1981-11-14

Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA, USA

Set List of Show:

Main Set:

  • "Gloria"
  • "Another Time, Another Place"
  • "I Threw a Brick Through a Window"
  • "An Cat Dubh"
  • "Into the Heart"
  • "With a Shout (Jerusalem)"
  • "Rejoice"
  • "The Electric Co."
  • "I Fall Down"
  • "October"
  • "Stories for Boys"
  • "I Will Follow"
  • "Twilight"
  • "Out of Control"
Encore:

  • "Fire"
  • "11 O'Clock Tick Tock"
  • "The Ocean"

Additional Music

Snippets of Other Songs Performed by U2:

    "Cry" (U2) / "Send in the Clowns" (Stephen Sondheim from A Little Night Music) / "It's A Long Way to Tipperary" () /

Show Details:

U2 return to Boston, and the show is a special one, as it is broadcast live on WBCN Radio, and some of the tracks are also sent out in syndication via the King Biscuit Flower Hour radio show in January 1982, and later aired in full as part of the “Best of the Biscuit” series in 1984. Later yet, in 2015, this show was released via the private music company Wolfgang’s Vault.

During the show Bono manages to fit in a snippet of “Send in the Clowns” during “The Electric Co.,” which starts out with the “Cry.” at the end of the performance of “I Will Follow” he adds a mention of “It’s A Long Way to Tipperary.” Although he claims “With a Shout” is the first time they’ve played the song, they have indeed played it before, just not in the USA. Bono puts on an energetic show, reaching out to the audience, climbing the speaker stacks, and bouncing around the stage. The DJ on the radio during the encore break describes the scene in the club, “Pandemonium at the Orpheum Theatre tonight, the crowd is going crazy. U2 are leaving the stage, but you know they’ll be back, this is absolutely incredible, the response here!”

The show is announced as a sell out performance on WBCN, who introduce the show. Bono mentions during the show that there are a lot of people who couldn’t get in who are listening outside on this night. The Orpheum Theatre had a capacity of 2579 in 1981, and this is one of the bigger shows that U2 have played to date. Boston has been an area of the country where U2 have started to get airplay and return visits have started to build a strong word of mouth. Bono himself is glad to be back in the city, telling the crowd he’s really happy to be back in Boston, and unlike bands who say that night after night in each city, he really means it.

Tickets for the show were priced at $9.75 and included a $0.25 restoration fee to help rebuild the theatre. The show was presented by Don Law. Only “U-2” and David Johansen were listed on the tickets for the show, and the showtime was listed for 7:30pm.

Related News

Officially Released Tracks

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