Alternative View of the 360 Tour

[bonoschild2009]

I guess some people don't mind being at the other end of a stadium watching ants play their instruments...What is the "gimmick" of 360? There's lights and the spire and all, but a gimmick? Maybe the 360 idea could be considered a gimmick, but from the videos I've seen it does nothing but enhance the concert experience, no matter where your seats are- and the ants don't look as small

 

[kohoutek]

Yes, and I haven't read a legitimate deficiency. I read about a guy who has been "spoiled" in the past and chose the wrong place this time around, but I haven't read a legitimate one. So can you please point one out to me?

Spoiled? So, you're saying I need a spanking!

I did make a mistake with my tickets, but it was an honest mistake. There was no reliable precedent for how these things were going to sell. I was in the Breathe group. The tickets that came up were not good. However, I assumed that 1) they were in fact as good as were going to be available, and 2) that the show would sell out quickly. I took them thinking "oh well, it's this or buy from a scalper". Had I known.

As for legitimate deficiency, that's all a matter of opinion

 

[kohoutek]

I guess some people don't mind being at the other end of a stadium watching ants play their instruments...What is the "gimmick" of 360? There's lights and the spire and all, but a gimmick? Maybe the 360 idea could be considered a gimmick, but from the videos I've seen it does nothing but enhance the concert experience, no matter where your seats are- and the ants don't look as small

That depends on whether one is content to watch one of their favorite bands from a video screen. I'm not. That's a party, not a concert.

 

[mikal]

So, you're saying I need a spanking!

this thread is turning sexual, and i like it!

 

[kohoutek]

To each it's own, but don't kid yourself since day one Rock music has been as much about the visual then it was the audio. From the dancing of Elvis, to videos, to lasers, it's always been there. Very few bands have gotten away with JUST the music.



U2 has NEVER had a flexible setlist so that argument doesn't hold much water with me. AND the whole end stage in the stadium without anything else contradicts what you said earlier. You said you need to see the band, well an end stage without anything else only limits that to a very very few. So which one is it?

Agree that there's a visual element to rock, but it doesn't have to be taken so far as U2 takes it. I don't MIND U2 pushing limits, and it can enhance a show, but in this case I simply don't like what they've done. I think it's isolating and forces more people to look at a video screen, not less.

Just because U2 has never had a flexible setlist (and, from what I can tell, this one is the least flexible of all) doesn't mean they can't. I'm not talking about a Dead style thing - just play 25 songs a night and maybe rotate in and out on 8 of them or so.

Last, in my opinion, the end stage I'm talking about does not contradict what I'm saying. A full end stage is much bigger than that postage stamp they've got in the middle (end middle) of the field. When a full end stage is worked hard (a la Mick Jagger), more people feel connected (again, had Bono et all worked their outer ring, I think that would have served their concept well, or at least better). Further, reserved seating on the field (which we've established many people feel is lame, but I don't) puts enough space and orderliness (I am a control freak, can you tell? How un-rock and roll!) between fans that if sasquatch is in front of you, you shift to one side by 6 inches, and you can see.

I don't know how I can make it any clearer - I've been to 3 stadium shows, and based on that experience, I believe end stage with reserved on the floor gives more people a better view of the actual band (vs. screen) than U2 360. You disagree with me on that. Fine. I came here to see who does and who doesn't. In fact, I came here to have you and others tell me I'm wrong - so, we're good.

However, if I run into you in person, I am NOT going to give you any beer. Well, OK, I actually will.

 

[kohoutek]

this thread is turning sexual, and i like it!

You have good taste in music, by the way. But you knew that.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

That depends on whether one is content to watch one of their favorite bands from a video screen. I'm not. That's a party, not a concert.

I'm not too sure how many times this needs to be repeated or phrased in a different way but you should not be going to stadium shows if you have expectations of having an “intimate concert experience” with the band.

I don't care if Bono or someone else tells you it is supposed to be intimate or every seat in the house is supposed to have an awesome view - this is simply not the case. I don’t care if you spent $2000 on a ticket that was supposed to put you on stage next to Larry – there is always a catch. And if you went into this believing what they told you then I don't know what to tell you other than you should take this as a learning experience.

 

[kohoutek]

I'm not too sure how many times this needs to be repeated or phrased in a different way but you should not be going to stadium shows if you have expectations of having an “intimate concert experience” with the band.

I don't care if Bono or someone else tells you it is supposed to be intimate or every seat in the house is supposed to have an awesome view - this is simply not the case. I don’t care if you spent $2000 on a ticket that was supposed to put you on stage next to Larry – there is always a catch. And if you went into this believing what they told you then I don't know what to tell you other than you should take this as a learning experience.

I don't disagree with you, except on one point. I do not expect a stadium show to be an intimate experience. I have not had a problem with my view or the way the crowd was worked at the other 2 stadium shows I attended. I knew what I was getting into. I absolutely DO expect U-freakin'-2 to be honest in selling premium tickets. The last time I bought them, was I anything that anyone would call very close? No. But I was content with my view and the experience. Yes, I'm sorry, but I do expect U2 to not sell seats behind the stage as premium. Based on the seating chart at the time, it seemed they were tending toward the back of the stage. But I trusted U2. At the show, I found there was no "seeming" and "tending" about it. I do hold U2 to a higher standard than Madonna (someone I have no interest in, and no interest in seeing) and expect them not to goat f%^# their fans. I don't know whether this was a miscalculation on their part, whether they've turned into a bunch of whores, or whether they really think putting people behind the drum riser will make them ecstatic, but I have learned from this.

 

[BVS]

Just because U2 has never had a flexible setlist (and, from what I can tell, this one is the least flexible of all) doesn't mean they can't. I'm not talking about a Dead style thing - just play 25 songs a night and maybe rotate in and out on 8 of them or so.

Just because U2 hasn't rapped before doesn't mean I can't long for a U2 hip hop song... same logic.

Last, in my opinion, the end stage I'm talking about does not contradict what I'm saying. A full end stage is much bigger than that postage stamp they've got in the middle (end middle) of the field. When a full end stage is worked hard (a la Mick Jagger), more people feel connected (again, had Bono et all worked their outer ring, I think that would have served their concept well, or at least better). Further, reserved seating on the field (which we've established many people feel is lame, but I don't) puts enough space and orderliness (I am a control freak, can you tell? How un-rock and roll!) between fans that if sasquatch is in front of you, you shift to one side by 6 inches, and you can see.

I don't know how I can make it any clearer - I've been to 3 stadium shows, and based on that experience, I believe end stage with reserved on the floor gives more people a better view of the actual band (vs. screen) than U2 360. You disagree with me on that. Fine. I came here to see who does and who doesn't. In fact, I came here to have you and others tell me I'm wrong - so, we're good.

You wish it was still 1987, I get that, but it does contradict what you are saying. You're spoiled in the sense that all your shows you've never had to sit on the opposite end bowl at a stadium show. It doesn't matter how big or how much Jagger works it, you can't see shit, and seeing is important to you. I'm a little perplexed as to how you don't see this glaring contradiction, maybe if you had a bad seat in 87 you would understand.

 

[hibricc]

Yes, I'm sorry, but I do expect U2 to not sell seats behind the stage as premium. Based on the seating chart at the time, it seemed they were tending toward the back of the stage. But I trusted U2. At the show, I found there was no "seeming" and "tending" about it.

I think this crystallizes your initial point - one with which I happen to agree: lower level seats that are to the rear of the stage's "midpoint" should not have been priced as premium. I suspect that everyone involved expected the band to do a better job of 'working' the sides of the 360 stage than they have. As I said earlier, after 30 years of front-facing gigs, I think the boys simply aren't comfortable playing to fans that are not in front of them.

 

[scottish9000]

Hey all you bitter folks, I'm going to the LA show, I have GA tix. I read the MOD say he was in the pit on Edges side....but he did not say how he got there. Did he have to go to the venue at the butt crack of dawn and "camp out" or what? Any help would be much appreciated

 

[Liesje]

I don't disagree with you, except on one point. I do not expect a stadium show to be an intimate experience. I have not had a problem with my view or the way the crowd was worked at the other 2 stadium shows I attended. I knew what I was getting into. I absolutely DO expect U-freakin'-2 to be honest in selling premium tickets. The last time I bought them, was I anything that anyone would call very close? No. But I was content with my view and the experience. Yes, I'm sorry, but I do expect U2 to not sell seats behind the stage as premium. Based on the seating chart at the time, it seemed they were tending toward the back of the stage. But I trusted U2. At the show, I found there was no "seeming" and "tending" about it. I do hold U2 to a higher standard than Madonna (someone I have no interest in, and no interest in seeing) and expect them not to goat f%^# their fans. I don't know whether this was a miscalculation on their part, whether they've turned into a bunch of whores, or whether they really think putting people behind the drum riser will make them ecstatic, but I have learned from this.

A tour of this scale involves so many people and agencies and factors...it's disappointing that you would hold something like this against U2 personally and let it distract from your enjoyment of the show (you had two sets of tickets right? plenty of options!). I would not be surprised if U2 themselves had very little to nothing to do with ticket prices and seating charts. Anyways, they make their profit on merchandise, not ticket sales. Ticket sales cover the expense of the tour and the promotion.

I don't trust anyone when it comes to my spot in the stadium. Personally I would never pay $250 even if it meant I could walk in after the show started and stand next to Bono the entire time. But how much I care to pay and where I want to stand, and how long I'm willing to wait in line has nothing to do with Bono, Edge, Adam, and Larry.