U2

Need More Be Said?

Although 'U2' pretty much says it all, it'd make a pretty short post so i'll keep talking. Last Thursday i'd been up since the crack of dawn - after going to bed just before the crack of dawn - and had spent all morning slaving under an open window in the rain whilst doing my maths assignment in the common room (yes, it can always be said that the common room is home, sweet home, with it's skin-bags and un-closeable windows). After rushing home, gulping down half a sandwich and learning that my ride was going to pick me up a half hour early. So much for my plan to not have to rush :P

After all of my running around that morning i must say that i wasn't particularly enthused about spending the next seven or so hours standing around with a bunch of people i didn't know. However, after a loooooong drive there (who knew it took so long to get to AAMI?), awhile awandering from our car park, past the merchandise tent - where i was convinced to buy what is now my favourite tee-shirt ever - and through a hoard of thousands to where the guys had staked out a place in the line. Showing my truly nerdy colours, i did my part to keep our grass patch while i wrote history notes out. Lol, yes, i know, i'm very strange. In my defense, i wasn't the only one :P

Contrary to the firm beliefs of my mother, it was not freezing cold, so me with my many layers and bright-pinkness was rather warm - and that's with myleaving my jumper in the car! So, after burning the back of my neck for the first time all summer (:P it's quite the momentous occassion), i finally relaxed and unwound a little; it's amazing how much more fun you can have when you stop worrying about homework, resign yourself to failing your accounting exam and stop stressing about spending the afternoon with a whole bunch of people you don't know very well and who intimidate you just the tiniest little bit! Lol, anyway, a few hours later one moron jumped up and moved towards the gate. Like a herd of cattle, the other two thousand people in out line leapt up with a moo and surged forward. Only to spend the next hour and a half hemmed in within an inch of our lives, moving forward a metre every half hour and occassionally catching an ice-coffee when one was throw in our direction. It was actually surprisingly fun!

Finally, the line started to move and out little group all clung rather desparately together as we went. All was going a-ok until a dastardly metal pole snuck up between myself and Andrew, splitting our group in two. I must say that the look on panic on the guys' faces was rather comical - they were trying so hard to be all 'manly' and protective and such. Hilarious, trust me. Anyhow, finally we all get through the bag check and past the guards - i somehow manaaged to get through without them checking my bag or patting me down, which was lucky seeing as i snuck in a camera and a drink-bottle WITH a lid on! :o wow, how rebellious am i?!

Now i was all buzzy and psyched about seeing U2 - thanks to the guys getting there at 9am, we were a few of the 4000 who managed to get infront of the 50m line!! We had the best spot ever - there were two sections that jutted out from the stage and we were about 1m away from one of them! Soooo cool. Anyway, again we staked out a chunk of space - this time all lying out to keep us more room. Anytime any one of us went somewhere Guy'd stand up and 'guard' the space - it must've looked hilarious to anyone else, seeing Guy, henceforth nicknamed 'the tree', standing at the edge of an empty space with his arms crossed and an 'i'm-not-going-to-move-so-don't-even-think-about-trying-to-sit-infront-of-us' look on his face.

I managed a bit of a snooze (yes, i was tired!) and the 'cooler' guys played Donkey Kong :P Since we were in such a wicked spot, if we wanted to leave we got stamped with a huge, round, duck stamp. I went to the loos, spent half an hour in line to buy someone their dinner (yes, i'm a wonderful, self-sacrificing girlie) and got back just in time to see the start of the concert.

After waiting around for seven hours, when Kanye West came on, it was SO cool. I felt somewhat bad though, seeing as there seemed to be nobody cheering very loudly or clapping or anything... i've heard some pretty negative stuff about him, but i actually enjoyed it! I don't care if everyone else hated it, i thought he was ok. He played for about 40 mins... and then there was a whole hour and a bit of standing while we waited for the Roadies to set up for U2!!!

With a hum of excitement, U2 came on stage. Everyone went nuts! Straight off they played the coolest songs. Two hours later, i'd heard some FANTASTIC music, filled up my phone with photos and vidoes, jumped up and down and screamed with 66, 000 other people, gaped at all of the cool lights that came up on the screens, stood clear of certain people who'd claimed that they'd wet themselves if they played 'New Year's Eve' - which they did - and laughed myself silly at the excited look on Guy's face that reminded me of a 4-yr-old at Christmas. After two encores, cheering myself silly and grinning just as much as anyone else, it was over - but i'd had the BEST time! Not too shabby for my first conccert.

Bono said some great stuff about poverty and how we all need to band together to stop the terrible things that happen in the world. It's not often that you see a concert and actually come away from it with a message. On the radio all the way home were people saying how inspired they'd been by Bono. The 'Co-Exist' message was also pretty clever - people always like catch phrase type things. Anyway, i though that it was a pretty good addition to an already brilliant concert! I soooo can't wait until they come back :)

After two whole hours of U2, we followed the masses out of the gates, stopping to tease out mates who'd been way behind us :P We made it through 59, 598 other people, back to the oval where we'd parked the car, freezing cold and wishing we'd listened to my mother :P Then we lost the car! My nan does that... always a worry. Finally in the car, we drove off... about a metre. Before we got stuck in the complete and utter mess of cars that was the oval. With U2 on the radio, we eventually parked the car and just spent half an hour snoozing and looking at all of the photos we'd taken. When we next looked up, all the cars were gone and we could head home - which still took a fair while, considering that everyone else had the same idea.

Home by 1.30am, after a looong drive in which i'd tried to keep my eyes open and not be rude, i rolled into bed, already dreading getting up for choir in a few hours... But it was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO worth it! I had the BEST time EVER. Most definately worth a few hours less sleep and study. Lol, George, i sure hope my phone call made up for your not being there :P U2 ROCKS!

Annie

(still on a bit of a high)

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P.S. The thing about SWOTVAC is that i don't see people as much - so i tend to talk more when i do - i think it's the same with blogging; you don't do it for awhile so you really ramble on when you do :P Sorry!