U2 Live at Red Rocks: The 25th Anniversary

I was listening to my iPod on the way home from work the other day, and I decided to fire up the legendary 1983 U2 show from Red Rocks in Colorado. It had never been released on CD and the VHS version cut out a few tracks for some reason, but I found a bootleg of the whole show on the Internet being the intrepid U2 fan that I am. As I was rotating through the playlist I got to the show and noted the date: 6/5/83. I thought about it for a second and did the math. Today is the 25th anniversary of the show. After getting over the fact that I was old enough to remember something 25 years old, it stirred up my long running frustration over the fact that this show has never gotten a proper DVD release. One of the most famous concerts in not only U2 but rock and roll history, only available on VHS. Criminal, absolutely criminal.

Fortunately for U2 fans such as myself, this situation is being remedied. In honor of the 25th anniversary the band is releasing a remastered version of the concert on CD with a bonus disc, due in stores June 24, and finally releasing “Under A Blood Red Sky” on DVD in August. While surfing the Internet for more information I found an interesting piece by G. Brown, former rock critic for The Denver Post who was an early advocate of the band and attended the show, as well as a look back by the Post's current pop music critic Ricardo Baca. When you read these articles you appreciate just how many things had to go wrong for this show to play out like it did, and how the combination of band, venue and conditions set the stage for what would be a defining moment in rock and a seminal moment for U2. 4,400 fans braved the cold and rain that night, but you'd better believe that a whole lot more have claimed they were there. Sure wish I had been one of them.