I kind of have an understanding of Popmart...

[theu2fly]

I remember seeing a pic of a POPMART show, where Bono is faced towards the stadium, and the back is empty... it's depressing to see

 

[theu2fly]

The Vertigo tour was an instant success.

It sold out completely, that includes the American legs.

Even the stadiums were sold out!

 

[J_NP]

I remember seeing a pic of a POPMART show, where Bono is faced towards the stadium, and the back is empty... it's depressing to see

That's what I'm talking ..... You have idea of what's like having 20.000 or even 10.000 persons in a Stadium ...... it's not bout ego or something it's somethin like ....... The show is not the shame , it's probably a worse feeling that in the ZOO shows , after some of the Bad Sarajevo links

 

[BVS]

That's what I'm talking ..... You have idea of what's like having 20.000 or even 10.000 persons in a Stadium ...... it's not bout ego or something it's somethin like ....... The show is not the shame , it's probably a worse feeling that in the ZOO shows , after some of the Bad Sarajevo links

WTF?

 

[toscano]

The Vertigo tour was an instant success.

It sold out completely, that includes the American legs.

Easier to sell out a 15,000 seat arena than a 60,000 seat stadium !

 

[LemonMelon]

That's what I'm talking ..... You have idea of what's like having 20.000 or even 10.000 persons in a Stadium ...... it's not bout ego or something it's somethin like ....... The show is not the shame , it's probably a worse feeling that in the ZOO shows , after some of the Bad Sarajevo links

Let me translate:

"That's what I'm talking about - you don't have an idea of what it's like have 20,000 or even 10,000 people in a stadium; it's not about ego or anything like that, it's just not the same; it's probably a worse feeling than that of the Zoo TV shows after the Sarajevo linkups."

 

[J_NP]

Thank you LemonMelon


You see it's kinda hard , specially when it's 2,27 am and all , and you needed few drinks before

I should be in bed now .....

Let me translate:
of the Zoo TV shows after the Sarajevo linkups."[/i]

ah the Bad word should be , I mean , not the usual links , but the worse ones , I mean the ones like Bono said , people said for them : "I know you all know we're gonna die "

 

[An Cat Gav]

But i think most people didnt even care for the "message".

When they went to POPmart they saw: A fantastic ROCKING rock and roll show.

No talking about 3th world countries, nothing off that just pure hard rock and roll.

I would love to see U2 do that one more time.

unfortunately for you, that is what U2 are about and one of the reasons I love them.

 

[Salome]

I think this entire "didn't get it" arguement is a bit of a non issue anyway

whether you do or do not "get" the message behind an album or a tour hardly has any relevance on enjoying said album or tour
it makes for good discussion, it can make you more passionate about it, but it hardly influences whether it's enjoyable, exciting to listen to

most casual or non U2 fans didn't give a crap about the meaning of POP or POPMart
they just wanted to hear good stuff
and I can't really hold that against them

even ATYCLB (which is as close as U2 will ever get to releasing a selection of songs instead of "an album") does have a certain theme as did the Elevation (hence the title of the tour) Tour
whether or not people got that also didn't influence whether or not they enjoy(ed) the album and tour

the meaning behind things makes for interesting discussions on fan forums, but it barely has any influence on anything outside the world of hardcore fans

 

[An Cat Gav]

I think this entire "didn't get it" arguement is a bit of a non issue anyway

whether you do or do not "get" the message behind an album or a tour hardly has any relevance on enjoying said album or tour
it makes for good discussion, it can make you more passionate about it, but it hardly influences whether it's enjoyable, exciting to listen to

most casual or non U2 fans didn't give a crap about the meaning of POP or POPMart
they just wanted to hear good stuff
and I can't really hold that against them

even ATYCLB (which is as close as U2 will ever get to releasing a selection of songs instead of "an album") does have a certain theme as did the Elevation (hence the title of the tour) Tour
whether or not people got that also didn't influence whether or not they enjoy(ed) the album and tour

the meaning behind things makes for interesting discussions on fan forums, but it barely has any influence on anything outside the world of hardcore fans



i Know what you mean.
However the meaning obviously means a lot to the band, they spent a lot of time, energy and money trying to make a statement as well as putting on a rock show, and im just trying to say that they failed a little in trying to get this meaning across. I'm sure that at least twice as many casual fans got the message behind Zoo Tv than got popmart. Not because ZOO TV wasn't particuarly intellegent but because it was so much better and more interesting.
i think a lot of peolpe are interested in the meaning behind songs/tours, but granted, not that many

 

[U2girl]

As I said before, comparing paying customers in each stop, more/similar # of people attended ATYCLB shows as did Pop.

Example:

Vegas Popmart - 37000
Vegas Elevation - 18000

SoCal Popmart - 66000
SoCal Elevation - 49000 1st leg


No Cal popmart - 67000
No Cal Elevation - 36000 1st leg

I can't be bothered looking up more, but you get the drift I hope?

Why no more stadiums ?

A number of speculative reasons, in no particular order

Ego - They like guaranteed sellouts

Weather - Not too many stadiums in good weather areas in March/April or Oct/Nov which is when they were scheduling their Elevation and Vertigo tours.

Availability - Too many conflicts with Baseball and Football seasons during those tour times

Money - Can't charge the higher dollar for stadium shows as not enbough casual fans will pony up, costs are lower for an arena for multiple nights, ergo higher profits

To suggest carte blanche that Americans "didn't get it" is preposterous.

You can't really compare a tour that plays in stadiums and a tour and plays arenas, and in particular a tour as expensive as Popmart was to a much cheaper production like Elevation and indoor Vertigo.

Yes "more people saw them" but on the other hand, they didn't have sell out stadiums. After JT, selling out a stadium in US shouldn't be an issue for a band U2's size. And considering their reputation as a live act.

If it was about ego, why did they drop stadiums? It makes for good press that they can sell out arenas though.
Weather didn't seem to be an issue when they played stadiums before. Availability is just a matter of coordinating dates. Money - interesting then, that they played stadiums everywhere else on Vertigo tour. Plenty of fans willing to pay.

Personally I was surprised they didn't at least go for stadiums in biggest markets like NY, Chicago, Boston, LA... with the sucess of ATYCLB.
I said "US didn't love Popmart", it had nothing to do with getting it.

 

[toscano]

You can't really compare a tour that plays in stadiums and a tour and plays arenas, and in particular a tour as expensive as Popmart was to a much cheaper production like Elevation and indoor Vertigo.

Sure you can. If one is pointing to those latter tours as "sucesses" in terms of attendance, then it becomes valid to do a comparison.

After JT, selling out a stadium in US shouldn't be an issue for a band U2's size. And considering their reputation as a live act.

Unless of course they overestimated their popularity and fan base, then they use a lame excuse like "they just didn't get it"

If it was about ego, why did they drop stadiums?

Reasons I mentioned in the post you responded to ?

It makes for good press that they can sell out arenas though.
Weather didn't seem to be an issue when they played stadiums before.

They weren't playing stadiums for th emost part in March and November. Try Giants stadium in November, let me know how it is !

Availability is just a matter of coordinating dates.

Easier said than done. And Baseball stadiums typically don't want you messing with their infield at all at during the season. College Football and NFL in full swing from late August onwards, Baseball season is longer than during the ZOO/JT years.

Money - interesting then, that they played stadiums everywhere else on Vertigo tour. Plenty of fans willing to pay.

American-style 15000+ arenas with the capability to stage the shows are few and far between in Europe and S.America. Also, for Europe it's Summer, perfect time for outdoor stadium shows.

Personally I was surprised they didn't at least go for stadiums in biggest markets like NY, Chicago, Boston, LA... with the sucess of ATYCLB.
I said "US didn't love Popmart", it had nothing to do with getting it.

I'd have been shocked if they had gone for stadiums even in those areas. Thankfully they didn't.

 

[schnumi]

unfortunately for you, that is what U2 are about and one of the reasons I love them.

I know (not the whole U2 mainly Bono ofcourse) and im fully supportive of it.

But i just prefer a full rock and roll show without that. Although it's a good way for Bono to grab the people's attention.

 

[U2girl]

Sure you can. If one is pointing to those latter tours as "sucesses" in terms of attendance, then it becomes valid to do a comparison.





Unless of course they overestimated their popularity and fan base, then they use a lame excuse like "they just didn't get it"



Reasons I mentioned in the post you responded to ?




They weren't playing stadiums for th emost part in March and November. Try Giants stadium in November, let me know how it is !




Easier said than done. And Baseball stadiums typically don't want you messing with their infield at all at during the season. College Football and NFL in full swing from late August onwards, Baseball season is longer than during the ZOO/JT years.



American-style 15000+ arenas with the capability to stage the shows are few and far between in Europe and S.America. Also, for Europe it's Summer, perfect time for outdoor stadium shows.



I'd have been shocked if they had gone for stadiums even in those areas. Thankfully they didn't.

The latter tours were a total "success" in terms of attendance. The only comparison that can be made is whether the shows sold out or not.


Agreed, it was a bad idea to get to stadiums headfirst. But that was the production from the start so they had no choice. I don't think "getting" (this probably applies more to the album) Popmart had anything to do with it, people simply didn't enjoy the tour as much as, say JT, or Zoo TV or the latter tours.


They played stadiums on the third leg of JT tour in the fall. Outside Broadcast was done in the fall. Third Popmart leg was done in the fall - I don't think March or November are "banned" months for U2 touring.

Well, plenty of arenas in Europe on Elevation tour.

 

[J_NP]

Popmart had anything to do with it, people simply didn't enjoy the tour as much as, say JT, or Zoo TV or the latter tours.

US people , U2 girl , you made some great posts , but don't forget that detail , coz it would be a injustice for all the europeans and american (except the US ) crowds

 

[toscano]

US people , U2 girl , you made some great posts , but don't forget that detail , coz it would be a injustice for all the europeans and american (except the US ) crowds

The US people I saw/met at the stadium shows all had a blast, where DO you get your info from ? You need a different source !

 

[Reggie Thee Dog]

Yeah, this all getting a little irritating...the "US people" b.s. I saw 3 Popmart shows here in the US of A and I enjoyed them all. I don't care for the album that much, but Popmart made it's point and I got it...though I thought it was a little over the top, but I liked it nonetheless. There are countless Americans who loved Popmart and love Pop.

J_NP needs to stop lumping the US people as the Pop/Popmart conspiracists who put a bad name on the album/tour. U2 themselves were disappointed enough with both and have stated so in numerous interviews.

 

[toscano]

Yeah, this all getting a little irritating...the "US people" b.s. I saw 3 Popmart shows here in the US of A and I enjoyed them all. I don't care for the album that much, but Popmart made it's point and I got it...though I thought it was a little over the top, but I liked it nonetheless. There are countless Americans who loved Popmart and love Pop.

J_NP needs to stop lumping the US people as the Pop/Popmart conspiracists who put a bad name on the album/tour. U2 themselves were disappointed enough with both and have stated so in numerous interviews.

J_NP ought to be more concerned with how the japanese react to a U2 show than a US audience, some real-people quotes from Popmart reviews:

"The audience was anything but hyper. My friends and I were asked to be quiet by the people in front of us (Japanese of course) who were sitting there trying to listen to the show. Whatever!! I guess the band was as into it as they could be given the lacklustre crowd."

"The Japaneses stay seated listening to a rock concert!!"

"Bono tried very hard to get the the Japanese audience into it "

 

[Salome]

that has nothing to do with U2 though
that's the way the Japanese enjoy their concerts

as is their god given right
though it's not my way