by Scott Edelson

I was 17 years old and this my first REAL concert. U2 was just beginning to become huge with my age group and it was very cool to be a U2 fan at the time. This was the old Foxboro Stadium and the place was a madhouse...drinking, pot smoking, very little security...but fun. You had the feeling that you were really part of something special. I originally had seats way back from the stage and low to the field. I was friends walk in for general admission field seats and they have us their ticket stubs that allowed us to get onto the field. We were able to squeeze up close enough so that we were only about 20 yards from the stage.

They stadium sound system was playing music before U2 came out...the lights were all on and the song playing was "Stand By Me" which was a huge song at the time. Suddenly Bono walks out in his arm sling and starts singing Stand By Me with all the lights still on...the place was half delerious/half confused. When that song ended, the lights went out immediately and they went right into "Streets"...unbelievable. This was before the internet, before you knew the setlists but everyone assumed they would open up with Streets because it was just the perfect opening song. They played songs like Exit and The Unforgetable Fire...songs you never or rarely hear now...it was just incredible. I remember looking up to the right of where we were standing; way up in the stands and someone had lit a sheet or a jacket on fire and was twirling it around...it was nuts. Edge kept strolling out onto an extension of the stage and was playing right in front of us...something I'll never forget. "Bad" was incredible and they closed with "40" and everyone kept singing it all the way out to the parking lot. It took hours to get out of the parking lot afterward but this was an experience that I'll never forget.

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