Best & Worst of U2 Live

[discothequeLP]

What is the single best live song performance by U2?

What is the single worst live song performance by U2?


I say the best one is between "The Fly" in Boston, "Bullet the Blue Sky" on Zoo TV, or "Discotheque" in Mexico. The version of The Fly in Boston was the first track from Acthung Baby I had ever heard, and it totally blew me away. Bullet on Zoo TV was just sickening compared to the previous versions of the song. The Edge's solo was just wicked. Discotheque in Mexico was a totally different version of the song, and was one of the most rockin' songs U2 ever played.

I would have to go with The Fly in Boston as my choice, because it just blew me away when I saw it on TV, on a broadcast of the concert, and it got me hooked to U2.

Single worst live song performance has to be "Desire" from the Zoo TV bootleg from Washington. I guess they performed the song the same way throghout the tour, but this one was especially bad. I love the song, especially the Lovetown and Boston versions, but this one sucked the big one. That guitar was just annoying, with the effects from Numb but raised in volume. Edge also messed up on the "solo" part, and he played the wrong chords at one part and ahh, it was just bad. They totally messed up a classic U2 song.


What do you guys think are the best and worst?

 

[GARY#2]

Worst: Bad, Live at Irving Plaza.

 

[Liesje]

Worst: Bad, Live at Irving Plaza.

I second that! Also, with the exception of At The Eleventh Hour, all the other times Bono tried to sing She's A Mystery To Me. YIKES!!

My favorite single live performances are:
WOWY from Rattle & Hum
Running to Stand Still from At The Eleventh Hour
Bad/40/Streets ripped from the Boston DVD
Last Night on Earth from PopMex or the Elevation singles

 

[Axver]

Best: Bad and With Or Without You from Rattle And Hum or 11 O'clock Tick Tock from the Under A Blood Red Sky video.

Worst? I haven't heard anything bad yet, but I haven't heard nearly enough live U2.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Bullet on Zoo TV was just sickening compared to the previous versions of the song. The Edge's solo was just wicked.

I think I may have heard this one, but I'm not sure. Bono doesn't, by any chance, throw in a bit of that "America" song (think that's what it's called) from "West Side Story" during it, does he?

Anywho, I haven't heard much live U2, but from what I have heard...let's see here...

Best:

-"Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Bullet The Blue Sky" from R&H...the speech in the former and the guitar solo in the latter are both just...wow.

Worst:

I guess if I had to pick one here, it'd be this version of "If You Wear That Velvet Dress" that I heard once...Bono must've not been feeling good or something that night, 'cause his voice was shot on it.

Angela

 

[bono_man2002]

Best:
Until The End Of The World (Wembley 1, Sydney 93 and Leeds 97 but i could go on for ever with this song, it sounds so great live)
All I Want Is You (Slane II )
Streets (Sydney 93 & Slane II)

i could go on forvery with best lists....ok now for worsts

Worsts:
Bad (Irving Plaza)
Macarena (Barcelona 97, beside the fact i found it funny, i didnt like it)
I Will Follow (Wembley II 93, didnt fit the show, but i kida liked it )

well thats all i can think of for now...really i have no worst prefomances....because i like them all

 

[U2Kitten]

Re: Re: Best & Worst of U2 Live

Worst:

I guess if I had to pick one here, it'd be this version of "If You Wear That Velvet Dress" that I heard once...Bono must've not been feeling good or something that night, 'cause his voice was shot on it.

Angela

I think his voice always sounds shot on that song even on the CD. He sounds like he's got the sore throat and he's whispering. I never liked it.

 

[Tom in Boston]

Single worst live song performance has to be "Desire" from the Zoo TV bootleg from Washington. I guess they performed the song the same way throghout the tour, but this one was especially bad. I love the song, especially the Lovetown and Boston versions, but this one sucked the big one. That guitar was just annoying, with the effects from Numb but raised in volume. Edge also messed up on the "solo" part, and he played the wrong chords at one part and ahh, it was just bad. They totally messed up a classic U2 song.

Blasphemy! The Zoo TV version of Desire was brilliant! It rocked my socks off. It was a completely innovative and original reinvention of the song that fit in perfectly with the tour.

Anyway:

Best: Bad at Live Aid
Worst: Please at MTV Video Music Awards (It just didn't fit in with the show. Very bad choice of song.)

 

[Blue Room]

Best, One Tree Hill 12-26-89 Dublin

Worst, Staring At the Sun 4-25-97 Las Vegas. AWFUL!! they screwed up the song so badly it was just embarrassing. Honorable mention would be Pride from the same show.

 

[Tip Top Prince]

Worst: Bad, Live at Irving Plaza.

What a completely disgraceful thing to say.

You quite clearly have no idea what is good about U2.

This entire concert is nothing but pure gold, and Bad is one of the highlights - diamond encrusted gold as it were.

 

[alexvilagosh]

My favourite performances would be:
Bad/40/Streets (Boston)
Please/Streets (Johannesburg POPmart... I'm a sucker for Streets)
Desire (PopMex.. I love it)

I can't really say that I know any bad performances, but I've never liked Mysterious Ways...

 

[TiaraGurl]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

 

[RickFly]

Best:
i could go on and on so here is just a few, Dortmund 84, anything from that one, with or without you and sunday bloody sunday from rattle and hum.

worst:
bad (irving plaza)

 

[Liesje]

Re: Re: Best & Worst of U2 Live

I think I may have heard this one, but I'm not sure. Bono doesn't, by any chance, throw in a bit of that "America" song (think that's what it's called) from "West Side Story" during it, does he?

Angela, he did that either in the PopMex or Santiago concert, but I often get them confused....I think it was PopMex. It might be on ZooTV as well, I don't care for ZooTV near as much so I don't remember.

And Alexvilagosh, I agree about Mysterious Ways. Bono always sings it out of tune and I don't like the song to begin with. The only concert I like MW from is Irving Plaza (he sings those random lines about Ali, lol).

 

[jick]

the WORST OF U2

The worst of U2 live is the `97 Vegas opening show. Everything went wrong. They couldn't play their old songs.

Angel of Harlem acoustic from the second night Elevation show was ugly also. Bono forgot the lyrics.

All their live versions of Zooropa and Babyface were forgettable.

A Sort Of Homecoming from the first Slane Castle Elevation gig was a disaster.

Edge botched a few lyrics an the last part in his first SBS performance in Sarajevo.

Party Girl from the UABRS album has a botched note from the Edge.

Gloria also from the same Red Rocks concert has a botched bassline from Adam, but it was overdubbed/edited for the UABRS version, however in the vinyl full concert version from the bootleg 2 sides live, it is obvious.

The second night of Zoo TV, Bono messes up Pride and I Still Haven't Found.

There was an abbreviated Lovetown gig where Bono's voice was so off the concert was cut short and the BB King section did not even play with the band anymore.

The Lovetown Japan concert had Bono starting I Still Haven't Found in the wrong key.

Irving Plaza had Bono interchanging the verses of All I Want Is You.

Bono murdered a version of Bob Dylan's song sometime in the mid-80's, he forgot the lyrics so bad that he even invented.

She's A Mystery To Me, from the ATYCLB BBC Sessions was quite pitiful too.

One of the earliest Joshua Tree concerts had Bono's voice shot by too much rehearsing.

The Ground Beneath Her Feet from San Remo - hopelessly hoarse.

One from the Millennium Ball - featured a shot voiced Bono.

Bono singing One during Netaid was worse.

Bono attempting to sing Lean On Me with those all stars live made him look so out of place since his singing was so bad. You can't fully blame him - he just came from some kinda of surgery on his throat.

Springhill Mining Disaster from 4/29/87 ---Bono stops in mid-song, loses his composure and tell the people to stop whistling, it's such an ear bleed to hear your bootleg and have the singer get out of his element and scold people. That's why People Get Ready from Lovetown Japan should also rightfully belong among their worst live performances.

U2's career is riddled with so many glitches in their live performances, it is quite hard for me to pick a definite worst. So I just listed some of my possible candidates for worst live performance.

As for best, here are my candidates:
WOWY-4/29/87, Chicago
Bad - Live Aid
Can't Help Falling In Love -Dublin `93

Cheers,

J

 

[MrBrau1]

All of it. U2 are one of the worst live bands ever.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Re: Re: Re: Best & Worst of U2 Live

Angela, he did that either in the PopMex or Santiago concert, but I often get them confused....I think it was PopMex. It might be on ZooTV as well, I don't care for ZooTV near as much so I don't remember.

Oh, okay.

U2Kitten, really? Personally, I like the song on the CD, I think he sounds fine on it...but that's just me. .

Angela

 

[WinnieThePoo]

best :

11 O'clock tick tock from their 80-81 shows , they played it twice , and with real energy .

zootv/zooropa shows
Zoo Tv : live from Sydney , POP Mart live from mexico city

Party Girl ( Dublin 89 )

worst :

A Sort of Homecoming 2001
( slane .....what a shame ....
)

 

[discothequeLP]

Re: the WORST OF U2

The worst of U2 live is... Party Girl from the UABRS album has a botched note from the Edge...

Irving Plaza had Bono interchanging the verses of All I Want Is You.

That version of Party Girl is one of my all-time favs! That "botched" note just made his solo even better, and it is more fun to play on the guitar. I loved it.

As for the whole lyrics issue well, cmon, Bono is bad with lyrics. But I can't imagine Edge screwing them up.

And singing off key is just horrible. I agree that is bad.


And why does everyone think that Bad from Irving Plaza is bad?! I totally agree with tip top prince that it was just awesome, as the whole show was.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

I also remember really liking the version of "The Electric Co." from UABRS...that increased my liking of the original. .

Angela

 

[Liesje]

worst :

A Sort of Homecoming 2001
( slane .....what a shame ....
)

Oh, give them a break, at least they tried!

 

[Zoocoustic]

I would agree that among the best are:
The Fly - Elevation Boston
Bad - Popmart (crap, I can't remember which show - Santiago?)
ZooTV - BTBS, Dirty Day

Worst:
Any version of Pride since The Joshua Tree Tour
Zooropa live is very difficult to listen to, because I love the song, but it sounds very bad live

And I second the comment that the ZooTV version of Desire was the best they have ever done - pure hard rock - would love to see some video footage of MacPhisto performing this one (have seen Mirrorball Man performing it already).

Also, I agree that Bono botches lyrics frequently, but I sing in a band, and I can tell you that it is very difficult to keep all of your lyrics together when you have so many songs that you're trying to keep straight, especially during a lengthy performance. As a singer, you're so focused on singing/playing/entertaining, that sometimes you don't even think of the words as you sing them, they just come to you almost in the back of your mind. This is especially true for songs you sing hundreds of times. Then, suddenly, you're at a loss because you can't remember how the next verse goes, and you don't have time to think. I guess it may be hard to understand, but it is true.

 

[Peter]

Best:
* The very best: Streets (Elevation Boston)
* Until the end of the world (Zoo TV - version on Best Of DVD)
* Bullet the blue sky (Elevation Boston)
* Mysterious Ways (Zoo TV Sydney)
* Dirty Day (Zoo TV Sydney)
* The fly (Elevation Boston)
* Hold me thrill me kiss me kill me (Popmart Tel Aviv)
* Elevation (Elevation Miami 24/03/2001)
* Even better than the real thing (Popmart Sarajevo)
* Love is blindness (Zoo TV Sydney)
* Zoo Station (Zoo TV Sydney)
* Mofo (Popmart Mexico-City)
* Discoth?que (Popmart Werchter)

Worst:
Discoth?que (Popmart Mexico)
All WOWY
Pride (never really has its strength live)

 

[Axver]

Springhill Mining Disaster from 4/29/87 ---Bono stops in mid-song, loses his composure and tell the people to stop whistling, it's such an ear bleed to hear your bootleg and have the singer get out of his element and scold people.

I completely disagree with you there. I think that performance of Springhill Mining Disaster is fantastic, and I find that part where Bono has a go at the crowd quite amusing.

Some more songs I consider to be really great;

- Mofo from Popmart Sarajevo. Really, really love it.
- Last night I fell in love with MLK from 31/12/89 for some reason.
- I really enjoy Bullet The Blue Sky from 4 July 1987 and Rattle And Hum (is that 19 December 1987?).
- Discotheque from Popmart Mexico is fantastic, as is Please and One.
- Walk On from Slane. Not sure which concert, whichever it was that had portions broadcast on Australian TV last Christmas. Think it was the 1 September one.

 

[popacrobat]

best: 4/29/87 WOWY... partly because it was my exact D.O.B.

 

[jick]

All of it. U2 are one of the worst live bands ever.

U2 are one of the worst live bands? Perhaps you are a new fan and haven't seen U2 during their prime back in the late 80s. If you did, you would never make that statement. You must have started to follow U2 only more recently when they have been getting sloppier live and going downhill (or over-the-hill for that matter).

Cheers,

J

 

[Liesje]

U2 are one of the worst live bands? Perhaps you are a new fan and haven't seen U2 during their prime back in the late 80s. If you did, you would never make that statement. You must have started to follow U2 only more recently when they have been getting sloppier live and going downhill (or over-the-hill for that matter).

Cheers,

J

Jick, I think he was kidding. You're just being downright negative.

 

[imogen]

I have just seen U2 Go Home, and overall, it is the best concert footage I have seen. I have fallen in love all over again, with the music, with the people, with the songs....

If you don't have this on preorder, GET IT NOW!!!

 

[RickFly]

stop w/ the negativity. u2 are one of the best live bands in history. if not THE best live band. ive seeen a lot of other bands, some of which, people say are the best live. ive seen u2 several times and these bands are not even in u2's league.

 

[mcranston]

VMost of what has been mentioned I agree with .

Let's see the best:

- There was some fucking intense stuff during ZooTV (Zoo Station, Dirty Day, BTBS, Running, Streets, Blindness)

- PopMart had some great stuff (Mofo, SBS acoustic, Please > Streets) Bono's voice was shot at Sarajevo but the emtion of the show makes up for it. Wake Up Dead Man gives me chills .. all the quiet stuff they closed with at Popmart was great.

Worst:

- Pride never seemed to capture the song properly
- Zooropa live disgraced one of U2?s best songs
- Gloria was not good live
- I couldn?t agree more with the person who said above that Please shouldn?t have been played at MTV. It?s got such raw emotion in the song, stuff the MTV viewers can?t handle. Mofo would have been appropriate.

U2 are an incredible live band and the fact that they play every song well with the exception of 5-10 or so is pretty impressive.