2-night sham ?

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Exactly

I would have bought tickets for one show, not 3. Certainly not at the prices they're charging.

Just curious, what exactly made you buy those three tickets? Just this promise that they migth give you a different feel each night?

Have you been to U2 shows before? Know how their setlists have been since the 80s? :hmm:
 
Just curious, what exactly made you buy those three tickets? Just this promise that they migth give you a different feel each night?



Have you been to U2 shows before? Know how their setlists have been since the 80s? :hmm:


I would still be pretty excited knowing I was going to see my fav band 3 times with probably some changes thrown in, we have the same arguments every single tour


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A sham? A promise? Maybe the language is a bit strong. Maybe the band didn't "promise" 2 totally different shows. But people have to buy tickets with only very limited information. The only information people had was that there'd be 2 distinct nights, with a different "feel". Do we have this? No. Was I expecting this? Well, no, Bono tends to "exaggerate". So it was a bit of a punt. I bought tickets to 4 shows, hoping for differences, but not expecting too much. If I knew the shows would be very similar I'd still probably buy tickets to 4 shows. But there are others that have bought tickets to multiple shows on the basis that the shows would be different (the only info they were provided with). So I think they are entitled to be a little upset.

As for the excuse that people "would be upset if they went to the inferior show". I don't buy this. Casuals aren't going to obsess over setlists, & won't know what they're missing out on. Hardcores will know they'll need multiple tickets to experience a variety of shows. So for whatever reason, we don't have 2 distinct shows. Whether it's because of Bono's accident, & limited rehearsal times, time & effort to stage so many different songs, financial considerations, or maybe laziness, or any other reason. But definitely not because some fans will be upset they didn't attend the right night.

As for 5-6 different songs a night. I'm not too impressed. I think they can do much better, without too much effort from the band. I don't think they need to play deep cuts, rarities & b-sides (which will alienate the casuals) to achieve this. Their catalogue is so vast, just by rotating the warhorses they could achieve double the amount of changes a night. As I've written elsewhere, nightly rotations of the warhorses could be quite easily achieved.

Beautiful Day - One (courageous/crazy to leave either of these out).
OOC - IWF
WOWY - AIWIY
EBTTRT - The Fly
Pride - NYD
SBS - BTBS (although they may want both, as they fit the theme of the show)
Mysterious Ways - COBL
Angel of Harlem - ISHFWILF
Vertigo - Elevation (please no, Volcano would be a better swap)
Bad - RTSS

Streets has to stay

Then change the arrangement of some songs between nights. EBW acoustic one night, full band the next. Maybe the same for SBS, full electric every second night.

Changing the visuals could definitely change the "feel" of the show. Eg. Invisible, in the screen for night 1, for night 2, a different slot, outside the screen, steering wheel mic, original RED video visuals. For this night maybe TCB would be a good fit for the 1st song after the intermission in the screen.

2 very different shows, & not that hard to achieve. Hopefully by the time I see the guys, in another 5 months, a few more changes have happened, & they're being more adventurous.
 
I think any sane fan can agree that they did a terrible job in providing information to fans about the tour in general.

There was a ton of information they just kept to themselves that would have been quite useful for people in deciding what tickets to buy, and went back on the only thing they said they would do.

The end product, for most, is still great... but they really could have done a better job on the information side.
 
I agree they were terrible at providing info, but my god we do our best to act like entitled children as a species, don't we? U fucking 2 are touring, and we are worried we were tricked into buying two tickets? If you can afford two tickets, lucky you. If you can't but you night them anyway, you're an idiot.


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That is indeed true.
You'd think they know by now to just not talk about their projects unless they are in the final stages of realizing them.
The ideas are always more grandiose at the start.
 
I agree they were terrible at providing info, but my god we do our best to act like entitled children as a species, don't we? U fucking 2 are touring, and we are worried we were tricked into buying two tickets? If you can afford two tickets, lucky you. If you can't but you night them anyway, you're an idiot.


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Agreed, I may be in the minority but when I go to a gig I don't feel I need to know every little bit of info, he'll U2 are the only band where I will even bother looking at the stage design, I wish I could of afforded to attend the 2 shows in Glasgow


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I agree they were terrible at providing info, but my god we do our best to act like entitled children as a species, don't we? U fucking 2 are touring, and we are worried we were tricked into buying two tickets?
But Bono implied they would play Playboy Mansion instead of Pride if I would buy a second ticket :sad:
 
As for the excuse that people "would be upset if they went to the inferior show". I don't buy this. Casuals aren't going to obsess over setlists, & won't know what they're missing out on. Hardcores will know they'll need multiple tickets to experience a variety of shows. So for whatever reason, we don't have 2 distinct shows. Whether it's because of Bono's accident, & limited rehearsal times, time & effort to stage so many different songs, financial considerations, or maybe laziness, or any other reason. But definitely not because some fans will be upset they didn't attend the right night.

I don't know if that's 100% true. You could argue that the band has enough singles that would be obvious to a good chunk of people at a show, but there's always going to be people that are disappointed they didn't hear such and such (and yes, I'm sure that applies to WOWY and One as well). The same would go for the distinct shows concept. Even with all of us, there's always going to be songs they play that we go crazy over and ones that we're generally indifferent to. Regardless of how many different songs they play each night or when they do perform this or that song, we're still going to wish that they played this song or that one at the shows we went to.
 
I don't think I'd have bought two tickets had I known the setlists would be quite so similar night to night - it was a lot of money. But when I bought them it seemed possible (not likely, but possible) that there would be large differences between each pair of dates - maybe a largely acoustic set one night and more electric the next, or new songs + 80s/90s songs one night, new songs + 00s/10s songs the next, and I would have felt terrible to have "picked wrong".
None of this means I won't enjoy both nights anyway - but I'm really relieved to have one night in a seat and one night in GA, so that MY nights will be quite different, even if theirs aren't :)
 
I'm still waiting for my refund from the 360 shows for them playing Boots every night...... balls in your court Herr Hewson :angry:
 
I don't think I'd have bought two tickets had I known the setlists would be quite so similar night to night - it was a lot of money. But when I bought them it seemed possible (not likely, but possible) that there would be large differences between each pair of dates - maybe a largely acoustic set one night and more electric the next, or new songs + 80s/90s songs one night, new songs + 00s/10s songs the next, and I would have felt terrible to have "picked wrong".
None of this means I won't enjoy both nights anyway - but I'm really relieved to have one night in a seat and one night in GA, so that MY nights will be quite different, even if theirs aren't :)

Maybe it's just that most of us here are far too experienced with U2 and especially Bono's quotes and promises over the years. It's not hard to figure out how Bono lies became one of the first big Interference memes. :wink:

I guess we just don't even expect shit anymore, we expect the setlists to only vary by a small margin, no matter what is stated beforehand, simply because in this case the past speaks for itself. But apparently that's not clear to everyone, and I think that's where the poblem for some people lies. They actually believed Bono's words and bought their tickets on those conclusions. Well, at least they learned now that Bono lies.
 
I think any sane fan can agree that they did a terrible job in providing information to fans about the tour in general.

There was a ton of information they just kept to themselves that would have been quite useful for people in deciding what tickets to buy, and went back on the only thing they said they would do.

The end product, for most, is still great... but they really could have done a better job on the information side.


Pretty much this. Between getting tickets, the lack of opening act, and the night-by-night show differences, they've done a pretty poor job at explaining things.

It's been annoying, but I'm hardly thinking about it. Just looking forward to July and MSG.
 
And yes, the scenario of 2 different nights was probably the initial tour idea, and the reason why they started selling 2 nighters

Exactly, and the reason people went and bought tickets to both. I don't get why its so bad for people to be a bit unhappy that the band changed their minds after tickets went on sale. :huh:

While the info was scarce until pretty much opening night and the single shows being sold later without a second raised a red flag, that still doesn't change what was said before the first shows went on sale, and even though it's a giant first world problem calling this a "sham" when spending loads of money on multiple concerts, I can't blame people for being disappointed.

Is it a fair assumption that the problem some people have is that they'll put up with u2/mostly Bono talking out of their arse publicly about albums that never materialise etc but get angry when putting faith into ideas not necessarily set in stone ends up costing them extra money they feel they otherwise wouldn't have spent?

I personally don't mind what they play. I'm really disappointed they, in typical u2 fashion, went and talked a big game then freaked out. However, I'm going to (hopefully) 4 London shows to see them play, whatever they play. I'm just thankful they're still playing when I'm an adult and able to do something silly like spend 200 quid on four gigs :wink:

I definitely agree, though, that they have been utter shit with any details this time round, and it can't all be because of Bonos time off. pretty disappointing.
 
I bought more than one ticket for the 360 tour even though it was widely known and well documented back then that U2 like to have little setlist variations, I knew it and still went to a couple of shows. I didn't mind. And I don't mind this time. I don't buy tickets because I expect a whole new and different set for every show. I like little variations, and I know that if they play several nights in the same city, there's a bigger chance for surprises, but that's not the main reason I'm buying tickets to a U2 show. I'd be better off with other artists if I'd go for different setlists only. I think most of us who have bought tickets to multiple U2 shows in the past were very well aware that the band won't be doing a lot of setlist variations because it's U2, and we still got tickets and went to the shows. I'm surprised people are bringing up such an argument. Had Bono or the rest of the band said nothing about any "different setlists", I'm sure most of us would still have gone and got ourselves tickets to multiple shows, no matter how static we expect the setlist to be. We get the magic of an amazing U2 show, setlist analysis shouldn't be our main priority.
 
Pretty much this. Between getting tickets, the lack of opening act, and the night-by-night show differences, they've done a pretty poor job at explaining things.

It's been annoying, but I'm hardly thinking about it. Just looking forward to July and MSG.

Couldn't agree more with this and Headache's.
(And ALL of the comments about affording tickets. If you can afford a U2 ticket? Congrats, you probably are in the top 1% in the world income-wise.)

I doubt a casual fan even heard the remark about a different feel from night to night. And if you are more than a casual fan that attends multiple shows on a tour, you already should know how you will get to see the show change:
-See a show at the beginning of a leg and at the end of a leg
-Or even better, see a show at the beginning of the tour and at the end of the tour.

That's how you get to see a different show. A different "U2" show.
 
Regardless of the 2 night sham, the setlists are fairly dull. The only saving grace is that they still believe in playing their new songs and haven't entirely gone down the Rolling Stones greatest hits route. But playing Pride, Streets, wowy, BD and still haven't found for the umpteenth tour is seriously lacking imagination. I for one haven't got the enthusiasm to see this tour having seen all the tours since 87 after seeing the setlists. The lack of songs from Pop is very disappointing to say the least.
 
Regardless of the 2 night sham, the setlists are fairly dull. The only saving grace is that they still believe in playing their new songs and haven't entirely gone down the Rolling Stones greatest hits route. But playing Pride, Streets, wowy, BD and still haven't found for the umpteenth tour is seriously lacking imagination. I for one haven't got the enthusiasm to see this tour having seen all the tours since 87 after seeing the setlists. The lack of songs from Pop is very disappointing to say the least.


which was your least favorite show of the ones you've seen so far this tour?
 
IMHO, anyone who is going to two shows is a diehard and would have bought two tickets regardless. There is no casual fan on earth that is going to go to two shows. Does that mean you have no right to be disappointed if the shows aren't different enough for your taste? No.

I'm going to GA one night and have a lower level seat night 2. That's different enough for me.
 
IMHO, anyone who is going to two shows is a diehard and would have bought two tickets regardless. There is no casual fan on earth that is going to go to two shows. Does that mean you have no right to be disappointed if the shows aren't different enough for your taste? No.

I'm going to GA one night and have a lower level seat night 2. That's different enough for me.

:up:

Seriously. For this and 360, it's cool to see the show from different angles.
(I don't understand doing GA all of the time :reject: )
 
As I've written elsewhere, nightly rotations of the warhorses could be quite easily achieved.

Beautiful Day - One (courageous/crazy to leave either of these out).
OOC - IWF
WOWY - AIWIY
EBTTRT - The Fly
Pride - NYD
SBS - BTBS (although they may want both, as they fit the theme of the show)
Mysterious Ways - COBL
Angel of Harlem - ISHFWILF
Vertigo - Elevation (please no, Volcano would be a better swap)
Bad - RTSS

Streets has to stay.


I couldn't agree more about your logic. I don't think they should even have to mention the thought of two different nights but rather just do it for them and the fans. U2 has one hell of a catalog of classics to really please everyone (well, maybe not some here).

My thoughts are similar to yours but here is what I came up with:

Most of the SOI songs should be set every night:
SFS
EBW
Iris
Ceaderwood
RBW
California(it's not a regular but it should be)

Then the classics that will please almost everyone should be set:
Streets
Beautiful Day
With or Without you
Pride


Now the Change ups:
The Miracle vs This is Where You Can Reach Me Now (different opener is a big change but why not set the tone of changing things up).
Invisible vs The Crystal Ballroom (both well liked b-sides from the new album)
SBS vs NYD (both classics from War)
Even Better Than vs Discotheque (both have that party feel and both are popular U2 songs)
I Will Follow vs Gloria (that's a cool change up)
Electric Co vs Out of Control
UTEOTW vs Wild Horses ( both popular songs from AB)
Vertigo vs Elevation (both 2000's rock songs that are live monsters)
Desire vs Angel of Harlem
Bullet the Blue vs Volcano
Bad vs Two Hearts Beat as one vs A Sort of Homecoming (yes, you can rotate more than two songs)
Mysterious Ways vs Acrobat be Ultraviolet Rays
City of Blinding Lights vs Walk On
Still Haven't Found vs One

That's 24 songs a night and a total of 40 songs for them to "learn" with confidence and a change of 50% of the set list a night.

Be honest, casual fan or hardcore fan, who wouldn't love the second show I have above???

This is Where you can reach me now
Out of Control
Elevation
Gloria
Iris
Ceaderwood Road
Song for Someone
New Years Day
Raised by Wolves
Whose Going to Ride Your Wild Horses
The Crystal Ballroom
Discotheque (yeah, back to back baby!!!)
Acrobat
California
Every Breaking Wave
Desire
A Sort of Homecoming
Pride
Beautiful Day
With or Without You
-----Encore-----
Volcano
Walk on
Where the Streets Have no Name
One


In the end, I'll enjoy whatever they play.


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well it all works out for the best ! Saw the first night and I sold my "2nd night" Sunday night ticket for an outrageous profit, but then I had some unexpected free time last night and picked up a below face behind the stage single and caught "Bad" and "40".

I still say if not a sham which was perhaps a bit harsh, it was disingenuous at best, but after last night I'm so over it. I still don't think the setlist is very interesting with the exception of the new songs which to my ears all work very well, with the exception of the singalong at the end of Iris which seems too forced. And California should definitely stay !
 
I think U2 thinks of it this way: "There is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first or last time, I owe him my best." -- Joe DiMaggio

I wonder the percentage of fans our forum and super fans would represent. Let's go the high 20%. That leaves 80%. Half of those people saw them once before in another tour, maybe 20 years ago, maybe 10 years ago.

They are playing these hits for the 40% of people at the show who are seeing them for the first time. Or maybe the last time.

I just made up numbers, but I think they play each show like it may be their last. And the way death is going around these days, that could be true for any of us. So at my last U2 show, yes I would like to hear Streets and many other hits.

They showed growth by not playing One every show.

Still if you paid 300 bucks a ticket and this was your first U2 show, you would be on the opposite end of this argument. My friend went to see Stevie Wonder and he didn't play most of his hits -- and that drives the casual fan nuts. For sure we've all been to other bands that we aren't super fans of and then if they don't play their hits we get pissed.

Two Night thing for sure didn't become what they talked about. You knew it probably wouldn't happen and I knew for sure when LA got 5 nights and not 4 or 6.

It is what it is. I want to hear Playboy Mansion, but I know the girl in Sec 311, Row 4, Seat 7 who has never seen them before would like to hear Beautiful Day. And that's okay. I love that song too.
 
I think U2 thinks of it this way: "There is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first or last time, I owe him my best." -- Joe DiMaggio

I wonder the percentage of fans our forum and super fans would represent. Let's go the high 20%. That leaves 80%. Half of those people saw them once before in another tour, maybe 20 years ago, maybe 10 years ago.

They are playing these hits for the 40% of people at the show who are seeing them for the first time. Or maybe the last time.

I just made up numbers, but I think they play each show like it may be their last. And the way death is going around these days, that could be true for any of us. So at my last U2 show, yes I would like to hear Streets and many other hits.

They showed growth by not playing One every show.

Still if you paid 300 bucks a ticket and this was your first U2 show, you would be on the opposite end of this argument. My friend went to see Stevie Wonder and he didn't play most of his hits -- and that drives the casual fan nuts. For sure we've all been to other bands that we aren't super fans of and then if they don't play their hits we get pissed.

Two Night thing for sure didn't become what they talked about. You knew it probably wouldn't happen and I knew for sure when LA got 5 nights and not 4 or 6.

It is what it is. I want to hear Playboy Mansion, but I know the girl in Sec 311, Row 4, Seat 7 who has never seen them before would like to hear Beautiful Day. And that's okay. I love that song too.

Yep. I always think of it this way too... for all the bands that we go see live where we only go to one show or don't own every album of theirs, would we also be hoping that they play different songs every night or not play most of their familiar material just to keep things 'fresh' from a hardcore fan's perspective? Of course not. But if it's a band that we're particularly attached to and follow most of the time, then that somehow becomes a bad thing? Sort of confusing there.

I get the disappointment over the 'different feel' to an extent, sure (whether that meant mostly different songs, orders, or whatever). But for me, it was never a 'be all, end all' in terms of wanting to see them. Part of it’s the experience of seeing a live show and part of it’s the fun leading up to it… meeting new people, going somewhere, etc. If they play different stuff, great (if it sounds good, of course). If not, then I’m still having a fun time. If it matters that much to people, then they can always sell the ticket or cut their losses through not spending on the gas/money to go somewhere, you know? Stay at home, pour a glass of wine, and put on some rarities on vinyl to waste the time instead.

… which, actually, doesn’t sound that bad when I think about it! :lol:
 
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