Is there anyone existing here....

[mad1]

...who has been to every kind of concert U2 have done from they were out there? (middle 80s)

My question is........did you prefer the gigs back then, or do you prefer them now...........with say Zoo TV being the middle of the turn.....

?

 

[*Stormy*]

I haven't but I have a friend who has. He ranks them this way:

1.JT/R&H tour
2.Unforgettable Fire tour
3.Elevation Tour
4.ZOOTV tour
5.Popmart tour
(He missed the War tour)
He said UF was electric- Bono's voice was at its fullest range and the band was young and full of energy. He said as much as he loved Elevation and being in the heart, nothing could top UF and the magic of JT. He said ZOO was cool too and he didn't care for Popmart. He went to all the tours with 3 buddies he'd known since school and they all agree.

 

[Hewson]

I've seen every tour since Unforgettable Fire.
I think Elevation was a combination of the best of U2's touring...a bit stripped down like the old days, with a little of the glitz thrown in.

 

[Blue Room]

I have seen them since Joshua Tree. Show wise it is tie between Elevation and Joshua Tree. I probebly had the best time though on Popmart, I think that tour gets a bad rap.

I didnt get to see the Lovetown tour though, I love the bootlegs from that tour. So it would probebly be up there if I had seen it.

 

[mad1]

to be honest, sounded like U2 concerts back in early 80s kicked and rocked ass......I guess I wish I could go back and experience UF tour........that woulda been awesome......

I guess Im wonderin if you have compared todays to the earlies, etc..........

of course, in all honest, wouldnt the group be seen as boring if they had all there tours over the blah blah years the same?

 

[icelady]

I've been seeing them since their WAR days. Haven't missed a tour since.

For me the older tours kicked majot butt compared to all the hype and hoopla of tours nowadays.

Smaller venues, not alot of screaming PLEBAns, I mean girls

, lots of singing. The hugeness of Zoo TV and POP were just so out there and me and a "fan" felt I got lost in all the pomp. But that's just me, I'm just lucky I got to be a part of it for so long. To see them in at small venue like Massey Hall in Toronto is very strange to think about now.

 

[mad1]

Originally posted by icelady:

Smaller venues,

yep, know exactly what u mean by that.!!!!

 

[ouizy]

ouizy<---been to them all (stateside) since JT.

I rank:

1. ZOOTV outside broadcast
2. JT outside show
3. Elevation
4. Popmart

To me, there is nothing like seeing a concert in a huge, monsterous football stadium. I just love the production...

(popmart was just kind of hard to hear - I did not dig the Bono in Mono thing..)

 

[zonelistener]

My first concert ever was U2 back in 1987 - so I don't quite have the experience that Icelady has (man you are old

)!

1 - Popmart
2 - Elevation
3 - JT
4 - Zoo (Outside)

 

[SkeeK]

It's funny because ouizy and zonelisteners lists are exact mirrors of each other. Seems tastes range pretty widely

 

[Blue Room]

I think something else to consider is we all seem to get a little nostalgic about the (old days). Sure they were great, but if you went and saw the same show today and then saw Elevation right after it I think our opinions might be different.

I think back to Joshua Tree days and they were THE band and artist that year. Everyone, I mean everyone was talking about them. I know they get alot of exposure now but it is nothing like 87. There was just a buzz around them that added to the atmosphere of their shows then. I read an interview with Adam and he said the Joshua Tree tour was complete crap compared to Zoo and Popmart. So its all about perspective and taste really.

 

[camiloj]

My first U2 show was on one of the earlier legs of the Unforgettable Fire Tour on 12/15/84. I just missed them on the War tour the year before. I dont know, I only went to one Zoo TV tour because I was not a Propaganda memeber at the time and the arenas sold out like in 2 minutes. I saw the indoor and outdoor JT shows etc etc. I think I have seen them on five of the major tours.

Oh, and mad1 youre right, the shows on the UF Tour were the fricking most musically, emnotionally, and atmospherically intense.

1. UF Tour (Leg 2 & 4 or was it 5?)100%
2. Elevation Tour 95%
3. Joshua Tree Tour (all West Coast USA legs) 93%
4. Zoo TV 91%
5. Popmart Tour 90%

They were still all Grade A concerts, but UF was the most intense and powerful for me.

 

[sv]

I've seen every U.S. tour dating back to the Amnesty International swing in 1986. Here's how I'd rank the tours:

1. Elevation First Leg
2. Elevation Third Leg
3. Zoo TV Outside Broadcast
4. Zoo TV Indoor Leg
5. Popmart
6. Joshua Tree First Leg
7. Joshua Tree Third Leg

My perception of the Joshua Tree tour was that Bono was trying to rely more on vocals than on physical energy/performance. I found this a bit disappointing. However, the U2-mania back then was very different, since it was their first big push, and it was before significant anti-U2 sentiment had ever appeared in the mainstream media. There was a feeling about them that was very special. And the audience energy was truly amazing - the band is exactly right when they said that the U2 phenomenon was the audience, not the band.

The band plays SO much better now. They have so many more arena-tested songs to play. Elevation showed us a LETHAL live rock band in the fullness of their glory and maturity. Capable of making you cry and scream with joy in the same minute.

 

[U2002revolution!]

i've only gotten to see Elevation live (i can't help that i'm young

)
,but i think ZooTv would have been best!

------------------
' I want to run
I want to hide
I want to tear down the walls
That hold me inside
I want to reach out
And touch the flame
Where the streets have no name. . .'
.:. U2: Rock's Unbreakable Heart!

Love is...cold steel/Fingers too numb to feel/Squeeze the handle/Blow out the candle
Love is blindness.../A little death/Without mourning/No call/And no warning...

[Thanks Coach P]

 

[U2002revolution!]

Originally posted by mad1:
rocked ass

bwahahahaha! donno why but that made me gigle

------------------
' I want to run
I want to hide
I want to tear down the walls
That hold me inside
I want to reach out
And touch the flame
Where the streets have no name. . .'
.:. U2: Rock's Unbreakable Heart!

Love is...cold steel/Fingers too numb to feel/Squeeze the handle/Blow out the candle
Love is blindness.../A little death/Without mourning/No call/And no warning...

[Thanks Coach P]

 

[Hewson]

Originally posted by mad1:

of course, in all honest, wouldnt the group be seen as boring if they had all there tours over the blah blah years the same?

I think that's part of their brilliance...they evolved their live act as time went on. They knew that they needed something more than just 4 guys on stage as their popularity grew, so they revolutionized the concert experience. Now they have toned it down a bit, the focus going a bit more back on the music, but they continue to innovate(the heart being a great innovation).

 

[icelady]

Originally posted by zonelistener:
My first concert ever was U2 back in 1987 - so I don't quite have the experience that Icelady has (man you are old

)!

1 - Popmart
2 - Elevation
3 - JT
4 - Zoo (Outside)

yah yah yah like I need someone to tell me that around here!