U2 Concert

MS purchased U2 concert tickets in November 2009.  Due to injury and the canceling of the show in 2010, he was finally able to see the concert on June 26, 2011 at Michigan State University.  MS had asked me a couple months ago if I would like to go with him.  I am not a concert fan.  I like U2, but not a huge fan per se.  I agreed to go.  I wasn't really filled in on the details that MS' brother and his fiancee and a group of others were going.  I wasn't informed of the details either, which I was OK with for the most part as I was just along for the ride. 

I tried to be OK with not being in control.  I didn't let it bother me, the lack of organization and planning.  The clusterfuck that clearly became annoying to others in the group.  I was along for the ride.  There were eight of us (two different vehicles) that met up in a parking lot.  The goal was then to find the rest of the group that were moving from bar to bar.  We headed to find them, with two of the group using their google walk maps to get to the destination. A third in the party asked a security guard for directions.  We followed the guard's direction - which was opposite of the cell phone directions.  Apparently there were two destinations with the same name, but the one the guard sent us to was a restaurant and not a bar and pub.  We were now two miles from our destination.  One in the group bought a six pack from a grocery store and they drank in the lot while MS and I went to wait in line at Subway to get food.  A taxi arrived to take us to the bar and MS and I decided that food was more important.  We split with the group. 

MS and I ate and then walked to the stadium.  We got to the stadium an hour before the opening act, Florence and the Machine.  We were in section 9, to the left of the stage and 34 rows up.  I was shocked by the price of the tickets, which showed $250.  MS never said how much they were, but was disappointed that it wasn't a sold out crowd and that general admission were selling for $30.  It amazed me that the cost was so expensive to sit outside on bleachers and that MS would pay it!

The concert was good.  I recognized five songs.  The technology and stage was pretty awesome.  What amazed me the most....MS knew EVERY. SINGLE. SONG.  MS LOVES U2.  I hadn't known until last night that this was the fifth time MS has seen U2 in concert.  He purchased the tickets when they first went on sale and bought the best available fearing they would sell out in 15 minutes as the previous show he hoped to attend had. 

I worried yesterday and wondered as I stood next to him, if I was deserving of going.  Who had he purchased the extra ticket for in mind when he bought them?  Was there anyone or just that he didn't want to go solo (as the rest of the group were nowhere near us!)?  Did I disappoint him that I didn't know more about U2?  And bottomline, I accepted and stopped worrying about it all and acknowledged that he asked me because he wanted me to go.  He wanted me to experience the concert with him.  That nothing else mattered. 

I did ask MS on the walk back to the car what he thought of the concert and how it compared to his other U2 concert experiences.  He answered, "It was OK.  They are getting OLD!  They just don't have the same energy as they once did!"  He also expressed disappointment that they only sang three songs from their latest CD.  Well, what is to be expected from a group that has remained together since 1978?

I definitely enjoyed the experience of going with MS.  I appreciated being next to MS as he swayed and sang every single word of every single song.  Learning something new about MS and loving him more.