Four years ago, in December of 2005 we saw U2 in Salt Lake City during their Vertigo Tour. Our seats weren't the best; we were behind the band and up really high. But I remember the concert as being pretty good, I mean it was U2. But I also remember saying to Eric at the end of it, "If only I could have been on the floor in the pit."
Ten days ago, in October of 2009 we saw U2 again in Phoenix during their 360 Tour. This time I was determined to be in the pit.
We had purchased General Admission tickets months ago and slowly the day of the concert approached. I took the day off and was prepared to get to the stadium as early as possible. With GA tickets you have to wait in line to enter the concert. There is no preassigned seat for you, you are standing on the floor, potentially in the pit. We had some friends come down for the concert and had decided on our plan on action beforehand. Tuesday, October 20th came and Paul Richards and I got to the University of Phoenix Stadium at 8am with our chairs, food and things to keep us occupied. We staked our place in line and began the waiting. I would say there were about 250 people in front of us. We settled in and started counting down the hours. I read a lot, took a couple walks, and played some games with Paul to pass the time. Finally around 3pm, Eric and JD showed up and brought us some lunch. Shortly after that, Security told everyone that we had to take all our stuff back to our cars. Meaning chairs, books, food, etc. anything that we couldn't bring into the concert. Then we were stuck standing up in line till about 4:30. They finally started to take our tickets, usher us in like cattle and gave us wristbands. At that point we stood there for another half hour or so crowded in with a bunch of people. All waiting to get onto the floor. When they eventually let us go, it was a mad dash to get to the spot you wanted. People sprinting as fast as they could to find a valued spot in the pit. As I was running, the girl next to me tripped and fell. I hesitated wondering if I should stop and help her, but I didn't, I kept running (sad, I know).
We ended up in the pit, right in front (against the rail and as close to the stage as you can get) and a little to the right (Adam's side). Then we waited another 2.5 hours till Black Eyed Peas came on. And surprisingly, they were pretty awesome. I liked them a lot more than I thought I would. They put on a great show. After BEP there was a half hour break and then U2 came on.
Oh man, I get so excited just thinking about it again! It was seriously incredible. The sound was perfect. You could see their facial expressions. They would laugh and joke with each other and I felt a part of it. Their music was inspiring and beautiful. Sometimes it brought tears to my eyes. We rocked out and sang along. It was pure happiness. I couldn't stop smiling the whole time. I was in heaven and kept looking at Eric like, "We are really here and this is unbelievable." One of the greatest things about U2's concert was how much they were enjoying it. Maybe that's all just part of the show but everytime I looked at their faces, I saw pure joy in what they were doing. The music and experience was amazing. I didn't want it to be over. I wanted them to play all their songs all night long.
But it came to an end and the lights switched back on. My legs were so stiff that I could barely walk back to the car. But I made it and as I sat there on the drive home, my heart was happy because I made it into the pit. It was all so worth it!
