dsmith2904
ONE love, blood, life
By Andrew MacLachlan
2005.01
Whisper it quietly but U2 is set to embark on a world tour in the spring. It may come as a shock to some but when you consider there's a chart-topping new album it's not that surprising.
One of the most pleasurable experiences of going to gigs is anticipating what the act will play. On December 18th I was lucky enough to watch Morrissey in London. It was a wonderful show and for the first time in years Morrissey played "Last Night I Dreamt Somebody Loved Me," a surprise and dream come true for many in the audience. In this article I am going to attempt to compile the set list for the forthcoming tour and in return all those in San Diego in March can print it out, take it to the gig, match it to the show and then e-mail me to tell me how wrong I was. Here we go.
Track 1: This is the track upon which the whole tour will hinge. Why? How many people did you speak to who went to Elevation shows and how many reviews did you read that eulogized the house lights being up during "Elevation"? Like an album, the first track is what sets you up, the opening track on most albums is a rocker. My prediction therefore is "Vertigo." Not surprising but I think it the band will want to emphasize the relevance of the new material and probably won't use something from another record.
Track 2: After the opener, the second and third track must keep the tempo going. If this is true, and if Bono, Larry, Adam and The Edge are reading this column, the second track will be "Beautiful Day." It was almost always the second track on the last tour and regularly makes those Top 100 Singles Ever charts. "Beautiful Day" will be No. 2 because it keeps the pace going and we can all bounce up and down to it, that is crucial.
Track 3: It is getting tough now as the set list in my head is beginning to look too much like that of Elevation. The thing is that it's hard for it not to. "Until the End of the World" is a U2 classic and is the most lyrically brilliant track Bono has ever written. I'm torn between "Elevation" and "Until the End of the World" but can't help but feel "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" will figure more than just once in the opening trio hence track three is "All Because of You."
Track 4: That last one was a tough one. Can I hedge my bets and say that it could be the other two? It's track four now and it's got to be "Miracle Drug." Before I chose that it was going to be "Love and Peace or Else" but I feel the band will slow down the mood in order to let everyone get their breath back but not too much.
Track 5: This next piece is a hopeful choice more than anything. I was lucky enough to hear it in London on Elevation, it followed a long introduction by Bono about how the band came to London and lived on Earl's Court and used to travel up and down the U.K. "in an old V.W. van.” Track four, then, is "Out of Control." Just imagine hearing this now and hearing it with thousands of people, it would be awesome and you would get out of control.
Track 6: We're about a third of the way through the show and about half-an-hour in. Track six is "Kite." On the last tour this was sung because Bono felt it was about losing someone, "might be a lover, a friend, a relation" I think he said. The passing of his dad led Bono to write some of the new album the way he has done and that he has kept this theme firmly part of his agenda has convinced me that "Kite" will figure in the set list in 2005.
Track 7: We need a rocker guys, what you got? Drum roll please as Edge reaches into the bag and pulls out "Pride (In the Name of Love)". It has to figure on this tour because we all need to believe that Bono is still capable of singing it. We also need this song in order for us in the audience to sing at the top of our voices and because our own voices are drowned out to believe we're good.
Track 8: By now, Bono has probably said "Hello" to every one of his mesmerized followers and is leading the flock. Track eight, then, is likely to be one that turns the union between band and audience into one of mutual trust. I think track eight is "Love and Peace or Else." As I have already said, I think the band will want to make this show relevant to the new album and I think there will only be one or two omissions from it.
Track 9: I think we're at halfway now and I think we need to get another classic out, the only question is which one. I think it'll be "I Will Follow." Much of the talk around the last album was about U2 "reapplying for the job." This time, the talk has been about this being the rock record, about the new album being U2's "debut." Hence I think the sound of the early records will be scattered about rather than there being a block of hits followed by a block of new songs, and vice versa.
Track 10: I think it's getting tougher for me to get these predictions right because there are so many possibilities but I think track 10 will not come from the new album. Rather, I think it will come from "The Joshua Tree" and I think it will be "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." It's U2's most poignant track and if we're going to build further upon the premise that we'll be watching a show with a strong undercurrent of loss then this one makes sense.
Track 11: I think track 11 will "City of Blinding Lights," my pick for the best track off "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb." I think the inclusion of this is certain in the new set list and a fresh track is needed to follow the two classics. It's a wonderful song and is U2 at its best hence it is a good way to refocus the attention on the U2 of now, which I think we agree is what the show is all about.
Track 12: I'm not sure if I am convinced but at this point we might have an encore here. If not, then we will probably get a track from "All That You Can't Leave Behind." I think that it will be "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of." I chose this over "New York" because I think it carries us very sweetly onto the encore and will have us clapping our hands and stamping our feet in anticipation of more.
Track 13: "Bullet the Blue Sky" It makes sense for this to follow an encore because it has that aggressive, foaming-at-the-mouth rage which grabs your attention and says "Look at this inequality."
Track 14: I think, if the political vein of the show is now pumping, then the next song will be "Crumbs From Your Table." It has such a taste of abject disappointment that it makes you want to stop singing and dancing and think about the lyrics. The problem is you can't. But you really should because they are expressive of the other of the album's themes—social and economic disadvantage.
Track 15: I said somewhere near the start that this will be an 18-song show. I'm not so sure now because there are a few other tracks I feel will be included before we filter out and the night sky embraces us with its frosty cold fingers. I think we have now reached the moment we have been waiting for—"Where the Streets Have No Name." There is an inevitable feeling that the band will play this song, but not enough to make me think that U2 is certain to. Nevertheless, that it has figured on every other tour so that is reason enough to suspect it will do so again. Or it could be reason to suspect it will depart the set list.
Track 16: Perhaps an encore will interrupt 15 and 16. These last few tracks have got me guessing in the dark with no light at all, I am not sure whether there will be this many hits in the last section so I am torn at this point. I think "Original of the Species" will keep the idea of the album being the focus going for us. I'm really convinced about this being the focus and hope I am right.
Track 17: Now we're in the final stages of the show. I think it is a safe bet to say that "With or Without You" is going to be in the show at some point and I do not think it will close the show so I suspect it will be track 17. Like "Where the Streets Have no Name," I am not sure it will figure at all but if it does I suspect it will fall towards the end of the show.
Track 18: "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own I am virtually certain this will make the show—it's a great song and a U.K. single. Because it is a ballad, I think it will come at the end and because, like "Kite" it's written for Bob Hewson. Cue a possible montage but I would not stake money on that.
Track 19: "One" It's like "Where the Streets Have no Name" in that it seems likely and yet unlikely. I think it will be played because this is a crucial year for the eradication of global poverty. There is Jeffrey Sachs' study for the U.N. in January, Tony Blair's Commission for Africa in March and a W.T.O. meeting in Hong Kong in December, all of which I suspect Bono will wish to draw attention to. Aside from this, "One" is a great song and usually closes out U2's shows, which is probably reason to suspect it won't close out these shows.
Track 20: I think this is either "Yahweh" or "A Man and a Woman." I am not too sure on which one it will be because they are both quite similar in their compositions. Both are crescendo and are less guitar-driven than much of the album so I am really at a loss to rationalize a choice. I am, however, going for "A Man and a Woman" simply because I prefer it to "Yahweh."
Track 21: This is a tough one. I suspect the show, if it hasn't already done so, will close at the end of this track. I think the band will want a song that sends the crowd out into the night thinking about all they have seen and heard much like the house-lights and the famous heart of Elevation. I can't look past "Walk On" for this reason. I have always felt that this song was written primarily to close a show and I don't think its use will change just because it is not from the latest album.
It's possible that this took you longer to read than you will spend at the show but I think there are viable reasons for this being the set. First, I stand by my assessment that this will be a show about 2004 and "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" rather than a show about 1987, 1991 or 2000.
There are some massive exclusions from this listing, including "New Year's Day," "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Mysterious Ways," that have made me think that I am going to receive this as an e-mail attachment along with the real set list in March.
It's important to stress that, like you, I am a fan and don't have access to any kind of information beyond the internet and the records. I have enjoyed writing this article and am nervous about the prospect of seeing the set list for the show in March and being totally wrong. There is a small chance though, a feeling so much stronger than a thought, that I could be right.
2005.01
Whisper it quietly but U2 is set to embark on a world tour in the spring. It may come as a shock to some but when you consider there's a chart-topping new album it's not that surprising.
One of the most pleasurable experiences of going to gigs is anticipating what the act will play. On December 18th I was lucky enough to watch Morrissey in London. It was a wonderful show and for the first time in years Morrissey played "Last Night I Dreamt Somebody Loved Me," a surprise and dream come true for many in the audience. In this article I am going to attempt to compile the set list for the forthcoming tour and in return all those in San Diego in March can print it out, take it to the gig, match it to the show and then e-mail me to tell me how wrong I was. Here we go.
Track 1: This is the track upon which the whole tour will hinge. Why? How many people did you speak to who went to Elevation shows and how many reviews did you read that eulogized the house lights being up during "Elevation"? Like an album, the first track is what sets you up, the opening track on most albums is a rocker. My prediction therefore is "Vertigo." Not surprising but I think it the band will want to emphasize the relevance of the new material and probably won't use something from another record.
Track 2: After the opener, the second and third track must keep the tempo going. If this is true, and if Bono, Larry, Adam and The Edge are reading this column, the second track will be "Beautiful Day." It was almost always the second track on the last tour and regularly makes those Top 100 Singles Ever charts. "Beautiful Day" will be No. 2 because it keeps the pace going and we can all bounce up and down to it, that is crucial.
Track 3: It is getting tough now as the set list in my head is beginning to look too much like that of Elevation. The thing is that it's hard for it not to. "Until the End of the World" is a U2 classic and is the most lyrically brilliant track Bono has ever written. I'm torn between "Elevation" and "Until the End of the World" but can't help but feel "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" will figure more than just once in the opening trio hence track three is "All Because of You."
Track 4: That last one was a tough one. Can I hedge my bets and say that it could be the other two? It's track four now and it's got to be "Miracle Drug." Before I chose that it was going to be "Love and Peace or Else" but I feel the band will slow down the mood in order to let everyone get their breath back but not too much.
Track 5: This next piece is a hopeful choice more than anything. I was lucky enough to hear it in London on Elevation, it followed a long introduction by Bono about how the band came to London and lived on Earl's Court and used to travel up and down the U.K. "in an old V.W. van.” Track four, then, is "Out of Control." Just imagine hearing this now and hearing it with thousands of people, it would be awesome and you would get out of control.
Track 6: We're about a third of the way through the show and about half-an-hour in. Track six is "Kite." On the last tour this was sung because Bono felt it was about losing someone, "might be a lover, a friend, a relation" I think he said. The passing of his dad led Bono to write some of the new album the way he has done and that he has kept this theme firmly part of his agenda has convinced me that "Kite" will figure in the set list in 2005.
Track 7: We need a rocker guys, what you got? Drum roll please as Edge reaches into the bag and pulls out "Pride (In the Name of Love)". It has to figure on this tour because we all need to believe that Bono is still capable of singing it. We also need this song in order for us in the audience to sing at the top of our voices and because our own voices are drowned out to believe we're good.
Track 8: By now, Bono has probably said "Hello" to every one of his mesmerized followers and is leading the flock. Track eight, then, is likely to be one that turns the union between band and audience into one of mutual trust. I think track eight is "Love and Peace or Else." As I have already said, I think the band will want to make this show relevant to the new album and I think there will only be one or two omissions from it.
Track 9: I think we're at halfway now and I think we need to get another classic out, the only question is which one. I think it'll be "I Will Follow." Much of the talk around the last album was about U2 "reapplying for the job." This time, the talk has been about this being the rock record, about the new album being U2's "debut." Hence I think the sound of the early records will be scattered about rather than there being a block of hits followed by a block of new songs, and vice versa.
Track 10: I think it's getting tougher for me to get these predictions right because there are so many possibilities but I think track 10 will not come from the new album. Rather, I think it will come from "The Joshua Tree" and I think it will be "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." It's U2's most poignant track and if we're going to build further upon the premise that we'll be watching a show with a strong undercurrent of loss then this one makes sense.
Track 11: I think track 11 will "City of Blinding Lights," my pick for the best track off "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb." I think the inclusion of this is certain in the new set list and a fresh track is needed to follow the two classics. It's a wonderful song and is U2 at its best hence it is a good way to refocus the attention on the U2 of now, which I think we agree is what the show is all about.
Track 12: I'm not sure if I am convinced but at this point we might have an encore here. If not, then we will probably get a track from "All That You Can't Leave Behind." I think that it will be "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of." I chose this over "New York" because I think it carries us very sweetly onto the encore and will have us clapping our hands and stamping our feet in anticipation of more.
Track 13: "Bullet the Blue Sky" It makes sense for this to follow an encore because it has that aggressive, foaming-at-the-mouth rage which grabs your attention and says "Look at this inequality."
Track 14: I think, if the political vein of the show is now pumping, then the next song will be "Crumbs From Your Table." It has such a taste of abject disappointment that it makes you want to stop singing and dancing and think about the lyrics. The problem is you can't. But you really should because they are expressive of the other of the album's themes—social and economic disadvantage.
Track 15: I said somewhere near the start that this will be an 18-song show. I'm not so sure now because there are a few other tracks I feel will be included before we filter out and the night sky embraces us with its frosty cold fingers. I think we have now reached the moment we have been waiting for—"Where the Streets Have No Name." There is an inevitable feeling that the band will play this song, but not enough to make me think that U2 is certain to. Nevertheless, that it has figured on every other tour so that is reason enough to suspect it will do so again. Or it could be reason to suspect it will depart the set list.
Track 16: Perhaps an encore will interrupt 15 and 16. These last few tracks have got me guessing in the dark with no light at all, I am not sure whether there will be this many hits in the last section so I am torn at this point. I think "Original of the Species" will keep the idea of the album being the focus going for us. I'm really convinced about this being the focus and hope I am right.
Track 17: Now we're in the final stages of the show. I think it is a safe bet to say that "With or Without You" is going to be in the show at some point and I do not think it will close the show so I suspect it will be track 17. Like "Where the Streets Have no Name," I am not sure it will figure at all but if it does I suspect it will fall towards the end of the show.
Track 18: "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own I am virtually certain this will make the show—it's a great song and a U.K. single. Because it is a ballad, I think it will come at the end and because, like "Kite" it's written for Bob Hewson. Cue a possible montage but I would not stake money on that.
Track 19: "One" It's like "Where the Streets Have no Name" in that it seems likely and yet unlikely. I think it will be played because this is a crucial year for the eradication of global poverty. There is Jeffrey Sachs' study for the U.N. in January, Tony Blair's Commission for Africa in March and a W.T.O. meeting in Hong Kong in December, all of which I suspect Bono will wish to draw attention to. Aside from this, "One" is a great song and usually closes out U2's shows, which is probably reason to suspect it won't close out these shows.
Track 20: I think this is either "Yahweh" or "A Man and a Woman." I am not too sure on which one it will be because they are both quite similar in their compositions. Both are crescendo and are less guitar-driven than much of the album so I am really at a loss to rationalize a choice. I am, however, going for "A Man and a Woman" simply because I prefer it to "Yahweh."
Track 21: This is a tough one. I suspect the show, if it hasn't already done so, will close at the end of this track. I think the band will want a song that sends the crowd out into the night thinking about all they have seen and heard much like the house-lights and the famous heart of Elevation. I can't look past "Walk On" for this reason. I have always felt that this song was written primarily to close a show and I don't think its use will change just because it is not from the latest album.
It's possible that this took you longer to read than you will spend at the show but I think there are viable reasons for this being the set. First, I stand by my assessment that this will be a show about 2004 and "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" rather than a show about 1987, 1991 or 2000.
There are some massive exclusions from this listing, including "New Year's Day," "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Mysterious Ways," that have made me think that I am going to receive this as an e-mail attachment along with the real set list in March.
It's important to stress that, like you, I am a fan and don't have access to any kind of information beyond the internet and the records. I have enjoyed writing this article and am nervous about the prospect of seeing the set list for the show in March and being totally wrong. There is a small chance though, a feeling so much stronger than a thought, that I could be right.
unno:
