My Night with The Biggest Band In the World!

If playing hookie and downing enough alcohol to forget most of the night isn't rock and roll, I don't know what is. Luckily I can hold my liquor and didn't have to risk my livelihood to see THE BIGGEST BAND IN THE WORLD perform at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Friday Night.

For a U2 virgin like myself, the experience was amazing. As one of the many fans walking to the stadium in the sweltering heat, I didn't think Bono or the Edge would have any complaints. I would only be a speck from my high altitude seats.

But none of that mattered. Neither the elements, nor the waiting nose-bleed would have kept me from Dublin bliss. Even the one mile trek to Raymond James Stadium with my hair plastered to my back couldn't erase the huge perpetual grin on my face. It just gave me and 300 or more fellow fans a reason to sprint the last 50 yards to the stadium.

We arrived in droves, all trying to get to our seats to hear Bono say "Let me in the sound! Let me in the sound! Let me in the sound, sound! Let me in the sound!"

And when Muse finished their set, the space inspired, claw-like stage went dark, but for a neon clock counting down the start of the show. The crowd waited anxiously for a glimpse of the fab four as Bowie's "Ground Control to Major Tom," eased fans into a state of contained hysteria.

Larry Mullen Jr. broke the heightened silence and started the tile track "No Line On the Horizon," and the place erupted. My friends and I stood throughout the show as we watched Bono leap and sprint across the stage, going from favorites like "Ultra Voilet" to "Sunday Bloody Sunday" to rev up the crowd. The new favorite "Get on Your Boots" really electrified the atmosphere, getting people out of their seats.

But for big softies like me, the night was only complete when the lights dimmed, spotlights dusted the stadium and Adam Clayton's bass guitar slapped those familiar chords of "With or Without You."

Bono in a red laser suit and accompanying microphone caressed the crowd with his voice. It was laden with imperfections and inflections and it was heaven. It was everything that a fan would want from a rock god. It was soft and endearing; playful and unforgettable. It was the best concert I have ever been to, and it definitely won't be my last encounter with the boys from Dublin.

So, if you haven't seen THE BIGGEST BAND IN THE WORLD live yet, do it and do it soon before these gracefully aging rockers bow out.

A Mixed Tape Love Affair

All it takes is a lazy Saturday afternoon and a little nostalgia to uncover the box full of memories we all have stuffed underneath our bed.

When I decided to re-explore my box of memories this afternoon, I half expected to find old prom pics with a Tahitian sunrise in the background and a dried up rose corsage. But what I found was much more telling.

I found a mixed tape.

And not just one, but a collection of tapes with some of the cheesiest singers to ever grace the airwaves and some of the greats. Still, all of the names scribbled in black magic marker on the plastic case spines, turned me into the crazed, music lover I am today.

As I wiped the sheen of dust off each case, the names I'd penned so many years ago became clear again. Mariah Carey, The Carpenters, Neil Diamond, Aretha Franklin, NKOTB, Selena, Los Palominos, Guns and Roses, BBD, LL Cool J, Slick Rick, KRS One, Prince, and the late great Michael Jackson.

I remember standing next to a small radio in my room and singing along to songs from those artists and many more. It was a simpler time in music. Growing up in the 80's, there were no Diddy enhanced cover songs; no top 100 downloaded iTunes, and no albums pirated off the Internet.

All it took to get access to your favorite music -besides buying it of course- were you, a radio and a blank tape. Sure having to wait the whole day just to record your favorite song was a little time consuming. And holding down the play/record buttons at just the right moment did produce some "interesting" blurring of genres; (try mixing Mariah and Poison.) but there was a certain innocence that went along with it.

So as I placed my dusty tapes back in the box and brushed my fingers along side the handwritten titles; I came to realize that the time it took to make them gave me a unique musical identity.

I think that's what music does for all of us. It immortalizes moments in time to look back on and make us who we are. The rocker with a little bit of Mozart mixed in. The pop diva with a love for 80's hair metal or the blues artist with a touch of the Beastie Boys.

Which mixed tape are you?