U2 Save The Yuppies Concert
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Philzone Refugee
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A little over 34 years ago, in the middle of The Joshua Tree tour, U2 borrowed the Grateful Dead's equipment, set up on a flatbed truck, and played a free show for 20,000 people in the streets of San Francisco. Their own equipment had already been sent ahead to the next tour stop in Vancouver, so the Dead stepped up with the assist.
Full show video:
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Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: GDTRFB
Cool - this one works!
Cool!
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Johnny D
Interesting. Thanks for
Interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Philzone Refugee
All Along The Watchtower
U2
Save The Yuppies Free Concert
Vallancourt Fountain at Justin Herman Plaza
San Francisco, California
November 11, 1987
All Along The Watchtower
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Out of Control
People Get Ready
Trip Through Your Wires
Silver and Gold
Helter Skelter
Pride (In the Name of Love)
For some reason, I have no memory of this event. In November of 1987, I was in more or less of a hiatus from the Rock 'n' Roll party lifestyle, and focused on finishing my undergraduate studies, which I did in the following month of December. I saw significant chunks of the 1985, 1986 and 1988 GD tours, but skipped most of 1987, including, regrettably, the Dylan shows. I had seen U2 at Hampton Coliseum on April 10, 1985 on the Unforgettable Fire Tour. They weren't playing All Along The Watchtower then. I wonder if they started covering it before or after the Dead? I also wonder about the information I got from another story that their equipment had already been shipped north to Vancouver, as they were about to play two shows at Oakland Coliseum a few days after this free show.
From the Wikipedia entry on Vallancourt Fountain:
On the first leg of The Joshua Tree Tour by the rock band U2 in 1987, they performed concerts at the Cow Palacejust south of San Francisco on April 24 and April 25, 1987. On the third leg of the tour, concerts had been announced for November 14 and 15, 1987, across the San Francisco Bay, at the Oakland Coliseum.
On the morning of November 11, 1987, local radio stations announced that U2 would hold a free-admission concert that day in Justin Herman Plaza, with the stage set up in front of the Vaillancourt Fountain. Within a few hours, a crowd estimated at 20,000 people gathered in the plaza.[14] The concert was jokingly called "Save the Yuppies", in reference to the 1987 stock market crash that had taken place three weeks earlier.[15]
The band closed their nine-song performance with their hit "Pride (In the Name of Love)".[16] During the instrumental portion in the middle of the song, Bono, lead singer of the band, climbed onto the sculpture and spray painted graffiti on it, reading "Rock N Roll Stops The Traffic".[16] Mayor Dianne Feinstein, who had been waging a citywide campaign against graffiti that had resulted in over 300 citations during the year, was angry and criticized Bono for defacing a San Francisco landmark.[17][18][19] She said, "I am disappointed that a rock star who is supposed to be a role model for young people chose to vandalize the work of another artist. The unfortunate incident marred an otherwise wonderful rock concert."[20] Bono was issued a citation for misdemeanor malicious mischief.[18] U2 manager Paul McGuinness said, "This is clearly not an act of vandalism. This act was clearly in the spirit of the artwork itself."[18] The numerous callers to Ronn Owens' radio talk show on KGO-AM were evenly split, with younger listeners defending the singer's action and older ones not.[17] Bono soon apologized,[17] saying "I really do regret it. It was dumb."[21] The singer explained that he thought that he was honoring the artist's work and that the artist had agreed, but later Bono realized that the city owned the fountain.[21] The group covered the cost of removal of the graffiti.[22]
Armand Vaillancourt flew from Quebec to California after the incident, and spoke in favor of Bono's actions at U2's Oakland performance several days later.[14]Vaillancourt said, "Good for him. I want to shake his hand. People get excited about such a little thing."[19] The sculptor spray-painted a slogan of his own on the band's stage, "Stop the Madness".[18]
The episode received further attention when it was featured in U2's 1988 documentary film Rattle and Hum.[16] There, footage of it was shown over, and interspersed with, the band's opening number, "All Along the Watchtower", a song by Bob Dylan that had been a big hit for Jimi Hendrix.[23] This has led some people to misidentify the song being played when the spray painting occurred.[14] In any case, the fountain and plaza ended up on one U2 fan site's list of recommended group-related places in the U.S. to visit.[23]
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Philzone Refugee
Corrected setlist with
Corrected setlist with additional notes:
Comments: All Along The Watchtower was recorded here for Rattle & Hum; this is the first time U2 had performed it since 1 February 1981 and it is so ramshackle that it was touched up in the studio before the commercial release. In the middle of Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bono sees a sign with 'SF' & 'U2' on it. Bono mistakes the 'SF' as Sinn Fein (rather than San Francisco) and has a fit. During Out Of Control, Bono sings a mangled lyric that combines references from Sexual Healing and Dancing On The Ceiling into one short snippet.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Woz
I was there! The receptionist
I was there! The receptionist heard the announcement on KFOG and our office emptied out to Justin Herman plaza to hear the music!
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Rasputin O'Leary
^ Awesome. I've seen em lots,
^ Awesome. I've seen em lots, but not that one. Love them Irish boys.
Love, lift me out of these blues
Won't you tell me something true
Cuz I believe in you
Elevation (Live From Slane Castle, Ireland / 2001 / Remastered 2021)
https://youtu.be/yZEBjBbNZpw
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: doctor
Rasputin O'Leary likes U2?
Rasputin O'Leary likes U2?
That's a shocker.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: The Eggman
Nice treat for any music fans
Nice treat for any music fans staying on the right side of The Hyatt that day.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: |-|/-\|_|_
I heard about it at the time,
I heard about it at the time, but chose not to go... I had already seen their shtick once, and that was enough for me. I still feel to this day that they're overrated, especially The
EdgeBore, but it was the 80's, and the competition for anything resembling rock was thinning what with the aging/dying of the 60's/70's bands combined with the New Wave dreck washing over the masses. IMO it's the same cause and effect that brought the influx of Touchheads. Thanks MTV!Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Mice elf
great footage
great footage
bono railing on the ira around 8:50
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: doctor
Sinead O'Connor hated Bono.
Sinead O'Connor hated Bono. But who cares about her too. Bono is a prima donna though. Like Jack White.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: nebulous nelly
^Jack white is awful. Third Man Records is alright
Never understood U2's appeal.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Def. High
I never listen to them on
I never listen to them on purpose, but they did write a handful of better-than-most-of-the-rest pop songs.
No desire to see them live.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Rasputin O'Leary
Schtick ? He's a frontman for
Schtick ? Hahaaaaaa Bono's an Irish frontman for Christ's sake (can't dance), and the rest of em barely move, what the hell ya want ?
When your singer has the voice of an angel, the rest of the band just needs to keep up, not overpower. Each member is just exactly perfect for what's needed to get the vibe right. They're a band with a message, not a jamband.
No Desire ? I beg to differ.
Desire /live/, STS Studio, Dublin, Ireland ( Rattle And Hum) /1988/
https://youtu.be/G1ZHXbKD_-U
The uplifting feeling one gets from seeing this band live, surpasses most bands I've ever seen.
Bad
https://youtu.be/l2puvI4IfG0
A Sort Of Homecoming (Wide Awake In America Version)
https://youtu.be/zxpf0j60uu4
Their early shit was great.
Joshua Tree is a priceless gem.
Running to Stand Still (Paris, 1987)
https://youtu.be/vVyM-gISEoM
Trip Through Your Wires - Denver, Co 1987
https://youtu.be/vzgT0hQD6uY
Rattle + Hum is more powerful than a locamotive.
U2 + Harlem Gospel Choir Rehearsal - I still haven't found what I'm looking for
https://youtu.be/M8Wt3dhF4fU
The later stuff, mostly keepers.
Beautiful Day (Live From Slane Castle, Ireland / 2001 / Remastered 2021)
https://youtu.be/6N2HpLWYBOA
Phenominal band, pure spiritual Irish energy, with a hopeful message lifting the Irish (and others) up out of their heroin (and other) darkness dishing out mountains of inspiration. Huge positive impact locally and globally. Love em lots.
I have held the hand of a devil
It was warm in the night
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Lance minimum goad Newberry
I saw them multiple times
I saw them multiple times over the years, in stadiums after they became massive, and was never impressed.
I always thought they had a sound and some good songs, but despite some friends who thought they were brilliant, I didn't get the appeal.
Then sometime in the late '90s/early '00s they did an arena tour and were playing a number of nights at the Oakland Coliseum. It was a big deal because they were playing "smaller" venues and the shows were completely sold out. I had no intension of going, but one night I was bored and decided to just bolt up there and see if I could get in.
I flashed my BGP staff laminate at the doors (the only time I ever did that, as it was a serious company infraction) and I mumbled something to the people at the doors about working for the box office and they let me in.
I got there about halfway through the show, found a spot to hang and I was immediately surprised that there were absolutely no frills, no screens, no big stage setup, no over the top "show", just a band on a stage with basic rock lighting. The sound was awesome, the crowd was electric and after about ten minutes I realized that I was really enjoying it, and by the end of the show I was mesmerized.
I walked out kind of amazed, and I realized that night that when you shave away all the hype and theatrics and "meaning" of it all, they are simply a damn good rock 'n roll band. Still my not type of thing, but a very good band.
I've seen them a few times since that Oakland show and I appreciate them more now and have enjoyed the shows. I'm still not a huge fan (I couldn't care less about "messages" from songs) but they make a sound all their own and are very good at what they do.
For me that Oakland show was just another example of, "If you don't go to the show, you just never know".
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: |-|/-\|_|_
I was actually a fan early on
I was actually a fan early on, but at the show I saw (Cow Palace 3-8-85) there was a militant, "Sunday Bloody Sunday/we're being oppressed" shtick/gimmick that they used it to whip the crowd into riot mode (I remember being concerned as we left the show that violence would ensue, bringing the riot police down on all of us). I seem to remember reports of them pulling the same shit at the free show in SF, and that, combined with their subsequent switch (sellout) to being a soft, can't find what I'm looking for, man ballady, act, I was completely turned off (it didn't help that I found the edge to be just a decent rhythm guy who lacks the ability to play interesting jams).
>>>"If you don't go to the show, you just never know".
Speaking of shtick... ;)
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: nevermind
I saw U2 play once at the
I saw U2 play once at the Hartford Civic Center about six months before the Save the Yuppies thing. I thought the show was powerful, but that was enough for me, and I never saw them play live again.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Mice elf
https://www.youtube.com/watch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mCE73j59Zs
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: The Eggman
I saw them in 82? 83? at The
I saw them in 82? 83? at The Palladium in NYC and liked em then saw em in 87 or 88 at Nassau Coliseum and thought that was an excellent show . The Zooropa thing took away from the music but was still a good show and was in Rotterdam 1992?1993? so was easy to smoke in public w no hassles and the last time I saw them was in Anaheim which was a bit much was not as enthralled with the big stadium show and all the trimmings that come with it.
All that said they have a lot of very good songs this one being one of my favorites https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoNH6PFFcoA