Australia is on - early 2006!

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I really do not understand this and lets not jump to any conclusions till the next leg of the tour has been announced.

When I met Bono and Adam this Summer I was with my Australian friend who asked them both about touring in Oz - they both said that U2 were coming over in Feb/March of next year.

We also know that they are touring till next September to to be honest where else are they going to go unless the Americans really are the luckiest people in the world and get another leg (I can't see it - a few shows yes - but a whole leg - no)

I think that it will be

Oz, New Zealand, Asia first
Europe (and the UK pleaaasssseee)
South and North America

I do hope you guys get to see them

Lisa
 
but many band members have mentioned coming here over the past year. even paul mcg said something on u2.com about it at the tour launch if im not mistaken.

surely with all this being said they couldnt go back on their word, especially after last time!
 
dazzlingamy said:
:mad: :mad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :mad: :mad:


this is me right now....

you know what shits me MOST if u2 don't tour? That i COULD HAVE seen them overseas, iw ould have travelled to the states to see them, but no oh no, this was the year the time they were coming to australia, so why would i waste my money on going there when i could see them here?.....

i just dont want this handle badly, i love u2 and their music and i dont want my disappointment and sadness and anger over them NOT coming to muddy songs when i listen to them....

and no one who has ever seen them can respond and say 'gee thats a bit harsh they're not here to please you' because you've seen them and you dont understand.

:|

:hug:

I missed PopMart due to various circumstances, and regretted it ever since.

Especially now.
 
lisa2004 said:
I really do not understand this and lets not jump to any conclusions till the next leg of the tour has been announced.

When I met Bono and Adam this Summer I was with my Australian friend who asked them both about touring in Oz - they both said that U2 were coming over in Feb/March of next year.

:lol:

They talk shit. They often have nice ideas about what they will be doing on each tour... i.e start the JT tour in NZ, take PopMart to NZ, take Elevation & JT to Australia... but things change.

This sounds like McG & Co are playing hardball & Bono & Co don't have enough desire to come here to put any great pressure on him.

:rolleyes:
 
True - but they are touring till next Sept.....

I wonder where they are going to go then..... America maybe

Lisa
 
U2 ended after Lovetown. Then they just started putting on masks and worrying about money.

But let's not lose hope just yet folks. The door may not appear wide open, but it hasn't been slammed in our faces. I just wish they'd go to New Zealand AT ALL - it's been twelve years since they've visited a country with some of the most enthusiastic and dedicated audiences (come on, 1 in 10 Cantabrians at Lovetown Christchurch is impressive), and even if they come to Australia this tour, they aren't likely to cross the Tasman. I just don't get why the USA is so much more special than New Zealand.

At the end of the day, I echo blueeyedgirl's thoughts - as nice as a fancy stage may be, all I want to see is U2. The bells and whistles are expendable. I'd go if they were playing atop wooden crates.
 
I really just wonder about why U2 appear to be cutting so many places out of their tours in 2001 and now(so far). I mean, look at Popmart. It was only 7-8 years ago, but look at this selection of places they went to during that tour outside of the normal North American and European places:

Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina(NEVER ON ANY OTHER TOUR)
Tel Aviv, Israel(NEVER ON ANY OTHER TOUR)
Thessaloniki, Greece(NEVER ON ANY OTHER TOUR)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil(NEVER ON ANY OTHER TOUR)
San Paulo, Brazil(NEVER ON ANY OTHER TOUR)
Buenos Aires, Argentina(NEVER ON ANY OTHER TOUR)
Santiago, Chile(NEVER ON ANY OTHER TOUR)
Australia(Lovetown, ZooTV, Popmart, NADA since)
Tokyo(ZooTV, Popmart, NADA since)
Osaka(Lovtown, Popmart, NADA since)
Capetown(NEVER ON ANY OTHER TOUR)
Johannesburg(NEVER ON ANY OTHER TOUR)
Mexico City(ZooTV, Popmart, NADA since)

Popmart had an amazing variety/span of places. THEY PLAYED ON SIX CONTINENTS on Popmart. On Elevation, TWO. Vertigo so far - TWO.

And you know, the Popmart stage was bigger and more complex than the Vertigo one from the looks of it yet they didn't have any problem taking Popmart to Australia and Brazil and Argentina and Chile and Johannesburg and Capetown and Mexico.

WHAT GIVES?
 
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I think if U2 wants to be known as "the biggest band in the world" they should suck it up and tour the world.

And they need to do whatever is required to accomplish that.
 
Axver said:
But let's not lose hope just yet folks. The door may not appear wide open, but it hasn't been slammed in our faces.

The door is half open maybe... but quite frankly that door leads to a bathroom where they are attending to some rather stinky buisness...

I'm a realist... quite frankly, if after conclusive comments that they would come to Australia and then don't, then they are simply disingenious hypocrits... not matter how good their music is. That kind of behaviour rubs me the wrong way no matter what field we are talking about, sport, music, politics, relatinoships... :shrug:

Last night Coldplay indicated they will definatly be coming to Australia early next year and dates a iminent... no matter how forced & laboured their last record sounded - I have a lot more respect for them at this point.
 
indra said:
I think if U2 wants to be known as "the biggest band in the world" they should suck it up and tour the world.

And they need to do whatever is required to accomplish that.

Amen.

I just don't get this stark lack of a tour. In 1984, they came here as soon as they could afford it, they finally had the profile and resources to reach out beyond Europe and North America. In 1989, we got an ENTIRE TOUR to make up for them being unable to fulfill their commitment to start the Joshua Tree Tour here. Then 1993 ... that had a bit of that tacked-on-the-end feeling of ZooTV. Popmart was an awesome gesture in that it was a truly worldwide tour, but they got financially screwed in some countries - like here. From the sincerity of the eighties tours we went to being a bit of an afterthought to a financial loss and then ... NOTHING.

I just don't understand this obsession with a fancy stage. I really don't think the fans here care. We want music; any special effects are just an added bonus.
 
I cant recall who was in on the conversation that was had about how good KISS are to their fans. There were a group of us in band-forsaken cities and KISS had toured everyone of the cities. Next time they tour I will go and see them. Im not really fond of them. I only like/know the hits but I want to support them for going to the effort to tour as many places as possible.

If the Rolling Stones make it to Perth on their Australian tour (bringing a huge stage all this way) I will go and see them as well for the same reason.

I dont know many local bands. I support local buskers. Actually I think all my local CDs are from buskers. lol.
 
beli said:
I cant recall who was in on the conversation that was had about how good KISS are to their fans. There were a group of us in band-forsaken cities and KISS had toured everyone of the cities. Next time they tour I will go and see them. Im not really fond of them. I only like/know the hits but I want to support them for going to the effort to tour as many places as possible.

If the Rolling Stones make it to Perth on their Australian tour (bringing a huge stage all this way) I will go and see them as well for the same reason.

I dont know many local bands. I support local buskers. Actually I think all my local CDs are from buskers. lol.

Wait a minute...the Stones are touring Australia? But U2 can't make enough if they do? :ohmy:
 
indra said:

Wait a minute...the Stones are touring Australia? But U2 can't make enough if they do? :ohmy:

The Rolling Stones target the baby boomer market who will pay anything to re-live their teens and 20's. If U2 were to - like the Stones - take on board massive corporate sponsorship to subsidise the tour, then charge premium tickets at $400+ and sell corporate packages at thousands of dollars a hit, they definitely could do it. But U2 won't do that (yet).

Instantly throwing the shit on U2 isn't quite right. They ARE trying to tour here, through several major setbacks so far (did you know it looks like there won't be a Big Day Out next year either?) and are simply trying to come to an arrangement that means they won't lose the millions they lost on their last 2 tours here - but while still keeping the average ticket price (relatively) low. In the meantime a broke and incompetent concert promotions industry here in Australia are reeling at the figures that involves.

The door isn't shut. A U2 stadium tour is potentially the most lucrative tour of the year. Under the figures I emailed a few people it is still possible that that tour could make a very healthy profit for a local promoter - very. It's just the risk that it won't that at this stage has them going wobbly on the idea and balking at U2's demands of how it is handled. Remember, outside of Sydney (where you can definitely lock in at least one sold out stadium) support for a U2 tour is a bit of an unknown - the results for Popmart outside of Sydney were flat out pathetic, if you saw them in Brisbane, Melbourne or Perth you were literally watching them throw away money. For every $100 a person paid to see that show, U2 were throwing $300 away. There are very real reasons why both U2 and the promoters are wobbly on this. All it takes is one promoter to go "F*ck it! Let's do it!" and it's definitely on. On the other hand, the promoters may stick to their guns and then yes, it is very much up to how much U2 really wants to play here, even if it risks losing money again or switching to arena's which probably fucks up their timetable somewhat.

We'll see. If we had a healthy concert promotions industry here at the moment, we would have bought our tickets by now. If U2 weren't so paranoid post-Popmart about losing millions and millions on tours, we'd have bought our tickets by now. The combination makes it look very unlikely, but there is a will on U2's part, and a U2 tour will always have promoters salivating. I don't think the door is completely shut just yet. Cross your fingers for a twist at the end...
 
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Well it's pretty complicated, but it begins with those few years there of a seriously crap dollar. Dozens of tours of all sizes avoided here, especially the big ones where the real money is. Combine that with the fact that there was a massive decline in concert goers for a few years as well and it put them in a bad situation. On top of that there have been spiraling insurance costs. Some ballsy tour companies took serious risks on tours that were organised in a similar way to how U2 want this deal done. For example you may remember Eminem doing a couple of shows in Sydney and Melbourne a few years ago. His deal was, you give me $1million per show. You then pay for the costs of the tour. In return you then get 100% of ticket sales. Didn't work, they lost a fortune while Eminem laughed to the bank. U2's deal is a bit different, in that the costs of the tour come out of U2's pay, but the risk is still similar at the bottom line. If the tour fails badly, the promoter will end up wearing it, not U2. Through all of this several of the major touring companies went bust, a few merged (remember groups like Frontier Touring? Who, I think, did ZooTV and were THE major touring co in the 80's and 90's). It is getting better though. The dollar is far far better, the market has picked up and people are going to large scale concerts again (witness things like the Black Eyed Peas & Foo Fighters selling out multiple nights at the SuperDome, unthinkable just 2-3 years ago, or Robbie Williams selling out 2 nights at the Sydney Football Stadium - unheard of since ZooTV did it back in '93). There are many other factors though and the simple fact is that a full scale U2 stadium tour will cost a freakin' fortune to put on. If they don't take corporate backing (do you want to see U2 perform in front of a huge Vodafone logo?) and want to keep ticket prices, especially the premium ones, sub $200, then it's going to be a very tricky and risky thing to pull off, especially with the touring companies making a slow recovery only now, and not necessarily able to afford the up front costs, or wanting to risk being sent back to square one or broke financially now that they are just getting things working again.
 
Cheers Earnie.

Hopefully it does get better, because I personally find paying $90 for Theatre gigs... laughable. The only thing I'll say is I still thought Frontier were around. :hmm:
 
Sorry, the Frontier brand is still around - you're right. They were a three way run organisation, run by Michael Chugg, Whatshisname Jacobson and Michael Gudinski (of Mushroom fame). They went bust and disappeared for a year or so, then Gudinski reserected the brand on his own. I'm thinking of someone else who went bust them.... jog my memory with big touring company names....
 
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Sorry if i started the ball rolling of angry posts, i wasn't actually trying to allud to Earnies email, rather just posting my thoughts of the day while i was listening to 'in a little while' and thinking fuckfuck fuck please come fuckfuck *cry* and was and still am scared that music that i love and hold so close to my heart might be tampered with my feelings if U2 decide that hey the millions we made from US and Europe is enough, it doesnt matter if we dont make millionos in Australia. I mean, im not saying they should do the concerts from free, in fac ti would pay up to $150 a concert for EVERY concert they do here, but why when they are SO rich do they have to make SO much money, surely touring the world, bring love and joy and promoting their image EVERYWHERE and getting a million back is better then asking for 10 million not getting it and having a country of angry and fucked off fans at them (with the internet behind them.........oooooooh!)

And as someone else here said, i dont care about the fancy lights and the screen and all the bells and whistles all i want is our four guys on stage singing their hearts out to me. Thats all i want.

When did a 100,000 fans opinions of the band stop counting? (as i guarentee that man ppl will be pissed off if they dont come!!)
 
surely the MILLIONS U2 are making in the US and in Europe would offest any losses in Australia and still make sure U2 came out with a massive profit.

Its a lame excuse and if it goes ahead, it proves they are in it for the money and nothing else these days. What ever happened the band I grew up with and once adored so much?
 
Earnie Shavers said:




Instantly throwing the shit on U2 isn't quite right. They ARE trying to tour here, through several major setbacks so far (did you know it looks like there won't be a Big Day Out next year either?) and are simply trying to come to an arrangement that means they won't lose the millions they lost on their last 2 tours here - but while still keeping the average ticket price (relatively) low. In the meantime a broke and incompetent concert promotions industry here in Australia are reeling at the figures that involves.

On the other hand I don't think the door is completely shut just yet. Cross your fingers for a twist at the end...

my daughter-in-law was thinking out loud earlier this week "no announcement about the Big Day Out yet?" We thought something was up.
Chubb has bought into the Byron Blues Festival and I'm a bit worried about what it will become in his hands. He came out on stage this year and was trying to rev up the audience and I was thinking "**** off, you're treating this like a circus"
anyway, my feelings towards U2 haven't changed,I have a huge store of memories provided by those boys. The world is a crazy place so i never allow myself to have big expectations about anything. I'm still younger than Bono :D and if he was feeling like I do at the moment, he'd have trouble even getting out of his chair, leave off leaping around the world singing up a storm. I'd have trouble believing the 4 musicians and men that make up U2 have anything but goodwill in their hearts.
And yes, there is a lot happening on the music scene down here other than waiting for U2. Support the local industry.
 
I think the BDO is hanging by a thread because of the Melbourne venue. There are renovations being undertaken where it is normally held and most other venues are taken up by Comm Games prep. Thus Melbourne is a no go (or highly unlikely at best) which means that the whole tour is in trouble. (I've never been a fan of BDO so no loss to me - but I'm sure there are thousands of other kiddies rather dissapointed).

Support Australasian music :wink:
 
I heard they were aiming for Princess Park, but that was up to the Council. In regards to their case I heard words such as "plead" & "beg" being used. So I'm not holding out too much hope. :S

I don't really see what line-up they can put together at such late notice anyway. :shrug:
 
timothius said:
I don't really see what line-up they can put together at such late notice anyway. :shrug:

André's Rocking Band has no plans (or members)! Maybe this can be our big break! :hyper:
 
cass said:


And yes, there is a lot happening on the music scene down here other than waiting for U2. Support the local industry.

Actually I'm jealous that many of the bands I'd love to see are Australian and may very well never tour the US...you know they are tiny and just have a couple of albums out and tour a fair amount domestically, but can't afford to anything internationally. Ah well, can't have everything I guess.

Anyway, I'll keep hoping U2 tours there for you.

(and you can hope that Gersey and/or Art Of Fighting tour here for me. :D )


* edited because I just realised that actually Gersey did do some shows in the US a few years ago...so there is some hope, but of course I didn't get to see 'em. :(
 
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