…as performed by the fabulous King’s Singers. Listed for the low C# at the end. We sang this in my first high school choir concert by junior year. I ADORE this song.

We had a great time at the U2 concert! Jenny, her sister Katy, Katy’s husband Eric, our friend Sarah, and I piled into the Hoffs’ car in Midlothian and rode together. Traffic wasn’t as bad as expected in the area. Thanks to a tip from Keith at BagOfNothing.com, we parked at Lincoln Square at Collins and Road to Six Flags. If you spend at least $40 there and leave your receipt on your dashboard, you can leave your car there during any Cowboys Stadium event for free. It’s only about half a mile from the stadium so it worked great. We ate dinner at Jason’s Deli and reached the stadium before 7:00.

The Stadium and Stage

As you’ve probably seen, Cowboys Stadium is BIG. Really big. You can only enter through the gate listed on your ticket, so we took a long walk to the other side of the stadium and entered through the party pass area. Our seats were in the lower bowl “behind” the stage but still gave us a great view since U2 designed the show to play in all directions. The stage was circular with an inner ring for the band’s equipment, an open area for screaming fans, an outer ring where Bono, The Edge, and Adam could walk among the crowd and get closer to our side of the stadium, and two movable bridges linking the two rings. A huge spider crab / spaceship thing towered over the stage and suspended a fascinating video board made of hundreds of movable panels.

Muse

A Welsh band named Muse kicked off the show with a high-energy blend of strong vocals, guitar, and keyboard. Think Depeche Mode meets The Juliana Theory. I actually recognized one of their songs from the radio and liked it, but I enjoyed several of their other songs even more. The sound was very loud and muddy, as I expected, but I heard enough that I definitely plan to check them out on iTunes.

U2

U2 played for two hours, finally wrapping up around 11. U2’s website posted the set list in case you are curious. The sound was not quite as loud as Muse’s and clearer, about as good as I would expect in a stadium like this. I keep hearing that the sound in the upper deck was terrible. In general, I still prefer listening to music at home so I can hear every detail, but the energy of the crowd and band in a live setting is enough to bring me to a concert on occasion.

With such a large catalog, U2 couldn’t possibly play every song that every fan wanted to hear, but they did include good mix of old and new stuff with a couple of my favorites: “With or Without You” and “Where the Streets Have No Name”. Other highlights include their rendition of “Amazing Grace”, accompanied by many of the 70,000+ fans. I LOVE hearing massive crowds sing together. It reminds me of the choir that we’ll join in heaven, millions upon millions of voices strong, singing praise to God night and day.

One of the things I like about U2 is their use of their fame and influence to make a positive difference, particularly in Africa. Bono in particular has lobbied for AIDS funding, bednets to fight malaria, and debt forgiveness for African nations and made large strides in boosting awareness of these issues among Westerners like us. They weave Christian themes into their music – love, brotherhood, faith, forgiveness – with power and grace yet somehow avoid sounding preachy. Their music, whether recorded or in concert, touches your spirit and reminds you that there is more to life than merely living, that God has called each of us to something higher and better.

Here are a few pictures:

U2 Pictures

I’m on a vocal music kick, so I poked around on YouTube and found the following song by the Male Choir of St. Petersberg. It features a solo by a Russian basso profondo named Vladimir Miller. He is one of the finest bass voices I’ve ever heard. Listen for the low A flat at the end.

For more fun, check out this clip of an Orthodox men’s choir that includes at least one basso profondo, a voice so low and powerful that it make your spine tingle.

Today the world lost one of the most talented entertainers. In case you haven’t heard, Michael Jackson died Thursday of a heart attack in California. Surely some of the cynics will focus on his eccentricity or his legal and financial troubles. I even saw one Facebook comment of “good riddance”. Few people doubt that he was a bit unusual and made some poor choices. Michael seemed to live in his own little world. Maybe I would, too, if I’d lived his life. But I’m still not convinced he was guilty of the molestation charges, and neither was the jury. I prefer to remember him as an electrifying singer, dancer, and songwriter who brightened the world a bit.

Growing up in the 80s, my sister Lisa and I listened to Thriller on – get this – VINYL. I wonder whether Brenden will ever hear music from a record. The cover was black with Michael in a white suit and a tiger. When we wanted to rock out, we turned that record up in the game room. We liked lots of the songs, but when “Beat It” came on, we loved to dance on top of the pool table. Eddie Van Halen provided the awesome guitar solo on that track, although I didn’t know it was him until today. Michael was so cool he got one of the greatest rock guitarists around to play on his album. Lisa and I also watched the bizarre, groundbreaking, amazing video for the song “Thriller” on this weird new station called MTV. Vincent Price always creeped me out at the end with his “Darkness falls across the land…” reading. Even today, “Thriller” reminds me of Halloween.

A few years ago we attended a friend’s wedding. The groom, although normally preferring to avoid the spotlight, could do the Thriller dance. His groomsmen and friends pitched in and raised a huge amount of money for their honeymoon to get him to do the dance at their wedding reception. And after initial reluctance, he did. You remember the dance, right? Zombie-style? Hands folded down, arms extended, marching in unison for the world’s weirdest line dance? Yeah, he did it. After a while I think his boys joined him. It was coolest reception dance EVER.

My other main memory of Michael was at Super Bowl XXVII in January 1993, the only time I ever saw him in person. My dad took me to Pasadena to see the Cowboys destroy the Bills. Michael Jackson provided the halftime show. Each of us received a large, folded piece of paper in a solid color. When we got the cue during “Heal the World”, we held up our papers so that the entire stadium turned into a 360-degree picture of children of all races. Remember that show? I had a white paper that formed the background. It was one of the best parts of a fantastic day.

Yes, he was a little strange, but we haven’t seen many people with his combination and level of talents. CNN.com posted a tribute to Michael that discusses how much ground he broke in the music industry and the staggering number of records he sold. Mark Davis wrote his own excellent tribute to Michael’s troubles and triumphs. We are all poorer for his loss.