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i'd changed the show to 4 stars during the week

I have to apologise, but this review won't be as detailed as my previous one, I have been extremely busy this weekend, so I found time to listen to this bootleg only once. Anyway, here it goes:

U2 - 1985.03.21 - Chicago

Sound: This bootleg has a very clear, crisp sound, it's only Bono's unusually deep voice that tells us it's an audience recording. All the instruments aound good, the drums are not over-echoed, the guitar sound is also sharp.

Performance: This gig shows U2 going disco. All the songs are very dynamic, the focus is on the beats, seems like it's all about the groove. The songs are running on the tracks like steam engines, borth the band and the audience seems to be in a very good mood. The only thing that suffers from this, is the dramatic content of some tracks (most noticeably Seconds and Sunday Bloody Sunday), which behaving like rock boogie tracks, I can even see the audience dancing to the beat.
What is also very important on this gig, is the role of Edge, whose background vocals are very dominant on this recording, sometimes as important as Bono's parts. During The Unforgettable Fire and A Sort Of Homecoming, they sound like they are singing a duet.
The majority of the songs (and the spoken parts between them) are the UF tour standards, the new songs greatly fit in with the others, and the show is really flawless, I cannot hear really weak parts.

Ups: 11' O Clock Tick Tock, Seconds (pure mirrorball action!), The Unforgettable Fire (great as always), A Sort Of Homecoming (for Edge's great vocals)

Downs: Wire (routine bites hard), Bad (disturbing glitches in the recording)

Overall: Great sound quality UF tour bootleg with a quite unusual disco feeling to some songs. Definately worth a listen (even more than one).

U2starter

17 years

OK, here is my reply, sorry that it's a little bit late, but I've had time to reply only now in the evening...

1985-03-21 Chicago, Illinois - University Of Illinois Pavillion

Sound:

Very good for UF era, but there are better audience recordings, for example 1985-04-15 East Rutheford..

Performance:

-11 o'clock Tick Tock and I Will Follow are great as usual with Bono's for this era typical screams "I Will Folooooooooow".....

-At the begin of Seconds I hated that "Message to the presidentttaaa, Ronald Reagannaa" and I think it's played a little bit faster as it should, but that was problem of more songs during this era,

-Nice version of MLK with the backing tracks which dissapeared since JT Tour, not the best version of Unforgettable Fire, Bono's out of breath at falsetto parts, I've heard far better versions

-Wire is pretty good here but doesn't match album version

-On Bad it shows that this wasn't Bono's best night in terms of voice, also I didn't like long pause without singing in the middle of the song,

-great cover of Knocking on Heaven's Door

, Gloria doesn't dissapoint either, during this time, I think this song had its peak..

Overall:

Very nice UF bootleg, I've been dissapointed a bit with Bono's voice but overall performance of band was very good. I'd rate it in top 5 UF bootlegs, still not better than Dortmund...

drewhiggins

17 years

1985-03-21 - Chicago, Illinois - University of Illinois Pavilion

General Bits:

I noticed some great songs were played here like ASoH, Pride and 40. 11'O Clock isn't the best way to open a show but then it's not high on my favorites list. The earlier shows are probably better because of New Year's Day how it's got the fast opening riff. And Do They Know It's Christmas was a nice little snippet to add as was Sympathy for The Devil during Bad. I really liked Bad here, certainly apart from the Joshua Tree / Lovetown versions it was like that, and Bono had a deep voice to pull it off.

The sound amazed me even if it was still 128Kbps (on Megaupload's version anyway). Still sounded pretty good even 20 years later (the magic of digital media), and way more emotion put into the performances than what was shown during Vertigo (both in North America, Europe, South America and Australia).

Personal Rating: 4/5

germcevoy

17 years

feel free to go ahead and post the next show. I'll catch up

easports43

17 years

Originally posted by germcevoyfeel free to go ahead and post the next show. I'll catch up

Why? since I told you the show *cough* 2 weeks ago *cough*

fenderman

17 years

Unforgettable Fire - Chicago 1983-03-21

Sorry everyone, been real busy this week so this will be shorter than my normal review.

Great sounding boot. Levels are mostly perfect! There were a few places that were weak.

The good: I thoroughly enjoyed this entire boot but top spots were:
4th of July opening
The Unforgettable Fire
The Electric Co
A Sort Of Homecoming
Bad

The Bad:
11 O'Clock Tick Tock - not bashing the song in particular because I love it. I just don't like it as an opener. This is probably better as an encore opener.
New Years Day - too fast for me. I prefer the slower versions.

This has to be the best sounding boot we have listened to so far. This is a great UF tour boot!

Overall: 4 1/2 stars

haytrain

17 years

Looks like I'm one of the last to post. It's been a crazy week for me as well (it sounds like it was that way for a lot of us!) Anyways, I think everyone pretty much covered everything here, so I'm just going to add a couple of random thoughts about individual songs, and not talk much about sound quality, performance, or audience.

I agree with Nate about playing "4th of July" over the PA at the beginning. Reminded me of opening earlier shows with "The Ocean," which I never really understood. Interesting choice that I guess I don't see the point of.

I miss songs like "11 O'Clock Tick Tock," "Gloria," and "Seconds." In fact, I wasn't even sure what song Seconds was when it first started playing. I had to look at the display to the iPod and was surprised to see it was that particular song.

"A Sort of Homecoming" is a truly amazing song. I wish it got some love on the next tour, but I doubt it. Sad.

"Knockin' On Heaven's Door" was great. It got stuck in my head the rest of the day.

Did anyone else laugh outloud when Bono was talking before "Knockin' on Heaven's Door?" Here's what made me laugh:

Bono: I've just learned, it's not important all the amplifiers, and the machinery, the equipment, and the stadium. It's not important. What's important is this....

Random Female Fan in the Audience: The money!

jean_pasquerel

17 years

Originally posted by haytrain
Bono: I've just learned, it's not important all the amplifiers, and the machinery, the equipment, and the stadium. It's not important. What's important is this....

Random Female Fan in the Audience: The money!

That's great, I did not hear this part...but what's also funny, that Bono said this sentence (or something similar) on each date of this tour before KOHD was played... even if they weren't in a stadium-sized venue.

djrlewis

17 years

Summary for 1985-03-21 - Chicago, Illinois - University Of Illinois Pavillion

All members of the roundtable enjoyed this boot. Several said that they thought is was the best we have listened to in recent weeks.
There were some excellent performances of several songs, especially ones rarely heard live by U2 in the modern era. Electric Co, ASOH and '40' have all been mentioned
The sound was very good for a 23 year-old bootleg but has been changed here to 4 stars to reflect a few glitches.
Only real negative - Bono's voice weak in a couple of places.

The concert was all about the music and is a good example of an UF boot for anyone looking for somewhere to start.

Note: This review is subject to editing once Gerard has posted his review (delayed due to illness) in the event that his views do not fit with the current consensus

djrlewis

17 years

PS

Nate - what's our boot for next week??!!

Ali709

17 years

Originally posted by haytrain
Bono: I've just learned, it's not important all the amplifiers, and the machinery, the equipment, and the stadium. It's not important. What's important is this....

Random Female Fan in the Audience: The money!

lol...had to listen again to hear it...priceless!!

Nice summary as always Dan...very classy

And Nate...bring on the show

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