I can count the historical music events that I have personally witnessed on one hand. I suppose labeling something ‘historical’ is totally subjective. One-off concerts can be called historical based on the mere fact that they only happened once. I have written here about the Acoustic for a Cure shows, the Metallica with the SF Symphony show and other events that I would label ‘historical’. There is a certain pride that comes with saying “I was there!”. Especially if something unique happens.
On November 11, 1987, a free concert was played at noon in San Francisco’s financial district. Performed by the world’s biggest band at the time, U2. The whole thing was conceived and produced in less than 24 hours. Over 20,000 people witnessed an energetic hour long set. Lead singer Bono broke laws. I was there! It was historical!
How Did We Get Here
In retrospect, there were many circumstances that converged to put me and 20,000 others in the middle of Justin Herman Plaza that day. I never expected to be watching a rock show on a sunny, Wednesday afternoon in November, in downtown San Francisco. One never knows which days will burn a new memory.
I would have never been in the Financial District that day if I had not taken an unlikely, entry-level job at the Pacific Stock Exchange trading floor on Pine St. the year before. The job was unlikely because I knew little to nothing about finance or stock trading. Nor was I interested in that world. The job was an opportunity my uncle helped me secure at a time when I was an unemployed newlywed. I was so disinterested in finance, the job ‘only’ lasted for 12 more years. But that’s a story for another time.
Black Mondays
On Monday, October 19, 1987, the stock market crashed! It was the biggest down-day since the Wall Street Crash of 1929. During the 1929 “Black Monday”, the market lost 12%. 1987’s “Black Monday” saw the market lose over 20%! I was there, on the floor, working behind a trading post, experiencing history in person. It was a bloodbath. The stock market crash was world-wide news.
“Save the Yuppies”
When the news reached the ears of the hottest band in the world, U2, a plan was hatched. The plan was to throw a free concert for financial folks in a cool city. Bono called it the “Save the Yuppies” concert. A snarky take on the lost souls who got their comeuppance when the bloated stock market blew up.
U2 was in the middle of creating a documentary chronicling their current, record-breaking tour. The tour supported the Joshua Tree album, the band’s first taste of large-scale success. A free concert in the middle of downtown San Francisco financial district would make a great scene for the documentary. The band was booked for 2 sold out shows at the nearby Oakland Coliseum. It would take a miracle to pull off a side concert in SF around those dates. Especially on such short notice.
One Man For The Job
Luckily for our lads, such a miracle worker was headquartered right in San Francisco. The legendary promoter, Bill Graham was already promoting the Oakland shows while also ruling over his Bill Graham Presents kingdom. If anyone would pull it off, he would. A call was made and the challenge was accepted. Graham had less than 24 hours to organize a concert in an open air venue from scratch. Once the ball started rolling, there was no stopping it. Graham pulled every lever perfectly including the anticipation of a big crowd. In order to keep the crowd size reasonable, Graham delayed the public announcement. He wanted to discourage people from too far outside of SF from coming at all. He wanted enough time to fill the plaza but not too much that would cripple the city’s traffic. This was done by keeping the concert a secret until two hours before U2 was planning to hit the stage. Graham calmly called radio stations personally to make the announcements.
I was definitely aware of U2 were but I was not a big fan. They came from the ‘new wave’ of popular music that did not align with my 1987 tastes. Huey Lewis and the News, Van Halen, Heart and Bob Segar were among my favorites around that time.
Good Opening Band
Back in 1982 (5 years before the free concert), I actually saw U2 perform. It was a J. Geils Band concert at the S.F. Civic Auditorium (later named the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium) and U2 was the opener. They were unknowns, just babies, and I remember enjoying the performance. I also remember a lot of U2 fans mixed in with the J. Geils fans. They were easy to spot with their spiky hairdos and non conforming attire. It turns out that the young Irish band had quite a lot of fans in San Francisco. This was thanks to KUSF, a radio station broadcasting from the University of San Francisco. The groundbreaking station had been playing U2 for a while. The band’s reputation was spreading across the area. Many concert attendees were seen heading for the exits once U2 finished their set. For the record, J. Geils played their hearts out that night. for three hours, with a few fake endings. Nothin’ but a house party!
Just a Normal Day
The day of the ‘Yuppie” show started off like any other work day. My day at the stock market starts at 6:00 am. It’s an early rise and a quick BART ride to downtown SF. The day was less than a month after the ‘big crash’ and we were still reeling from the aftereffects. Things had calmed down but the whole industry was still licking its wounds. Sometime around my lunch break, at 10 am, radio stations began announcing that U2 would be playing a free concert at Justin Herman Plaza. The Plaza is a large open square in the Financial District area called the Embarcadero. Somehow (I don’t quite remember how or where) I found out about the free concert during my lunch break. It’s possible that I saw the commotion happening down at Justin Herman Plaza.
By the time I returned to work, word of mouth about a surprise U2 concert had quietly hit the floor. Breaking news is critical on a trading floor. In 1987, pre-internet, stock traders had access to a live Reuters news ticker. These were displayed on LED panels throughout the trading floor.. However, Reuters only reported financial news. News of an Irish rock band playing a surprise free concert in San Francisco did NOT tick across that scroll. Even the word of mouth chatter did not move the excitement needle much on the trading floor. The reactions were all over the spectrum from giddy excitement to less-than-zero interest. Specialists (Traders) did not care but their clerks sure did!
It Felt Like History
I was itching to get to Justin Herman Plaza in the worst way. Luckily I got the nod from my boss to leave early. I made my way down the 4 blocks to the big plaza. I remember a wave of people walking in the same direction. The place was packed! I staked out my spot, quite a distance from the makeshift stage. I didn’t have to wait too long for our heroes to hit the stage. The whole scene was exciting! An energetic U2 played with reckless abandon. The band was on a makeshift stage in front of a large geometric sculpture/fountain created by Canadian artist Armand Vaillancourt. The sun shone on a sea of happy people that day. The band sounded fantastic. I doubt anyone expected that Bono’s actions would push news of the concert onto EVERY newspaper in the country.
The Offense!
The sculpture behind the stage is a big water feature of elevated, intersecting canals. For some reason Bono decided to climb up on it and spray paint graffiti. He made a big production out of writing “Rock and Roll. Stop the traffic” on Mr. Vaillancourt’s art. Initially, I was shocked at the public defacing of an art piece. But eventually, I felt it was a meaningless act and I didn’t think it was a big deal. However, that is not how Diane Feinstein, the mayor of San Francisco, felt.
NOT In My City
Graffiti was a very big problem in San Francisco at the time. The city had started a program to try and curb it. They were offering a $500 reward to citizens who turned in their ‘tagger’ friends. Bono’s stunt made him the 364th person cited in the year. He was ordered to return for a court appearance in December. Reportedly, Mayor Feinstein was very upset that such a high-profile celebrity had defaced public art in her city. Some in the public were outraged also. The following week was filled with letters to the editor, news reports and public comment regarding the incident. In reality, Bill Graham made sure that the graffiti was removed by the end of the day. Bono quietly apologized in a letter to law enforcement. The charges were eventually dropped.
Bono, for his part, was not going to let an opportunity slip by. During the big weekend stadium shows in Oakland, the band invited sculpture artist Armand Valliancourt onstage in Oakland. He and Bono painted some ‘public art’ on the U2 stage. An eye for an eye, all in support of the arts.
U2 went on to reach even greater heights by grabbing two Grammys for Joshua Tree. That was only the beginning. To date, U2 has 22 Grammys under their belt. They are the only group to win the Album of the Year category twice. 1987 – Joshua Tree, 2005 – How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb .
The documentary “Rattle and Hum” was completed and included three minutes of footage from the “Save The Yuppies” free concert. Including the illegal graffiti. As if the concert wasn’t special enough, the event will always be remembered as an ‘only-in-SF” happening. Nothing even close has happened since. U2 and that fountain are part of San Francisco’s musical history forever.
I was there with you! Good stuff!