1995-12-31
Club Fis Bock, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Set List of Show:
Bono Performs:
- "I Feel Good"
- "All Along The Watchtower"
- "One"
Additional Music
Snippets of Other Songs Performed by Bono:
Description:
Bono joins a local band for three songs as part of New Year’s Eve festivities in Sarajevo.
Show Details:
In November 1995, the war in Sarajevo ended. Just over a month later, Bono flew into the city with his wife Ali to meet with people in the city that had been given the spotlight during the Zoo TV tour. Bono called himself the “first tourist in the new Sarajevo” and told press he came because he “heard it was going to be a great party.”
They flew in on December 30, and that afternoon Bono visited the bombed out remains of the Sarajevo library. He told Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic that he would like to stage a concert at the burnt-out shell of the library, but it was unlikely he would be able to bring the band until 1997. The library visit later inspired the confetti made of book pages falling during the Innocence and Experience tour. Bono and Ali attended a night club on the first night in the city.
The following day Bono gave a press conference at the Hotel Bosnia. “Nothing can really prepare you for, you know, what you see even just coming from the airport. I mean I have seen television reports and I’ve read the newspapers, but I was first struck by just how the ordinary people live and the everyday kind of courage of people making their lives in these places which have been destroyed. And then the second thought was that if people can survive the last four years these must be very, very strong capable people and I would say they have a great future.” It is reported that Bono sang a few bars at the press conference, but other reports say he did not sing at all. We will update with a listing if we find further information but Reuters says “Bono declined requests to sing but otherwise gave a true performance.”
The next stop sees Bono moving to a private New Year’s Eve celebration, being held at Club FIS Bock. The club is a billiards club / bar, near the hotel itself. Don Guido and the Missionaries are playing for New Year’s Eve, and Bono joins them shortly before midnight for a performance. Bono joins the band to sing “I Feel Good” (James Brown), “All Along the Watchtower” (Bob Dylan) and then sang U2’s “One”. Bono left the stage about 20 minutes before midnight. At midnight itself he joined Ali for a dance.
Don Guido and the Missionaries were all enlisted as soldiers in the war. Lead singer, Vlado Kavajic had even been injured during the war, via a bullet ricochet. They get together and perform throughout the war as time allows, but the New Year’s Eve performance was one of the first after the war is over. Of the performance Kavajic says, “Bono is a wonderful man and a true professional. He doesn’t skimp, he sings with all his heart.”
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