Wtf Happened At Zootv Washington?? (1992?)

[MattFromNYC]

on the bootleg for ZooTV washington.. i guess 1992... theres a part during New Years Day where everything seems to be fucked up starting with Edge's piano... then Bono and Adam come up to him and listening.. and thenbono gets up, shakes his head.. i guess ticked off.. and then edge seems pissed off and the piano is way off key... and then bono's vocals get all whacked off sync with the rest of the band.. and then he stops singing, and starts clapping to someone.. like a tech or something? what happened? their click tracks in the in ear monitor or something malfunction?

i must say, that was kinda funny, but wasnt sure what was going on.

anyone know?

no, not out of sync... i should have worded that differently. it seems from the very beginning they were having a technical problem. larry starts the drums and you can see him saying something to someone. then edges piano goes weird.. or something. then adam comes over... seems confused or something and bono looks like hes pissed off.. but.. goes over to the other end of the stage.. stops singing fo r a minute and starts yelling out "1, 2, 3, 4!!!" towards edge... (which i thought maybe was to help keep him on sync, like iof his ear monitor fucked up... to help him along? i dunno..) then we see bono later hanging onto this thing at the side of the stage, as it appears hes looking for someone, or a tech or something.. out into the crowd... kinda waiting. shakes his head kind of.. and walks back to edge. then kinda just stands there.... looking at edges guitar.. and then starts singing. then after the song, i hear bono yell "hey!!" and not sure to who or about what.. but i was under the assumption they were having a problem and the people behind the scenes were having a problem getting it fixed or bono trying to get their attention.
throughout the song, they all seemed off-pace, i should say.. kind of. from the very beginning. so i tjhought it was some in -ear monitor thing.

then during "i still havent found" you can see something weird going on there too.

 

[impy13]

I wish I could tell you, but all I've seen from it is Ultra Violet.

UV

 

[STERKERNOG]

I think they just f*k up bigtime. They all try to get back in the song but have a different timing on that. In the end they get there I think. The only one who is on the right path is Larry.
Edge and Adam simply play the wrong things at the wrong time and Bono happily joins them.
Doesn't seem like a technical problem to me.

 

[MattFromNYC]

bono looks pissed off as all hell though.. imho.


i dunno. if that was my band, i wouldnt get so pissed off.

 

[MattFromNYC]

however, this is one of the best shows have ever seen from them and the most passionate. but i cant figure out bono's mood. he's crazy and happy one minute and the next, he's all dead serious and angry about it. especially the edge thing, yikes. i dunno. it kinda freaked me out.

then during "trying to throw your arms around the world"... im not sure what he means at the end when he says "go.. would you go!" to the girl. first time, it sounded goofy like.. then the 2nd time, he sounded kinda annoyed. but who knows.

i dont think he was 'happy' about the 'new years day' thing, at all. seemed like he was trying to seem fine about it in the beginning, but got really annoyed. edge seemed upset throughout the whole show.

 

[u2granny]

bono looks pissed off as all hell though.. imho.


i dunno. if that was my band, i wouldnt get so pissed off.

They didn't look all that pissed off to me.

 

[OnFire]

Was that the first or second night? I was there for the second night and don't remember any such malfuction. Perhaps I was overwhelemed by the sensory overload though.

 

[MattFromNYC]

i think it was the 16th... the 2nd night. he kept saying 'thanks for two great nights!'

 

[corianderstem]

I don't know about that weirdness, but when they played Portland (or shoot ... maybe it was Tacoma, WA?) on Zoo TV, Larry biffed the opening of Pride, and Bono threw his mike at him.

I'd love to see the video, but the audio is hilarious - you just hear this big WHUMP as the mike lands. Hee!

 

[u2granny]

I don't know about that weirdness, but when they played Portland (or shoot ... maybe it was Tacoma, WA?) on Zoo TV, Larry biffed the opening of Pride, and Bono threw his mike at him.

I'd love to see the video, but the audio is hilarious - you just hear this big WHUMP as the mike lands. Hee!

That was Vancouver, BC. He keeps counting 1-2-3 then throws the microphone. Good stuff.

 

[corianderstem]

Ah, Vancouver. I knew it was the Pacific Northwest. It still totally makes me laugh.

 

[TheBrazilianFly]

So there's video from the amazing Zoo Tv live in Washington DC? I only have the audio, which is one of my favorites from the Zoo TV era.

Does anyone have audio of that Pride incident you guys talked about?

 

[angel_28]

Ohh i want that video ...ZooTV

 

[biff]

Larry biffed the opening of Pride, and Bono threw his mike at him.

So what, I'm a verb now? Since when?

 

[corianderstem]

Since Larry decided you were so cool, you deserved to be verbed!

 

[MattFromNYC]

I don't know about that weirdness, but when they played Portland (or shoot ... maybe it was Tacoma, WA?) on Zoo TV, Larry biffed the opening of Pride, and Bono threw his mike at him.

I'd love to see the video, but the audio is hilarious - you just hear this big WHUMP as the mike lands. Hee!

ok, now you guys know i'm a big U2 fan and love Bono to death, but wtf is up with the odd temper about shit thats perfectly normaland not anyone's deliberate fault?
you laugh it off and then, all's fine. but to get violent and start throwing and punching people? wtf??? punching? yes, there's some stuff supposedly from the 80s where bono did a similar thing to larry because of a drum issue and it wasnt even his fault, and lunged at him and threw the bass drum or something out into the crowd and some other physical fights between band members on this same kind of thing. i used to think that stuff was maybe staged, to look real... or maybe they just were having something else going on previously that we didnt know about.

bono did looked VERY pissed at the washington thing. sorry. where he is smiling and stuff, well, looks like hes trying to force it, and act...
and you can clearly see him turn within seconds, getting frustrated and gets right up and leaves. throws his arms up towards the crowd like "fuck it!" and theres that other shit where he comes back to edge, right at his right side and looks as if hes about to beat the crap out of him, but kind of stands there and gains composure and in that pic posted where they look all happy... i didnt take it that way. when they arrive over at edge's piano, bono has this look like "what the hells going on?" and kneels down... kind of... playing along but the smile isnt real.. and you can see his the quick change again. its the whole performance. and even how hes saying "1234!!!!! i..i...!" seems pissed off there.

so this happens often huh??

sounds like to me its just larry and bono.

if thats the case then, i feel bad for edge and adam. wtf

 

[MattFromNYC]

now, not sure wtf this is about, but during "trying to throw your arms around the world" , whats he saying to the girl at the end? "gooo!" (sounds jokingly as shes probably not wanting to leave his side..) then you hear "will ya go??" and sounds kinda rude. however, you then see a close-up of her walking off with the bottle of champagne and hes smiling and so is she...
so i thought maybe he said "there you go"? like letting her keep the champagne bottle? i am not too sure on that. but then he makes this weird face as hes watching her go back and edge is fucking up the guitar again into the next song and says "what are you doing, edge???" o sdomethin like that and seemes annoyed. he just seemed overly... weird that night.

 

[MattFromNYC]

weird, but it was also kind of cool. i still think its better than even zoo sydney and it was the best show ive ever seen.
and id normally find the edge/larry bono-flipping out thing funny, too.. but maybe this is where my fandom happens to be an issue.. it just kind of upset me when i saw this and put it together with the other stuff. i thought bono usually took shit with stride or they let that kind of crap go.

 

[Miroslava]

i thought bono usually took shit with stride or they let that kind of crap go.

Maybe you should take that advise too... you always seem to be starting these types of threads (in multiple forums despite our repeated mentions of not cross posting)...

 

[BVS]

Who doesn't get upset every once in a while in their relationships or their jobs???

 

[LJT]

I remember reading something about when Bono's mum died he kept flipping out in school, chucking desks etc every little thing would really wind him up and annoy the hell out of him, the school was very good with him allowing him time off to calm down after his mums death and he could come into school whenever he felt ready....

...i think he had some residual anger control problems from then, he moves from extreme to extreme rather than being anything inbetween, plus he was never ever really able to express himself with his father or express his grief at home, pent up feelings can come out at the smallest things like a problem during a concert i guess...

Someone please correct me if any of my facts are wrong im generally very good at getting things mixed up.

 

[youtwohearts]

This thread just cracked me up. I don't even know why. It was just funny. They toured for a while maybe they just had enough of each other.

but thanks for the laugh. I would love to hear the audio of when Bono threw the mike at Larry.

 

[MattFromNYC]

i know, i know. about the cross-posting. i just have a habit to do so, and i think i should post it also on another forum in case certain people who could offer replies or know info, dont read the other one. i know theres a huge amont of people here who only read certain forums and dont even look at the others.
but as for PLEBA and this one, this one is more generalized... and PLEBA, they usually have all the info on things like this, so i didnt think it would be an issue. or maybe id get good replies from both sides of that border and have them linked together later.

i dont see it as a big deal.

i wont do it anymore.

 

[Miroslava]

i know, i know. about the cross-posting. i just have a habit to do so, and i think i should post it also on another forum in case certain people who could offer replies or know info, dont read the other one. i know theres a huge amont of people here who only read certain forums and dont even look at the others.
but as for PLEBA and this one, this one is more generalized... and PLEBA, they usually have all the info on things like this, so i didnt think it would be an issue. or maybe id get good replies from both sides of that border and have them linked together later.

i dont see it as a big deal.

i wont do it anymore.

That's all we've been asking for months now. It is in the rules, you should have seen it by now since I have personally pointed you to them a couple times. Neutral probably has too. And if everyone that opened a thread around here, felt that he or she should post in more than one forum for maximum exposure we'd be screwed.. as it is, we see a lot of rehashing...

 

[rjhbonovox]

I think u will find that they hadn't really being playing New Years Day up to this point of the Zoo TV tour and were a bit unrehearsed. Whatever the problem I reckon that concert is superb. The versions of New Years Day are more entertaining when they fuck up a bit. It is a great show, showing a band that is at the peak of its powers. Never quite hit the heights since except for Popmart that is.

 

[Axver]

I think u will find that they hadn't really being playing New Years Day up to this point of the Zoo TV tour and were a bit unrehearsed.

Probably the best point made on this thread. New Year's Day had only been played twice beforehand (thrice if you count the public rehearsal in Hershey) on ZooTV.

 

[MattFromNYC]

ok, but why the total freak out by bono? that was bizaare as all hell, and when he was hanging on that fixture thing.. overlooking the crowd and shaking his head at it with this.. odd.. laugh (which looked to be an mad disgusted, crazed laugh), and i swore to god he was gonna beat edge up or something there. that really took me aback. so, i thought maybe he was pissed at a tech or some shit. it would make more sense.. but to be so upset at edge? and to be so upset at larry because he missed a que and throw a mic at him at this other show? wtf???

 

[corianderstem]

Maybe he was just having a bad day, and that was the last straw?

I like it when they mess up - makes for an interesting bootleg, and we get to be reminded that they're only human.

 

[rjhbonovox]

ok, but why the total freak out by bono? that was bizaare as all hell, and when he was hanging on that fixture thing.. overlooking the crowd and shaking his head at it with this.. odd.. laugh (which looked to be an mad disgusted, crazed laugh), and i swore to god he was gonna beat edge up or something there. that really took me aback. so, i thought maybe he was pissed at a tech or some shit. it would make more sense.. but to be so upset at edge? and to be so upset at larry because he missed a que and throw a mic at him at this other show? wtf???

He was having a laugh. You gotta remember this was the fun U2, full of irony and personality. He also looked like he may have had a drink or two. Have you ever seen the version of Tryin to throw your arms around the world they did which was shown in Phillips sponsored U2 Zoo TV special that was broadcast on ch4 in the UK in 1992. You watch how much the band are messing around, especially when Bono comes out and he is having a joke with Larry Mullen, and he has the bottle of Champagne behind his back. If you have never seen this then I recommend that you go to U2 torrents and download the Zoo TV special cos it is FANTASTIC, a must have for any serious U2 fan! The Zoo TV tour was, I think, probably the most fun they have ever had on tour, or thats the way it looked to me anyway.

 

[MattFromNYC]

Maybe he was just having a bad day, and that was the last straw?

I like it when they mess up - makes for an interesting bootleg, and we get to be reminded that they're only human.

i love it when bands mess up too. it makes it more real and fun and spontaneous... and less "scripted".


thats not my worry there. in fact, i kinda liked it more messed up like that. but the tension was horrible up there and that was hard to ignore.

from what i've been hearing now, it seems like bono does this quite a lot and even worse. and larry, too.

ive heard of edge flipping out sometimes and getting pissed off, but thats fine. i dont see him beating anyone up or getting SO intense about someone else's simple mistake though.

looked like edge was having a problem with the keyboard. they might have changed it or something and he was having trouble getting used to the size or something. who knows. he kept doing it and being a piano player, myself.. if you have bigger hands and the keyboard is kinda small or the keys.. it will get fucked up.
im wondering if maybe bono thought he was doing it on purpose....

he and adam were right up against the keyboard listening in all intently. it made no sense. i was thinking maybe there was a problem with it and they went over to see what was happenin g or the in-ear things fucked up so they were huddling closer together to get into tune.

but i thought it was edge that initially started the off-beat thing with the keyboard, but larry was screaming shit in the very beginning... i couldnt tell what he was mouthing. perhaps it was to adam. then edge fucks the keyboard and bono was even fucking lyrics up... not just the line order, but the actual words...
so, i dunno what was happening. but bono kept looking out over the crowd, like looking for someone and making odd gestures. i thought he was looking for someone to help and they didnt know what was going on. either that, or bono was totally out of it. i dunno. the rest of the show was weird and tense. edge seemed upset. larry seemed really ticked off... (his body langauge said so, when they went over to the b-stage during "angel of harlem", i think..). even then.. bono and edge kept looking out towards something beyond the crowd.. like trying to follow something. they werent focusing on the crowd or themselves.. so i thought they were trying to follow something someone had set up elsewhere to help them follow with the malfunctioning ear monitors. or click track thing, whatever.

whats this with bono clapping thing later on? his back was to the band but he looked furious. just the body language. i know hes intense as all hell, but this was different.

they could have just stopped and restarted the song.