Sinéad O'Connor (1992)

Nope, I didn’t get to see Sinéad live until she toured in support of her second record, “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got” (1990). I remember how much she blew up in America, after the video for her cover of the Prince-penned “Nothing Compares 2 U” hit MTV. Ah, what a few tears will get you. Remember that video?! It was on all the time!

I bought two tickets for the show, not really knowing who might go with me. I had one good friend who was also into Sinéad, but it was August and we were in school… so he was still back in New York. My oldest brother, Matt — admittedly not a big Sinéad fan, even then — thought it might be cool to check her out, so I happily went with him.

So Matt took me on his motorcycle (I had to ride “Bitch,” of course. Sigh.) from our town of Ann Arbor to Clarkston, Michigan, site of an outdoor amphitheater called “Pine Knob.” I saw countless shows there, and it was actually a good venue.
-advertisement-

Then, about 45 minutes into the show, she uttered a final “thank you,” and walked off the stage. For good. The lights came on (I don’t think it was even dark outside yet!), and the crowd just stood around starting at the stage. No one believed that could be the show. Surely, $22.50 was enough money to give us some semblance of a performance, right?

Mmmm. Guess not. Sinéad O’Connor performed live in 1990, in Michigan, for less time than it takes to rip up a picture of the Pope.