U2 Concert Review

Quick. Tell me which one of these pictures below is taken at church and which one was taken at a U2 concert that I recently attended?

I promise I don’t go looking for things like this, but I just can’t help myself once I have witnessed it.

It all started when the man in front of me told me that his daughter had bought him tickets for his birthday.  This man said his daughter bought him tickets for his birthday, because she had gone to the U2 concert in North Carolina and said:

“It was a life changing experience”

I don’t take the words “life changing experience” very lightly, and given that this man had more than a few white hairs on his head, I don’t think that he would use that phrase casually either.   Now I was intrigued.

A band named Muse opened for U2.  I don’t know Muse and the few songs that I heard of them won’t make me download their music.  For that matter I won’t even add them to my Pandora station.  Right before the concert I actually saw someone write on Twitter that they where more excited to see Muse than U2.  I suppose I could just be getting old, but seriously? What is happening to the youth in America?

This is where it got interesting.  While the U2 set was getting set up, the lights where up in the stadium and everyone was just kinda looking around in awe at Jerry World.  That’s when I noticed that our seats happened to be ten feet in front of a suite that had Tiger Woods and Dallas Cowboys Quarterback Tony Romo in it.

Two of the biggest sports stars in the world, where sitting 10 feet from us.  As soon as word spread who was in our presence necks snapped so quick you could hear the whiplash.

Now you see where I am going with this.

Bono in front and Tiger/Tony in back.  Bad news for celebrity worshipers.  It was as if Jesus and the Holy Spirit had gotten together and we were just missing God.

(Turns out God wasn’t too far according to this Dallas Morning News Article on the apperance of Oprah at the Texas State Fair this week.  And I qoute:

“Outside, hundreds of fans stood on planters and pressed against railings to catch a glimpse of her.

“This is like God,” said Connie Green, 44, of White Settlement.

Dressed in her Wal-Mart uniform, Green had taken two buses, two trains and walked two miles to see Winfrey, whose advice “got me where I am.”

I don’t know which is worse; That Connie Green thinks Oprah is God or that Wal-Mart is the best that God can do for her.)

For the rest of the night it was a continuous back and forth to see what was going on with Bono and then a quick glance back to the Tiger/Tony to see if maybe they would let someone come up into their throne room suite.

So to get this straight:  We have Bono.  We have Oprah.  We have Tiger.  We have Tony.  All within ten miles of each other.

All we needed was Roman Polanski and then we would have the five most important celebrities in Hollywood.

One thing that I am pretty certain that I could tell from the concert was that Bono clearly has a handle on how to not waste a life.

During the playing of “Walk On” Bono recognized the plight of Aung San Suu Ky the democratically elected leader of Burma who has been under house arrest for the better part of 20 years.

Then they played “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” to backdrop of pictures of voters in Iran

Finally they showed this Video of Desmond Tutu in the opening of “The Streets Have No Name”.  Desmond Tutu praised those who worked for Civil Rights in America, those who worked against Apartheid, those who worked for Peace in Ireland, and those that worked against Slavery in the year 2000.

And if you want to know who Bono worships watch this and read the lyrics below:

Lyrics:

I was born, I was born
To be with you in this space and time
After that and ever after
I haven’t had a clue only to break rhyme
This foolishness can leave a heart black and blue, oh, oh

Only love, only love can leave such a mark
But only love, only love can heal such a scar

I was born, I was born to sing for you
I didn’t have a choice but to lift you up
And sing whatever song you wanted me to
I give you back my voice from the womb
My first cry, it was a joyful noise, oh, oh

Only love, only love can leave such a mark
But only love, only love can heal such a scar
Justified, till we die you and I will magnify, oh, oh
Magnificent, magnificent, oh, oh

Only love, only love can leave such a mark
But only love, only love unites our hearts
Justified, till we die you and I will magnify, oh, oh
Magnificent, magnificent, magnificent

As for me at the end of the night I was both elated and sad.  Elated because the concert was fabulous.  Sad because it was my first U2 concert and I am lamenting all the others that I have missed.

Thank you Bono.  Thank you The Edge.  Thank you Adam Clayton.  Thank you Larry Mullen.  Thank you for not wasting your life.

I leave you with my favorite song of the night, I’ll Go Crazy, If I don’t Go Crazy Tonight (remix).

Where Bono asks the best question of the night:

“How can you stand next to the truth and not see it?”

The truth for me is this:

The question is not if I am worshiping someone/something, it is who/what am I worshiping?  The answer to this question is the answer to everything.