" Where the Streets Have No Name " made its concert debut on 2 April 1987 in Tempe , Arizona on the opening night of The Joshua Tree Tour . It has since been played at nearly every full @-@ length concert that U2 has headlined , totaling over 700 performances as of 2011 . The song is widely regarded as one of the group 's most popular live songs . Bono said of it , " We can be in the middle of the worst gig in our lives , but when we go into that song , everything changes . The audience is on its feet , singing along with every word . It 's like God suddenly walks through the room . "