Entries from May 2005 ↓

1/2 (out of five)

I saw the midnight showing of ROTS with Doris, Becca and Wooly last night. I know that most people obviously haven’t seen it as of 10 AM ET, so I won’t give away any spoilers. Suffice it to say that it was everything I was hoping for. I loved this movie.

See Revenge of the Sith, you must.

Coldplay today announced their “Twisted Logic Tour”, in support of their new album, “X&Y”, which is set for release in June. Considering I missed out on seeing them twice during the last tour, I’m definitely going this time around!

* 8/2- Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
* 8/3 - Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
* 8/4 - Hartford, CT @ ctnow.com Meadows Music Theater
* 8/6 - Mansfield, MA @ Tweeter Center
* 8/7 - Camden, NJ @ Tweeter Center at The Waterfront
* 8/9 - Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
* 8/11 - Burgettstown, PA @ Post-Gazette Pavilion at Star Lake
* 8/12 - Noblesville, IN @ Verizon Wireless Music Center
* 8/13 - East Troy, WI @ Alpine Valley Music Theatre
* 8/16 - Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheatre
* 8/17 - Ridgefield, WA @ Amphitheatre at Clark County
* 8/19 - San Francisco, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
* 8/20 - Irvine, CA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
* 8/24 - Albuquerque, NM @ Journal Pavilion
* 8/25 - Phoenix, AZ @ Cricket Pavilion
* 8/26 - Chula Vista, CA @ Coors Amphitheatre
* 8/30 - Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
* 8/31 - Columbus, OH @ Germain Amphitheater
* 9/1 - Darien Center, NY @ Darien Lake Six Flags Peforming Arts Center
* 9/3 - Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
* 9/6 - New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
* 9/9 - Charlotte, NC @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
* 9/10 - Raleigh, NC @ Alltel Pavilion at Walnut Creek
* 9/13 - West Palm Beach, FL @ Sound Advice Amphitheatre
* 9/14 - Tampa, FL @ Ford Amphitheatre
* 9/16 - Pelham, AL @ Verizon Wireless Music Center
* 9/17 - Maryland Heights, MO @ UMB Bank Pavilion
* 9/18 - Antioch, TN @ Starwood Amphitheatre
* 9/20 - Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
* 9/21 - Bonner Springs, KS @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
* 9/23 - Dallas, TX @ Smirnoff Music Centre
* 9/24 - The Woodlands, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
* 9/25 - Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Music Festival
* 9/28 - Atlanta, GA @ Philips Arena
* 9/29 - Virginia Beach, VA @ Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater
* 9/30 - Bristow, VA @ Nissan Pavilion at Stone Ridge

Well, it turns out he really is hurt. This sucks.

Thierry is quoted in The Sun as saying; “This is the biggest match I’ve missed in my career. It’s a major disappointment, but the team can still win. I’ve had a problem with my Achilles since the start of the season. But it’s not just one, both of them are causing me pain and I am just not fit to play. I need a rest. It is a big disappointment as it will be a great game against Manchester United. But I have to put the team ahead of myself. I have played a lot this season and I’d like to think I’ve given my all. I just can’t go on. It is the end of the season and I have to do this right now. It is a problem for me but, hopefully, I will be fine for the start of next season. I am sure I will be fine.”

He has played a lot over the last two years, and if anyone deserves a break, it’s TiTi. It’s just too bad we won’t get to see him play again until August. It truly is a pleasure, but c’est la vie. There’s still a match to win against ManUre, and it’ll be up to the non-flying Dutchman, Dennis Bergkamp and his compatriot, Robin van Persie, along with Jose Antonio Reyes to do the business.

Four days and counting…

With second place in the Premiership wrapped up, and not wanting to risk injury before Saturday’s FA Cup Final showdown with ManUre, Arsenal played at half speed today, playing more not to lose than to win. The strategy almost worked, as the match stayed 0-0 until the 80th minute when Birmingham took advantage of some lazy Arsenal defending to take a late lead. However, the Gunners suddenly turned it on, and Dennis Bergkamp fired Arsenal level in the 88th. Just when it looked like the points would be shared, Emile Heskey scored in stoppage time, giving City their first ever Premiership win over the Gunners.

Like I said, this game didn’t really matter to Arsenal, and they played that way. I don’t really care one way or the other, but I do find it interesting that Thierry Henry took no part at all. He didn’t even make the subs bench. {update - turns out VaVaVoom is out injured with an injury that he picked up during training on Saturday afternoon. I hope it doesn’t keep him from taking part in the Cup Final.}

So, that’s it. Another league season done. Still one match to go though…

(photo by Jim Taggert)

Wachovia Center 5/14/05

Setlist:
City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, The Electric Co., An Cat Dubh - Into the Heart, Beautiful Day, New Year’s Day, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky - When Johnny Comes Marching Home, Running to Stand Still, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One

Encore(s):
Zoo Station, The Fly, Mysterious Ways, All Because of You, Yahweh, 40

U2 were at the height of their powers last night during a high-energy show at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.

Jeff and I drove separate cars, because his wife, my cousin Christine, is due to deliver their second baby any minute now. Yes, he was taking a risk by coming to the show, but then this was no ordinary show, this was U2.

We arrived in the parking lot at 7:45 PM, to a festive atmosphere. It was a bit crowded because the Phillies were playing the Reds across the street, but that didn’t dampen anyone’s sprits. The weather was great, and everyone was soaking it up. There was even a Grateful Dead cover band playing in the lot. Very cool.

We made our way into the arena, and found that the line for t-shirts was 5 rows wide, 20 people deep. It was insane, so we instead headed upstairs to where our seats were. Section 204 was easy to find - right at the top of the escalator. It was also right next to the beer stand, and a slightly less-crowded t-shirt stand.

Jeff got into the beer line, and I queued up for a shirt. Despite my line being the longer of the two, I ended up getting my t-shirt and meeting Jeff in the beer line before he’d even reached the front. Turns out that the group in front of us were ordering two beers for each person. It started out at eight, but ended up being ten or twelve. They had to change kegs!

Beers in hand at last, and t-shirt in bag, we took our seats. The pre-show music was fantastic. It was as if they had taken the mix discs out of my car. Franz Ferdinand, The Clash, David Bowie, Velvet Underground, The Shins. So, so good.

Then, finally, “Wake Up” by Arcade Fire signaled the beginning of the show. As “Wake Up” faded, the crystalline, twinkling notes of “City Of Blinding Lights” filled the arena. What followed was two plus hours of U2 at their finest.

“…Blinding Lights” was followed up by “Vertigo”, which sounds great live. “Elevation” was particularly cool because the band played softly as Bono got the crowd involved in a singalong for the first verse. Then, as the chorus concluded, the band kicked in, and the place exploded.

The next phase of the show moved a bit slowly for me, but it picked up again starting with “Love and Peace Or Else.” From that point on, the show kicked major ass.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that “One” has gotten a bit old, but this time I was distracted during most of it. You see, Bono introduced the song by talking about the One Campaign, “a new effort by Americans to rally Americans - ONE by ONE - to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty. The ONE Campaign is engaging Americans through a diverse coalition of faith-based and anti-poverty organizers to show the steps people can take, ONE by ONE, to fight global AIDS and poverty.”

True to form, Bono has taken this cause to heart, and urged everyone at the show to use their mobile phones to send text messages with their names to “UNITE.” So, not only did the entire building light up like a blue Christmas tree, but after a few minutes, the screen above the stage began displaying all of the names who had texted in. My name was among them, which was quite cool!

The encore was fantastic, flashing back to 1991 with ZOO TV in full effect. “Zoo Station”, “The Fly” and “Mysterious Ways” were exhilirating. “Yahweh” was quite powerful live, and “40″ was simply amazing. The entire crowd singing for what must have been five minutes after the band had left the stage.

It was a fantastic show, and I can’t wait for the next Philly show on May 22.