Too much claw, not enough body! - Complaints about the setlist

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BVS said:
I think this kind of thinking is very narrow...

There's a whole different world out there, not everyone are the rabid music fans we are. There's a whole group of people that go see concerts like I do a baseball game, not huge fan of baseball but it's fun to go watch live. When I was living in Chicago I was surrounded by the whole corporate America where concerts were great entertainment for clients, and bands like Rolling Stones, U2, Madonna, etc were perfect for these types of things because "honestly who doesn't like ______".

Plus you have the huge 80's fans that haven't bought anything since AB but still like to go see them live.

And you have newest fans that like the 2000 stuff but hasn't quite gotten into the earlier stuff.

College kids still have disposable "income" and there are plenty of 30 and 50 tickets... so believe me there are a whole shitload of casual fans at U2 concerts.
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exactly. Usually when I go see bands I own most of their albums, but I went and saw Green Day only owning American Idiot just 'cause I heard they were good live, and they were in my city, so why not? or Wilco is a band I really like, but I only own their latest few albums, nothing before Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. but I had my friend stand in line to get me good tickets when they came here, even though I don't own ALL their albums. there are all kinds of fans that go to concerts.
 
Bruce said:
If you went to multiple shows you would end up hearing all of these songs. I dont know where your getting the $200.00 Bruces most expensive ticket is $100.00.
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If I went to multiple shows?? Why, as a casual fan, would I do that?! :huh:

What is so hard to understand about the established fact that 90% or more of the people in a stadium on any given night don't get to go to multiple shows? So now in order to hear the well established singalongs I must go to multiple shows? Just so some setlist freaks can feel better about the show? Fuck that.

Tickets for floors at the last Bruce concert were $200 or more. At least at the time I looked.
 
I don't think I've ever gone to multiple shows on a leg of a band's tour ... in fact U2 is probably the only band I've ever seen twice in the same year. And i LOVE music, love going to shows. but one show from a band is enough for me for awhile :shrug:
 
AtomicBono said:
I don't think I've ever gone to multiple shows on a leg of a band's tour ... in fact U2 is probably the only band I've ever seen twice in the same year. And i LOVE music, love going to shows. but one show from a band is enough for me for awhile :shrug:
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You'd see Rage 15x in 15 nights if you could.

UNNNGGGHHHHH!!!!
 
Another point is that without wanting to be unfair to the man, most of Springsteen's material is in the same canon (is that the right word?). There are Bruce songs that are at the country end of rock and there are other songs that are at the rock end of country and there are other songs that are straightforward rock, and that's the variation right there. I am not slagging off the man, I emphasize. On the other hand U2 have flirted with dance, pop, gospel, acid jazz (kind of!), trad, and The Who-style anthemic rock. I am not necessarily saying that makes U2 better musicians, I am just making the point.

Edge is on record as saying he finds it difficult to get back into the grove of some 1980s and 1990s songs because he has no idea what moods they were trying to encapsulate or what mindframe they were in. I mean, would you remember precisely what music was turning you on in 1986, or whatever?
 
U2 is the only band I would ever consider travelling out of state, or even the country to see. Because of finances and school, I'm not doing that this leg. But I'm hoping to next summer.
 
AtomicBono said:
I don't think I've ever gone to multiple shows on a leg of a band's tour ... in fact U2 is probably the only band I've ever seen twice in the same year. And i LOVE music, love going to shows. but one show from a band is enough for me for awhile :shrug:
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Same here, I've seen a hell of a lot of bands over the years, and U2 is the only band I've seen multiple times on one tour. A couple of others I've seen maybe 6 months apart, but that was mostly seeing them on tour, and then at a one-off event that probably wouldn't count as part of the tour. Anyway, other than U2, that's it for me - one show per tour per band, for the most part.
 
financeguy said:
Another point is that without wanting to be unfair to the man, most of Springsteen's material is in the same canon (is that the right word?). There are Bruce songs that are at the country end of rock and there are other songs that are at the rock end of country and there are other songs that are straightforward rock, and that's the variation right there. I am not slagging off the man, I emphasize. On the other hand U2 have flirted with dance, pop, gospel, acid jazz (kind of!), trad, and The Who-style anthemic rock. I am not necessarily saying that makes U2 better musicians, I am just making the point.

Edge is on record as saying he finds it difficult to get back into the grove of some 1980s and 1990s songs because he has no idea what moods they were trying to encapsulate or what mindframe they were in. I mean, would you remember precisely what music was turning you on in 1986, or whatever?
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Seeing you defend U2 for a change is giving me the warm fuzzies. :hug:


:wink:
 
No spoken words said:
And you're 100% sure that they are surrounded by yes man. You're a veritable fount of information, amazing.

Will you be my guru; I'm looking to erode my credibility and come off as a know it all without really basing anything on fact, just things as I see them through my own limited prism.
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You sort of missed my point, which is that I have been to a U2 concert as a fan and no one in the band has.
 
jimyjazz said:
You sort of missed my point, which is that I have been to a U2 concert as a fan and no one in the band has.
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I want you to listen to me very closely, ok?

The day will never dawn where you make a point too complex for me to comprehend. Never.

You made more than one point with your babble, and I addressed one of them.
 
No spoken words said:
I want you to listen to me very closely, ok?

The day will never dawn where you make a point too complex for me to comprehend. Never.

You made more than one point with your babble, and I addressed one of them.
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But you missed the main point! So maybe that day has come but your head entangled so far up your lower intestine that they day has dawned and you haven't noticed it.

And it is more than likely that, as a mega rich rock band, they have some yes men. It's part of the job.
 
ah yes, but when you do see that show where they break out pride, it will be exciting as opposed to...

the next song will be pride....
why does this sound slow?
and off key?
man, bono must be having an off night

they beat these songs to a slow death, and they become shadows of themselves by playing them every time without fail

see bullet...wowy


now had they thrown bullet into the dublin encore, it would have been insane (something different)
 
Lots of Non-Fans/Casual Fans are going to expensive concerts. Coldplay the other night, I was in $100 seats, the people in front of me, showed up late, txt'ed about getting some "E", and bailed earlier. After taking 1000 pictures of themselves.

Police in 2007, were $250? and the four people in front of me were just about having an orgy to the Police. They got drunk and talked through the whole show. Plenty of idiots are out there, that just want the hits...

The biggest thing that isn't "explained" in a setlist, is the energy. When U2 played ACD/ITH last tour, I loved it, but it was a drain on the energy...you could FEEL it among the crowd, that they weren't into it. It didn't make it through the whole tour.

I trust U2 to deliver. They are better at "it" than I am.
 
good to see this ridiculous discussion is still going :up:

I think there are 2 groups of people here on Interference
- they who will enjoy it immensely when they do play Gone (as an example) even though the overall crowd response will be slightly muted (as, yes, it would be)
- those who feel U2 are fools for not playing Gone as it will obviously make for a better setlist (why this is an apparent obvious truth - I do not know)

even more remarkable is that people who fall in group 2 don't find any flaws in any of the 90s tour which really were just new songs + former hits

but obviously I'm just not critical enough
 
smitefull1 said:
ah yes, but when you do see that show where they break out pride, it will be exciting as opposed to...

the next song will be pride....
why does this sound slow?
and off key?
man, bono must be having an off night

they beat these songs to a slow death, and they become shadows of themselves by playing them every time without fail

see bullet...wowy


now had they thrown bullet into the dublin encore, it would have been insane (something different)
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Everything save the last sentence is utter bs, and that's only because Bullet should still be there anyways. Well, Zoo/Elevation Bullet, anyhow.
 
gvox said:
If I went to multiple shows?? Why, as a casual fan, would I do that?! :huh:

What is so hard to understand about the established fact that 90% or more of the people in a stadium on any given night don't get to go to multiple shows? So now in order to hear the well established singalongs I must go to multiple shows? Just so some setlist freaks can feel better about the show? Fuck that.

Tickets for floors at the last Bruce concert were $200 or more. At least at the time I looked.
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I'd love for you to provide me an example of a Bruce Ticket being face value at $200.00. Its something I have never seen. You asked a simple question about the Bruce songs you wanted to hear and I gave you a simple answer. I never said you had to go to multiple shows. I gave you websites to reference my point as well. I'm not going to get into a pissing match with you. I guess it was my fault answering a post to someone who seems as hotheaded as you are.
 
Salome said:
good to see this ridiculous discussion is still going :up:

I think there are 2 groups of people here on Interference
- they who will enjoy it immensely when they do play Gone (as an example) even though the overall crowd response will be slightly muted (as, yes, it would be)
- those who feel U2 are fools for not playing Gone as it will obviously make for a better setlist (why this is an apparent obvious truth - I do not know)

even more remarkable is that people who fall in group 2 don't find any flaws in any of the 90s tour which really were just new songs + former hits

but obviously I'm just not critical enough
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Gone = best song by anyone ever :drool:

but, I still put myself in group one :)
 
You know, this happens every tour, and arguing with the setlist complainers is a lot like a parent arguing with a toddler who wants something they can't have:

I want a more varied setlist

You're not going to get one.

I still want it.

You're not going to get it.

But I want it.

It's not going to happen.

But I want it...

Ad nauseum. :crack:

Give it up, people. Go follow Bruce. Or Phish. Or the Avett Brothers, for fucks sake. With U2 you'll get songs from the album they're promoting, the hits, a few older "surprise" songs played nightly for the duration of the leg/tour, and every once in a while you'll get a song that's unexpected...but if you go in expecting the latter, you'll more than likely be disappointed. Save yourself and everyone else a lot of grief and follow one of the other bands I suggested, instead.
 
jimyjazz said:
But you missed the main point! So maybe that day has come but your head entangled so far up your lower intestine that they day has dawned and you haven't noticed it.

And it is more than likely that, as a mega rich rock band, they have some yes men. It's part of the job.
Click to expand...

Did I miss it or choose to focus on something else? Unreal.

But, we can agree that they of course have SOME yes men, but we don't know what they're saying "yes" to because we're just not privy. You act like you know for a fact what they're thinking, what the make-up of an 80,000 person crowd is, etc. You don't, though, none of us do.
 
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