MERGED--> Im a little worried about the performance of U2 + Underrehearsed?

[luckytwn]

From the reviews I've seen coming out of The last show, I think they are already ahead of POPMART and at least if not ahead where they were on the last tour.

They were way ahead of PopMart on night 1. Perhaps they are ahead of where they were on Elevation the first week, but the shows are nowhere near yet the level of the fall 2001 Elevation shows.

 

[MsMofoGone]

Originally posted by barrett
These shows don't have the pacing of the Elevation shows.
I think we should hold judgment until the Chicago shows.

Very much so-ooo agree !!

Like I've said in other posts::

The Chicago audiences are gonna be the "REAL TEST" for
U2's Vertigo tour .....

 

[KUEFC09U2]

Very much so-ooo agree !!

Like I've said in other posts::

The Chicago audiences are gonna be the "REAL TEST" for
U2's Vertigo tour .....

do you ever change the subject? if your worried how there gonna be then dont go, because i really couldnt do with you whinging again

 

[tilen]

i think the guys are improving, but i also agree they are underrehearsed and it is not fair to the fans who paid rocket sky high prices for their tickets just to see them play for less than 2 hours!I mean, i would certainly be disappointed and left with feelings i wasn't treated the best possible.
Anyway that's my opinion

 

[luckytwn]

i think the guys are improving, but i also agree they are underrehearsed and it is not fair to the fans who paid rocket sky high prices for their tickets just to see them play for less than 2 hours!I mean, i would certainly be disappointed and left with feelings i wasn't treated the best possible.
Anyway that's my opinion

Exactly when has U2 played much longer than 2 hours? The shows in the 80s were shorter than they are now and the longest I think I've seen them play is around 2:10.

Plus 2 of the best U2 shows I've seen were abbreviated sets (Conspiracy of Hope Tour finale in NJ and the Irving Plaza show in NYC in 2000). If the set flows well, the length isn't as significant. Though I agree it would be nice if they could take the stage at 8:50 or so and the play til the 11 curfew.

 

[doctorwho]

I can't help but feel that a lot of you are new fans. Welcome!

However, it's time for y'all to do some homework.

U2 have always sounded this way at the start of a tour. Also, some inconsistency now is because U2 are still feeling their way around the setlist. Given the changes in the order of the songs as well as the variety, I'd think most fans would be happy. But of course, I'm talking to U2 fans - they'd complain if Bono was in their living room singing.

But I digress... During the JT tour, U2 also screwed up songs. I have boots where U2 started a song and then had to stop and restart. U2 also did this during the Elevation tour.

Also, given Bono's propensity for altering lyrics, what may seem like a "screw-up" may simply be his attempt at more changes. Sometimes he's hot and creates whole new versus on the spot! I'm amazed at what he can think of spontaneously and in key! But other times, I guess he falls a bit flat or the lyrics don't quite flow as well as he wants - and as such, it looks like he "screwed up".

Regardless, nothing I've heard sounds bad at all. Yes, there are mistakes, but U2 also sound brilliant. Bono's voice is in great form (the best I've heard in ages - even better than Zoo TV!! ) and I can't wait to see them.

 

[corner]

I can't help but feel that a lot of you are new fans. Welcome!

However, it's time for y'all to do some homework.

U2 have always sounded this way at the start of a tour. Also, some inconsistency now is because U2 are still feeling their way around the setlist. Given the changes in the order of the songs as well as the variety, I'd think most fans would be happy. But of course, I'm talking to U2 fans - they'd complain if Bono was in their living room singing.

But I digress... During the JT tour, U2 also screwed up songs. I have boots where U2 started a song and then had to stop and restart. U2 also did this during the Elevation tour.

Also, given Bono's propensity for altering lyrics, what may seem like a "screw-up" may simply be his attempt at more changes. Sometimes he's hot and creates whole new versus on the spot! I'm amazed at what he can think of spontaneously and in key! But other times, I guess he falls a bit flat or the lyrics don't quite flow as well as he wants - and as such, it looks like he "screwed up".

Regardless, nothing I've heard sounds bad at all. Yes, there are mistakes, but U2 also sound brilliant. Bono's voice is in great form (the best I've heard in ages - even better than Zoo TV!! ) and I can't wait to see them.

Excellent post doc

But c'mon man...Bono's voice sounding better than ZooTv era? I think I know where to draw the line here

 

[bonoed]

However you don't win that title or get considered that title (Led Zeppelin aside) if you mess up a lot of times in concert.

Who is it bestowing that prestigious title?

If it's me, they got it a long, long time ago, because I think they are the greatest rock band that ever was, and this weekend they sounded incredible, as usual.

 

[Flying FuManchu]

Bono and crew are still reaching for that title every time they release an album and go touring (fictional or not). Of course to the already convinced, they will always have that title...

 

[Eliv8]

They are playing sooo well.

 

[doubledecadefan]

Under rehersed and other tours

I disagree with the posting saying that the other tours were flawless. I've seen SO MANY concerts by U2 and I can DEFINITELY say, as a musician and fan, that they have been FAR FAR from perfect or flawless. Each U2 concert has its bobbles and wobbles from edge's guitar to bono's voice and lyrics to Adam wondering what the hell is going on and looking at Bono like he's from MARS! listen to the plethora of boots out there...you'll hear with ease the mistakes and mis steps by the whole band.

steve

 

[frozenmuze04]

I have to throw my two cents in and say that for me, having listened to the shows so far, it's an issue of pacing. I think the sequencing is very weird, and some of the arrangements are not really what I would want to hear.

I'm not bitching, and I'm obviously looking forward to seeing them! But they don't seem comfortable with the show yet, and it really sounds like it to me - a lot of little mistakes that feel like they should be avoidable, not much banter or talk - I'm not sure I have the feeling that the band is really enjoying the tour so far, the way they were on Elevation.

I can also tell that I'm going to be sick of hearing about Africa by the time this tour is over.

 

[Tech]

I like hearing the little misques and stuff. The setlist and how to pace the show is all new to them. I'd give them at least a few more shows to get what they are "looking for!" I think this is what is going to make it wonderful to see them in November. To see the vast change to the whole shows and see it from a whole new perspective in that they will already be comfortable with what they are doing by them. So if U2 messes up; Oh well It doesn't upset me!

 

[ElectricalVoice]

I can't help but feel that a lot of you are new fans. Welcome!

However, it's time for y'all to do some homework.

U2 have always sounded this way at the start of a tour. Also, some inconsistency now is because U2 are still feeling their way around the setlist. Given the changes in the order of the songs as well as the variety, I'd think most fans would be happy. But of course, I'm talking to U2 fans - they'd complain if Bono was in their living room singing.

But I digress... During the JT tour, U2 also screwed up songs. I have boots where U2 started a song and then had to stop and restart. U2 also did this during the Elevation tour.

Also, given Bono's propensity for altering lyrics, what may seem like a "screw-up" may simply be his attempt at more changes. Sometimes he's hot and creates whole new versus on the spot! I'm amazed at what he can think of spontaneously and in key! But other times, I guess he falls a bit flat or the lyrics don't quite flow as well as he wants - and as such, it looks like he "screwed up".

Regardless, nothing I've heard sounds bad at all. Yes, there are mistakes, but U2 also sound brilliant. Bono's voice is in great form (the best I've heard in ages - even better than Zoo TV!! ) and I can't wait to see them.

Agree. Bono has been changing lyrics and singing differently than the album version always. He improvises. Everyone who improvises isn't lucky each time - that goes for guitars and singers. But Bono is a great improviser, and I'm often amazed of what he can do on the spot. Take the famous ending of With Or Without you. That supposedly happenend on the spot the first time ... shine like stars in the winter night ...

And the last thing you are saying. I'm a fan of Bonos voice on Zoo TV, and it's not easy to admit, but his voice are even better today.

 

[Neilz]

I can't believe what I'm hearing when people say that Bono's voice is better now then it was during Zoo-TV... For me, Bono's voice was best in the late 80's and early 90's... He still had the power to reach those high's... Like Sunday Bloody Sunday on the Rattle And Hum DVD... Like Stay and One on Zoo-TV Sydney... These day's his voice is good shape, but those highs are out of reach now! Edge has to sing a lot of high notes, like on Running To Stand Still for example (the hallelujah's)...

 

[KUEFC09U2]

I can't believe what I'm hearing when people say that Bono's voice is better now then it was during Zoo-TV... For me, Bono's voice was best in the late 80's and early 90's... He still had the power to reach those high's... Like Sunday Bloody Sunday on the Rattle And Hum DVD... Like Stay and One on Zoo-TV Sydney... These day's his voice is good shape, but those highs are out of reach now! Edge has to sing a lot of high notes, like on Running To Stand Still for example (the hallelujah's)...

Bono sings the halleujah's on the new tour actually

 

[Neilz]

Bono sings the halleujah's on the new tour actually

Are you sure? It really sounds like the falsetto of Edge...

 

[KUEFC09U2]

which part are you on about? the part at the end? where he just sing halleujah halle halle halleujah?

 

[Neilz]

which part are you on about? the part at the end? where he just sing halleujah halle halle halleujah?

No sorry, I ment the "singing ha la la la de day" parts... Bono indeed sings the last halleujah parts... But I really liked the power which he used on the Zoo-TV version... No way Bono could reach that these days... Of course this has to do with his age and all, and his voice is infact better then on Elevation... But late 80's / early 90's were his top

 

[sv]

I attended the San Diego opener and the Popmart Vegas opener.

(I also attended the Bruce-Rising opener and it was horrendous; and the Elevation opener which was excellent)

My feeling is that the band are playing the songs well given that this is the first week. However, in San Diego, Bono was clearly feeling his way through the set and did seem even more under-rehearsed than Popmart Vegas. The only difference was that they didn't actually stop any songs! Perhaps Bono has had less time to spend with the band due to other priorities. Also, the production seemed to be behind - they used the screen for less than half the show and largely played a bare-bones stage. These things don't bother me much - within 2 weeks, the show will be great and by Chicago I expect they'll be blowing us away.

Also, it's really amazing that U2 are playing Electric Co., An Cat Dubh, Gloria, etc. Given that they appear to have rehearsed almost twice the number of songs they normally do, I'm willing to forgive the fact that each song may not yet be as sharp.

Here's what does bother me: for years, when you went to a U2 show, U2 was psyched about trying to "sell" you the new "program" or "concept" they were excited about - Zoo TV, Popmart, Elevation, whatever. In San Diego, there was no sign whatsoever of any program - just U2 playing individual songs, which really didn't have any flow whatsoever. If you look at previous tours, a basic structure was always there on opening night - not this time. I hope that changes.