What 360 leg was the best one?

[Peterrrrr]

1st leg and 3rd leg was to me the best one. Why?

1st leg
They had amazing energy, Bono was on fire and they did amazing versions of the song.

3rd leg
They where more safe now with the songs, Bono hasnt been such a good frontman since ZooTV like he was on this leg. His voice was amazing and he ha new energy. A energy we hadnt seen in years.
Also many new songs

 

[digitize]

I like both US legs. And the new songs from last summer's Euro leg made that leg pretty cool, too.

 

[mikal]

setlist-wise, it's hard to say that anything is better than the current one, considering all of the 90's tunes.

it was nice though when they were actually touring for their new album.

 

[cobl04]

1st leg and 3rd leg was to me the best one. Why?

1st leg
They had amazing energy, Bono was on fire and they did amazing versions of the song.

3rd leg
They where more safe now with the songs, Bono hasnt been such a good frontman since ZooTV like he was on this leg. His voice was amazing and he ha new energy. A energy we hadnt seen in years.
Also many new songs

On which leg did Bono hot the highest note?

This leg for setlists, that cannot be argued.

 

[Galeongirl]

Current leg. Best setlist ever IMO. And the energy is insane.

Besides that Euro 2010 was great too. 2009 was just boring and bland compared to it.

 

[zoopop]

I like this leg more because of Bono's energy. He looked broken & tired during the US tour of 2009.

Setlist & performance wise, I miss the NLOTH songs. If they could have meshed AB & NLOTH heavy setlist that would have been awesome. Hearing 5 ATYCLB songs was a bit much. Still don't know WTF U2 was thinking. Maybe something like this:

Real Thing
Get On Your Boots
The Fly
Magnificent
Still Haven't Found
Beautiful Day
Unknown Caller
One
No Line On The Horizon
Elevation
I Will Follow
Until the End of the World
The Unforgettable Fire
Zooropa
City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight (remix)
Sunday Bloody Sunday
MLK
Breathe

Moment of Surrender
Where the Streets Have No Name

Ultraviolet
With or Without You
Bad

 

[corianderstem]

I'd say this leg and the Europe 2010 leg, because of all the new songs, and just the supreme pleasure/relief of seeing Bono back and in such fine form.

 

[trojanchick99]

Wow. This is hard.

2009 - Loved hearing the new songs, especially NLOTH, Breathe, Crazy Remix, and Magnificent. Amazed I actually liked Boots live. Was pleasantly surprised to hear UF and UV. Seeing The Claw for the first time and coming into it mostly spoiler free was awesome. Thought Bono's voice was iffy at times, but both shows I went to I loved.

2010 - Well, I saw a show in ROME, so it had to be awesome. Love Beautiful Day, but not as an opener. However HMTMKMKM, Bad! and Mercy more than make up for it. I also thought the band sounded better, including Bono. Also the Italian crowd was insane and the card stunt during ISHFWILF was so amazing.

2011 - I loved the setlists I saw. I think EBTTRT is a great opener and I love the new arrangement. In Seattle I was brought to tears hearing AIWIY and Stay back to back. Then Anaheim 2 happend. That was incredible. The Fly sounded amazing and the first half setlist shakeup was so much fun. Again, the band sounded great, maybe better than 2010. What made it even better for me was the fact that this time around I got to watch these shows with my U2 friends which made them even more special.

That all being said, it's hard to rank. If I had to it would be 2011 > 2009 > 2010 but we're talking really really close between 2009 and 2010.

 

[Chrisedge]

Tough call. I love the NLOTH songs they played on 1st leg. Prefer original version of Magificent, and UC & NLOTH.

Wished I could have seen one or two shows where they did the unreleased songs, but no denying they are on fire right now. Seattle and Anaheims were great U2 shows.

Edited to add: Trojanchick has similar feelings to me...(without me seeing a 2010 show)

 

[4U2Play]

2010 3rd Leg in Europe

Loved all the new songs

Return Of The Stingray Guitar
Glastonbury
Every Breaking Wave
North Star
Boy Falls From The Sky

An amazing acoustic version of NLOTH at Helsinki 2

Mercy debuts at Zurich 2

MOTD in Istanbul

Knockin' On Heaven's Door in Moscow

Spanish Eyes in San Sebastian


Highly emotional return of healthy-looking Bono in Torino

Fan flash cards in Rome

Fans in Brussels singing WOWY so long and loud that Bono can't start MOS

Crowds were great, despite the rainstorms



2011 6th Leg in South America

Muse opening

OTH in Santiago

Awesome new version of EBTTRT at Buenos Aires 1

OOC for the first time on the tour (Sao Paulo 2)

Zooropa blows everyone's minds in Sao Paulo

Girls sitting onstage with Bono reading poems

Incredible crowds in Argentina

 

[BlueSilkenSky]

ever since they changed the opener to Real Thing. That's when it all got better! So US leg.

 

[digitize]

Real Thing
Get On Your Boots
The Fly
Magnificent
Still Haven't Found
Beautiful Day
Unknown Caller
One
No Line On The Horizon
Elevation
I Will Follow
Until the End of the World
The Unforgettable Fire
Zooropa
City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight (remix)
Sunday Bloody Sunday
MLK
Breathe

Moment of Surrender
Where the Streets Have No Name

Ultraviolet
With or Without You
Bad

This isn't my definition of perfect, but I like it. A lot. It's a good merger of 90s stuff and No Line stuff.

 

[djparky]

personally I preferred the first Euro leg- enjoyed the NLOTH songs and hearing MLK and Unfortgetable Fire with the occasional suprise appearance of Bad

 

[U2387]

1 and 2 were lacking big time, after that, they're all awesome and pretty close in terms of quality, I think. I'd say the current leg is the best with Europe 2010 close behind. Oceania almost felt like 80s U2 again for some reason(probably because of Bad, powerful performances of OTH and WOWY and the return of AIWIY and LRM). So a nice nostalgic value there. S. America gets a spot in the consideration on EBTTRT alone!

Leg 1 Europe: 1st few shows(Barcelona, Milan) phenemonal, but it quickly becomes very, very clear that the set list is seriously lacking the energy usually associated with a U2 show. NLOTH, TUF and UV are not nearly enough to make up for a plodding opening(Breathe) a lack of rockers and an ATYCLB overload. The band is playing extremely well, but Bono and Edge seem a bit off.

Leg 2 North America: I saw this leg 2 times in Boston, it's U2 and they're always great but comparative to other U2 shows, something really, really felt like it was lacking. ATYCLB overload is at it's worst point ever, sometimes even seeing more songs in the set than NLOTH. Bono and Edge both seem almost like something might be bothering them. If you have to give points somewhere here, they've finally realized that UC is a dud live and made UTTEOTW a regular again.

Through 2 legs, and 360 is disjointed and definitely not living up to its potential.

Leg 3 Europe: I clearly remember watching the live stream of the Torino show and thinking "this is the band I've been missing!!!!!!" Bono was on fire, the band sounded re energized. New songs a great addition, and the return of I Will Follow and Hold Me...Kill Me were much needed injections of energy. MOTD, Spanish Eyes were absolutely awesome and Rome had one of the best versions of Bad ever!

U2 are back, and the turnaround has begun with vengenance. 360 finally looks like it may meet its potential.

Leg 4 Oceania: Though a "whole new set of songs" wasn't realized and that was disappointing at first, performance is still spot on and the energy is still extremely high. North Star and Mercy settle in nicely and are great additions to a few shows. It is here that it becomes clear U2 will finally acknowledge that it's ok to have an awesome back catalog and use it!! One Tree Hill is transcendent as always. All I Want Is You and Love Rescue Me are gorgeous and Bad has never sounded better!

Leg 5 S.Africa: A little strange to drop Stingray for a Boots remix and keep BD as the opener, but these were great shows.

Leg 6 S.America: See Oceania, but note the absolutely awesome crowds and additions of Zooropa, Out of Control and the best opener in a long time, Even Better Than The Real Thing!! Nice to see multiple nights and varied set lists.

Leg 7 N.America: The new set lists find their niche, anchored by EBTTRT and the additions of Stay and The Fly Some nice new snippets(trying to throw, will you still love me tomorrow)have been added. Energy is higher than ever and it feels like a victory lap for finally getting 360 right! I saw Montreal 1 and Philly on this leg and they were the 2 best concerts I've ever seen hands down.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

leg 2. three words: your. blue. room.

 

[bono_man2002]

Last year in Europe looks pretty damn awesome on paper. Aside from In A Little While, anyways.

The set has drastically improved again this year with Zooropa ect ect. My favourite leg will be the Australian one though, cause I actually got to see that one

 

[last unicorn]

personally I preferred the first Euro leg- enjoyed the NLOTH songs and hearing MLK and Unfortgetable Fire with the occasional suprise appearance of Bad

I totally agree with this comment.

For me, Europe leg 1 will always be the best and will always be special to me and have a place in my heart.

Not perfect, in fact, far from being perfect, but the band experimenting, trying things out. Europe 2 is also great, but nothing will beat the first Europe leg.

On paper, all the legs look quite good, I haven't seen shows outside Europe, so all of this is based on my personal experience and opinion. But I wouldn't want to change the set lists we got during the first and second Europe leg for anything else. The AB sequence is a great way to kick off the shows, but I'd still prefer having 7 NLOTH songs in the set list and the band opening with Breathe. I miss those days.

 

[Gabi_Clayton]

Europe 2010 ... because of new songs, especially because of Mercy. I like this song a lot. And then current leg because they play The Fly and Even Better That The Real Thing.

 

[Salome]

Europe 2009

 

[U2girl]

2009 shows.

Far ahead of the 2010 mess of a setlist and 2011 nostalgia.

 

[Blue Room]

Personally I think the first two legs were the best. They were still supporting the new album and the song No Line On The Horizon was still being done and Unf. Fire was still being done. I thought they played more raw because they were still doing the new material. That is when I like U2 the best. I think those shows seem old and stale now to a lot of people because they were so long ago compared to the last two legs. It is almost like it was a different tour with the same stage.

Other than the new material (which was cool), I thought the 2010 shows were some of the worst setlists U2 have ever done. The pacing was off and it became a greatest hits tour. Plus, the new stuff (the best part of it) got dropped and sporadic very quickly. Its still U2, so still great shows, but by comparison it is one of my least favorite legs of just about any tour they have done.

The current leg is still a greatest hits tour. But they fixed the setlist pacing (other than Miss Sarajevo). So I think its a little better than 2010. But Europe and N. America 2009 were the best two legs by far IMO.

 

[BluRmGrl]

I'd say this leg and the Europe 2010 leg, because of all the new songs, and just the supreme pleasure/relief of seeing Bono back and in such fine form.

This nails it.

 

[bono_man2002]

Personally I think the first two legs were the best. They were still supporting the new album and the song No Line On The Horizon was still being done and Unf. Fire was still being done. I thought they played more raw because they were still doing the new material. That is when I like U2 the best. I think those shows seem old and stale now to a lot of people because they were so long ago compared to the last two legs. It is almost like it was a different tour with the same stage.
.

Let's not forget YBR. I kinda agree with your statement too, However setlist wise one they got part way though the US leg things got boring quickly, setlist wise of course.

 

[Blue Room]

Let's not forget YBR. I kinda agree with your statement too, However setlist wise one they got part way though the US leg things got boring quickly, setlist wise of course.

I can see that sort of. I think things got a more mundane or in a rut for them around the Phoenix show on the 2nd leg 2009. So maybe the first leg and 3/4th's of the second leg were the best?

I do not think any of this tour was awful. I think my major problem with the 2010 leg was the opening. Stingray = Cool, Stingray into B Day = Lame. Started those shows with a thud IMO. The S. African shows were abysmal setlist wise, especially the opeing IMO, didn't even get Stingray on those and one new acoustic song that is mediocre. When they were doing Glastonbury and Mercy on the 2010 leg they were pretty good. Once those got dropped I thought those setlists were very average with an awful opening sequence, one of U2's worst ever. Still, it is U2, so better than anything else out there.

 

[Burlington77]

First leg North America for me.

This time around, while I like Achtung Baby, I would have preferred more from NLOTH. I think this album is alot better than what ppl give it credit for.

 

[prbiker15]

In my opinion, I'd rank the following: Best leg being North America II (2011), followed by Europe II (2010) and Latin America (2011). The others were great but not as good as these.

 

[U2387]

I'd gladly take more NLOTH songs(unless we're talking Unknown Caller).

That's not my complaint with the 2009 legs.

My complaints are:

-Breathe as an opener when it clearly didn't work

-Choice of back catalog material. Mostly ATYCLB and a complete lack of any 1980-83 material beyond SBS and NYD. Serious lack of rockers, which as we have seen, are best for the 360 production.

-Overall pacing of the set list.

-Overall lack of energy that I couldn't really put my finger on, but heard discussed by many long time fans/show veterans.

The way I see it, the best of 2009 could easily be captured in the current set with just a bit more rotation. NLOTH, Breathe, TUF and Ultraviolet could easily be fit into what they have as an outline now.

Think of that and then try and fit the best of 2010/11(all the new songs, more frequent Bad, Hold Me..Kill Me, Zooropa, OOC, IWF, All I Want Is You, etc, etc) into 2009 without creating a 35 song show. Impossible.

I think we're all pulling our hair out over 4 songs that we should be nostalgic for but then taking a completely illogical leap to "2009 was way better just because of these songs."

Anyone nostalgic for:

An opening sequence that leaves the crowd completely lost and therefore cuts down the band's energy.
Acoustic Stuck
In A Little While
Acoustic Desire
Unknown Caller
Elevation style WOWY
Vertigo style One
Shortened MLK

Looked at this way, it's easy for me to identify 2009 as substantially weaker than the rest of 360, and that's before we even address the lack of energy, stage presence and audience connection that was noticed and remarked upon by many fans.

 

[Blue Room]

I'd gladly take more NLOTH songs(unless we're talking Unknown Caller).

That's not my complaint with the 2009 legs.

My complaints are:

-Breathe as an opener when it clearly didn't work

-Choice of back catalog material. Mostly ATYCLB and a complete lack of any 1980-83 material beyond SBS and NYD. Serious lack of rockers, which as we have seen, are best for the 360 production.

-Overall pacing of the set list.

-Overall lack of energy that I couldn't really put my finger on, but heard discussed by many long time fans/show veterans.

The way I see it, the best of 2009 could easily be captured in the current set with just a bit more rotation. NLOTH, Breathe, TUF and Ultraviolet could easily be fit into what they have as an outline now.

Think of that and then try and fit the best of 2010/11(all the new songs, more frequent Bad, Hold Me..Kill Me, Zooropa, OOC, IWF, All I Want Is You, etc, etc) into 2009 without creating a 35 song show. Impossible.

I think we're all pulling our hair out over 4 songs that we should be nostalgic for but then taking a completely illogical leap to "2009 was way better just because of these songs."

Anyone nostalgic for:

An opening sequence that leaves the crowd completely lost and therefore cuts down the band's energy.
Acoustic Stuck
In A Little While
Acoustic Desire
Unknown Caller
Elevation style WOWY
Vertigo style One
Shortened MLK

Looked at this way, it's easy for me to identify 2009 as substantially weaker than the rest of 360, and that's before we even address the lack of energy, stage presence and audience connection that was noticed and remarked upon by many fans.

Makes somewhat sense, however, I completely disagree on the pacing thing. 2009 was WAY better than 2010. Granted Breathe was not a great opener, it was average. But Stingray into Beautiful Day or flat out Beautiful Day opening was just autrocious. Start the show with a thud like I said before.

I guess I saw different shows in 2009 over the other veterans, was not my impression at all. NLOTH rocked, and hearing The Unf. Fire was as great as anything else they have done this tour.

 

[bono_man2002]

I can see that sort of. I think things got a more mundane or in a rut for them around the Phoenix show on the 2nd leg 2009. So maybe the first leg and 3/4th's of the second leg were the best?

I do not think any of this tour was awful. I think my major problem with the 2010 leg was the opening. Stingray = Cool, Stingray into B Day = Lame. Started those shows with a thud IMO. The S. African shows were abysmal setlist wise, especially the opeing IMO, didn't even get Stingray on those and one new acoustic song that is mediocre. When they were doing Glastonbury and Mercy on the 2010 leg they were pretty good. Once those got dropped I thought those setlists were very average with an awful opening sequence, one of U2's worst ever. Still, it is U2, so better than anything else out there.

One show cities probably don't help.

Beautiful day is a great song in the live setting, but its an god awful opener, as it takes about half the song to actually get momentum.

 

[LemonMelon]

Current leg is the only one I would say that has the quality setlist, pacing and energy to be ranked amongst their very best.