On the University of Florida campus in the early 1980's was a bar known as The Rathskeller. Does anyone out there remembers this place?? It has since burned to the ground, unfortunately, but many memories were made there during my several years as a student there.
My most found memory was on 05/02/81, when U2 played there for approximately $4/head. during their first world itour for their first album, Boy. The small bar was packed, but not packed enough that I wasn't able to pat each of the band members, yes including Bono, on their backs as they walked into and through the audience to get on stage. If you had ever been in The Rathskeller, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It was a very small bar on the campus of the University of Florida, right off of West University Boulevard, in Gainesville, Florida. There was nothing fancy about it. And the stage was makeshift, no major lighting effects, etc. "Backstage" was actually downstairs in the basement near the bathrooms.
Back to Bono, I remember, even tho' I wasn't really sure about their music yet, I loved the way Bono danced barefoot on the stage as he sang. I can still see it in my mind. All of the punk rockers of Gainesville who I hung out with said they were "a really cool band" from Ireland. I thought Bono was really cute.
Through the years, I followed their music and long career. On 04/10/85, my sister and I were on the Unforgettable Fire tour at the Hampton Collesium, in Hampton, Virginia, next door to Virginia Beach. Bono's version of Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" was fantastic! I can still hear him singing now. As far as I know, it is not recorded anywhere, but it was beautiful the way Bono sang it, with his usual high level of passion and drama. He had beautiful, sweaty medium long hair back then that he would continuously flip down and then back in a seductive way.
On 12/05/87, I was there at the Tampa Stadium, during their Joshua Tree tour. Later, on 11/12/97, in Jacksonville, Florida, I was a patron on the PopMart tour.
