By Leslie Gray Streeter

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Monday, November 14, 2005

"It's OK to flirt here in Miami?" a coy Bono cooed to the throngs of the U2 faithful Sunday night at the AmericanAirlines Arena.

Oh, sweetie. You know we'd be insulted if you didn't.

Bono and his mates The Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton achieved the virtually impossible: They made a show containing songs you know they've done a million times seem like a breathlessly spontaneous experience. From the time they took the stage to "City of Blinding Lights" amid a torrent of screaming, the Irish kings of rock had the crowd eating out of their hands.

Lights were something of a theme: A curtain of light bulbs descended from the ceiling, serving as a backdrop and a screen for various images, like a seductive female hand during Mysterious Ways, beckoning the crowd to who knows what delicious mischief.

And running lights in various colors pulsated around the circular stage, lighting a runway of sorts for the wrap-around shade-wearing Bono, the conductor of this particular circus.

"I'm going to give you a Spanish lesson," he proclaimed, beginning the anticipated "Uno, dos, tres" chant in Vertigo, the song during which he asked for permission to flirt.

Oh, did he flirt. And gyrate. The band made its way through its various eras from angry young men to spiritual gurus to biggest band in the whole wide world — Elevation, a perfect Beautiful Day and a gospel hoedown to I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For.

"There's something special going down between the band and this place," Bono explained. "It's like the city is giving us a big kiss."

Well, consider yourself kissed right back.