Welcome to CogentPassion - Official Blog of Tim Gallagher - opinion and commentary on things that I feel passionate about, though I promise not to spout off without a good basis in reality.
Favorite topics for commentary are economics and politics from a Libertarian p.o.v., and notes from a baseball-playing, self-improving, travel-loving Charlottesville resident.
CogentPassion is proudly banned in China (as are all blogs.)
I'd love to write some high-brow (i.e. overly intelligent), wordy review of the U2 show in Charlottesville. You know, something that you'd read in Rolling Stone - someone writing 1000 words to make something sound bigger and better than it really is or was.
But I can't, because there is no adequate way to describe how amazing U2 was in concert. Instead, I'm so blown away that I'm reduced to short words, like "Wow." Just wow.
It was practically a religious experience.
The music sounded great, the band's showmanship and energy were strong, and the stage, lightshow, and video accompaniment was just incredible.
The show was one of the best that I've ever seen. Which got me to thinking about the top shows that I've seen. Without ranking these shows, I'd say that these shows were in the same class as U2:
Red Hot Chilli Peppers/Pearl Jam (doublebill, around 1998)- unbelievable energy and showmanship by both bands.
The Police (2008) - as they say in Scotland, pure dead brilliant.
Bruce Springsteen (2007) - I can't believe I waited this long to see Bruce.
Midnight Oil (1994) - one of their songs is "Power and the Passion," which I'd say just about sums up the band that night.
Fighting Gravity (1989-1992 - any night they played in my fraternity basement.)
Live (1995) - whatever happened to these guys?
(I think I might need to broaden my musical horizons - all of my top bands are from the 80's and 90's.)
U2 plays at UVA's football stadium tomorrow night (cuz, you know, Charlottesville has a lot in common with other U2 stops like Paris, London, and New York.) Reports about the U2 show have described the set-up as massive, so I drove by the stadium today, and they're right, even understating things.
The picture below doesn't do the set-up justice. The stage is about 40% of the total area of the field, and taller than the stadium. The light and sound looks to be amazing (notice the multi-colored stripes in the middle of the picture? It's a massive circular video board that descends from the "roof" of the stage.)
"I do not choose to be a common man. It is my right to be uncommon -- if I can. I seek opportunity -- not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me. I wish to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed. I refuse to barter incentive for a dole, I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of utopia. I will not trade freedom for beneficence, nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any master, nor bend to any threat. It is my heritage to stand erect, proud, and unafraid, to think and act for myself, to enjoy the benefit of my creations, and to face the world boldly and say, "this I have done." All this is what it means to be an American." -- Anonymous
