A few years ago, I saw the Beatles. First they came out looking old school and Liverpudlian, then they came out in full Peppers dress. They played for less than two minutes, but I did see them. They were wax figurines in a wax museum, and somewhere, tinny speakers blared "A Day in the Life" or some such.

On a totally unrelated note, I saw U2 on Wednesday.

I think the 15-year-old me would have been more excited about this. Unfortunately, the me of aught-five just saw it as impersonal. Maybe I'm used to more intimate settings, but this was a museum show.

Don't get me wrong, it was still a good show. I'm still surprised what they can do with one electric guitar. And Bono's voice can just absolutely fill a room. A friend of mine once said his wish was that he could sing, and seeing the way Bono could raise his voice to the rafters and bring people to their feet... yeah, that's power. I mean, they really are a great band. But despite their best efforts, it's hard to move someone, and I mean really move someone, in a venue that big.

A few notes:

• Bono singing Pavarotti's part in Italian during "Miss Sarajevo" was actually chilling. It's been a while since this cold, dead heart has been affected like that. Just a moment of beauty among spent plastic cups once filled with $7 Miller Lite.


• At concerts like this, you get a lot of people who "love" the band, and can't wait to hear their "favorite" song, but they really don't know deep cuts, and sometimes barely know anything beyond the hits. I'm not trying to bust balls; it's just the truth. Hell, I don't know their early catalog like I once did. But there's always that moment at shows like this where something like "The Electric Co." is broken out, and about 20,000 people, in unison go "Yeah! This is great, this is... wait, what the fuck is this? Uh... yeah?" Then they sit down and wait for "Elevation". You know the confusion on the face of a dog, when you show it a ball, then hide it behind your back? That's how those moments feel.


• Watching a stadium full of people lighting up their cell phones had to be one of the cheapest experiences of my life. If Disney built an animatronic frat party at one of their parks it would be more soulful. And Bono gets no respect for coming up with the idea.


• Wait, just one song off of Achtung, Baby? Really?

Also, Philly got a Bruce cameo. Couldn't we at least get a Wolf Blitzer appearance?