1985-03-21 - Chicago, Illinois

11 O'Clock Tick Tock
I Will Follow
Seconds
MLK
The Unforgettable Fire
Wire / Give Me Some Truth (snippet)
Sunday Bloody Sunday
The Cry
The Electric Co. / Amazing Grace (snippet)
A Sort Of Homecoming
Bad / Ruby Tuesday (snippet) / Sympathy For The Devil (snippet)
October
New Year's Day
Pride (In The Name Of Love)

encore(s):
Knockin' On Heaven's Door
Gloria
40 / Do They Know It's Christmas (snippet)

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In this part you can find and post reviews of this show. We encourage everyone that either attended or listened to this show to write a review. Currently we have 14 reviews for you to read.

last review

Reviewed by: Ross1441
Reviewed 7 months ago

Performance:

It's an Unforgettable Fire show and U2 are in Chicago. One of their American homes away from home. Second only to Boston. We were guaranteed a great show from the start.

11 O'Clock Tick Tock starts us off, slowly but with plenty energy. I Will Follow is a sure thing for getting a show off the ground and this version doesn't disappoint in the slightest. Seconds rounded off the opening three perfectly. MLK was perhaps a little early in the set for me. Slows the set down a little prematurely.

TUF and Wire soon get us back off the ground though. Truly excellent performances of both. Sunday Bloody Sunday gets an easy 9/10 from me. As does Electric co.

A Sort of Homecoming is a favourite of mine, and this performance is about as good as it gets. Bad. What can I say? I wasn't expecting a ten minute performance, and it was extraordinary. Up there with the very best of the UF tour performances.

October was good, but I don't think I would forgive them if they ever messed up a song that simple. I always thought that New Year's Day was a song that improved with age, but this is still a fantastic version. It's a rare occasion when I can call Pride a highlight of the set, but here it really is. Very strong.

I was taken aback at how well Knockin' on Heaven's Door was performed. Bono was right on. Gloria gives us that energetic last hurrah that we're all very familiar with in the UF tour setlists. Absolutely nailed in this show. 40 makes a surprisingly good performance here as well. I know I'm 100% on my own in saying this, but I thought 40 never really showed it's true colours until it was slowed down for the Vertigo tour. That's just me though, and this performance certainly rounds the show off perfectly.

Audience:

Yup, I heard them. Not exactly deafening but I heard them.

Sound:

Excellent boot for its age.

Overall:

An excellent show overall. If you're hunting for a good Unforgettable Fire show then I still say you should grab Edinburgh first, but this truly is up there with the best and deserves some consideration.

Highlights:
- Seconds
- A Sort of Homecoming
- Bad
- Pride
- 40

Lowlights:
- It would be cruel to pick one.

all reviews

author	performance	audience	sound	overall
Ali709
Performance: To tell you the truth…I’ve been digging hard trying to find problems with it, but it’s just great! Let’s see what I got in the end… >> Positive… * TOTALLY AWESOME! * It’s the unforgettable fire tour; it really was only about the music back then. It’s weird that except for a few exceptions, the only thing that Bono says before a song starts, is the song’s name! * The setlist is amazing now...as I (or maybe we) miss these old songs and want to see them played! There is A Sort of Homecoming, Seconds, TUF, October, Wire… * All the songs are very well performed, there is no poor performance in my opinion, and they’re all done great! If I wanted to make a highlights list, it would have to be the whole setlist! Here are some standouts anyways! >> - Almost 11 minutes long version of Bad ! - Electric Co. … 8 minutes long, with snippets and long jam-like thing in the middle! - October>> NYD ! - As less heard songs live: TUF ,ASOH and 11 O’clock. Also, MLK blew me away! - The made-up lyrics to Knockin’ on Heaven’s door are funny - 9 minutes long ‘40’ + snippets, performed with the support band! >> Negative: There really wasn’t much, I had to dig hard for these: * At some points, when Edge is doing backing vocals…he gets over Bono! I mean you hear more of him than Bono, which doesn’t really sound good, as Bono is singing in the actual melody whereas Edge’s is a bit different, not good to become main. * Wire is not a favorite song of mine really, I did enjoy it anyways but the ending is awful really! Audience: This part is only rated, not commented on. Sound: >> Positive… * Pretty awesome, it doesn’t switch between left and right, you get enough music enough audience. The Vocals and the music are both pretty clear. It IS a 4.5 star recording! >> Negative… * Not a surprise really, but we don’t have as much bass as I would like, but hey, that would definitely make it 5 stars! It IS still more in there than many other bootlegs (listen A Sort of Homecoming as an example) Overall: mazing! It was the first ever Unforgettable Fire tour bootleg I listened to. It exceeded my expectations. It’s a very good recording if you’re looking for the same thing as I was. I might suggest this other show as well, it’s got a longer and a bit better setlist (includes Indian Summer Sky, Surrender, Two Hearts Beat As One,...): 1984-10-23 - Nantes, France - St. Herblain (I found it right after having posted Chicago as this week’s bootleg!). The whole bootleg and show are just great (talking about this week's show, not Nantes mentioned in the last paragraph!!)! Also, it’s interesting to hear them when they weren’t as big as they are now. The ego hadn’t done its work yet, they are a band who has just become famous and big…you can hear Bono’s comments that reflect this (telling the CBS people: “you want some people? Come up here!” or the comments before Knockin’… there is another part where he says they used to have 500 people watching them and that he’s glad there are so many watching now). **Comments: Just wanted to point this out…it’s interesting how similar this show sounds to Joshua Tree Tour shows (particularly Paris 87, as I was listening to it at the same time). Of course, JT had new songs and a more confident band…but the (very short) speeches/comments (such as “for a very special man…” or “this is a big place but we’re bigger than this place”) and performances are very similar, which shows they didn’t spend as much time as they do now on how the tours should be, it REALLY was only about the music (though maybe we’re lucky that they changed their manners, or all the shows would be the same, up till now! )
djrlewis
Performance: Bono's voice ranged from shit (The UF) to pretty good (Amazing Grace snippet during Electric Co.). Couldn't work that one out. He acknowledges after The UF that it's not working and struggles with Pride too, but didn't seem to struggle so much on other songs. General band performance was good. One of the better boots of recent weeks for me. I was pretty tired when I listened and it kept me awake which is a good sign. It didn't blow me away though either - just very solid. Nice to hear some songs we don't hear much done well - Wire for example. I thought Electric Co was very good as was '40'. Nothing else has stuck in my mind though. Audience: This part is only rated, not commented on. Sound: Good boot this one, especially for the era. I thought during 11 o'clock it was bit ropey but it settled (that often seems to be the case?) I did notice there wasn't much bass, had to boost that up a bit. Audience very muted too; not sure if they were just quiet or not much was picked up by the taper Overall: I think this boot is a good UF boot, solid performances, except Bono's voice is poor on several songs
easports43
Performance: Wire is utter chaos, but in a good way. I love that song even more after re-listening to this show. It's such a powerful song. I felt as if I was hyperventilating while I listened to it. 11 O'Clock Tick Tock was strong as usual. I Will Follow had a few bumps in the road, but overall it was good. I don't really care for 4th of July being played over the P.A. It just doesn't really fit, and it's kinda odd to segue into !EOTT. It kinda reminds me of the early Boy shows where they opened with The Ocean. Possibly one of my top 10 favorite performances of Bad. Quite ironic though that I've never heard a "Bad" version of that particular song... I absolutely love The Unforgettable Fire and ASOH live! Seconds was decent. the "Falling" vocal when October segues into NYD sounded great. Anybody know what I mean? Nothing better than ending the show with a 9 minute version of 40! Audience: This part is only rated, not commented on. Sound: Decent sound. Pretty much a clear, high quality boot. Great, but nothing special. Overall: Overall I think this is a great show. The band was pretty consistent, with just a few bumps in the road. My only complaint is that on the UF tour, they didn't play many UF songs. I think they realized that when putting together the JT tour, and that might be why on the JT tour they played so many "New" songs off of JT, where they didn't do tthat on the UF tour. I think this show is sort of a "preview" of the JT tour, as they began playing covers, such as Knockin' On Heaven's Door.
ReclinerMan
Performance: --Already they're behaving like a big band. Bringing the cameras up the show that the music and people are bigger than "this place." --Wire was awesome and I loved the John Lennon snippet. --Sunday Bloody Sunday & The Electric Co. were on fire. --A Sort of Homecoming is better live, like so many U2 songs. --Bad felt weak to me. Still haven't found its power yet. --Pride and 40 exuded power. Audience: This part is only rated, not commented on. Sound: This part is only rated, not commented on. Overall: I'm amazed at the audio quality of this gig, it barely sounds like an audience recording. This gig was strong as well. I think if anything, Bono was out of breath a lot. I bet he was running and jumping and raising the roof to have a magnificent vocal. But it shows his commitment to the people in front of him. A great find.
jean_pasquerel
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) Audience: This part is only rated, not commented on. 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. 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
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.. Audience: This part is only rated, not commented on. Sound: Very good for UF era, but there are better audience recordings, for example 1985-04-15 East Rutheford. 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
Performance: 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. Audience: This part is only rated, not commented on. Sound: 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). Overall: Way more emotion put into the performances than what was shown during Vertigo (both in North America, Europe, South America and Australia)
fenderman
Performance: 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. Audience: This part is only rated, not commented on. Sound: Great sounding boot. Levels are mostly perfect! There were a few places that were weak. Overall: This has to be the best sounding boot we have listened to so far. This is a great UF tour boot!
haytrain
Performance: 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! Audience: This part is only rated, not commented on. Sound: This part is only rated, not commented on. Overall: This part is only rated, not commented on.
EDDMB
Performance: This is hands down,one of the top shows from the UF tour.Alot of the bootlegs from this tour do not sound good.I saw the band 5 times in 1985,but my shows just dont have the sound to go along with the performance.You have both here.The UF songs sound great.Wire is one of my favorite tunes by the band,and you have a great version here.Alot of fire,energy and passion at this show.This is a must have show, if you like this period of the band.I love this one. Audience: Great.40 ends and they keep singing as the bootleg fades out.Great audience. Sound: This by todays standards, this is a 4.Considering alot of bootlegs from this tour are rated the same (4), as this one,I have to give this bootleg a better rating.The sound is very clear.No loud yells over the band.Adams bass is very full.Listen to Knockin On Heavens Door.Bono is clear as is the rest of the band. Overall: Brilliant show.I have been listening to alot of UF bootlegs this week.I keep going back to this show.The performance is great,and the sound is very good.The UF songs and 40 (9 min) are standouts.If you want a great sounding (full show) and great performance bootleg from this tour,grab this and Bologna 02.05.85.IMO those 2 are the standouts for this tour.
patou2
Performance: This part is only rated, not commented on. Audience: This part is only rated, not commented on. Sound: This part is only rated, not commented on. Overall: The show is good , Bono had problems with his voice.Highlights: 11 o clock tick tock, U. Fire, Electri co, A sort of homecoming and 40 ( with Red Rockets)
nickbibby
Performance: A very energetic clean performance from U2 in Chicago. The set is a strong UF standard set with some lovely little snippets and chat from Bono. 11 O'Clock Tick Tock for me is a great opener to a gig. It's a slow start but the end of the song really starts to pump up the energy, which leads really well into IWF. Seconds is good too. I love the way that U2 used to play MLK this early in a set. It really is unusual and I think it suits them as a band. Maybe they should try it again(?). UF is excellent and Wire is superb, especially Bono's acapella at the end. I think I've heard SBS too many times to get excited about it nowadays, but Electric Co is excellent, especially with the extended middle 8. Now we get to the section of the show I was really interested in! ASOH is really, really, very good. It's close to Wide Awake In America standards. And a 10 minute version of Bad is nothing but excellent at any point. I have always loved the Bad>October>NYD sequence, and this is really superb here. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Pride could be dropped from a great height for me. But the encore is brilliant. KOHD is one of the best covers that U2 have ever done and this version is good. Gloria is energietic and "40" brings the show to a wonderful close. One of the best UF shows I've heard. Audience: They were singing along and cheering and seemed to be enjoying the show. Sound: The sound is very good considering the age of the boot, but it loses a star because there is quite a bit of editing and also some 'skipping', especially in the middle of SBS. Overall: As a boot, it loses half a star for the sound, but if you want a UF show, go for this one. It is really really good. Highlights: -Bad>October>NYD -ASOH -Electric Co. -Wire -Knockin' on Heaven's Door -"40" lowlights -I'd have to be really picky to a have a lowlight, so none!
iTim
Performance: 4th of July begins the show over the PA, gearing the crowd up for a show on The Unforgettable Fire Tour. Bono introduces the first number, 11 O'Clock Tick Tock. Quite a tight performance from the band who have been performing this now for over half a decade. Bono sounds in good voice whilst The Edge, Larry and Adam all seem to be on their game. Once finished, the band immediately burst into I Will Follow, which again, is as clean as you'd expect after years of practice. Following this, is a song from War, which seems at first glance, one of the unlikely survivors from that album - Seconds. Bono, being in North America introduces it as a song for the president of the time, Ronald Reagan. The Edge takes the first verse as he does in the studio and sounds alright. Bono continues from the second verse and shows that he really is in fine form. Over in a flash, seconds almost. MLK begins the run of tracks from the album that the tour is supporting. The introduction ruins the song somewhat for me, once Bono begins the vocals it becomes the beautiful little track we all know and love. From here, it's straight into The Unforgettable Fire, with that unmistakable introduction. Absolutely fantastic song, but tonight it doesn't quite click for me. The Edge's supporting vocals are a particular negative. It just sounds a little flat. Wire finishes off this little run. Decent performance from the band. The huge Sunday Bloody Sunday makes an appearance now and the band nail it. After a mildly disappointing couple of tracks just gone, this really picks the show up again. The Edge makes a few mistakes during The Cry/The Electric Co., but that doesn't detract from the enjoyment. A really solid track for the band, just a shame about the odd mistake. Weird song to throw in an Amazing Grace snippet though. Great vocals, wrong time. A Sort of Homecoming is a brilliant track and it really sounds great in the live show. Bad continues, complete with the usual snippets of Ruby Tuesday and Sympathy for the Devil. Very good performance, I'm not sure if Bono has timing issues in the first chorus or not, he sounds a little out. October really is a beautiful little track, haunting in some ways. Larry's metronomic drumming is a little annoying though. Perfect segue into another classic, New Year's Day. It sounds good, the band don't put a foot wrong and Bono really delivers with the vocals. Now, closing the main set, the lead single from The Unforgettable Fire - Pride. A really strong performance to close as well. Opening the encore is a cover of Knockin' On Heaven's Door. Absolutely stunning performance. Bono really nails it vocally and The Edge does well to back him up. Fantastic way to open the encore. Gloria continues the encore, a real rocker from the October era. Only one of two songs from that album played tonight. It's a few years old now and really has been a staple in the live show, alongside I Will Follow. The band pretty much hit the nail on the head with the performance, flawless. Closing the night is '40', Bono asking the crowd to sing along as is customary at a U2 show. Oddly, a snippet from Do They Know It's Christmas is thrown in, in March. Very strange thing to hear, maybe someone should've let Bono know that springtime has come...Larry, The Edge, Adam, Bono and the crowd really finish the show in style. Audience: They sound interactive and as though they're loving the show, but sound really distant in the recording so are a little quiet. They round '40' off nicely though Sound: For its age, it has very good sound. Mainly clear, though there are some minor distortions throughout, expected really. Very listenable and very enjoyable Overall: A really tight performance from the band. At the height of The Unforgettable Fire tour, they really have the older tracks mastered and the newer tracks have really found their place in the live show. A decent mixture of tracks from their four albums and an excellent cover. Highlights: - Seconds - Sunday Bloody Sunday - Pride - Knockin' On Heaven's Door - Gloria Lowlights: - MLK introduction - The Edge's vocals on The Unforgettable Fire

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Bono smiles in Chicago '85

Shows

1985-03-21 - Chicago, Illinois

members at this show: 0

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