Who is "Boston Dave"?

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PaleBlueDot

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Someone I know who went to San Diego told me he met "Boston Dave." And I was like, "Huh? Who's 'Boston Dave'??" He said Dave was some big guy who picked Bono up in Boston "and swung him around like a rag doll." WTF? lol! He didn't elaborate on it though, and said to look it up. So...Did anyone here see that and care to explain it? Or pictures?

BTW my friend who met him said he was a nice guy. :)
 
Yeah, that's pretty much the gist of the story, from what I've heard......funny how a fan could become so infamous. :wink:

I think he posts on this forum though.....or at least some members here know him.
 
BigMacPhisto said:
Yeah, that's pretty much the gist of the story, from what I've heard......funny how a fan could become so infamous. :wink:

I think he posts on this forum though.....or at least some members here know him.


That's cool. Yeah, it kinda sounds like he didn't mean any harm or anything; just that he was so excited that he hugged Bono and sorta ended up picking him up and swinging him around too lol.
 
I know this story VERY well.

First, it's Diamond Dave - not Boston. He doesn't live anywhere near Boston. Dave is a member of this board, although I'm not sure how much he's posting lately.

I didn't know Dave at the time, but he stood in front of me - nicely blocking my view - in the heart at the fourth Boston show on the Elevation tour. Dave stumbled around a bit and stepped on me a few times - and he did this to others too. I think Dave partook of a few libations before the show that evening. :wink:

While I think Dave is fantastic now, at the time this stumbling annoyed me. Near the end of the concert, suddenly Dave - drunk with alcohol and adrenaline - jumped the guard rail and leaps onto the heart ramp!

Dave starts racing towards Bono and for a second I was frightened! Who was this big guy? I'm a big man myself and Dave blocked my view - so he's even taller (while Bono is rather "height challenged"). I feared for Bono! Was he going to hurt him? Where was security? What was going on? :eek:

Well, security finally saw Dave and tackled him hard! Yee haw! :lol: As I wrote, he had bugged me so much that night that I have to admit, I took a bit of delight in that tackle. ;)

However, Bono came to Dave's rescue. He pushed security aside (and Bono did look rather pissed while doing it too) and allowed Dave on stage.

Dave later told us that Bono told him to pick him up (as I said, Dave is a big man) and twirl him around. Dave put Bono back on his feet and then took a lap around the heart. It suddenly became a very powerful moment of Bono/U2 bonding with the fans.

Some negative critics thought Dave was a plant. I can assure you, he wasn't. This was all spontaneous.

I later met Dave at a Providence, RI Elevation concert where again we were both in the heart. But there was no ramp jumping this time. :) However, Bono remembered Dave and at other concerts, Dave was even able to get Bono to talk to Dave's daughters!

The last I heard, I think Dave was getting married (might be by now). Dave is a decent guy - although he has a bit of a "reputation" here. I won't get into that. :D Just don't let him stand in front of you at a concert. :wink:
 
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Yeah, someone mentioned how Dave was right in front of them at an SD show.....heh.

I think some folks might have called him "Boston Dave" because they mixed his name up with "Boston Rob", the guy from two Survivor series and the current Amazing Race.....or, more likely because the show where the incident occured was in Boston.
 
I met diamond in December and thought he was a very down to earth nice guy. After his reputation here - I expected him to have a large ego, but honestly he is very nice - as his fiance & daughters. :up:

So it sounds like the story goes - don't hang out with him if he's had too many.
 
Saw him both nights in San Diego, seemed cool to me. I remember reading his story and thinking it was cheesy, but we all do stuff in life that is often times not flattering.

I wished him a happy tour.
 
doctorwho said:
I know this story VERY well.

I later met Dave at a Providence, RI Elevation concert where again we were both in the heart. But there was no ramp jumping this time. :) However, Bono remembered Dave and at other concerts, Dave was even able to get Bono to talk to Dave's daughters!

The last I heard, I think Dave was getting married (might be by now). Dave is a decent guy - although he has a bit of a "reputation" here. I won't get into that. :D Just don't let him stand in front of you at a concert. :wink:

Dr Who-

Thanks for your kind words and for setting the record straight.
The internet is a vehicle of both information and misinformation.

Thank you for getting the story right, for historical reasons.:)

I would not encourage any passionate fan to do what I did. Some fans think that since I made this sort of connection w Bono that evening that I now have some inside track w U2 and Bono. I do not. Again I do not. He treats me no different that all his other fans.

All I get from Bono is an occassional 'hey what's up' look if he ever sees me in a public setting.
And that's the extent of it.

All I can be grateful is for the fact that during my leap up I said to myself ("ahh shit I SHOULD NOT be doing this.."), but it was too late to change the course of events at that point. (I was very afraid). I was LUCKY that Bono chose not to let me make a entire fool out of myself that evening.

Here are pics of my night in Boston:
http://members.aol.com/diamondbruno9/index2.html

Here's a fan's account, it was her first U2 show and she posted the way she saw it:

The first riffs of "Walk On" filled the arena after a lovely "One". Anyone who had read any of the setlists from earlier in the show knew this was the last song. Near the end, a fan came running up onto the right side of the stage towards the stage. Adam Clayton quickly made himself scarce as security roughly brought the fan down . The arena was so loud, I couldn't hear anything if anything was being shouted. Bono didn't notice at first. He was looking off to the left of the stage, strumming his guitar and getting set to end the song. But the scuffle couldn't go unnoticed for long as the crowd had tuned in and all eyes were flying to the right of the stage.


The fan reached out to Bono, wordlessly asking for his help. The singer stripped himself of his guitar and chucked it at a stage hand. He covered the distance between the center of the stage and the right corner in a fraction of a second. He pushed off one security guard and then another. He shouted something, but with the din of the screaming crowd and Edge's lead guitar, I didn't hear what he said. One security guard or two persisted in forcibly removing the fan. Bono pulled an arm back, hand all fisted up. He was livid. Security let the fan go and the man got up and went with Bono to the center of the stage. The crowd was ecstatic. It was like a victory for fans everywhere. The fan picked Bono up and swung him around (he towered over the little frontman by a good four to six inches). Then, the fan took a lap around the heart and disappeared into the crowd once more as Bono and U2 finished up the show.


The newspapers the next morning thought the fan wasa plant and the whole incident could have been a set up. This is not true...................

Here's my story I wrote out shortly after that night for Bono:
http://members.aol.com/diamondbruno9/bono/

Later in the tour Bono did interact w my 2 kids in Phx (Nov 2001). He took the Am. Flag from Sydney who was 6 at the time and later he pulled Alexis 8 and Syd up during Walk On. Kneeling down to my children while looking at me, he gave Alexis his red guitar pic, Alexis strummed his guitar while Sydney sang. Bono next had my children handed back to me.

I have the utmost respect for Bono for the indivual that he is:
-A rockstar
-A father
-A philanthropist
-A Philosopher
-A humanitarian
-A poet
-An activist
-A human being like you and me.

Thru out his entertainiment career and humanitarian efforts Bono has sought to help the most vulernable, the weakest and those in the most trouble.

I witnessed his love first hand, and really was the least worthy to recieve it.

I've attended U2 Shows since 1983 and have been a fan since 1981.

I only wished I woulda thought more before making that silly leap knowing now the repercussions that I would encountered then.

peace,
db9

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Alexis and Syndey Nov 2001 Phx Show

PS
thx to anne and the other ppl who made kind comments in this thread:hug:
 
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Yay! We have closure! Glad to see you around here, Dave, and perhaps I will meet you one day at a show. :wink:
 
cmb737 said:
Saw him both nights in San Diego, seemed cool to me. I remember reading his story and thinking it was cheesy, but we all do stuff in life that is often times not flattering.

I wished him a happy tour.
Rob-
It was great to meet you.

Perhaps we can have a cheeseburger someday.:sexywink:


love,
diamond
:wink:
 
Eliv8 said:
Stay away from this 'Boston Dave' guy. He is nothing but bad news.


:up:

if you know any good looking females you should probably keep them away from him too
 
Lisa71 said:
Great story Dave! I had never seen the pictures.


ultraviolette
and
lisa71-
:hug:

some of the other members posts are making them elgible for a trip to the woodshed or over my knee.:angry:

db9
 
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Thanks for sharing the pics Dave. I love the one with your kids. What a great experience for them. Your a very cool dad to take them to a concert with ya!

We all do crazy things in our life, I'm just glad the security guys didn't hurt ya. Sometimes they can get a bit overzealous when they get in that type of situation. And your are definetly a big guy. ;) How tall are ya? lol
 
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