three down, one more to go...

So I just got back from the U2 show, which totally rocked, of course. Now, you probably may be aware that I was a bit peeved at the lack of floor tickets in my possession for this weekend's shows. Yeah, I know I'm whining. After all, I have floor tix for the fall, and it's not like I haven't seen them like, 3 times with on the floor.

But today more than made up for it, because I well, I dunno, MET BONO!!!



Yep, that's him actually talking to me, right there. I'm totally serious. And he's exclaiming, "You naughty thing!!!" (Justin: "It's like he really knows you!")

See, I convinced Tiff (she took the photo - we were packed too tightly together for Tiff to get a picture with Bono and me both in the shot), my concert buddy, to go hang out at the HP Pavilion's back entrance before the show to see if any band members might come out before sound check and sign autographs. We arrived at about 2:30 (friends in the industry let me know that bands this big usually show up for sound check between 2 and 4 p.m., depending on where they're coming from). We sat down on the curb to wait. Since neither of us had eaten lunch, I had picked up half a pizza from the Cheese Board. We wolfed it down pretty quickly.



At about 3:30, the band's "Vertigo" jumbo jet flew overhead, arriving at the San Jose airport. The crowd of about 100 at the gate erupted into cheers.



I was a little antsy, because I knew that sound check had to be at 4:00. I also got really fidgety and kept dropping things. Luckily, we were right up against the corner of the barricade. Well, 15 minutes later, Edge, Larry and Adam drove up, and straight into the compound. Edge flashed us a thumbs up and nodded. Bono was last to arrive. He rolled down the window to tell us "One hour." Awesome.



We waited that hour. The general admission ticketholders tried to stay as long as they could, but they had to get back in line by 5, so the crowd thinned out. I would've felt bad for them, except that they had general admission tickets. Boo hoo for them.

At about 5:30, a spriffy bald bodyguard named John walked up, flanked by Bono. The staff announced that he would sign autographs, but there was no time for pictures together. Now, I was expecting a courteous, but curt "Nice to meet you, thank you for coming, here's your autograph... Next!" automoton routine. But he was really quite sweet, charming, laid back and soft-spoken. And short. With his thick-ass shoes on. We're talking 5'5", 5'6".(But not as short as Prince.) He actually took his time with everyone and chatted, graciously listening to their accounts about their personal lives, and asked what we thought of the last few shows. You know, actual conversations with his full attention. And he really seemed to enjoy doing so. He even recognized some fans he had met before.



At at some point in the middle of the signing, he paused to kiss his (gorgeous!) wife when she drove up. She hoisted up their three year old towheaded little boy, who was shouting "Daddy! Daddy!" and showing off a Buzz Lightyear toy. We could also see his daughters clambering all over the backseats through the tinted windows. They were, of course, adorable and it was very endearing.



When he got to me, he said hi, and started signing my cover to a vinyl single of "Pride". "This is a good one," he remarked, and went on to sat that he got a little scared when he saw some of the older pictures, especially his hair. At this point, I was quite petrified/starstruck with glee and shock (at least I wasn't high as a kite this time - another story, another time). Also, his gaze is pretty intense, even through the sunglasses. The man exudes charisma. I barely managed to squeak out a "Thank you."



Earlier that day though, I had prepared chocolate dipped strawberries (extremely easy to make!) in hopes of giving them to a band member. I suddenly remembered that box, and nervously asked, "Can I give this to you?" He seemed genuinely delighted and surprised. "For me? I get a present? And I didn't have do any work or favors anything for this?" All I could think of to say was, "Of course. To thank you. You can share them, if you want. Or not." He began to gingerly open it, and asked, "What is it?" I told him, "chocolate covered strawberries." With a little mock gasp, he beamed and exclaimed, rather mischieviously, "You naughty thing!" I giggled and totally blushed beet red to my toes. (What a flirt! Figures. Irishmen. Oh, and sigh...) He handed them to his bodyguard, "Would you mind keeping an eye on these?" When the bodyguard pretended to hide them behind his back, I giggled, "I think he just might run off them, Bono." He winked and told his bodyguard "We'll just keep this between the two of us, John." He asked my name and went on to sign a pre-Joshua Tree songbook of mine.



He moved on to Tiff next, and squeezed her hand and signed an album cover. She was also awestruck and couldn't really think of much to say either. I honestly can't remember what he said to her, it was such a blur. Neither of us could move, we were so delighted. We couldn't really speak or move for the next few hours either, except skip around and shout, "We met Bono!!!" And I don't think Tiff is ever going to wash her left hand.





There's more to post about the concert, but I'm exhausted and not entirely cogent, so I'll post later. I must note, this is my first post to this blog with photos. I figured out how a few weeks ago, but I think this post is a good way to start! Oh yeah, and Tiff is totally hooked on being a U2 groupie now.

Now I can die happy.