U2 on YouTube

It may not be for everyone, but if you are a fan of live music, in general, and U2, in particular, and you are not able to get to The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Sunday evening (8:30 p.m., Pacific Time; 4:30 a.m. in Paris; 12:30 p.m. in Tokyo), you can have the next best thing: watch the boys from Dublin, streamed live on YouTube. It is the first such streamed concert on YouTube and best of all . . . it’s free.

The Los Angeles Times has coverage here, indicating that, thanks to novel stage configuration based on the design of Los Angeles airport’s Flight Control Tower, seating capacity has been increased by 20%. It will be the largest attendance in the Rose Bowl since the 1994 World Cup.

After nearly three decades in the business, U2 may rate a “who cares?” among many pop enthusiasts. Still, for those of us who grew up with the band, and who can’t be in Pasadena (or even in the States) — and even if we were, who could afford a “red zone experience? — seeing the event free, live, in real time is a treat.

For those who read this after the fact and wished they’d seen the show, you can still have the chance, as, apparently, replays will be made available on YouTube.

And for those of you who are aficianados, why don’t you take a stab, pre-event, at composing a song list. What would you like to hear, what do you think the boys will play, what do you think they should play?