Hooker, Oklahoma Superthread

[The Sad Punk]

Ooh, Bono was speaking Greek at the Thessaloniki show.

Would have loved to have heard that.

 

[Axver]

Hi Mizza!

 

[Varitek]

Ah, I was wrongly thinking that they got as much a share most tours as they did during Zoo TV. I stand corrected - as I would regarding any discussion about U2 tours and setlists with you. I thought they played Italy a lot because Bono would say some bullshit about them being kindred spirits with the Irish for some reason.

Still, that's one more concert than Australia for Italy, for that tour. Shits me that they'd rather play some hick town in the States twice than go over to another country.

he says this (kindred with irish) about the us, israel, italy, pretty much wherever it's convenient.

i do hear you about them overplaying the us vs europe and australia, but you have to acknowledge that the us is practically as big as europe, was richer until this decade, and is easier to get to than down under.

but i hear you.

 

[Varitek]

hey ya'll!
looks like i missed some great conversation when i left last night. damn shame too, since i didn't fall asleep til hours later.

and...inflatable sex sheep??

go back a few pages

 

[Axver]

Odd live U2 stats time: Although U2 played Portugal in 1982, they never got around to Spain until 1987. Since then, Spain has been played on every tour apart from Lovetown, while Portugal was only hit in 1997 and 2005.

 

[mysterious_jen]

hong kong would be cool

 

[LMP]

Odd live U2 stats time: Although U2 played Portugal in 1982, they never got around to Spain until 1987. Since then, Spain has been played on every tour apart from Lovetown, while Portugal was only hit in 1997 and 2005.

Droppin' in for a sec.

Hey Ax, what time is it for you right now?

 

[liamcool]

1:45am

 

[mysterious_jen]

nearly 2am too much coke !

 

[The Sad Punk]

Italy's really a bizarre case, as U2 seem to sometimes play it decently, like ZooTV, while other times totally neglect it. Popmart was three shows, though one was Reggio Emilia's 150,000. Vertigo was three, they could have easily done five. Probably the most consistently well-played country in Europe in recent years is Germany, despite the fact U2 aren't as popular there as in many other ones.

And yeah, that really pisses me off too. It amazes me how closed their touring has been. I forget the precise number now, but I think they've played a grand total of 31 countries. I know it's around 30-33, but I'm getting very tired. In contrast, BB King has done over 90.

It stuns me that U2 have never played places like Egypt, Russia, India, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Turkey.

Do U2 even study the fanbases in different countries? I'd seriously doubt it. It's enough to make me really angry if it was remotely worth getting angry about.

Over 90!? Come on, U2 - let's see at least 50 before you're all dead. How about they only play one show in the US next tour? I don't think it'd make a huge difference.

 

[Varitek]

I'd suggest that on the next tour, U2 should play: Moscow, St Petersburg, at least one Baltic capital, Kiev, Bucharest, Athens, Istanbul, Ljubljana, Zagreb, Budapest, Prague, and at least two Polish cities. Sure, it's a huge break with the past, but they totally could do it.

And while they're at it, why not a return to Israel, and maybe a date in one of the more open Persian Gulf states, or Egypt, or Morocco - or hell, even Anathema's done Tunisia!

I would add Belgrade and maybe Sarajevo. Def. Warsaw.

And Tel Aviv, Cairo, Morocco, and S Africa are all totally viable. As I said in WTAHNN though, I will drop dead when they play Sub Saharan Africa, for all the charity work, there isn't enough money to support a full U2 concert, nor is U2 the type of music that's a hit there. But if they did go anywehre I'd predict Accra, Dar es Salaam, whatever Botswana's capital is, and maybe Namibia which has some comparative wealth. But still there's no way unless they are willing to drastically lower their ticket prices, both for the economies and interest level in their music.

But man if they hit Accra I'd be so jealous, as I coulda been there if things hadn't fallen through, and I bet I'd have gotten a good spot in GA!

 

[LMP]

1:45am

Alrighty.

Just wanna know what time I should be on for the lul-fest Running Diary.

 

[Varitek]

.

It stuns me that U2 have never played places like Egypt, Russia, India, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Turkey.

also wealthy enough, tho i dunno about fanbase: singapore, phillipenes. thailand might support 1 show, i'm not sure.

 

[Axver]

he says this (kindred with irish) about the us, israel, italy, pretty much wherever it's convenient.

i do hear you about them overplaying the us vs europe and australia, but you have to acknowledge that the us is practically as big as europe, was richer until this decade, and is easier to get to than down under.

but i hear you.

It would be one thing if they were selling out stadiums left, right, and centre throughout the US. But they're not. To play places like Louisville, Tampa, Omaha, and whatever, they need to do arenas. A couple of Midwest arena shows on Elevation didn't even sell out.

Meanwhile, all five of the major Aussie cities are a guaranteed stadium sell-out, multi-stadium sell-out in some cases, and I'm sure they could do just as well outside of those centres too.

I do not think this would be an unrealistic Aussie/Kiwi tour:
- Auckland x2
- Wellington or Christchurch
- Brisbane (possibly x2)
- Sydney x2
- Canberra or Newcastle
- Melbourne x2
- Hobart
- Adelaide
- Perth

If they felt really ballsy, do both Wellington and Christchurch and both Canberra and Newcastle (though that could threaten x2 in Sydney), and hit Cairns.

 

[liamcool]

nearly 2am too much coke !

You're just excited.

 

[Varitek]

Odd live U2 stats time: Although U2 played Portugal in 1982, they never got around to Spain until 1987. Since then, Spain has been played on every tour apart from Lovetown, while Portugal was only hit in 1997 and 2005.

spain's got a powerful fanbase, or at least u2valencia gives that impression!

maybe they keep playing germany so heavily because of u2tour.de... though i'm not sure if i buy your claim that u2 aren't popular enough there to merit the number of shows. i think they are, they are also popular enough to merit more shows in other european countries

 

[Axver]

Do U2 even study the fanbases in different countries? I'd seriously doubt it. It's enough to make me really angry if it was remotely worth getting angry about.

Over 90!? Come on, U2 - let's see at least 50 before you're all dead. How about they only play one show in the US next tour? I don't think it'd make a huge difference.

What concerns me is that their study extends solely to "how many records did we sell?" In many countries, you need to consider:
1. There is a lack of accurate album sales recording data
2. There is a high proliferation of bootleg and black market sales
3. There is also a high popularity of imports due to lacklustre/late local releases
So even if New Album sells just 10,000 copies in Unplayed Country according to the data McGuinne$$ sees, that has absolutely no bearing on whether or not they could fill a stadium.

If I had a band, I'd totally do just one US show, in the middle of Wyoming or somewhere. It'd be hilarious.

 

[mysterious_jen]

You're just excited.

mebbbeh :blush:

 

[Varitek]

If I had a band, I'd totally do just one US show, in the middle of Wyoming or somewhere. It'd be hilarious.

would be dumb economically though. at least do chicago ny or la so you can raise the ticket prices and collect what people woulda spent on airfare if you'd had it in wyoming

 

[The Sad Punk]

I am silenced! U2 have played more shows in Adelaide than they have in Detroit.

 

[Axver]

spain's got a powerful fanbase, or at least u2valencia gives that impression!

maybe they keep playing germany so heavily because of u2tour.de... though i'm not sure if i buy your claim that u2 aren't popular enough there to merit the number of shows. i think they are, they are also popular enough to merit more shows in other european countries

Spain did get rorted on Elevation though: just ONE arena gig in Barcelona. Vertigo was at least three stadium gigs.

Germany comparatively had poor ticket sales on both ZooTV and Popmart, but has consistently been well-played. Good for the Germans, of course, but it's baffling that Germany got more Popmart shows than Italy did. 5 to 2*. Even with Reggio Emilia, U2 could have easily done more Italian gigs.

*I've accidentally been saying Italy got 3 Popmart shows. There were just two: Rome and Reggio Emilia.

 

[The Sad Punk]

It would be one thing if they were selling out stadiums left, right, and centre throughout the US. But they're not. To play places like Louisville, Tampa, Omaha, and whatever, they need to do arenas. A couple of Midwest arena shows on Elevation didn't even sell out.

Meanwhile, all five of the major Aussie cities are a guaranteed stadium sell-out, multi-stadium sell-out in some cases, and I'm sure they could do just as well outside of those centres too.

I do not think this would be an unrealistic Aussie/Kiwi tour:
- Auckland x2
- Wellington or Christchurch
- Brisbane (possibly x2)
- Sydney x2
- Canberra or Newcastle
- Melbourne x2
- Hobart
- Adelaide
- Perth

If they felt really ballsy, do both Wellington and Christchurch and both Canberra and Newcastle (though that could threaten x2 in Sydney), and hit Cairns.

Needs a show in Minlaton.

 

[redhotswami]

heeeeey, TMI question time. what sorts of remedies do ya'll have for bacne? mine isn't too bad, just pimples here and there. but, since i have that beach wedding in a few months i thought now would be a good time as ever to try and fight it so i don't whine about it in every picture.

 

[Varitek]

I am silenced! U2 have played more shows in Adelaide than they have in Detroit.

detroit is fairly economically depressed and is near chicago, twin cities, etc.


oh and while we're wining about the us, remember that north america also means canada, which they could pay a little more attention to, and mexico, which i believe they haven't visited since pop? they could certainly do mexico city several times over, maybe a few other mexican cities, plus puerto rico might be interesting. like hawaii, even if it didn't sell out on local population, people would vacation to it.

 

[Varitek]

heeeeey, TMI question time. what sorts of remedies do ya'll have for bacne? mine isn't too bad, just pimples here and there. but, since i have that beach wedding in a few months i thought now would be a good time as ever to try and fight it so i don't whine about it in every picture.

i dunno much about this but a friend of mine recently took accutane Isotretinoin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia to "get rid of his acne once and for all." it's perscription and you can't drink with it but if it's a permanent cure, probably worth it.

(he was just dumb enough to time the no drinking with st paddy's day and he's one of those drunken irish americans)

 

[mysterious_jen]

heeeeey, TMI question time. what sorts of remedies do ya'll have for bacne? mine isn't too bad, just pimples here and there. but, since i have that beach wedding in a few months i thought now would be a good time as ever to try and fight it so i don't whine about it in every picture.

loofah on a stick and scrub like hell?

i dunno .

 

[Axver]

I would add Belgrade and maybe Sarajevo. Def. Warsaw.

And Tel Aviv, Cairo, Morocco, and S Africa are all totally viable. As I said in WTAHNN though, I will drop dead when they play Sub Saharan Africa, for all the charity work, there isn't enough money to support a full U2 concert, nor is U2 the type of music that's a hit there. But if they did go anywehre I'd predict Accra, Dar es Salaam, whatever Botswana's capital is, and maybe Namibia which has some comparative wealth. But still there's no way unless they are willing to drastically lower their ticket prices, both for the economies and interest level in their music.

But man if they hit Accra I'd be so jealous, as I coulda been there if things hadn't fallen through, and I bet I'd have gotten a good spot in GA!

Yeah, Belgrade maybe, especially if Serbia moves more pro-Europe. As for Poland, on Vertigo, they actually played just outside Krakow rather than Warsaw, so that's why I said "any two Polish cities".

Do you think somewhere like Bahrain or the UAE would be viable? Comparatively open societies, and with shitloads of Western residents and visitors. I think they could play at least one show in that part of the world and do well.

I completely agree with regards to Africa. Though what about Kenya? Recent civil strife aside, it's generally been a fairly prosperous, Western-oriented place, and it hosted some 2003 Cricket World Cup games. That said, I think a realistic African tour schedule would be: Cairo, whatever Moroccan city has the best stadium venue, Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria or Johannesburg.

 

[liamcool]

mebbbeh :blush:

 

[LMP]

Axver, read this:

Alrighty.

Just wanna know what time I should be on for the lul-fest Running Diary.

You can go back to tour talks now. Thank you.

 

[Axver]

oh and while we're wining about the us, remember that north america also means canada, which they could pay a little more attention to, and mexico, which i believe they haven't visited since pop? they could certainly do mexico city several times over, maybe a few other mexican cities, plus puerto rico might be interesting. like hawaii, even if it didn't sell out on local population, people would vacation to it.

Mexico actually had the most love from U2 on Vertigo! In 1992, they did four Mexico City arena shows. 1997, two Mexico City stadium shows. 2006, two Mexico City stadium shows and one stadium show in Monterrey (last TEC ever there). They could probably do another one or two Mexican cities, Puerto Rico, and at least another central American state, though I'm going blank on which have the most relative wealth.

And yes, Canada has tended to be underplayed, especially Alberta despite the fact it has proven it can support stadium shows.