The Right to be Ridiculous is Something I Hold Dear

Last night, it finally happened - the U2 show in Denver. When the U2 360 Tour was first announced, Denver was not on the list. Carter, his sister and I traveled to Vegas because I could not miss seeing my favorite band on tour. The day after we got back from Vegas, they announced an upcoming Denver show. Pumped from our post-concert buzz, we bought up as many tickets as we could and planned the U2 Denver Extravaganza. We had family and friends flying in from all over the country for the June 2010 show. Much to our dismay, Bono injured his back 2 weeks before the concert and they cancelled the rest of their North American tour while he underwent emergency back surgery and recuperated. Fortunately, he recovered well and they rescheduled the missed tour dates. It ended up working out better for the Denver fans because it POURED rain the entire weekend of the original date. This would not have been a good situation for Invesco Field, which is an open-air stadium.

Fast forward a year later to the U2 Take Two Denver Show. It was a beautiful day (haha) and we had a fantastic time tailgating with friends and family. Richard and Mary flew in from Richmond and we've had a blast spending the weekend together. Peter taught us how to play Kubb, which even mesmerized the cops.

View of Denver from Invesco

Mary and I 

The guys

Carter playing Kubb

Great opening by The Fray

The concert was simply perfection. U2 was one of the first bands I ever fell in love with. When I was 10-11 years old, I found a box of my dad's cassette tapes. When I stumbled upon The Joshua Tree, it was the first time I felt "it" - that feeling you get when you are swept away by a song/artist and completely lose yourself in the music. Thus began my love affair with U2. One thing I love about Bono is that he uses his influence to draw attention to charities and causes that otherwise wouldn't get the attention. I felt so inspired leaving Invesco last night. From a fan perspective, I also appreciate that U2 encompasses both roles as musicians and performers. Since they've been around the block a few times, they know how to tear it up musically while getting the crowd fired up and involved. They always give us what we want, giving us the opportunity to fall in love all over again. I got my fix of hearing all of my favorites and more. When we got married, I had to incorporate a U2 song into our wedding. We chose "Beautiful Day" for our grand entrance into the reception. This week marks our 4-year wedding anniversary and it was a special treat for us to hear it last night and reflect on what the song means to us. And who doesn't soak up slow dancing to "With or Without You" with the person you love? Even though I now have no voice and can't hear from the ringing in my ears (isn't getting older a stinking #$%?) it was well worth the year long wait.