Why the Chicago shows won't be over the top....

[ShellBeThere]

I thought there was nothing wrong at all with Bono's energy--he didn't seem to me to be holding back vocally either. There were some fantastic band moments, it seemed to me, and the performances were great. Just an air of concentration or precision about it, and a slight vibe of feeling things out crowdwise, like there was contact with the vibe of the people but not back and forth, not a committed energy exchange. All stuff you'd expect if they were doing dvd-work. They seemed to be having a good time being together and performing though...just less overt riling the crowd sort of work and maybe more attention to getting things 'right' ya know?

there were some fab moments indeed though...and it was a great show! just a little missing 'intimacy' with the crowd that I think can be accounted for by the filming context...
cheers again all...

 

[ayearwome]

No, several people on here said they had a great time, including a couple moderators.

Yes, I have seen countless U2 shows.

Sat. night Chicago was the best I have ever seen in person, yes there were some glitches has many have eluded too.

However, still it topped many of performances. I was at NJ June 2001......it couldn't compare to this show.

 

[ayearwome]

Were you there? yes.

Did this rank up there with the other shows on the tour thus far? definitely

Was the audience captivated by the band or not? beyond belief

Did that special feeling just take over the UC? yes.

Did the band appear to be going through the motions as many described or not? no

Did they have multiple misteps with the music? only the synth in Miracle Drug false starting twice, which was, if anything, funny.

Was Bono going full out? i'd say so. prime example, the drumming at the end of LAPOE, the crawling during An Cat Dubh

Did he show much energy? yes.

Did he bring people up on stage? no. and anyone who measures a concert by how many fans are brought up on stage should go to karaoke night instead.

Did Bono venture out on the ellipse much? compared to Elevation Tour, maybe not quite as much. but then again, they don't have a 3 song acoustic set this tour, which many wanted the band to get rid of. Yahweh was performed full band at the tip of the ellipse.

MY answers are exactly the same as mikal's!!!

 

[The_acrobat]

My answers are also the exact same as mikal's.

The bottom line is, U2 put on an amazing performance. I left that concert feeling 148901345897149581 times better than I did when I went in. Been going through rough times lately, and the show just lifted me to a higher place, helped me put my life into perspective, and just gave me a better attitude about everything. That's what U2's shows are about. It's not about how often they rotate Gloria and Electric Co into the setlist, it's not about the lights or lack thereof at the opening of streets. It's something deeper. It's the band and crowd elevating each other to a higher level. And the Chicago crowd was ANYTHING but flat. They were a great group of people to be surrounded by.

Yes, at the show I did notice that Vertigo was a little sloppy. Yes, I did notice that they had some technical difficulties at the beginning of Miracle Drug regarding the synthesizers. Bono made a joke and said "Yeah, you can go ahead and play that, Terry!" I assume Terry is the backstage guy dropping in the extra music here and there. These glitches meant very little to me. And they meant very little to the people around me.

 

[learn2kneel]

How you can possibly say the crowd was not into it at Chicago 5/7 is beyond me. The crowd was absolutely estatic the entire time, and I looked around often to see what people were doing, mainly jumping around going crazy.

For example, the "40 chant" went on for probly around 5 minutes after the band left, which longer than any bootleg i heard (and much longer than 5/9 which died right after larry left).

As for the concert, Bono's voice was absolutely on especially during Bad, Sometimes, every song really.

 

[Howie]

Could it be that because they have to use more lights on the stage than usual ( because of the cameras, as shown on the documentar on the Boston DVD), some of the magic of the show disappear?

 

[Catlady]

There were definitely more lights last night. And I was disappointed that the chanting didn't go on longer after the band left the stage during "40".

 

[MsMofoGone]

How you can possibly say the crowd was not into it at Chicago 5/7 is beyond me. The crowd was absolutely estatic the entire time, and I looked around often to see what people were doing, mainly jumping around going crazy.

As for the concert, Bono's voice was absolutely on especially during Bad, Sometimes, every song really.

Jumping around and going frickin' NUTS ???
That would be me you saw there ... learn2kneel !!
I had such a GREAT time , I lost my voice for 2 days straight ...
Don't worry ... My voice is back now !!

As for the concert ... yes, it was pretty damn GOOD as a matter
of fact. The only song I didn't think was performed well by Bono
was "Vertigo". He sang it off key from the band's musical beat ... Alot of people looked "surprised" at how that song was performed, but ... in general, the rest of the songs were
EXCELLENT !! Especially Bad ... that was a GREAT vocal from Bono indeed !!

 

[JR#9]

Looks like night 2 was pretty over the top so the pressure of the filming didn't have the same effect it did in Boston or on the 1st Chicago show so I stand corrected on night 2.

 

[Liesje]

Looks like night 2 was pretty over the top so the pressure of the filming didn't have the same effect it did in Boston or on the 1st Chicago show so I stand corrected on night 2.

Yes, yes yo do. Chi II was "it".

 

[JR#9]

Yes, yes yo do. Chi II was "it".

I conceded about Chi 2 being over the top but let's not go too far in calling the show "it" because we all know the "it show is still a week from Saturday when they roll into MSG for their one and only appearance on the 1st leg!!

 

[U2FloridaFan]

I just have one question since I didn't linger on this board during Elevation. Were the comments and criticisms the same back then or is this something new from fans?? While I think everyone is entitled to their opinion, I think a little too much (or a lot too much) analyzing goes on. Just enjoy the shows
These guys aren't going to be around forever.

 

[kellyahern]

I just have one question since I didn't linger on this board during Elevation. Were the comments and criticisms the same back then or is this something new from fans?? While I think everyone is entitled to their opinion, I think a little too much (or a lot too much) analyzing goes on. Just enjoy the shows
These guys aren't going to be around forever.

I wish I could find the thread, but someone found a link to an old bullentin board type site where people posted their reactions to the ZooTv tour. It was pretty funny, the criticisms on there.

So, no this is not something new.

 

[ramblin rose]

I wish I could find the thread, but someone found a link to an old bullentin board type site where people posted their reactions to the ZooTv tour. It was pretty funny, the criticisms on there.

So, no this is not something new.

This is the thread:

http://forum.interference.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=123346

Absolutely hysterical.

 

[kellyahern]

This is the thread:

http://forum.interference.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=123346

Absolutely hysterical.

Thank you rose

 

[sociopathetic]

Any U2 show you're lucky enough to attend is a good show. It's been almost five years since their last tour. Who knows what the next five will bring not only for the band but also for any of us.

 

[U2Girl1978]

I haven't read this whole thread but I've been to all the shows so far on the Chicago trip and I have to say it absolutely rocked tonight and 5/9. The crowd and band was absolutely electrifiying.

Although, 5/7 was a bit shaky but first night is always is.

 

[thrillme]

It is likely that the Saturday show was a "dry run" to allow the cameramen to know where and when something was going to happen. For example, the cameramen now know during which songs that Bono, The Edge, or Adam will be circling the ellipse, what the lighting effects are for each song, how the United Center plays as a host for the Vertigo experience, etc. The band probably did not want to do something out of the ordinary so as to throw off the cameramen.

Which song/s did Adam walk round the ellipse? He did it once during "Streets" at LA1 and LA2, as well as during "New Year's Day," at LA2. I haven't really read which song/s he goes out to the ellipse, or if there is any pattern to them, except that he goes for walkabouts.

MTEdge: Another important thing (and for which I anticipate being flamed for), Chicago is the first big U2 market (in that "home town" show kinda way) that U2 has played on this tour. LA/Ana simply got a lot of shows because of population dynamics, and the ability to sell those shows out. Chicago, Boston, NYC-area have more rabid U2 fans than the LA-area does. In addition to the impending DVD shoot (and the related logistics), U2 was probably a bit nervous with such an important part of their tour beginning.

LA area people are just like that, hehe perhaps it's all the sun, maybe we're a bit more relaxed at times, doesn't mean we're any less rabid of fans. Just express it in different ways.

I think the LA2 crowd response to "New Year's Day" prompted Adam to go for a walkabout, which lead to even more cheering.

U2 filmed the "Streets" video in L.A., they didn't seem restrained at all, and the L.A. crowd was so crazy, the police had to stop the video shoot. Hehe top that Chicago/Boston/New Yorkers. (I'm kidding, we're all U2 fans)



Would've been cool if they filmed it during one of the LA shows, but I guess too many celebs showing up...might not want to be caught on camera without permission. Can't get too anxious filming near the movie capital of the world.