Question for those who went to a popmart concert

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I was at the Edinburgh Murrayfield show. Unfortunately I have to say it was by far the worst U2 concert I've seen.

They were just so flat, with so little interaction with the crowd. It was the only U2 concert I've been to where the vast majority of the crowd just stood motionless. Perhaps they were overwhelmed by the stage show. It was a depressing sight.
 
I saw PopMart in Jersey, and had a blast. Yes, the band did feel far away ( Giant Stadium!) at first, but the songs and performance helped close the gap. Vertigo and Elevation were much more intimate, but I wouldn't have traded the PopMart experience for the world!

I loved the album and the tour. Edge was incredible, Bono was wild, and Adam and Larry played hard. Wonderful stuff!
 
dr. zooeuss said:
i saw popmart in San Antonio, the (now gone) Alamodome...

Unless it blew down this morning and I haven't heard it's still there, saw it last night.:wink:

I went to Dallas(which was early in the tour) then San Antonio and Houston(which were later in the tour).

The Dallas show was still working out the kinks, IGWSHA was god awful, it was the first time I've seen U2 suck live. But overall the show was decent, but not great.

San Antonio was an off night, and the sound in the Alamodome sucked.

Houston was a pretty good show, best of the three by far...

The shows were good, the visuals were amazing, but the show lacked intimacy. I've seen every tour since ZooTV and these shows were my least fave.
 
May 24th, 1997, Ohio Stadium, Columbus.

I think about that night every single day. I was 15, and had spent the past 3 years collecting all of U2's albums and videos, getting propaganda in the mail, and just waiting for the day when I could finally see U2 live. I have never been so excited for anything as I was for that concert. My parents took me and 3 of my friends to the show. Not only was it my first U2 concert, but my first concert in general. So I had no basis for comparison and contrast. I just knew that I had watched "Under a blood red sky", "Rattle and Hum" and "Zoo TV Sydney" seemingly millions of times, and that finally I was about to be a part of that. I was not disapointed.

The show itself... yes, it was a huge spectacle. Yes, I prefer the Elevation/Vertigo tours to Popmart. But that was so awesome to see that show, and to see U2 for the first time. I remember being surprised that they didn't play "Do you feel loved", since I saw them play it on that ABC special. I remember really liking most of the Pop songs live, since I'd never heard live version of them. And of course, hearing all the hits I'd been obsessing over for the past 2 years was nice. The lemon was awesome. I remember "Miami" and "Velvet Dress" being the low points for me. I remember being completely blown away by "Until the end fo the world" and "Streets".

All in all, it was a fantastic sight to see. The next time I saw U2 was 5/7/01 in Columbus, Nationwide Arena. I was so close, and it was just the band playing. That was much better than Popmart. Still, Popmart will always be what it was... simply amazing.
 
I saw the Leeds PopMart. Best gig I've ever been to. It had the lot: the performance, the spectacle, the atmosphere...

Also loved Elevation indoors but can't say the same about the Vertigo stadium concert I attended in Manchester. Stuck in the nosebleeds, I've never felt so disconnected before (especially at a U2 show). People all round me were playing with their mobile phones, chatting amongst themselves and wandering back and forth (do people really need to take a piss every 10 mins?). They only came alive when U2 broke into SBS. It really was a terrible experience given the ticket price. My friend even asked if we could go home before the encore (I told him to go to hell, of course, but did consider it a for a brief moment).
 
roy said:
I was at the Edinburgh Murrayfield show. Unfortunately I have to say it was by far the worst U2 concert I've seen.

They were just so flat, with so little interaction with the crowd. It was the only U2 concert I've been to where the vast majority of the crowd just stood motionless. Perhaps they were overwhelmed by the stage show. It was a depressing sight.

Thats not how i recall it. I remember it being sombre wen they played MLK for Princess Di who was killed only 2 days previous, but no more than that
 
Tampa Popmart

I went to Tampa Popmart - your question about feeling "close" to the show reminded me of something Edge said to the audience.

The old Tampa stadium was only about half filled for the show. When the band came out, Edge said, "Feel free to spread out."

As much as I adore the band, that comment has always stayed with me as a low point. The fans at the show that night (a week night, I think) were mostly die-hards. The tour wasn't doing very well, anyway. You'd have thought the band would have invited everybody closer or something, instead they bitched that enough people weren't there. I think that statement reflected where the band was at the time.

I should add...I saw them for Elevation and Vertigo in NYC, and in Tampa, and the experience was much different. I also saw them in Tampa for Zoo TV, when the stadium was packed, and that was "thee" experience that got me hooked on U2.
 
Re: Tampa Popmart

ndmaxfield said:
When the band came out, Edge said, "Feel free to spread out."
You do realise that was a joke, right? He's finding humour in the band's inability to fill a stadium.
 
BonoVoxSupastar said:


Unless it blew down this morning and I haven't heard it's still there, saw it last night.:wink:

I went to Dallas(which was early in the tour) then San Antonio and Houston(which were later in the tour).

The Dallas show was still working out the kinks, IGWSHA was god awful, it was the first time I've seen U2 suck live. But overall the show was decent, but not great.

San Antonio was an off night, and the sound in the Alamodome sucked.

Houston was a pretty good show, best of the three by far...

The shows were good, the visuals were amazing, but the show lacked intimacy. I've seen every tour since ZooTV and these shows were my least fave.

yes i've been chastised, and repented, for my alamodome oversight already (see earlier in thread) ;-) but thanks.. glad to know that at least the Houston show was good.. if only i'd known ahead of time, haha

cheers
 
Re: Tampa Popmart

ndmaxfield said:
I went to Tampa Popmart - your question about feeling "close" to the show reminded me of something Edge said to the audience.

The old Tampa stadium was only about half filled for the show. When the band came out, Edge said, "Feel free to spread out."

As much as I adore the band, that comment has always stayed with me as a low point. The fans at the show that night (a week night, I think) were mostly die-hards. The tour wasn't doing very well, anyway. You'd have thought the band would have invited everybody closer or something, instead they bitched that enough people weren't there.

Are you sure he wasn't inviting you to move?
 
Slapnutz said:
I saw the Leeds PopMart. Best gig I've ever been to. It had the lot: the performance, the spectacle, the atmosphere...

Also loved Elevation indoors but can't say the same about the Vertigo stadium concert I attended in Manchester. Stuck in the nosebleeds, I've never felt so disconnected before (especially at a U2 show). People all round me were playing with their mobile phones, chatting amongst themselves and wandering back and forth (do people really need to take a piss every 10 mins?). They only came alive when U2 broke into SBS. It really was a terrible experience given the ticket price. My friend even asked if we could go home before the encore (I told him to go to hell, of course, but did consider it a for a brief moment).
I have the leeds bootleg. I love it :drool:

I understand how you feel about the vertigo show. I went to it in Dallas and while it was amazing, I was so sick of having to move back and forth because of people having to use the bathroom or get more beer. I don't care what people drink, but do you really need to get THAT drunk to enjoy a concert?
 
nathan1977 said:
I had front row seats to Foxboro 2 for Zoo TV, and absolutely loved it -- even though it was a bit mind-blowing. There was a cohesiveness to the visuals, the songs, and the setlist that really worked. To me, PopMart (9th row, Foxboro 1) lacked that same cohesiveness. It was like the concept didn't really follow through in execution. Zoo TV may have been a bit heavy-handed in hindsight, but the experience of it was like none other. With PopMart, it felt like U2 didn't really know what it wanted to do. (And they probably didn't -- according to Rolling Stone, as of two weeks before the first show, "Still Haven't Found" and "Pride" weren't in the setlist and Paul McGuiness had to talk them into it.)

:yes: I agree with this.

I've been to 4 Zoo TVs, 2 PopMarts, 2 Elevations, and 4 Vertigos . . . and of all of those, for whatever reason, the PopMarts are definitely the least memorable.

The first PopMart I saw was in San Diego and I cut them somewhat slack because it was the 2nd show of the tour. We even had great seats where we ran straight to the catwalk as the lights went down. So my best friend was pressed up against the rail of the catwalk (about 1/2 way between A and B stage), and I was pressed right behind her.

And even being that close, U2 felt very far away. For Zoo TV, even with all that was going on, they still managed to hone it in and make it about the songs. On ZOO TV they managed to be intimate in a gargantuan setting. I never felt that way with PopMart.

There were some parts I really felt worked. The opening "Pop Musik/MoFo" was great. They walked right passed us on their way to the main stage. And the "Please/WTSHNN" was also great, as well as HMTHKMHM. But other songs like Staring At The Sun, Pride, ISHFWILF Last Night on Earth, Gone . . . they just didn't seem to work and you could definitely feel the awkwardness between band and audience.

The 2nd PopMart show I saw was at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum. Though, by this point, they were a little more cohesive, it still never came close to the ZOO TV experiences I had. My seats for the 2nd PopMart were dead center floor, about 1/2 way back -- and I will admit, the whole show looked a hell of a lot better from somewhat afar. But again it was spotty and never fully gelled. I would say it was fun, but not great.

The 1st PopMart show taught me an important concert (life) lesson: you can be up front, up close and pressed against the rail, and still lack intimacy and feel a million miles away.
 
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Saw them in the nose bleeds at the back at Soldier Field and 2nd row at the Silver Dome and both shows felt intimate to me. They were both very different but great experiences
 
I also saw them in Columbus. I had crap seats in that football stadium and felt really disconnected with the whole thing. Also, I knew too much about the show from all my stupid internet studying of setlists and spoilers from the show.

For some reason, after traveling up to Columbus and going out for drinks before the show, I just wasn't especially crazy-anxious to see them. Probably a combination of a lot of factors. It was the only time that I've been to a U2 show that I didn't feel was perceived as THE place to be that night. It felt like cabaret, like a broadway show. And I felt like a tiny, tiny person way on the other side of it.
Now, I've had crap seats at every show since JT (except Elevation, which will always be a highlight for me), but this is the one that didn't make me forget that distance. It might have been the outdoor factor.

Oddly enough, I really enjoy listening to PopMart shows now, mostly because they were so unstoppable musically.
 
CherokeeRose said:
Sorry if this has been talked about before...but I just bought the popmart dvd (which is amazing) and I was wondering about the people who actually went to see it, did you feel close to the band, or did you feel like you were just at a big show with great music and a huge video screen? also, how do you feel about the elevation and vertigo tours? do you feel the intimate feeling is better?

Best damn U2 show I ever went too was at Roundhay Park 1997 during the popmart tour. I had seen the show a few days earlier at Wembley and both of these shows were better than either the Vertigo (which was fuc#ing awful sounding) and Elevation tours. I have seen U2 6 times and theres no doubt that the Popmart shows were the best sounding and only the Zoo TV show which I saw in 1993 comes anywhere near close. Maybe following the massive tours in the 90's was always going to be impossible to do and nothing has come close in my opinion. One really fantastic thing I remember about the Popmart shows was the brilliant link between Miami and Bullet the Blue Sky was has been lost and never captured on an official DVD. The only version of a live Miami I have is the bootleg version from Edmonton.
 
I've been to indoor and outdoor shows in Australian and Europe from War tour in '84 til the HTDAAB tour in November last year.

Personally I rate the indoor ZooTV shows at Earl's Court and Birmingham NEC in '92 as my favourites (especially Birmingham): best set, most intimate, great sound, great performance.

The LoveTown Sydney concerts were also brilliant sound & set lists but without the big screens they were less of a 'spectacle' (like ants on stage) and hence less intimate.

Of the outdoor shows I felt the PopMart tour was probably a little more intimate than ZooTV & Vertigo, but Pop is one of my least favourite periods in U2's career so I was less impressed overall.

The 2nd Sydney concert last year was definitely a better overall concert than anything PopMart came up with.
 
Re: Re: Question for those who went to a popmart concert

rjhbonovox said:


Best damn U2 show I ever went too was at Roundhay Park 1997 during the popmart tour. I had seen the show a few days earlier at Wembley and both of these shows were better than either the Vertigo (which was fuc#ing awful sounding) and Elevation tours. I have seen U2 6 times and theres no doubt that the Popmart shows were the best sounding and only the Zoo TV show which I saw in 1993 comes anywhere near close. Maybe following the massive tours in the 90's was always going to be impossible to do and nothing has come close in my opinion. One really fantastic thing I remember about the Popmart shows was the brilliant link between Miami and Bullet the Blue Sky was has been lost and never captured on an official DVD. The only version of a live Miami I have is the bootleg version from Edmonton.

I was at that concert in Leeds - amazingly great atmosphere!
That Miami-Bullet segue is one of the band's best ever!

You mention that the only live version of Miami you have is frm the Edmonton show. Well, do you realise that there is a bootleg from that Leeds show - a radio broadcast of an excellent sounding soundboard/mixing desk.

A French radio station mistakenly broadcast the wrong PopMart show - they were supposed to broadcast the French gig.

But if you already have that (and know about that) and you were actually talking about a DVD version then there's these proshots to consider - Las Vegas and Foxboro.

PopMart - great, great memories!!!
You don't have to be looking up Bono's nose to feel part of the show.
 
Re: Re: Re: Question for those who went to a popmart concert

U2mixer said:


I was at that concert in Leeds - amazingly great atmosphere!
That Miami-Bullet segue is one of the band's best ever!

You mention that the only live version of Miami you have is frm the Edmonton show. Well, do you realise that there is a bootleg from that Leeds show - a radio broadcast of an excellent sounding soundboard/mixing desk.

A French radio station mistakenly broadcast the wrong PopMart show - they were supposed to broadcast the French gig.

But if you already have that (and know about that) and you were actually talking about a DVD version then there's these proshots to consider - Las Vegas and Foxboro.


Didn't realise there was a soundboard recording of that show, I may have a look for it. I was kinda talking about a DVD version so yeah I may have a look for the Vegas and Foxboro shows as well. Thanks for letting me know.
 
I should have memories of PopMart. I actually had a ticket for the Toronto show, but didn't go because I was so caught up with school stuff. Can you say I-D-I-O-T? :sad:
 
Re: Re: Re: Question for those who went to a popmart concert

U2mixer said:


I was at that concert in Leeds - amazingly great atmosphere!
That Miami-Bullet segue is one of the band's best ever!

You mention that the only live version of Miami you have is frm the Edmonton show. Well, do you realise that there is a bootleg from that Leeds show - a radio broadcast of an excellent sounding soundboard/mixing desk.

Yeah just downloaded it and its damn fine sounding. Nice tip, thanks. Might try the Foxboro and Vegas DVD's next.
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Question for those who went to a popmart concert

rjhbonovox said:


Yeah just downloaded it and its damn fine sounding. Nice tip, thanks. Might try the Foxboro and Vegas DVD's next.

There is a great sounding audience bootleg, but the radio broadcast is superior - it just omits Mysterious Ways as Bono sang a snippet of a George Harrison song My Sweet Lord, which at this concert Bono included as a dig at George as Mr.Harrison as he had slagged off U2 and PopMart as 'All big hats and egos' whereas ironically Bono snippeted My Sweet Lord again on the Elevation tour as a tribute to George after his death.

Depends on which bootleg you downloaded, but there is one of the radio broadcast which mixes in the audience version of Mysterious Ways (you can tell the difference in sound quality).

If you need any help finding a DVD of that Leeds show then email me - u2mixer @ yahoo .co .uk

If I could go back in time to ANY one U2 show though it wouldn't be that Leeds gig (as fantastic as it was) it would be the first Dublin show of the PopMart tour - man, such a sweeeeeet time!
But Leeds would come a close second ;)
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Question for those who went to a popmart concert

U2mixer said:


Depends on which bootleg you downloaded, but there is one of the radio broadcast which mixes in the audience version of Mysterious Ways (you can tell the difference in sound quality).

If you need any help finding a DVD of that Leeds show then email me - u2mixer @ yahoo .co .uk


Yeah the Mysterious Ways is included but is the audience recording. I am curious, is there a DVD of this show?
 
Was at both Edmonton concerts on Popmart including the one on the bonus DVD....was a great tour and the first tour I was at I have been to both Elevation and Vertigo since but this was probably my favourite show out of the 3 and it felt very good to me...its all about fan interaction and if you have that it can be very intimate....long live the mirrorball lemon!
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Question for those who went to a popmart concert

rjhbonovox said:


Yeah the Mysterious Ways is included but is the audience recording. I am curious, is there a DVD of this show?


Yeh there is. It's an audience shot. A bit shaky and the quality isn't the best for a cancorder from 97 but its great for the memories. A cool person sent it to me from another site. It's not complete.

Here's a link to frankdefoot's profile on youtube there are about 9 songs from the DVD on his videos http://www.youtube.com/user/frankdefoot
I'm sure he won't mind me posting the link as he's a cool guy.

If you're interested then contact me (my address is a couple of posts back just remove the spaces).
 
it started feeling very intimate as soon as they started playing Pride and I still haven't found

from then on it was a memorable show
before that I only liked the Popmuzik/Mofo/Iwill follow opening
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Question for those who went to a popmart concert

U2mixer said:



Yeh there is. It's an audience shot. A bit shaky and the quality isn't the best for a cancorder from 97 but its great for the memories. A cool person sent it to me from another site. It's not complete.

Here's a link to frankdefoot's profile on youtube there are about 9 songs from the DVD on his videos http://www.youtube.com/user/frankdefoot
I'm sure he won't mind me posting the link as he's a cool guy.

If you're interested then contact me (my address is a couple of posts back just remove the spaces).

Hey just viewed Gone & Even Better from the link, thats cool. I like the Yorkie guy yelling out at the start. I remember I was stood the other side, the left side and this cam is from the right side of the stage. Its great to view this kinda stuff that I was actually at. Yeah I remember the George Harrison finger salute at the beginning of Even Better Than The Real Thing, thats the attitude that Bono USED to have. This is great stuff. Ahhh the memories, the band I used to love!
 
I was towards the back at Wembley.

When MOFO started, I felt I'd been kicked in the head. Awesome.
 
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