Even though it was my sixth show on the Elevation tour, that show in Pittsburgh was what really started the magical experience for me that was the Elevation tour. It was the first time I waited in the GA line all day, my first real GA experience. It was the first time I made friends that I continued to hang out with during the tour and then I met their friends, and so on. It was the first time I stood inside the heart at the front rail. And it was the first time I heard “Gone.”

I flew to Pittsburgh, checked into my hotel and was in the GA line at the Mellon Arena by 9:30am on May 6, 2001. I met a lot of great people including Tasha and Frank. I almost knocked myself out when I hit my head on the metal barriers. So embarrassing and it really hurt! I was one person back from the rail in front of Bono, inside the heart for the first time. PJ Harvey opened. U2 played finally played “Gone,” one of my top five all-time songs. Also for the first time this tour, I heard “Kite,” “Angel of Harlem” and “Sweetest Thing.” When U2 started into “Gone,” I screamed so loud that I scared my new friend Tasha and her sister Kelly. It was great to be that close for songs like “Bad,” “One,” “Stuck in a Moment,” “Elevation,” etc. This was my first time being that close to U2 on stage. Bono blew bubbles during “Walk On,” and I touched Bono’s hand during “Beautiful Day.” “Gone” was definitely my highlight of the show.

Elevation Pittsburgh 5.6.01 Set List: Elevation, Beautiful Day, Until the End of the World, New Year’s Day, Stuck In a Moment, Gone, Kite, New York, I Will Follow, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Sweetest Thing, In a Little While, Angel of Harlem, Stay, Bad/All I Want Is You, Where the Streets Have No Name, Mysterious Ways, The Fly, Bullet the Blue Sky, With or Without You, Pride, One, Walk On.