According to Mapquest, the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena is 13.83 miles away from our Hollywood apartment. What mapquest doesn't factor in, of course, is how long it takes to travel that distance when 95,998 other people are trying to do the same thing. As a TAP card carrying rider of L.A. public transportation, I thought I'd got this problem licked. The Metro Red Line stop at Hollywood and Vine is an easy walk from where we live. Take the train downtown to Union Station and make a quick transfer to the Gold Line train, which stops in Old Town Pasadena. From there it was a quick two block walk to Parsons, where we had purchased (in advance) a ticket for a shuttle bus that would take us directly to the Rose Bowl. The promoters for the U2 show had generously agreed to pay the costs of extending train service until the wee hours of Sunday morning to accomodate the crowds, so it seemed like a foolproof plan. After the day was done, I was reminded of something I overheard on the bus on my way to work a few weeks back. There's a woman in a wheelchair who rides my same bus sometimes, and she often strikes up conversations with the bus driver. Her favorite subject is rock concerts. I've heard her mention Green Day, Pearl Jam, and U2,which she always added would be "an all day affair." Considering how long it took us to get to and from the show, I wouldn't be surprised if she's just getting home now.
Getting to the show, everything went according to plan. We set out at around 2:30 from our apartment, made our connections, and had only a brief wait for the shuttle. We were in the general admission line at Gate E by around 4:45, and even had the pleasure of hearing U2's soundcheck going on inside. The gates opened shortly before 5:30, and we were down on the field in a prime spot a little before 6. The Black Eyed Peas "got it started" with a rousing opening set that included a stellar cover of "Sweet Child O'Mine" featuring none other than Slash on guitar. U2 took the stage around 9 and delivered more than two hours of first rate rock and roll spectacle. Highlights included "The Unforgettable Fire", "Until the End of the World", and a rendition of "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" which saw Bono don a literal lasersuit which was spectacular to behold. My wife described him perfectly as a "mariachi from space."
It was after the show that the real adventure began. We spent a half an hour or so trying to connect with our friends who weren't able to travel to the show with us. If you want an exercise in frustration, trying to find someone in the midst of 96,000 people is right up there. We finally had to give up and it was every woman and man for themselves. The show ended at around 11:15, and we knew that the last Gold Line train from Old Town left at 1:27 AM. Seemed simple enough, but then we saw the lines for the shuttle. It seemed impossible that we would get there in time if we waited, so we hoofed it on out of there, along with hundreds of other brave souls. About a mile and a half and several steep hills later, we made it onto a train a little before 1. A successful transfer to the red line later, we made a concession to our aching feet and paid $5 to cab it the remaining short distance home.
So to recap: Left the house at 2:30 PM, got home at 2 AM. I hope I see the woman on the bus again soon. I'd love to compare notes. U2's setlist is below.
Main Set: Breathe, Get On Your Boots, Magnificent, Mysterious Ways, Beautiful Day, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - Stand By Me, Stuck In A Moment, No Line On The Horizon, Elevation, In A Little While, Unknown Caller, Until the End of the World, The Unforgettable Fire, City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo - It's Only Rock and Roll, I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight (remix), Sunday Bloody Sunday, MLK, Walk On - You'll Never Walk Alone
Encore(s): One, Amazing Grace, Where the Streets Have No Name, Ultraviolet, With or Without You, Moment of Surrender
UPDATE: Finally got a hold of our friends we couldn't connect with at the show. They said the line for the shuttle after the show "was like Lord of the Flies". They also walked all the way back to Old Town Pasadena, and my friend's wife is 3 months pregnant!
UPDATE 2: Don't know how long this will stay up, but for now, here's the ENTIRE CONCERT from YouTube:
5 comments:
Amazing, love the recap. And I love that you took public transportation.
Looks like a long, fun, memorable night!
Thanks for writing about your adventures! (I got here from the U2tour list, btw). We also went to this show from the Beverly Hills area (we flew in from Idaho and our friends and babysitter were in BH).
I esp. appreciate your story here because the last show we did was Honolulu, and even tho we HAD a rental car we took the bus and it was such a huge mistake! We didn't get back to our hotel until 4 a.m.! So this time we didn't chance it and took the car and it was all good. And I agree, what a nightmare the crowd was trying to crawl through getting out of the stadium! I'm glad to hear you were happy with your experience on the bus though.
Still, what a great show and a wonderful night!
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