Denver 4/20 - whoa
Just got back from the Denver 1 show....
clearly the show was over 3 hrs ago but the bars downtown were too tempting!
As much as I want to give a rave review with my heart aching and brain churning a thousand miles a second....I can't. This is my 3rd U2 show and while it rocked outright, it felt inexplicably empty. The show was fantastic but there was one intangible that was missing and I can't seem to place what it was.
I had seats in the bleeders but my section seemed to be the only upper section with any passion for the music. My friend and I looked around during the show and all the other upper sections were firmly seated on their mundane asses throughout most of the concert.
They played the standard setlist for show #1 in each city. I refrain from scrutinizing the setlist song for song so here is a quick rundown:
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Love and Peace was great.
- Vertigo was AMAZING (much better than I expected, especially after the Stories for Boys snippet with the extra chorus included).
- SYCMIOYO was poignant to say the least, but the guitar line during the chorus was drowned out.
- NYD/SBS were INCREDIBLE, which I was absolutely not expecting.
- Streets lit a fire under everyone' heinie.
- RTSS was beautiful; I was afraid of sound loss but all the elements of the song were very lucid.
- Bono' speech concerning poverty preceding One was tremendously powerful, coupled with the synths in the background and the segue into the body of the song.
- The Achtung Baby trio absolutely rocks (the constant bass drum in Zoo Station), and is the most intense part of the show, but should be placed somewhere earlier in the setlist.
DETRACTORS:
- I was extremely excited for Elevation, but the song plain sucked. There have been many threads concerning the dismissal of this song from the setlist, and while I was previously incredulous of these remarks, I now agree. The intro (the Edge and Bono) is far too long.
- Miracle Drug starts off great but loses all energy after the quiet guitar intro w/Bono talking
- Hell hath no fury like a U2 purist scorned, but An Cat Dubh is AWFUL live. I am a huge fan of the Boy album but there is no connection b/t the audience and the band when this song is played. IMO, if they want to add a "roots" song, it should be October, I Will Follow, Drowning Man or Seconds.
- The crowd leaves the second that 40 ends, with no further singing. This seems to be happening at a lot of the first gigs in each city.
The lighting along the ellipse is incredible but the background/curtain lighting is lackluster. No synchronization between sound and visuals on that front. I can visualize a great strobe light visual for the two-note guitar solo in LAPOE. The First blast of white light in Streets is still MIA. The Africa speech in Streets is not bad, but the keyboard intro is ridiculously abbreviated. IMO that is what defines the ambience of the song.
Finally, I have to say the band is playing TIGHT. The music is almost flawless, and the only faltered lyrics occurred when Bono tried to add a few lines in the bridge of Beautiful Day about the rain (It was raining and hailing in Denver tonight).
The sound tech was very balanced except for the fact that Bono's vox were drowned out for the first 5 or 6 songs. For someone who does not know all the lyrics, it may be a confusing show to attend.
Going tomorrow, expecting better sound and a few tricks in the setlist. I may have been expecting too much but the show gets a 7/10 by U2 standards, and a 9.9/10 by all other standards. See you tomorrow and in Philly 5/14!
Just got back from the Denver 1 show....
clearly the show was over 3 hrs ago but the bars downtown were too tempting!
As much as I want to give a rave review with my heart aching and brain churning a thousand miles a second....I can't. This is my 3rd U2 show and while it rocked outright, it felt inexplicably empty. The show was fantastic but there was one intangible that was missing and I can't seem to place what it was.
I had seats in the bleeders but my section seemed to be the only upper section with any passion for the music. My friend and I looked around during the show and all the other upper sections were firmly seated on their mundane asses throughout most of the concert.
They played the standard setlist for show #1 in each city. I refrain from scrutinizing the setlist song for song so here is a quick rundown:
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Love and Peace was great.
- Vertigo was AMAZING (much better than I expected, especially after the Stories for Boys snippet with the extra chorus included).
- SYCMIOYO was poignant to say the least, but the guitar line during the chorus was drowned out.
- NYD/SBS were INCREDIBLE, which I was absolutely not expecting.
- Streets lit a fire under everyone' heinie.
- RTSS was beautiful; I was afraid of sound loss but all the elements of the song were very lucid.
- Bono' speech concerning poverty preceding One was tremendously powerful, coupled with the synths in the background and the segue into the body of the song.
- The Achtung Baby trio absolutely rocks (the constant bass drum in Zoo Station), and is the most intense part of the show, but should be placed somewhere earlier in the setlist.
DETRACTORS:
- I was extremely excited for Elevation, but the song plain sucked. There have been many threads concerning the dismissal of this song from the setlist, and while I was previously incredulous of these remarks, I now agree. The intro (the Edge and Bono) is far too long.
- Miracle Drug starts off great but loses all energy after the quiet guitar intro w/Bono talking
- Hell hath no fury like a U2 purist scorned, but An Cat Dubh is AWFUL live. I am a huge fan of the Boy album but there is no connection b/t the audience and the band when this song is played. IMO, if they want to add a "roots" song, it should be October, I Will Follow, Drowning Man or Seconds.
- The crowd leaves the second that 40 ends, with no further singing. This seems to be happening at a lot of the first gigs in each city.
The lighting along the ellipse is incredible but the background/curtain lighting is lackluster. No synchronization between sound and visuals on that front. I can visualize a great strobe light visual for the two-note guitar solo in LAPOE. The First blast of white light in Streets is still MIA. The Africa speech in Streets is not bad, but the keyboard intro is ridiculously abbreviated. IMO that is what defines the ambience of the song.
Finally, I have to say the band is playing TIGHT. The music is almost flawless, and the only faltered lyrics occurred when Bono tried to add a few lines in the bridge of Beautiful Day about the rain (It was raining and hailing in Denver tonight).
The sound tech was very balanced except for the fact that Bono's vox were drowned out for the first 5 or 6 songs. For someone who does not know all the lyrics, it may be a confusing show to attend.
Going tomorrow, expecting better sound and a few tricks in the setlist. I may have been expecting too much but the show gets a 7/10 by U2 standards, and a 9.9/10 by all other standards. See you tomorrow and in Philly 5/14!
Hope your pictures came out!! 
