U2 Elevation Tour

Elevation Tour 1st leg: North America

2001-04-09: Saddledome - Calgary, Alberta, Canada

By ETHAN BARON -- Calgary Sun

CALGARY -- An unforgettable fire is burning in thousands of Calgarians who have finally found what they were looking for -- a U2 concert in this city.

The famed Irish rock band rolls into the Saddledome tonight for the first of two sold-out shows.

"I've been looking forward to it for months," said Rob Claydon, 34, a buyer in the oil and gas industry. "It's exciting -- I'm pretty pumped about it."

A total of more than 35,000 ticketholders will converge on the 'Dome for the concerts tonight and tomorrow. Many have been fans since the band rocked the world in 1980 with their debut album Boy.

"I'm going with a buddy," Claydon said.

"We grew up with them. It's going to be good to relive a part of our youth.

"I'm hoping they're going to play their old stuff."

U2 comes to Calgary with a fan base built up over more than two decades of making music with widespread appeal.

"Their music crosses a lot of boundaries and borders," said Lynne MacQuarrie, 32, a longtime fan who will attend her first live U2 show tomorrow night.

"They strike different chords with different people -- that's what makes them successful.

"I'm pretty excited. I think it'll be great."

Wetting fans' whistles will be the rough-and-raw tunes of English songstress PJ Harvey, who's scheduled to kick her emotions and vocal chords into gear at 7:30 p.m.