Elevation Tour, Earl's Court, London 18, 19, 21 and 22 August 2001

People always look at me funny when I tell them that I went to all 4 London dates on the Elevation Tour. Not so extreme considering that I met fans (mentalists...) who had given up their jobs and were spending their savings to follow U2 all over the world and even a girl who had a tattoo of Bono on her back. Not so loco now eh? But I can understand why they do it because seeing U2 in concert will blow you away and if I had the money, time and lack of sense, I'd probably be tempted to do it too....

The First Night - 18 August 2001

I was so excited. Having met them a few months previously at the BBC studios in Maida Vale, I was about to accomplish another U2 fantasy and see them in concert. Blimey. I got there early with Chris and it was a fully-charged atmosphere. We had general admission tickets so we parked ourselves as close to the stage as possible i.e. the outer-circle of the heart stage. Long story short, the concert was awesome although I couldn't see much but thankfully I was going the following day too... throughout the entire London dates, Bono was flying back and forth from London to Dublin to be with his dad who was dying of cancer.

The Second Night - 19 August 2001

Chris traded in our tickets and managed to get us front row seats on the west side of the stage. I was bloody close to the stage too! This night was utterly amazing, U2 were on fire and they even played an impromptu Angel of Harlem. It was always my dream to sing (nee scream) along to that song. Bono was clearly overwhlemed by it all and he too was amazed at how surreal that night was.

The Third Night - 21 August 2001

Since I was unemployed and had bugger all to do, me and Chris decided to join the queue at 8 a.m. to ensure we got to the front of the stage this time. Madness yes but it had to be done and I'm a big enough fan to want to do it I suppose. I was amazed at how systematic the fan queueing system was. Everyone was allocated a number and you could go to the toilet and get food and your place in the queue would still be safe. Around 5 p.m. one of thbe security guards told us that Bono's dad had passed away. A selfish part of me wanted the show to go on regardless. And being ever the professionals, the show did go on and I was humbled by that. I was right at the front of the stage and it was an experience like no other. When Bono sang Kite, everyone (well the girls mostly) welled up and carried Bono through the song. Simply amazing...

The Final Night - 22 August 2001

I couldn't quite handle queueing up again and I knew I wouldn't be able to see if I stood so I traded my standing ticket for a seated one - I wasn't close to the stage but it didn't matter at this stage, it was just good to be there! U2 played The Sweetest Thing and it was brilliant. I suffered withdrawal syndrome for ages when it all ended