The last stadium tour?

[Mac_Fly]

Anyone else get the feeling that this will be the end of stadiums for U2?

Even if they do a AB/ZOO TV anniversary tour, I think it will be in arenas.

I know Henry Rollins declared the post-mortem after POPMART, but I knew he was wrong then, and I don't want to commit the same error, but . . . .

The only way I can see another stadium tour is if U2 waits a long time (10 years) and then does a farewell-to-stadium-greatest-hits-tour.

For the record, I prefer the stadiums. U2 has the sound and presence that makes the stadiums so unbelievable.

Hope I'm wrong.

 

[trainmaniac]

In Europe they can always do stadiums easily.

 

[The_acrobat]

What I think is going to happen is that they'll tour SOE in 2018, probably into the 1st half of 2019. This will be entirely in arenas. They do, after all, have to cover Europe, North America, Australia/NZ and possibly Asia. After that point, it'll be time to take a few years off from touring. I can see Songs of Ascent coming to us sometime around 2021, with a tour coming in 2022-23. If they are willing to declare that as their FINAL TOUR, I can definitely see them doing stadiums. Maybe an arena/stadium mix. After that, I believe that will mark the end of U2 as an active band. They may record/release more songs. For awhile they may even tour in short bursts like the Stones currently do. But I just don't see U2 still doing this into their 70s.

What may or may not throw a wrench into that plan is if the Achtung/Zoo 30th anniversary tour comes to be in 2021. Bono jokingly said they'd call it "Zoo.com Tour". But the things is... that tells me the seed has already been planted. Rather it comes to fruition or not remains to be seen, but it's already on their mind. Given how successful this JT Tour has been, their takeaway on the matter will be: nostalgia = $$$$$. Who knows what the scope of this Zoo.com Tour might be. TJT 2017 Tour certainly became bigger than we expected, and honestly they didn't even really push that idea as far as they could've. Between the rest of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, South Africa, and even a handful of cities in the US/Canada, they could have easily stretched this JT Tour to 100 shows.

Long story short, I predict 1 more album/tour cycle after SOE ends, with a possible Achtung 30th anniversary tour mixed in. In 2023, Bono and Adam will be 63, Edge and Larry 62. That's not old by any means, but nobody would fault them if they retired at that point either. My Dad is 60 and doesn't really seem any different than he did at 50, so it's not exactly a death sentence. The 2 biggest hurdles that will stand in their way going forward is Larry's ability to physically play the drums (and his willingness to continue despite being a miserable ass) and Bono's voice.

 

[The_acrobat]

In Europe they can always do stadiums easily.

Yeah, I know that the SOE Tour is going to be in arenas, most likely. It's kind of a waste of time to tour arenas in Europe, when they could definitely pull off a 40-50 show stadium tour in Europe. I understand going back to arenas in North America.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I think there's a chance that the e/i tour will start in arenas and end in stadiums. Short of that, I'd say probably yes. The odds of an Achtung Baby tour similar to this one are very slim, and I don't think the band necessarily wants to to on much further beyond this cycle.

 

[Dfit00]

The 2 biggest hurdles that will stand in their way going forward is Larry's ability to physically play the drums (and his willingness to continue despite being a miserable ass) and Bono's voice.

Bono's voice is certainly taking a hit throughout this tour in some shows. Heck 40 years in a band shouting your brains out is not easy.

Why do you think Larry is a miserable ass and will be physically unable to play the drums?

 

[The_acrobat]

Larry's drumming related back problems have been a thing since the late 80's/ early 90's. He had surgery during the POP recording that seemed to help him. He may be fine now, but it's no secret that he has a much more physically demanding job than Adam or Edge.

And I say he's a miserable ass because he's a miserable ass.