One of the fan-gatherings on this odyssey I’d been looking most forward to was in Seattle.  A very popular U2 Tribute band from San Francisco called ZooStation was playing at a small pub called the Owl & Thistle the night before the show (as well as immediately after the show).  I don’t know why more cities don’t have a tribute band in the nights surrounding U2 shows – it’s the best time to bring them in, and there certainly are quite a few of them around.  Through my memberships on U2 websites like Interference and @U2, as well as my followers on Twitter, I’d been looking forward to meeting quite a few fans that night as well.

 After a lot of Irish Courage (in the form of Guinness and very very generous shots of Jameson) I asked Bonalmost if I may introduce someone special to me, and he was a brave man to let me have the mic.  I introduced the room to my friend Cheryl, who is the stuff of legend, as she actually met my teenage idol – Joshua Tree Edge.  She is also in Rattle & Hum, if you look closely during “Pride”, you will see a girl just off front row centre with a white balloon.  That is her, and I was thrilled to spend more time with her that night after having first met her in Vancouver in 2009, we’d kept in touch ever since.  She is also the one I’d mentioned in my feed from Winnipeg when they started playing “Pride”.  Every time I hear them play it, I can’t help but think of her.  It’s exactly that sort of lasting friendship that makes this crazy “following U2″ thing that I do worthwhile.