U2

April 15, 2020 | New Zealand | 40-49 years

i was in ireland & had been invited to open up, solo, for U2. it was the day of the show. i didn’t have any crew or help with me. i was in a taxi.

i was pretty sure soundcheck was on the late side. i spent the whole day getting more & more anxious that i didn’t have anything to wear.

instead of going to the arena where the show was being held, i went to a huge shopping mall, where nobody was laughing & frolicking.

i started to get a string of texts from U2’s tour manager asking where the hell i was & why i was skipping soundcheck. i didn’t answer.

i kept shopping. i hurried.

i needed a good pair of boots. or maybe some leggings? why couldn’t i just wear what i had on. everybody at the mall looked grotesque. didn’t they know why was happening? why weren’t they social distancing? the thought was a subconscious flutter, and vanished. boots. i needed boots. maybe sparkly thigh-high boots.

as i ran from shop to shop, i couldn’t find anything that fit, or that i liked. the shops grew further and further apart and i started to get lost and disoriented in the mall. it was impossible to navigate and it grew larger and larger.

showtime grew closer. i kept checking the time. at this point it was possible that i wouldn’t even be able to make it to the venue, but i kept panicking and shopping for an outfit that refused to materialize.

the hour grew later and the frantic texts stopped coming for a while.

then i got a final text from U2’s tour manager:

“don’t bother coming. show has been canceled. bono has just died suddenly and unexpectedly from COVID-19”.

i felt a strange combination of shock, sadness, incredible guilt, and deep relief that i wasn’t going to get in trouble and didn’t have to play the show after all.

Note: Dreamer felt that disclosing her identity would add meaning and humor to the dream—and we agree! This dream was submitted by Amanda Palmer.