Weird Popmart performances of One (especially in south america)

[Von Schloopen]

We can thank macphisto for that. That's when Bono started butchering wowy, that's when he started the whole half talk approach to the song and for some unexplainable reason it stuck.

Indeed.

 

[Blue Room]

I think BD worked pretty well on 360, just not as an opener.

Maybe by 2015 I'll be ready for Pride to return.

I agree, it was a terrible opening song. But the first and second leg versions of it with the We Love You intro was pretty good IMO.

Pride was played on the first leg and on the last leg consistantly for 360. So it took a break but came back as a warhorse again at the end. It has been done on every tour since it was recorded. I like some of the Unf. Fire tour and JT tour performances of it though. But it has not been good since then. Bono does not do the main chorus like back then and they seemed to have slowed the song down.

Streets was due to take a break on Vertigo, Bono did not want to play it. But he came up with the flag concept and decided it had to be done. I love the Vertigo tour and Streets is my favorite U2 song, but the flags actually killed the song somehow creating one of the worst versions of the song they have done IMO.

WOWY, took a short break on Vertigo, but then became a warhorse again. I don't have a problem with the song. It is one of the warhorses that never seems to bother me even when it is not done great. My wife who saw her first U2 show on 360 would have been enormously disappointed though if they had not done it and a great number that type of person attending is exactly why U2 usually plays it.

SBS on 360 was OK. It can go away for awhile though and it would not bother me one bit. I was glad Bullet finally got dropped on 360, it needed a break.

One to me is just always sort of there. I like Bono's outros to it more than the song itself sometimes. I don't hate it, but don't love it either. They will most likely always play it, but I would not bother me if they did not.

 

[LemonMelon]

One to me is just always sort of there.

Agreed. And if this is the way it's being treated, is there really any point in playing it? What does One have if not emotion? There are certain songs you can sleepwalk your way through and get away with it, but not One. One was borne of pain and frustration and U2 should feel something every time they play it. If they don't, they need to move on because they aren't doing justice to the song at all. I feel the same way about WOWY, albeit to a lesser extent.

 

[Nick66]

Agreed. And if this is the way it's being treated, is there really any point in playing it? What does One have if not emotion? There are certain songs you can sleepwalk your way through and get away with it, but not One. One was borne of pain and frustration and U2 should feel something every time they play it. If they don't, they need to move on because they aren't doing justice to the song at all. I feel the same way about WOWY, albeit to a lesser extent.

This is very nicely put.

The short answer is, they play it for the same reason they play 90% of their setlist: because people want to hear it.

 

[marshall faulk]

If Bono sings the outros/codas on One or WOWY it's a pretty good indicator if the band are giving the songs their all. To me, it's those exit verses that make those songs live. They seem to sleep walk thru WOWY more often.

I'll be stunned if either of those ever get dropped. 99% of casual fans are at a U2 concert to hear those songs.

 

[U2girl]

One was never nearly as good live as it is in the studio. As well as WOWY, it hasn't really been good live on the last 4 tours.

The most tired of the hits, along with I still haven't found what I'm looking for.

Not a rest or a rotation ; these songs need a live arrangement reworking.

 

[djerdap]

One of the rare versions that I feel surpass the studio version is the Tacoma 1992 one.

U2 - One (Live Tacoma 92 GREAT VERSION!!) - YouTube

 

[Globo14]

Not a rest or a rotation ; these songs need a live arrangement reworking.

I agree with this. One has been largely the same for its entire existence. With or Without You has also been pretty much the same, save for the Macphisto version. If they would do something (anything, really) to spice them up at least a little bit.

As far as With or Without You, I think bringing back the guitar solo would definitely help. It fit the song really well, especially the ZooTV version.

This is by far the best version of the song, in my opinion.

U2 - With or without you - Zoo Tv - YouTube

With One, I think the best thing they can do to save that from being more dreadful is to rediscover it and give it more passion. I can't really think of a way to rework it, other than an acoustic version (which would probably be more dull than it is already).

 

[corianderstem]

One of the rare versions that I feel surpass the studio version is the Tacoma 1992 one.

Huh, I didn't know that anything good ever came out of Tacoma.

#seattle4evah

 

[brooklynmike]

I agree, it was a terrible opening song. But the first and second leg versions of it with the We Love You intro was pretty good IMO.

Pride was played on the first leg and on the last leg consistantly for 360. So it took a break but came back as a warhorse again at the end. It has been done on every tour since it was recorded. I like some of the Unf. Fire tour and JT tour performances of it though. But it has not been good since then. Bono does not do the main chorus like back then and they seemed to have slowed the song down.

Streets was due to take a break on Vertigo, Bono did not want to play it. But he came up with the flag concept and decided it had to be done. I love the Vertigo tour and Streets is my favorite U2 song, but the flags actually killed the song somehow creating one of the worst versions of the song they have done IMO.

WOWY, took a short break on Vertigo, but then became a warhorse again. I don't have a problem with the song. It is one of the warhorses that never seems to bother me even when it is not done great. My wife who saw her first U2 show on 360 would have been enormously disappointed though if they had not done it and a great number that type of person attending is exactly why U2 usually plays it.

SBS on 360 was OK. It can go away for awhile though and it would not bother me one bit. I was glad Bullet finally got dropped on 360, it needed a break.

One to me is just always sort of there. I like Bono's outros to it more than the song itself sometimes. I don't hate it, but don't love it either. They will most likely always play it, but I would not bother me if they did not.

Great post.