The unthinkable (for me) happened just before the year closed. I finally got to watch one of my all-time favorite bands, U2, perform live in concert! That this was The Joshua Tree Tour made it even better. After all, The Joshua Tree is arguably their best album and a favorite among their fans (myself included).
I have been listening to their music a whole lot over the decades and a lot of their songs are among the most played in my iPod (yes, I still listen to music on an iPod LOL). They became an even more significant part of my life when my band covered a lot of their songs during our gigging years in the 2000s. So when the Asia and Oceania leg of their tour was announced, I knew I had to watch.
The problem was that the tour originally included only New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Japan, and South Korea. They only announced the Philippine leg after sales for the shows in the other countries were done. By that time, my friends and I already bought our concert tickets in Seoul and we already booked our flights and hotels. Naturally, we weren't the only ones. Many of their Filipino fans, including a lot of my friends, got tickets to their shows in other countries already. Ah well, I just thought that it was a great excuse to travel with my friends and get to see more of South Korea.
Their concert in Seoul was held at the Gocheok Sky Dome. The show started at around 7:20pm and there was no front act so the moment the lights dimmed and U2 stepped out on stage, the stadium erupted. They played four songs before running through The Joshua Tree album in sequence. My two all-time favorite U2 songs are I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For and Where the Streets Have No Name so when they played these two songs (these are the first two tracks of the album), I got really emotional. I was so moved and overwhelmed that if their concert ended then and there, I would have already been satisfied. That they were just starting made my experience so much better because every song they performed after that felt like a massive bonus to an already amazing evening. (Check out their full setlist here.)
I have been listening to their music a whole lot over the decades and a lot of their songs are among the most played in my iPod (yes, I still listen to music on an iPod LOL). They became an even more significant part of my life when my band covered a lot of their songs during our gigging years in the 2000s. So when the Asia and Oceania leg of their tour was announced, I knew I had to watch.
The problem was that the tour originally included only New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Japan, and South Korea. They only announced the Philippine leg after sales for the shows in the other countries were done. By that time, my friends and I already bought our concert tickets in Seoul and we already booked our flights and hotels. Naturally, we weren't the only ones. Many of their Filipino fans, including a lot of my friends, got tickets to their shows in other countries already. Ah well, I just thought that it was a great excuse to travel with my friends and get to see more of South Korea.
The show of course was legendary. Bono was truly impressive. He is 59 years old already but he was still hitting every note with power and confidence and he sang 24 songs with almost no break. The rest of the band were equally incredible. The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton were all at top of their game. Their music was powerful, evocative, and sensational and the atmosphere they generated was absolutely electric. As if the sublime sound they were generating wasn't enough, the gigantic LCD behind the band provided a visual spectacle that perfectly accompanied and complemented the music, making the overall experience truly magical and unforgettable.
I left Gocheok Sky Dome feeling ecstatic, blessed, and still in a bit of disbelief. I have now seen U2 perform live, something I thought I would never get to do in my lifetime. If not for the wedding I attended on December 11, I would have watched (or at least tried to watch) them again when they performed at the Philippine Arena. Still, I am very thankful that I got to witness one of my favorite musical artists perform live. This is an experience I will truly remember for the rest of my life.
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