Not impressed by the set-list!

[Hallucination]

I don't wanna complain about the set list but so far it does seem to lack some punch. I'd like a few more off Achtung Baby and Pop. EBTTRT and Mofo would be great. Last Night on Earth maybe. I'd love it if they'd drop Unknown Caller. God Part II and Exit would be welcome additions. Their shows are amazing but the sets so far just seem..... tame I guess.

I do love that they've thrown in Ultraviolet. That's wicked!

 

[Zooropa man]

I'd love it if they'd drop Unknown Caller.

Are you joking!? This song is great live, not to mention the album.

 

[Hallucination]

Are you joking!? This song is great live, not to mention the album.

I think it is their worst song they've ever recorded. That's my opinion. I can't speak for it live though because I don't get to see them till September but I find it really boring in the footage I've seen. Like I said I dont' really want to complain about the set cause I wasn't at those shows but it does seem tame to me. Too many mid tempo songs. I just hope that when I go it's more upbeat. Stuff like Mofo, Last Night On Earth, EBTTRT, The Fly, Elevation, Vertigo, God Part II, Exit etc etc.

No thanks to songs like Stuck in a Moment, Unknown Caller,

Just pump it up more is all I'm saying.

I'm not complaining just expressing what I'd prefer. I know the show is gonna be epic regardless, they alwasy are so...

 

[catlhere]

FEZ - into another song (possibly Boots) to start the concert would be great. As the atmospheric mood music that sets the tone and gets people excited and antsy.

FEZ - into Being Born to start the concert would just be... meh. The initial build-up and Bono's wailing is a good start, but after that, the verses are just mid-tempo groovy music that doesn't have the right energy at all to sustain the excitement of a stadium crowd until the next set of OOOHHH's come in. IMO

FEZ - Being Born as the start of an encore would be fine though. I'd like that.

 

[EmitFlesti]

Judging from the album and the pre-show hype (what happened to the supposedly stunning new live version fo Drowning Man?), I was expecting something more adventurous than the standard U2 Greatest Hits setlist that we've had for the last couple of tours. Instead they gone with a very tame setlist, that, aside from the new songs (and the two best tracks on the new album haven't been played at all!), is virtually indistinguishable from any setlist for the last two tours (Ultraviolet and UF are the only real surprises). The last time they had any sense of adventure, and willingness to challenge rather than cater to the masses, was with ZooTV and PopMart (Remember when they opened ZooTV with 7 straight new tracks? Now it's 2 new, then into gretest hits mode...)

And it's time for some songs to take a break = Pride, Sunday Bllody Sunday, Angel of Harlem, Desire, Streets, Vertigo, Beautiful Day. And they need to scrap the Desmond Tutu drivel (it's more nauseating than the Declaration of Human Rigths thing and Bono screaming "Africa" from the last tour. And Tutu is so 1987.)

I know it's only four shows in, but given the very small amount of variation so far (Harlem one night, Desire the next, etc.) it seems they've decided to stick with this same basic set for the long haul. I wonder if Bono's socio-political activities have hampered their ability to rehearse properly, essentially forcing them to fall-back onto "Greatest Hits" rather than really trying new songs or more variation between shows.

 

[subnet]

how about this setlist:

1.Zoo Station
2.The Fly
3.Even Better Than The Real Thing
4.Mysterious Ways
5.One
6.Until The End Of The World
7.Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
8.Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around The World
9.Angel Of Harlem
10.Satellite Of Love
11.Bad / All I Want Is You (snippet)
12.Bullet The Blue Sky
13.Running To Stand Still
14.Where The Streets Have No Name
15.Pride (In The Name Of Love)
16.I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

encore(s):

17.Desire
18.Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
19.With Or Without You


would you feel cheated to get only 19 songs in the setlist and 9 songs from the current album?

 

[EmitFlesti]

how about this setlist:

1.Zoo Station
2.The Fly
3.Even Better Than The Real Thing
4.Mysterious Ways
5.One
6.Until The End Of The World
7.Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
8.Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around The World
9.Angel Of Harlem
10.Satellite Of Love
11.Bad / All I Want Is You (snippet)
12.Bullet The Blue Sky
13.Running To Stand Still
14.Where The Streets Have No Name
15.Pride (In The Name Of Love)
16.I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

encore(s):

17.Desire
18.Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
19.With Or Without You


would you feel cheated to get only 19 songs in the setlist and 9 songs from the current album?

You left out Love is Blindness as the closer. That's what I'm talking about though - start with a full onslaught of new stuff; an opener that wasn't a rockeing hit single (or potential single)...challenging and adventurous coming after JT and Lovetown tours. Bullet, Running, and Streets weren't as worn out then either (plus they completely re-worked Running for the ZooTV tour!)

Compared to ZooTV and PopMart in their eras, this setlist just seems stale and unadventurous.

 

[subnet]

You left out Love is Blindness as the closer.

that was an actual setlist by U2 back in 92

 

[intedomine]

Ive seen about 25 U2 shows since J.Tree and never felt a bit disappointed except for this one.

Perhaps Im just trying to understand why?

Fair enougn I suppose, given your experience, but sometimes this might be attributable to a personal disenchantment with the new crop of songs, or a general dislike for some of the rarities or show-day experience/vibe.

I can, in a sense, see why people might be disappointed with the setlist. The Walk On/Tutu/Streets seems to lack something when I hear the recording of the gig (especially when compared with Bad/40/Streets or Please/Streets or Pride/African Dream/Streets.....

I dunno, I just know that I would be completely overwhelmed by the fact U2 are playing U2 songs (of which I thoroughly enjoy about 99% of songs), that I'd most likely e blown away every time.

 

[zooropop40]

how about this setlist:

1.Zoo Station
2.The Fly
3.Even Better Than The Real Thing
4.Mysterious Ways
5.One
6.Until The End Of The World
7.Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
8.Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around The World
9.Angel Of Harlem
10.Satellite Of Love
11.Bad / All I Want Is You (snippet)
12.Bullet The Blue Sky
13.Running To Stand Still
14.Where The Streets Have No Name
15.Pride (In The Name Of Love)
16.I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

encore(s):

17.Desire
18.Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
19.With Or Without You


would you feel cheated to get only 19 songs in the setlist and 9 songs from the current album?

hehehe lovin the ZOO TV setlist... but you forgot Dirty Day which is amazing live and probably their most underrated song ever....

 

[subnet]

hehehe lovin the ZOO TV setlist... but you forgot Dirty Day which is amazing live and probably their most underrated song ever....

well, that was the exact setlist in hartford CT back in 1992.

my point is this: be glad U2 doesn't do 19 song sets any longer. be glad they don't do 90% current album coverage in their set in place of other gems from years past

I think we are good having front loaded NLOTH tracks, and coverage of other gems they feel are deserving to be played on this tour

who knows, maybe they'll mix back in The Fly, MW, DM, GP2 (yeah the last one is a wish of mine)

 

[Aygo]

If that's your argument, they I'll take Breathe over Fez-Being Born as the opener a thousand times over.

I thought the idea was trying to come up with a better opener than Breathe, which Fez-Being Born is not.

"Breathe" is made for an encore (maybe to open an encore) - only the band and those who are pleased haven't realised it yet, but sonically, in the show context, "Breathe"'s role is not much different than "All Because Of You" on Vertigo or HMTMKMKM on Popmart.

 

[Aygo]

Am i right in saying that you have seen a show Rambin? and you have yet to see a show Aygo?

Yeah, in Barcelona.

 

[Aygo]

Breathe should occupy ABOY's Vertigo tour slot, or possibly open the first encore.

Bingo!

 

[Zoomerang96]

i have my tickets, so i feel as though i have a right to speak my mind.
that said, i feel it's always best for the band to play what they want. that goes for any band... they don't owe anyone a thing.

however...

to see that they're playing stuck in a moment, sunday bloody sunday, pride, walk on... three of them consistantly at the expense of so much 90's material... that really bothers me.

like others have said... it seems to be missing punch.

however, i guess u2 are nearly in their 50's... not really surprising they're talking about retirement this time around.

 

[popacrobat]

to see that they're playing stuck in a moment, sunday bloody sunday, pride, walk on... three of them consistantly at the expense of so much 90's material... that really bothers me.

like others have said... it seems to be missing punch.

i know we differ on our views on the 00's, but i do agree on stuck. i really like the song, but, they need to re-arrange it or do something. the acoustic alone version doesn't do much for me since we had basically the same thing last tour. pride can take a hike too. at least bullet is gone.

i love me some electrical storm though. i hope that and ultraviolet make it to the north american leg. unforgettable fire too. drowning man will hopefully have its debut soon too. now that's a song.

 

[Yahweh_OMG]

It lacks punk-rock songs, but I will judge after seeing the show live.
Maybe it rocks the hell out!
From what I heard, the 3 songs I would like them to drop / or play with more passion like before are WOWY, ISHFWILF and SBS, the rest is fine!

 

[ramblin rose]

"Breathe" is made for an encore (maybe to open an encore) - only the band and those who are pleased haven't realised it yet, but sonically, in the show context, "Breathe"'s role is not much different than "All Because Of You" on Vertigo or HMTMKMKM on Popmart.

That's fine, I don't have a problem with that. My point is that the alternative you offer for an opener is even worse than Breathe.

 

[Popmartijn]

The last time they had any sense of adventure, and willingness to challenge rather than cater to the masses, was with ZooTV and PopMart (Remember when they opened ZooTV with 7 straight new tracks? Now it's 2 new, then into gretest hits mode...)

I don't know where you get your info from, but U2 currently open with 4 new songs. Plus they include some more new songs before the encore. So it's not the 7 from ZooTV.
BTW, how was ZooTV (let alone Popmart) challenging from a setlist point of perspective? Someone else already posted a ZooTV setlist here. Some new songs and then into greatest hits mode. On Popmart they already starting playing the hits from the second song onwards, squeezing the new songs between the oldies.

And another thing to compare:
Popmart, full tour: 34 different songs
360, after 4 shows: 27 different songs

Yes, Popmart had more different songs played than 360 up to now. But this is still the early stages of the tour, so who knows what'll happen.

 

[An Cat Gav]

I think realistically this set is as varied as we were going to get really. Ultraviolet and The Unforgettable Fire and a possible Drowning man at some point? I think most of us would have happily settled for that if we'd been asked beforehand. I do think that the set possibly needs some hard-arsed rockers in there like The FLy HMTMKMKM, Mofo etc and I'd love to see the dramatic tension of Bad or Exit, but on the whole I'm very happy. Can't wait for Amsterdam and Wembley!

 

[jampot]

Dont know why poeple wouldnt like Fez being the opener its loud, brash, great guitar, progressive, seems ideal to me. You do have to listen past the birds chirping lol..

 

[coolian2]

fez-being born would be a simply brilliant opener, but frankly i'd take it turning up anywhere in the show.



i can't see the point in complaining about static setlists. this is u2, they've been doing this since the october tour. it would be nice if it was different, but they are who they are. even their most varied tour - lovetown - did have varied setlists but not a high song count, really. they played more or less the same set of songs but in different order night to night.

i'm by no means defending the band, but come on people. you know what you're getting with u2. i'd love for them to mix everything up, but it's as likely as bill gates giving me free reign with his credit card.

 

[Jim]

FEZ - into another song (possibly Boots) to start the concert would be great. As the atmospheric mood music that sets the tone and gets people excited and antsy.

FEZ - into Being Born to start the concert would just be... meh. The initial build-up and Bono's wailing is a good start, but after that, the verses are just mid-tempo groovy music that doesn't have the right energy at all to sustain the excitement of a stadium crowd until the next set of OOOHHH's come in. IMO

FEZ - Being Born as the start of an encore would be fine though. I'd like that.

I agree - Fez into Ultraviolet would be a great encore.

 

[BVS]

It lacks punk-rock songs,

As does their catalogue...

Are you sure your in the right forum?

 

[last unicorn]

When you're actually there at the show, the set is 100% perfect. Believe me, it works.

 

[dazzlingamy]

how very dare you putting my hopes up saying 'RTSS'!!! I almost fucking pissed myself! hahahahaha

and let me tell you MW is as boring as batshit.

i want
HMTMKMKM
in a little while
love is blindness
one tree hill
kite
magnificent
elevation

etc etc
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

 

[LemonMelon]

That's fine, I don't have a problem with that. My point is that the alternative you offer for an opener is even worse than Breathe.

I honestly believe that a good chunk of the album would work better in that slot. NLOTH, Magnificent, GOYB (w/Fez intro), Being Born...Breathe is a solid 5th best as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Blue Room]

I don't disagree about Breathe, but I strongly disagree that Fez-Being Born would be better. Maybe as an intro but not opening the concert. That would be more of a downer than Breathe.

I agree with this, Being Born is not the answer to Breathe as the opener.

Here is my solution.

Intro song, the one now is OK, keep it, I dont mind. Have the entire band just pop out from under the stage when that is fading down. Start NLOTH right as the intro song is fading. Have the structure start blinking/semi lighting up when Edge's riff starts. When Larry kicks in the drum part have most of the structure light up. Then when it hits the mid break ("every night, the same dream...") have the lights just go to a spotlight on Bono. Then when it kicks back in have the entire stage structure light up almost like Streets. Then after NLOTH go straight into Boots and have Bono run all over the outside ramp for Boots. That is starting the show with a bang to me and you still start the show with a new album track. But what do I know.

 

[corianderstem]

i can't see the point in complaining about static setlists. this is u2, they've been doing this since the october tour. it would be nice if it was different, but they are who they are.

i'm by no means defending the band, but come on people. you know what you're getting with u2.

This bears repeating. Ideally, over and over again.

 

[Chrisedge]

I agree with this, Being Born is not the answer to Breathe as the opener.

Here is my solution.

Intro song, the one now is OK, keep it, I dont mind. Have the entire band just pop out from under the stage when that is fading down. Start NLOTH right as the intro song is fading. Have the structure start blinking/semi lighting up when Edge's riff starts. When Larry kicks in the drum part have most of the structure light up. Then when it hits the mid break ("every night, the same dream...") have the lights just go to a spotlight on Bono. Then when it kicks back in have the entire stage structure light up almost like Streets. Then after NLOTH go straight into Boots and have Bono run all over the outside ramp for Boots. That is starting the show with a bang to me and you still start the show with a new album track. But what do I know.

This is constructive complaining that I can agree with...