U2 Madison Square Garden – New York 2001
Being just a couple of months after 9/11, this was one of the most emotional shows I’ve ever attended. v2 act The Stereophonics were opening for them, so I went to the show courtesy of their label. U2 have always been massive in New York. At this show, they totally tapped into all of the emotions surrounding 9/11 in an amazingly respectful way. The area within Bono’s heart shaped walkway was opened up to the emergency services folks, who rightly let down their hair and seemed to exorcise a few of the many awful demons. At the end of the show, the band invited any of them to come up on stage and say a few words. As about 20 individual guys each took the stage, you could have heard a pin drop. Many of them, in tears, paid tribute to their friends and colleagues who were victims. The band quietly left the stage behind them and just let the eulogies continue. We were all teary. It was a very special moment.