Midnight is where the beautiful day begins.
Okay, we don't normally report on two shows together but we're a little stretched right now with four shows in one city in a week. Bear with us and Chicago 3 and Chicago 4 will have their own separate reports.
You'll see from the set lists (left) that there was a different arrangement of songs each night, but the sensational response of the Chicagoans was breathtaking each night.
So, here's Some of the Songs They Played And Some of the Words they Spoke
Beautiful Day
'Midnight is where the beautiful day begins' reads the sign of one fan, not far from someone carrying 'U2' in fairy lights, 'Bono is the sweetest thing'
and 'Thank you for Irving Plaza'. Both nights we are awash in a sea of Irish flags.
Elevation
Bono sings 'Today is my birthday, happy birthday to you' at the end of this song. (Don't ask us)
Sunday Bloody Sunday
The singer takes an Irish flag from the audience, lays it on the floor of the catwalk and doesn't pick it up. 'Get Up, Stand up,' he sings and the audience chorus.
Desire
'This is a song off Zooropa, Edge wants to play Desire, it's a guitar thing.
'Any punk rock groups or any other rock groups out there tonight, this is for you.......
Stay
A fan on the floor on the first night has a sign which reads 'Stay + piano tonight?' which Bono spots and says, 'It pays to advertise. Do you play piano?'
Evidently he does and Bono pulls him on stage and sends him to the keys.
'This was recorded in Hansa Studios at the beginning of an extraordinary time for us,' explains Bono. 'We sort of floated out there, sometimes when you're out there you find some interesting shit.
'Jonathon (the name of the band's new keyboardist),' he adds. 'If you're crap, you're off, take it easy, simple stuff, no flowery stuff, it's a U2 show!'
Later in the song Bono points to the keyboard player on the video screen 'I can see Jonathon.'
Jonathan does not play crap, he plays great and Bono hugs him at the end of the song, Thank you Jonathon'.
Mysterious Ways
'Come on now, come on now, dance music,' sings Bono, midway through the song, circling around Adam and leaning up against him. Spotting a girl dressed as a belly dancer in the 'sexual healing' segment, he pulls her onstage and dances with her on the catwalk. She is good - twirling over the stage as if she was born to it. 'You're very sweet,' says Bono. 'Thank you.'
In A Little While
'The band that got us into a band were a group out of New York City, The Ramones. Extraordinary sounds, extraordinary melodies and a singer Joey Ramone who looked like he was gonna fall over.
'Well Joey Ramone passed away a few weeks ago and the last song he heard was this which touched us a lot. Joey Ramone is so cool he turned a song about a hangover into a gospel song.'
(On night two Bono pulls a young lady from the floor to dance with him through In A Little While)
Desire
'This is a song off Zooropa, Edge wants to play Desire, it's a guitar thing.
Any punk rock groups or any other rock groups out there tonight - this is for you.'
One
'Really want to thank you for spending your hard earned cash on a rock show and thank you for giving us a great life and PJ Harvey band for just being extraordinary. Also want to thank you for following Jubilee 2000, it's an extraordinary thing that in our lifetime an entire subcontinent gets flushed down the toilet.
'We think of Africa this evening and we feel sick.
'Call your congressmen, call your senators and tell them that Bono's gonna get really mad at them...'
Walk On
Including a snatch of Wake Up Dead Man at the beginning and, at the close, 'Thank you Chicago, Thank you'
