The First Time

9 Jul 2010597
When was the first time you saw Larry, Edge, Adam and Bono play live ? How old were you ? Was it last year on the 360� Tour or was it in another millennium way back when ?

'A hot summer day in Paris at the Vincennes Hippodrome.' remembers Dom from France. 'I was 23 year old (and) when the band finally arrived, the sunset was behind the stage and I felt like in a dream. The first song they played was Exodus from Bob Marley...'

'I was a highschool senior,' says someone else. 'And still look back at this concert at the Rosemont Horizon as my greatest moment with U2.'

'On the Vertigo Tour in Brussels, Larry puts his drums right in front of me...'

'Yale University in New Haven: epic, unforgettable show with Bono climbing anywhere he could....'

You've been posting some extraordinary memories of the first time you saw the band play live - unforgettable nights on every tour they've ever played. And not just the show - sometimes unlikely encounters with the band.

'I was 11, I lived across the road from Croke Park. That evening (of the show) our street football match had play stopped by a white Mercedes and out of the car jumps Bono in a white suit. He said hello, gave my mum a hug, shook my hand, jumped back in the car.....'

What about you ? How did you end up at your first U2 show ? Does the venue still exist ? Who did you go with ? Was there a moment you'll never forget ? One of the band do something that's stuck in your mind? A song that changed everything?

Google your memories and tell us below about the first time you saw the band live. Don't forget to add in your name and city/country at the end of the post so we know where you're from.

(Incidentally, keep a copy of your post� once you've added it below. Then post it again in our� tour section - on the night and on the tour of the show you're writing about. If you've got a photo - the band, you and your mates, the ticket stub - the tour pages are where you can upload it. The more reviews you add, the more encyclopaedic an archive of the band's touring history we'll create. Thanks.)
Comments
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heartsandsoul
First time: 2001, Arnhem, Gelredome
The first time i saw U2 was in 2001, Arnhem, Gelredome. In 1997 [Pop Mart Tour] the tickets were sold out (a very painful experience). In 2001 i saw Bono, Larry, The Edge and Adam for the first time live from a distance [with a binocular by the way ;-)]. A very special moment. After the concert we missed the last train. So we stayed on the streets of Arnhem that night. (for the first train the next morning.....). My God! ;-) i'll never forget! ;-) I also saw U2 in 2005 and 2009.
EGUINE73
Paris 92 "je suis en noir"
It was my first U2 show, I missed them in 1989, i was 19 year's old. it was amazing, so hot, so incredible ! after this one, I saw ... 35 !!! U2 show's, in Dublin, london, miami, paris, barcelona, madrid, milano, NY, ..... the next one we'll be in 3 days on Turino . i'm 37 years old now, But i'm always the same. Thank you "the U5" (please don't forget Paul Mac G). And god bless you !
marcianne
Atlanta - October 2009
u2360 tour..the show ended with a tribute to Michael Hutchence, was in the first few rows and the emotion was palpable. Bono said he was "oxygen". I had a brother like that. The show ended with a photo on screen. We all just left in silence. It was deafening.
potterassoc
First Concert of Mine
1983 WAR Tour - Rochester, NY - College Hockey Arena for Rochester Institute of Technology College. I was 15. First concert I went to along with my best friends. It was amazing, we were so close, and Bono couldn't stop climbing all over the speakers. The large "Boy" silk screen image behind the band, belting out every song I knew by them all the way back to 11 O'Clock Tick Tock. As if I wasn't already hooked by then, they became my all time favorite band that night and still hold that ranking today.
teachjan
You always remember your first time...
My first U2 concert was the PopMart Tour at Foxboro Stadium in Boston in 1997. I did not even know U2 then; I was familiar with perhaps 1 or 2 songs. But there was so much hype on the radio about the concert, that I convinced my husband to try to get tickets. Well, back then, getting concert tickets was actually EASY; I don't think ticket "brokers" had emerged yet. Anyway, we were able to snag 2 tickets at face value ( $52...I still have the stub) just 2 or 3 days before the show. The seats were quite decent, too. I was blown away...by the props; the atmosphere; the music; the people all singing along; Bono's improvising when it started to rain...I was hooked! I immediately began my "research" into U2; trying to discover as much as I could about this band and their music. I fell in love... We'll be going to Montreal next summer for the show that was postponed from this summer. It will be my 8th show...
Stade de France
It was on July, 12th 2009, at the Stade De France, in Paris, for the 360 tour with my father, it was so awesome! Until today, this day is the best of my life! To hear them and to see them "in true" is something that every fan should do in its life!! ;) U2 for ever!!!!!!! U2 rocks!!!!!!!!!!! Love from France, Abby Gaëlle
Marcus1109
One night in Paris
The first time I saw U2 on stage was in 2001. I was 23. It was a unbelievable moment of my life. My brother listened U2 in 1980-1981 and I was 2 years old. What pleasure to see the guys 20 years later. U2 songs rythm my life since 30 years and I hope for a long time
lpinheiro
Vilar de Mouros'82 (Portugal)
July 1982 - In the afternoon of the show, with some friends we could assist to the U2 soundcheck, that quickly was transformed in a fantastic live show. We were not more than 30 people, including the Band. It was an incredible experience, that I always remember. lpinheiro
rjrodrigues
1992
I think it was in 1992, in Lisbon, in Alvalade Stadium...it was great!!! I touch Bono in his face near the stage and he offers my cousin his glass of water...unforgetable fire moment!!!!!!! :) Ricardo
sharon3
Radio City Music Hall 1984
The first time I saw U2 was on December 3, 1984 at Radio City Music Hall. My friend and I went and we had seats in the 21st row. It was a wonderful winter night in New York. The tree was lit that night and it was snowing lightly. I've seen the boys many, many times since then but nothing will compare to that night and no band will compare to them when they play live. (Well, maybe INXS, but we're not talking about them now.) After the show my friend and I waited outside in the freezing cold hoping to see the guys come out. There were only a handful of people waiting. (It's a bit different now, isn't it?) Bono came out and right away spoke to the girl he had danced with during the show. Then my friend and I got our chance to speak to him But somehow we both lost our minds and could say nothing except, "We Love You, We love you," over and over. I still cringe when I think about it, but I'm sure Bono doesn't remember.
kentl
My first concert whith u2
THAT MUST BE IN PARKEN IN COBENHAGEN 2005! THAT WERES MY BEDST CONCERT EVER!THAT "ONE" WILL I NEVER FORGET! kENT IN DENMARK
jgomez
From Buenos Aires to Sao Paulo
I born and I have lived all my life in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I'm a fan of U2 since the early '80s but never could see them at live because they had never given a show in South America ... until 1998. At that time, Pop Mart Tour, I prefered not to wait to see them in Buenos Aires, where finally I saw two of the three shows than they provided. So I planned my vacations to go to Brazil, and be i Sao Pablo right in the moment when U2 would give his first concert, a week before than in my city. That was my first U2's show (January 30, 1998).
mmaine
First time I saw U2
Red Rocks, 1983! Most incredible setting, concert ever! The ampitheater was only 1/2 full when the concert started , but by the mid-way point it was standing room only, as the fog & flames took over the venue. My musical life has never been the same & I became a life-long U2 fan.
caparsons
Show stopper in Dallas
The first time I saw U2 was in 1984 for the Unforgettable Fire tour in Dallas, TX. I was 15, and had War and Unforgettable Fire on continual repeat in my tape deck for months up to the show. This was during all the fuss about MLK day in Arizona and there were numerous death threat rumors floating around. At one point in the show, the crowd was pushing on the barrier and someone thought a gun was flashed. Bono actually stopped the band in mid-song...Gloria if memory serves me right...and told everyone to calm down and that no one had ever been hurt at a U2 show. The crowd calmed down, and they finished the show. It was a rare "champagne bottle show", and Bono sprayed the first few rows in celebration. A couple of my friends that had sneaked up to the front smelled of champagne in the car all the way home. It was an amazing concert, and I had never experienced that sort of love and unity from an audience before. I was hooked, and have enjoyed them the 8 other times I've seen them, but this first one is very special.
eibbeda
The most beautiful rainy night
The first time I saw the band was in the old Tampa Bay stadium. My seat was really far away and it started to rain softly, but I didn't care. I remember looking up at the rain coming down through the lights and hearing Bono's voice. It was beautiful!
u2 the 1st time i saw them
it was 20th dec 1982 on the pre war tour,ill never 4get that nighr i was 15 and was totally blown away,the boys started wit twilight wat a classic then half way threw the set bono announced this next song is not a rebel song and then went on 2 say if we didnt like it u2'd never play it again,needless 2 say it was fantastic,next big memory 4 me was wen larry began the drum beat of gloria i jumped on2 the stage and sang 1st few lines b4 steve iredale pulled me of but what a vivid memory i have of bn on stage with u2
brendaneno
Phoenix Park, Dublin, 1983
What an introduction to live music! Sunday 14th Aug. 1983. 17 years old, Leaving cert. results acquired 72 hours previously and attending my first ever concert. Blistering hot summer day. There with my best friend, his girlfriend and my date, a girl called Carole Coleman. We got the bus from the city and walked through Phoenix Park in the afternoon sunshine, the distant sound of the music getting closer with every step until suddenly we were there. It was.......even now, l can't find the words to describe it, the heat, the sound, the feeling...... I bought the first of many U2 t-shirts, probably an unofficial one and we shared cans of flat Fanta and melting Twix bars. There are photographs too and they will be found. Following sets by Big Country, Eurythmics and Simple Minds, Dave Fanning introduced U2 who ran onstage and launched into Out Of Control as the sun set. I remember Surrender, October, I Will Follow, A Day Without Me, Gloria, Party Girl, Bono dancing with his Dad, singing Happy Birthday to The Edge, New Year's Day and ''40''. We got seperated from my friend and his girlfriend towards the end and I'll never forget walking back towards the city in the darkness, everyone singing 'How long to sing this song' late into the night. We all met up again at a bus stop and made our way home. I've seen U2 many times since then of course, but the memories of that day will stay with me forever.
dkeego
dave keegan ireland
croke park July 1985.hooked ever since.no need to say any more
jinky
Jinky
With the 360 stage, the sound and the visuals, how good would silver & gold be live!!!!!!!!!!!
I was 16, the 18th of October 1984, in L
Well, the title says all. I was a crazy music fascinated teenager with my 16 years old. I had never seen any concert before. The punk fashion was just ending... It was the era of the new wave. It has been a real fight with my parents to let my sister and me go there. Around 100 Km from the familly house. The ticket cost 84 French Francs = 14 € = around 20 $ I guess. I still have that ticket. :-) Would love to get it signed. The guest band was Big Audio Dynamite, the band of the "The Clash" Member Mick Jones. It was already funny for me to see that guy on stage this time and not anymore on TV. And them U2 came... Was to my taste the best concert I ever seen. I like that minimalist avangardiste spirit the band had that time. Pratically no light show, but an energy only focused on music... A magical athmosphere. At that time, the french radio were free. Without any advertising. Someone recorder the concert and set it on a free radio. I recorded it. It was the concert which influenced to play music. since that time, I play music. If someone reading that comment and could help me getting my vintage old god Gibson Explorer 1976 limited edition signed by Edge... I would be a nice story.
usuireikimaster
1981 - BOY TOUR-Bayou, Washington, D.C.
Their FIRST American tour - "BOY" - a few months after release . The Bayou was packed. EVERYONE there knew all the songs from BOY; we all sang each song and each encore after encore after encore. There was a PASSION there that night that was never again evoked at The Bayou; and I've been there many times. U2 created our love of the Band because they give 1000%; the lyrics are filled with EMOTION - something only U2 still dares to DO - as a ROCK BAND. I fell in love then and now 30 years later, THEY ARE STILL MY FAVORITE BAND! I just finished watching the episode of "Deadliest Catch" when Phil had his funeral, and I heard Bono and the boys singing such a beautiful song - a True Tribute to a Man of the Sea. Thank You for all the GREAT YEARS! See ya in Miami 2011!
The First Time....
fan since 1982....Way back on sat June 27th 1987 at Croke Park....I was 15 yrs old...rem that day as if it was yesterday!!...I slighty upset tho!!....because I thought I was going to be only a hand few there!!...shocked 55,000 had the same idea as me on that day!!...crazy crowd...anyway brilliant day...have seen every tour since!! either in dublin or london!! never tire of U2's music...long live these guys...keep up the good work hope to see you again in a city near me!! any chance of playing back in Ireland seeing I'm back living here!!...lol
sosio71
THE 1ST TIME...I FELT LOVE
It was 23th may 1992 when I saw my first u2 concert: from Naples to Milan, after ten hours by train I arrived to the place but, after two hours outside the gates and under the rain, I kwew that the concert was postponed... I waited two days in Milan and, at the end, I met THEIRS: it was an extraordinary concert! Thank you guys for that live and all others lives you' ve played for us, GRAZIE! Bono take care, see you to Rome next october...
train station
the first time we travel from london to cardif from mexico
zimzim00
Just waiting
My first u2 concert was at Carter-Findlay Stadium in Raliegh,NC. Great show. How in the hell can u get 65,000 people to sing as one? Got to hand it to the band, they did it. I've seen tons of concerts over the years, and being from KY (US), the quality of acts coming to town is a "take it or leave it" proposition. Although they did come to KY fro JT, i was in college and it was the talk of campus. I was a metal head at the time and just didnt "get it." So i passed. Then came ATUCLB to KY. I just plain missed em...too wrapped up in my life (2 small kids, mom sick, etc.) Then by the time Vertigo came around i was ready. I was a "full blown" fan, committed. I looked at the tour schedule and cried. Nowhere close to KY. Id have to check the schedule again, but i think the closest they came was Cleveland. Now to 360. I was bound and determined to go no matter where they play. 2 cities. Raleigh, NC or Atlanta. Both about the same distance from me (around 6 hrs away). Chose Raleigh b/c my wife had been there several times with her father (he had kidney cancer). So Raleigh it was, and wow! Spiritual, sexual, moving, it was all there. We took our oldest daughter. Although i am a guitar nut and am "Edge Crazy" i couldnt keep my eyes off Bono. The man just has it. I have never been so excited to see a band before. I've never walked away from a show feeling so "connected" before. Sure there were good shows, but there was always a separation. An imaginary line bands do not cross. Most put on good to great shows...sounded good too, but not on the level of U2. Its a catharsis. A shedding of all the pretension of oneself. U2 does it every night. How do you do that? Maybe other bands practice too much. To nail down the show so much to the "nth" degree that over time its all mechanical to them. I didnt get that feeling after watching U2. Why? I think some of the show is talked about beforehand and maybe rehersed a little. But i think its something more. The music. The music makes you think and makes you feel. The music U2 writes gets into your inner being grags ahold of your soul and doesnt let go. So they are to me a soul band if i had to label them, and i hate labels. All it takes is one song, a riff maybe, a howling singer to get inside. Maybe its all at once i dont know. There is a cost...for sure to be a U2 fan...a true U2 fan. It didnt happen for me until after my mom passed and heard the song "kite". Thats the point they got in and didnt let go. At that point i understood. Everything was clear. Before that instant they were just a band. I can hear myself now,"oh...there goes Bono again" Now i get it. Cant explain it, i just do. My wife says,"whats up with this U2 thing" What do u say? I just say,"cant you hear it?" See says,"no." Then her father passes away. Now i think she understands a little. She came to me one day and says,"That Kite song really gets to me sometimes...you know" I just smile. See, the beautiful part of this story is i never told her about the song and what it meant to me, or how it helped dealing with loss. I knew someday U2 just might grab onto her. She hears it now.
ZooTV8
First Time: Chicago/Rosemont March 1993
The first time I saw U2 should have been on the Joshua Tree Tour, but my sister came up less than sober and couldn't drive me to buy tickets. I was in college (read: poor!) when Achtung Baby came out, and I was bound and determined to BE at the ZooTV INDOOR and OUTSIDE Broadcasts! I scrapped together the cash, convinced my best friend to go, too, and actually lost my voice during the indoor show. I took my now wife to my second show, her first, later that summer at the New World Music Theater outside of Chicago, where U2 made the Earth shake... and local municipalities threaten lawsuits! Lance A. Schart Chicago, IL USA
opie
Zoo TV, Oakland, 1992
I stayed up all night trying to win tickets on a radio contest. At 5am, I finally won two tickets on the 5th row. But I was so nervous and excited, I told the radio folks the wrong address and my tickets went missing in the mail. So, I went to Oakland anyway, bought tickets from a scalper, and sat on the top deck.....Barry, Sacramento, CA,USA.
chris_thomas
Life changing
I missed U2 playing at Kidderminster town hall due to work but caught up with them the following year at Gateshead Stadium supporting the Police. It was a day that changed my whole life !! That was the start of a long road, many festivals across Europe with Simple Minds , Big Country & the Eurythmics. Events like "the big one" , Island records party at Paris meeting great friends and listening to the greatest band ever .
claire17
Paris 10th july 2005
10th july 2005, Stade de France, Paris. Had been waiting for that moment since I was 12, when I listened to "Pride" on the radio and asked myself: "but what's that sound??" In 2005,I was 28 and my dream became true. I remember Bono singing a part of "Amazing Grace", I was thrilled. Then overjoyed with "Pride" and "New year's day". Sitting beside me was a nut boy, really nut: when U2 started playing "Sunday bloody sunday", he shouted to everyone: "listen, listen that's the irish anthem!" lol A month later I was back in San Sebastian and could hear "Kite" live for the first time. I think I cried. Bono was not fit that night, coughing but he did the job as usual. Magical! Since then I'm a U2 addict: the 3 Dublin shows last year, Paris and San Sebastianthis year. I always tell myself it'll be the last time but...it's never the last one 'cos it's too good:)! Claire (France)
novelchic
My first concert ever
The first concert I ever attended was a U2 concert at Giant Stadium when I was in high school (in the 1990's). I was either a sophmore or junior in high school, I think, and it seemed all the other girls were into New Kids on the Block and I was the only one I knew who was into real music and musicians, like U2. They've been my favorite band since I first heard them while I was tucked away in my closet with my ear to the wall listening to my brother listen to U2. I was in 4th grade and my parents wouldn't let me listen to any music except classical (don't ask me why). Anyway, I fell in love with U2 then so by the time I was in high school I felt a bit awkward around girls who listened to music because the people 'singing' it were "cute and maybe if they just met me they'd fall in love with me." Seriously?! So I found 3 guys to go with and somehow convinced my parents to let me go - they waited in the parking lot during the whole concert. I remember walking into the stadium and seeing the ' Vote Baby' booth and wondering if it meant that U2 was prolife. :) I was young. I figured it out before I made a fool of myself though. The concert was amazing!! There was so much to take in that I was a bit overwhelmed. I also wondered what that sweet smelling aroma was. Yes, I was a sheltered child. I remember everything from the drive to the concert, the songs U2 performed, the belly dancer, the huge televisions everywhere, the whole atmosphere. Wow!! An evening I'll always remember. I've never been able to go to another U2 concert but one day I really hope to. I admire not only their music but what they do off stage as well. I support a child in Uganda, at the very center of where the AIDS epidemic started. I hope to be able to visit her next September. So all the work Bono has done for this cause has a very special meaning to me as well. Keep up the greatness. And get better soon Bono!!
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