how long can u2 carry on live??

[Hallucination]

This is a serious question. I personally think that this will be u2's last tour. They might do random gigs in the future but not whole tours anymore - age is catching up on them. People might say that the stones are still at it but no band in the history of rock puts in as much energy into their shows the way u2 does, and add in the fact that they will be close to 50 by the next album, it doesn't look good imho. The stones also play relatively easy, slow songs but I cold never see u2 comprimising their music by slowing down the tempo or playing less fast songs. I also think that the band are aware of the fact that they haven't released as much material over their career as they could or should have and might start concentrating more on records instead. Any thoughts??

Look how good the Stones still are live. U2 is even better. there is no way U2 is quitting. How can all these other artist continue to tour and perform but lately everyone thinks U2 are on their last legs. Calm down people. It's only the begining. Well not really but you know what I mean. Seriously they are the best live band in the world today so why all the negative thoughts about them stopping?

 

[rock888nwo]

i see at least one more album and tour, with a high probability of more than that

 

[one4u2]

Last night at MSG Bono said there's lots more to come from them

 

[jammin909]

I dont see them playing 120 shows anymore but imo theyll be around for another 10 years. I think they will put out 2 more albums and 3 more tours.

 

[ShellBeThere]

The most tired I have ever seen U2 was on Popmart. After the two shows I went to, I was 100% convinced that I would never see them live again. There was a bizarre finality to the shows, like they were burning out their last candle. Elevation was a complete turnaround from that, but still had a bit of sadness at the end, like you didn't know if that was it or not. Vertigo is an animal. Bono on his off nights sounds better than Elevation and is a zoo-tv killer (minus the falsetto) when he's rested up. Honestly, he fucking NAILS notes like I've never heard before. The first leg shows I saw had promise for his voice, but the leg 2 & 3 shows I saw (Croke and Paris) he was at full strength. The band also sounds better than I have ever heard them. They also seem happier, which I take to be a very good sign.

great post...
I've never seen them live before Vertigo tour, but goodness me they're sounding and seeming amazing and up for more...
I was just listening to the track they added to the Electrical Storm single, Bad from Elevation Boston and Bono does sound better than that by far on even his 'off nights' from Vertigo, and he's been 'on' more reliably it seems to me as the tour continues, so the road seems to be doing well by them for the most part.

cheers!

 

[u2wedge]

I've been trying to sense things myself as far as this tour goes... Good news... They've extended the tour to a leg 4... didn't see that last tour... Good news... Miss Sarajevo still proves that Bono's got the range needed for a rock show.. and then some!... and let's not get into Electric Co. totally kicking ass as well as COBL and, well, Fast Cars... etc... obviously the material is there to continue on and on and on..

however, with that being said, my fears are:

1. Seeing Larry in a prosthetic arm brace doesn't make me feel any better... I mean, any type of repetitive stress type injury could just end it... those who talk about U2 reincarnated a la Van Halen (Sammy replacing Dave), well, I would say you'd see average ticket sales at best.... U2 is U2.. would the Beatles have replaced John Lennon? COULD they have replaced him? I mean, how many records would the E Street Band sell without Springsteen? Some things just ARE! I think U2 is in that realm where they are what they are.. you take away the Edge for example and you have a cheap imitation... there is no substitute... as Bono has said... being in a band is like being in a gang or in a priesthood.. you don't get out of either while you're alive...

2. Bono's politics taking a front role before the band... it was good to hear Bono say that he needs music more than anything else in his recent 60 minutes interview... but half of me thinks he is just telling us what we want to hear... I hope I'm wrong..

3. Tragedy. Whether it's within one of their families or if it happens to a member of the band themselves, including McGuiness... no one is exempt from tragedy and U2 has had an amazing run. And they're getting older... anything, God forbid, could happen as the years pass. Am I a doomsdayer? No. I'm being a realist. Time is now their enemy more than it ever has been.

4. After Elevation I KNEW that there would be another tour... but right now, I'm not convinced. Sure they say that there's a lot more in them... I HOPE! I guess the only saving grace is that if this was going to be their last tour they would have let us know... I just really hope in 20 years I'm not reading a summary of their legacy and how they ended their last NYC/MSG show wiith John Lennon's 'Instant Karma' ... the irony would be hard to accept. Their next tour would be their first where some of their first generation of fans might not be around to see it...

I guess I can see the Stones touring and such... but they don't have any hype anymore... I mean I would hate to have U2 touring when they're 60 just as some sort of history lesson. It is pretty much recognized that while the Stones are on tour now, that they haven't got any hook anymore... I mean I feel I'm pretty knowledgeable about the current music scene and I couldn't tell you the name of any current Stones tune if you offered to pay me. As long as U2 can continue to remain inspired at the levels they have been... I think there's no doubt that there will be another tour... they do have a legacy to fulfill afterall.

Odds are I'll be 40 next tour and I honestly hope that I'll still be battling for a front row spot at multiple shows... and besides.. I need to see Miroslava break her Veritigo Tour record for stage appearances.

 

[STING2]

At the pace they go in studio, and the alleged April end of this tour, I think we will be very lucky to seen an album in 2007 -- more likely 2008. Puts a new tour sometime in late 08 / 09 -- hard for me to imagine this pattern going beyond that -- in other words, one more tour and kaput -- just my guess. After that, the box sets of everything ever done which already resides on a lot of hard drives in MP3 or WAV (-:

Bands contract right now requires that they produce three more studio albums plus one more greatest hits album.

 

[STING2]

More than Bono, who according to most accounts is sounding better than Popmart and Elevation, I'm worried about Larry's wrist problem. That could speed up the end of U2 IMO, because I don't think they'd put out an album and not tour it.

If the wrist problem was serious, he would not be able to tour like this, but he his.

 

[STING2]

U2 play every tour like it's their last.

Vertigo is definitely not their last.

There'll be one more after the next record, I reckon (out by Christmas 2006. You heard it here first). They'll go out on a high. After that, there'll be special one-offs and appearances, but no large-scale world tours like Vertigo and the next one.

But I could be wrong. I'm most probably wrong!

As for Bono's voice ... he's, what, 45 years old? My best mate is a speech pathologist, and I asked her how Bono's vocal chords would be feeling right now. I can tell ya, Bono shouldn't be able to sing the way he's been singing lately. The way he's sung (and talked!) the past 20 years, I'm simply amazed his vocal chords haven't imploded. Age, I'm afraid, catches up to all of us, and people are kidding themselves if they expect Bono to sing like he did 15 years ago. It's not going to happen. It can't happen. It's not Bono's fault, it's not from smoking -- it's just age. And not just age, it's the way Bono's sung his whole life. Most singers when they get a runny nose will cancel their entire tour -- not Bono. He keeps going. And two decades of this has caught up to him. Not to mention he never shuts up. He's always got someone to talk to. I remember AirElevation, the Voice Police (Paul McGuinness and Adam) were buzzing around like flies making sure Bono didn't talk too much and zipped his lips once the interview was over. He was under strict instructions from a specialist. That wasn't vodka in the bottle he kept drinking from either, it was a secret concoction of medicine. His voice was shot a lot during the Elevation tour simply because he was doing too much (his father, Drop the Debt, and especially all of the flying -- flights are hell on vocal chords).

Bono still has a wonderful voice, if you ask me.

So yeah, one more record, one more world tour? I don't know. U2 has a habit of surprising everyone.

Expect the unexpected.

There are plenty of opera singers older than the Rolling Stones, so this whole age thing is really nothing. BONO's singing is far better than it was on POPMART on both Elevation and this tour, and the good old days in the 80s are not as great as everyone thinks. I have shows when BONO was in his twenties where he sounds worse than he does on a bad day on the curren tours.

 

[u2wedge]

You really think they'll go directly into the studio and knock out an album next summer? Once this current tour ends in the spring, that's what they'll have to do to make your prediction true. Given their history of taking hiatuses, I don't see an album and another tour coming right off the heels of this current tour.

They should do it, though. Bono is fond of saying that HTDAAB is their first album. Usually, second albums come quickly, but then of course second albums usually succumb to the sophomore slump. Oh, the dilemmas!! Anyway, I think your prediction is too optimistic.

actually, the next record will probably be songs they've already recorded... they could release a new album tomorrow if they wanted to.

 

[u2wedge]

If the wrist problem was serious, he would not be able to tour like this, but he his.

today... but if he's operating at 75% today... who's to say how much he'll have left next tour...

then again, I'd take Larry at 50% any day...

 

[STING2]

I have a bad feeling that this will be U2s last tour in their current incarnation. The band members are in their mid 40’s and all that time away from home and family as well as the hassle associated with touring has got to take it’s toll after awhile. Who wants to raise their kids like gypsies anyway? I think the band will be around to record for awhile but I’m not so sure about how Adam and Larry would feel about another mega tour. Maybe we need a poll but I’m too lazy to set one up.

What does being in your mid-40s have to do with it? Its mid-40s, NOT mid-80s. BONO spends more time with his kids than your average father in a middle class home. Sure he goes on tour once every four or five years, but the rest of the time, he is at home, with the exception of his new side project. As for the rest of the band, their at home in Dublin with their families. Adam apparently is a travel freak, so I'm sure he does not mind the global tours. Larry started the band, and he seems to be the most miffed, when BONO is doing something outside the band.

 

[STING2]

Re: Re: how long can u2 carry on live??

Look how good the Stones still are live. U2 is even better. there is no way U2 is quitting. How can all these other artist continue to tour and perform but lately everyone thinks U2 are on their last legs. Calm down people. It's only the begining. Well not really but you know what I mean. Seriously they are the best live band in the world today so why all the negative thoughts about them stopping?

The whole this is the last tour and album has been rumored since 1987! Thats right, I remember people saying the Joshua Tree was the last album and when the tour finished at the end of 1987 or actually early 1988 in Australia, that would be it. Of course, U2 put off the Australian tour until 89 and proceeded with recording Rattle and Hum and here we are 18 years later, same debate, always comes up with every new album and tour, but many fans don't realize these rumors are now almost in their 20th year.

 

[STING2]

today... but if he's operating at 75% today... who's to say how much he'll have left next tour...

then again, I'd take Larry at 50% any day...

I've seen the show four times, looks and sounds 100% to me. Besides, look at what the drummer for Def Leppard has been through and he is still behind the kit.

 

[u2wedge]

I've seen the show four times, looks and sounds 100% to me. Besides, look at what the drummer for Def Leppard has been through and he is still behind the kit.

sounds 100% to me too, but obviously he's hurting if he needs a brace.

Not sure if Def Leppard is actually relevant at this point in time...
but I know what you're getting at.

Listen... I'm ALL FOR many more U2 shows... TRUST ME.

You can't be oblivious to the fact that we're in the 'Red Zone' so to speak in their career... anything more than 1 more tour at this point has to be considered a big gamble...

I mean Keith Richards should have died 20 years ago! c'mon!

 

[STING2]

I've been trying to sense things myself as far as this tour goes... Good news... They've extended the tour to a leg 4... didn't see that last tour... Good news... Miss Sarajevo still proves that Bono's got the range needed for a rock show.. and then some!... and let's not get into Electric Co. totally kicking ass as well as COBL and, well, Fast Cars... etc... obviously the material is there to continue on and on and on..

however, with that being said, my fears are:

1. Seeing Larry in a prosthetic arm brace doesn't make me feel any better... I mean, any type of repetitive stress type injury could just end it... those who talk about U2 reincarnated a la Van Halen (Sammy replacing Dave), well, I would say you'd see average ticket sales at best.... U2 is U2.. would the Beatles have replaced John Lennon? COULD they have replaced him? I mean, how many records would the E Street Band sell without Springsteen? Some things just ARE! I think U2 is in that realm where they are what they are.. you take away the Edge for example and you have a cheap imitation... there is no substitute... as Bono has said... being in a band is like being in a gang or in a priesthood.. you don't get out of either while you're alive...

2. Bono's politics taking a front role before the band... it was good to hear Bono say that he needs music more than anything else in his recent 60 minutes interview... but half of me thinks he is just telling us what we want to hear... I hope I'm wrong..

3. Tragedy. Whether it's within one of their families or if it happens to a member of the band themselves, including McGuiness... no one is exempt from tragedy and U2 has had an amazing run. And they're getting older... anything, God forbid, could happen as the years pass. Am I a doomsdayer? No. I'm being a realist. Time is now their enemy more than it ever has been.

4. After Elevation I KNEW that there would be another tour... but right now, I'm not convinced. Sure they say that there's a lot more in them... I HOPE! I guess the only saving grace is that if this was going to be their last tour they would have let us know... I just really hope in 20 years I'm not reading a summary of their legacy and how they ended their last NYC/MSG show wiith John Lennon's 'Instant Karma' ... the irony would be hard to accept. Their next tour would be their first where some of their first generation of fans might not be around to see it...

I guess I can see the Stones touring and such... but they don't have any hype anymore... I mean I would hate to have U2 touring when they're 60 just as some sort of history lesson. It is pretty much recognized that while the Stones are on tour now, that they haven't got any hook anymore... I mean I feel I'm pretty knowledgeable about the current music scene and I couldn't tell you the name of any current Stones tune if you offered to pay me. As long as U2 can continue to remain inspired at the levels they have been... I think there's no doubt that there will be another tour... they do have a legacy to fulfill afterall.

Odds are I'll be 40 next tour and I honestly hope that I'll still be battling for a front row spot at multiple shows... and besides.. I need to see Miroslava break her Veritigo Tour record for stage appearances.

U2's first generation of fans are not in their late 70s or early 80s. Most of them are the same age as the band or younger. Also, being in your mid 40s is not old. U2 don't play football in the National Football League, they play rock music.

 

[u2wedge]

U2's first generation of fans are not in their late 70s or early 80s. Most of them are the same age as the band or younger. Also, being in your mid 40s is not old. U2 don't play football in the National Football League, they play rock music.

i said 'some' not 'all'.

do you think these ladies will be around next tour?

(I hope so!)

 

[U2girl]

If the wrist problem was serious, he would not be able to tour like this, but he his.

Well it's serious enough he's wearing that thing on his arm and he was getting shots in his arm back on Zoo TV tour. It won't be getting any easier as the years go by, and I think 10+ years is very optimistic talk from Bono and Edge.
Sure his voice is having a bit of a re-birth on this tour (his speaking voice sounds horrible though - that 60 minutes "line them up" bit), but compare it from 1980-1990 and 1990-2000. I'm afraid to think what he will sound like post 2010.

 

[Miroslava]

U2Wedge! I have been on stage ONCE! Stop making it sound like I am up there every other week!

 

[STING2]

Well it's serious enough he's wearing that thing on his arm and he was getting shots in his arm back on Zoo TV tour. It won't be getting any easier as the years go by, and I think 10+ years is very optimistic talk from Bono and Edge.
Sure his voice is having a bit of a re-birth on this tour (his speaking voice sounds horrible though - that 60 minutes "line them up" bit), but compare it from 1980-1990 and 1990-2000. I'm afraid to think what he will sound like post 2010.

Bono's voice sounds better on this tour than it did many times at shows from 1980 to 1990. BONO had huge voice problems at the start of the Joshua Tree tour. My gosh, just compare the opening show of the Joshua Tree tour to the first night in San Diego on Vertigo and you'll see what I mean.

Well, at least Larry has the arm to get shots in, think about the drummer for Def Leppard. Rick Allen is still pounding away behind the drum kit.

This is not NFL football. You can be a rock star into your 60s and beyond if you want to.

 

[STING2]

i said 'some' not 'all'.

do you think these ladies will be around next tour?

(I hope so!)

They probably we'll be actually. But their not U2's first generation of fans, more like the bands parents or friends.

No one likes to think about it, but I'm sure some fans who saw the first tour for BOY may not have been around to see the second tour for October. You could make that general statement about any time frame.