What a great thread.
1. Mexico City 1 - As "Wake Up" played over the PA, the guys came down this big ramp behind the stage... the 75,000 fanatical U2 fans in the crowd could see them, and erupted into this huge, loud roar that caused the guys to stop dead in their tracks, startled at the noise, and wave to us before continuing down to the stage.... absolutely electric.
2. Getting scanned into the Ellipse for the first time at San Jose 1. I jumped up and down like a psycho, shouting, "YEAH!!" like I'd just won the real lottery. I think winning the real lottery would be less exciting, actually.
3. Travelling to Las Vegas and witnessing the best show of Leg 3, Vegas 2 with Flowers and Blige. It was the only non-GA show I saw, but we sat only 8 rows from Adam and got to see the amazing light show in its full glory for the first time.
4. Being the numbers man at the Portland GA and meeting so many cool U2 fans from all over the world. It was so damned cold and miserable that day that most of us were as happy to get inside to warm up as we were to see the final gig of the year. The ordeal only served to create a massive bonding experience for everyone who was inside the Ellipse and near the rail of the GA that night, making the show feel like a family gathering.
5. Edge's solo at the end of LAPOE, the musical highlight of the tour for me. Combine that with Bono's manic drumming at the end, then Larry kicking in with the start of SBS, and we had one of the great rock 'n roll moments of the past 50 years.
6. Watching Bono dance with Alli and Iris at the two San Jose shows during MY. Iris especially brought the house down... I've never seen anyone dance as good as her at a U2 show, not even Edge's wife.
7. Oakland 2's great setlist, with IWF and Gloria back-to-back, then an enthusiastic version of Fast Cars (with Courtney on tambourine) and Bad at the end. Very underrated show.
8. The "Thank You" sign fan-action at Portland (thank you Miroslava and Miriam!), then the Thank You t-shirt action by U2's crew, standing around the Ellipse. It was great to see the show come to a halt for awhile, the guys were truly pleased.
9. Bono emerging onto the tip of the Ellipse, as COBL opens, confetti rains down on us, and the fans go wild. After waiting in line all day to get in, the feeling I had during those moments made everything worth it.
10. Hearing OOTS for the first time at San Jose 2. They hadn't practiced it very much, you could tell, but it was so unexpected and heartfelt. I'll never forget Adam's look of happiness and surprise when they finished, he looked at Edge and said, "Wow!".
11. Meeting Bono before the San Jose 1 show. He was so cool and friendly, he stayed for 20 minutes and signed autographs for everyone, chatting away and posing for photos. I don't think Jagger or McCartney or anyone else that big does things like that.
Thank God I'm a U2 fan.