Like many music fans I find it so hard to nail down the very best concert I ever saw. Plenty of shows are memorable to me. Seeing Elton John, The Who or Bruce Springsteen for the first time all have special meanings. The same goes for two straight nights of Bowie in ‘83, seeing the Rolling Stones twice, or country shows by Garth Brooks, Clint Black or Travis Tritt. But if I can’t name my very favorite live event, I do know that in the top two would be the multi-act concert I saw at age twenty-five. It was a long night of music called the “Conspiracy of Hope” which was tied to the Amnesty International organization. This concert happened on June 13th, 1986 at the Rosemont Horizon, now known as the Allstate Arena.
My pal Lee Swanson landed me and several friends in the tenth row of the main floor for the show. The Amnesty Tour was only six shows long and Chicago was the next to last stop. The acts that performed that night were Joan Baez, The Neville Brothers, Lou Reed, Bryan Adams, Peter Gabriel, U2 and the Police! Oh, and there was a surprise twenty minute comedy set by Robin Williams who was so hilarious, I couldn’t get the laughs out fast enough as he had a whole roll of rapid fire jokes to blast on us.
I missed Baez’s opening set because I was driving to the Horizon from my job producing Larry Lujack’s afternoon radio show at WLS. I caught all the other acts and each was spot on great. Lou Reed sounded as monotone cool as his records, kicking off the set with his Velvet Underground standard “Rock n Roll.” That was followed by newer solo work like “I Love You Suzanne” and “No Money Down.” Of course we heard “Walk on the Wild Side” and things closed out with another new track, “Video Violence.”
Bryan Adams favored the sold-out arena with “Somebody”, “Summer of 69”, “Run to You” and a cool cover of the Beatles’ “Get Back” among others. I’d never seen Adams live before and he smiled broadly throughout his turn to play. I was also new to the Peter Gabriel live experience and his passion and animated ways made for a killer combination. “Shock the Monkey” and earlier solo hits were fun to hear but the highlight was when Gabriel closed his set with “Biko”, the song about murdered human rights activist Steven Biko. The entire crowd was singing the deliberate chorus of “Oh Biko,.. Biko.., because Biko..” and as he prepared to exit the stage, Peter told the crowd “The rest is up to you.” He meant this two ways: one, it was up to the fans to keep singing that chorus after he was gone and second, it was up to all the fans to keep up the fight for human rights. It was a chilling moment, the kind that never leaves you.
U2 was next up and they blew the roof off the joint. Over the previous five years, Bono and his band had been steadily growing in popularity but they hadn’t yet broken all the way through to the mainstream. This was a year before “The Joshua Tree” album busted them loose to mega-star status but they were bubbling so close, right at the precipice of major fame. In the dark of the stage like a sonic boom the band cranked into their Martin Luther King tribute “Pride, In the Name of Love.” Bono charged the stage like he was leading a prison break. I never heard the Rosemont Horizon this loud before or since. It came from the band’s performance and the fans willing U2 to clock their official stamp on the show. There was just something special about the timing of the band’s appearance and how they played, a real harmonic convergence.
Next up was the anthem “Sunday Bloody Sunday” followed by Bob Dylan’s “Maggie’s Farm” which was infused with snippets of John Lennon’ “Cold Turkey” and James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain.” Bono, Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen had this crowd in the palm of their hands. A slowed down cover of the Beatles “Help” with portions of “Walk on the Wild Side”, “Norwegian Wood”, “Biko” and “Candle in the Wind” tossed in was next. Bono was already a rock star but I always saw this performance as his true coming out party. The guy was now officially a major force to be reckoned with! Then U2 brought Lou Reed out again and they pounded out the anti-apartheid “Sun City.” All acts that night played songs with the theme of justice and political change but U2 stole the night.
Here’s how great U2 was; when the Police came out to do the final set of the night, it was anti-climactic! Sting and company played their hits just fine and fans were thrilled to see the trio back together for one of the first times since 1983 but it rang hollow. We already saw the climax before the end of the movie. This was not because of what the Police didn’t bring to the stage but what U2 did bring to it.
Witnessing this rare coming together of performers was beyond special. As I said, I don’t know what my personal favorite concert ever is, but this long night of talent will always be in the mix. June 13th 1986 was a Friday night, and this was one Friday the 13th that proved to be nothing but good luck for all of us who were there.
NEXT BLOG- Famous women who are too thirsty.