In The Name of Love

The other day while I was at physical therapy getting work done on this,

There was a scrawny, pimply faced 20 year old talking about a concert he had seen the night before. He began to drone on about how horrible the lead singer was, and that the stage wasn't even that great. After about five minutes, he said the unthinkable. That the band was old and needed to just go away. Since I knew there was only one concert in town the night before, and I was there, I immediately sized him up and knew I could take him in a throw down. And throw down I did. Because after all, when Bono brings you nothing short of a deafening night of sheer joy, you must make it known that you worship at the alter of U2.

And so I give you the same reasons I gave in my physical therapy throw down in defense of Bono, The Edge, Adam, and Larry:

1. This was the largest set EVER built for a concert, however, despite the cost, the band insisted general admission tickets be sold at $30 to allow those on a budget in a recession could still receive the U2 joy.

2. Who else can bring together a sold out crowd of 90,000 that included the likes of Mohammad Ali and John and Cindy McCain. I mean Desmond Tutu on screen, Black Eyed Peas on stage and John McCain in the audience? Can't get any more juxtaposed.

3. Nothing sounds quite like 90,000 people singing Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For.

4. Bono singing Stuck in A Moment with nothing but The Edge strumming an acoustic guitar is what the angels will sound like in heaven.

5. You know it's a good day when you are in the bathroom at Cardinals stadium and you feel nothing but pure joy even though you have to stand in line for 20 minutes to relieve yourself of the Diet Coke you spent $6 on.

6. Who else has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for a campaign that has sent 34 million African children to school, with an additional 4 million children vaccinated, and can sell out stadiums around the world? Nobody, that's who!

7. Where else can you have the roof of a stadium open and see the stars above while three giant disco balls create a galaxy of their own within the walls while dancing to With or Without You?

8. When you are having a year like we are, and your mom surprises you with tickets to a concert you have talked about for months, and then fly's out to watch your kids for said concert, you begin to see how people become saviors for one another.

So to the goth kid I still see three times a week, add some Joshua Tree, a little Auchtung Baby, sprinkled with All That You Can't Leave Behind, and a few No Line on the Horizon to your ipod. Educate yourself in the school of musical genius and then come talk to me.