Our users have written a total of 0 show reviews. This page is a great way to explore new or old amazing shows or bootlegs, just refresh the page to see new things. The highest rated shows are based on shows with more than two reviews. You can also write a review if you have been or listened to a show, and we invite you to!
The first night was my opportunity to be right in the middle of the action and it gave me a new experience of being able to hear Larry hitting his kit without amplification. You really do feel part of the show when you are that close and that made for a memorable experience.
I enjoyed meeting so many fans from NZ and around the world on this trip, but most of all I just loved this show. It manages to acknowledge a 32 year old album without ever feeling sentimental or nostalgic. That's largely because it's so rare to hear the tracks from side two that it felt like being reunite with long lost friends.
I have no complaints about the set list choices other than the inevitable regrets over the omission of so many other fabulous songs and that they can't play for 3 or 4 hours like Springsteen does.
The screen is amazing and Anton's luscious videos are simply stunning. I did occur to me though that this unintentionally gives a silent nod to the era of Zoo-Tv where Larry mischievously said that the best thing about it was you got to come to a gig and watch TV. The images on that 8k screen are simply stunning.
Read full review »
I wasn’t originally going to this concert due to the similarity to the 2017 JT tour and the poor venue..
Read full review »
U2's first performance at the sacred Adelaide Oval - and their first in Adelaide since the Vertigo Tour in 2006..
Read full review »
Having missed seeing U2 over the years for a variety of reasons (family, work), I made sure I got the..
Read full review »
Love this band, these shows, and my experience.
We had seats for night 1. After relaxing and enjoying dinner and listening to The Joshua Tree tribute band at Hurricane’s across the street, we walked into the arena and to our seats around 7pm. Once we realized that security wasn’t really paying attention and people without wristbands were just walking onto the floor, we did the same thing and ended up center of the screen on Adam’s side, second row off the rail.
Thinking I could do the same thing again the second night, I bought a cheap balcony seat the morning of the second show. But security was a lot tighter – there were only a few entrance open for floor access, and there was one guard at the top of each entrance and two at the bottom, and they were each checking the wristbands pretty diligently. So I enjoyed night 2 from the very top row of the arena, which was a totally different but still awesome experience. I sat next to and chatted with a wicked nice family from Texas; the husband told me he had seen them on every tour since Joshua Tree all over the country, and now he and his wife were bringing their daughters to see them. This was their first show in Boston. Even though we were in the seats, our entire section still got into it and stood up for a lot of the concert. A super fun, casual, but enthusiastic vibe all around, and it seemed that way for most of the entire arena, both nights.
The opening is perfect. LIAWHL with just Bono underneath the screen is great. Blackout is killer. The images, the reveal of the band under the screen, the song itself – unbelievable opener. I wish they played the strings part and Edge’s guitar up way more during Lights of Home, but that was still amazing.
From my vantage point both nights, I Will Follow got the biggest crowd reaction of the night. Insane feeling to scream and jump along with an entire arena and to see the band love playing it so much. I think Gloria got a bigger reaction than ABOY, but both are great high energy songs. I get now why Beautiful Day follows there – to keep up that energy. It’s needed, because The Ocean then kills every last ounce of it. It stopped everyone dead. I understand that it’s the start of the innocence narrative, but wow is it a buzzkill. Even going straight into Iris would be better.
Seeing this version Sunday Bloody Sunday up close was more intense than I thought it would be – the entire band still get really into it, even though it’s not the regular version. Edge and Adam had their eyes closed for a lot of the song.
Until the End of the World is still my favorite song live. It can stay in whatever incarnation it’s in for every show from here on out and I would never get sick of it. I didn’t miss Streets, but I would’ve missed UTEOTW.
The HMTMKMKM comic on the screen is fucking awesome. Even better would be the band actually playing the song live while they show it…
Acrobat. Acrobat. ACROBAT. I thought I died last year when I heard Exit live. Nope. That was last night. I’m so glad they’ve never played this live before. It’s a fucking monster. My favorite live performance of the show.
I love SATS but I think in every way – thematically, musically (acoustic) – it could be replaced with Please. Or even rotated with SATS.
When I had seats the second night, I had full view of the screen, and I got the clearest sense of the narrative of the show from here, way more than in being in GA and more than listening on the mixlrs. The images of the current KKK and pure filth going on in America right now was stark, and I expected those to be the most impactful on me. But nothing made me scream louder during both shows than those images immediately giving way to Pride and images of MLK and protestors. There’s no other song that could come after those images (angry songs like Bullet or whatever) – the feeling of being lifted up by love after seeing that was unreal. By far, my favorite part of the show is Pride – GOOYOW – American Soul – COBL.
One is a crowd pleaser, but I really wish it was rotated with something else. I was way more excited to sing along to Love is Bigger, which is fresher. 13 is as gorgeous live as it is on the album, but it ended so abruptly that it ends the concert on a weird, very mellow note. I get that it’s the end of the narrative – but still…
Since this was definitely a Bono album, it’s definitely a Bono show. I understand it’s the story, the journey, the narrative, etc. – but it seemed that this was more tipped towards Bono’s storytelling rather than four men playing together on a stage, and I was left missing more of that balance between the four of them. I think the narrative can still come through even without a lot of the inter-song stuff, like Bono’s “phone call home” as he’s taking off Macphisto’s makeup, and The Ocean, which the way it’s played is not even a song. Even just one more rotational song spot would make a difference.
Still, yet another awesome live U2 experience I will never forget.
Read full review »
On the morning of 28.10.2018 I was with my family in the Titanic Museum and therefore drove past the SSE..
Read full review »
We made our way to the concert way too early, but the rain had stopped, and we had little else..
Read full review »
We are from the Chicagoland area, and were very excited to travel for a weekend getaway to St. Louis. ..
Read full review »
Here is my report from the two Amsterdam concerts. I am quite late and it is probably impossible to write anything that hasn't been written many times before, but I feel like I need to write it all down for myself. I wanted to write a short review of the two gigs, but it turned out a bit differently :-)
Okay, let's get started. I have to start with the Friday evening, when the half secret video shoot took place. I arrived in Amsterdam on Friday at 2.25 pm. When U2 landed one hour later, I was still at the airport, which felt like a nice coincidence. I have registered for the video shoot happening, but didn't get the invitation. It didn't bother me at first, since the first info said it would start at 3 pm, but then, when I got to know it would start at 5.15 and where it would take place, I just kept on thinking about whether I should or should not go there even without the invitation. In the end I decided not to and went downtown, which made me think about it even more - the weather was bad, which made even such a beautiful city look gloomy and it had no atmosphere at all this time. I thought I might just as well had gone to the studios, since I didn't enjoy the downtown walk at all. So I am walking along Amstel, passing the opera house, these thought spinning in my head. Suddenly I am lying on the pavement and my leg hurts like hell. I don't recall any falling down and I am slowly picking myself up. There are people staring at me, obviously thinking I am drunk or something. I say I am okay, turn my head and realize I have overlooked a sign "STOP" in the middle of a pavement sticking half a meter up from the pavement. I had to laugh - yeah, I should really better stop before something worse happens - it somehow calmed me down - even though I bared my leg and got a big bruise, I was really lucky I didn't break it.
If I understand it correctly now, the actual video shoot didn't start until 9 pm and people were actually queuing there since 5.15. I am sure it must have been a blast, but looking back now, I was really exhausted and having those two concerts with long queuing ahead, I think it all actually happened the way it should.
I stayed in a hotel 5 minutes of walk from the ArenA, so later that the evening I went there to check the queue, which I knew started the previous day - 2,5 days before the concert! There were people sleeping in tents on the pavement (it was currently about 16 degrees and raining) and I was told that 230 people were in the queue so far, coming for the calls every 3 hours. As much as I love to be up in the front, I wasn't able to persuade myself to take part in this...I am too old for this...stuff. Well, I was surprised that most of the people in the tents were ladies older than me. Anyway, I had a plan to visit the Rembrandt house downtown the next morning and then join the queue, come what may.
The next morning the weather was even noticeably worse and I was actually in no mood for the gig. But when you are 1,5 an hour of flight from home, you just do what you planned to do. I went to see the Rembrandt house, which was excellent and the weather got somehow better. I had an early lunch and went to the queue. There were a lot of people, but it was not quite as bad as I expected. When we were let into the stadium, where I got at about 5.15, I actually got a very nice spot, which got way better as we all stood up at about 6.30 and moved towards the stage - I ended up in some 10th row, facing the Adam's spot on the main stage, a better place than I have actually hoped for. I was used to be in the 2nd or 3rd row on the I+E tour, but here, at a football stadium and with all the madness with the queue, I was just happy and now I was finally in the proper mood.
Noel Gallagher started to play at 7. I have never seen him before and even though I have only a general knowledge of the main Oasis hits and don't know any of his solo stuff, I was curious and looking forward to seeing him. Support bands are usually something one has to struggle through and survive and so Noel's band was one of the absolutely best support acts I have ever seen, but it really did feel as a support act and not as a gig of a rather big star. I guess that if you get up on such a huge stage without actually using it (okay, the screen on the right side was used, but still..) with only very basic lightning, it must feel that way. But they played very well, Noel sung great and I enjoyed the songs. So it was absolutely fine, but I can imagine that seeing a proper gig on a proper stage with proper lightning must be even better.
Most importantly - the sound was really good. Being first time in the ArenA and having read all those negative reviews, all agreeing on the ArenA having the worst acoustics in Europe, I was a bit worried, even though I knew about the acoustic adjustments that were adopted for gigs. I don't know how was the sound further back and on the stands (I read it was still really bad), but in front of the stage it was as good as one can get in a football stadium. And it was loooud! I was perfectly happy with it.
On with the show. One hour after Noel, at 9 p.m. U2 hit the stage. Since the first 4 songs are played on the B-stage, one doesn't get to see much from the place where I was, since one sees the band from behind and the B-stage is quite low, so it is difficult to see anything at all. But it is just time to jump up and down during Sunday Bloody Sunday and Pride, to enjoy New Year's Day and Bad (I have only heard Bad once before live, so this one was magical) and to wait for the band to move to the main stage, for the show to start properly :-) That happens really soon and we get the full Joshua Tree album. Now, it is impossible to write something new about it, so I guess I will just repeat what was said and written many times bore. One word - amazing. The live presentation of this 30 year old album is just amazing. It is such a consistent peace of music that holds together so well and the band does it a great justice 30 years after they recorded it. The songs from the first side have been played on most of the shows during the past 30 years, those are the "greatest hits," but hearing them in sequence and with those totally amazing Anton Corbijn's films on that huge and absolutely fabulous screen is something that makes you forget you have heard Streets, I Still Haven't Found What I am Looking For and With or Without You thousand times before, and you are just happy that you are at that precise place at that precise moment. Then comes the second side with all the "gems." Red Hill Mining Town - never played live before this tour, the most anxiously anticipated song - I though it was great, I loved Bono's vocals and even though I agree that it is somehow too clean and I would love The Edge to play guitar rather than keyboard, I enjoyed it a lot. Exit - probably the song all people love the most on this tour. I admit (don't throw stones at me) that I never cared much for this track on the album, but is amazing live and it was definitely one of the absolute highlights of the show. In God's country - that was the song that caught my ear most when I first bought the album 20 years ago. I never thought I would hear it live. Beautiful. Mothers Of Disappeared - Edge's guitar work, the stunning screen background, Bono's haunting vocals. Just...wow.
The band leaves the stage and comes back for the encores - well, 7 songs, so pretty much the last third of the show. They start with Miss Sarajevo and continue with Beautiful Day. One fan I talked to said he found it strange to play those two songs back to back - to play Miss Sarajevo with this heavy mood and message and then just kick into the party mode. Well, yeah, Miss Sarajevo comes before Beautiful Day, but it also comes after Mothers of Disappeared. There is the break of course, after MOD finishes, since it is the end of the Joshua Tree, but I think that it is more like with MS they say: "Okay, here is one more thing we need to get off our chest before the party starts." I think that the MOD - MS combo is really great and I disagree with all those who wrote, that Miss Sarajevo didn't work on this tour. It does. It does big time.
After Miss Sarajevo until the end of the show it is one big party. It starts with the Beautiful Day - Elevation - Vertigo sequence. Three songs that have been played to death, three songs most fans (including me) would agree that need to be put to rest at least for a while. I would not believe how those three songs would actually work on this tour. They all somehow got new energy. Beautiful Day in a new arrangement sounds great. The fans-organized balloons on the first night we beautiful and it obviously touched Bono. Elevation - everybody jumps. The Edge smiles and jumps - priceless. Vertigo - such energy, I guess the Vertigo Tour-like visuals play a big part in that.
In the end comes the Achtung Baby sequence - Mysterious Ways - Ultraviolet - One. The Edge finally plays the Mysterious Ways solo after 20 years! While the PopMart version still remains my favorite, this present one comes close second. As much as I love this song (the guitar part is absolutely out of this world), I thought it somehow didn't work on the I+E tour. It was such a pleasure to see this amazing version now. The first night closes with One. Again, one of my all-time-favorites. And again, the I+E stripped-down version mostly sung by crowd didn't do much for me, so it was nice to hear this "proper" version, which works perfectly even without Bono playing a guitar. And yeah, with the Hear Us Coming snippet!
So after the magnificent first show I felt like the second one would be a great bonus any way it would turn out. I kind of expected the queue for the second show not to be that crazy (though is started right after the first one ended, or was it even before?), but when I came to the stadium the next day at 3 p.m., I was really taken aback by how relatively few people were there. It was soooo easy. I went straight into the fence barrier, sat down and waited. Once inside the stadium I got a great spot of course, which again improved substantially once we got up - 4th row facing The Edge at the main stage - that's the dream :-)
The show itself was very similar to the first one in all aspects - setlist-wise, the performance, the atmosphere, I can't really say which one I enjoyed more, I really loved both. The setlist changes were scarce and predictable - we got A Sort Of Homecoming instead of Bad - the first and probably the last time I have heard this song live, so I was more than glad, since it really is one of my all-time-favorites, and while it is not as well known and so not such a crowd pleaser as Bad, it was fabulous. Of course, the price one has to pay is not having Bad in the setlist. Anyway, during the encores we didn't get Mysterious Ways, which is a pity, since I would have loved to hear it again, but then it was somehow given that there would be another song after One. I hoped for The Little Things, but when I saw Dallas bringing The Edge the Explorer, it was obvious that they would end with I Will Follow. I must admit, it was a little bit of a let down, since as much as IWF is a great song, I have heard it on several shows and felt like The Little Things would be way more special. Well, that was how I felt before the band kicked into the song. They stayed on the main stage and the whole place went totally nuts. The atmosphere was amazing during the whole show with the crowd singing and dancing all night, but with the first notes it shifted two gears up. The whole stadium was jumping, I can't recall whether I have ever witnessed a stronger crowd reaction. It was a magical ending really.
I stayed in Amsterdam the next day - went to the Anne Frank house, which was fantastic, I have stayed there for 3 hours, then walked around the town and in the afternoon I went to the Van Gogh museum, which was great as always (my 4th visit). When I went to the museum, I got off at the Weesperplein underground station, which is pretty much right next to the Amstel Intercontinental, where U2 had stayed. I passed it 3 or 4 times during the weekend, always stopped for 5-10 minutes. I didn't feel like waiting for hours for the band, I thought that if it was meant to be, then 5 minutes must be enough :-). Well, it was not meant to be. I thought the band left on Sunday after the concert, so this time I was surprised there were about 20 people outside the hotel. I went there and was told that they got a glimpse of The Edge just a while ago. It was half past three and I was about half an hour early for the Van Gogh Museum, so I decided to spend that time there, being sure, that there must be a reason why I set so early on my way to the museum. But again...it was not meant to be :-) Later somebody posted that The Edge was seen outside the Anne Frank house between 4 and 5 pm...
So during those 4 days I finally didn't get to meet anybody from the band (unlike Marcello - a Brazilian fan I stayed with in the hotel - who got his T-shirt signed by Bono and Adam and during the second show Bono gave him the harmonica he played on Trip) . True, I didn't put much effort to it, but... they landed before I left the airport, I was downtown when they did the video shoot, I passed their hotel several times (yeah, I would have to be really lucky if that happened without my waiting), I have visited the Anne Frank house before The Edge. Nevertheless I had a splendid time in Amsterdam and those two concerts...just WOOOWWW!
Read full review »
“FULL CIRCLE”
A circle:
-a perfectly round shape
-a line that is curved so its ends meet and every point on the..
Read full review »
I attended night 1 with seat tickets and this time I had GA tickets. Wow, what a completely different experience..
Read full review »
Day started with a whirlwind tour of Philly alongside my wife and our two oldest friends. Saw the Liberty..
Read full review »
So far starters, let’s put this review into context. LA 530 was my 18th or so show since 1983 and I’ve seen every tour including the Conspiracy of Hope Tour since then. {Curious readers can see the full list at the end}
It was nearly 32 years ago to the day that my sister, 12, and me, 18, stood side by side at the University of Colorado Events Center in Boulder; the night AFTER Red Rocks, for our first show.
Back in the day, Bono walked into the crowd sans a ramp, and that night he stood in the lower bowl equivalent not 5 feet from us and sang “send in the clowns, bring on the clowns” – magic.
Despite living 1,500 miles apart, Young Sis has joined me on 9 shows over the years: every tour but Pop, ironically, cuz she was pregnant with my nephew. Our other sister, Old Sis, at 1,700 miles away also attended LA 530 and was with us at 4 of the shows over the years. I have a unique U2 Tour family tradition with my sisters; and candidly we are wondering if LA 530 is the end. Plus, my wife’s been to 4 shows with me, my kids, one, even my parents got into the act in their sixties in 2005.
Enough of the Context, on to Los Angeles.
We went “Lazy GA” as some call it.
After clearing the sort of nerve wracking Credit Card Entry technology we ambled in to the Forum around 7:15 PM. Took our spot about 12 feet off of the E stage rail and hung out with the typical gracious and interesting U2 crowd. Fun fact, Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chile Peppers and his girlfriend headlined the VIP cattle pen right behind us.
Bono’s entry near the E stage did not catch us off guard as fellow GAerz indicated it would happen. A cool moment anyway, and reminded me that U2 always seems to find a way to make the opening interesting.
The first four songs rocked: 20 minutes of pure adrenaline. I was pleasantly surprised at the opener, Miracle of Joey Ramone; it came off better than I expected though the sing along probably helped. Two songs from Boy and Vertigo were well placed and extremely powerful.
Other highlights for me, pre-Wanderer intermission, included Iris, Song for Someone, and Sunday Bloody Sunday. The visuals during Iris and Cedarwood Road were top notch and helped tell the story, and for the most part I thought the visuals helped the songs along without dominating them all night.
Upon re-hearing SBS through a bootleg this version it came off nicer than I thought too, but I suspect U2 might be tiring of trying to reinvent the song to make it interesting for them to play.
Song for Someone is a personal SOI fave – enjoyed seeing it from 15 feet of Bono, and his vocals were spot on during SFS and the entire night.
The Wanderer intermission was just that, intermission – nothing too exciting there for me.
From my perspective, the shows lower moments followed. Though I enjoyed hearing Invisible, and it was done well, I did not enjoy the full-band in the cage-screen routine. Especially during Better Than The Real Thing – the cage seemed to detract from the song and the band seemed stuck in a moment they could not get out of. Awkward might be the best word.
Moving on to the E Stage the band added a fifth member for Mysterious Ways and this guy sucker punched and faux boxed and danced with Bono whilst also taking charge of the Meerkat Stream, I think. Pretty sure this guy’s been on stage before; it looked pretty chummy all around. It was interesting to see the Meerkat stream pushed to the video wall in the Forum; that was a WTF is going on technology moment for me and my 50+ years.
Up next, Stuck, Elevation and Every Breaking Wave bellowed right in front of us, though my previously mentioned sisters people surfed closer to the rail, while I held back. Every Breaking Wave was amazing in this context, and a woman next to me fired up a real Bic Lighter, which I joked, “it only shows your age” and this observation got me both the stink eye and a laugh.
Not a big fan of Stuck anymore, but this piano version was nice; the other tour debut, Elevation, was very energetic as well.
Speaking of “not a big fan,” Bullet was next. Having seen this song nearly 15 times, I’d previously posted, “no mas, it’s my bathroom break.” Much to my very pleasant surprise, Bullet was more like a Cannon or a Bomb. I really enjoyed this take on an old classic from ’87.
From Bullet forward the show was above average, though nothing super spectacular from my viewpoint. Hands that Built leading into Pride was very solid, and the sing along for With or Without You was a lot of fun as always. COBL was good, but the poor 8-year old kid on stage looked petrified and sort of detracted from the song in my view. Streets and Beautiful Day were also solid, and the tie in to Red with Streets was tastefully done.
Though I enjoyed Still Have Not Found and the band exit, that song is not my first choice as a closer – but they never asked me. I’m a traditionalist so I’d have preferred something from SOI or “40.” “40” is the best closing song from any band, ever; it’s chilling to sing along after the band leaves the stage IMO.
All in all, a great night punctuated by a solid set list, an amazing sound and video system, and the company of my sisters. U2 were in great form, Bono sounded great, and despite a couple of awkward cage-screen and stage guest moments, this was a great show. Really great.
At $85 I’d do this again in a heartbeat, and next time I’ll just walk in about 8:15 and still have one hell of a good night.
War – Boulder, CO
Unforgettable Fire – Denver (St.Patricks Day)
Joshua Tree – Denver, Kansas City
Conspiracy of Hope – Denver, 3rd row, my best seats ever.
Pop – Kansas City
Zoo Inside – Phoenix
Zoo Outside – Ames, Iowa and Denver
Elevation – Chicago, Kansas City, Oakland
Vertigo – Omaha, Minneapolis, Denver
360 – Minneapolis, Las Vegas
SOI – Los Angeles, #Hoping2016
Read full review »
#4 of 4. This was U2's last night in Spain.. and I was there! Got up nice and late -..
Read full review »
Hello, hello.. last U2 concert in Britain this year! After an amazing show the night before, I was hoping for..
Read full review »
This close to the front, I figured I wouldn't be bothered by vexatious people wanting me to sit - and..
Read full review »
A family Oddity
My second U2 gig. Like the first one it was in France Stadium, like the first one my father was there too, like the first one we took the road from Belgium but this time my mother and my brother were with us.
The first one I saw U2 I knew the band but not all of their songs and I had no idea wich song they were going to play. It was my third gig ever and the first one outdoor and I was only 12. This time was a bit different. I knew almost all of their songs (not very much the album "October" and "War" except the hits). It was my 8th concert ever, my third time in a stadium, I was 16 years old and I knew what songs they were going to play, thanks to internet for that. In a way I like when you have no idea what song the band will play and in another way I can't wait until the day of the gig because I want to know everything about a tour.
Anyway after the road, the U2 music and discussion on car, the stop on highway (to heaven ?) we finally arrived in Paris. Like the first time it was a huge U2 party around the stadium. The first time we were on GA and here we were on seats in K9 so behind the stage and Adam Clayton side. Since we have reserved seats and not GA we arrived shortly before doors opened this time. We bought tee-shirts, drinks and a poster and then we wait. I remember when I went to buy a tee-shirt I went near doors for GA just to have a view from the floor on the massive stage. It was impressive. Opening act was Kaiser Chiefs and they were super good, very energic and lot of motivation. Usually an opening act doesn't receive lot of attention from the crowd but this time the crowd were enthousiastic. I remember singer screaming after each song "Nous sommes Kaiser Chiefs". Like the first time, there were a good ambiant and crowd made some ola.
But then "Space Oddity" of David Bowie began and crowd applaused as it was the opening song. It's a change since the first time I saw U2 in 2005. In 2005 not everyone knew the opening song or the setlist but seems in 2009 almost everyone knew them. There were almost no phone or camera in 2005 but much more in 2009. Right after "Soon" of U2 started and we saw the four Irish guys coming but only one was on stage. Larry Mullen Jr walked alone on stage and started to play "Breathe". The Edge and Adam Clayton came shortly after on stage and finally Bono too. I started to play guitar in 2006 so I really appreciate the solo on "Breathe". I always appreciate guitar parts and solo but between 2005 and 2009 I became a guitarist and so I was appreciating guitar with a different view.
"No Line On The Horizon" followed and crowd was singing it and then "Get On Your Boots" arrived. I like the first one but I think "Get On Your Boots" is like the band wanted to make another "Vertigo" and so it's not really my favorite song. But we could see Bono jumping on it. Actually I could see the whole band much better than the first time. I was still not very close but view was good. The Edge and Adam Clayton went on B-stage circle using the two bridge during "Get On Your Boots". After it "Magnificent" has been played and it's a good song. Crowd reacted positively and sang the "Oh, Oh". Guitar parts and solo were great. Bono was on B-stage circle for this song. After those four energic new songs, U2 decided to play "Beautiful Day" with a special introduction "Paris mon amour" also knows as an unreleased song "We love you". Both songs were appreciate by the band. They seems to be full of energy and in a good day. I could see Bono jumping, playing with the crowd and doing the show. He probably did the same in 2005 but I was too far and too small to saw it. This time however I saw him giving all he had.
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" was special to me because it's the first song I ever learnt to play on guitar. Before playing it the band took their first calm moment after a solid 30 first minutes of full energy. Bono did a speech in English wich has been translated on the screen. It's always an impressive moment when you see 93.000 people singing a full verse and the chorus of a song. "Movin' On Up" snippet was also very good.
After that I got four songs I haven't saw on my first U2 gig. "Desire" wich was sung by the whole stadium with a special "Billie Jean" and "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" snippet. Michael Jackson died on 25th June 2009 and it was the 11th July 2009. Anyway a nice song with full of energy. During "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and "Desire" Larry Mullen Jr was in front of the back of the stadium for our great pleasure.
"In A Little While" was the second of those four songs. The rest of the band played it like Larry Mullen Jr did, in front of the back stadium. A quiet song but a good one. Back in front of the stadium for Larry Mullen Jr and the rest of the band for the third song which was "Unknown Caller". That song has been preceded by a talking with ISS and the Belgian Frank De Winne. The conversation has been recorded before the show but Bono acted like if the conversation was in live. Translation in French were on the screen. "Unknown Caller" was good despite a bit too much "Oh, oh" but the guitar solo was very cool.
Last of the four was "The Unforgettable Fire" wich was a great one to hear and the crowd really appreciate it. I particulary appreciate guitar parts. The screen began to grow and to grow and it was pretty impressive. Bono played with the crowd on the bridge. It has been followed by "City Of Blinding Lights". Good song and nice guitar parts and once again the screen effects was amazing. "Vertigo" followed for the pleasure of the crowd but less for mine since in two concerts I heard that song three times but I participate to the party with the crowd and sung it too. "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" followed. I prefer the album version to the one they did in live but it was nice to hear it, after all I never heard it in a gig before and it was like a giant discotheque. It was also the chance to see Larry Mullen Jr walking on the stage. And to be honest it was pretty energetic and I did appreciate it. Larry was back in front of us for "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" and "Sunday Bloody Sunday"
"Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Pride (In the Name of Love)" were playing right after. Not much to say about them. Classic songs, crowd appreciate so do I and at the end of "Pride (In the Name of Love)" crowd sung the "Oh, oh" wich lead us to "MLK" that I haven't see live before so it was a pleasure to hear it. I can say the same for the following one "Walk On". I love that song and guitar parts in it. I really appreciate to hear it. Lights on stage were pretty and people walking on stage at the end made that pretty nice.
Time for first encore with a Desmond Tutu speech that lead us to "Where The Streets Have No Name". What can I say about that song ? It's incredible. The giant stage all in red, the organ pipe introduction with the bass, the crowd who knew what was coming and finally the first note from the guitar wich lead the people to madness. The song gave even more life to the show. The Edge was running on the stage while playing and came in the back of the stage saying hello to us. Magic moment. The only less good thing is that the guitar introduction was a bit too short.
"Sexy good looking crowd" said Bono. Then he did a speech before "One". It was another magic moment. Stage and stadium in dark with only 93.000 mobile phones as lights (and some people used actual lightfire). I remember I used my mobile phone at that moment. Nice song, nice "Hear Us Coming" snippet and nice memories. Bono ended the song by saying in French "Ce soir ceci est pour vous, bonsoir".
Second encore was there. A video introduced us to the song "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" that I didn't know before that tour and that I heard for the first time that night. A nice discover. Bono and his red light jacket and microphone was a nice visual. I don't remember if the red stick we received at the gate before the show were for this song or for "Where The Streets Have No Name" but many people used them for this song. White lights coming from the stage like a mirrorball for this song and for "With or Without You" gave a real nice effect in this giant stadium. "With or Without You" was nice to hear especially when the crowd made the "Oh, oh" while the light show them. Concert ended with "Moment of Surrender". This is not my favorite song but it was nice to see it for the first time live. Band then left the stage under lot of applause. It was a real good gig with a good crowd, good visual effect, good songs and band had energy like often and seeing so many times 93.000 people singing togheter was truly magic moments.
Read full review »
A Magnificent birthday
My third U2 gig, still in France stadium but this time we were far away from the stage...
Read full review »
It's my first U2 concert, so how can't I give this a 5! But seriously, it's a great bootleg. The..
Read full review »
From getting in line at 6am to the end of Moment of Surrender, I'll never forget this first show. Bono..
Read full review »
An impressive bloody Sunday
I remember that day, I was 12 years old and I was going to see my favorite band. Four years before it I already tried to see them during their Elevation Tour but I couldn't have ticket. This time my father got two tickets by doing queue at a real shop (not on internet) and on the D-day we took the road from Belgium direction Paris. The night before I had difficult to sleep because I was so much excited and on the morning of the concert I woke up with a headache but I was still very much happy. We took the road and I was so excited that I couldn't stop talking and we listened U2 music during all journey. It was not my first concert ever. I already saw Peter Gabriel in 2003 and 2004 but my favorite band of that time was U2 and so being able to see them in concert seems nearly impossible for me (We tried twice in 2001 and in 2005 we didn't have ticket for Brussels or for Paris 1). So it was nearly impossible for me to see them and however I was on the road to the gig.
A dream was coming true. I remember how impressive I felt when I saw the France Stadium from the highway for the first time. The building seems huge to me. We drove the car under the stadium and after some security check on the car and on my father and I (three day before there were the London terrorism attack) we walked to the Z gate of the stadium. It was about 2pm and I remember I was feeling impressed by all small shops selling U2 articles and U2 music could be hear anywhere (in each bars, each shops) and everything, everywhere was like a huge U2 party. It's something that even now make me think that atmosphere at a U2 concert is particular. Now I saw about one hundred of gigs and even if we could hear some music of the band near the concert place, it's never as huge and impressive as we could see or hear around a place where U2 will play a gig. It's different, more intense, more shops, more bars, more music, more excitement. I remember that before that day I already hear some comments saying that atmopshere around a U2 concert is unique and I can say that on that day when I was walking around the France Stadium those comments hitted me and seems really appropriate. I was impressed. Then We reach the Z gate and just sat down waiting for the opening. I remember my father calling my mother and brother to tell them we were arrived safe. As a big reader I started to read my book "Bono by Bono" written by Michka Assayas and I was not the only one reading that book. A little bit before 4pm excitation was there for everyone. Everybody just stand up and rush near doors which were still closed. It was my first experience as an outdoor concert and I was impatient to come in but false alerts like my father said came often.
Then a bit after 4pm doors opened. I remember climbing steps and steps and I was almost in top of the stadium while going inside and I had my first view of the whole empty stadium and my first view of the stage. It's difficult to express the feeling I had when I saw that stage. I was 12, it was my first outdoor gig and there is a massive stage in front of me and it's on same time massive and impressive but also just like normal like the stage is just quietly there. It was a mix of the both feeling. I think seeing the whole stadium from the inside for the first time also astonished me. We walked down the stair to join the ground and tried to went as close as we could to the stage. Unfortunately there were two GA categories and we were not in the front one. Also as a 12 years old boy I was not tall and so couldn't see things very good but I didn't care I was there. After a while of course we wanted to buy a tee-shirt, drinks and need to use the bathroom wich where in the back of the GA. Since my father didn't want to let me go there alone (I was only 12) we lost our spot but when we went out of bathroom and walked to the front I realised that since there were less people in front of me my view was better on the stage. So we still went to the front but not as close as before and like that with less people in front of myself my view was correct. Even if we were not particulary close of the stage.
I don't really remember the first opening act, The Music. I have some memories of the second opening act, Snow Patrol. After that stadium was full and excitement was there. Some ola in the seats but also in the GA. It was the first time I was seeing that and it was huge to me to see so many people connected between them.
Then the song "Wake Up" of Arcade Fire has been played. Time for U2.
"Larry Mullen Jr, Adam Clayton now, say hello, bonsoir, hello hello" said Bono and immediatly the crowd repeated the hello, hello. "Un, deux, trois, catorce" and the show began. The band already caught the crowd in their hands, I was jumping and screaming lyrics of "Vertigo" in a bad English (I didn't speak it at that time). I also remember I phoned my mother and brother at home to let them hear the first song of the concert.
"Out of Control" when Bono kicked a glass of water in the crowd has been followed by "The Electric Co". It's during the solo of that song when The Edge came on B-stage that I saw him for real with my eyes for the first time. A few seconds later I saw Bono on the other B-stage. Seeing them in real for the first time was like a dream coming true for me.
After that very energic start band began to play "Elevation" and the crowd immediatly started to sing the "Ooh, ooh, ooh". Bono didn't need to lauch them. Right after "New Year's Day" started and my father pressed my arm and made me a wink and a smile because he loves that song (so do I). Adam Clayton walked on the B-stage during The Edge solo and I could see him for first time. "Beautiful Day" followed and it was indeed a great day for me and my father.
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" was also a good moment. At the end of it seeing and hearing for the first time a whole stadium singing a song togheter while seeing Bono walking on B-stage is kind of impressive for a 12 years old boy.
I learned a few years after that the band scheduled to play "Bad" at that moment but didn't. When I learned that I was dissapointed because it's one of my favorite song. But during the show I never been dissapointed and when "City Of Blinding Light" has been played I was still very happy. Screen turned on and it was very pretty.
"I want to say an happy birthday to my godchild who is here tonight, Hollie, it's her 21st birthday, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Hollie, happy birthday to you" said Bono before asking to the crowd "En Français" wich the crowd answered by singing "Joyeux anniversaire" to Hollie who is The Edge daughter. This cute moment has been followed by "Miracle Drug" and "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" (when Bono made an appareance on B-stage). Great songs, nice singing by Bono and The Edge and of course nice guitar parts. I remember the giant character on the screen.
"Love and Peace or Else" was the opportunity to see Larry Mullen Jr for the first time since he was on the B-stage. Actually the whole band moved on two B-stage during that nice song. I could see them and I enjoyed the song that I found good with a nice guitar solo. Followed by "Sunday Bloody Sunday". It was a pleasure to hear it, sing it, scream the "No more" and jumped on it. My father really appreciate "Bullet The Blue Sky" and I did too. I clapped my hands in rythm at the end of "Bullet The Blue Sky" like the majority of the crowd.
I didn't know "Running To Stand Still" at that time but I enjoyed it and tried for the first time to do like everyone using a light during a gig. I was looking around me all the time to see that spectacular view of thousand and thousand of small light. I remember I burned myself at the end because the light became quiet hot after a few use.
Then one of my favorite U2 song of that time "Pride (In the Name of Love)" has been played and I was jumping and singing. I was also screaming the "Oh, oh" at the end and was impressed by all the crowd singing and didn't really realise I was a part of them doing the same. I hear Bono talking in French "Mais ce soir, c'est un rêve Africain". And all the crowd kept doing the "Oh, oh" until the first notes of "Where The Streets Have No Name" started. I also remember all the African flags. The crowd turned crazy during "Where The Streets Have No Name" and I was not the only one then jumping and screaming the song. That moment definitely put a great ambiant during the show.
Just before "One" Bono did a French speech to the crowd. I remember me and my father applausing and thinking "well said, he is right". "One" was truly a great song that night.
The band then left the stage with a "Bonsoir Paris".
After a few minutes a screen divided in four turned on with Zoo TV era pictures. Then like a slot machine four faces of four unpopular people at that time appeared on the screen. I remember Michael Jackson was there. Crowd reacted badly to those faces. Then two faces were replacing with the Zooropa face and two other faces apparead and once again crowd reacted badly to them. Those two faces were replacing by Zooropa faces to make four Zooropa faces on screen. Crowd was finally happy and "Zoo Station" began with lot of positive reaction from the people. Bono on screen was acting like in the introduction of the Zoo TV show and came into the B-stage again (for my great pleasure since I could see him again even if it was far away from me). The Edge also came on the other B-stage.
When "The Fly" started both my father and I were happy because we loved the "Elevation Tour" version. Screen was a reminder of the Zoo TV era it was astonishing and song was energic, The Edge solo was good, crowd was happy and I was jumping and singing. I remember I was still jumping and screaming when "With Or Without You" started and I saw a woman looking at me with a smile on her face. She maybe thought this kid is crazy but I think she was more like smiling like an adult sometimes do when they see a child being very happy. Anyway "With Or Without You" was good. I used the light again and burned myself again. I remember Bono took a girl from the B-stage with him and leading her to the main stage. She said hello to each member and I thought she was lucky. I sing most of the song too and like all the crowd made the "Oh, oh". We learnt at the end of the song that the lucky girl was Fanny. Band left the stage and it was time for a second encore.
It began with "All Because Of You" which was followed by a wonderful acoustic song "Yahweh " who has been singing by the crowd too. Just before singing it Bono thanked The Music and Snow Patrol for opening the show. The last song of my first U2 gig was the same as the first one "Vertigo". It's weird to play twice the same song and I wished we could have another song to conclude but oh well I was happy to see that band. Words "The End" then apperead on the screen to conclude the show. Crowd of course applaused the band long time after the end of the concert.
My day dream didn't end yet. My father bought me a poster and I recorded some songs of the show on my old Sony Ericsson and listened them while talking about the show to my father on the way back home. I remember we paused on a highway shop. He took a coffee and I took a tea. There was a sign "Out of service" on the slot for money and I was so tired I didn't get it and removed the sign and was about to put my money in the machine but my father stopped me and lead me to another machine where I got my tea. I was exhausted but truly happy and it's on that funny little story that my review end.
Read full review »
20 years of my life waiting to see them, and this is what I got.
The crowd was disappointing, even before..
Read full review »
The show was brilliant; we were standing for one hour straight after the guys came out with their flashlights. The..
Read full review »
I was there , that amazing night. I'll try to be objective . Bono s voice is not the best..
Read full review »
I was at this concert. It was my first time back in NYC after 9/11, and you could feel the tension in the air- it was still fresh on everyone's mind. The setlist was perfect- almost every song seemed custom made for the way we were all feeling, or wanted to feel- even the ones written 20 years before. "Streets" was a particular highlight. And during the encore, Bono was wearing a NYPD t-shirt and hat, and all the police officers and firefighters in the house joined him onstage. The house lights were on, everyone was smiling... it was an amazing experience and went a long way to making us feel good again. I'll never forget it, it was the best concert I have ever been to.
Read full review »
Brian and I had just recovered from Miami, and decided we could not miss this. Climbed in a car..
Read full review »
A great find in the Elevation tour and one of the best setlists of the tour. Very electric start of..
Read full review »
I enjoyed this listen, but the sound unfortunately knocks this one down to a 3.5 for me. Worth a listen..
Read full review »
On Thursday, June 12th, 42,270 U2 fans were ready to welcome the band to the prairies. It was the Canadian debut for Popmart, and U2's first ever visit to Winnipeg, Manitoba. The weather was mild, and the sun was setting, into a bright orange sky, just as the show was about to begin at Winnipeg Stadium. Bono belted out the opening line of Mofo at 9:50 p.m. During the show, rumor was that Edge had the flu, and he didn't seem to have as much energy as previous shows.
At the time, Winnipeg (and southern Manitoba) was undergoing the worst flooding in over 100 years. Bono talked about the Red River Flood during ISHFWILF, to the surprise of many fans in attendance. Local newspapers and TV stations gave great reviews of the show. After the show, Bono, Larry, Adam, and Howie B were interviewed by Kim Clarke Champniss from MuchMusic at the Winnipeg Arena.
Read full review »
Highlights
– Miami. Although it starts a little shaky, it turns REALLY good. Probably the best it’s ever been performed,..
Read full review »
I actually enjoyed this show for what it is: a testimony of how Popmart evolved and the songs were developed..
Read full review »
absolutely the best popmart gig in my opinion - there are a couple of other shows that might be considered..
Read full review »
Very special concert because Bono screws up a lot but also makes it up by improvising, giving the songs something unique. Shame this bootleg didn't have more audience.
Highlights:
-- The Fly: Bono screws up the "Achtung y'all" part but in return, he improvises a rap and it's quite good!
-- Mysterious Ways. Very good intro by Bono
-- One of the best UTEOTW, Bono shouting "is this f***ing rock'n'roll?"
-- TTYAATW. The girl with Bono sings (badly) a few lines and Bono teases her a bit by singing "everything alright... a little off-key tonight", lol.
-- Angel Of Harlem. More improvised lyrics by the B. man.
-- Slow Dancing. I just love this song 
Sadly, it's a very short version.
-- ISHFWILF. This is the gem of the night. Acoustic, with a whole different verse in the middle, Bono sings the same line twice, it's almost like a new song!
-- BTBS. Again, Bono screws up a line but then he immediately improvises some weird lyrics with Alfred Hitchcock in them! Brilliant. He should have written 2 or 3 songs that day after this concert!
-- The MacPhisto speeches are always a treat. Bono was still figuring out his accent, so it sounds strange here. The first lines of UV were sung in that weird pitch.
Read full review »
Solely the sound quality should make the Matrix a must have in your collection.
The concert itself has got a rather..
Read full review »
I couldn't be arsed posting on this show because there isn't a lot that can be said about this show..
Read full review »
can tell you all what the problem with this gig was. Too many shows playing the exact same songs (over..
Read full review »
Sometimes I wonder why I was born in December 1988, one year before this lovely concert in Rotterdam. I was probably in my cradle as a 1-year old boy when Edge hit the first tabs of Where the Streets Have No Name in Ahoy Rotterdam on that special 6th of January 1990, 90 kilometres from my hometown.
I often ask myself the question: what would it have been like to be part of the audience during a Lovetown-show. I fell in love with the Point Depot gigs in Ireland, and the Rotterdam-shows from early January were even better, some say. Lovetown:the name itself explains it, like BB King spells during When Love Comes To Town: L-O-V-E. Yes, I love rock, I love U2, but I especially love Lovetown. Don't get me wrong, because I know the Joshua Tour was enormous and awesome. And Zoo TV was one big happening, followed by Popmart, whether you like it or not. Also Elevation gives me special feelings and was my favourite tour for a long time. But Lovetown is top-notch. The mix of songs between the Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum, performed in small places with BB King's Orchestra makes Lovetown the best tour for me. I didn't take long and U2 didn't even cross the world with it. But the modesty of it does it for me. Like Bono says at a Point Depot show: 'After all these big places, we wanted to play a small place'Â.
Lovetown also marked the end of a decade in which U2 finally showed itself to the world in full glory. Live Aid in 1985 was a very important turning point, sealed by the release of The Joshua Tree. But U2 felt that every end had a start. U2 was looking for a new direction and needed time.
The energy and commitment of U2 was awesome back then. Bono was at his prime. His voice was a mix between the Joshua Tour and the upcoming Zoo TV. And U2 really enjoyed what they were doing. Lovetown was not a show, it was no entertainment like Zoo TV or Popmart. It wasn't a show with political context, like Vertigo. It was based on music, pure music, pure rock and roll. And you can feel the excitement and joy of U2 trough these shows. I guess they enjoyed every bit, like the audience.
U2's first European success was actually founded in Holland, where the single I Will Follow became a giant hit. Bono mentions this during this Rotterdam show when they start Love Rescue Me, when he says: 'And this is also a good place to end, because we more or less started here ten years ago. You've been very good for us, thank you!'Â. The crowd was ecstatic.
This show is awesome. It has reached a nice spot in my top ten favourites, I think. It's equal to the Point Depot shows, with U2 really on fire. I missed New Year's Day and Bad, but I know U2 played 4 shows at Rotterdam. The Bad from the 10th of January is one of the best there is.
This show is quite memorable as The Unforgettable Fire was played for the last time. I listened to this show trough my Sennheiser CX300 and my eyes shut. I transferred myself to Ahoy, Rotterdam, 18 years ago, being in the audience. I felt the energy, I experienced U2 in their best days
Read full review »
My very first U2 gig, was amazing!! But I've an even better story that I've been telling for years but..
Read full review »
A very special show for multiple reasons: they had to evacuate the venue due to a bomb threat (sounds familiar?),..
Read full review »
My personal story of this show was the moment that Bono was standing in front of me during People get..
Read full review »
The atmosphere was very foul. It was my first U2 concert, but not my first stadium concert, and I remember it well. The rain had started in the afternoon, but in the morning and around noon it had been very hot. There was a terrible pushing and shoving of the audience waiting at the entrances for doors open, and many seemed to be well drunk and I did see many, many empty drinks containers, beer cans, wine packs and bottles outside. The doors open seemed badly organised. Some a few yards away opened before others did, the seemed to be little coordination. People were pissed off by that, they wanted an equal chance in the run to the centre stage spots.
The openers, I remember The Pretenders, Big Audio Dynamite and Lou Reed, were all booed and generally badly accepted, at least in the part of the audience I happened to be stuck in, which was third, second row, slightly to the right of centre stage. The place looked like an open battle for the first row and of course I participated first, being rather stoutly built and not one to back off easily. This concert had meant the world to me, after I had gotten hold of a ticket, through a multitude of different lucky concurrences.
I believe, I cannot be sure anymore about it, that The Daltons opened last. I might confuse that, though, with a show I might have seen on the internet of that time, after all, it's been 28 years.
When WTSHNN began with its droning synth-sounds and the guitar's delayed arpeggios, and the band appeared one by one, the crowd went mad and the stifling squeeze got worse. But when the bass and the drums joined and slowly built up the song's hard pushing, driving beat the crowd went berserk. I had a fight with an American, a GI by his crew cut and confidence, and the security did not notice. He hit me in the nose, but luckily he could not swing properly, for lack of room to move. I could not get my arms up enough, so I hit where I could. The security were highly unprofessional (I did that job later in life myself) and completely taken aback with the sheer violence of the crowd's pushing forward, the yelling and the screaming of girls who obviously were in acute fear. The waves of people’s shoving often moved me ten or more yards away from where I had been before. I remember the moment when the band jumped into the first song and the red lights flooded all over the rain-drenched crowd. The heat from the electric lights washed over the people and actually felt quite warm on the face. Seconds afterwards clouds of vapour of the drying rain partially took away the sight of the stage.
I had had enough by then. I withdrew to the seats ranks, found myself a place and watched from about a hundred yards away. I was deeply disappointed with the on-goings and felt betrayed and let down. I had thought that we had all been there together to celebrate the same thing. I had been wrong. U2 had become a phenomenon and had stopped being a rock and roll band. They were a sensation, not music to dance and sing the lyrics and to feel alive by, because the songs spoke to you about your life and you inner self. This was a spectacle, not a concert. No one danced. They all fought. No one sang. Everybody screamed. No one had fun. They all tried to hold on to their place or get a better one by being more brutal than the opponent, because that is what everybody was, an adversary and a rival in trying to be as close to the band as possible. Do not think that I was naive about it. I understood as I do now that people want to be as close as possible to their lucky stars. But I wasn't expecting the brutality I encountered, and it did not seem to make sense, and I was not prepared to put up with it, as I would not be today. I do not think that it was anything else but sheer good fortune that there wasn't anyone killed in the throng in front of the stage. It was brutal enough for that. None of my later U2 shows had that quality and quantity of ruthlessness and viciousness.
When 40 began I was on my way out, walking outside the stadium trying to hitchhike my way back to where I was due. I remember feeling like hell. It took me weeks to be able to enjoy the music again.
Read full review »
When the Where The Streets Have No Name organ sounded over the 125k people on the stadium and lights went..
Read full review »
This was my first U2 show. Met Bono before the show. Hours before they were warming up and..
Read full review »
First concert I ever went to age 17. I haven't missed a U2 tour since. Listening to this was like..
Read full review »
Everything I WASN'T looking forward to about this show, I loved. "Pride" and "Maggie's Farm", I wasn't all that cracked up about listening to. The former is on just about every show I ever listen to, and it gets tiring, the latter I just didn't care much about. They ended up both being phenomenal.
The "Norwegian Wood" intro to "Bad" is outstanding, and chorus gives me goosebumps. Listen to some recent shows (Vertigo, 360°), and then give this one a spin- Yes, folks- Bono DID used to sound like that
Everything about this show is simply gorgeous. Download it RIGHT. NOW.
Read full review »
We were all young. The place was crammed. U2 were already massive in Glasgow by the end of 1982 and had played bigger venues (the legendary Apollo). In 1984 it was a difficult ticket to get.
The Barrowlands is essentially a dancehall with a spring-loaded wooden ballroom floor but quite a low ceiling. This all made for much 'bouncy-bouncy' and the very definition of a sweat-filled room! Condensation was literally running down the walls and dripping from the ceiling (I even remember it dripping from my elbows !). You could wring it your t-shirt.
The Watherboys were support who were also very big at the time& they did sing of course All of the Moon !
The energy in the crowd and from the band was incredible. New songs from TUF and older songs went down a storm. Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill (from Simple Minds, local Glasgow boys and friends with U2) were at the back and the crowd all spotted them & sung to them. (Bono a month later in January 1985 joined the Minds on-stage at the same venue for New Gold Dream which blew the roof off).
We only had tickets for the first night but it was so good we went back up the next day and queued up for on-the-door tickets with probably 100 or more others. I remember a scuffle broke out in the queue as some people started singing sectarian/Irish Celtic songs. They were quickly shouted down by others stating '...we are U2 fans, we are not here for that, the band would not want it, we are better than that'! We got in again having barely recovered from the previous night dehydration.
...and U2 brought the house down again.
A mere 7 months later they would conquer the world at Live Aid and everyone would know what all the fuss was about.
...and 34 years later I still want to get tickets for the next tour in 2018 !
Read full review »
I recommend this bootleg for those wanting to capture U2 in full flight during their TUF period. They were in..
Read full review »
I was 19. I didn't drive.
We were more or less 10 kids from my neighborhood who went to this show..
Read full review »
Fantastic show that will always be remembered by the best version of ''40'' ever: more than 16 minutes! And..
Read full review »
Classic.Just epic show.The band really found themselves at this time.Their live shows were so great.Just the band,the music was so powerful.The War songs took over.SBS,NYD,THBAO,Seconds and of course 40.This show has my favorite version of Tick Tock.I also loved the full version of Electric Co that was released on the vinal in 1983 from West Germany'83.Im dating myself I know.When the cd was released a few years later,for copyright reasons,the band cut out the "send in the clowns" snippet.I always loved that part of the song.You have that here in this recording from Denver.Nothing is cut.There is only a slight skip during I Fall Down.This is one of their great moments,that defIned U2.Grab this one.
Read full review »
Rated high, because I really enjoyed this early show. Sometimes the early ones (pre-TUF, in my opinion) really just don't..
Read full review »
A real gem for me. Loved the set list, especially the inclusion of Like A Song for the only..
Read full review »
I wanted to give higher than 4 stars. There’s a lot to like about this show - several songs are..
Read full review »
Excellent early October show, just about up there with the Lido Beach gig the following month. That one benefits from better sound, but this one has got a longer setlist.
The very ending of Stories For Boys is cut, which is a shame as it was very strong. The sound is good throughout (barring Gloria) but does waver somewhat here and there.
Ultimately, I was on the fence between 4.5 and 5 stars, but given the strength of the performance went for the full 5. The sound quality is decent enough that it's not much of a setback.
Highlights:
- I Threw a Brick Through a Window/A Day Without Me
- An Cat Dubh/Into the Heart
- With a Shout
- Rejoice
- The Electric Co.
- 11 O'Clock Tick Tock/The Ocean (very long and excellent!)
Read full review »
U2 in the Netherlands. Enough said. There's always something in the air when the band plays here and this show..
Read full review »
An interesting show. Not great, but not as bad as the band cracked it up to be. Many of the..
Read full review »
This and Lido Beach are perhaps the best October bootlegs you'll find. The setlist is great and some songs had..
Read full review »
Excellent early show, with just about all the Boy Tour material represented. The band are energetic and really doing a great job; mastering their craft already. It's really interesting, listening to a lot of the early tour shows, how Twilight often seemed to be treated as a really key point in the show - which I think is great, as it's one of my favourite U2 songs.
Bottom line: the performance is incredible, tight, and passionate, the sound quality is brilliant, Bono is playing around with the lyrics, and many songs have some absolutely outstanding performances. This is one of the best early bootlegs I have ever heard. One common problem I have with pre-TUF tour shows is that many versions of the early songs all sound very similar - this show gives them a lot of sparkle and uniqueness. I'll be revisiting this show many times.
Highlights:
- 11 O'Clock Tick Tock (both of 'em, of course - but especially the second one)
- The early version of I Fall Down
- Touch
- Stories For Boys with altered lyrics (one of the best)
- Boy/Girl/Out of Control
- Twilight with altered lyrics (one of the best)
- A Day Without Me
- the second The Ocean, with a little outro (one of the best)
Read full review »
As I remember it, this was a free show or cost next to nothing to attend. It was held in..
Read full review »
Very strong performance with great sound. The only possible complaints would be that it's kind of short (only 12 different..
Read full review »
Still early in the tour and their career which probably explains the lack of enthusiasm in the audience. The band..
Read full review »
Silver Lining is an early version of 11 O'Clock Tick Tock. Musically it's nearly identical (except a few neat little things at the end) but has very different lyrics. Speed of Life has lyrics, unlike the version that was eventually officially released. Trevor is an early version of Touch. Shadows and Tall Trees sounds quite different to the version on Boy.
Overall, a very solid show with great historical value. It's really something special to see the band at this early stage playing with all the passion and fire that will define their whole career.
Highlights
- Life On a Distant Planet (one of my favourite of U2's early songs)
- Another Day
- Pete the Chop
- Cartoon World
- Twilight
- Out of Control
Read full review »
One of the first recordings that exist from the band in its earliest stages. Just for that, this concert should..
Read full review »
I love this show / recording. All the old, unreleased tunes are stellar Punk/New Wave and hint at what U2..
Read full review »
The tracks that latter would be included on Boy have different lyrics or structures, so it's very interesting listening to..
Read full review »
I didn't have a ticket to this show and I got a single 5th row ticket as a return at the box office on the night of the show. There were several acts playing that night doing one or two songs including Ian Dury and the Blockheads, The Style Council, Mari Wilson and the Wilsations, Mike Peters and Dave Sharp from The Alarm and finishing the night were U2. The audience was littered with celebrities and I found myself sitting next to Paul Eddington (Yes Minister) and Michael Palin at one point. As U2 came on stage I ran down the front so had a perfect front row seat. After U2 had done Knocking on Heavens Door with Mike Peters (Mike taught Bono how to play the song) U2 burst into New Years Day. The next thing I know is Bono is bending down with his arm out to me and I take his hand and he pulls me up on stage. Wow!! I am onstage with U2. In those days it was customary for Bono to pull up a girl onstage during 11 O'clock Tick Tock so this was totally unexpected. Bono gets me to sit down on a monitor onstage whilst performing the song and then sits next to me, puts his arm around me and continues to sing. It is an experience I will never forget and is still the best moment of my life... Thank you Bono
Read full review »
We were one the few radio station winners to win this contest. Each radio station only had one grand prize..
Read full review »
Having seen a tweet late last Thursday afternoon from U2ComZooMods inviting a reply with just my name to maybe get..
Read full review »
A true raw outdoor performance. Engagement with the crowd takes place at some level on almost every song. Three..
Read full review »
U2start is run by fans for fans. Help us reduce personal costs. Consider to make a donation to support us.
U2start is run by fans for fans. Help us reduce personal costs. Consider to make a donation to support us.
U2start is run by fans for fans. Help us reduce personal costs. Consider to make a donation to support us.
U2start is run by fans for fans. Help us reduce personal costs. Consider to make a donation to support us.
