Wolfgang's VaultWolfgang’s Vault:

U2 Concert

Orpheum Theatre (Boston, MA)

U2

05.06.1983
Tracks: 18 / Total Time: 1:24:08
Catalog: King Biscuit

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Concert Summary

When Bono stepped up to accept the Album of the Year Grammy in 2006 for U2’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, he commented that "there’s nothing like the feeling of being onstage with a tight rock ’n’ roll band on a great night." He probably felt that exact sensation the night this show was recorded at the Orpheum Theatre in Boston, back in 1983, for the King Biscuit Flower Hour radio concert series.

While in high school in Dublin, Ireland, the quartet formed under the name Feedback in 1976 and got their start as a cover band doing mostly Beatles and Stones songs. They changed…entire summary

Concert Set List

Track Name Time Playlist Embed
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  • R C | Friday, October 03, 2008 | 1:47 pm

    Just found this site..... It rocks ...... long live u2 this band not only Rocks it cares about us and our planet. Bono is such a humanitarian it inspires me to be a better human being on this planet. I can,t wait to here their next album R C Sacramento Ca.

  • mcd131 | Friday, September 05, 2008 | 4:31 pm

    hey dancewithlance, I was also at the show at the ritz in NYC. My first hearing of U2. And I have been hooked ever since! I have seen them over 30 times! And each concert is better than the last. In NYC, it used to be common practice to sleep outside the Garden or anywhere and wait for ticket booths to open to see legendary shows(My first joint was sparked at a Led Zeppelin show WAY WAY back in 1972 at Madison Square Garden. Have seen so many shows over the years(havent been in a LONG time..am 52 now). But U2 has been my favorite ever since that show at the Ritz!

  • DanceWithLance | Tuesday, August 19, 2008 | 10:14 pm

    I was at this show, a crisp spring evening in the city, just a high school senior with an inkling that this could be the very best live act of the "new wave" that was rushing through and over rock 'n roll at the time. One of my best friends regrets to this day that he turned down my offer of a ticket to the show... I was an "early adopter" of the band, having interned at the radio station WBCN in Boston, where band historian/biographer and station DJ Carter Alan held forth in Boston. 'BCN played the hell out of U2, and why not? The sound was so fresh, stirring really, and authentic. A year earlier, on St. Patrick's Day no less, I had caught the band for the first time live at The Ritz club in NYC, sneaking out of a high school field trip for what I came to realize was a purely magical evening for a 16 year old, lucky enough to be standing right in front of the stage that night. On this concert night at the Orpheum in 1983, days away from graduating from high school, ready for one of the biggest transitions of my life (the independence of college), I felt all grown up, very adult to be seeing a transcendent band, for the 2nd time live, knowing that I had discovered them early on, and could appreciate fully why there was so much energy and adoration in that ragged old theatre in town. The faded Orpheum was getting the makeover it so much needed-in the form a U2 live show. Resucitation, and elevation, indeed.

  • lanzarotechris | Wednesday, August 13, 2008 | 10:50 am

    The Best Band ever ;-) Great soundquality, thank god its not "digital" but "handmade" ;-) (I like that,... still!) I grew up in the 80s (born 68) and U" was the best and still is... and ever will be ! I?ve been on some concerts here in germany and when I close my eyes while listening to this live-concert it feels like then... just good and honest ... They changed a bit their sound starting with achtung baby and zoo, but gut the catch for me personally back after that 2 vinyls (!!) ok... times are changing... now i use a mp3-player :-) but it feels nice to have such kind of "time-machine" available if needed ;-) Thank you WV Team ! Go on with it ! chris from germay

  • Anonymous | Friday, July 04, 2008 | 10:12 pm

    I taped this concert off the radio back when it was originally aired on the King Biscuit Flower Hour. I enjoyed that tape for many years, lots of fond memories of listening to it. The tape went missing at some point, and I was heartbroken because there was no way to buy it or replace it. I settled for "Under a Blood Red Sky", which only has 8 tracks while this has 18. Also, "Under a Blood Red Sky" is from a mish-mash of venues so you don't get the feeling of a complete U2 concert, how they interact with the crowd. I've been looking this for all these years... finally found it!

  • waltjabsco | Thursday, June 12, 2008 | 5:14 am

    this concert, i should say, is better than the commercially available "under a blood red skies". cheers Vault!

  • Anonymous | Wednesday, June 04, 2008 | 12:29 pm

    This is incredible! Thank you for putting this out here. Long live U2, Bill Graham and Wolfgang's Vault. Many of these songs are off the play list. The Edge is in top form on Twilight and Out of Control, the entire War album is essentially played...incredible.

  • Anonymous | Friday, May 23, 2008 | 8:50 am

    Not a patch on simple minds

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