In the spirit of celebrating key anniversaries of U2-related events, it was 15 years ago today that U2 took over Boston to perform at the Boston Garden for St. Patrick’s Day. This was the one ZooTV indoor show that crippled a city in such a way that when tickets went on sale, there were over 1 million calls coming through on the ticketmaster phonelines that it literally melted the telephone infrastructure for the 617 area code. Had it not been for Propaganda honoring the ticket request, there would have been no way to have gotten into the arena to see the show.
To call the scene celebratory was an understatement. Hours prior to the doors opening to the Garden, fans had been queuing up outside the ticket window with the hope that U2 would release tickets at the last minute. A local radio station, WZLX, held a contest where they encouraged people to come to the Garden in their best - and most festive - outfits to win 2 tickets for the show. It was a bit of Mardi Gras mixed with Carnivale blended with pandemonium - the likes Boston really hasn’t seen except for when the Red Sox won the World Series back in 2004.
Some friends of mine and I (all of whom I had met via Propaganda’s Grapevine - a fan address listing for fans to connect with one another prior to the days of email and the internet) headed up to Boston with the hope of getting to the arena early enough to catch the band come in and maybe score an autograph or a photo. It was a crazy thought, but we had nothing else to do, really. When we arrived at the arena, we were walking around trying to find the entrance where the band would be arriving at. Amidst the chaos, I caught what looked like a police motorcade out of the corner of my eye. Sure enough, behind it was a motorcade that resembled that of what could be U2’s, so I started running - leaving my friends behind - to follow the motorcade. I’m cutting through the revelers outside the arena, the people waiting in the line for the tickets…all the while keeping my eye on where the motorcade was going. I don’t remember ever running any faster than I did that day.
Next thing I see is a window being rolled down, Bono’s head sticking out of it - him waving his traditional peace sign out the window, and then rolling the window back up. Vindication - I thought…I was right! Meanwhile, I’ve left my friends in the dust with the hope they’ll eventually catch up with me. I managed to get to the backstage entrance where there were only about 20 or so other people waiting just before the motorcade did. The cars drove up the driveway and then entered inside the arena. About 5 minutes later, my friends caught back up with me. I gave them the low-down as to what had transpired, and seeing as at that point there were less than 30 people outside, our chances were very good that someone would come out and say hello. Well, it wasn’t a band member - it was Dennis Sheehan who came out.
Dennis said to us “Seeing as it’s St. Patrick’s Day and all, the band wanted to do something special for you. Instead of signing autographs, you’re our guest during soundcheck today.” So, we lined up in single file as we were told and followed him inside the Garden. At this point, I had a dilemma as I was supposed to meet up with another friend to give him his ticket for the show - and he wasn’t with us at the backstage entrance. I made the call that I would go in and apologize later as I was certain that I’d track him down after the soundcheck. After we were all seated, there were some late stragglers who joined in the line at the last minute - and as the Luck o’the Irish would have it, he managed to get himself into the soundcheck too! He said in his thick Irish brogue, “Sherry me darlin’, I saw you runnin’ - and I knew I had to try to catch up with ya!” I was so happy because I didn’t have to worry about finding him.
There were only about 50 of us who were invited in for the soundcheck that afternoon - and it was pure magic. Each band member came out individually, greeted us, and treated us to almost a full hour’s worth of music. During the instrumental checks of songs like “Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses” and “Until the End of the World,” I found myself sitting there singing along; only to have a tap on the shoulder and have someone point me in the direction of where Bono was sat - he gave me a thumbs up and I was very embarrassed to have been caught doing his job. As I said, that day was pure magic.
Later on, exiting the arena after the sound check, the Mardi Gras atmosphere was in full swing - and it was very disorienting coming out of an experience like that to see the pure and utter chaos of what was going on. I noticed that the ticket queue had gone away - the band had reserved an entire floor section for last-minute ticket release and they were able to fulfill the dreams of just about everyone who had queued up the day of the show for the tickets. So, some lucky people scored front row tickets about 2 hours prior to the doors opening - talk about having a lucky day themselves!
Entering the arena, the band had arranged for a set of bagpipers to greet everyone prior to the Pixies coming on stage to open the show. Edge pulled out as a surprise for everyone Van Dieman’s Land for the gig, and Larry treated everyone to his singing of Dirty Ol’ Town - foreshadowing the Outside Broadcast singing role he’d take on begrudgingly.
Being a long-time fan of Boston sports teams, I found myself experiencing pure joy - here I was standing on the floor of the famed Boston Garden - where some of the greatest sports figures ever played, watching the greatest band in the world on the most famed Irish holiday (as it’s celebrated in America), feeling like the stars all aligned perfectly. Many have asked me what my favorite concert memory/experience is, and I am torn among several. This one show ranks right up there for me because of the sheer statistical improbability of the entire day happening the way that it did.
I can’t believe how fast time goes by and that it’s been 15 years since that gig. Wow.
