Played it thrice. One last time for New York City this evening as the band cracked out a few surprises, the most striking of which was an unbelievably haunting rendition of ‘Please’ performed by Bono and Edge at the tip of the heart while an unidentified fellow backed them up on keyboards (some sites are reporting that it was a fan; I thought I heard Bono say “roadie”) [ update: a fan reports it was good old Bruce Brodie, formerly of Lone Justice, and Maria Mckee collaborator.] During ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,’ Bono tossed his microphone to a man proposing to his girlfriend. Her response seemed to consist primarily of “Oh my God,” but we think she said yes. And finally, during ‘Walk On’ the band brought out around two dozen New York firefighters and policemen (a la the South Bend show) with Bono marching them around the heart, grinning like a mad piper in a cop hat — and after much cheering and commandeering of the microphone by the various officers, the band stormed into a goofy, dance-party-ready version of ‘Out Of Control’ that made for a surprisingly anthemic closer. The officers remained on stage as the band departed, offering tributes to their fallen comrades.

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U2’s first New York concert since the September 11th attacks was packed with emotion, surprises, and energy. Bono’s voice was raw and cracking, but was still very much up to the task of an impromptu ‘Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door’, played with a female fan named Ruth pulled from the audience to (ably) assist on guitar and sing the closing verse, including a shout-out to the city — not the first and definitely not the last.

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