1981-04-12

Park West, Chicago, IL, USA

Set List of Show:

"The Ocean"
"11 O'Clock Tick Tock"
"I Will Follow"
"An Cat Dubh"
"Into the Heart"
"Another Time, Another Place"
"The Electric Co."
"Things to Make and Do"
"Stories for Boys"
"Boy / Girl"
"Out of Control"
"Twilight"

Encore:

"I Will Follow"
"11 O'Clock Tick Tock"
"A Day Without Me"

Additional Music

Snippets of Other Songs Performed by U2:

A Little Night Music

Show Details:

After a show the previous night at the University of Chicago’s International House, the band are again playing in Chicago tonight this time at the Park West concert venue to an audience of 1000 people. It is U2’s first time playing the Park West venue but they will return in December 1981 to play again.

Bono introduces the band ahead of “Another Time Another Place,” with “We’re called U2 we come from Dublin Ireland, if you don’t know where that is its a long way away.” And introducing “Stories for Boys” says “We’re going home actually next week, we’ve been here for three months. Yeah, we’ve seen more of the country than you have.” U2 however, do not head home, they do take a trip to Nassau where they record with Steve Lillywhite, and then return to the United States and the tour stretches until a May 31 show in New Jersey.

In “11 O’Clock Tick Tock” Bono sings the references to “Frere Jacques” he has been using throughout the tour. During “The Electric Co.” the band adds snippets of “Cry” and “Send in the Clowns.” “Boy-Girl” has a snippet tonight as well from “I’m a Believer.” An unknown intro is added onto “Twilight” which remains unidentified.

Joe Shanahan a fan in attendance at those early shows in Chicago told U2.Com about it, “I was at their first Chicago show at the International House at University of Chicago, where the enthusiastic audience wouldn’t let them leave the stage so they ended up playing songs more than once, and have attended each of the more than 30 shows they’ve played here since their debut. The next night they played the Park West — a 900-capacity room that was more of a sit-down venue with a maître d’ and a two-drink minimum—and turned it into a big ol’ sweaty rock club.”

During the Innocence and Experience tour in Chicago in 2015 Bono also remembered the shows in Park West, “Chicago, city of big shoulders… thank you thank you…It’s in the heart of America that we found the head of America, that’s the truth, and we knew it when we played the Park West… its a little club… is that still here? That would be nice to play some time. It would be nice to play a little club, it would be nice to play the Park West again… note to selves…but our job this evening is to turn the United Center into a little club. How are we doing?”

A recording of this show has surfaced as a bootleg.

Officially Released Tracks