Question for those who actually experienced ZooTV & Popmart, not just watched the dvd

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Zoots

Zoots

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Question for those who actually experienced ZooTV & Popmart, not just watched the dvd

Was Bono's posturing on stage as cringeworthy or cheesy as it has been on the Vertigo tour? I was not able to be there in person to experience Zoo TV or Popmart so I'm basing all my opinions on the Zoo Sydney and Popmart Mexico & Santiago dvds alone. To me, nothing from those past tours looked as bad as the animal impressions or the hyperactive drumming during LAPOE or the bird flapping etc. But maybe people who watched him on stage in the 90s feel differently?
 
I'm curious to hear this one too. I wince everytime I see Machpisto and especially that stage entrance on Popmart.

(is the bird flapping scene in Chicago or Milan DVDs too or just U2:3D ?)
 
Different contexts and as a result, different criteria. Was Bono duelling as a bull with the Edge during Elevation any more over-the-top than his crotch thrusting was in Zoo TV? I think everything is far different live than it is on video or DVD. You're "in the moment" live -- so the drumming at the end of LAPOE didn't bother me. But then again, Zoo TV was all about sensory overload, so some of the over-the-top theatrics that worked in that context (humping the camera, etc) maybe would seem weirder in a stripped-down Vertigo context.

However, I have to say that none of these things struck me as particularly over the top, but then again, I don't tend to revisit live stuff on DVD all that much -- there are far too many movies I need to keep up with. I might feel differently watching the DVDs.
 
The bird flapping scene is not on the Chicago dvd. I don't have the Milan dvd but I don't think that one has it either. But it was on U2:3D, wherever that was filmed.
 
When I saw ZooTV it was my first real concert and I thought it was the coolest shit ever, I still love it, but now when I watch it I think to myself wow that wasn't really as cool as I thought...

By the time I saw Popmart I was very aware of the posturing and my non-diehard fans loved to point them out to me.

By the time I saw Vertigo I had grown up quite a bit wasn't so concerned about what was cool and what wasn't and didn't even notice most of it... I never even noticed the bird thing until someone pointed it out to me.
 
Ah. I haven't seen that one. I have Milan but I don't remember any bird-like motions.
 
BonoVoxSupastar said:
I never even noticed the bird thing until someone pointed it out to me.
Click to expand...

Are you serious??? What about the crawling on stage in Chicago or the monkey impressions? To me, that stuff is really hard to watch compared to the camera humping or Macphisto which were both amusing... but again, I'm comparing dvd experiences.
 
I saw both tours, but was only close enough to see anything for Pop. I don't remember thinking anything about the posturing and gestures - I was just so damned excited to be there, I didn't have the chance to really get critical about the tours in the future when I watched multiple shows on DVD (bootlegs or official releases).

At the time, it felt like the greatest, most exciting thing ever.
 
I was lucky enough to attend to the Popmart Santiago 11 February 1998 concert :heart:

Also, I attended to the Vertigo Santiago 26 February 2006 :wave:

I could type for hours, but all I have to say is in the Popmart night I really witnessed U2 and BONO, not that stupid larger-than-life rock start act of the Elevation Tour DVD. The Popmart tour is grabbed in my memory and my heart. Arguably the greatest Popmart setlist and most important, possibly the greatest Popmart show :heart:
 
Zootlesque said:
Was Bono's posturing on stage as cringeworthy or cheesy as it has been on the Vertigo tour? I was not able to be there in person to experience Zoo TV or Popmart so I'm basing all my opinions on the Zoo Sydney and Popmart Mexico & Santiago dvds alone. To me, nothing from those past tours looked as bad as the animal impressions or the hyperactive drumming during LAPOE or the bird flapping etc. But maybe people who watched him on stage in the 90s feel differently?
Click to expand...

Well, first of all, I really didn't think Bono's stage behavior was cringeworthy or cheesy. The guy has earned the right to be up on stage and do whatever the Hell he wants to do. I've definitely seen cheesier and more cringeworthy things.


I saw Zoo TV and Bono and the boys clearly just decided to be more of themselves on stage and just crank the charisma/fun to like eleven or so. I thought Zoo TV was a lot of fun.

PopMart was OK. I saw them kind of early in the tour and they weren't firing on all cylinders just yet. I still had a blast anyway. I got all the kitsch and stuff. I had no problem with Bono's stage antics. The only thing I didn't like were some of his outfit choices.
 
Zootlesque said:
Are you serious??? What about the crawling on stage in Chicago or the monkey impressions? To me, that stuff is really hard to watch compared to the camera humping or Macphisto which were both amusing... but again, I'm comparing dvd experiences.
Click to expand...

If you watch this performance of Wild Horses from 1992 you can see how Bono really hasn't changed...he's lying all over the stage in his one...watch around 3:30

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M-ZW0jkvHs

I don't think Vertigo Tour was any worse or better than previous tours.
 
Zootlesque said:
Are you serious??? What about the crawling on stage in Chicago or the monkey impressions? To me, that stuff is really hard to watch compared to the camera humping or Macphisto which were both amusing... but again, I'm comparing dvd experiences.
Click to expand...

Yeah the crawling and the bullfight were very cringeworthy.

But so was the boxing entrance, sucking of thumb, and monkey impressions during Popmart...:shrug:
 
Yes, because a rock star should simply stand on stage without moving. :|

I don't find Bono cringeworthy, well maybe a little. However, seeing ZooTv and mostly PopMart shows makes me feel a little uncomfortable sometimes, because I feel it's too much for me, an overkill. I hardly ever watch these DVDs. The McPhisto and this boxer stuff that Bono has clearly exaggerated are sometimes a little hard to swallow. Also the drinking with girls on stage and crotch shots ... that's just not something I can truly enjoy, but maybe it was different when you saw the show live.

Zootlesque said:
The bird flapping scene is not on the Chicago dvd. I don't have the Milan dvd but I don't think that one has it either.
Click to expand...

Nope, Milan was "Bono. Sexy person". :wink:
 
I've seen Ozzy and Manson do a lot of wacky shit on stage, but I think they can get away with a little more because the fans just think those guys are "portraying a character" on stage. I've seen Ozzy hop like a frog or a monkey. I've seen Manson hump people's faces.

I guess, if I had to choose which Bono was more over-the-top, I'd say PopMart. I had no problem with Bono, but his outfits were scary.
 
In the 80s, Bono was too cool to bother about being cool, which made him cool.

At Zoo, he was being purposely over the top, i.e. there was genuine irony in his gestures. Which was cool.

By the time Mart came around, the irony was getting kind of old and some of the stuff he did looked almost devoid of irony, as if he was actually trying to be cool. Which was sort of lukewarm but tenable, because the sheer spectacle of Popmart and the music helped a lot.

Elevation, I dont remember a whole lot of weird behavior to comment on. The US flag thing made me cringe like anything, but then people will accuse me of being unpatriotic, so what to say.

Now Bono is this 45-year old goofball who does weird things like flap his wings and crawl around like a cat.

I genuinely dont think he's trying to be cool, just having a good time. Which to me makes it not cringeworthy, because I cringe when someone's deliberately going for an effect and its so blatant it makes you feel they're sort of pathetic cause they're trying so damn hard. My reaction to his present behavior is akin to being with a kooky semi-senile old uncle. Which means I dont take him too seriously.
 
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