1. Discotheque: Toronto '05
(Forget the '97/'98/'01 versions, it is the very, very rare outing during the VERTIGO TOUR, that brought the best out of this riddle about love ...)
2. Do You Feel Loved: Tempe '97 -
(I'll go with the very last live version of this not much known U2 gem, a version having it all – before disappearing from the setlists ...)
3. Mofo: MTV Awards '97
(Great guitar in the mix, a strange choice for a strange show – what a performance!)
4. If God Will Send His Angels: Las Vegas '97
(The longest version of this rare performed U2 single – a lot of improvisation, simply beautiful ...)
5. Staring At The Sun: East Rutherford '97
(Not the last 3rd night, not the last 2nd, but the 1st show – when U2 still played the catchy tune as a full band, electric version. Though the later acoustic versions won and did their job, I'd still go for the electric guitar driven version. It's the groove ...)
6. Last Night On Earth: Hanover '97
(The longest outro, this song ever had. A kind of rebirth of "All Along The Watchtower" with Edge really on fire & the band never wanting to stop again. What a performance as a gift to one of the strongest and the last of the German POPMART shows)
7. Gone: Vienna '01
(The slightly re-arranged ELEVATION versions were far better than the '97/'98 performances – with a new ending, fed by an incredible Edge crescendo. Perfect!)
8. Miami: Cologne '97
(There were versions, where the tune was filled with a load of snippets. This one had the bitter reference to Gianni Versace being killed, Bono outing the cruel Beatles' "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" & giving thus the tune a special meaning)
9. If You Were That Velvet Dress: Las Vegas '97
(Great version, long & with a lot of improvisation. Plus: A beautiful Edge solo idea, never having been played since then ...)
10. Please: Miami '01
(Though I do prefer electric versions in general, especially with this tune – for example the Reggio Emilia '97 one with a long, long, rocking outro – I'd have to take the post 09/11, acoustic performance. Played on the very last evening of the now famous 3rd leg, Bono gave it all. Everybody in the arena was touched by the heart, a mind blowing performance. How can a song, written years before the WTC attacks, be so meaningful later – a kind of sinister prophecy? "September ... we just started again ...")
11. Wake Up Dead Man: Berlin '01
(Bono messing up lyrics, having a croaky voice, nearly giving up – and giving all he has in this nice, also poetic coda from POP ...)