Having determined them to be "mostly harmless", I headed out with them and Dennis to Philips Arena, so that Otis and Bob could stake out their spots in the general admission line. Before I go any further with my narrative, let me digress....
I had been listening to some recorded shows from Leg 1 of the current Vertigo tour, recorded back in the spring in Phoenix and Chicago, and had written a blog posting on U2 in general in my head, here it is.
The Phoenix show, in particular, completely blew me away. The "outro" to Gloria brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it, the words are ancient Latin liturgies praising God. I found this on the web - "the meaning of the entire Latin text of the song is literally "Glory in you Lord; exalt Him" "
Which brings me to the point of my epistle - this is deeply spiritual music, and I sincerely believe that it is no coincidence that this band has prospered and indeed, is the only rock band that is truly relevant in this current age in which rock seems truly dead (Long Live Rock). This music speaks to people, and more specifically, these concerts speak to people, filling a spiritual void in many folks that don't realize that have one (a spiritual void, that is). As many of you know, I play in the band at my church, there is no experience on earth that can compare to when the music is "on", we reach that place occasionally, U2 reach it every night they play live. They are consistently "on", in the zone, whatever you want to call it.
So, that said, back to the recent past. After arriving at Philips Arena, Dennis and I repaired to the adjoining Jock's and Jill's, where we staked out a spot for the afternoon and discovered a most excellent brew, Sweetwater ( a local Atlanta brewery) 420 Extra Pale Ale. Very nice hops, but not to the point of turning your mouth inside out. Bob and Otis popped in and out, many of the aforementioned brews were consumed. Eventually the time for the show arrived...(to be continued)
No comments:
Post a Comment