U2 at the Rose Bowl: A short to-do list

The next time U2 comes to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena to perform for 100,000 people and you have tickets 10 rows away from the stage, take note of my To-Do list and learn from my mistakes.

1. Wear comfy walking shoes THAT COVER YOUR TOES, and park downtown ($7 parking, y’all!). Then walk to the Rose Bowl.

2. Go to the bathroom before going in a tunnel. It will take you an hour to get to your seat ONCE YOU’RE INSIDE.

3. Bring a camera so you can take photos of David Beckham, Barbra Streisand, Mischa Barton, etc. in the audience milling about.

4. Also bring a camera so you can catch openers the Black Eyed Peas singing “Sweet Child o’ Mine” with Slash of Guns ‘n’ Roses. Except Fergie will sing the wrong words (”where do you go now…”) and you will cringe in your seat.

5. Expect to not hear songs you like and sit through parts of it.

6. Expect to marvel at the clarity of Bono’s voice and the Edge’s bell-like guitar tone. (All delay, all the time.)

7. Print out a photo of Burmese president Aung San Suu Kyi. Or a Tehran Radio poster. Or have your One membership card ready. Bono will quiz you on these topics while he is singing “A Beautiful Day.” And “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” It’s a long test.

8. Prepare to launch rocketships and cell phones into the air. Do not, like me, leave your cellphone in your car because you will need it for the obligatory, participative “cellphone-taking-place-of-lighter” moment at the end of the show.

9. When the band walks away from the stage, three feet away from you, DO NOT HESITATE TO HIGH FIVE THE BAND. Because they will high five back. BUT, if you hesitate and miss your chance, you will regret it forever. Or at least for the hour that you’re walking back to your really far away parking spot, cursing the fact that you’re wearing strapless Dopies and a sundress to an outdoor concert in October.

Because we’re so current

A few weeks ago, I discovered that “Howlin for Judy” by Jeremy Steig was the origin of the Beastie Boys’ classic, “Sure Shot.” (We were listening to “Droppin’ Science: Greatest Samples from the Blue Note Lab” at a friend’s house.) It also has the song that that Dr. Dre’s “The Next Episode” takes its hook from, “The Edge” by David Axelrod & David McCullum.

I can die now, but from envy; Brian is at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago while Araceli is at the Siren Fest in New York. Wadup, LA?