"City of Blinding Lights" at O'Inauguration sealed "Streets" fate on next tour
Personal opinion obviously but...
I'm betting that this band would very much like to get past needing "Where the Streets Have No Name" in their live set for the first time since 1987. This song has brought the house down on every tour since then. So, what's such an ambitious band to do? Show that you don't really need it to put on the best live act in the world. I think that "City of Blinding Lights" was written for exactly that very purpose. I thought that they might try to replace "Streets" with "COBL" on the last tour, but maybe they thought that the world wasn't ready for that just yet.
However, after one full Vertigo tour with "COBL" opening the show and a live DVD showcasing its live prowess, I'll bet that the plan was to tour next time around with that tune as the "Streets" replacement.
This may be a very Yank-centric way of looking at things, but I think that this band may consider that having performed "City of Blinding Lights" on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial (where MLK gave his "I Have Dream" speech), and on the eve of Barack Obama's obviously historic inauguration, it may be huge enough to finally inject COBL into the world conciousness such that it can carry the high-point of their live show for a few years to come.
As a nostalgic fan, and in the grand scheme of things, I prefer "Streets" (and all of the memories it brings), but I'm definitely ready to move on; and, I think that the new record will make that obvious. Bring on the future. I'm ready for some creative genius, and I know they have it.
Personal opinion obviously but...
I'm betting that this band would very much like to get past needing "Where the Streets Have No Name" in their live set for the first time since 1987. This song has brought the house down on every tour since then. So, what's such an ambitious band to do? Show that you don't really need it to put on the best live act in the world. I think that "City of Blinding Lights" was written for exactly that very purpose. I thought that they might try to replace "Streets" with "COBL" on the last tour, but maybe they thought that the world wasn't ready for that just yet.
However, after one full Vertigo tour with "COBL" opening the show and a live DVD showcasing its live prowess, I'll bet that the plan was to tour next time around with that tune as the "Streets" replacement.
This may be a very Yank-centric way of looking at things, but I think that this band may consider that having performed "City of Blinding Lights" on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial (where MLK gave his "I Have Dream" speech), and on the eve of Barack Obama's obviously historic inauguration, it may be huge enough to finally inject COBL into the world conciousness such that it can carry the high-point of their live show for a few years to come.
As a nostalgic fan, and in the grand scheme of things, I prefer "Streets" (and all of the memories it brings), but I'm definitely ready to move on; and, I think that the new record will make that obvious. Bring on the future. I'm ready for some creative genius, and I know they have it.