The Pride-WOWY-Still Havent Found-Streets-SBS Syndrome!

[theu2fly]

Surprised they dropped Pride on the 2nd night of Chicago... No NYD, Pride or Bullet... interesting, wonder if WOWY will get dropped on their 2010 leg?

 

[Diemen]

Personally, I love ISHFWILF so I don't care about that song being in every night, hearing the audience sing the first couple of verses is awesome. I can live with WOWY and SBS. But words cannot express how happy I was when they skipped Pride on Sunday.

I agree with all of this. I Still Haven't Found can sound very tired, but having Bono let me and 70,000 others sing the first two verses of that on our own was awesome.

 

[RavenBlue]

There are still people you realize that have been fans for years (like me) and have yet to see them live (like me).. so I really don't want anything 'replaced' right now.. as I have yet to experience these songs in person at a show. Especially Streets. Boston is coming up fast and I am finally going to see them perform. Honestly, they could play the hokey pokey for two and a half hours and I would be happy.

 

[Aygo]

I do not accept the argument of the «we, diehard's, are only 1% of the audience, so the casuals need the big hits to feel happy».

I remind, for instance, that Madonna makes tours after tours ignoring (sometimes, for more than 10 years) songs like "Like A Virgin", "Material Girl", "Papa Don't Preach" or "Borderline", or even some of the biggest hits of the recent past and... the audience doesn't seem to give a f*** about those (supposedly) serious omissions.
I know I'm comparing a rock act to a more theatrical pop act but, they're both comparable acts in terms of careers and tour histories, so I think the comparison is pretty much acceptable.

So, if U2 makes a very good show and if they ignore some of the boring and uninspired jukebox hits, and replace it with good performances of less-obvious hits or surprise-songs, the audience of casual fans won't really care.

 

[AndrewCowley]

This has been gone into so many times. It doesn't have to an all or none situation. No hard core fan who has seen multiple shows wants to deny anyone else the chance to see and hear U2 play some of their most popular songs. Rotation is the answer. They could play just 2 of these songs each night, and rotate them regularly. They need no rehearsing so it really is no trouble for U2 to do this. And then everyone wins. The extra slots in the setlist could then be used for songs like IGC and Exit that have been criminally underplayed over the years.

 

[last unicorn]

I do not accept the argument of the «we, diehard's, are only 1% of the audience, so the casuals need the big hits to feel happy».

I talk to casual music fans much more than I do to hardcore fans, and you have no idea how many people I've met after the U2 shows that were complaining about the rare and new songs they didn't know and about U2 not playing enough classics. One morning I listened to a conversation on the breakfast table near me and people were analyzing the show and coming to the conclusion that it would have been much better if U2 played more songs they knew.

Not saying I agree with that, but hardcore fans sometimes tend to lose a realistic perspective of things, because in truth, they really make up only 1% of the audience and the majoritiy are casual concert goers, especially for a stadium show. Ask those of us who were up in the stands about the lameness of the audience when new and rare songs were played.

I understand both sides but I also think the current set is a very good and balanced set with U2 trying to cater to both: Hardcore fans and casual audience. You'll always have people complaining that they play too much old stuff or that they don't play enough old stuff, depends on who you're asking.

And I don't feel the classics are "boring and uninspired" for this tour, maybe except WOWY. I think they sound quite fresh. But I'm all for rotation and i'm glad they are starting to drop songs like Pride now.

 

[last unicorn]

not everyone has been here for like 5 years or whatever, I only just joined in august for example (started following the band for real in 05 then got all their previous work & rare stuff)

Is this website closed off to new people? there's nothing as puke-inducing as snobby condescension

I'm interested that youve heard it all before - that in itself tells me something

But if youve heard it all before, and are therefore bored by the topic, just ignore the thread - the world would be that infinitesimally small bit better!

Um ok, I think you're jumping to conclusions here and are a little overreacting. If you'd been on this forum longer you would know that I'm actually one of the people welcoming every new member and defending them against U2 "snobs" who think new fans have no idea. And I still stand by that because I also came to U2 late in life and was a newbie on this forum once. So no need to overreact, I didn't mean it the way you're trying to interpret it now.

But I still say there are plenty of threads in this forum dealing with this particular topic, sometimes it helps to look around, it's also in the thread titles, so not really hard to find. Sometimes I feel that people just love to open their own threads to gain attention, especially if they want to complain about something.

 

[andyuk]

What a load of rubbish when your at Wembley Stadium with 90,000 people and the whole place sings the whole of Still Hav'nt Found its just magical same with WOWY.

If they play stadiums they have to play the big hitters simple as

 

[cobl04]

then sodomize it! you sound like a necrophile!

not everyone has been here for like 5 years or whatever, I only just joined in august for example (started following the band for real in 05 then got all their previous work & rare stuff)

Is this website closed off to new people? there's nothing as puke-inducing as snobby condescension

I'm interested that youve heard it all before - that in itself tells me something

But if youve heard it all before, and are therefore bored by the topic, just ignore the thread - the world would be that infinitesimally small bit better!


@ Aygo & digitize
yeah I missed that point - playing some songs too much, the passion can take a hit and a "by the numbers" vibe can set in - I've never associated U2 with that
I would swap old reliables for Kite, Even Better, Wild Horses, Drowning Man, Gloria and God's Country, or at least do a lot of rotating

[EDIT: oh yeah i forgot about HMTMKMKM, that would be awesome]


__________________
He turns his money into light to look for her

'Fraid I'm not into fucking dead animals.

These threads pop up constantly. They come up every two or three months even when this forum is closed. You can't say ignore the thread because this happens in nearly every thread.

"From a bootleg I listened to, Pride, SBS, Bullet, WOWY, One all sound like the remnants of a dead horse. (See what I did there?) They should stop playing them. Why? Because I think it's boring. They should replace them with Acrobat, Zooropa, Mofo, Acrobat and Mofo."

+

"There are more casual fans in the crowd. They are more familiar with the hits. They want to hear all the hits. They can't cater to everyone."

=, in two short paragraphs, the essence of this argument, every single time.

It's like people think if we bitch about it enough U2 will take notice, stop playing them and replace them with Acrobat and Mofo.

Have you seen a show this tour? And when you are at a U2 show and they play one of these songs, do you sit right back down, fold your arms, cross your legs, furrow your brow and mumble under your breath until they end?

Diemen illustrates the point perfectly. You can bitch and moan behind a computer screen all tour, but when you're there, it's something else. Pride, WOWY, SBS... they were jaw-dropping when I saw my show in 06.

No one is trying to be snobby or condescending, at least I'm not, but aren't some people sick of debating this, when nothing is going to change? I'd certainly love to see some rarities bought back too, but peeps don't really need to clutter this joint with the same warhorse arguments.

 

[BVS]

I do not accept the argument of the «we, diehard's, are only 1% of the audience, so the casuals need the big hits to feel happy».

I don't think anyone said 1% and it's not exactly about making the more casual fans "happy".

But we are a small percentage. Bands like U2 and Pearl Jam have completely different make ups in their audiences, one has to realize that. PJ doesn't exactly have a big portion coming out just to Alive or Jeremy anymore, but U2 still has a big portion that only knows a certain part of their catalog and are coming to see "the greatest live band".

As much as many of us may think WOWY is drained of it's previous magic, it still gets 60,000 plus fans to sing in unison, that energy is what makes a U2 concert especially in a stadium. It's not about happy, it's more about the audience knowing enough to participate. What other songs in U2's catalog could do this?

 

[djerdap]

But we are a small percentage. Bands like U2 and Pearl Jam have completely different make ups in their audiences, one has to realize that. PJ doesn't exactly have a big portion coming out just to Alive or Jeremy anymore, but U2 still has a big portion that only knows a certain part of their catalog and are coming to see "the greatest live band".

You would be surprised at how many people still go to see Pearl Jam to hear Alive or Jeremy. I was pretty surprised the last time around.

 

[BVS]

You would be surprised at how many people still go to see Pearl Jam to hear Alive or Jeremy. I was pretty surprised the last time around.

I've been an avid follower of both and percentage wise I don't see the same casual fans at PJ concerts than I U2 concerts, I've seen in drop off a lot in the last few tours. Yes there still are some, in fact went with one last tour, but not nearly the same percentage.

 

[alive@33]

If you'd been on this forum longer you would know that I'm actually one of the people welcoming every new member and defending them against U2 "snobs" who think new fans have no idea.

that has not been my experience of you - in fact the complete opposite -
you are the one and only person I have found to be consistently and overly negative
casting yourself as some kind of saintly defender of noobs is absolutely hilarious hypocrisy

Sometimes I feel that people just love to open their own threads to gain attention, especially if they want to complain about something.

that's because youre a cynical, mistrusting skeptic - you look to find fault for no reason

if a person has a genuine desire to ask a question and asks that question by means of a thread (is that not the point of a forum?), how can they avoid being noticed? Am I to assume if I see a new thread posted by your good self, that you are attention-seeking?
Believe me, if I could hide my id to make you happy, I'd do it - I was genuinely interested to know U2 fans' feedback on the topic

btw I'll ding dong with you on this til the sun goes down if u like
see, some ppl like yourself who've been around awhile assume that all noobs are idiots to be put in their place - and I believe those kinda folks should be taken down a peg or 2, for their own good I mean!
In short, you picked the wrong noob!


__________________
Oh the city's desire to take me for more and more

 

[alive@33]

'Fraid I'm not into fucking dead animals.

These threads pop up constantly. They come up every two or three months even when this forum is closed. You can't say ignore the thread because this happens in nearly every thread.

"From a bootleg I listened to, Pride, SBS, Bullet, WOWY, One all sound like the remnants of a dead horse. (See what I did there?) They should stop playing them. Why? Because I think it's boring. They should replace them with Acrobat, Zooropa, Mofo, Acrobat and Mofo."

+

"There are more casual fans in the crowd. They are more familiar with the hits. They want to hear all the hits. They can't cater to everyone."

=, in two short paragraphs, the essence of this argument, every single time.

It's like people think if we bitch about it enough U2 will take notice, stop playing them and replace them with Acrobat and Mofo.

Have you seen a show this tour? And when you are at a U2 show and they play one of these songs, do you sit right back down, fold your arms, cross your legs, furrow your brow and mumble under your breath until they end?

Diemen illustrates the point perfectly. You can bitch and moan behind a computer screen all tour, but when you're there, it's something else. Pride, WOWY, SBS... they were jaw-dropping when I saw my show in 06.

No one is trying to be snobby or condescending, at least I'm not, but aren't some people sick of debating this, when nothing is going to change? I'd certainly love to see some rarities bought back too, but peeps don't really need to clutter this joint with the same warhorse arguments.

Now that I appreciate - forceful (which is good) but still basically constructive - yeah I had no idea that this crops up incessantly, like I said b4 that in itself says a lot, and thanx for the info

but I'm afraid future noobs may also be unaware this is an endlessly recurring theme, and so you may be tormented further!


__________________
Oh the city's desire to take me for more and more

 

[partygirl43]

I'm not a casual fan, but I don't go to alot of shows...because really its like the same *#@& night after night. I don't care if I ever heard WOWY live or Streets ever again...

Now if they played Acrobat or ES on a regular basis..... I might have to start seeing more shows....

 

[djerdap]

I've been an avid follower of both and percentage wise I don't see the same casual fans at PJ concerts than I U2 concerts, I've seen in drop off a lot in the last few tours. Yes there still are some, in fact went with one last tour, but not nearly the same percentage.

There are usually far more people on U2 concerts, so it is natural to see more casual fans at a U2 concert, which is often more of an event or a spectacle than a regular gig, by which it attracts the regular crowd more. My point being that it is impossible to compare U2 and PJ like this. But at all of my PJ shows there have been lots of people who were waiting for those hits to come. More than I had expected.

 

[BVS]

There are usually far more people on U2 concerts, so it is natural to see more casual fans at a U2 concert, which is often more of an event or a spectacle than a regular gig, by which it attracts the regular crowd more. My point being that it is impossible to compare U2 and PJ like this. But at all of my PJ shows there have been lots of people who were waiting for those hits to come. More than I had expected.

I know, that's why I was very careful to say percentage wise vs how many. The reason I used the comparison is that PJ showed up quite a bit when we had our setlist debates, and my point then was that the audiences were different.

 

[Rachel D.]

I'm glad they dropped BTBS, for one thing. "Streets" should not be dropped, but the others mentioned in the thread title, while they are very overused, are probably still being played to please the people who don't know very many U2 songs. Odds are that even the most casual fan has heard at least a few of them and those songs will make a connection. Also, "One" could be added to the list, in my opinion.

 

[zoopop]

I see Pride was not played again last night in Toronto. Props to U2 for dropping a good song that needs a much needed rest. The crowd seemed very bored Saturday night (Chicago 1) when Pride was played. Also, I don't see the point of Walk On & Pride being played next to each other. Walk On can carry the same message.

Finally, the past 2 setlist are near to perfect. Just fix WOWY with something else and you have a A+ setlist!!

 

[Marien]

U2 have a really amazing amount of hits that can be played in a concert, the mentioned in the thread titlte are only the most obvious. I understand why they play them in every concert and I admit that I would find something missing if none of them are played. In my opinion they should only drop those songs the feel tired of, those that make them feel like going to work, may be it could be a good idea if they rotate these hits, so everybody get some of them, but the emotion of playing isn't killed, getting the middle section of the gig bigger and having 3 all time hits at the end (3 different every 2 or 3 nights) that would allow the band space to play different things.
I know that creating a show with a cohesive sense is not that easy, especially if we consider the amount of technology and design that is involved in a U2 show, but I think this idea could work and the band would be the ones to take the most of it.

 

[alive@33]

Also, "One" could be added to the list, in my opinion.

yeah that was a mistake on my part, I should've said One not SBS, I actually enjoy SBS live more than One at this point (they improve some songs in the transition to the stage, but I'm not sure the magnificence of One on the album fully made that journey)


__________________
Yes they're doing the atomic bomb, they want you to sing along

 

[mikal]

Also, "One" could be added to the list, in my opinion.

THEY'RE GRRRRRREEEEEEAAAAAAATTTTT!

 

[last unicorn]

WOWY is the only song I wouldn't mind leaving the set, everything else is great.

 

[namkcuR]

I think Your Blue Room would fit great between UV and MOS.

 

[gvox]

Never drop Streets or WOWY, period.

Being in a stadium and watching the crowd for these two songs (and for that matter Still Havent Found) was an experience of a lifetime. I wish they had done Pride.

 

[U2FanPeter]

These songs always seem to appear around the 3rd quarter of the setlist(songs 15-20) for what is now 4 tours in a rows.

Break it up and mix them around the setlist. Casual fans still get them, band may be reivigorated by the new placements and hardcores may be able to see thm in a new light.

A song like MW has been played in the 4th slot, later in the mainset and also in the encore. Each placement gives the song a different dimension.

 

[last unicorn]

They did try and play One early in the set. I thought it didn't fit. I think with the current sequnce: Tutu-One-Streets it's perfect. And it's always a good decision to play the classics that definitely please a crowd towards the end of a show. If they decided to play more new stuff and rarities late in the show, they are in danger of losing the crowd. New and less known stuff early, well known stuff late is a clever decision, whether die hard fans like it or not.

 

[U2FanPeter]

If they decided to play more new stuff and rarities late in the show, they are in danger of losing the crowd.

Like UV and MOS as 2/3rds of the encore for the 2009 shows?

 

[Swan269]

simply rotating hits would solve all issues

rotate these among the nine slots....

· Pride (In The Name Of Love) (773 times played)
· I Will Follow (765 times played)
· Sunday Bloody Sunday (677 times in concert: 665 times played, 12 times snippeted)
· New Year's Day (672 times played)
· Bullet The Blue Sky (646 times played)
· With Or Without You (610 times played)
· One (546 times played)
· I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (509 times played)·
- Bad (475 times in concert: 471 times played, 4 times snippeted)
· Mysterious Ways (423 times played)
· The Electric Co. (418 times played)
· Until The End Of The World (414 times played)
· Gloria (357 times in concert: 354 times played, 3 times snippeted)
· Running To Stand Still (347 times in concert: 345 times played, 2 times snippeted)
· The Fly (321 times in concert: 316 times played, 5 times snippeted)
· Beautiful Day (306 times played)
· Out Of Control (292 times played)
· All I Want Is You (285 times in concert: 178 times played, 107 times snippeted)
· MLK (283 times in concert: 281 times played, 2 times snippeted)
· Elevation (274 times played)
· Desire (271 times played)

 

[rjhbonovox]

I think most people are pretty much agreed at this stage that to a greater or lesser degree, U2 over the course of the last 20 years are starting to play some hits too much (like the 5 mentioned and soon possibly Beautiful Day also). There's no doubt that each and every one of those songs is a brilliant song, but that doesn't mean you can't overplay them, and it could lead to them turning into the Rolling Stones! I don't want wanna see that happen - U2 settling into a comfort zone (pretty sure they don't either!)

To me, it makes no sense when theyve got such a rich catalogue to exploit - I think it's time for the band to say "ok guys you can sit this one out this time" to the 6 songs mentioned, and delve into the following 2 pools of songs for future shows:

(split between excellent, obvious candidates in the 1st group, and then less obvious, but awesome songs ppl would love to hear live in the 2nd group - and leaving aside for the moment that I'd kill to hear Fez and Stand Up in 360!)

Obvious replacements:
Mofo
Even Better
Kite
Last Night
Lemon
Gone
Dirty Day (Edge transformed this live to amazing effect towards the end)
Wild Horses
Love is Blindness (again heroic live ending from Edge)
and I'm not yet tired of The Fly!
NY (Edge would need to refine this live to match the brilliance of the album recording)
Silver & Gold
Exit
One Tree Hill
In God's Country (R&H version but full length - the most powerful sound I've ever heard U2 make - big props to Joanou)
A Sort of Homecoming
Gloria
11 o'clock... Tick... ... ... Tock
A Day Without Me
Stories for Boys
UV itself is a great example of what I'm talking about here

Less obvious replacements:
Wire
Like a Song
Drowning Man
Two Hearts
Rejoice
October
Is That All?
Love Comes Tumbling
Trip Thru Your Wires
Red Hill Mining Town
Indian Summer Sky
Ground Beneath Her Feet
Crumbs
Acrobat
Zooropa
Heartland
God Pt 2
Hawkmoon

there's definitely 6 songs in there (way more than 6) that would make awesome substitutes for the overplayed songs - and you wouldnt have to shelve ALL 6, maybe 4 out of 6.

[btw big kudos for Your Blue Room! hope they play it in NJ (my first show!)]

Do you agree or disagree?

Amen to this post. Said it many times before Pride and SBS are sounding way too tired these days. Its not as if they haven't got an immense back catalogue to choose from either!