Tree” at Grammy’s. Though, they had already released four albums prior to Joshua Tree, I wasnt even aware of their existence. But when I did buy Joshua Tree on a Cassette (way back then that’s all it was), and I paid 350 Rs (about 26 dollars) for it (more than my pocket money back then), I simply loved it. Something about their music got stuck in my head to this day!!

I ruined that cassette within a few weeks by my incessant playing from Side A to Side B, to Side A to Side B…fast-forward and rewinding several times each side…Good for me, that the music store owner was good friend of mine (he actually still is). He recorded a copy of it for me several weeks later. I saved, I borrowed money from my sister (I still haven’t paid her yet!) and finally ended up buying BOY, OCTOBER, WAR, and THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE. These were earlier albums, released in that order between 1980 and 1984.

After Joshua Tree, U2 release seven more albums, Rattle and Hum (1988), Achtung Baby (1989), Zooropa (1993), Pop (1997), All That You Cant Leave Behind (2000), How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (2004) and No Line On The Horizon (2009). Needless to say, I own each album, some in cassette’s and all of them in CD’s, even some on DVDs, now that I recall, I even have some on LPs (and I dont even have a record player).

My favorite songs from U2, from all across their albums are;
I Will Follow (from Boy),
Stranger In A Strange Land (from October),
Sunday Bloody Sunday, New Years Day, and Drowning Man (from War),
Pride, The Unforgettable Fire, Indian Summer Sky (from The Unforgettable Fire),
all songs from Joshua Tree, except for Red Hill Mining Town, One Tree Hill, and Exit,
Helter Skelter, Desire, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, Pride (In the name of love),
Angel of Harlem, Love Rescue me, When Love Comes To Town, Bullet The Blue Sky, and All I Want Is you (from Rattle and Hum),
Even Better Than The Real Thing, One, Mysterious Ways (from Achtung Baby),
Numb (the only one from Zooropa),
Discotheque, If God Will Send His Angels, Do You Feel Loved, Staring At The Sun, Last Night on Earth, Gone, If You Wear That Velvet Dress, and Please (from Pop),
Beautiful Day, Stuck In A Moment You Cant Get Out of, Elevation, Walk On, Peace on Earth (from All That You Cant Leave Behind),
Vertigo, Sometimes You Cant Make It On Your Own, Original of the Species, and Yahweh (from How To Dismantly An Atomic Bomb),
No Line on The Horizon, Moment of Surrender, I’ll Go Crazy, If Don’t Go Crazy tonight, and Get On Your Boots (from No Line On The Horizon).

The MOST, ABSOLUTE Favorite is “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”

Fast forward to April 14, 2009
Pre-Sale for U2.com members announced for 360 Tour on this day. The 360 tour involved performance all over U.S. and Canada with European Tour before and after. I was so excited to recieve my pre-sale code and I bought the tickets, there and then!! Hard part was to wait 197 days…for a dream to come alive.

10/14/2009 Reliant Stadium – Houston, Texas, USA
Nidhi and I decided that we’ll leave for Houston at Noon, to have some time to do around usual run-arounds, to eat, shop etc. We checked-in to get some rest and to make ourselves ready for what’s about to happen later in the day!

7:00 PM – We walked into the Reliant Stadium, full of people, young and old (well, that’s subjective…Nidhi calls me old!). But it would be safe to presume that the crowd was fairly well reprented by folks from at least 10 years prior to 1976 to ten year old now…and that my friend is an evidence in itself for the music of U2 and what they represent!

7:15 PM – We got to our seats. In our front is the 360 Stage, more like a spaceship that landed in the middle of reliant stadium. The stadium roof was covered when we got it, but started to open as soon we got into our seats. To see it open, a first for us, was a sight in itself.

7:35 PM – MUSE appeared onstage as an opening act before U2. MUSE is a british alternate rock band (more of a fusion rock), which has been vey popular in Europe. They have release five studio albums, the latest being Resistance (release this year). MUSE performed their hit singles, Uprising and Resistance, followed by Starlight and Invincible.

8:25 PM – MUSE finish up with their performance. A horde of people suddenly appeared on stage, each one with a definite purpose, they cleaned out the stage, removed all the musical instruments used by MUSE and replaced them with U2’s gear (very minimal), including three of Edge’s guitars, two of Adam’s guitars and Larry’s drums…everyone in the stadium was so energized…

8:35 PM – The stadium goes dark, David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” opens up…suddenly as if the space ship (the 360 Stage) came to life…with smoke, lights and it’s massive 360deg screen…everyone got on to their feet, asuming that U2 can’t be far behind.

8:45 PM – Bono, The Edge, Adam and Larry walked on to the stage to a raputurous roar in the stadium. Seeing them walking on the stage right in front of my eyes, it’s a long time dream come true…

Their act opens with “Breathe”, moves on to “Get On Your Boots” and stops with “Magnificent”

Bono in his usual ways, talks to the crowd, thanking Houstonians for their hospitatlity…

Mysterious Ways – Bono, while circling the stage, spots and pulls up a girl from the crowd and dances with her, much to her surprise or possibly shock…she whispers in his ears, he whispers back, a gentle kiss on the cheek….and definitely she moved in “Mysterious Ways”

Then on they kept us going on one after the other….I never sat down, I couldn’t!!

Beautiful Day / Here Comes The Sun (snippet),
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For / Stand By Me (snippet),
Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of,
No Line On The Horizon,

Bono, talks about his and Edge’s visit to NASA, and how they’re so proud of this moment, all this while the 360 screen is playing images of the Earth from space and images from ISS…with astronauts speakign directly to the crowd…

Elevation,
Your Blue Room,
Until The End Of The World,
The Unforgettable Fire,
City Of Blinding Lights,
Vertigo,
I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight
Two Tribes (snippet),
Sunday Bloody Sunday,
MLK,
Walk On / You’ll Never Walk Alone (snippet)

encores: One / Amazing Grace (snippet),
Where The Streets Have No Name,
Ultra Violet (Light My Way),
With Or Without You,
Moment of Surrender

With that they all walked offstage, waving and blowing kisses into the crowd…Now I know, I’m Stuck In A Moment, I Can’t Get Out of…