Because I totally completed an item on my life (bucket) list!!! :D
17) attend a U2 concert? Gets a big ol' check mark! WOOOO!!!!!
Cue Beautiful Day (if you don't know this song, click. Do it. Now. Seriously, it's amazing. :P)
Ok, now that that's out of my system, you may have guessed that I went to see U2's 360 Tour last night.
It was REALLY crowded. This is the first big concert I've ever been to, so I really had no idea what 68,000 or so people in one football stadium actually looks like. Now I know that it bears a striking resemblance to a terrifying angry mob. I was so glad that I brought my ipod with me (for the car ride) because when I got there, the crowd was so overwhelming that I needed to crank it and drown out the noise a bit just to calm me down.
Then we got in line for T-shirts. The line up ran a quarter of the length of the stadium. But you don't go to the concert of a band you love without buying one of their T-shirts or a CD or something. So we shuffled our way to the back of the line and stood for an hour and a half. My ipod did the trick until the opening act started, I couldn't hear it anymore, and there was live music anyway, so I put it away. The line was so enormous, we ended up waiting in line for over an hour and a half and completely missing the opening act (if you're reading this, sorry, The Fray, from what I heard you sounded excellent, I'll try to catch you guys another time!). At one point, people tried to cut through the line to get to their seats both in front of me and behind me at the same time, effectually turning me into a still, 100-ish pound, island of nervousness, clutching protectively at my purse. We were almost to the front when a woman offered my mom 20 bucks to buy her shirt for her. Nice try lady. It didn't happen.
Also, I now know what pot smells like (don't ask how I managed to get through high school without ever walking past a person while they were smoking pot, but somehow I did). It smells pretty awful, FYI. It kind of made me want to throw up. I don't know how people manage to inhale the crap. Then there was the guy who was smoking a cigarette which the wind was forcing me to share the whole way to the stadium. Suffice to say the poor guys took a beating.
Did you know they sell beer at concerts? The closest thing I've ever been to a rock concert were Christian conventions targeted at young teenagers, so I did not (laugh at my sheltered naivety if you must, you're probably right to). I don't know how the idea of warm, overpriced beer in plastic cups that you will have to avoid spilling while practically crowd-surfing to your seat is in any way appealing, but they seemed to make a fortune. I was really paranoid about someone spilling on my white T-shirt (see this Saturday's fashion post and you'll know why).
Also, I had my brand new, adorable umbrella confiscated by security. I didn't even get to use it once! :( It really sucked when the sky was threatening rain.
Guess what, though?
I made it to my seat without being trampled or pick pocketed (well, except for the umbrella, but after seeing how crowded the stadium was, I understand why they have that rule...).
I bought an adorable grey T-shirt. It's totally killing me that I can't wear it until Sunday (again, see Saturday's post).
I probably did inhale some smoke of indeterminate origin, which is not awesome, health wise. But I caused just as much damage to my vocal chords screaming my lungs out when U2 took the stage.
No one spilt their beer on my shirt, and it didn't end up raining hard enough to soak through my jacket.
It was a teensy bit chilly after the sun set, but as Bono said they're Irish and we're Canadian. We can handle the cold. :)
And singing along to "Beautiful Day" and "Pride" back to back as the sunset faded to twilight was one of the best experiences of my life so far. It was just one of those perfect moments. I don't know if you know what I mean, but I wanted to pause it, take a mental snapshot of it, and never, ever forget it. The speakers were so loud I could feel the sound of my favorite songs shaking the stadium. The light show was equally amazing.
By the way, I'm kind of thinking that if I ever get the chance, I might go touring with the band for a few stops. Because, hey. Life's too short not to get random beer stains and swim through crowds. :D
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