Disco de U2: “Live at Red Rocks [DVD]”

You know, I was planning of walking to my local library later today to donate some old videotapes, including this one, for their collection, because I simply assumed that this would be available on DVD by now. BUT NOW I find out that is not the case! Why not, pray tell??? This is one of the greatest concert films ever made, second perhaps only to Talking Heads' "Stop Making Sense." The setting, Red Rocks ampitheater near Denver, is a spectacular geological setting, with wind, fog, gas torches producing gigantic gouts of flame high above the audience, and mountain air chilly enough to show clouds of vapor pouring off Bono's skin. As for U2's performance, well, this was at a time (1983) when they were just moving beyond cult status and into rock superstardom, yet were still retaining enough of their keening punk purity to drive an audience into rapture. And what a lucky audience this is! PLEASE get this onto DVD as soon as possible!

I attended this concert. It was 35 degrees F in bone-chilling fog and drizzle. But Bono and the band quickly made us forget our misery - I think they raised the temperature of the place by 40 or 50 degrees - and this video captures it well. This is the performance that launched the band to superstardom and it's a must-see for old and new U2 fans alike.

My title says it all. I've been a U2 fan for almost 20 years, but sad to say I'd never seen the footage from this concert or this video. As many other reviewers have noticed, there are no special effects, etc. Just plenty of youthful energy and enthusiasm, as well as a lot of fantastic tunes - this was when U2's music really had something to say. It doesn't get any better than this...

Despite their 'mega band' status, U2 was a little bit late in remastering and re-releasing their early albums. Nevertheless, UABRS 'Live at Red Rocks' gets a very nice treatment here and is well worth picking up again for a few reasons.

Fanatics may be well familiar not only with the original video (and bare bones DVD release), but with the entire concert through bootleg recordings. For everyone else, the band has finally released the entire show on DVD, or most of it. With the exception of I Fall Down, which was not captured on video due to equipment failure, this release features all of the songs, and in order. Only a few snippets of Electric Co and Two Hearts are snipped out due to rights issues with Bono singing parts of Send In The Clowns and Let's Twist, respectively. (They had the same issue with the album release, too).

Just to be clear, the original album on vinyl and CD has the same name (UABRS), but is only 'Live at Red Rocks' for two songs (Gloria, since he says 'This is Red Rocks during the breakdown, and Electric Co). This DVD is the full performance from June 5, 1983. The venue is impressive when seen from the air (a helicopter looms overhead to capture footage), and while the weather does not cooperate with rain and fog, the crowd is very into this show. This performance, and the subsequent album and video releases helped cement U2's reputation as a top live band, and they would go on to dominate arenas and stadiums...right through the next millenium.

The image is better than ever; folks may remember the muddier VHS look (the weather that day didn't help). The sound is excellent here, very clear and crisp. The band is enjoying this, and Bono does the now-famous white flag business during Sunday Bloody Sunday. There's a ton of energy here and the crowd, braving lousy weather, is fully with them (waving Irish flags and psyched to see this still-young band perform).

Of course, there is Bono's hair, that now-legendary mullet that looks worse for hair due to the humidity that evening and the rain. It's extra-poofy, sits on his head like some kind of woodland creature, and may occassionally distract from the proceedings. In fact, Bono is the most 'dated' of the four band memmers here with his concert attire and stage moves.

Highly recommended to fans. They've restored the rest of the concert, image and sound are fantastic and better than you've seen, and even the booklet is a nice little touch (with an essay and several photos). Silly question...but why did they never just release the entire show on vinyl/CD/mp3? No disrespect to the album version of UABRS, but it's not a complete show. Perhaps a 30th anniversary package will do that and will also include a snippet of that mullet.

This show dates from 1983, and was filmed at Red Rocks in the USA - a natural amphitheatre that provided a memorable backdrop for this, U2's first concert film. The best feature of the performance is the very strong connection U2 evidently makes with its audience. You can feel the energy and intensity in the band's playing, and the strident tone of their War album tracks like New Year's Day and Sunday Bloody Sunday is complemented by effective older tracks like I Will Follow, 11 O'Clock Tick Tock and The Electric Co. This music really did lift U2 to the top of the rock music world , and deservedly so. No one else in 1983 was making such strong guitar-based rock music, and U2 here were still young, charismatic, improving and developing an expanding fanbase. Highly Recommended.