Carter tells Bono that Sarajevo is the world capital of black humor. Someone's mother will be killed in front of him and the next day he'll have a joke.

"That's when you're winning in one respect," Bono says. "If they can't take that away."

The interview wraps up and Carter suggests that Bono might con­sider visiting Sarajevo. The city has been imploring artists of all kinds

To come see for themselves what is going on there.

& &

"I think I would," Bono says. "I'd love to get there."

"We could arrange that," Carter answers.

Bono returns to U2's dressing room shaken. Onstage that night he talks to the audience about Bosnia and then says, "Somebody said courage is grace under pressure. I'd like to dedicate this song to the people of Sarajevo." U2 plays "One."

While he's singing "New Year's Day" Bono leaves the main stage and starts walking slowly down the darkened ramp to the B stage. Partway there he is startled to bump into a big, bare-chested Italian fan who climbed up onto the ramp while security was distracted elsewhere and has been watching the show from a particularly good vantage. Bono sizes up the grinning fellow's muscles and, still singing, jumps into his arms. Bono points toward the band and the jolly intruder carries him back up the ramp and onto the main stage, Bono singing the whole way. He hops out of the Italian's arms in front of Larry's drums, still singing the song, and the visitor is lead off by U2 security.

Back at the soundboard Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington are soaking up the show, next to members of Pearl Jam, the two Bosnian relief workers, and a record company guest named Charlene whose friends know she's in for a big surprise. During the break between the time U2 leaves the stage and Macphisto appears for the encores, the audience is kept amused by films from the Zoo Confessional, a sort of video outhouse set up in the stadium in the hours before U2 comes on in which audience members can tape messages, jokes, football cheers, or

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lists of their sins. The runniest of these are shown each evening on the big TV screens. Suddenly Charlene is shocked to see her boyfriend talking to her from the huge Vidiwall. "Hi, Charlene ... I want to know if you'll marry me." Charlene shakes visibly as her friends laugh and slap her back. She stands frozen for about sixty seconds and then looks around to see her boyfriend standing across the platform. She runs over, hugs him, and says yes. They slow dance through U2's encores. Even while Macphisto is trying to phone the pope.

The Masque of the Red MuuMuu

Moonlight in verona/ planning the invasion of bosnia/ ping-pong with the supermodelsl an apostate is granted absolution/ pearl jam gets a sound check/ a dissertation on the value of men wearing dresses

THERE IS a blue Olympic-size pool glistening in the Verona moonlight while corks pop and steaks sizzle and waiters run up and down balancing trays. U2 sits around the pool while their guests emerge from between the high hedges. Here comes Tom Freston, the head of MTV and the picture of the tall, laughing Ameri­can cowboy entrepreneur. Here comes Jeff Pollack, quiet, almost melan­choly, a superpower consultant behind radio playlists from the USA to the Far East. Here comes Pearl Jam, the hottest American band, fol­lowed by An Emotional Fish, an Irish group several notches further down the concert poster. Here comes Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, and several more fashion models from the high end of the gene pool.

And here, strangest of all, come our two visitors from Sarajevo. Bill Carter and Jason Aplon wander into the party tentatively and hang back from the buffet table like Siberians in a supermarket. Having completed their unlikely mission of getting out of Bosnia, making it to Italy, conning their way past security, and interviewing Bono, Carter and Jason have been invited to join the superstar revels tonight, before going back into the war zone tomorrow. They both look a little shell-shocked at the luxury laid out before them, but that may have less to do with the opulence than with the fact that they have, until two days ago, been dodging shells.

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