In October of 2001, not too long after the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center, U2 came into New York for their Elevation Tour. I am generally not a huge fan of U2 but when my friend told me they were playing, I figured, why not? But, we didn't have tickets and the show was sold out. However, there is a trick that most venue promoters don't advertise too much; last-minute cancellation tickets. About 20 minutes before every show, the box office opens up to the public to sell the tickets that were cancelled via Internet of phone requests from credit card companies. Unfortunately for us, when we got there, the line for this rather unknown phenomenon was two blocks long. I had two key advantages in my favor; my ability to snooze the right people and my two girl friends who were wearing next to nothing and extremely free spirits.

When we entered, we pretended that we had tickets, and then moved our way straight over to the security guards to start talking. After a little while of talking about nothing truly important, we were told that we could wait where we were. Within 2 seconds, we had started another line. When the doors were opened, we were allowed in and bought three tickets, front row behind the stage, for $40 each. The people who formed on the line behind us were told that they could enter and we scampered out into the show.

When we got to our seats, the excitement was and lights just were going out. The opening act, No Doubt, was going out on stage. After a fueled 45-minute set, No Doubt left the stage and U2 came out not 15 minutes later. With an eclectic set of rock and compassion (Bono bringing people up on stage and changing their lives forever with a kiss and hug) this was an amazing show. And we were 20 feet from it all. The best part of the show was when they were playing a song (I think it was ‘Where The Streets Have No Names’) that the light show started. This was unlike any light show that I have ever seen before. Instead of light designs, there were names pasted all over the walls of the Garden. The names were those that lost their lives the previous month in the Trade Center. The names roamed over the walls for three full songs as the emotional wave of the crowd broke over the like a wave on the compassionate beach of New York. 

This show alone made me a really appreciate U2 and I can’t wait to see them again. And the way in which we acquired the tickets made the experience all that much more memorable. It was just one of those amazing New York days.