"I have taken an entire wall in my home office – 12 ft wide x 10 feet up to ceiling – to construct Sphere on this one wall, including the curves and domed shaping in the upper corners at the ceiling."
Tell us something about yourself, who are you and what do you do for a living?
My name is James Dugas, and I live in Tampa, FL. I work for a major cruise line and work with a dedicated clientele of guests who work with me each time they are looking to plan and coordinate any varying size of cruise party from one to fifty (or even more) cabins. I grew up in New Hampshire, but moved down to Tampa for college in 1991. Met my wife here in 1999, and we have two daughters now in grad school and high school, respectively.
How did you become a fan of U2, tell us how it happened?
I can remember vividly, I was a 14-year-old freshman going into high school in the fall of 1987, and I joined the Cross Country team. We started practice about two weeks prior to the actual start of school classes. I remember walking into the team locker room and hearing Streets on one of the upperclassmen, Tim’s cassette radio. I would eventually hear the rest of the newly released Joshua Tree album before or after practice that first week. This, along with the Unforgettable Fire, War, and a year later Rattle & Hum albums, were played any time we went to/from a race and I would consider this fondly as the soundtrack of my experience with my team through high school. We were a pretty darn good team all my high school years if I might say so.
You attended your first show in 1997 at the PopMart tour. What was that experience like for you?
Yes, my first show was in Tampa, and I went with a friend who is a casual U2 fan. Honestly, we had fairly bad, upper bowl, and opposite end of stadium seats, and although seeing the giant LED screens helped, seeing the band directly at that distance was limited. Great setlist, with my highlights as Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me, Mysterious Ways, and of course Please segue into Streets.
You have attended many concerts and tours since. How did you see U2 evolve over all those times?
After PopMart and the sensory overload of the ’90s, U2 went with the relatively modest Elevation Tour in 2001. I liked the change and this was my first time seeing them in an arena setting. Went to 3 shows with my wife starting with Sunrise, FL, then Chicago (only a month after 9/11), and then in Tampa. For each of these shows I would say we had mid-range seats, but with the intimacy of an arena setting, these were miles ahead in experience of proximity and enjoyment of seeing the band from my first show, especially the heart-shaped catwalk extended stage into the audience. Out of Control (Bono calling back to when they were younger), and Bad with a snippet of 40 are true highlights here for me.
Saw them only once on the next Elevation tour in 2005 – similar experience with elliptical catwalk extended stage. Original of the Species (one of my personal top songs from year 2000 on) and 40 (in full this time to close out the show) are high points for me.
Next was the 360 Tour, back to stadiums, and went to the show in Tampa fall 2009. This time we brought my oldest daughter (age 7 at the time). For me, Unforgettable Fire & Sunday Bloody Sunday (with a perfect Get Up Stand Up snippet verse) were amazing. My daughter really was into Get On Your Boots listening to the No Line on the Horizon recent album, and seeing them perform this on the Grammys and other awards shows live on TV earlier that year. Who am I to tell her Get On Your Boots is not necessarily a fan favorite.
For some reason or another I missed out on the 2015 Innocence & Experience tour. Did see them in 2017 next in Tampa on the 20th anniversary Joshua Tree tour. My first time in general admission, and we were about 8–10 people deep off the right side of Larry on the show-opening extended B-stage. For me, hearing Running to a Stand Still, and most of side 2 of JT (Red Hill Mining Town, In God’s Country, One Tree Hill, Mothers of the Disappeared) live were emotional throwbacks to my memories of this album in high school.
Made a point to go to a show the next year on the Experience & Innocence tour, which was a similar production to that I&E tour that I missed in 2015. This time we picked a show in Paris, and built a vacation around that in Paris and then in Spain, where my wife’s sister lives. Had seats only two rows up the lower bowl section of the arena. Really liked Iris and Cedarwood Road including the semi-transparent screen visuals during these songs. I only wish that they played Dirty Day and Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses (as they later added on this tour).
When U2 announced the 2019 Australia & Asia additions of the JT Tour again, my wife and I bought tickets to the Melbourne show, and worked a vacation in and around both Hawaii as well as Sydney & Melbourne Australia. This time we had general admission again with a friend who also happened to be in Melbourne, and were able to queue up about 2–3 hours pre-show, and were able to get the front rail just off center/left of the show-opening B-stage.
This is up there as one of the most memorable U2 experiences in my life. Right from the first few songs Edge, Adam, Bono, each made their way to the point of the stage we were closest – 7–8 feet away at most. Got some amazing pictures from this show, and had a few made into acrylic glass photo prints for walls in my office. Bad (Bono tribute to the firefighters in Australia fighting wildfires), New Year’s Day (including the elusive Golden Age verse), and Even Better Than The Real Thing, where Bono talks about their drug of choice – “Alcohol, chemicals – has been, holy spirit – hope so – but tonight it is you (fans) that take us higher.”
In November 2022 my wife and I were lucky enough to get tickets to see Bono’s Stories of Surrender in Nashville. Had great seats level 1 only about 13 rows back. Bono is certainly more than just a rock frontman, as he interweaved stories about people and events that shaped his life with U2 songs relative to them. A complimentary copy of his companion memoir hardcover book for each person in attendance was a nice touch. If anyone can listen to this on audiobook, do so. Looking forward to seeing this show in video on Apple TV in a few months as well.
Sphere! What to say? We next went to Vegas for the 6th U2:UV show at Sphere on October 11, 2023. This time we bought seats – not GA – as I assumed that too close to the stage would lose the best way to view the visuals, and went with my wife, my youngest daughter (age 13 at the time), my mother-in-law, and some good friends from Tampa. We were about 8 rows back on the lower level 100, but not under the dreaded overhang obstructed view.
I was pleasantly surprised with the varying types of visuals – all had never been done at that scale and resolution before – but who else than U2 to usher in this audio/video wonder in the desert. Zoo Station as the opener with the slowly cracking industrial concrete blocks (static hours before show and until that moment) and emerging pure white cross of light – spectacular! Love Is Blindness – Edge’s haunting guitar solo, and Bono’s wind down into Elvis’ Viva Las Vegas – remarkable. Really glad to see and hear So Cruel for this residency, and could never understand why this song has gone untouched in full band form live since it was released.
Like my prior show in Melbourne, we took many great pictures, and a few more acrylic photo prints for my home office. Too many if you ask my wife – lol.
Where do you most prefer to listen to U2?
Usually in the car and my home office. I am lucky enough to have all live U2 shows I have been to in audio on my phone & computer thanks to U2start show archives and the generous tapers out there. I am always listening to random other shows, hoping to hear a new (to me) snippet/cover and transitions between songs.
If you could go back in time, which U2-era would you like to be in, and why?
I just missed out on the ZOOTV tour. When I went to college in Tampa in fall 1991, I had no idea this tour would open in Lakeland, FL February 1992, and I was not even geographically aware it was only a 45-minute drive from me in February 1992.
Does anyone in your family or one of your friends like U2? If so, did they introduce you to U2, or did you “convert” them?
That is a loaded question. I converted them, but get more than enough push back when they think I play U2 too much. Funny though, 30 seconds after my wife may give me an eye roll when I play U2 again in the car, she’s singing the lines anyway.
What are your expectations of a possible future new album?
Hard to say. Outside of the obvious hope it’s as good as they have ever made, we will have to wait and see. I will say this though, for a band going on close to 50 years, with the same 4 guys (except a short-lived Sphere residency with Bram as drummer in place of Larry), I will not bet against them. I get that the different eras of their music some fans may subjectively not prefer, I never understood those who only like them only for “pre 2000s”, etc… I personally have a liking for many songs from each post-2000 album. My question is who can we compare against U2 for longevity and continuity of the same members who have also shown the same willingness to create at a high level and care for this long? Legendary is an often overused word, but not with this group, and I would dare to say that in their career they have upped this to an almost modern-day mythology, and are not done amazing us yet.
How different is U2 compared to other artists that you like?
I try to listen to a lot of music, including classic rock, 90s grunge, 80s pop. My wife and a lot of friends are Latin, so we also listen to Latin music, especially at parties. I would say Oasis is the closest I could think of to U2, where I can say I have an ear for more than just their hits. I was lucky to see Noel Gallagher open for U2 at that 2019 Melbourne show. My youngest daughter has been taking electric guitar lessons for over a year now, has her preference for Nirvana, Blink-182, Smashing Pumpkins & other grunge and pop-punk, and she plays pretty well.
What are your hobbies and interests away from U2, musical or otherwise?
I watch a lot of sports. My favorite are the Tampa Bay Lightning, and NHL hockey in general. I also enjoy and have converted my wife and a few friends to fans of Formula 1 auto racing. Would like to go to a race in Europe, or even Mexico City sometime.
Around 2 years ago I started getting into collecting and buying each U2 album on vinyl. Nothing crazy, just the main studio albums. Then I thought, how do I display them? About 10 months ago I was looking at that opening Zoo Station visual at Sphere with the bright white light cross, and it hit me that this white cross would be the perfect backdrop for the vinyls on the wall.
I have taken an entire wall in my home office – 12 ft wide x 10 feet up to ceiling – to construct Sphere on this one wall, including the curves and domed shaping in the upper corners at the ceiling. This will not have video in any form. Instead, I will have frosted acrylic semi-flexible sheets with bright LED backlighting for the cross. I was also able to source wallpaper that is an exact match to those industrial concrete blocks as well. I will finish with a turntable (probably a Pro-Ject or similar), and add some LED lighting.
Would love to have one of Brian Eno’s LED turntables that U2 modeled their Sphere stage after, but £24,000 (roughly $30,000 USD) is not in the cards for me.
My photos included here are my wife and I at the Sphere pre-show, and myself in front of my Sphere in construction in my office. I am in no way a skilled craftsman, but with help from YouTube and a lot of time and patience, I am getting there.
