Bono's intro to "Streets" from last night...

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This intro/segue is the one thing in the whole show I wish would change. I am all for them shaking things up and trying to do things differently, and I don't care about setlists, but man you just don't mess with Streets. It was always perfection, bring it back! :sad:

But I guess we have covered this one in about 100 different threads, lol.
 
Perfect, perfect intro, since the song is about Africa to begin with. I got chills when I heard it on opening night.

It also illustrates how *direct* Bono has gotten recently. In the past, he'd never "tell" the audience the true meaning of a song. He'd leave things vague, and say it was up to the listener to decide.

Nowadays, he's telling everyone what all the songs mean. Definitely a major, major shift in the way U2 does things. I feel like most fans are missing this...
 
Without the "Africa!" parts, I think it's beautiful poetry. Nothing compared to the "burning like fiberless roman candles" of yore, of course....
 
Headache in a Suitcase said:


there's plenty of other times in the concert to preach about africa... and i'd be happy to listen any of those other times. but the intro to streets is holy ground for u2 fans. leave it alone.

Amen to that!

Streets is holy ground for u2 fans.. especially live.

We will listen.. just put it elsewhere in the concert.
 
I know someone is going to cheapshot me for this, but I favor the intro. Although I'd be fine without it. Let's not forget how Bono would often quote a Psalm on the Elevation tour.
 
BonoFan78 said:
Streets is holy ground for u2 fans.. especially live.

And it's not for U2? I'll bet anything Streets is even more to them. They wouldn't change it without good reason.

I love this change. And I really don't get the fuss about the lighting. It's a rock concert, not a lighting display. (Maybe I say this because I can't really see well, so visuals are trivial in comparison to the music.)
 
joyfulgirl said:
This intro/segue is the one thing in the whole show I wish would change. I am all for them shaking things up and trying to do things differently, and I don't care about setlists, but man you just don't mess with Streets. It was always perfection, bring it back! :sad:

But I guess we have covered this one in about 100 different threads, lol.

i am right there with you man! Don't mess with the Streets, u2!!
It means the most of their concert to me!!
 
I don't mind the intro. It's very passionate, just like the song.

That said, I think I'm going to miss the red backdrop that is "Where The Streets Have No Name". When the band gets around to adding "Crumbs From Your Table", they should shift the African flags thataway, and bring back the red backdrop.

Can you imagine how amazing that song would be with the curtain of lights? :drool:
 
Worst. Streets. Intro. Ever.

The best overall Streets intro was during the Elevation Tour, though the best single night was the tribute to Samuel Beckett on December 26, 1989.

Personally, I'm sick of the nonstop blabber about Africa and how everyone in the West is to blame for Africa's own social and cultural failures. The "Africa" intro to Streets does sound forced and stilted. Similarly, Pride now sounds tiresome. He's been dead for 37 years, yet Bono still thinks the masses will be roused by nightly exhortations to "sing for Martin Luther King". Sorry Bonoman, the sell-by date has passed on that one.

And what's Bono on about with his line about wanting to live in Nelson Mandela's Africa? Really? He wants to live under the rule of a man whose political opponents were often necklaced (tires put around peoples necks, doused with gasoline, and lit on fire)? He wants to live under the rule of a man who has never met a brutal dictator he didn't like? (Witness Mandela's ardent support for men like Mugabe, Ghadaffi, Castro, Hussein, Arafat, his support for the USSR before the fall of organized Communism, etc.). He wants to live under the rule of a man whose tired socialist/marxist economic policies have left his country in greater poverty than ever? With a massive AIDS crisis that remains ignored by Mandela's self-anointed successor, Mbeke, who blames AIDS on white people and claims HIV doesn't lead to AIDS anyway? Sorry, I'll take a pass on living in Nelson Mandela's Africa. Mandela status as a secular saint and supposed "moral" leader is one of the most exaggerated and unwarranted in history. But, if Bono really wants to live there, I'll gladly housesit for him in his Killiney mansion while he's gone!

The bottom line is: Cut the PC crap about Africa and just sing Bono! The great thing about U2 has always been that the music is good enough that one could overlook some of Bono's more nonsensical left-wing political posturing; the music transcended the politics. Lately, however, with the endless Africa shtick and the 2-minute Western-guilt-trip-intro to One, Bono's been veering dangeroulsy close to becoming intolerable. Fortunetely, I can now use my Click'N Edit Sound software to edit out the Africa crap and the new One speech before I burn my live discs!
 
EmitFlesti said:
Worst. Streets. Intro. Ever.

The best overall Streets intro was during the Elevation Tour, though the best single night was the tribute to Samuel Beckett on December 26, 1989.

Personally, I'm sick of the nonstop blabber about Africa and how everyone in the West is to blame for Africa's own social and cultural failures. The "Africa" intro to Streets does sound forced and stilted. Similarly, Pride now sounds tiresome. He's been dead for 37 years, yet Bono still thinks the masses will be roused by nightly exhortations to "sing for Martin Luther King". Sorry Bonoman, the sell-by date has passed on that one.

And what's Bono on about with his line about wanting to live in Nelson Mandela's Africa? Really? He wants to live under the rule of a man whose political opponents were often necklaced (tires put around peoples necks, doused with gasoline, and lit on fire)? He wants to live under the rule of a man who has never met a brutal dictator he didn't like? (Witness Mandela's ardent support for men like Mugabe, Ghadaffi, Castro, Hussein, Arafat, his support for the USSR before the fall of organized Communism, etc.). He wants to live under the rule of a man whose tired socialist/marxist economic policies have left his country in greater poverty than ever? With a massive AIDS crisis that remains ignored by Mandela's self-anointed successor, Mbeke, who blames AIDS on white people and claims HIV doesn't lead to AIDS anyway? Sorry, I'll take a pass on living in Nelson Mandela's Africa. Mandela status as a secular saint and supposed "moral" leader is one of the most exaggerated and unwarranted in history. But, if Bono really wants to live there, I'll gladly housesit for him in his Killiney mansion while he's gone!

The bottom line is: Cut the PC crap about Africa and just sing Bono! The great thing about U2 has always been that the music is good enough that one could overlook some of Bono's more nonsensical left-wing political posturing; the music transcended the politics. Lately, however, with the endless Africa shtick and the 2-minute Western-guilt-trip-intro to One, Bono's been veering dangeroulsy close to becoming intolerable. Fortunetely, I can now use my Click'N Edit Sound software to edit out the Africa crap and the new One speech before I burn my live discs!

I do believe that you have done more ranting about Africa in this one post than Bono did in the entire show I went to this tour. Congrats.



Edited to say that Streets is still The. Best. Live. Song. Ever.
Even without the "red beginning".
 
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A very intelligent response Lemon.

I have heard the new Streets intro from four different concerts now. One doesn't need to "see" it to pass judgement on it. Music in an aural medium. The lights and stage backdrop are just superficial show - B.S. to fill the space in big arenas and stadiums.

Ultimately, it's the music alone that matters, and having heard well over 100 different live versions of Streets from every tour between 1987 and now, I can unequivocally say that this current tour's version is the worst ever (Bono's new intro anyway - the band's playing and the rest of the song are fine).
 
EmitFlesti said:
A very intelligent response Lemon.

I have heard the new Streets intro from four different concerts now. One doesn't need to "see" it to pass judgement on it. Music in an aural medium. The lights and stage backdrop are just superficial show - B.S. to fill the space in big arenas and stadiums.

Ultimately, it's the music alone that matters, and having heard well over 100 different live versions of Streets from every tour between 1987 and now, I can unequivocally say that this current tour's version is the worst ever (Bono's new intro anyway - the band's playing and the rest of the song are fine).


Hmmm, I must be missing something. The "worst Streets intro ever" has given me goosebumps for the six shows I've been on the floor for so far. Your whiny, pretentious posts will be the last thing on my mind when I see shows seven and eight this weekend. Attempting to compare audience recordings to the real thing is laughable at best. I'll cheer extra loud for you.
 
i don't think the intro is just awful, but its not very good. it seems somewhat forced. someone mentioned the Psalms 116 intro from elevation, as a comparison to Bono messing with streets. the two are night and day difference. I think the segue of bad-40-psalms 116 intro- streets was one of the most incredible U2 live moments ever, and really makes this new intro seem all that more weak. the big difference was beauty of the psalms vs what Bono has written this time around- pretty weak imo. Also the way it was done, it was understated and really let the song take over- where as this tour its very over the top and soemwhat overbearing. I will enjoy the moment however they do it on this tour, but by comparison to elevation, there really is no comparison.
 
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