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Tuesday night I got a call from Brian Postlewait asking if I’d like to see U2 on Thursday night in Omaha, NE. It didn’t take much pondering to know what my answer to this invitation was. So yesterday minutes after finishing up my second and last final of the semester I hopped in a minivan with 5 friends and we headed to the Quest Center in Omaha. Two of the guys with us were seeing U2 for the second time in as many days, they had just seen U2 in St. Louis the night before. And for one it was his 16th show! I however was going to my first ever U2 concert. Which makes this next part even more special.

As we entered Quest they scanned our tickets and Ed’s (Mr. 16) ticket was a “lotto” ticket which meant he and his group got to upgrade tickets from regular floor to the “inner circle” encompased by the stage. Check out where we stood HERE. I’ll just describe our closeness by saying that you could see the emotion in the eyes of The Edge.

Many U2 fanatics have told me that a U2 show has a litrugical feel to it. It begins with some fun songs but quickly draws you into worship, and with the songs they have to choose from its no wonder that many compare their music to a worship gathering. What’s even more interesting is the way songs are placed in the set list determines their contribution to the overall “story” that is being told at a concert. Not unlike the books of the Bible, which when put in different order emphasize different things. For example, “The Hands That Bulit America” was written for Gangs of New York and is about immigrants building America. But in concert this song comes after “Sunday, Blood Sunday” and “Bullet The Blue Sky” and images of F-15 fighter jets are lit up behind the band, making the song a commentary on America being built by way of violence. There was a confessional movement within the concert between “Love and Peace Or Else” and “Where the Streets Have No Name.” Bono brought a little girl up on stage and talked a little bit about CoeXisT. While the confessions of this section of the concert were largely confessions of violence, Bono didn’t come across as hateful or bitter. He dedicated these songs to the safe and quick return of American soldiers.

This was their set list:

City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
Elevation
I Will Follow
Still Haven’t Found
Beautiful Day
Original of the Species
Sometimes you Can’t Make it On Your Own
Love and Peace or Else
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet The Blue Sky
The Hands That Built America
Miss Sarajevo
Pride in the Name of Love
Where the Streets have no Name
One

Until the End of the World
Mysterious Ways
With or Without You

Stuck in a Moment
Crumbs From Your Table
Yahweh
40

Update:
Here are a few short videos from the show, that I put the original music over and spared you the unintelligible static hiss.
City of Blinding Lights
Elevation
Pride