Sydney Life

Last night, I broke all the rules in the rule book. I went out the night before an exam. I also enjoyed myself. I smiled during the exam period. I spent hours indulging in the hedonistic pleasures of life. I witnessed the mesmerising U2 concert.

At first I was a little hesitant to attend the concert. A couple weeks ago I told my sister I could not commit because I wouldn’t know how prepared I would be for my exam the next day. And the tickets were expensive for a student's budget. My sister frankly responded that based on track record I wouldn’t fail my exam and when was I ever going to get the opportunity to see Bono again? When would I get the chance again to pay homage to a band that inspired me and the world to enjoy life and be better people? Plus the ticket would be an early birthday present.

Case closed, I was sold.

As far as concerts go, it was pretty first class. The rain held off. Telstra stadium was crammed with 70 000 fans cheering for Bono. Some fans donned on the Irish uniform and nationalistic spirit which almost made me think we were about to watch a soccer game. We bopped, cheered and screamed like school girls to the opening song City of Blinding Lights followed by other great classics such as Beautiful Day and Sunday Bloody Sunday. Poor acoustics aside, the feeling was quite, well ‘elevating’!

Then the stadium turned into a medium for Bono to express his goodwill in wanting to help the poor kids in Africa. I admire Bono for trying to bring world peace and poverty to the forefront, but trying to get a mature audience to SMS their support to end world hunger seems like a mere publicity stunt. Does anyone else find it ironic that whilst Bono is trying to eradicate world hunger, we all paid upwards of $100 to have the concert experience? Every time Bono muffled a statement like wishing the troops in Iraq a safe and speedy return home, the crowd cheered uproariously. I’m almost convinced that the crowd had no idea what he was saying (well at least I couldn’t clearly hear what he was saying!), but the fact that Bono’s lips were moving was enough for applause. At least he tried!

They finished on the poignant With or Without You song, which a friend described as ‘so emotional it brought tears to my eyes.’ This band has an uncanny ability to uplift the spirit and transcend the triteness of exams….well at least until exiting the stadium.

Needless to say, I was prepared for my exam the next day and was none the worse off for breaking the cardinal rule of not enjoying yourself before an exam!!