The One with the Road Trip!!!!!

WOW, what an absolutely AMAZING weekend :) Definitely one of the highlights of my time here so far, we had so much fun and the concert was one of the best shows I've ever seen!

So, Saturday morning we all met outside the LLC to walk down to the bus stop. We had to run the last bit so we didn't miss it. Apparently the Pop 105 route isn't popular at 10.15 on a Saturday morning because we had the bus to ourselves. We got off opposite the Enterprise car rental place and risked our lives to cross the road. We got the car which didn't take too long. It was a Toyota Sienna, which was very nice and had 16 cupholders (we tried but even we didn't have enough cups and bottles to fill them all). The six of us piled in, and Marcella and Becca who were sitting in the front between them managed to figure out the gearstick and the brake, so we set off for Raleigh! Marcella had never driven an automatic before and it was really funny because every time she thought she needed to change gear she would instinctively reach for the gear stick, and she had a bottle of water in the cupholder next to her, so she changed gears with the bottle of water :)

We listened to a Muse album all the way down about three times (Showbiz) and stopped a couple of times along the way. We got to the Super 8 motel at about 4.00 and checked in to our rooms (two rooms with a king size bed in each, so three shared one bed and two shared the other). James was sharing with the Belgians so he went to his room. We met up again at about 5 and got a taxi to the Crabtree mall. Marcella and Evelien were amazed because it was the biggest place they had ever been in their lives. It was a pretty massive mall, and we wandered around the halloween shop and a couple of other stores. We had food, then took another taxi to the Carter Finlay Stadium. We were supposed to get two taxis, but the driver told us when he got there that his other taxi wouldn't be here for 20 minutes. We didn't want to wait because it was 6 already and the concert was due to start at 7. The driver insisted he could fit six of us in the five seater car. We looked at him skeptically, but somehow we got everybody in, with Evelien lying across four people in the back and one person in the front seat with the driver.

The traffic was really bad so the driver dropped us off at a gas station about a mile from the stadium. We followed the masses and walked to the stadium. We arrived and got through the gates quickly because it seemed that everybody was still in the traffic jam outside (they should have planned their time more carefully is what I say). Everybody in the parking lots was tailgating, grilling and chilling with beers and music. It seems like the Americans will use any event to tailgate. We got inside and got drinks before we went to our seats. We were quite high up, but with a fairly good view of the front of the stage. For 36 dollars I think it was amazing value, considering it would probably cost £50 or more to see U2 in England. We were only waiting about 15 minutes before Muse started. We were shocked because it was 7.30 but still the stadium seemed to be half empty. It continued to fill up throughout the Muse set, but it seemed that because Muse are a less well-known band in America, people just turned up to see U2.

Muse were AMAZING. They were more understated than U2 and didn't put on quite as much of a show, but the lights and the special effects on the screen made it really cool. They sound really good live, and Matthew Bellamy is so talented :) They played a couple of tracks from the new album The Resistance, and then a few crowd pleasers from older albums. It gave me a new appreciation for Muse, because whilst I enjoyed listening to some songs, I always thought they were a little experimental for my tastes. Hearing them live really brought the songs alive for me, and made me realise how amazingly talented they are. They're bringing something new to the table, and it's admirable. Plus they're British so I support them anyway :) They're from James's hometown so he loves them.


Muse setlist -
1. Uprising
2. Map of the Problematique
3. SuperMassive Black Hole
4. Intro/Hysteria
5. Unnatural Selection
6. Undisclosed Desires
7. Starlight
8. Time Is Running Out

There was about half an hour between bands, and I was going to buy a t-shirt but they were $40 so I decided against it. We were just enjoying the atmosphere and soaking it up. Being in an outdoor stadium is so different, and the night was so beautiful that it made it even more special. The sky was brilliantly clear with a full moon, and a few little clouds around it. Bono was singing to the moon at one point which was eerie and very cool, and made me love him even more :) The full stadium lights were still on, and suddenly we heard "ground control to major tom..." and then Space Oddity was playing really loudly for about two minutes. Then everything went black, and U2 came on and the stage lit up :) It was so exciting and even though they're getting on a bit, they still know how to rock out! Bono was really energetic and sounded amazing and the Edge was on top form both vocally and on the axe :)

Bono didn't preach too much (only a little about Burma and Iran) Highlights were 'Sunday Bloody Sunday', 'I still haven't found what I'm looking for' and 'Mysterious Ways'. They also did 'Stuck in a Moment' acoustically which was really beautiful. There were some really special moments, such as when the crowd sung the entire first verse of 'Still haven't found what I'm looking for' and you could hear EVERY WORD clearly. Usually when the crowd sings it tails off after a couple of lines, but this crowd kept going right the way through, it was amazing. Bono also brought out a nine year old boy to come on stage with him during 'The Unforgettable Fire' , and gave him his glasses which looked very funny :) Bono also broke out into a couple of little random parts of 'Stand by Me', 'Rock the Casbah', 'Thank You (Falettin Me Be Mice Elf Again)', 'People Get Ready' and 'You'll Never Walk Alone', which were all really cool, memorable moments. You could feel the love in there, and there was just a great atmosphere and energy. There was also a moment where Bono just threw the mic to a random guy in the crowd during 'Crazy Tonight' and let him sing an entire verse. All in all, an epic event, one of the best live shows I've ever seen and it just made this experience in North Carolina even more special.

U2 setlist -
1. Breathe
2. Get On Your Boots
3. Mysterious Ways
4. Beautiful Day
5. No Line On The Horizon
6. Magnificent
7. Elevation
8. In A Little While
9. New Year's Day
10. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
11. Stuck In A Moment
12. The Unforgettable Fire
13. City Of Blinding Lights
14. Vertigo
15. Crazy Tonight
16. Sunday Bloody Sunday
17. MLK
18. Walk On

Encores (there were three):
19. One
20. Where The Streets Have No Name
21. Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
22. With Or Without You
23. Moment of Surrender

We walked back to the gas station and got a taxi back to the motel. We were really tired and were getting up early to go to the mall, so we went to bed at about 1.30. The next morning we got up, had our free motel breafast and checked out, then piled back into the car to drive to downtown Raleigh. It was dead, we didn't expect this although it was Sunday morning. We drove to a historic park, which was where President Andrew Johnson was born, and which has a replica plantation house which you can go round (although it was closed). We drove to the mall, where we discovered Target. Target is an amazing shop where you can literally buy anything. James and I headed for the music while the girls headed for the clothes and shoes. After we had rounded everybody up (losing internationals in Target would have been bad), we then left and drove to Durham to Duke University. Duke is one of the best non ivy-league schools in the country, and it was a beautiful campus, with lots of trees and statues and beautiful buildings. There were students playing tennis, and statues everywhere. It reminded me very much of Oxford - pretty but very pretentious. Duke is a school where to attend you either have to be a) extremely rich or b) have a scholarship. All the kids we saw were driving convertible cars.

We then drove to the main part of campus where there is a famous chapel. There were loads of cars and there had to be some sort of event going on, so we asked a couple of policemen what was going on. They informed us that it was 'blessing of the animals day'. We parked around the back and walked up to the chapel. Turns out it was a day where everyone brings their pets to be blessed at the chapel. They were all outside (obviously, imagine hundreds of cats, dogs, rabbits, hamsters, owls, ferrets and a HORSE inside a church). It was really bizarre but really cool, they had a nice service and then invited people to come up and tell stories about their pets. We met people from rescue centers, a dog therapist and various other families who let us pet their animals :) It seemed like a nice community event, everyone brought their picnics and their families, and it was just a really nice highlight to the trip. We then went to the Duke shop to get snacks and drinks, and then left to drive to Winston Salem.

We drove to Winston-Salem, our U2 CD blaring, and arrived at Old Salem, the historic district. We ate at Jimmy John's subs, and rested a little before our final leg of the journey, another hour drive to Boone. Driving on the windy mountain roads without street lights was fun, and we eventually arrived back in Boone. Marcella dropped us off at the LLC, then we went to bed because we were all extremely tired, but extremely happy after a fantastic weekend road trip :)