THIS DAY - U2'S HISTORY: For the first time in Canada / Bono cuts the towel in two / Dream´speech / No-participating audience / A POP´s concert to Amnesty International / For the first time at SNL / "Hands" debuts / 104th 'VERTIGO' show: several references to John Lennon / 131st (final) VERTIGO show: Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day joined the band for The Saints Are Coming-Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready of Pearl Jam joined the band for a cover of Neil Young's Rockin' In The Free World-We love The Edge-Larry had the final words of the night: "See you soon...."

"Boy" tour - december 9, 1980 - U2 play at the El Mocambo in Toronto. The gig, the first in Canada, receives ecstatic reviews in the Canadian press. Bono and The Edge remark that the concert was so energetic because they were still emotional upon hearing the news of John Lennon's assassination the day before.

"Pre-War" tour -december 9, 1982 - U2 perform in Groningen, Holland at Martinhal. "Fire" is interrupted when a fight breaks out in the crowd. Support is "Zerra I".

"The Unforgettable Fire" tour - december 9, 1984 - U2 perform in Cleveland, Ohio at the Music Hall. Bono leans into the crowd to shake some hands, and a girl reaches for the towel draped around his neck. He quickly pulls back, runs backstage, and returns with scissors. Bono cut the towel in two, and handed one half to the girl who had reached for it, and tosses the other half in the audience at the other side of the stage. Support is "The Waterboys".

"The Joshua Tree" tour - december 9, 1987 - U2 perform in Atlanta, Georgia at The Omni. During the second night's performance of "Pride(In the Name of Love)", Bono recites some of Martin Luther King's 'I have a Dream' speech: "I have a dream: all God's children, black man and white mand, Protestant and Catholic, will be able to join hands and sing...'Free at Last, free at last, Thank GOD ALMIGHTY, FREE AT LAST!' Support is "The BoDeans".

"ZOO TV - New Zeland/ Japan" tour - december 9, 1993 - U2 perform the final "Zoo" concerts in Tokyo, Japan at the Tokyo Dome. Bad acoustic, no-participating audience, Edge´s guitar malfunctions during "Even Better Than The Real Thing", MacPhisto phones to Akebono, famous Sumo wrestling champion.

"PopMart" tour - december 9, 1997 - U2 perform in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They dedicate the show to Amnesty International. At the end of the night Bono dedicated One and Wake Up Dead Man to Amnesty International because tomorrow is a special day for that organization. Two great songs. Other great songs were Edge's rendition of Sunday Bloody Sunday, Gone, and Please.

"ATYCLB-promo" tour - december 9, 2000 - New York, NY - NBC Studios. U2 play for the first time in NBC programme Saturday Night Live, performing "Beautiful Day" and "Elevation". U2 was about rock n roll last night not celebrity. John Lennon got nodded to more than once. "All you need is love" and "Instant Karma" with nods to the Ramones also in there.

"The Hands That Built America" debuts - december 9, 2002 - New York - NY - New York Public Library. Bono and Edge give 'The Hands That Built America' its live debut in New York city, singing the song at the after-party following the world premiere of Martin Scorsese's film Gangs of New York. The song was written for the film, and appears on the movie's soundtrack as well as on U2's Best of 1990-2000 album.

104th 'VERTIGO' show - December 9, 2005 - Buffalo, NY - HSBC Arena - Institute - Snowstorm / several references to John Lennon! City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, Gloria, The Ocean, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - In a Little While, Beautiful Day, Original of the Species, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday - Rock the Casbah, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - Help. Encore(s): Until the End of the World, Mysterious Ways, With or Without You, Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Instant Karma, Yahweh, 40. U2's plane doesn't arrive in Buffalo until 7:30 pm - three hours late - thanks to a snowstorm in Boston that had closed the airport there temporarily this afternoon. The show goes on, and Bono again includes several reference to John Lennon on the day after the 25th anniversary of his death. He mentions that U2 were playing in Buffalo the night of Lennon's murder. The band itself was on fire tonight, and the crowd was intense, especially during Where the Streets Have No Name, where Bono was even impressed after the song. Bono brought on a young boy during Sunday Bloody Sunday, a belly-dancer during Mysterious Ways, and a girl during With ot Without You....

131st VERTIGO show - December 9, 2006 - Hawaii - Honolulu. U2 played the final show of the Vertigo Tour in Honolulu. The setlist included Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses for the first time since November 13, 2005, and it was performed with a fan from the crowd on piano. After an absence of four shows, Love And Peace Or Else returned for a final Vertigo Tour appearance. Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day joined the band for The Saints Are Coming. Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready of Pearl Jam joined the band for a cover of Neil Young's Rockin' In The Free World. The last song played on the Vertigo Tour was All I Want Is You. City Of Blinding Lights (Bono with US flag on b-stage) / Vertigo / Elevation / I Will Follow / I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For-In A Little While (snippet) / Beautiful Day-Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band-(snippet)-Blackbird (snippet) / Angel Of Harlem / Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses (guest from the audience on piano) / The First Time / Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own-La Vie En Rose (snippet) / Love And Peace Or Else / Sunday Bloody Sunday-Rock The Casbah (snippet) (little kid on the front stage) / Bullet The Blue Sky-When Johnny Comes Marching Home (snippet)-The Hands That Built America (snippet) (Bono mit Fackel) / Miss Sarajevo / Pride (In The Name Of Love) / Where The Streets Have No Name (again someone on stage) / One / Encores: The Fly-(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (snippet) / Mysterious Ways / With Or Without You (woman from the audience on stage) / Window In The Skies / The Saints Are Coming (with Billie Joe Armstrong/Green Day) / Rockin' In The Free World (with Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready/Pearl Jam, Bono is dancing with Eddie) / All I Want Is You. "Thank you for giving us a second chance," said Bono to the crowd, a few songs into the concert. "Thank you for hanging around." The crowd roared that it was all OK. Bono then turned to the Edge and thanked him for staying strong. "For a carbon-based life form, this cat can play," said Bono. A first encore that featured crowd favorites "The Fly," "Mysterious Ways" and "With or Without You" preceded a second encore that finally brought the concert its first wonderfully little-rehearsed suprises. Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong appeared on stage at Bono's request to accompany U2 on guitar and vocals for both band's hit "The Saints Are Coming." Welcomed back after Pearl Jam's incendiary hourlong opening set, vocalist Eddie Vedder and guitarist Mike McReady rocked with Bono & Co. on a cover of Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World." The spectacle of Bono and Vedder sharing a spontaneous dance on stage and McReady and the Edge trading soaring solos even had Kid Rock nodding his head and Anthrax's Scott Ian air guitaring with friends in a field level sound booth. Done co-leading a stadium-wide "We love the Edge!" chant with Vedder, Bono broke from script and motioned the band for one more song. With just Bono, the Edge, Mullen and Clayton on stage, U2 ended its Honolulu visit quietly with the lovely "Rattle and Hum" ballad "All I Want Is You." The song slowly coming to an end, each member disappeared from the stage with a wave. First Bono, then Clayton, then a final note from the Edge, until Mullen, bringing his beats slowly to a close, was the only soul left on stage. "Thank you for waiting," he said, clearly moved. "See you soon." No group hugs or bows for U2 at the end of another long road trip. They were ready to go home.
The full list of Vertigo Tour dates shows on screen during City of Blinding Lights, ending with "131. Honolulu." The band stops to bring a fan on stage during Angel of Harlem, but the fan wants to play Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses - on piano. So, they do, with U2 struggling to get through the impromptu set list addition. Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong plays and sings on The Saints Are Coming. Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready join U2 for Rockin' In The Free World. The show ends with the band embracing their stage crew as they leave the stage one at a time.
Photos: honoluluadvertiser
U2-Vertigo-tour
Video: honoluluadvertiser