Performance:
(Although they aren’t listed on the setlist, the bootleg also includes 11 O’Clock Tick Tock and I Will Follow, both certainly from the same show).

I have this labeled in its folder as the “Indoor, Incomplete Red Rocks.” A month before the legendary show, the band channels all of the energy and passion they would later showcase on that rainy outdoor stage here now in what I imagined to be a very cramped night at the Orpheum in Boston. Brilliant energy, barelling performances, enhanced and driven by all four members of the band, but Edge in particular. If you’re looking for a bootleg dominated by him and his sounds, this is it. His guitar is up front and loud on every song, but it comes across particularly strong on 11 O’Clock Tick Tock and Electric Co. I would have loved to have heard War staples like Surrender and New Year’s Day with that dominating guitar sound. The shorter setlist itself is the only thing this bootleg is lacking, in any category. Everything here was virtually packed up as it was and replicated (save for the rain and the extended setlist) exactly one month later.

Audience:
Fantastic, with or without the sound quality. You’ll have to turn down your volume after Out of Control gets started.

Sound quality:
The radio broadcast obviously contributes to and enhances everything about this bootleg, but it also really makes this an “Edge” bootleg. His guitar is much more prominent here than on other radio broadcasts – it doesn’t have that echo-y stadium sound, like on the Popmart Leeds or 360 Sheffield boots, but rather just a pure, clear sound. I haven’t listened to 11 O’Clock Tick Tock the same way again.

Overall:
Highlights:
11 O’Clock Tick Tock
The Electric Co.

Lowlights:
Just the shorter setlist.

The show the following night in Boston had the more complete setlist, and the bootleg for it has almost as good as sound as this one, but the combo of the phemonenal performance and sound quality of this one far outshines it. And if you don’t have the Red Rocks audio and can’t get it anywhere, this is the next best thing (well, with a half-setlist). Get it now!

Performance:
I just listened to this show for the first time from beginning to end, and was immediately tempted to write a review before I forget how wonderful it is.

There are some great performances that the band has given that seem to feed from the audience’s energy (Milan 92). Likewise, there are equally amazing performances that are technique-driven, mechanically correct, and altogether in tune, generally when they’re filming for a DVD (except of course Pasadena ). This particular show has a unique combination of the two that’s sometimes difficult to find, but makes for an amazing concert overall.

Streets is the prime example here of that combination. The band is completely into it, but steadily in time with each other. Bono’s voice is at its Joshua Tree finest: guttural, raw, and powerful, with less of the Kermit the Frog effect he sometimes had on the first leg, and more of the later Lovetown raw power he’d soon develop.

The remainder of the setlist, which is typical for the tour, the band barrels through with the perfect speed and technique. In God’s Country was flawless. The October  New Year’s Day combo, sometimes overdone and tired, has all the raw energy of the War Tour here. And a Bad with no snippets does not necessarily equal a lesser performance; it’s just as powerful here.

The Joshua Tree Tour is guilty of having a good deal of (bad) cover songs (re: C’mon Everybody). Bono admits, as he has on many other occasions, outrightly here before the band starts Southern Man that they shouldn’t play other people’s covers. He’s right of course – but what makes this performance stand out is the interaction with the fan Bono brings onstage, named Big Dave, apparently the guitar player of a local band called Lost Luggage. That guy could play. He belted out a guitar solo that was impressive, and Bono was hilariously quick to usher him off the stage when he finished, not before commenting that Edge might have some competition. Likewise, the band’s cover of Help here is great, energetic and not messy or plodding.

I always forget how good Pride used to be in its heyday. It was pretty raw on TUF Tour, but it seemed to really hit its peak during JT, and here is no exception. Nothing but pure energy from the first to the final chiming note. With or Without You falls into this category too: it’s in all its innocent, early greatness here. Larry is outstanding on it, and a Shine Like Stars would’ve made it perfection. 40 with a Hallelujah ending and an excellent audience participation concludes the show just as it began; it showcases a band who was at its peak of the passion and faith in their songs, and of their ability to play them.

Audience:
There’s a reason why the band love Chicago, and these people are it.

Sound quality:
Among the best here for an audience recording. The band is up front, you can hear all parts equally, and the audience is loud but doesn’t dominate or detract from the focus on the band.

Overall:
Highlights:

Streets
In God’s Country
With or Without You
40

Lowlights:

Very minor, but there’s better performances of Exit out there. And those “staaay” notes in TUF seem to trip Bono up every time he sings it.


A gem of a show, well-performed by the band, and a must-have for any Joshua Tree collection. A brilliant reminder of the passion and sheer energy that lies at the core of this band, both for their own music and the audience they play it to.

Performance:
"Train comin'..."

And the 360 revolution begins! Based on the bootleg, very good first performance highlighted by some key numbers.

Though I love Breathe dearly, it didn't do it for me as an opener. Still my favorite song on the album, and I can't fault this performance, but as an opener for me it lacks the power and sheer electric shock of a NLOTH or Magnificent to really get the crowd into it from the get-go. And from the way the band continued on to play NLOTH, Magnificent, and Boots, I can definitely see a rotation of all three eventually evolving into the openers. Extra (bongo?) drums in Boots sound cool.

Beautiful Day's slightly revamped intro is nice. Performances of Still Haven't Found, Angel of Harlem, and In a Little While were good, though I'm in the camp that wishes for the Mofo's, Gones, and LNOEs that were built to be chanted as anthems in stadiums, rather than toned-down, sing-a-long arena rockers.

The hook-up to the ISS was completely surprising. I wonder if the band back in '93 ever dreamed they could evolve from reaching Sarajevo to reaching space itself. Unknown Caller seems to have a safe placement in the setlist directly following, and the extra verse-chants at the end was a great crowd-communicator.

Then comes the meat of the show for me. The Unforgettable Fire. Watching the video of the screen expanded reflecting the lights...amazing. I can tell on the bootleg that the sound filled the stadium completely. Segue into COBL...goosebumps all over. Follow with a Vertigo that sounds different, though I can't quite place why, and I'm into it.

Crazy Tonight...awesome. This might be a love-it-or-hate-it situation, and I'm on the love it side. They turned a cute little pop song into a tribal, funky, Discotheque-esque stadium thumper. My personal favorite on the night. Hoping they keep that arrangement for the North American leg.

Streets is worth mentioning as another highlight. Red background and organ intro - fantastic.

Bono's vocals on the second verse of UV were my favorite from him on the night.

Finally, I think Moment of Surrender will be a great closer when it finds its groove after some practice or re-arrangement.


Listening to the bootleg again, aside from the performances, I'm also impressed by and looking forward to hearing in person some of the song's unique segues and intros. BD, Boots, the segue between Walk On and Streets (aside from Dt speech)...should bring on the goosebumps in person.

Audience:
A bit in the background at parts of the recording, but from what I can hear they sound ecstatic to be the first audience of the tour. Great to hear them chant along on the "oh-ohs" per Bono's instruction and fill in lyrics for B-man where needed.

Sound quality:
This part is only rated, not commented on.

Overall:
Very good first performance. Not a home run, but certainly not PopMart opening-esque. It's clear that they're still figuring out what works with the new songs, and I'm sure that will only improve as the tour progresses.

Highlights:
All NLOTH tracks except MOS
TUF
Crazy Tonight

Bring on the rest of the tour!

Performance:
A promising setlist and their enthusiasm for their new songs off of War make the band's performance here in Scotland a good one. You can tell that they haven't quite figured out how to play the new songs off of War yet, but their energy in playing them makes up for it. I don't know it it's for that reason, but the Boy and October songs in this show seem to stand out a litle more than usual. Gloria, Brick, and ADWM thunder along, while Seconds, NYD, SBS, and later on, Surrender, seem to falter a little. The middle section of the show is the highlight for me, where the October album gets some deserved attention--I Fall Down, October, and Tomorrow all display great performances here. Bono's vocals shine on Party Girl and 40, and when the show ends, I'm left feeling like I got both a good snapshot of the band's career thus far and a good idea of where they're about to go next.

Audience:
You can tell fom the start it's going to be a stellar audience when they nearly drown Bono out on the "2-3-4!" at the start of Gloria. They neither interfere with the listening experience nor extract from it. Great crowd overall.

Sound quality:
Hollow and distant at times, but for the most part, a good balance of band and audience. Adam and Bono come through a bit heavy at a couple spots, but nothing majorly off-putting.

Overall:
Very good early War show. This is worth keeping for the rare performances of Tomorrow and A Celebration alone, but moreso for how it showcases a band who seems to be figuring out how to channel all the raw energy of their eariler shows into a more stellar performance. Compare this show with their Red Rocks performance a few months later and you can hear the development.

Highlights:

A Day Without Me
I Fall Down
October
Tomorrow
11 O'Clock Tick Tock
40

Performance:
Outstanding show. The performances are clear and polished, like the boys have been playing all the songs, including the UF ones, since they started as a band, but at the same time the show keeps a raw energy that shows they genuinely seem to love being there. Adam is all over this show—I Will Follow, The Unforgettable Fire, October, Party Girl, and Gloria all feature him prominently, completely rocking out. And for a crowd that had never seen U2 live before, they were on fire as much as the band was (see MLK, Sunday Bloody Sunday and Gloria).

11 O’Clock Tick Tock gets us going with a clean, crystal clear tone packed with raw energy. I Will Follow has a little extra depth and echo in the bass that makes it sound much fuller than other performances. Seconds is solid, and the ambience of MLK is bookended nicely with the audience’s enthusiastic reactions at the beginning and end. The Unforgettable Fire—now this is how it should be played. All Edge here, painting a huge sonic, elevating landscape. A pulsing performance of Wire and its segue into Sunday Bloody Sunday bring us back down into the concert’s energy, and both meet in an outstanding performance of The Electric Co. with an Amazing Grace snippet that was perfectly timed and executed by Bono. I got goosebumps.

Any performance of A Sort of Homecoming is always welcome, but especially when it’s as clear, clean and (mostly) lyrically correct and full as this one. A 12-minute, thumping Bad followed that didn’t drag on or end too abruptly, but was perfectly timed. A full, bass- and piano-driven October made its usual segue into New Year’s Day, which had the entire concert’s single bum note from Edge on piano. Then we get Pride—this may sound odd, but what a treat to hear it. If you’ve lost interest in hearing it live from too many Vertigo shows, go back and listen to this version to restore your belief in it. Pure and its prime.

Party Girl was outstanding, first for not forgetting the words or fucking up the notes, and second for the small, last part, a few notes back and forth between Adam and Edge that I wish they’d do at every performance of it. The transition into Gloria is flawless, and Adam regains his fire, as does the crowd. Knocking on Heaven’s Door might be the only wild card in the show, a bit rocky with an ending that just sort of trails off, but not horrible by any means. Finally, I usually find 40 to be a bore to end shows, but Bono includes a small snippet or some kind of extra verse at the end that is just beautiful.

Overall, a very clear and clean sound, a polished band that knew (or seemed to know) what they were doing, and somehow, a huge, raw, thick energy from both the band and the crowd that shows in the entire concert’s performance. Outstanding show.

Audience:
Excellent. Not interfering, not too quiet. They’re energetic, they know the words, and they respond to all the energy that Bono throws right back at them—“You—you hold me up!”

Sound quality:
Good to my ears. The band can be heard clearly, the audience isn’t up front all the time, and there’s no random fade-outs or beeps.

Overall:
Highlights:

All songs were nearly flawless, so I’ll point out a few key tracks that I loved that don’t usually get a lot of recognition:

MLK
October
Party Girl and its transition into Gloria
The end of 40


One of, if not the, Unforgettable Fire boots, Dortmund included, and one of the best of all the tours. If you’re not a fan of the UF tour, this will change your mind in a heartbeat. A must-have.

Performance:
I was a bit disappointed with this boot, to be honest. I count on 5th leg Vertigo shows for great, energetic performances with unique setlists. Decent performance overall from the boys here, but lacking a bit in energy, save for a few key performances of rare songs.

The first set seemed fairly typical, nothing special. COBL, Vertigo, and Elevation were quite punchy, I Will Follow was a nice surprise, but New Year's Day and Beautiful Day seemed to lack in energy a bit for me. The band redeem themselves with Stuck and AOH, though. I usually skip Stuck on any boot, acoustic or full electric, but this one I have to say was great. Combined with a really fun performance of AOH, these two songs were the highlight of the first set for me.

SYCMIOYO and LAPOE seemed a bit lackluster, but the crowd during Sunday Bloody Sunday lifted the energy right back up. Bono seemed to channel that energy into his stellar performance of Miss Sarajevo, one of the best performances I've heard. Close out with good performances of Pride, Streeets, and One, and the Australian crowd is loving it.

Encore

Great, rocking performance of Zoo Station, nicely followed by The Fly. WOWY seemed to break up the set for me, both in its odd place between The Fly and TSAC and its nothing-special performance. I usually enjoy TSAC, but this was a bit of a rocky performance. Desire was the opposite--great, rocking performance again. Kite for me was the highlight--wonderful choice for a closer, and while I still prefer the Melbourne version, this is a great performance, very heartfelt and leaves me--and the Aussies--wanting more.

Audience:
At times annoying and detracting from my focus on the performance, but overall a good crowd.

Sound quality:
Not great, but not horrible. The band seems really distant at times, particularly Edge, but I could still sit through it.

Overall:
Wish I was more positive about it! Decent show overall, but to me, nothing entirely special, aside from the appearance of Kite. If you like Vertigo 5th leg (which you should) this a good boot to have.

Performance:
A solid, energetic performance from the boys. From what exists of it on the recording, COBL sounds like a strong opening, but the show really starts to take off with a great version of Vertigo. The energy really seems to build here at the "hello hellos" even before the first verse, and the Rockaway Beach snippet in the middle is always a welcome addition. Elevation serves its purpose before a standout performance of Electric Co., with two snippets (People I Don't Know Are Trying to Kill Me, See Me Feel Me) that we need to hear more often. The nice transition into The Ocean and the following segue into a clear performance of Beautiful Day, complete with the Sgt. Peppers snippet, gives this first part of the show a great flow and adequate energy that seems to taper off in the middle section, beginning with Miracle Drug.

Sometimes' highlight is Bono's opera note, and I share Jeremy's dislike for the Black Hills of Dakota snippet; it seems out of place, almost making it too much like a sing-a-long in an otherwise serious song. The clicks and beeps in LAPOE and its cutting-out before the end with Bono's drumming hid too much of what I always want to hear in this song--angry guitar and bellowing drums. I wish the static in Sunday Bloody Sunday was a bit louder, though, because not even that could hide a sloppy vocal performance from Bono. Hearing the extra guitar parts at the beginning of BTBS was the highlight for that song, which was more than made up for in a great performance of Miss Sarajevo. It's always nice to hear Bono sing in Italian, and he and the rest of the band really seemed to put all their energy into this performance. Pride is solid as usual, and Streets--have to disagree with you here, aussiemofo--is marred by a less-than-strong vocal performance. Edge, Adam, and Larry, from what we can hear from them, sound like their usual freight train running through the arena, but Bono sounded tired. One is great, nice to hear Lanois, and always nice to hear the 'Do you hear me coming Lord" part. Wish we had gotten to hear the entirety of Ol' Man River; great to hear Eddie Vedder with the band. Aside from Miss Sarajevo, there's nothing outstanding in this middle part of the show.

As it's been said, Discotheque remains the track people will remember this boot for, and I like it mainly for the Pop Muzik intro, Relax snippet, and the fact that the actually played it. It added great energy to the show, and the click track from the IEM device actually added to the performance as well. The usually reliable Fly is the only cog in this encore, sounding unusually and completely off. WOWY and ABOY serve their usual great performances here--I may be in the minority, but I love ABOY and hearing it in the encore is really enjoyable. Then we get the real highlight of the show--Fast Cars. Don't be fooled by Discotheque--this is the real hidden gem of this show, and overshadows the Boston performance by about eight miles. Solid, energetic performance from all members, one of the most cohesive songs on the night. Yahweh always sounds nice acoustically, but the click track deters from this, and 40 closes out the show nicely.

Audience:
Decent as any, I would guess. You can really only hear them properly on Pride, and they sound pretty into it.

Sound quality:
The clicks, beeps, and bursts of static really detracts from the quality of this boot for me. It's nice to hear some extra guitar and keyboard parts, especially in Elevation, Bullet, and One, but as Drew said, the vocals are too emphasized here and the band sounds too distant. Particularly on songs like Bullet and LAPOE, I always love hearing the texture of Edge's guitar, and I couldn't hear it on this boot. I could barely hear Adam and Larry, which especially detracts from a thundering song like Streets.

Overall:
Ultimate highlights:
Fast Cars. Best performance I've heard.
Discotheque, primarily for its Pop Muzik and Relax snippets

Others:
Vertigo
Electric Co.
The Ocean
Miss Sarajevo

Show Lowlights:

Love and Peace or Else
Sunday Bloody Sunday
The Fly

Overall:

A few standout tracks are balanced with some less-than-perfect ones and distracting/interfering sound to make this neither a great show nor a poor one. Grab it if you like IEMs, Fast Cars, and two minutes of Eddie Vedder.