September 12th, 2005

Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Weeks of stalking tickets on eBay and a few hundred dollars later, I had 2 tickets to see the best band in the world. It was a dream come true, something I had waited forever for. And would continue to wait six more months for. The countdown was a long one but at last the day arrived. My brother, sister-in-law, a friend of my brother's and I had gone to London for a different concert the night before, so we headed from London to Toronto early the next morning.

This show would be their first of the second leg of their North American tour. There was part of me that was excited that I would be at the first show, and another part of me that worried that after some time off, it might take them that first show to get back into the groove of things. Any worry I had disappeared when they took the stage and began to play Vertigo. Right from the moment they took the stage, it was obvious they were happy to be back.  They were energetic, in top form, commanding the attention and love of all 20,000 fans in the building. They seemed to be having as much fun as we were, because they are truly at home on stage.

Bono told the audience that U2 usually start Canadian tours in Toronto and work their way West, but they didn't do that this time, and they knew it upset a lot of people. Then he reassured the audience that they were "working up to Toronto" which was met by deafening cheers from the crowd.

I was on my feet all night, singing along and dancing to every song. It was the best natural high I'd felt in my life, better than any drug a person could buy. A two and half hour show kept me on that natural high for weeks afterward.

Highlights of the Night

Best light show in the world!  The beaded curtain was the coolest thing I've ever seen and the images and lights projected on it - WOW. It felt so futuristic to me, and really added to the atmosphere and larger-than-life feeling of the night. Also the lights on the ellipse - mesmerizing. During Vertigo, the lights flashed and moved so much, it actually looked like the stage was spinning.

The confetti raining down during City of Blinding Lights. They didn't open with it, as they did with most other shows but god, what a moment that was.

During one song near the beginning, Bono took a drink from his water bottle then proceeded to spray water over the crowd. He got some water on the stage and when he turned his back, a roadie ran up on stage, crouching low, and started to wipe up the water. Bono turned around and saw him, grabbed the towel from him, crouched down in a dramatic imitation of the roadie and started wiping up the water vigorously, with these huge gestures, much to the dismay of the roadie who looked absolutely horrified!

During Beautiful Day, I called my mum on my cell and held it up for her to listen. The women in front of me kept looking back the whole time and when the song was over and I hung up, one of them asked me if they could use my phone because they left theirs in the hotel and they were from St. John's (couldn't hear if it was New Brunswick or Newfoundland...either way, on the other side of the country!) and they wanted to let their family know they had gotten there safely and let them hear a song and they would give me $20, so I said absolutely! That was great because I used that money to buy an extra souvenire at the end of the night!

Miracle Drug, which Bono dedicated to the scientists, doctors and nurses of the world.  What an amazing song. 

Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own, which Bono dedicated to his dad, as always. It's such a beautiful and moving song, and when it came to the part where Bono sings "can you hear me when I sing?", he held the last note for such a long time and there was such raw emotion in his voice that I nearly burst into tears.

Love and Peace or Else when Larry comes to the front of the ellipse. I loved how he and Bono sang the chorus together and how Bono took over on drums when Larry went back, banging away with such exuberance, I was waiting for the drums to break.

Before singing Miss Sarajevo, Bono asked the audience to turn the song into a prayer. "The prayer is that we do not turn into a monster in order to defeat a monster." It was one of the most beautiful and powerful moments of the night. When Bono began to sing and the crowd started to clap, he held up both hands to stop them, and he sang quietly while people waved their arms and a few people held up lighters. As the song came to an end, the giant screens above the stage showed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

When Bono told the audience that "Canadians are the most generous people in the world", and beseeched the crowd to donate to Red Cross to help our American neighbours who were still suffering from the devestation after Katrina.

Before singing One, Bono encouraged the audience to take out our cell phones. Within seconds, the dark arena looked as if it was full of electric blue fireflies. "You can even call my friend Paul Martin," Bono said, referring to then-Prime Minster of Canada, and which was followed by a chorus of boos. "No, no. He's a good man; he's improving. Every time you shout he hears you...I want you to give your permission to spend your money on the poorest of the poor...We look to Canada to lead, not to follow." In the audience, people were holding up simple white sings that read "ONE".

Fast Cars!! Bono said it was the first time they'd ever played it live for more than 3 people lmao. He also said that since they had never played it live before, we weren't allowed to get mad if, as Bono said "we f*ck it up..." I didn't have the special edition HTDAAB CD with that song so I had never heard it before - what a treat!

The times when the crowd would sing along so loudly, it almost drowned out the sound from the band and I could feel the vibrations of 20,000 voices reberating in my chest and under my feet.

40 - it still brings tears to my eyes when I think about it. Bono finished singing, picked up a huge spotlight and shone it in a big, slow, silent circle on the entire audience. When he was done, he walked off-stage while the guys continued to play and the crowd continued to sing "how long to sing this song". A moment later, Adam left, and when it came time for Edge to leave, he hesitated as if he didn't want to go, and it was obvious the audience didn't want him to go. When Larry slowed down and stopped playing, it was like the audience held a collective breath until he started playing again, full-force, banging away on the drums while we all continued to sing. When the song was over, Larry got up, walked around to the front of the stage to bow and wave, then went off-stage. It was an incredibly powerful ending to an incredibly powerful concert.

I was oddly weepy for a few days after the concert; every time I talked or thought about the U2 concert, I got teary-eyed...or giddy lol.  It was like a religious experience, and I know to some people that sounds lame, but imagine waiting for something your whole life and it finally happens - it's a shock, a pleasure, a thrill, something you'll remember the rest of your life. The whole night was pure magic, the best night of my life.