U2 at Uncle Sam's

It was 40 years ago today that Becky and I attended a U2 show at Uncle Sam's rock club. The opening act was Pauline & The Perils which was one of our favorite local bands of that time. I also remember there was a lot of snow that day and we had to drive out to the burbs for the show. I was still getting used to winters in Buffalo. It was a wonderful performance. The band members were just kids.

This was the second time we saw U2 at that club. We had been there to see them the previous May. Oddly the opening act was Jack Casady and his band SVT.  He was the bass player for Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna. I was surprised to see him at that time. The entire show was great.

We would see U2 one more time a couple of years later in 1983 at Shea's Buffalo. This was the infamous show where the dancing crowd got the balcony shaking and chunks of plaster were falling on the people below. It was a scary moment and I remember scanning the building for the emergency exits. Bono saw the balcony shaking and stopped the show for a moment. Then he finished with a couple of quiet slow songs. The opening band was The Dream Syndicate.