The Cranberries - 11/28/09 - First Ave - Minneapolis, MN

Holy shit, I saw the Cranberries!  For those of you who don't know, the soundtrack for my life in middle school would be mostly made up of the Cranberries.  I absolutely love this band, and never expected to see them live.  Then, low and behold, in October I stumbled upon an article that they were reuniting for a tour. I searched and found that they'd be as close as Minneapolis.  Score!

I brought my good friend Carrie to the show.  Carrie and I (along with a few other friends) would listen to the Cranberries all the time, and she was the first person to come to my mind when buying tickets.
We got there fairly early and stood in line for a while, meeting some fun people.  It was my plan to get there early enough to get a spot for the two of us on the rail, and we succeeded.  I really didn't know what to expect from this crowd, since this wasn't the type of show I was used to seeing, but they were pretty cool - that is until the show started.
The Cranberries came out at about 7:45.  Delores was wearing the most kick-ass outfit, and even though it's obvious she's a small woman, her presence made her larger than life.  There were a couple songs I didn't know, and a few I didn't know well, but they also did some of my all-time favorites.

Unfortunately, we were right in front of the guitar player and he was so loud that it was hard to hear the vocals.  Fortunately, we had a great view!  All during the show, Delores was running around and interacting with the audience.  When she would come close, all the fans in that area would push up to the front.  This got pretty painful and annoying.  There was one girl that just would not quit and kept grabbing onto me and pulling on my clothes, my hat, even my hair!  I know she was just really excited (and maybe a bit drunk), but DANG!

I got pretty emotional a few times, just in disbelief that I was actually there hearing Delores sing some of the songs that had such an impact on me in my youth.  I took a couple video clips (which sound horrible), and I got a great shot of Delores coming right in front of me, grabbing my hand, and giving me a wink.  That's a moment I will never forget.

Setlist:
How
Animal Instinct
Linger
Ordinary Day
Wanted
Just my Imagination
Dreaming My Dreams
When You're Gone
Daffodil
Can't Be With You
Ode to my Family
Free to Decide
Waltzing
Switch off the moment
Salvation
Ridiculous Thoughts
Zombie

Encore:
Lunatic
Empty
The Journey
Dreams