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Dallas – Day Eight

Okay – I’m sorry about this, but there is no justice.

I raced out of work at 6:30 across to the hotel to grab my dirty clothes, and take them to the cleaners around the corner. The guy in the cleaners asked me if I was enjoying Texas, and we chatted. He asked where I was from, and I said I was from Ireland. He said he had two free tickets for the U2 concert tonight that he couldn’t use, and U2 were from Ireland, and maybe I would like to go and see them. I was lightly stunned. But he insisted I should take them, since he couldn’t use them.

So I raced back to the office to confer with the rest of the guys to see who would use the other ticket. Then Prashant and I raced off to the all-new Cowboys Stadium, and an hour and a half later, the car was parked, and we were going in! The tickets turned out to be completely legit, and we watched U2 for the best part of two hours.

That's Bono way down there on stage and big screen!

That is Little Bono on the tiny stage, and Big Bono on the big screen

It was a good concert. The stadium is vast and amazing, with a lot of clever features like large glass or open areas, instead of walls, so you can see and hear what’s going on when you’re outside the main arena. U2 rocked. They played a lot of newer stuff that I have to admit I don’t know, but also lots of old favourites. And while Bono did his bit to save the world, I have to say it was well done, and I respect him for it. “Walk On” was dedicated to Aung San Suu Kyi, who featured heavily on their magic video wall, and Amnesty International were name-checked. “One” was introduced by a video from Desmond Tutu, who I have a great fondness for. And since it was Texas, George Bush even got a mention, for his investment in Aids work in Africa (which needless to say went down very well with the home crowd).

So wow. What a night. And sorry to all the folks who are bigger U2 fans than me. It was just a bizarre case of being in the right place at the right time. And the guy in the cleaners deserves a great tip!

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 at 05:47 and is filed under Ramblings, Review. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

2 Responses to “Dallas – Day Eight”

  1. Alan in Belfast Says:
    October 13th, 2009 at 07:30

    Fell on your feet there!

    Cheryl saw them in Maysfield Leisure Centre … many, many years ago.

    Glad there’s been some upsides to all that hard work.

  2. blackwatertown Says:
    October 13th, 2009 at 11:55

    What an amazing visit to the cleaners. Reminds me of Mr Benn (the children’s TV show).
    No longer can having been taken to the cleaners be solely seen as a negative.