HelloAngel
ONE love, blood, life
By André Axver
2004.12
A new U2 tour is fast approaching and one of the critical elements required to create a successful and entertaining tour is a set list. For a band as socially conscious and political as U2, the theme and tone of a set list can determine the direction, impact and message of the show. This has been witnessed in the past with the media barrage and break-from-the-past of ZooTV, and the back-to-basics approach of the Elevation Tour, and this new tour will undoubtedly see another approach employed by U2 to compliment the new album's intended message.
Devising an appropriate set list is not easy, and the band must take many factors into consideration. Sonic and thematic cohesion is not always easy to find and the demands of a broad audience must be acknowledged.
When determining set lists, U2 has to consider its diverse audience. At even smaller U2 concerts, diehard fanatics from 1980 mingle with people attending simply to hear “Beautiful Day,” and all levels of fan in between. For this reason, U2 must seek a balance and offer a show that keeps the casual fan interested while allowing the diehard to go home feeling as if they have seen a new U2 experience rather than a PopMart rerun.
There seems to be one song that every person expects to hear at a U2 concert— “Where the Streets Have No Name." Whether opening the main set, closing it or appearing elsewhere in the set is anyone’s guess, but it is safe to say "Streets" and a few other U2 standards, like "Pride" and "One," will be played during every U2 tour until the conclusion of the band's career.
Beyond “Streets,” and a few other tracks, it's not certain what could be played or how much set list variety will be offered to the audience. It is certain classic tracks and radio hits will be played, but due to the vast quantity of songs in that category, U2 would have to dramatically extend its set list to include them all. One way to enure that the most U2 favorites get their turn live is for the band to have rotating set lists. If that is the case, the line-ups would share common elements, such as “Streets”and recent hits, but otherwise would showcase the depth of U2’s catalog, bringing satisfaction to both the casual fan wanting to hear “With Or Without You” and the diehard looking for variety.
Along with performing classic songs, another factor that must be considered is the inclusion of new songs. U2 will be promoting a new album and, in all likelihood, six to nine positions a night will be given to songs from “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.” In a set list approximately 20 to 22 songs long, that is a considerable minority of positions filled before even the classics are included. Many fans who have written speculative set lists have featured a new song as the opening track, following a pattern set by U2's three most recent tours. Whatever the case, whether a new or old song will open upcoming concerts, surely many new songs will be featured in the set list.
With the combination of new and classic songs, it is essentially necessary for significant rotation or multiple set lists to be employed to allow U2 to include their own favorites and what are known as “old gems,” the songs that have not been featured in a long time or that are held in high regard by the fans. On the ZooTV tour, U2 broke with the past, almost solely performing the major hits from the ‘80s, “Achtung Baby,” and some songs from “Zooropa” after its release. The set list of the PopMart Tour countered this with the nightly inclusion of “I Will Follow,” but it wasn’t until the Elevation Tour that serious variety began to return. From regular performances of such older songs as “Out Of Control” to rare performances of tracks like “A Sort Of Homecoming” and “In God’s Country,” Elevation set lists had a more unique feel than those of the two preceding tours.
Another factor in creating a set list is the theme and message of the album and tour. Songs like “Discotheque,” while at home on PopMart, would have felt out of place on the Elevation Tour. Although no one can know for certain what the band will promote or convey on the upcoming tour, clear relations to past work can be drawn through the album title of “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb;” 1982’s “A Celebration” and 1983’s “Seconds” both mention the same weapon. Connections like this may seem to create very solid implications that these songs will be played but they are by no means certain to be featured. After all, despite the heart-shaped stage and logos of Elevation, “Into the Heart” and “Two Hearts Beat as One” were not performed. Therefore, while a thematic connection creates a likelihood of specific songs reappearing in the set list, there is no assurance that they will be played.
These are some of the factors and considerations relating to the nightly set lists for U2’s upcoming tour, there are many more elements that U2 would have to consider, such as Bono’s ability to sing old songs and the way lighting effects work with the music. Ultimately, little can be known until U2 actually perform a full concert, but the band is expert at designing set lists that flow cohesively while still satisfying the audience, providing an array of new songs, classic hits and old gems. There is no doubt that U2 is aware of the expectations and will rise to the challenge. It is only a matter of time before we discover what speculation was accurate and what was completely wrong.
2004.12
A new U2 tour is fast approaching and one of the critical elements required to create a successful and entertaining tour is a set list. For a band as socially conscious and political as U2, the theme and tone of a set list can determine the direction, impact and message of the show. This has been witnessed in the past with the media barrage and break-from-the-past of ZooTV, and the back-to-basics approach of the Elevation Tour, and this new tour will undoubtedly see another approach employed by U2 to compliment the new album's intended message.
Devising an appropriate set list is not easy, and the band must take many factors into consideration. Sonic and thematic cohesion is not always easy to find and the demands of a broad audience must be acknowledged.
When determining set lists, U2 has to consider its diverse audience. At even smaller U2 concerts, diehard fanatics from 1980 mingle with people attending simply to hear “Beautiful Day,” and all levels of fan in between. For this reason, U2 must seek a balance and offer a show that keeps the casual fan interested while allowing the diehard to go home feeling as if they have seen a new U2 experience rather than a PopMart rerun.
There seems to be one song that every person expects to hear at a U2 concert— “Where the Streets Have No Name." Whether opening the main set, closing it or appearing elsewhere in the set is anyone’s guess, but it is safe to say "Streets" and a few other U2 standards, like "Pride" and "One," will be played during every U2 tour until the conclusion of the band's career.
Beyond “Streets,” and a few other tracks, it's not certain what could be played or how much set list variety will be offered to the audience. It is certain classic tracks and radio hits will be played, but due to the vast quantity of songs in that category, U2 would have to dramatically extend its set list to include them all. One way to enure that the most U2 favorites get their turn live is for the band to have rotating set lists. If that is the case, the line-ups would share common elements, such as “Streets”and recent hits, but otherwise would showcase the depth of U2’s catalog, bringing satisfaction to both the casual fan wanting to hear “With Or Without You” and the diehard looking for variety.
Along with performing classic songs, another factor that must be considered is the inclusion of new songs. U2 will be promoting a new album and, in all likelihood, six to nine positions a night will be given to songs from “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.” In a set list approximately 20 to 22 songs long, that is a considerable minority of positions filled before even the classics are included. Many fans who have written speculative set lists have featured a new song as the opening track, following a pattern set by U2's three most recent tours. Whatever the case, whether a new or old song will open upcoming concerts, surely many new songs will be featured in the set list.
With the combination of new and classic songs, it is essentially necessary for significant rotation or multiple set lists to be employed to allow U2 to include their own favorites and what are known as “old gems,” the songs that have not been featured in a long time or that are held in high regard by the fans. On the ZooTV tour, U2 broke with the past, almost solely performing the major hits from the ‘80s, “Achtung Baby,” and some songs from “Zooropa” after its release. The set list of the PopMart Tour countered this with the nightly inclusion of “I Will Follow,” but it wasn’t until the Elevation Tour that serious variety began to return. From regular performances of such older songs as “Out Of Control” to rare performances of tracks like “A Sort Of Homecoming” and “In God’s Country,” Elevation set lists had a more unique feel than those of the two preceding tours.
Another factor in creating a set list is the theme and message of the album and tour. Songs like “Discotheque,” while at home on PopMart, would have felt out of place on the Elevation Tour. Although no one can know for certain what the band will promote or convey on the upcoming tour, clear relations to past work can be drawn through the album title of “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb;” 1982’s “A Celebration” and 1983’s “Seconds” both mention the same weapon. Connections like this may seem to create very solid implications that these songs will be played but they are by no means certain to be featured. After all, despite the heart-shaped stage and logos of Elevation, “Into the Heart” and “Two Hearts Beat as One” were not performed. Therefore, while a thematic connection creates a likelihood of specific songs reappearing in the set list, there is no assurance that they will be played.
These are some of the factors and considerations relating to the nightly set lists for U2’s upcoming tour, there are many more elements that U2 would have to consider, such as Bono’s ability to sing old songs and the way lighting effects work with the music. Ultimately, little can be known until U2 actually perform a full concert, but the band is expert at designing set lists that flow cohesively while still satisfying the audience, providing an array of new songs, classic hits and old gems. There is no doubt that U2 is aware of the expectations and will rise to the challenge. It is only a matter of time before we discover what speculation was accurate and what was completely wrong.
