March 16, 1981 - Anaheim, California, USA - Woodstock

Fan Review:

By Mike Muckenthaler

I can't tell you how wierd it is after all these years to be writing this review. U2 at the Woodstock was the strangest concert I have ever been to, and one of the best. I was working with the Schultz family doing shows throughout the Southern California area ... and we were promoting all kinds of styles ... the Schultzs' owned the Woodstock,it was more or less a metalhead or mainstream rock club and they didn't have a big New Wave or Punk following back then. Bands like X-iter,WASP,Eden,A La Carte,Montrose,Great White, etc. were the big draws.

I had brought in Social Distruction to do a show earlier and there was a minor riot between our security and the band and their fans, so we were kind of giving New Wave and Punk a second try with U2. We seriously thought they were going to be a Flock of Seagulls type band. HA!

I even had to go home and get an iron, because they didn't have any clothes that weren't wrinkled. Can you imagine, ironing Bono's shirt and thinking, "I hope this is going to be worth it."

What can I say? We were blown away by what we heard that night. For us, it was like seeing The Doors at the Whiskey in the 60's, before they took off ... I felt like I was in a time warp, or a dream and I really didn't know how to react. It was great.

That night, U2 was a band no one could pigeon hole or define in any narrow terms and all of us there (probably less than 2 dozen)knew this was something special. Our bigest regret is that we didn't know enough to really promote them. Our Metal kids didn't come to the show and the Punks didn't know what U2 was all about either. Maybe that's why they're still around ... originality and creativity are something that inspires the soul. It did that night, it still does now. - Mike Muckenthaler

Fan Review:

By LeRoy A. Lucian

There may have only been a dozen or so in attendance who came just for the band , but there were about 100 or so in the club that night. The majority were there because it was their club. There were the slam dancers near the stage, the black leather and mascara (guys) who mostly hung near the bar and a veritable cornucopia of strangely attired humanity filling the voids. From the obligatory tall mohawks to this one girl with a swirl of white hair dyed pink on top that looked like a lit stick match.

I entered with 3 friends dressed not to impress, we came for the music. There were others there as well. One young long haired guy was dancing away with an old tape recorder on his shoulder. I heard later that there was a bootleg recording of the show. The sound quality must have been pretty poor. At one point this young couple walked through the door looking like they came straight from a school dance. She was wearing a prom type dress and he was wearing a blazer with a crest on the pocket. They took two steps in and stayed by the door all night, but they stayed. The sights before them must have been quite a cultue shock.

One little fact that few people probably know is that before it's incarnation as the Woodstock Concert Theatre ( a punk club) the building had been known as Rocky's Pub, a beer on tap, pool and darts establishment. Just the kind of place that the boys might have dropped into for a pint.

The next time I saw the boys was the Unforgettable Fire tour at the Sports Arena. The roar of the crowd was louder than the band, and so it goes.