Conspiracy of Hope

Being 17 and seeing this show with some major artists and the pamphlets being handed out prior to show and the serious caring nature really opened my eyes and ears to what was going on around the globe and how one person could make a difference but binding together with many more like minded passionate people could move things in a better direction. Seeing the Police and Sting, Peter Gabriel , Bryan Adams? and naturally my band U2 was a powerful show.

I since that time and even before, have been to more than 100 U2 shows all over the world...but this U2 show, U2 Amnesty International Chicago...was the loudest crowd I have ever been in....you thought the roof was coming down....when u2 came on, it was bedlam! Jim Naughton/Chicago

Not that I was supposed to officially be there, but my friend and I managed to sneak down to front and center between Bryan Adams/Robin Williams and U2, after leaving our seats which were MUCH farther away from the stage. Bono pulled me on to the stage ( the most memorable moment aside from when the band first came out ), which was unspeakably fun but rather overwhelming for one who doesn't like facing more than a dozen people at a time....Strangely, I vividly recall noticing that when Larry came out from behind his drums that he seemed to have HUGE feet, but I liked his shoes...drummers don't get to reveal their feet very often I suppose! All of the songs were fabulous, particularly New Year's Day, which was a favorite of mine at that time and still is. I was kind of having an out-of-body experience during Bad, since I was on stage....but definitely a night to remember, and a story my kids ask for many times, my husband... never!

OMG, I'll NEVER forget the 1st time I saw U2...from 3rd row no less!! I was obsessed w/ U2 so I was soooo excited about this show. How I got 3rd row is a story in itself.....this was before we could get tix on the internet so it was much easier to get these seats than you young'un's know! :-) My best friend & boyfriend at the time went, but none of our parents would let us drive from Milwaukee to Chicago, so we had to find someone. (We were in college.) We found a very willing subject: are you kidding? 3rd row in exchange for driving?! But lil did we know, his car barely got us back! The show was exciting for other reasons, too: namely the Police reunion, Peter Gabriel, & Robin Williams. But U2 was the absolute BEST part of it! They may have only played appx 30-45 minutes, not sure--my memory ain't great. But I will NEVER forget how much fun we had! And we stood on our chairs & danced & yelled & sweat soooo much: afterward we went to McD's & I drank down 2 large cups of soda! (This was b4 the big plastic cups.) Besides the Police, the reaction from the crowd was the best for U2, & they deserved it!

Myself, Jane, and her sister Maria went to this show. There were many acts on the bill, but the only reason we went was to see U2. This was just prior to Joshua Tree, so U2 was just about to explode, and you could feel it at this show. The arena exploded as U2 stole the show. "Pride" and "Bad" stick out in my mind all these years later. The disappointment is U2 only could play several songs and it was not enough. But we were thrilled when The Police were playing "Invisible Sun" and Bono came out and sang with Sting. We've been fans all these years, and have now introduced our daughters (Ana (17) and Isabella (11)) to U2 taking them across the country (we live near Chicago) to see U2 live at the Rose Bowl 360 Tour. Now they are big fans.