First let me say this.  These three shows that I saw in October of 2001 were so much better then the four shows that I saw in May.  Sure the set list was basically the same, the entire nation was changed in light of the events of September 11th, but I had a lot more fun at these Chicago shows then the last time around.    Why?   Cause of the people.  I was able to meet and hang out with so many people that I never would have encountered if it hadn't been for the Yahoo Group U2Midwest.  The group lead to a fan party which lead to me meeting a lot of people.  The people in line all day were great, they were even better then the last time around.  I thank all of you that I did meet.    On to the concert.   Monday October 15th, I woke up at 7 and walked to my car to find a $50 parking ticket on my windshield, no problem, I'm going to see U2.  I drove my friend Chris to work in the Loop and then headed over to the United Center.  I was very surprised when I arrived there at 8:30am and found that there were already 243 people in line.  That was nuts.  So I parked my car near where we were sitting and turned on the Notre Dame show which I had just gotten the night before.    Today was incredibly cold.  I was waiting for my brother Jim to turn up and he eventually did at 430.  At that time we went over by where the band came in, a few minutes later the band pulled in, they didn't stop, just drove right in.  So we went back and waited in line, by the time we got there the line had started to condense.  When we finally did get into the venue we secured a spot on the outside of the heart, about ten people from the tip.    Garbage was good, actually really good, I enjoyed their set even though Shirly Manson made a comment towards the end about how they always play really shitty when they are in Chicago.  The people behind me and my brother were from St. Louis and he instantly struck up a conversation with them that lasted for quite awhile actually.    Fast foward a bit and you have Jackie Wilson's Higher and Higher playing followed by Stevie Wonder's Higher Ground.  The Beatles then followed with All You Need is Love and Sgt. Pepper, the order of which had been reversed from Notre Dame the previous week.    The Influx hits, thank GOD they went back to opening with Elevation as Beautiful Day is not a show opener at all.  The Band came out and I was so glad to be back on the floor.  Edge came out waving his arm in a way that we all found hilarious (we did it as he came out the second night).  "I wouldn't be anywhere else" was Bono's exclaimation before the band jumped into the song with Bono asking "and you believe me in" before the middle interlude of the same song.    Beautiful Day a great song live, followed by Until The End of the World, my brother Jim who had never seen a U2 show before and leaned over and screamed in my ear "is he that fucking wasted?" when Bono fell during the bullfight.  New Years Day what can I say, 18 years after Red Rocks and this song still kicks ass.  More now then ever.    When Larry intialled kicked into Out of Control I didn't know what song ws being played as the song has changed so much since I first heard it debuted in Chicago May 15th.    "We're a band from the North side of the city, we're called U2, this is our first single, out next week, off our album boy, Monday morning....." "it's on the radio" Bono informs us before Larry barely stops before launching into a soulful rendition of Sunday Bloody Sunday during which someone throws an American flag onstage and Bono wrapped himself in it while crooning "wipe your tears away."   When Will I See You Again was played before Stuck in a Moment. Bono's voice failed him during the high parts of When Will I See You Again...and he finished the song by looking at Edge and saying "remind me to practice that."  Stuck... I can't say anything about Stuck.  It is an absolutely gorgeous song that tears me up to hear it.    "Wow, wow...So we've been playing this place every night for the last three months right?  We have had.. we are having an amazing year.  We just feel, we feel very lucky, very blessed to be on tour at this time in the United States.  Chicago is becoming a home town gig for U2."  Then Bono tells how he left the stage after the last night in Chicago and jumped on a plane and headed home to see his baby being born "my baby had a baby"  and then goes on to say "this is a song about, uh, I don't know, I genuinely don't know, I thought it was about children, but uh, I thought I'd written for my children but I think now, maybe my old man wrote it for me.  This is for Bob Hewson."  Then Kite the song that makes me cry when I hear it, "I'm A MANNNNN I'M NOT A CHILD"  Complete with the solo acoustic bit at the end.    Edge went straight into Angel of Harlem which was nice to hear again.  "This gentleman insists he can play the guitar, this could go horriblly, you aren't shitting me?"  And with that, Lois Choi was brought onstage to play People Get Ready.  Bono improvs lines about Lois looking like James Iha of the Smashing Pumpkins but finds it difficult to rhyme something with pumpkin ""it's hard to rhyme pumpkin, I just want you to know that, pumpkin is a hard word to rhyme."  Then Edge and Bono went into their acoustic Staring at the Sun.   There has been great arguements amongst U2 fans as to in thirty years, what will go down as the greatest live U2 song.  The general belief is that Where the Streets Have No Name will be the victor, I dissagree.  I hold firm to the belief that Bad is perhaps the greatest U2 song ever not just studio but live as well.  Everytime that I hear that song, it takes on a whole new shape and meaning to me.  I hold that song close to my heart and am glad I got to hear it so many times live.    Now don't get me wrong, when those screens glow red, and the organ can be heard I know that the shit is going to hit the fan in a matter of moments.  I alwasy insist on turning around and looking at the crowd when ever light in the place is turned on, that is the greatest feeling, you get a true sense of communtiy seeing 20,000 people clapping hands in unison.  No prayer over the opening this time but it's ok.  I have th cheat sheet, so I'll always have it.    I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For a gospel song for the masses.  You can just hear the soul pouring out of Bono when he sings.  Everyone is taken to church for a few minutes, and no one complains.  Pride is Pride a great song with mass appeal that will never go away, it went out to the Chicago Peace Museum, the place that turned U2 onto MLK and The Unforgettable Fire.   Bullet the Blue Sky started the encore with a high pitched whining from a female vocalist which I preferred to the Charlton Heston video from the first leg.  The Edge's guitar solo was lengthed by a lot of feedback and was as dramatic as ever.  The song ended with Bono screaming "Outside" over and over and over.  This song is another that is a runner for the greatest U2 live song.    What's Going On lets be honest, the studio "superstar" version leads a lot to be desired.  But the live U2 version is better, not the greatest version that could be done, but it's still a good version, espically when it runs straight into New York.   The lyrics have been changed since September 11th and can be found pretty much anywhere.  But the greatest addition would be Bono's "I love New York."  He wasn't singing he was telling.  "Even Chicago loves New York."  He wasn't after cheap applause, Chicago really does love New York, after all, it could have been our Sears Tower, our John Hancock building.  We know that we could have been victims as well.    First encore is over and the band comes back on stage to do One, perhaps U2's most popular song of all time.  During the song the screens scroll the names of those on the four flights used in the terrorist attacks on America.  Couples were seen holding eachother sobbing and even the security guard in front of us was reduced to tears to which my brother leaned over and gave her a hug telling her that it was all ok.    Peace on Earth Bono's voice was suffering by this point but the point was still made.  It was the same as the Tribute to Heros tele-thon a few weeks earlier.  Walk On another strong song off the album was made into a shop stopper, something no one will ever be able to forget.