The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

Well, what can I say that you probably haven't already heard? What a FANTASTIC show!!! I tell ya, Ottawa is so lucky to have a band like U2 visit this city. It's no coincidence that after Prime Minister Martin made the call to Bono and they agreed to play here, Ottawa has been privileged to see so many top acts like The Rolling Stones, Green Day, Pearl Jam and Aerosmith w/Lenny Kravitz just to name a few. Hopefully the floodgates won't stop, because these types of events are the kind that stay with you forever.

Anyway, about the show! U2 doesn't need an elaborate set as their music can carry the show on their own, but they didn't pull any punches with their "race-track" design and these cool beaded light-curtains that descended from the rafters. Even the fans got in on the fun: at one point when Bono asked the crowd to listen to him speak about world poverty he got everyone to pull out their cellphones, making the Corel Centre look like Christmas with all the neon blue lights shining in the dark. This was definitely the Bono show, he pretty much does it on his own and man, can he pull it off! And I also like to say you can really sense his passion for his end poverty campaign. He is the genuine article, and the fans in attendance sensed it, too.

My favourite song they performed was probably Sunday Bloody Sunday. The whole crowd was on its feet and singing along and at its most energetic. My only minor quibble is with the final encore: The last three songs were Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out of, Yahweh and 40; I would have personally liked to have ended with an upbeat tune, maybe Discotheque or something to that affect. But perhaps this is their way of saying they would just like to quietly leave into the night as the two hours of escape is now over.

I will take the time now to thank Alex for being the internet hacker and landing those tickets about 8 months ago. Nice work!