Joshua Tree

Nov 12 1987
Vancouver, BC, CA / BC Place Stadium
with The BoDeans, Los Lobos
7
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7
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Halv
Another Edmonton to Vancouver Experience
15 years old and U2 were by far my favorite band. It was announced they would be playing in Vancouver and my parents were cool enough to let me go with two friends. We booked through a tour company and when we arrived at the small airport we were the youngest there by a long shot. This was a rowdy drunk brunch flying on a very old but large propeller style plane. We made it to the show and were given a very strict time to meet at the bus after the show. As another post said hundreds if not thousands of people were jumping the retaining walls to get on the floor. Some people were pushing over porta-potties to distract security. It was madness and so exciting. One of my friends jumped but two of us stayed in the stands too afraid of being kicked out. The show itself -- life changing! Highlights were Streets as an opener, the stage flashing during Unforgettable Fire, and Exit which was almost violent. We sang at the top of our lungs and I lost my voice completely by the end. An older guy came up to me after the show and complimented me for knowing all the lyrics. Our friend missed the bus and just before boarding made it to the gate at the airport with only a few minutes to spare. I went to school the next day, exhausted from lack of sleep and was the coolest guy in school for a day. A night I will never forget. I have seen U2 many times since and though many chows have come close there's nothing like the first time. Wore my original concert t-shirt to the 30th anniversary show in the same stadium years later. What a band.
cbraun
Amazing show
Very vivid memories of this show, including the crowd singing '40' as we walked through the tunnels leaving the stadium
holyyjoe
From Edmonton to Vancouver
B.C. Place '87 was my first live U2 experience. We booked with a tour company who told us the seats were beside the stage left. When we got there and received our tickets, we realised we were scammed. It turned out our seats were in the top deck at the opposite end of the stage. After watching the Bodeans and Los Lobos from so far away that the video screens looked like a badly dubbed kung fu flick, we decided enough was enough. We decided (along with about 100 others) to jump the retaining wall onto the floor. Big rush as we made the leap and heard the crowd roar their approval before we mixed in with the g.a. crowd on the floor. We managed to get about ten yards from the stage and watched Bono sing New Years Day right in front of us draped in a flag. The show was fantastic top to bottom.
badlive
Drove All Night
This was my first U2 gig. I drove north from Portland, Oregon, picked up my sister's boyfriend (now her husband) in Seattle, and continued north to Vancouver for the show. Amazing concert. I've seen many since then (including Croke Park twice). However, Vancouver remains a favorite primarily because it the first and also so much less "produced". Everything was simpler and Edge was decidedly less hi-tech. The band was on the front end of that tsunami they're still riding today. The Bodeans and Los Lobos were pretty weak filler (definitely not Snow Patrol). After the show, we loaded up the car, cranked up Joshua Tree and October on the tape deck, and I drove like hell for home. Tired and fighting to stay awake, I began to change the tape and selection after every song. Regardless, I just about killed us 2 or 3 times. By God's grace, we made it home.
Stevem62
Vancouver - BC Place '87
Came with my new girlfriend (now wife) on a massive magic bus tour - enough buses left Victoria to fill a mall parking lot; BC Ferries even ran a special concert midnight return trip. The concert was great. The sound is generally regarded as less than great in the dome, but I thought it was fine, maybe because the sound of the Bodeans and Los Lobos was so poor and weak. The stage was great, though quite simple by today's Vertigo/360 Tour standards! A large backdrop with the Joshua Tree image, in case anyone forgot this was the "Joshua Tree Tour". They opened with a superb choice, "Where the Streets Have No Name", and ended with a haunting "40" leaving the stage with the sellout crowd continuing to sing, "How Long...to sing this song...." Many fine memories from an awesome night!
Vancouver '87
I totally remember that show...even though I wasn't there! There was a group from my high school in WA who went, and apparently one of them made a tape of the show and a copy of it ended-up in my hands. Los Lobos and the BoDeans were support, right? Man, I held onto that tape for years and never tired of listening to it. Amazing show! I suppose I'll eventually get around to doing a YouTube search of it, since pretty much anything & everything can be found there, it seems.
GWEVANS
rbmoon
I recall this concert vividly, I was 19 and a big fan of early U2. I had been at a few concerts in BC Place and the sound was awful (lots of reverberation), but, not this show. I was on the floor with 3 friends and the mood was fantastic! There was a long runway to the left and right of the main stage and Bono frequented the edges of both sides. When they played Sunday Bloody Sunday there was an electric feeling. To this day it was the best concert at BC Place I have seen (Pink Floyd 1987 very close), I am going to the concert on Oct.28th this year and it will be the 5th U2 concert I've attended. Love the band, love the lyrics and thank you for coming back to Vancouver.
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