I finally saw U2 3-D last night. I’ve been dying to see it, and while I’ve been waiting for it to open in Cleveland, I’ve heard from every friend in every other city, many of them casual U2 fans at best, raving about it, telling me that I needed to go out and see it.

We’ve got an IMAX theater here in Cleveland, and I was pissed that they didn’t book it, and got as far as looking for IMAX alternatives that were in driving distance. Not finding one (although I could have driven to Detroit,) I finally decided that the Cinemark theater that was showing it here, was as good as it was going to get. It was time to put aside my pickiness in regards to venue, and just enjoy a great movie. After all, the film wasn’t shot for IMAX – I just thought it would be cool to see it in an IMAX theater.

I had deliberately not read up on the setlist in advance – I only knew that it was relatively short at under 90 minutes, and had a hits oriented setlist that reflected the shorter running time. Because I hadn’t done my advance internet homework, it really was like going to a concert, with the anticipation and wonder of what was coming next. It’s been long enough since the last tour, that I didn’t have in my head what had been in the setlist for that tour. I was suddenly back in my early concert going days, before internet, where I was in the audience, in the dark as to what lay ahead in the setlist. I got two out of my three must hears – Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own, and Miss Sarajevo, with Until The End of the World being the lone tune that was on the shelf, unheard at the end of the night.

Until The End of the World (live in Washington, D.C. 1992)

As they were coming back out for the “encore,” I started thinking about all the songs from Achtung Baby that would be really cool in 3-D – hoping for Zoo Station, expecting that I would probably get Mysterious Ways instead, and in the end, settling for The Fly.

In summary, without giving anything away, U2 3-D is just as cool as you would expect it to be.

I’m driving home with my friend Rebecca who went to see the movie with me, and we’re talking about additional songs that would have been cool. How amazing would Bad have been in 3-D?

I sat in the theater as the movie wrapped up also thinking that the next artist that I want to see a 3-D concert film from would be Peter Gabriel. Imagine if the US tour had been captured in 3-D? How cool would that opening number of Come Talk to Me be with Gabriel emerging from the phone booth, making his way towards you as he tugs on the phone cord? Gabriel’s concerts and concert films are always visually amazing as it is, and I’d love to see that go to the next level with 3-D.

We also got to talking about how I am a different U2 fan now than I was when I was growing up. Now that I’ve got life experiences under my belt, there are U2 songs that resonate with me in a completely different way. At the time, I was just listening to them because they were good songs. Now, they speak to me lyrically and remind me of things in my past good and bad, and they draw my thoughts to a hopeful place as I look towards the future.

I’m thinking of my 10 favorite U2 songs, which is a hard choice.

(in no particular order)

1. With Or Without You
2. Where The Streets Have No Name
3. Bad
4. Until The End Of The World
5. All I Want Is You
6. Miss Sarajevo
7. Mysterious Ways
8. In God’s Country
9. The Hands That Built America
10. Zoo Station

Miss Sarajevo

Bad (live at Live Aid 1985)