Rank the Tours

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digitize

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Since this thread has (d)evolved into discussion about peoples' favorite tours, I think it's time for a real thread for us to rank U2's tours! Simply rank them and, preferably, put a justification. But no, I will not be making a giant spreadsheet and turning it into a PDF file at the end.

I'll post my own rankings later.
 
Why not just declare ZOOTV the winner now and be done with it? That way we can dispense with the formality of actually doing the survey, since the outcome of any poll around here where ZOOTV/AB is on the ballot is pretty much assured.
 
Because this isn't about declaring a winner. I wasn't planning on doing any calculations. This is about creating a discussion. Moreover, even if ZooTV will almost certainly take first place for most people, I'm interested to see what tours do well after ZooTV.
 
Nick66 said:
Why not just declare ZOOTV the winner now and be done with it? That way we can dispense with the formality of actually doing the survey, since the outcome of any poll around here where ZOOTV/AB is on the ballot is pretty much assured.

Some people might legitimately hold that opinion :shrug:
 
What are we ranking - the setlists, the stage, the concept, the band's overall performance, Bono's voice at the time, or what?

I'd say
Popmart for concept/spectacle (it tops ZooTV IMO)
360º for stage/setlist

Elevation would maybe be the overall winner, simply because I like the "less is more" approach, but short sets and Bono's voice detract it a bit.
 
God Part III said:
What are we ranking - the setlists, the stage, the concept, the band's overall performance, Bono's voice at the time, or what?

Rank based on whatever your overall impression of tours, based on whatever you think makes a tour good. That in itself almost certainly varies tremendously from person to person.
 
1. War Tour
2. POPMart
3. Whatever tour it was that had that show at the Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein
 
1. ZooTV
2. 360°
3. Elevation
4. Lovetown
5. Popmart
6. Vertigo
7. Joshua Tree
8. The rest

ZooTV is tops for me (hive?) because of the setlists, the sound, and the spectacle. Everything clicked for them on that tour, and the indoor and outdoor shows were both creatures of their own, but spectacular in their own right.

360° brought back and improved some of my favorites, like The Fly, Even Better Than the Real Thing, Ultraviolet, and Hold Me Thrill Me, but I was disappointed how the No Line songs disappeared.

Elevation may not have had mindboggling sets (which is why it's at #3), but the intimacy was superb and the performances were regularly awesome.

That's the justification for my top 3, at least. The rest were still great in their own ways.
 
For my rankings, I'm excluding 360. It's the only tour that I've seen in real life, so I think it's unfair to compare it to bootlegs of the rest.

1) ZooTV
2) PopMart
3) Vertigo
4) Lovetown
5) Elevation
6) The Unforgettable Fire
7) The Joshua Tree
8) War
9) Boy
10) October

If I were to rank 360, it would probably be either second or third.
 
Vocals - Joshua Tree
Setlists - Lovetown
Band performances - Lovetown
Spectacle - ZooTV (far more coherent than Popmart visually, and the amusing characters Bono threw together put it over the top)

Nonetheless, Lovetown didn't go on long enough to justify giving it the top spot (it's barely a full tour), nor did they play Zooropa tracks on that tour. I know where my heart lies.

1. ZooTV
2. Lovetown
3. Joshua Tree
4. Unforgettable Fire
5. Vertigo
6. Popmart
7. Elevation
8. War
9. 360 (yeah, I was ambivalent towards this tour until the final leg; I was intrigued by it to start, but I always felt it was too moody)
10. Boy
11. October
 
I'm only gonna rank the tours I've seen:

1. ZooTV (1st show at age 14 & it was insane!!)
2. 360 (The stage, setting, setlist)
3. Popmart (very close to being 2nd)
4. Vertigo
5. Elevation
 
Like zoopop I'm only going to rank tours I've seen:

1. Elevation
2. ZooTV
3. Joshua Tree
4. The Unforgettable Fire
5. 360
6. Vertigo
7. Popmart

Loved the emotion and rebirth of the Elevation Tour...that was U2 fighting every night to be relevant...when relevance could have long passed them.

I rank Popmart last because, imo, it was an overblown attempt to top ZooTV and Bono sounded awful throughout the tour. :ohmy:
 
Like zoopop I'm only going to rank tours I've seen:

1. Elevation
2. ZooTV
3. Joshua Tree
4. The Unforgettable Fire
5. 360
6. Vertigo
7. Popmart

Loved the emotion and rebirth of the Elevation Tour...that was U2 fighting every night to be relevant...when relevance could have long passed them.

I rank Popmart last because, imo, it was an overblown attempt to top ZooTV and Bono sounded awful throughout the tour. :ohmy:

This is about right.

You've seen the same shows I have, and it's hard to argue with your rankings, and I'd probably rank them about the same. I agree with your comments on Elevation. I think people who didn't actually see any of those shows, and are only looking at the set lists, really don't recognise the power and intimacy that defined that tour and those gigs. U2 definitely had something to prove with those shows, and they played like it.

And the Slane Castle DVD is probably U2's best concert vid, and comes the closest, IMO, to conveying the power of being at a U2 concert, and is certainly an excellent representation of that tour (you can't say that about all the DVD's).
 
Thanks Nick...lists like this are mostly objective, but appreciate your kind words.

And I feel the same way you do about the Elevation Tour...setlists are setlists...each fan is going to wish they played this, or dropped that, but this tour was U2 trying to recapture the glory of the early days...and playing as if it could be their last tour. Very inspiring and emotional shows...the April 20th show I saw was among the 3 best U2 shows I've ever seen.

I'd love to rank the Joshua Tree/Unforgettable Fire Tours higher...but some of the later tours were better. I loved the RAW emotion of both of those tours, and Bono voice was never stronger...I can still see the band coming up the steps to the stage during the beginning of WTSHNN at one of the Joshua Tree shows I saw...AMAZING!!

Vertigo/360 was more U2 by the numbers for me. Good shows, but nothing that touched me like the Elevation and previous tours did. Loved the last 360 show I saw, but it seemed U2 relied more on the spectacle than the tunes this last tour.

Popmart...I'm sorry...sucked. Bono's voice, the nearly unplayable Pop songs, the over the top Popmart stage...the concept...not my cup of tea. It was U2 overreaching imo. I can appreciate what they were going for on the album, but the final product and presentation of the tour just didn't suit me.

ZooTV would be the pinnacle for me, because the band was firing on all cylinders...but it lack just a little bit of the emotion that the Elevation Tour had. Loved the change up though...and the Edge WAS on fire during that tour!
 
i'm going to be naughty and do two lists, so feel free to look at whichever you prefer.

tours i've seen:
1. popmart
2. 360
3. vertigo

all tours:
1. popmart
2. 360
3. war tour
4. zoo tv
5. joshua tree tour
6. unforgettable fire tour
7. boy tour
8. october tour
9. lovetown
10. vertigo
11. elevation
 
1. Zoo TV
2. War Tour
3. Joshua Tree Tour
4. Unforgettable Fire Tour
5. 360
6. Popmart
7. Lovetown
8. October Tour
9. Boy Tour
10. Vertigo
11. Elevation
 
Obsessive bootleg collecting.

I have a whole shelf of CD-Rs for them, and I can't remember the last time I even heard a show in full.
 
1 360
2 vertigo tour

The only two tours ive seen.if i could of gone to any tour in the past though it would be zoo tv 90-94 is u2 at their best in my opinion
 
Tours I have seen (and they were all great) but if I HAD to rank them:

1. Vertigo (I guess I'm in the minority on this one) 12 shows
2. Popmart 11 shows
3. Elevation 11 shows
4. Zoo TV (indoors) 5 shows
5. Zoo TV Outside Broadcast 5 shows
6. Joshua Tree (had crappy seats, first time seeing U2 live) 1 show
7. 360 good tour, but no solid opener until the final leg for me and then it was a greatest hits tour with U2 going through the motions at that point. Stage was incredible obviously. 5 shows


Tours based solely on bootlegs and for listening pleasure only:

1. Vertigo tour (Electric Co, An Cat Dubh, Gloria, The Ocean, Zoo Station, Running To Stand Still, etc, etc.....) again, guess I'm the minority. Good thing not many of the quality shows from this leg got out, nobody would seem to want them anyway.
2. Popmart (Pop Muzik/Mofo intro, best ever) static setlists though, no need to collect a ton.
3. Lovetown - great setlists and performances, Bono literally pushing his vocals to the brink. Basically the JT tour plus Rattle & Hum songs.
4. Joshua Tree - my favorite U2 album, U2 at the height of hysteria with their popularity, they were THE band that year, bar none.
5. Elevation (11 O Clock Tick Tock finally brought back), liked the intro walking on with the lights on to the Elevation remix. Solid shows for the most part.
6. War tour - U2 still very raw but powerful. These shows all had a certain "edge" to them, no pun intended. ;)
7. 360 tour, the 2010 Euro leg is abysmal to me other than when they did the new material. Rarely listen to those shows. First and 2nd legs were good, but Breathe did not work as an opener, setlist pacing problems IMO. Last leg, good opener, but U2 going through the motions by that time and they dropped The Unf. Fire and No Line.
7. Zoo Tour - I know, everyone loves it. I did also, but rarely listen to any bootlegs from it. I do not know why.
8. Unf. Fire tour. Good tour, I do not care for 11 O Clock opening though, most love it, I think it sounds flat as the opener. I'm sure I'm in the minority on that though.

October and Boy, rarely listen to either, probably prefer Boy, at least when they were playing Things To Make And Do and Boy/Girl.
 
Awesome
1. ZooTV
2. Lovetown
3. War
4. Joshua Tree
5. Popmart
6. Vertigo
7. 360
8. Unforgettable Fire

Good
9. Boy/October
10. Elevation

Boy and October tours just didn't have enough songs. War was the first one where they had enough songs to combine a solid setlist with the great energy they had in the early days.

I've heard all about the emotion in the Elevation shows and everything, and that's fine, I'm not taking anything away from that. But holy shit, Bono's voice (I'll take Popmart's highs and lows over the consistently poor vocals of Elevation every day of the week and twice on Sunday).
 
Based on bootlegs and videos, my favorite is Lovetown. This is for four reasons:
1) They played raw, un-aided, without corporate sponsorship, and without any technological tricks or aids;
2) Of all the 1980s tours to which (1) applies, this is the one with the best set-list;
3) Bono's vocal peak; and
4) It's the rare U2 tour with a relaxed, loose feel to it -- the setlist could (and occasionally did) radically change, and by not playing the US or UK the band were more at ease, knowing less was at stake. They also weren't really supporting an album or trying to sell anything, so they had little to worry about.

While the band themselves seem to remember this period as one when they were a bit lost and almost on the verge of self-parody -- for reasons I can understand -- the actual live performances, from a musical perspective, are the absolute best they ever did.
 
Based on bootlegs and videos, my favorite is Lovetown. This is for four reasons:
1) They played raw, un-aided, without corporate sponsorship, and without any technological tricks or aids;
2) Of all the 1980s tours to which (1) applies, this is the one with the best set-list;
3) Bono's vocal peak; and
4) It's the rare U2 tour with a relaxed, loose feel to it -- the setlist could (and occasionally did) radically change, and by not playing the US or UK the band were more at ease, knowing less was at stake. They also weren't really supporting an album or trying to sell anything, so they had little to worry about.

While the band themselves seem to remember this period as one when they were a bit lost and almost on the verge of self-parody -- for reasons I can understand -- the actual live performances, from a musical perspective, are the absolute best they ever did.

Agree completely. I missed Lovetown, and can't really compare it to the shows I've actually experienced, but based on what I've heard and seen it was actually amazing...the managed to combine a loose spontaneity with inspired vocal and musical performances. And a kick ass set list. I'm not sure they ever quite captured that kind of magic in a bottle in such a way since.

I'd give up any of the shows I've seen to have been at a Lovetown gig.
 
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