Lenny Kravitz: Proceed to Floor

Celebrities are so lucky. Not only do they have fame and fortune, they have luck too. Well, most of them have luck.

For U2’s second sold-out show at the Garden this November, a large number of celebrities scanned in Lucky Vertigo and packed the ellipse. Our non-celebrity staff (she’s a star to us!), who was also lucky and landed a spot in the ellipse, identified Lars Ullrich, Michael Stipe, Helena Christensen, Jimmy Fallon, Guggi, and Charlie Rose enjoying the show from inside the ellipse. (For the record, Rose doesn’t rock out. He studies the performance. With a beer in hand.) Bono’s wife Ali and brother Norman were also spotted rubbing shoulders with the celebrities and peon fans at the show.

Meanwhile, back at the mix desk were Lenny Kravitz, Josh Brolin, and “a lot of models” whose tickets apparently did not scan Lucky Vertigo. Awww!

The show was similar to the previous evening’s performance with one difference — the dedications. Bono dedicated “Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own” to his brother, whom he referred to as “Normal” and credited as being the co-writer of the song; “MLK” was dedicated to JFK; and “Stuck in a Moment” was performed in recognition of the anniversary of Michael Hutchence’s death.

As with the previous night, show opener Patti Smith joined U2 to perform a long version of “Instant Karma.” At one point, Bono and Smith left the stage as The Edge began a spotlight guitar performance. It seemed the audience were expected to finish up the song with The Edge, but when that didn’t happen, Edge left the stage (still playing) and returned with the singers to close the song.

Although “Yahweh” and “40” were listed on the setlist, they were not performed.

Bono and The Edge by Helena Christensen

The Terrence Higgins Trust has kindly supplied us with Helena Christensen’s portraits of Bono and The Edge, which are being auctioned to benefit the trust, a leading HIV and AIDS charity in the UK.

The reserve price for each print is 1,000 pounds. Interested bidders should email the Terrence Higgins Trust to request a bidding form. (Photos © Helena Christensen. Used with permission.)

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