08.03.1985
USA, Daly City, Cow Palace
1985-03-08 - Daly City - Kirit Kapadia D6 master - TA uncirculated Master archive
very good Aud.

01. Intro [0:54]
02. 11 O'Clock Tick Tock [4:42]
03. I Will Follow [3:48]
04. Seconds [4:26]
05. Surrender [4:59]
06. Two Hearts Beat as One [5:09]
07. MLK [3:00]
08. The Unforgettable Fire [4:58]
09. Wire [4:00]
10. Sunday Bloody Sunday [5:10]
11. The Cry [0:42]
12. The Electric Co. [6:42]
13. A Sort of Homecoming [4:49]
14. Bad [12:46]
15. October [2:11]
16. New Year's Day [5:22]
17. Pride (In the Name of Love) [4:52]
18. Party Girl [5:06]
19. "40" [10:06]

Total Running Time: [1:33:48]

Taper: Kirit Kapadia
D6 master, unknown mics

From: Taper Anonymous Uncirculated Master archive

First of all, I have to mention that, unfortunately, this may be the last of the masters that TA will share with us.

Why is that, you ask?

Well, unfortunately, no one has been able to help with their request list, and they are an old fashioned trader. Granted, it may simply be the case that these wish list items cannot be retrieved. I asked TA if they thought it was a matter of hoarding, since I personally have absolutely no familiarity with the shows in question and whether they are being hoarded for some reason. And here is their response: "No people are not hoarding them. Here are the scenarios: master never copied, tapes ruined in flooded basement, analogs deep in a storage unit, only 1-2 people have it and they no longer trade or have it. Tapes in parents attic and kids no longer talking to parents. That’s what is going on."

Which is precisely why I have always felt that the concept of sharing widely via torrent is a great idea, since it helps ensure that wonderful recordings otherwise held in just a few collectors' hands don't disappear over time. Of course, in a few decades, it is possible that no one will have any better idea as to who U2 was than might be able to tell you how many Charlie Chaplin silent movies they had watched...or put another way, has anyone seen any music lovers looking for Benny Goodman concerts???

Anyway, returning to the topic at hand, this is another of Kirit Kapadia's recordings. I would describe it as being qualitatively slightly distant, but clear, and music prevails over crowd noise. There is a transient skip at the end of Electric Co. To my ears, IMHO, I'd classify it as a B+/A- recording.

According to my notes, the following two versions have been previously shared at torrent sites:

U2 – Cow Palace – San Francisco, California – March 8, 1985 (misigny23 2 nakamichi 300 mics > Panasonic PV9600 HiFi VHS video recorder(hifi audio) > playback Sony SLV-M20HS > Apple G4(RME sdcd A/D conversion))
U2 – Cow Palace – San Francisco, California – March 8, 1985 (alternate source, 4th gen)

and www.u2gigs.com lists these additional audio sources:

1. TDK SA 90 cassette > cdrecorder (Phillips 760)> cdrw>Music Match recorder>HD>Cool Edit Pro> Flac 5
2. Version given the title "Only One Flag" without source on the cover art
3. MattFromCanada, again with no other information provided

and finally, Jason Cook's site referenced a version described as follows:

"A pretty good recording for its time. Sometimes, you can hear close screaming and clapping and sometimes even
singing! This thankfully does not detract from the listener from listening to the band performing. "A Sort Of Homecoming" is strangely indexed together with "Electric Co.". An energetic performance by U2. Snippets of "Midnight Hour" is sung at the end of "Surrender". "Party Girl" ends with Bono singing a verse which I cannot identify but it sounds real good.
review taken from KC's U2 Bootleg Trading Site, run by Kin Chung"

So, THIS torrent represents the one and only audio master from a known taper...39 years later. And thus, this should be classified as being a very valuable salvage for those of us who seemingly do not tire of the joy in hearing previously uncirculated masters with known sources.

Thetradersden.org: Torrent 202945 (by petergoode)