Bag of Joshua Tree Randomness

As you would expect, we had a blast at the U2 concert. Below is a recollection of the evening with some of the more decent pictures I was able to snap.

Traffic wasn’t too bad driving to Arlington from GeedingManor. We arrived at the stadium close to 6:00 PM, an hour before the Lumineers were scheduled to perform. As we walked to the venue a BoN reader spotted me and was kind enough to introduce himself and his family and asked for a picture. Funny thing, but I ended up taking pictures with about ten different people that evening. It was a combination of BoN readers (it was a pleasure meeting all of you) and people who got a kick out of my “Bono is my pastor” shirt. After about the third photo, DaughterGeeding asked her mother if I was “kinda famous” to which the answer was a sound no. But then after about the eighth time, she ask her mother if she was telling the truth.

Before we entered, we made sure to take a quick family picture. A security guard actually asked if we’d like to take a photo as he saw us trying to take a selfie. I teased WifeGeeding that in this picture it looked like she was trying to honk or grope my man-boob.

On the way to the entrance, WifeGeeding snapped this picture. At first glance, I really liked how I look. My gut is hidden, my shoulders look broad, veins on my arms are popping out, my calf-to-ankle-ration doesn’t look bad, but then I see the back of my head and realized I’ve got a bad visible bald pattern. It’s not like you get to look at the back of your head often, but I know realize my days of growing hair are now over.

I was surprised when we arrived at the entrance there wasn’t a wait, no line at all. The security personnel was exceptionally friendly, even taking the time to kid around with our children. After security, we were greeted by an attendant who swiped my credit card which I used to purchase the tickets and four tickets were printed out. That was cool, now we have a souvenir and I didn’t have to rely on my mobile device to remember our seat location. The process took about 15-seconds longer than the traditional process I’m used to when I present my ticket and it’s scanned. But then again, I already had my credit card out and ready to present, I’m sure many people had to fumble through their wallets to get theirs.

Knowing AT&T Stadium provides free Wi-Fi, I looked for a connection right away only to find several U2 connections.

Lines for merchandise was crazy long. I had no interest since I could order all the same stuff online. It’s not like I’m in high school and need to buy a shirt to wear on the next school day to show off. Also, as a fan club member, I have a 20% off voucher I could use.

Our seats weren’t the best, but we were in, nonetheless. I really regretted the location of the seats I chose. U2’s last two tours, 360 and Innocence + Experience Tour, configured their stages so there wasn’t really a stage front, the center of the arena was the stage and that was my thinking buying the tickets. But our location didn’t allow us to appreciate the massive video screens which I hear made the visual aspect quite unique. Also, I’ve heard the acoustics of AT&T were horrible. I didn’t experience that at the 360 tour since I was next to the stage, but it was certainly noticeable and even acknowledged by the Dallas Morning News in their review of the concert, “Though some echoes could be heard bouncing around the cavernous mega-stadium, the band was in fine form.” That review also stated the attendance was estimated to be around 90,000.

The Lumineers were supposed to take the stage at 7:00 PM, but they were 35-minutes late. Here are some pics of their performance.

Now that the Lumineers were finished, it was time to get ready for U2.

I thought I’d try to capture a bit of the vibe or atmospheres before the start of the show in this video, which is evident at the end as you can see DaughterGeeding’s excitement and her two thumbs up. That goofy look on her face cracks me up.

You may have noticed the earplugs the kids are wearing. Yeah, it deadens sound and takes away from the experience a bit, but we didn’t want to damage their young little ears. It was a great seven dollar investment.

The background music stops and the houselights change, not to a spotlight or anything, as you can see below. The whole stadium is lit except for the stage on the island. Larry walk out to take his place on the drumset on the island. I love that Larry is usually the first out. It’s like a nod of appreciate for the one who founded the band. Not to mention, he’s always stuck in the back. on the drums. The crowd loudly cheers, Larry waves, and electricity builds. A moment or two later, out walks Adam (sans kimono) and The Edge.

I loved the anticipation and wasn’t sure how it would all start. No music was playing but you could hear the roar of the crowd. Then, all of a sudden, with the very first strike of the drum, which was a loud, sharp, commanding, and surprising, all the lights turn off and spotlights shine on all four members as Bono appears (pic below). With that first strike, all fans instantly knew “Sunday Bloody Sunday” was playing. I’m reading too much into this, but, every night when I put DaughterGeeding to bed, I play U2 lullaby music. The first song on that CD is “Sunday Bloody Sunday”. And here she is at her very first concert, her first U2 concert, and the first song is the same as the first song she hears every night before she falls asleep. Ah, I’m certain this was all written in the stars.

  

DaughterGeeding’s reaction was everything I’d hope and expect and more. It was more important for me to watch her as the concert started than to watch those four Irish boys. WifeGeeding caught the moment right as U2 started to play and when DaughterGeeding hugged me and thanked me immediately for bringing her to the concert.

 

Trying to get a little fancy with my camera, here’s one tiltshift photo I snapped.

It was really neat watching The Edge play both the keyboard and the guitar in one song, switch from one to the other effortlessly.

DaughterGeeding made it through the first eight songs until she fell asleep. BoyGeeding only made it through the first three, which caused WifeGeeding to be stuck to her seat for most of the concert. But it was still worth the price of admission to experience it with them.

Below are some of my better pics of the concert, and I have commentary on a few of them. You’ll see I focused on Bono and The Edge a lot.

     

I get a kick out this older woman in front.

  

In my mind, Edge is looking right at me.

The band held two encores. The second included a snippet from “Waltz Across Texas“. The last song on the printed set list is “The Little Things That Give You Away,” but the band drops that and ends the show with “I Will Follow.”

A bit of a bummer not to hear the new song at all“The last song on the printed set list is “The Little Things That Give You Away,” but the band drops that and ends the show with “I Will Follow.”

As we left the stadium, we noticed the Cowboys or Jerry Jones helicopter take off. I don’t know if it was Jerry or one of his sons, but I did see the Cowboys luxury bus parked next to the facility. To be honest, I was surprised to those two things. Also, the stadium was selling drinks that came in cups with Romo’s image on them and his likeness and jersey could still be seen.

I’m not surprised Bono visited former President George W. Bush at his Crawford ranch. I’m just surprised he did it the same day as the show. I’m not a rock star and perhaps performing is old hat to him, but visiting Crawford and then performing for three hours seems like a lot. But what a great picture. Bono with that goofy grin, W in that Texas shirt, both look as happy as one can be out with great Texas landscape behind them. Considering the things Bono said when Bush’s father was president, I have to give W a lot of credit for not holding on to the past and give Bono some credit to understand even though it was very rockstar, it wasn’t an effective way to build on long term goals.

Here’s Bono arriving at AT&T Stadium.

Below is just another picture I found on Twitter before the start of the concert, which I thought was neat.  And finally, here are most of the rest of the pictures I took.

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7 Responses to Bag of Joshua Tree Randomness

  1. RPM says:

    Glad ya'll had a great time!

  2. Sara says:

    What kind of camera did you take? Is it a point and shoot or a dslr? Your pics look great! And I always figured my camera was too much camera to take to any concerts.

  3. Nathan Hart says:

    This is truly very cool, Keith. Thank you for sharing this family moment with us. Also, when I saw that picture of GWB and Bono, I couldn't help but think simply that these are two brothers in Christ.

    • Bryan says:

      Same here. To paraphrase what Bono said on Kimmel last week, you only have to find one thing to agree on to start a conversation.

  4. Suzi says:

    Your photos look terrific and it's clear that FamilyGeeding had a great ol' time 🙂

  5. Brent says:

    Great post, Keith. #covfefe!

  6. warren says:

    Yes you are famous

Comments are closed.