U2girl said:People started sounding off because they changed the encore, not because First time got moved.
Nice selective memory of history. This is the 'changed' encore of 2005-09-20, Chicago:
Discotheque
The Fly
With Or Without You
All Because Of You
The First Time
Bad
People were ecstatic that The First Time debuted, that Discotheque made a second appearance, and that Bad closed. This 'changed' encore met with approval.
The next night had:
Bad (inc. The First Time sung in full)
Original Of The Species
With Or Without You
Fast Cars
All Because Of You
40
There were some complaints about the encore being a bit slow but in general, the variety was greeted positively, especially the third leg debut of OOTS and the first US appearance of Fast Cars.
Both 'new' encores had a generally positive reception. There was no "sounding off" because U2 changed the encores.
But then did The First Time move to the opening slot of the encore and that was initially greeted with confusion. People argued that this was totally the wrong song to open an encore with. They "sounded off" about setlist placement. No-one complained about variety. They felt that opening the encore with a soft acoustic song did not suit the atmosphere of a rock concert.
So before you go tarring and feathering other fans, take the time to listen to their case instead of just portraying it in whatever light suits you.
Well, tough. Fans wanted variety, band brought in a new encore - band gets ripped. How's that for lame?
I would like to point out that bad variety is worse than no variety at all. I bet you'd rip on the band if the new encore consisted solely of Avril Lavigne covers or Bono and Edge harmonising the D section of the phone book.