U23D

On Wednesday night, Amanda (my sister-in-law) and I went to see U23D in the theatre. It was originally released in 2008, but it didn’t come to my city’s theatre. The movie is a concert that was filmed in Buenes Aires during the Vertigo tour.

U2 has been my favourite band for many years. They’ve gotten me through good times and bad. Unless you have a favourite band, you might not understand the impact one can have on your life. I lead a pretty lonely life as a writer, and I don’t have many friends, but U2 has been there for me through everything. When I’m lonely, they’re there, when I’m happy, they’re there, when I’m sad, when I’m angry, when I’m celebrating, when I’m grieving, they’re there. They have a song for every mood and every occasion, and they’re always my go-to band when I need a pick-me-up or on a day when I’m mad and feel like holding onto that mad. I was listening to a U2 song when I found out my Grama died. They’ve been the soundtrack of my life, and for that I’ll always love them.

They’ve also been a big part of my relationship with Amanda. Things between us haven’t always been easy, especially in the beginning, but U2 has been one of the things that brought us together. I’m not sure how it came about but one day many years ago I discovered one of her favourite songs was With or Without You, and then came to realize she didn’t know it was by U2. We got talking about their music, and found out we had more in common than we realized.

In 2005, we went to our first U2 concert. We were about 18 rows from the stage, on the side, and it was one of the best nights of my life. People say seeing U2 live is like a religious experience, and I’d have to agree. It was uplifting, inspiring, and just mind-blowingly amazing. Three months later, we saw the band again, this time from the 300s (aka nose bleeds), and seeing them again was like coming home. That was the Vertigo tour, which was when U23D was filmed, so it was really exciting to know the setlist and remember little bits and pieces of the show that carried on throughout the entire tour. 
 

Getting in line at 6am paid off!

Our third time seeing the band was July 2011. I had tickets for over a year and a half because Bono was injured during the tour and they had to postpone part of it. When it finally rolled around, I definitely needed a U2 fix. I had general admission (floor) tickets, and I was determined to get inside the pit. On their last few tours, they’ve had a catwalk that stretches out in a circle from the stage and some fans are inside, some outside, and the rest are in seats. I knew the spots inside the circle were coveted and that people would be lining up early, if not camping overnight, so we were in line by 6am. I think that shows what a dedicated fan (and general crazy person) I am, that I would wait in line in the scorching July sun for twelve hours to see my favourite band. It was so worth it though because we made two new friends, one of whom had been to tons of U2 concerts and took us under her wing, and helped us not only get into the circle, but into the third row. It was amazing - every U2 fan’s dream come true, and certainly mine. I won’t go into much more detail because I’ve talked about it, and them, before (here, here, here, and here, just to name a few), but it was incredible.

As for what I thought of U23D...If you’ve never seen U2 live in concert, this is the next best thing. It’s like being in the first row, only better because you get to see things you wouldn’t even from the closest vantage point. Close-ups of Bono, Edge, Adam, and Larry, different angles, and things you’d never see otherwise. When Bono reached out toward the camera, it took everything in me not to reach back – it was so real. They did a fantastic job of producing it. It really was like being right there – I got just as emotional as I normally do at their concerts (when we were leaving, Amanda said she knew I’d cried, and I was like ‘duh I always cry when I see them live' lol). Also, Amanda is 21 weeks pregnant, and I wondered how Baby G would react to the loud music, and apparently she didn't move until With or Without You came on, and then she started kicking. I thought that was incredible - we think of that as 'our' song, the song that brought us together, so for the baby to kick right then was really fitting. We've created a U2 fan in the womb!

This was exactly what I needed. I’ve been saying for a while that 2013 is going to be epic, but let me tell you it hasn’t felt too epic the first few weeks. It was nice to get out, have some fun, see my favourite band, and feel that hope that only they have the power to instill in me. There are rumours that they’ll be releasing a new album in September (and maybe more than one, which would make me burst from over-excitement). Plus there’s the fact that I’m currently looking for signs that mean I’m supposed to go to Ireland this year (you can see what I mean by that here - 6th one down), and I feel like seeing U23D and knowing the band might be releasing a new album(s) this year are signs (they’re from Ireland). It may sound silly, but anything that keeps me going and keeps me believing can’t be a bad thing, right?