coexist

U23D has shown in the sm mall of asia imax theater! never mind the hefty price i had to pay just to see it and the seemingly outside the universe venue. it was surely all worth the pesos and the inconvenience to see U2 (almost) live in concert.

U23D are excerpts of performances of U2 in their vertigo tour of 2006. as what might be expected, the energy and performance level was just so high and it seems that i was part of that big mob of sweat and beer. lifting my hands in the air and trying to touch the icons of my younger days.

if you have watched u2 in concert either live or on video, then you probably know what i am talking about. but this time, 3d technology made the difference. imagine seeing the band in a 5 storey screen, with the sound coming from all around. and that's not all, picture seeing the edge and bono, as if they are just two feet away. it felt as if when bono reaches out his hand, literally, i can almost touch him!

its amazing how technology can change the way entertainment has become.

but of course, there is more to u2 than their performance. it is the depth and breadth of their message that has captivated, not only me, but a whole lot of my generation. bono and his cohorts have lived until today because of the justice that they hope their songs can accomplish one day. it should be more than love for one person, but love in all forms, for our fellow men and women.

the symbolism of the night came when bono donned a headband with seemingly cryptic codes. there was a crescent moon followed by "oe" next the star of david followed by "is" and a symbol of a cross. but while listening to 'sunday bloody sunday" (an anti-war song) i realized that the crescent moon (representing the islam faith) the star of david (for the jewish tradition) and the cross (for the christian faith) come to stand as C, X, T respectively. it has a meaning afterall - coexist. bono must have been trying to communicate a simple message to all women and men. to coexist. to live together peacefully and justly. now, if only more people can speak and understand that message. then we might/could be in a better place.

with the message clear and consistent. u2 is still entertainment. the supposedly last song of the night was one. and as if you can feel the crowd in the imax theater singing their hearts content as well. i noticed the couple beside me even swinging to the beat. when they waved their goodbyes, some of the people in the theater, including JB the drummer of the Dawn were screaming "more". and as if not to disappoint, the band came back with "with or without you"

now, that would have been a fitting ending. nothing can top that.

i am glad, anjan (with kuya roy) invited me. its a wonderful thing to do, and to think about on a sunday evening.