It’s not everyday one sees a rock’n’roll show that features belly dancers, buffaloes, suspended cars and subliminal slogans. The U2 show at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford on Wednesday featured all this and a whole lot more.

The concert, which had been shifted from Tuesday to Wednesday (much to the chagrin of numerous Lollapalooza ticket holders), was the first on the band’s current US Zoo TV Tour. This may explain the pre-show atmosphere being akin to that of a Bruce Springsteen show – good-natured yet semi-frantic. Thus, by the time the lights dimmed and the show began, the capacity audience was already jubilant, and this mood was enhanced by an onslaught of buzzwords which appeared on banks of vast video screens – such as War, Japan, Boom, Baby, Fish (fish?), Psycho and Paranoia.

‘We will rock you’ announced a pre-taped giant image of George Bush before the band kicked off with ‘Zoo Station,’ the first of ten songs from its Achtung Baby album.. Following a near note-perfect rendition of ‘The Fly,’ vocalist Bono greeted the audience by declaring: ‘’we were in search of a quiet hideaway, but we ended up in New Jersey.’’ Armed with a remote control, he then flicked through assorted live TV channels before admitting: ‘’you haven’t come here to watch TV, have you?’’

Following ‘Even Better Than The Real Thing’ was the infectious ‘Mysterious Ways.’ This featured guitarist The Edge playing some tantalizing wah-wah guitar, as well as the aforementioned (mysterious) belly dancer strutting her stuff along an enormous catwalk.

One of the shows many highlights was ‘One,’ a song that, apart from inspiring lighters to be held aloft (which at Giants Stadium is a sight to behold), also aroused a feeling of sensitivity.

‘Until The End Of The World’ was almost upstaged by one of several suspended former East German Trabant cars (which also acted as lighting consoles), while ‘Tryin’ To Throw Your Arms Around The World’ played second fiddle to Bono inviting a girl up onto the catwalk to share a bottle of champagne.

Slowing the pace down a little, all four members of the band made their way to a mini-stage set up at the end of the catwalk to run through acoustic versions of ‘Angel Of Harlem’ and ‘When Love Comes To Town.’

Moreover, the biggest surprise of the evening – and something that made the night an especially memorable one – occurred when the band performed Lou Reed’s ‘Satelite Of Love,’ and a cool and collected Lou Reed himself joined the band onstage. When the song’s original line: ‘I like to watch things on TV,’ came up, both singers sang: ‘I like to watch things on Zoo TV.’

‘Bullet The Blue Sky’ (the first song of the evening off the band’s best selling album, The Joshua Tree) was as thought-provoking and dangerous as it has ever been, as was the band’s ode to Martin Luther King, ‘Pride (In The Name Of Love).’ Which coaxed the audience into a mass sing-along.

Ending the set with ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,’ which eventually gave way to Ben E. King’s ‘Stand By Me,’ U2 sauntered offstage, only to return for an encore as equally compelling and vibrant.

Following a rather chaotic ‘Desire,’ Bono, replete in Elvis garb, cowboy hat and full-length mirror, announced: ‘New Jersey, you’re beautiful,’ and then proceeded to call the White House.

Naturally, the President was not available, so the band made up for it by performing a joyous ‘With Or Without You’ and the serene ‘Love Is Blindness’ before making their exit.

The Dublin prophets may have relinquished some aspects of their former selves and demystified themselves in the process, but their live show is still one of the finest on the planet.