U2

My big brother bought "Rattle and Hum" for me when I was probably 10 or 11. My folks were still monitoring what I listened to pretty closely so a lot of easy listening and Christian music at that point except for the New Edition and Madonna cassette tapes I'd been given from neighborhood girls. Anyway, it was love at first listen. I will always be grateful to him for introducing me to something other than pop music and giving me the chance to appreciate the talent of a guitarist like The Edge. Bono's voice sang the soundtrack of my life for many years to come. Seeing U2 live has been on my bucket list for a while but with tickets selling out in seconds and then being hawked for outrageous prices on ebay I had given up that dream. Someone at work had two extra tickets to the show in Oakland that was postponed two years ago...I jumped at the chance.

They did not disappoint.

We had general admission tickets so...no seats. I was a tad leery about standing for who knows how many hours (I'm not in my 20's anymore) but for U2 I would deal with the pain. There were plenty of songs I didn't know because I haven't purchased any of their newer albums but I'm now inspired to do so. That voice. Several times during the show I just closed my eyes and let his voice surround me and it felt like home. That voice sang to me for countless hours through my Walkman on long family trips. The set list was a nice mix of old and new so as soon as I started to notice my back hurting and my neck getting stiff from straining a favorite song would start up and I was dancing and singing and forgetting every ache.

I didn't take my nice camera, I wanted hands and arms free to dance and clap. My point n shoot seriously needs to be replaced but the night was captured enough to keep the memory of a wonderful night fresh.