SEPTEMBER 23: "END APARTHEID" banner / "It Never Rains In South Carolina" / U2 play in Sarajevo: Miss Sarajevo live-Edge sings alone Sunday Bloody Sunday / Bono meets the Pope / 67th 'VERTIGO show: 'Crumbs From Your Table' debuts-Edge, a true rock original-Larry works his magic-to return to guitar and bass / “U2 By U2” in Dublin!

"Boy" tour - september 23, 1980. U2 perform in Sheffield, England at the Limit Club.

September 23 1983 Bono makes an appearance with "The Alarm" in New York City, New York at The Ritz. Bono sings along to Bob Dylan's "Knockin' On Heaven's Door".

"The Unforgettable Fire" tour - september 23, 1984. U2 finish the "Under Australian Skies" tour with performances in Perth, Australia at the Entertainment Centre. On Australian charts, the "Pride(In The Name Of Love)" single, which was uncharted before the tour began, is now #4.

"The Joshua Tree" tour - september 23, 1987. U2 perform in New Haven, Connecticut at the Coliseum. This is the smallest crowd of the third leg of the "Joshua Tree" tour--only 10,535 tickets are sold. During "Pride(In the Name of Love)", Bono invites an African-American woman, along with her Caucasian boyfriend up on stage to display their "END APARTHEID" banner. "Well, I don't go to any Ivy League University, but it doesn't take a very smart man to work out that I cannot enjoy my freedom while there are others unfree," he states. During "Party Girl" he jokes about his shoulder injury and mocks his friends, "I'll tell you what--I think I'm going to perform for the rest of my life in one of these. I'm getting a whole pile of sympathy from people, all spoiling me. 'You okay, Bono? Sit down Bono..You sure your arm isn't sore Bono? Oh, it's really sore!" Support is Mason Ruffner.

"ZOOTV" tour - september 23, 1992. U2 perform in Colubia, South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium. The concert is performed in a light rain, and Bono sings a few lines of Albert Hammond's "It Never Rains In South Carolina". U2's first South Carolina show is the smallest Outside Broadcast date - only 28,305 tickets are sold in a venue that can hold 40,136. U2 had offered to fly the entire White House Operator Staff down from Washington, D.C., for the show - but the staff refused the offer. At this show, a 23 year-old female fan named Dail is abducted and has not been seen since. A group of friends will travel from show to show with the band hoping to catch a glimpse of her or find out information about her kidnappers. Support is B.P. Fallon, "Big Audio Dynamite II" and "Public Enemy".

"POPMart" tour - september 23, 1997. U2 keep a promise and play Sarajevo - Kosevo Stadium. Ticket prices were slashed to $11 each, and the concert attendance was reported to be 45,000. U2 perform "Miss Sarajevo" live, and an acoustic version of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" played and sung by The Edge. Gazi-Husruf Beg High School Chorus opens the show. Special Guest: Brian Eno on "Miss Sarajevo". Bono steps off the PopMart plane, bows to the reporters and says . ``It's great to be back. Are we really here?" Gazi-Husruf Beg Islamic high school chorus sings two Islamic spiritual songs, ``Ilahije'' and ``Kaside.'' People of all ethnic backgrounds come to the still war torn Kosevo Stadium, site of the opening and closing ceremonies of the now long ago 1984 Olympics. U2 wanted desperately to play in Sarajevo during the Zooropa tour but concluded it would still be dangerous even to play in a little club. U2 made numerous mid-show calls to American Bill Carter in war ravaged Sarajevo in 1993, but U2 were unable to help otherwise. Bono pledged the group would go to Sarajevo on a trip on New Year's Day 1995. The concert recalls the Olympic atmosphere and people from throughout the former Yugoslavia attend. NATO troops help out by guarding the stadium and controlling crowds The set is highlighted by the second live rendition ever (first for U2) of Miss Sarajevo, and the
first full rendition of (solo by Edge) Sunday Bloody Sunday for this tour. A local tenor from Tuzla takes over Pavarotti's part in Miss Sarajevo, and footage from the Bill Carter documentary fill the screen as Eno, U2 and the tenor sing the song Bono says any proceeds from the show (18 dollars a ticket) will go to Pavarotti's War Child organization for Bosnian relief. Bono's voice almost gives at least ten times and he croaks out the high notes on the older songs.
Miss Sarajevo:

The road to Sarajevo:

Missing Sarajevo:

U2 in Sarajevo:


'Bono meets the Pope - Pope wears Bono's sunglasses' - september 23, 1999. Bono and other supporters of Jubilee 2000 visit Pope John Paul II at his summer home outside Rome. During the meeting, Bono gives the Pope a book of poetry by the great Irish poet Seamus Haney. But headlines are made when Bono hands the Pope his sunglasses and the Pontiff puts them on, prompting Bono to tell the world's media that John Paul II is the world's "first funky Pontiff." "(The Pope's) everyday courage amazes me. As aged as he is and as infirm as he has been, he will, you know, hang out with a bunch of pop stars," Bono said.

67th 'VERTIGO show - september 23, 2005 - Minneapolis / MN, Target Center - Dashboard Confessional - 'Crumbs From Your Table' debuts / Edge, a true rock original / Larry works his magic / to return to guitar and bass! City Of Blinding Lights / Vertigo / Elevation / Electric Co. / The Ocean / I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For / Beautiful Day / Miracle Drug / Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own / Love And Peace Or Else / Sunday Bloody Sunday / Bullet The Blue Sky / Miss Sarajevo / Pride (In The Name Of Love) / Where The Streets Have No Name / One / The First Time / Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses / With Or Without You / All Because Of You / Crumbs From Your Table / Yahweh / Vertigo. U2 continue mixing it up on this third leg. Wild Horses is a bit of s a shambles and Bono shouted 'middle eight' to get his band together. They play The First Time again. A girl is brought on stage during With Or Without You. Bono gives her a hug, but she seems uncomfortable (not a fan, perhaps? Or maybe she's just more into Larry.) It's been a long wait, but Crumbs From Your Table is finally played. Then they treat North America to the double Vertigo whammy. Snippets: The Electric Co. - Send In The Clowns / Beautiful Day - Many Rivers To Cross / Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own - No Regrets - The Black Hills of Dakota / One - Ol' Man River. **** 'Where you live should not decide...': Great tour debut for Crumbs From Your Table plus the story of Miss Sarajevo in Minneapolis last night....'We used to take the TV station out on the road on Zoo TV,' explained Bono...'We had this TV station, it was we will admit a great extravagance! We did a satellite link up with the city of Sarajevo which was under siege and people would beam into our concerts and talk. The reason they were so bombarded was because Sarajevo was previously a great symbol of coexist...' As Bono raps, Adam, Larry and Edge are getting Miss Sarajevo underway, and...Later the band played the city, a night Larry has called one of his all-time great memories. 'When we went there to play we met this girl,' continued Bono. 'She won the Miss Sarajevo beauty pageant. We asked her why they would have a pageant in these circumstances. She said they walked out under the mortar fire dressed up with saches and everything and signs that read 'Do you really want to kill us?' 'We wrote this song for her and recorded it with Luciano Pavarotti. He's not here,' added Bono, with a grin. But I1ve been putting on a little weight!'...If Edge and Bono were in the foreground, Larry and Adam held the show together, something yesterday's review by Bobby Reed in the Chicago Sun Times captured. 'The band was at its peak when all four members locked into a groove. Bassist Adam Clayton held down the low end with graceful panache, and Mullen proved once again that he is one of the best musicians in rock'n' roll. 'Bono may get all the press, but Mullen provides the musical bedrock that makes this quartet such a powerful live presence. His rumbling kick drum on 'Miracle Drug' and bright cymbal splashes on the classic 'One' were just as mesmerizing as any of the Edge's textured guitar solos. The soaring vocals and fine fretwork on hits such as 'Beautiful Day,' 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' and particularly 'Where the Streets Have No Name' gained much of their power because they were merged with Mullen's inventive percussion. 'Mullen's style is straightforward enough to rouse an entire arena of fans but complex enough to keep the songs from growing moldy over time. The best vantage point at a U2 show isn't in the pit near Bono, but on the side, about 20 rows up, where fans can carefully study Mullen as he works his magic.'...Edge carrying his acoustic guitar out to the elipse end...another surprise and then the biggest surprise of the night, the live debut of Crumbs From Your Table. What a song! 'You speak of signs and wonders / But I need something other / I would believe if I was able / But I'm waiting on the crumbs from your table / Where you live should not decide / Whether you live or whether you die / Three to a bed / Sister Ann, she said / Dignity passes by...' **** Edge, a true rock original! ... During "Beautiful Day," a parent in front of the stage held up a young boy and, as Bono sang, he held the boy's left hand and the kid's right index finger pointed at Bono, bouncing perfectly to the beat, as if to say "you da man." Similarly, before "Elevation," a young woman held up a sign declaring "I lost 75 lbs to dance with you." Bono invited her onstage and announced, "You know Irish men don't dance. We do lots of other things." Then, of course, he danced with her and kissed her on the hand. For 2¼ hours, Bono came across as part politician, part preacher -- and all passion. His crusades and campaigns were not about rebellion but about unity. "Coexist" was the word he wore on his headband, with the C being a Muslim crescent moon, the X a Star of David and the T a cross. He acknowledged the hurricane hardships and recoveries in the South, declaring, "We're so proud to see America at its best." Bono also thinks globally, translating Zulu words, scrolling the Declaration of Human Rights across a giant screen and preaching that Martin Luther King's dream is "a European dream, an Asian dream, an African dream." Sometimes Bono seemed pompous and pretentious (especially the hokey blindfolded prisoner-of-war bit) but there were enough self-deprecating moments to deflate his big head. (Best: When he was doing "Miss Sarajevo," which he'd recorded with Pavarotti, he said, "He's not here, but I've been putting on a little bit of weight.") Indeed, Bono seemed like Pavarotti, Springsteen, King and Nelson Mandela all rolled into tight black jeans, a black leather jacket and wraparound sunglasses. He occasionally stepped out of that persona, especially during "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own." Dedicating the song to his late father, he shed the shades and offered his most emotional vocal, his eyes filled with bittersweet tears. Bono could not have pulled all this off without the rest of U2. Drummer Larry Mullen Jr. and bassist Adam Clayton were the engine that drove the heroic sound. And it was the Edge, a true rock original, and his mostly subtle and always sublime guitar that made things magnificent. He provided the metallic fury during "Bullet the Blue Sky," the grace during "Yahweh" and the dizzying circular patterns during "Vertigo," which U2 curiously performed twice. "In Italian, encore means play the song a second time," Bono joked before the finale. The pope of pop knows a good benediction -- even if it's a roaring one. **** Beautiful night for U2 fans: From the moment U2 took the egg-shaped stage Friday night at Target Center, it was clear this was a criticism-proof show. Fiber optic curtains of light descended around The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, tickertape fell from the ceiling and Bono popped up - seemingly out of nowhere - on the far end of a catwalk that circled the stage and held a few hundred extremely ecstatic fans inside its confines. The band then launched into "City of Blinding Lights," a track from U2's coolly received recent disc "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb." But the audience of 20,240 - a record-breaking number for a Target Center concert, besting a 1992 Eric Clapton gig by 636 - reacted as if they were watching Jesus Christ, Elvis Presley, Allah and Superman. And with the next song, "Vertigo," the crowd got even more excited. Bono and company are savvy folk. The overwhelming passion the band inspires in its audience is only strengthened after an event like Friday's. Every aspect of the Minneapolis show - from the aforementioned stage to the bludgeoning sound and lights to Bono's oozing magnetism - is designed to make the evening more than a mere concert. This was meant to be an experience, the sort of thing you tell you grandkids about. As such, U2 delivered. Mostly, anyway. They invested new cuts like "Miracle Drug" and "Sometimes You Can't Make it on Your Own" with the same energy and enthusiasm as "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses." "Elevation" hit with breathtaking force, while "Beautiful Day" and "With or Without You" were so powerful, grown men started to weep, and it nearly felt like the entire Target Center levitated an inch or two off the floor. Moments like that made it a little easier to handle the clumsier turns like an oddly deconstructed audience-participation take on "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" as well as some of Bono's more groan-worthy messianic poses (musing about the Mississippi River, for instance). Searing versions of "(Pride) In the Name of Love," "One" and "All Because of You" didn't hurt, either. "We're a band that's just getting started," Bono said at one point during the show. And he might just be right.
read on: twincities **** Edge and Adam scramble to return to guitar and bass: Bono brings a female fan on stage to dance at the start of Elevation. Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses begins with just Bono and Edge before the whole band joins in. Bono dedicated "Miracle Drug" to those who perform medical miracles every day at the Mayo Clinic. Crumbs From Your Table is played for the first time. The band are about to launch into 40 to close the show, when Bono yells ENCORE! Edge and Adam scramble to return to guitar and bass, respectively, and the show instead ends with a 2nd version of Vertigo. **** Photos: U2-Vertigo-tour

“U2 By U2” in Dublin - September 23, 2006 - Book signing in Easons Book Store, Dublin, Ireland. U2 fans braved the elements in Dublin - Hundreds of U2 fans braved the elements in Dublin to get a glimpse of the band members who are due to sign copies of their new book at Eason's on O'Connell Street. But only 250 competition winners are being allowed entry to the shop where the band members are to sign copies of "U2 by U2". Tickets were allocated to winners of radio competitions and a contest on the band's official website. Their appearance, expected at around midday has forced the closure of Easons on O'Connell street from 8.30am until 3pm this afternoon. Bono made no formal comments at the private signing, and journalists weren't admitted, although photographers were allowed. Outside in the rain, police and crash barriers kept about 1,000 fans at bay on O'Connell Street, the major thoroughfare in Dublin. Most celebrities pushing books in Ireland do book signings at Eason's. But this was the first time that organizers decided to issue admissions by lottery to prevent crowd chaos. Some photos, here