MIRACLE DRUG? U2 IN CONCERT! - 3/30/05 by Jim Villanueva

Balancing a heavy dose of new along with a surprising amount of very old songs, U2 kicked off their Vertigo 2005 worldwide tour in San Diego last night in front of a jam-packed and very boisterous Southern California crowd. Following a brisk 40-minute set by openers Kings of Leon, U2 hit the stage – somewhat modified from the Elevation tour set up with an oval ramp surrounding a general admission pit area – with an electrifying “City of Blinding Lights” from their latest CD, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. They quickly followed “City…” with “Vertigo,” introduced by a joking Bono with, “How about a Spanish lesson? Not here in San Diego; I don’t think so.”

The two new tunes preceeded two very old tunes, “The Electric Co.” and “An Cat Dubh,” both from the band’s very first album, Boy. The newly inducted Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members performed a total of seven cuts from their most recent disc, including “Miracle Drug” (in the intro of which Bono thanked the crowd for lining up and buying tickets and putting up with early on-sale snafus) and “Sometimes You Can’t Make it on Your Own,” among others. If “Sometimes You Can’t Make it…” was the emotive moment of the evening (the song dedicated to Bono’s late father) perhaps the most emotionally-powerful portion of opening night included the triple wallop of “Love and Peace or Else” (featuring Bono slashing at a floor tom-tom drum looking like an Irish samurai having donned a white bandana), “Bullet the Blue Sky” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday” performed back-to-back-to-back.

After 1 hour and 20 minutes, the band left the stage before reappearing for another 40 minutes of hits, including “Pride (in the Name of Love),” “Where the Streets Have No Name” and “One” before closing the celebration with two touching hymns, an acoustic version of “Yahweh” and the classic concert closer, “40.” The band plays again in San Diego tomorrow night before moving a bit north for 4 shows in and around the Los Angeles area.

The following is the complete set list from opening night of the U2 Vertigo 2005 tour in San Diego: “City of Blinding Lights,” “Vertigo,” “The Electric Co.,” “An Cat Dubh,” “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,” “Running to Stand Still,” “Zoo Station,” “The Fly,” “Elevation,” “Pride (in the Name of Love),” “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “One,” “All Because of You,” “Yahweh,” “40.”