The European setlists - BIG DISAPPOINT

[jag0918]

Ok now I know this post is one bold statement....Yes I think the Euro-setlists are just a big disappointment, heres why:

1. Vertigo twice? every show? Are you f***** kidding me? Once in a while I can see the band throwing everyone a curveball..But at this point they are KILLING the song. KILLING IT!!!

2. No BAD, no "40" Whaa what? Yuppers...no "BAD" is very BAD
I guess U2 could get away with a little bit of some "40" lyrics in the Vertigo encore....it'lll go something like
"How many times, can we sing this song?"

3. No Crumbs from Your Table, nuff said.

4. All I Want is You, and ISHFWILF are played in a very lazy fashion. I've heard the recordings, Im not impressed at all.

5. (Euro & USA) Pride segues into Streets? Doesnt work for me..sorry

Seems like the band hasnt really taken any risks at all and this is a bit of a let down. Im a die-hard fan and after going to multiple shows every tour since Zoo Tv, it seems they've lost their flare.

God, I remember reading the raving reviews about the Elevation Tour. Remember those days? The cool-ass 'heart in a suitcase' theme....damn...just the whole Elevation vibe was magic.
This tour? Nope. Not really. dont get me wrong. It is quite a spectacle as far as the stage is concerned. Its nice to see the songs performed Whose gonna ride Your Wild Horses, Running to Stand Still, Elevation(improvised), Zoo Station, etc...
But wheres the theme? Wheres the flow of the setlist?

Maybe Im rambling....but maybe if the band gave Pride, Mysterious Ways, Sunday bloody Sunday, and that lame ass version of Bullet a break & took some REAL CHANCES & pulled perhaps EXIT, ULTRAVIOLET,CRUMBS, or maybe even TRIP THROUGH YOUR WIRES...maybe I wouldnt be bitching like this.

I understand the band is trying to seem unpredictable with the setlist.....it is a slight bit, but all and all...the setlist is too predictable.

BTW---what ever happened to Electrical Storm?

 

[BBBad11]

I agree. What happened to Adam's quote saying the band would play more Pop and Zooropa songs in Europe becuz Europe was more into dance tunes??? Yet to see that. They did add Whose Gonna Ride... but is that a dance tune? Nope! Not that I'm complaining about Wild Horses, but lets see more along those lines.
Play more Pop and Zooropa!!! Even play some Exit, One Tree Hill, Mother of The Disappeared, So Cruel, Tryin to Throw..., anything!

 

[andyuk]

well i have been to 3 shows and me and the other 70,000 people loved the set lists! let me tell you i still hav'nt found and all i want is you went down brilliantly with everyone singing along! and i was not a fan of vertigo being played twice but let me tell you the whole place goes mad when they start to play it again. I think you should not comment unles you have been to a european show!

 

[achtung y'all]

I agree with andyuk. The show may look shite on paper but when you're in the heart of the stadium singing your heart out with 70,000 other people, it's pure magic.

 

[ascender_RS]

But remember that not everyone gets to go to multiple shows. There's not even multiple shows in some cities. And if you look at the setlists, there's only a couple of hours every night and there's no way they can fit in all the songs that all the fans want to hear.

 

[zwervers2]

But remember that not everyone gets to go to multiple shows. There's not even multiple shows in some cities. And if you look at the setlists, there's only a couple of hours every night and there's no way they can fit in all the songs that all the fans want to hear.

and that's the reason Vertigo should never be repeated on one night..I was just thinking: Can you imagine Zoostation being played twice during the zootv era...???

The problem I have with Vertigo twice maybe not even in the fact that they play it twice actually. It lies in the fact that everyone says that the second version is superior. Just read this sentence 5 times and then tell me Vertigo twice is still a good idea.
You get a decent version and at the end of the show you'' get a kick ass version because of the light the crowd etc. Even on the bootlegs you here that Vertigo sounds pretty damn good at the end of a show. There is another reason why they should not be playing it at the beginning of a show and that has to do with the sound. It's a very "messy" song and you need your sound to be tweeked very good in order to make it sound right. in Chicago IV they opened with it and it sounded like shit. They should open with a clearer song(aboy or a boysong)

it's getting hot in here damned!

 

[Chizip]

i agree with a lot of what you said jag, but prepared for lots of eye rolls and set list bitching comments

 

[brwh1]

I agree with andyuk. The show may look shite on paper but when you're in the heart of the stadium singing your heart out with 70,000 other people, it's pure magic.

i've seen the show, and its good, its scale is impressive but it aint u2's best. not by a long shot.
they obviously feel there are a number of songs they have to play - pride, bullet, one, streets - and they are pedestrian.
they are over cautious.
no U2 song HAS to be played every night. if any one or two of these staples were dropped every other night would anyopne notice or care? i dont think so.
i cant listen to the european bootlegs. that middle section from love and peace to one is pomp rock.

the dublin shows will be good because of a great atmosphere and no doubt energy from the band. but if they dont show some real variety it will sadly prove to me that they are a band who are cautious and interested in preserving the status quo. this unfortunately has been shown in their recent two lacklustre albums - 24 songs, maybe 10 of which have any staying power.

maybe we were spoilt in the past

 

[Chizip]

i cant listen to the european bootlegs. that middle section from love and peace to one is pomp rock.

i definitely agree with this. out of this stretch of songs:

SBS
Bullet
RTSS
Pride
Streets
One

the only song I really enjoy is RTSS, streets is good because its streets, but its not nearly as magical as its been on past tours

everything before and after this stretch is really good, but this string of songs is shaky

and the worst part is this is the part of the set you never see any variation in

 

[Aardvark747]

I agree with ur post jag0918

 

[zwervers2]

i definitely agree with this. out of this stretch of songs:

SBS
Bullet
RTSS
Pride
Streets
One

the only song I really enjoy is RTSS, streets is good because its streets, but its not nearly as magical as its been on past tours

everything before and after this stretch is really good, but this string of songs is shaky

and the worst part is this is the part of the set you never see any variation in

Good point. I posted this on another thread but I wanted to share my views with you guys. It''s start of strange because it's a reply.

You are serious about his are you? The band's concert?
who do they play for? For themselves or for the crowd who gave them the wealth and status they have? Let me give you the answer it should be: the crowd. It depresses me(a little ) that they play for the popkids nowadays who go crazy when elevation is played(although I must admit I prefer this version over the elevationtour version). The same concertgoers which Bono used to dispice during the zootv tour. This isn't what rock 'n roll is about people.this is turning in the bridges to babylon tour or whatever Stones tour of the last 20 years. It tends to become a gimmick and I hate that. I'm very well aware about the band not shaking up the setlists in the past but they never said they would back then.Look what they have done in europe so far and tell me that hey have made good decisions: they have taken out most of the unusuals(gloria, cat dubh, ocean UTEOTW, 40 and Bad) and thrown in mediocre versions of AIWIY and Still haven't found. And for who exactely? For the popkids or for the people who stood by them all these years and stayed faithfull. If there is one group of people U2 should play their balls off for at this point of their careers it should be those people and not the, with all due respect, ATYCLB generation. They don't have to reach new ground, they've conquered the world allready..

It's really strange but i'm getting a bit angry with them and that's a first in 20 years...Went to see them in chicago and it feels different for some reason. I LOVE city of blinding lights, LAPOE SYCMIOYO hell even Vertigo sounds pretty good to me(not twice but once ). Yet something's missing and I don't know what it is....
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

for some reason I'm extremely dissapointed with the guys and I HATE that...

 

[brwh1]

It's really strange but i'm getting a bit angry with them and that's a first in 20 years...Went to see them in chicago and it feels different for some reason. I LOVE city of blinding lights, LAPOE SYCMIOYO hell even Vertigo sounds pretty good to me(not twice but once ). Yet something's missing and I don't know what it is....
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

for some reason I'm extremely dissapointed with the guys and I HATE that...

you have put my thoughts into words

 

[U2Man]

U2 could easily cure this: Throw away MW, Bullet, SBS, Pride and New Year's Day and bring on songs like Crumbs, OOTS, Gloria, An Cat Dubh, Out of Control etc. and play some more Wild Horses. Claiming that ISHFWILF and AIWIY is a setlist shake up is nonsense, these have also been played endlessly over the last 20 years. U2 got to realise that the long term fans are not satisfied with hearing the same songs every time they go on tour, or watching Mysterious Ways for the 11. time on DVD.

 

[zwervers2]

U2 could easily cure this: Throw away MW, Bullet, SBS, Pride and New Year's Day and bring on songs like Crumbs, OOTS, Gloria, An Cat Dubh, Out of Control etc. and play some more Wild Horses. Claiming that ISHFWILF and AIWIY is a setlist shake up is nonsense, these have also been played endlessly over the last 20 years. U2 got to realise that the long term fans are not satisfied with hearing the same songs every time they go on tour, or watching Mysterious Ways for the 11. time on DVD.

My buddy U2man is allways right you know

 

[jackbauer]

I would rather have had the excellent version of New Years Day which was played at Glasgow than Gloria, ACD or a substandard version of Crumbs.

 

[zwervers2]

I would rather have had the excellent version of New Years Day which was played at Glasgow than Gloria, ACD or a substandard version of Crumbs.

New yearsday I do not mind, they still can play it very well and Bono can sing again so that's okay. At least it has got tempo..
Gloria should have never been dropped

 

[ramblin rose]

Luckily I'm leaving for NY in a little while. I imagine this thread will be on top for the next few days discussing the setlist problems that have been discussed for every tour since JT. Maybe when I get back they'll be something fresh on top. Like maybe how many time Vertigo was played in Corke Park. Who knows maybe they'll be surprises at those shows, I mean there's something definately lacking towards the middle of the set, maybe another Vertigo incersion between Pride and Streets might solve the much maligned transition.

 

[zwervers2]

Luckily I'm leaving for NY in a little while. I imagine this thread will be on top for the next few days discussing the setlist problems that have been discussed for every tour since JT. Maybe when I get back they'll be something fresh on top. Like maybe how many time Vertigo was played in Corke Park. Who knows maybe they'll be surprises at those shows, I mean there's something definately lacking towards the middle of the set, maybe another Vertigo incersion between Pride and Streets might solve the much maligned transition.

lol...Can you imagine bono saying

"This is where we used to play streets but we wrote a song much bigger than that" unos dos etc!

 

[Lo-Fi]

Ya know, I pretty much get the dischord about the Euro set lists. I was very sceptical after I saw the first Euro setlist from Brussels. I was very disappointed there was no Pop or Zooropa songs as these are my two favourite albums.

I saw two shows on this tour, Manchester 1 and Glasgow, and I gotta say, the effort and performance these guys put on, the set list became a minor issue for me. Everyone sounded great, and the set list flowed nicely, fair enough Streets doesn't have the same impact without the big build up and Pride before it doesn't really work. But that's the only part of the show that didn't work for me.

I love the segment with LAPOE, SBS, Bullet and RTSS. I've never seen RTSS live before so that was a new experience, as was WGRYWH in Glasgow, that was stunning.

The fact remains the set lists aren't that exciting for the fan boys like us, but, I gotta say I loved the Vertigo shows. Overall, I prefer them the Elevation shows, which I hold dearly as my experience in London from within the heart is the single greatest live experience of my life, but the rest of the shows we solid, but no where as engaging as the Vertigo shows.

I know there will be another thread in the near future about the exact same thing, they're getting a little tedious as of now there's been so many complaints.

Lets face it u2 aren't the best at ad-libbing performances, they want everything tight and rehearsed til their blue in the face from it. Sure, they should rehearse more, but they're not in their 20's anymore and there's more in their life now than their music (family and so on). Also, with the kinda shows u2 put on, the music is very much tied to the visuals which are pretty rigid and that'll have an effect on the music as well.

There's hole's in this argument what ever way you look at it. I can see both sides of the story about this, but I've walked away more than satisfied with the Vertigo Tour, so I'm happy with that.

 

[Pero]

You have to agree that this tour is GREAT.
It could be better, but there's nothing you can do to change it.
It could be much much better.
Wait for Live 8 and Vienna show, that will be the best ever.

 

[nickypiemcg]

well i have been to 3 shows and me and the other 70,000 people loved the set lists! let me tell you i still hav'nt found and all i want is you went down brilliantly with everyone singing along! and i was not a fan of vertigo being played twice but let me tell you the whole place goes mad when they start to play it again. I think you should not comment unles you have been to a european show!

thumbs up to that. I still haven't found what I'm looking for was amazing at Glasgow.

 

[ascender_RS]

Whie they haven't turned it into a "Greatest Hits" set quite yet, as there's a load of stuff from Bomb, they are clearly keeping a lot of their most popular and well-known songs in the setlist. I'm guessing to appeal to the bulk of the audience.

I totally understand the frustrations on here though. AB - Zooropa - Pop was the most exciting period for me, but luckily I was able to see them live a number of times during that period when the set was mostly culled from the respective album(s) that were out at that time.

Trust me, there's nothing I'd love more than a more off-the-wall setlist, but I really doubt whether it would get as good as reception as the current setlist would, from the majority of the guys in attendance. I'm amazed at some of the people who went to the Glasgow gig from my work for example. There was a huge age range and I'd say 99% were the "casual" fans who probably didn't even know what The Electric Co was, but who knew every other song in the setlist as the new singles have been getting lots of airplay and then there was the greatest hits part of the setlist.

I knew pretty much what the setlist was going to be and I wasn't overly excited about the songs as such, but they still blew me away. They know what works well for a stadium full of people and that's who they have to pick their setlist for, the majority, not the minority.

All makes for good discussion though, maybe we should all start posting what 2 hour setlist we'd like to have seen them play?

 

[nickypiemcg]

Good point. I posted this on another thread but I wanted to share my views with you guys. It''s start of strange because it's a reply.

You are serious about his are you? The band's concert?
who do they play for? For themselves or for the crowd who gave them the wealth and status they have? Let me give you the answer it should be: the crowd. It depresses me(a little ) that they play for the popkids nowadays who go crazy when elevation is played(although I must admit I prefer this version over the elevationtour version). The same concertgoers which Bono used to dispice during the zootv tour. This isn't what rock 'n roll is about people.this is turning in the bridges to babylon tour or whatever Stones tour of the last 20 years. It tends to become a gimmick and I hate that. I'm very well aware about the band not shaking up the setlists in the past but they never said they would back then.Look what they have done in europe so far and tell me that hey have made good decisions: they have taken out most of the unusuals(gloria, cat dubh, ocean UTEOTW, 40 and Bad) and thrown in mediocre versions of AIWIY and Still haven't found. And for who exactely? For the popkids or for the people who stood by them all these years and stayed faithfull. If there is one group of people U2 should play their balls off for at this point of their careers it should be those people and not the, with all due respect, ATYCLB generation. They don't have to reach new ground, they've conquered the world allready..

It's really strange but i'm getting a bit angry with them and that's a first in 20 years...Went to see them in chicago and it feels different for some reason. I LOVE city of blinding lights, LAPOE SYCMIOYO hell even Vertigo sounds pretty good to me(not twice but once ). Yet something's missing and I don't know what it is....
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

for some reason I'm extremely dissapointed with the guys and I HATE that...

The popkids??? I was really happy with the setlist. Not everyone can see U2 in multiple cities! They have to cater for the majority. I'm sure everyone pays the same ticket price so why should you feel like U2 owe you a setlist you want just because you are a "diehard"?

 

[KUEFC09U2]

no secret that the people moaning havent even been to a european show

also amazes me the one that are bitching are the ones that always try and get to about 20 shows every tour

 

[Nisse]

U2 could easily cure this: Throw away MW, Bullet, SBS, Pride and New Year's Day and bring on songs like Crumbs, OOTS, Gloria, An Cat Dubh, Out of Control etc. and play some more Wild Horses. Claiming that ISHFWILF and AIWIY is a setlist shake up is nonsense, these have also been played endlessly over the last 20 years. U2 got to realise that the long term fans are not satisfied with hearing the same songs every time they go on tour, or watching Mysterious Ways for the 11. time on DVD.

 

[the soul waits]

Hmmm, I have very mixed feelings as well on this topic.
I saw them in Brussels, June 10 and it had been since ZooTV since I saw them, so needless to say that I was so pumped from the thought alone that they we finally here and I got some great spots.

I absolutely loved the show, but I'm certain that it had a LOT to do with the fact that I'd looked forward to it so much and the fact that it was the first time I was this close to the stage.

During the show, I like the flow from SBS till One, with the exception of Bullet, a song I never cared much for.
I had the strong feeling they were doing a greatesthits-setlist and felt a bit let down to be frank, being a life-long fan, that there weren't any POP songs and other hidden gems.

I'm 100% sure that if I were going to 6+ shows this tour, I'd probably would be less and less excited about going with this setlist.



Another thing : I saw the "Slane U2 go home" -dvd for the first time recently and was totally impressed by how genuine and heartfelt Bono's performance was back then. No sunglasses, very much emotionally involved etc . it blew me away.

In Brussels, he interacted very little with us.
Their music goes straight through my bones into my heart, and I soaked it all up in Brussels, but it's not a setlist I'd like to hear more than 2 times.

 

[ascender_RS]

ISHFWILF was much better than i thought it would be. BTBS was alright, the guitar is still stunning, but I think it hit its live peak during Zoo TV and the funked up Popmart version. From the bootlegs, I thought Pride had its day, but the place went nuts when they played it which I guess is the point of it.

There does seem to be a large bunch of songs from AB - Pop which could easily be dropped in. Wild Horses was stunning and there must be at least 2 other songs from each of those 3 albums alone which would go down well with the majority of the crowd.

 

[zwervers2]

The popkids??? I was really happy with the setlist. Not everyone can see U2 in multiple cities! They have to cater for the majority. I'm sure everyone pays the same ticket price so why should you feel like U2 owe you a setlist you want just because you are a "diehard"?

Sorry about the popkids, just didn't have another word for it and I just quoted Bono..but the word is a good indication for what somebody posted about the Glasgow show where he or she thought that lot's of people didn't know elec co.
DO YOUR HOMEWORK! there's 4 years in between concerts so plenty of time and mp3's are easy to find nowadays(not that I encourage that of course

all I'm saying is that something is missing that was there on all the other tours. Setlist variation U2 has NEVER heared of and I didn't have a problem with it eventhough I knew the setlists as well before they came to my country back then.

The only thing I would like them to take into consideration is that there are lot's of people who have seen them lots of times and get a little frustrated with the same songselection every time they go on tour. and when you finally think they got it right the first night in the USA next thing you know you are 3 months later in Europe and all the unusual stuff has dissapeared unfortunately. I saw them in Chicago and we had a great setlist but if I hadn;t gone there I would feel more dissapointed right now..They started out great and suddenly they fall back in their old routines. Again: I don;t want to offend anyone here about screaming for the better known songs. Evertime you see U2 perform it IS an extraodinary experience. I jsut feel that they could do much better, they NEED to bring back the dropped songs because they don't have too much time left before it REALLY becomes a dinosaurtour ala the Sones(God forbit that form happening)

cheers!

 

[zwervers2]

Hmmm, I have very mixed feelings as well on this topic.
I saw them in Brussels, June 10 and it had been since ZooTV since I saw them, so needless to say that I was so pumped from the thought alone that they we finally here and I got some great spots.

I absolutely loved the show, but I'm certain that it had a LOT to do with the fact that I'd looked forward to it so much and the fact that it was the first time I was this close to the stage.

During the show, I like the flow from SBS till One, with the exception of Bullet, a song I never cared much for.
I had the strong feeling they were doing a greatesthits-setlist and felt a bit let down to be frank, being a life-long fan, that there weren't any POP songs and other hidden gems.

I'm 100% sure that if I were going to 6+ shows this tour, I'd probably would be less and less excited about going with this setlist.



Another thing : I saw the "Slane U2 go home" -dvd for the first time recently and was totally impressed by how genuine and heartfelt Bono's performance was back then. No sunglasses, very much emotionally involved etc . it blew me away.

In Brussels, he interacted very little with us.
Their music goes straight through my bones into my heart, and I soaked it all up in Brussels, but it's not a setlist I'd like to hear more than 2 times.

What he hell is up with the sunglasses anyway. So it has more meaning when he takes them of during SYCMIOYO???

 

[Chizip]

Who knows maybe they'll be surprises at those shows, I mean there's something definately lacking towards the middle of the set, maybe another Vertigo incersion between Pride and Streets might solve the much maligned transition.

no no, dont throw veritgo inbetween 2 hits Pride and Streets, throw Vertigo inbetween Bullet and Running to Stand Still. Those are two songs that weren't on the radio and aren't hits so most fans won't know them. If you throw Vertigo inbetween them the place will go crazzzzzy. I think anytime 2 non hit songs are played together, they need to throw Vertigo inbetween them because the majority of the crowd only knows the hits, and thats who U2 needs to play for.

So obviously the answer to the setlist problems is more Vertigo. The crowd loves it and goes crazy for it!!!