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What do you do when one of the greatest bands of all time come into town in the middle of the work week??? Well, you have no choice but to drive on down and find a way to score a ticket to their sold-out performance… U2 at the Staples Center last night was an absolute MUST for me. Being the die hard fan that I am, I decided to venture out there solo to try my luck. Although I had seen them just a few months back for the same tour, at the same venue and knew that prices would be ridiculous, I just couldn’t stay away. I have no problems admitting my addiction to music. It nourishes my soul….

So there I was walking around the perimeter of the Staples Center trying to buy any scalped ticket that I could afford. After several failed attempts, I started to feel like the situation was hopeless. Just then, this random guy turns me around with this expectant look on his face but quickly apologizes after he realizes that I’m not the person he thought I was. After he apologized, I noticed he was wearing a suit and an ear piece so I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask this "security guy" if he knew of anyone that had an extra ticket. To my shock and surprise, he turned out to be the tour director for Clear Channel and was responsible for putting together the whole shabang! He offered me a kick-ass ticket and a backstage pass to boot!!!! He even advised me to guard the pass closely since people were prone to snatching them off of people’s necks.

That was the moment when the dream began. Once we entered the doors of the Staples Center we made our way to the backstage area of the lowest level. where they had an ultra exclusive VIP lounge area. It was a completely surreal experience to hang out with all of these celebrities and industry people. Among them were Cindy Crawford, Patrick Swayze, Chris Tucker, Matthew McConaughey and Kristen Dunst. You’d think that blonde silicone implanted bombshells would make up the rest of the crowd but they were nowhere to be seen. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that everyone there was down to earth and each person contributed to the positive energy that I felt in the room. I turned back to offer my generous host a drink but realized he had been dragged away to do his thing.

The show was about to start so I made my way to the uber exclusive inner circle area that surrounds the stage. I was expecting to be enveloped in a crazy mosh pit but soon realized that only a limited number of people were allowed in this particular area so that everyone had enough room to dance, mingle and get thoroughly crazy! Again, I was shocked to be surrounded by all of these unpretentious people just looking to have a good time and be one with the music.

They set the tone with their first song, Elevation and didn’t stop the madness till the end of the night. Not even a couple of songs into it, Bono made his way down the Ellipse and strutted all the way around and back again to the cheering of 20,000 fans. He was feeding off of the audience’s energy so much that he said "Tonight it’s going off!" Not prone to exaggeration, Bono kept his word… Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton took us on a wild ride. It was nuts! Out of the blue he said "I just caught myself humming, having a little hum." He explained that he had an aunt who used to do "experimental" humming. Everytime he hummed he thought about his family. With that they went into Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own. Bono took a moment to thank the 2 million Americans who have signed up for the One campaign. He said that it wouldn’t have been possible without this city and even made a special shout out to Don Cheadle, Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey who were all in the audience that evening. When The Edge and Bono came together onto the Ellipse, I thought I was going to faint. Bono was so close to me that I ached to reach out and touch him. I kept hoping some of his sweat would drop onto me but that was probably asking for too much. He pulled up one lucky woman to the stage with him for With or Without You. They came back for not just one but two encores and closed the show with the audience chanting "The People Got the Power!". The perfect high note to end an incredible evening with.

U2 rocks!!! Their music transported everyone into their world of harmony, love, peace and happiness. It was such an amazing feeling to be a part of something so beautiful and pure. The rest of the world fell away… All that was left was sweet beautiful music… The music completely washed over me, so much so that it cleansed my soul, taking away all sorrow and pain and leaving only love in its wake.

After the show ended, I made my way back to the VIP lounge to give myself a moment to take it all in. I mingled and chatted with a few of the celebs and even got a private invite to hang out with Chris Tucker but I declined and hoped against hope that the guys would make an appearance. After a couple of hours or so, Bono showed up and I seriously had to restrain myself from jumping on him and making a complete fool out of myself. Instead I managed to say a quick hello and a quick "You Rock!" to which he smiled and nodded. I almost passed out from the excitement of being face to face with him. So close that I could touch this larger than life iconic figure of rock royalty… All I wanted to do was give him a huge hug and tell him how much his music means to me. U2 has changed my life for which I will be forever grateful. I couldn’t believe my luck… Not only did I score the best tickets in the house and a backstage pass that let me roam pretty much anywhere my little heart desired but I got to hang out with all of these really cool people and to top it all off meet BONO!!! If that weren’t enough, the entire evening was FREE!!! Doesn’t get much better than that…. What a night! I plan to ride this natural high for as long as humanly possible.