Arizona State University - Sun Devil Spark / Sahuaro Yearbook (Tempe, AZ)

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WORLD T R if ' .. 1 W-1415 STARTS ll E It wasn't a great way to start a world tour. But it came to a thundering finale as the U.S. leg of U2's world tour came full circle at ASU. ' U2 kicked off its 1987 world tour in the University Activity Center April 2, with Bono, the lead singer, falling off the stage during rehearsal. Hours before the concert, doctors stitched his chin up and sent him to greet a psyched-up crowd. The bad luck wasn't over yet, though. About halfway through the concert, Bo- no lost his voice. But in the usual U2 tradition, thousands of screaming fans took over lead vocals, and the UAC rocked. Ticketholders for the second show April 3 held their breath while waiting for the verdict on Bono's vocal chords: canceled. But any real U2 fan would have known better. After putting the UofA concert on hold, U2 appeared in full force with fully rested vocal chords April 4 - exactly 19 years after the assas- sination of Dr. Martin Luther King - the very date U2 made famous with Pride Qln the Name of Lovejf' Things finally clicked for the second concert, and U2 left fans and critics alike wondering if two nights before had been a bad dream. Bono's voice was as forceful as ever. He and the band gave their all in what I out to be an intense, energetic inspirational concert. For almost two hours, they proved unusual ability to sound as good, if better, live as they did on tape. But, then, that's what audiences expect of U2. Bono encouraged audience members to participate in the concert by asking them to sing and clap along, and by bringing an audience member on stage with him to dance. And while the Time Magazine photographer set the band up for a cover photo Bono gave a quick lesson in guitar chords to a young au- dience member who kept the crowd crooning People Get Ready. Many fans had been surprised that U2 didn't cancel its Arizona tour after Gov. Evan Mecham's recission of the Martin Luther King holidayg had they known about it, they said, they would have joined the boycott many other groups did. But they said they didn't know about it until they were already here, so they decided to make the best of it by donating 55,000 to the Mecham recall campaign. The people of Arizona are wonder- ful, Bono told the cheering crowd be- fore performing Pride. I know you won't forget this great man. U2 left thousands of fans feeling uplifted after what could have been a disappointing world tour kick off. The tour's conclusion Dec. 19 and 20 at Sun Devil Stadium was nothing short of spectacular. Eight months on the road proved helpful in getting things rocking and rolling more smoothly. The two shows of 70,000-plus crowds were filmed for an exclusive U2 world tour movie. Although Bono still may not have found what he's looking for, he gave ASU exactly what they wanted. D - Dana Leonard With or without it - U2 lead singer Bono, who suffered vocal difficulties during the first show, enlists the help of his eager audience. Although the album came out only days before the concert, the crowd knew all the lyrics. Photo by Brian O'Mahoney U2 Concert 21

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22 Concerts Ruger IT Rock Legend Grace Slick dazzles the audiencj Grady Gammage in a performance with her h Smrslxip, Slick, who has been in the music bb mas over 20 ymrs, ronked ASU with Star:,l11p like Wv Built This Cz'ty and Nntl1ingfs Gnrmu S Us Now .