U2 breaks the humdrum of Thursday

I went to a U2 concert at 1 p.m. today - well, kind of. The concert was actually in Sheffield, Scotland. I was in my office in Hollister. But thanks to the wonders of livestream webcasts, I listened along with all those British fans while uploading stories/photos to the Internet and prepping InDesign pages for next week's paper.

Now anyone who knows me knows that I am a colossal U2 fan. I talk about it a lot. I just love them. I have piles of their CDs. I've seen every concert that has come to Bay Area since Popmart in 1997. I have posters up in my room, like a teenage girl. I try to see everything they are involved in, even when it is really crappy movies like "The Million Dollar Hotel."

You get the hint. So when I got an e-mail from U2.com, to which I subscribe, this morning that I could log on and listen to the concert, of course I wanted to listen. I wasn't sure if it would work since the computer equipment in my office doesn't always perform well - I actually have to use three different computers a week because not one has all the stuff I need to get my job done. But at 1 p.m., I logged on to U2.com to see if it would work. The site, of course, was overloaded by fans from everywhere trying to log on at once. I gave up and went back to it fifteen minutes later, and soon I was listen to "No Line on the Horizon" as if I were part of the crowd.

With my headphones on, it sounded so much better than just listening to the CD because it included Bono's ramblings, the sound of the crowd and a little bit of that energy I always feel at a live U2 show. They played a few songs from the new album. I have to say the songs sound much better live than they do on the album, which I found a little flat compared to their past few albums. They played past hits such as "One" and "Beautiful Day," and even some songs from my favorite album, "Unforgettable Fire."

I listened to most of the concert, with a few disruptions to answer the phone or handle a customer who came into the office - and of course, a few times there was silence while the site was "buffering."

Unlike an in-person contest, there were a few moments when I was confused about what was going on. I walked away to pick up something off the printer and when I came back someone with a South African accent was talking. I believe it was Archbishop Desmond Tutu talking about apartheid and anti-retroviral medication.

I even listend a bit after the concert ended to the local radio deejays - the local stations broadcasted the show live - and some of the fans who called in to share their thoughts. The fans were certainly more diehardthan me. One man has seen the band live eight times - on the current tour! I can't wait until I get to see them live myself in October!

For now, at least it was a nice break from a regular, boring Thursday. Maybe U2 can broadcast a concert for me every Thursday.

Photo by Melissa Flores

One of the posters up in my room.