by gringo vox

I too was at this show, the first of many U2 gigs over the years. I was a high school senior and had been turned on to the band shortly after Boy came out. I had wanted to see them from that first listening to Boy and this was my first opportunity. I remember the excitement I felt as we drove to the Grand Circus Theatre from Flint, an hour away. By the time the band actually came on stage I was pretty much spent from anticipation.

The highlight of the show for me was, as the previous reviewer wrote, when Bono came up into the balcony where I and my buddies were sitting. I saw it coming when Bono left the stage with the white flag and saw him through an exit door on the main floor. My buddy, Ed, and I ran to greet Bono as he entered the balcony and hoisted him on our shoulders (along with a bunch of other people). I've got to say - when you're 17 years old and you're got your hero on your shoulders singing "Bring on the Crowd (the old interlude they used to do in the middle of the Electric Co) - it changes you forever. I haven't missed a U2 show in my area since then. And I traveled to Europe to see them too.

The other part of the show that stands out in my mind was the first encore. They did 11 o'clock tick tock and Party Girl, songs I had never heard before and I was awed when Bono brought a girl up on stage and posed for pictures. This seems to be routine for bands today but seemed wholly original in 1983.

The show made me a fan for life and was only equaled in quality to their April 19, 2001 Elevation show in San Jose.

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