Date May 12, 1987
Band U2
Tour The Joshua Tree
Venue Meadowlands Arena
City East Rutherford, NJ
Who saw this show with me? Ray Koob and about 50 WMMR listeners
Notes My first U2 was very spur of the moment and completely unexpected. I worked at WMMR in Philadelphia and the station was sending listeners to The Meadowlands to see U2. The promotions director, Ray Koob, had a few extra seats on the bus and asked me if I'd like to go. One minute I'm getting ready to go home and the next I'm on a bus heading to North Jersey to see one of the hottest bands in the world.
The show was, to put it simply, amazing. U2 was at their top of their game and loving every second of it. The band had transcended from a "new wave band" to rock superstars. They played eight songs for their new album The Joshua Tree including "With Or Without You." I recall Bono saying that Billboard had just announced that "With Or Without You" was the #1 song in the country. What a moment!
U2 closed the concert with "40." I remember as we walked out of the stadium everyone was still singing, "How long to sing this song?"
Setlist
- Where The Streets Have No Name
- I Will Follow
- Trip Through Your Wires
- I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
- MLK
- The Unforgettable Fire
- Bullet The Blue Sky
- Running To Stand Still
- Exit
- In God's Country
- Sunday Bloody Sunday
- The Electric Co.
- People Get Ready
- Bad
- October
- Springhill Mining Disaster
- New Year's Day
- Pride (In The Name Of Love)
- With Or Without You
- "40"