U2 in Vancouver

Every once and awhile, the weight of adulthood is lifted off of my shoulders and I have the chance to just be young and free again.  Although I absolutely love being a wife and mother, it is a rare treat to have an opportunity to just be a kid again and this weekend was one of those times.  My all-time favorite band, U2, announced in January the dates and cities of their 30-year anniversary tour of their beloved Joshua Tree album.  When I learned that they were coming to Seattle on a Sunday, I immediately began figuring out a way how I could see them two days earlier in Vancouver.  After some thought, I decided to call up Kristina, my dearest friend from high school who now lives in Denver, and ask her if she wanted to fly out and go to the concert with me.  Much to my pleasant surprise, she announced that she was 'in' with very little hesitation.  I was thrilled to say the least!  So, a few days later, I bought our tickets on the morning of the first day of the presale and booked our hotel in Vancouver a few days later.  Before I knew it, we were planning a girls trip to Canada to spend an evening in May rocking the night away to our favorite songs that date back to our high school days.
After four months of waiting, the weekend finally arrived.  Besides waking up with a bad cold on Thursday morning, I was all ready to go by Friday.  I had arranged for my mom to come down and watch the kids during the day until Ron got home from work that evening.  Logan and I first had to attend a Mother's Day tea at his preschool at 9 o'clock, but we were back home a little after 10 a.m.  I quickly dropped him off, packed my bags in the car, and hit the road a few minutes later.  I met Kristina in Bellevue and we had an uneventful ride to Vancouver with only a five-minute wait at the border and arrived to our hotel by 2:30.  After a restful afternoon, we headed out for a fabulous dinner at a wonderful, Japanese fusion restaurant before walking over to BC Place Stadium where the concert was to be held.  After waiting in the craziest line (or lack of one), we managed to get inside the doors right at 7:30 when the opening band, Mumford and Sons, was playing their first song.  Apparently, this was pretty fortunate as thousands of people missed Mumford and Sons' entire performance due to the lack of organization in letting people into the stadium with a new ticketless entry system.  After waiting a little over an hour after the opening band finished, U2 finally came out at 9:25 and performed for almost two hours.  When Larry Mullen Jr. first casually walked out onto the front stage and began playing the drum portion to the beginning of "Sunday, Bloody Sunday," I just lost it!  I jumped to my feet, started screaming, and the rest of the evening was history!  Kristina and I had the best time dancing the night away while singing along with Bono to some of their greatest songs.  It was so much fun to be young again--especially with one of my favorite people from my childhood at my side.  Thanks, U2, for the fabulous evening in Canada...it's one I will always remember.

Kristina and I eating dinner before the show began.

We made it!  The sign right inside the entrance of the venue.

Two giggling friends ready to find our seats and start the party!

Waiting for U2 to come out after Mumford and Sons had finished performing.

And, there they are!  Bono and the boys singing their first few songs from the small, front stage.

This massive, video screen that lit up as the band moved from the front stage to their full set up on the main stage.  We had no idea that this entire back "wall" was a screen, so it was quite the impressive surprise when it lit up in red.

The awesome silhouette of the entire band before they began playing the entire Joshua Tree album.

The crowd erupted when this video started playing when U2 began singing "Where the Streets Have No Name."

The band performing with images of Joshua trees in the background.

A close-up of Bono.

They projected live images like this one of Bono for a majority of the concert while they performed their music.

A close-up of Bono on the video screen.

A close-up of The Edge on the screen.

The Joshua tree outlined in blue at the end of the concert.  It sure was an impressive sigh to behold.