Could U2 pull off another ZooTV/Popmart at this point?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Zoocoustic

War Child
Joined
Oct 10, 2000
Messages
970
Location
Seattle, WA
Please understand: I AM NOT SUGGESTING U2 DO A ZOOTV2 or POPMART2.

Now that I've cleared that up, what I'm asking is: at this point in their careers, could U2 do another show in this vein? That is to say, a full-blown "show" with media, characters, etc.

The reason I ask the question is with Bono's current clout in the political and world arena, if he did something like ZooTV or Popmart, would it damage his credibility on the world scene? For example if he did something like MacPhisto again, the opposition would surely remark "remember, this is the guy who dresses up like the devil, we can't take him too seriously."

While I'd LOVE to see another concert in the same style as ZooTV/Popmart, I'm not sure the band can do this at this point in their careers. And yes, I think it's all Bono's fault. :)

I think that Bono has too much at stake to go off and act like the Fly or come up with anything even close to this. It might be too damaging.

Thoughts?
 
In short, no. A tour is only as good as the album it promotes. The band has stopped progressing and has forgotten what made thier albums in the 80's and 90's special. ATYCLB and HTDAAB lacked location and thus a world for a listener to escape in. Popmart and ZooTV were possible because Pop and Achtung Baby created the characters, locations and message long before the tours were being constructed. As long as U2's albums lack substance and depth, another ZooTV and Popmart is not possible.
 
They're probably not interested in huge stadium shows per se. The Stones can do the "bigger is better" shtick if they want to.

Yes, they will probably always employ new technical stuff in their tours, but what would the point be in competing with a stadium show as well done as Zoo TV?
 
Last edited:
Zoocoustic said:
The reason I ask the question is with Bono's current clout in the political and world arena, if he did something like ZooTV or Popmart, would it damage his credibility on the world scene? For example if he did something like MacPhisto again, the opposition would surely remark "remember, this is the guy who dresses up like the devil, we can't take him too seriously."

Thoughts?

If politicians start judging Artistes by what they do on stage/screen then the world would really be in a very sorry state.
 
Actually I don't want to see them do a ZooTV2 or Pop2, they have done it already and they were brilliant. They did it at a time when nobody else could pull it off and that made it groundbreaking.

Their strength is their music, and that should be the main focus of the shows going forward. Get rid of the distractions, the blindfolds, the acting and just go out and perform and win the crowd over with the songs.
 
No, I'm not seeing U2 doing again some kind of ZooTv/Popmart again.
But I can easily see (why not next album?) U2 making something special and different in a near future.

I'd like to see U2 going (supposedly) megalomaniac and presumtuous again, and appearing on stage dressed like The Beatles in the Sgt. Peppers' era, for example...
Or appearing with another practical, but risky stage design...
Why not? At this point, I think that they can do it, and still be U2 as always.
 
Zoocoustic said:

At this point in their careers, could U2 do another full-blown "show" with media, characters, etc.


Let's hope not!! Some of that shit was downright creepy....right out of Freddie Mercury's handbook.

U2 needs to do what they do best: a concert like 2001. Great lights, great stage, and they look like normal human beings....they just came at you like a rock band should....they got back to their roots. The 2001 tour was U2 at it's very best.
 
Bono has put the band in a corner, that they could get out of, but he's too worried about what Laura Bush thinks.
 
joelazar said:
Bono has put the band in a corner, that they could get out of, but he's too worried about what Laura Bush thinks.

:yawn:

One album that a minority of U2 fans dislike comes out and all of a sudden U2's creativity is a victim of Bono's own personal philanthopy issues. Give me a fucking break would you. I'm so sick and tired of hearing this same BS over and over again around here.
 
Lancemc said:


:yawn:

One album that a minority of U2 fans dislike comes out and all of a sudden U2's creativity is a victim of Bono's own personal philanthopy issues. Give me a fucking break would you. I'm so sick and tired of hearing this same BS over and over again around here.

:up: ! I think u2 are quite capable of doing something controversial, but in a more mature way. U2 are too old to do zootv, the whole 'show' wouldn't seem right now. They have done it once and I don't think they should go back on themselves!
 
I think they could do both, but I think Popmart should be left as is. Even though at the time some people weren't crazy about it now that I look back I am glad they did it and now I love it.

They are more for the future, they aren't going back anywhere.
 
What the need to do is setup every show on the tour with Hi-Def webcams and broadcast every show online.
 
My new band will start the new ZooTV with a tour called Hi-Def.

So, no, because we're doing it.
 
Re: Re: Could U2 pull off another ZooTV/Popmart at this point?

WalkOnTheEdge said:


Let's hope not!! Some of that shit was downright creepy....right out of Freddie Mercury's handbook.


Silly comment of the day :down:

Personally, I'd go for a Zoo 2. Zoo TV represented everything I love about the band: heartfelt performances, unpredictability, intrigue, and heavy doses of social commentary. That's the U2 pizza I'd go for again. Will they do it again, or something similar? My guess is that the current Sydney release is prepping us for something like it.
 
I can see them doing something as interesting, thought-provoking, outside of the box as Zoo or Popmart.

I don't buy the idea that such a concept has to grow out of some profound album. There's not really anything about Achtung Baby the album that screams ZOO TV, and nothing about POP that screams Popmart, except for the marketing and the album cover art. Achtung Baby suggested a CHANGE in the image of the band, but that new sound didn't directly literally translate into ZOO TV. Popmart came out of POP's marketing, because most of us know the content of the album is neither "poppy" or disposable. I would say that Popmart evolved away from its own concept as the tour progressed, it went from being the star of the show to essentially a backdrop pretty quickly.

I suppose you can say the Elevation tour was derived from ATYCLB's "back to basics pop/rock sound". Bomb/Vertigo was basically an extension of that.

So yeah. I think they can come up with a bold new concept, if they want to. But I don't think that has to mean characters and costumes. If they are true to the idea of "another ZOO TV," it will actually end up being something no one expected.
 
To answer the original question - no.
I think they've grown too comfortable in their arena tour guise of late in North America.

And that's thinking just at a base level of controlling all the elements.
 
For me, Vertigo Tour was an atempt at Popmart and Elevation Tour at the same time :eyebrow: so I don't see any difficult in trying to do something conceptual and spectacular as Popmart or Zoo TV again :drool:

I don't want a Popmart or Zoo TV II, but I'd love them to push the boundaries and dream it all up again :drool:
 
Re: Re: Could U2 pull off another ZooTV/Popmart at this point?

WalkOnTheEdge said:


Let's hope not!! Some of that shit was downright creepy....right out of Freddie Mercury's handbook.

U2 needs to do what they do best: a concert like 2001. Great lights, great stage, and they look like normal human beings....they just came at you like a rock band should....they got back to their roots. The 2001 tour was U2 at it's very best.

Just out of curiosity, do you ever get tired of talking about 90s U2 as though it were all some sort of Stephen King adaptation?
 
Re: Re: Re: Could U2 pull off another ZooTV/Popmart at this point?

namkcuR said:


Just out of curiosity, do you ever get tired of talking about 90s U2 as though it were all some sort of Stephen King adaptation?

Hey, I didn't bring it up, the thread starter did. But c'mon, you don't find this to be downright creepy?

23.jpg
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Could U2 pull off another ZooTV/Popmart at this point?

WalkOnTheEdge said:


Hey, I didn't bring it up, the thread starter did. But c'mon, you don't find this to be downright creepy?

23.jpg

That's art, man. :grumpy:
 
Maybe during their final tour they'll push the boundries of technology and give us a visually stunning tour so heavily dependant on the technology they use that they'll be forced to play a static set list every night with a chance of slight variation.

Or for their last tour they'll just go all out and play every song from their back catalog because it's the last tour.

I only bring up the idea of a last tour because I think realistically they're not going to tour in their 50's.
 
Screwtape2 said:
In short, no. A tour is only as good as the album it promotes. The band has stopped progressing and has forgotten what made thier albums in the 80's and 90's special. ATYCLB and HTDAAB lacked location and thus a world for a listener to escape in. Popmart and ZooTV were possible because Pop and Achtung Baby created the characters, locations and message long before the tours were being constructed. As long as U2's albums lack substance and depth, another ZooTV and Popmart is not possible.

Unfortunately this is true I fear.
 
Thank God they never want to copy themselves, so I don't think Zoo TV II or Popmart II will ever be realized.

A tour just needs an original concept. I liked the Vertigo tour musically, but missed the concept. Perhaps they lacked inspiration because of the fact that Bono spent a lot of time on the road meeting world leaders.

However, I like the idea of ZOOnline :wink:
 
Back
Top Bottom