Elevation Philadephia June 11-12, 2001 First Union Center – the Larry Mullen Band shirt

Wednesday June 13, 2001 Philadelphia, PA

The Philadelphia shows on June 11 and 12 did not disappoint. I got up at 5:30am Monday morning June 11th, drove to Philadelphia, and was in the GA line at First Union Center by 8:10am. Had a long, hot day in the sun. Tasha was there all day trying to get a GA ticket, but never did. We became friends with Cathy and Kate, and I met Rob, who is a friend of Tasha’s. I stood at the rail just to the right of Adam for Philly1 on June 11th. U2 played a bit of Night and Day after Beautiful Day. Other than that, it was the standard set list with the addition of In a Little While. A Larry Mullen Band tee shirt was thrown on stage and Larry put it on his drumkit and it remained there for the rest of the show. We brought cut out paper fish for opening act PJ Harvey’s ‘Down By the Water.’ She was very excited and said she didn’t know the fish traveled from Boston. I slept at Tasha’s after the show.

U2 Elevation Philly 6.11.01

Gone in Philly

Elevation Philly1 6.11.01 Set List: Elevation, Beautiful Day/Night and Day, Until the End of the World, Mysterious Ways/Sexual Healing, In My Life/Stuck In a Moment, Kite, Gone, New York, I Will Follow, Sunday Bloody Sunday/Get Up Stand Up, In a Little While, Desire/Gloria, Stay, Bad/40, Where the Streets Have No Name, Pride, Bullet the Blue Sky, With or Without You, The Fly, One, Walk On.

Larry puts Paola’s Larry Mullen Band shirt on his drumkit

Larry Mullen Band in Philly

The next morning, I was back in the GA line at 7:30am. I hung out with Cathy and Kate most of the day. Around 3pm, we went over where U2 drives in with hopes of meeting them. There were only about 10 of us waiting. Around 3:40, a car drove in and stopped right in front of us. Edge got out of the car! We asked if he would sign, and he said ‘Yes.’ We asked if he would take pictures, he said he wouldn’t pose, but ‘snap away.’ I was the second person he came to. I asked him to sign my scrapbook, and he signed the upper left hand corner. Now the others will have to sign the remaining 3 corners. I got about 6 pictures of Edge. Later Paul McGuinness and PJ Harvey drove in, then Larry and Adam. Bono drove in just about 4:45. By then there were at least 30 people who started screaming and swarming around Bono, who signed a few autographs and took a few pictures before leaving after about 2 minutes. Bono said he wasn’t feeling well, and he looked really out of it. Edge, on the other hand, was great. He stayed until he had signed everyone’s stuff. He didn’t say much though, but he was very nice. I finally got Tasha a GA ticket, and she joined us in the GA line around 5:30pm.

U2 Elevation Philly 6.12.01 – meeting the Edge

Edge’s autograph in Philly

Philly2 on June 12th was absolutely amazing! A great experience! My favorite so far! Tasha and I stood at the rail between Bono and Adam. U2 played Mysterious Ways early and Stuck in a Moment later. Bono sang a verse of Stuck in a Moment right to Tasha and I. They played In a Little While on the main stage right in front of us – the best version I’ve ever heard! An amazing version of Ground Beneath Her Feet, All I Want is You, and New Year’s Day were also played, as well as covers of In My Life and Gloria. But Gone, Bad and Pride were not played. About 5 of us held a Jubilee 2000 banner before One. Bono saw it, was excited and wanted it, so we handed it to him. I touched his hand. It’s good to have long arms. Before the show, I was trying to get Sammy’s attention to get drumsticks, but my voice is shot, so Tasha yelled. Sammy looked at us, and we motioned drumsticks and he sort of nodded. After the show, Tasha yelled to Sammy again. He walked right over to me telling the security guard to make sure I get the drumstick, but I leaned over far enough to take it from him. Again, long arms. Then he gave the other drumstick to Tasha.

Larry in Philly

Elevation Philly2 6.12.01 Set List: Elevation, Beautiful Day, Until the End of the World, New Year’s Day, Kite, New York, I Will Follow, Sunday Bloody Sunday / Get Up Stand Up, Stuck in a Moment, In a Little While, The Ground Beneath Her Feet, Desire / Gloria, All I Want Is You, Where The Streets Have No Name, Mysterious Ways, The Fly, Bullet the Blue Sky, With or Without You, One, Walk On.

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