U2, Live at Staples Center

After almost exactly half a lifetime, I've seen U2 live again. It was a very good show (here is the setlist), hampered only by the venue. Staples Center is a vast cavern of a building, constructed to maximize luxury suite space. It has a large lower bowl, above which three stories of suites go straight up. Atop the uppermost level of suites is a fringe of regular seating, no more than 15 rows deep. Other than the lowest seats in the lower bowl, none of the seats anywhere in the arena come close to the action, whether it is a sporting event or concert. The shape is akin to a large metal mixing bowl, and is acoustically just about the same. The effect of the reverberant arena is muddled acoustics, especially vocals. I knew all of the old songs, of course, but my knowledge of the newer songs was not as solid. I couldn't hope to learn the lyrics from the concert, as Bono's voice was overshadowed throughout the show by everything else.

Nevertheless, the show was a lot of fun. It started very strong, with lots of energy from two songs off the new album. My favorite song of the concert, Electric Co., came early. I loved it because of the raw energy, and because they didn't try to reinterpret it. It sounded just as it must have twenty years ago. I loved that they played some songs from Boy ... stuff I never thought I would hear in concert. New Years Day came off the same way. In fact, the old songs played better than the newer ones, perhaps in part to the fact that the older, simpler arrangements suited the space better than the more dense, complicated later songs. On that score, the songs from the last two albums played very well, but the songs from Achtung Baby, particularly Zoo Station, fared poorly. The complex sound layering and crunchy guitar works great on the album, but turned into very loud, energetic mush on this particular stage, and the vocals were totally lost. A bummer, but it didn't detract from the thrill of seeing and hearing the boys play their songs.

Don't think I didn't love the concert, though. There was a ton of energy in the arena, and as much as I enjoyed hearing the old songs, the songs from the last two albums played very, very well. Plus, it was an event. It takes a lot for LA to get excited; this was one of those times.

Cheryl and I turned it into a full evening, starting with a fantastic dinner at the Water Grill, the finest seafood restaurant in LA. The husband of one of my partners is a waiter there, and he set us up with the best private table and excellent menu recommendations. We luxuriated in two hours of wonderful food and atmosphere.

All in all, a great night. I should have my voice back by Thursday.