War and Thunder

This is dedicated to one of my best friends from High School....

In the summer of 1983 I lived in Bellevue, Nebraska - a suburb of Omaha. Yes, Omaha is big enough to have suburbs. I had just graduated from High School working for the man cutting greens at a local golf course to save up for college. As I was getting ready for my afternoon shift, my best friend Robbi called with some news. He had scored four tickets to the U2 concert in Kansas City, MO that evening. Their new album "War" was just getting to Nebraska's music stores.

Admittedly, I was a tepid fan of the band, digging their Gloria video on MTV, but I hadn't dove into their October or Boy efforts (ok, I was a dork). Rob assured me that if I didn't go to this concert, I'd regret it for the rest of my life. Plus, our two other best friends were already down for it. Now my gut told me to pass on the roadtrip and go to work since I needed the clams for college. Hence, I offered up a "no can do" to Rob that was met with much bitching and name calling.

But later, as I drove to work a miracle happened - a big thunderstorm hit. The golf course closed as my never to be forgotten memory of U2 opened. I was able to reach Rob - in the time before cell phones - and have them swing by to pick me up on the way out to Kansas City.

In the car we popped a fresh cassette of War into Rob's jamming sound system, opened up cold cans of Red, White and Blue beer and chomped down tins of smoked clams that were on sale next the register of the only liquor store in town we could buy beer at. Three hours later we arrived in Kansas City with the skies clearing to reveal a storm washed historic Memorial Hall with seating for about 3,500. Only three days after U2's historical show at Red Rocks.

It was beautiful and yes, even spiritual. When musicians feel the music they are playing...when it owns them and they it, there's a thick, but somehow airy spirituality that floats across the crowd and induces a mass trance. Bono and the guys gave us everything they had. A large white flag was championed by Bono and carried throughout the place as he climbed anything worth climbing and sung to everyone near and far. We left stunned and a little quieted by having seen a concert that each of us knew would be one of our greatest. The event deserved reverence and received it on the drive back. We hardly spoke, we just reflected on the moment and enjoyed.

Turned out that Rob was right, had divine thunder not stepped in, I would have regretted missing U2's War concert for the rest of my life. Luckily, it's now one of my best concert memories. Rob...this memory is dedicated to you. Thanks for making it happen.