I have been watching U2 live since the Unforgettable Fire tour at the age of 11 and every tour since then, (I am lucky enough to have cool parents) and this is my opinion.
The first time I saw U2 was at Milton Keynes Bowl. It pissed down with rain. I probably knew over half of the set played that day but it was the experience of seeing the band live in my hometown that day that had the biggest impact on me. All you could hear on the way back to the car, that was parked half a mile from the venue, was thousands of people still singing, "How long to sing this song," 20 minutes after the show finished. It was amazing.
U2 have a 25+ year career with 11 studio albums (this includes the studio tracks on R&H), not including b-sides, cover versions, the Passengers album, Million Dollar Hotel Soundtrack etc etc. This is a mammoth back catalogue of stuff. From my own perspective, I would love to see U2 pull out more of the older stuff and include it in the set list. I was stunned when The Electric Co, The Ocean, An Cat Dubh and Into The Heart were showing up in the first set lists, but I was just as disappointed, albeit not surprised, when they were pretty much dropped, despite being a highlight in the set - especially The Electric Co which seems to have been song of the tour for a lot of people.
U2 will always play 3/4 of the album they are promoting and the rest of the set list will be made up with whatever else they decide to throw in - and usually they're songs from the albums Joshua Tree onwards, with the exception of Pride of course.
U2 crowds from the UK (where I am from - now living in Oz), through into other parts of Europe where I have seen them play (Ireland, France, Holland) and no doubt the rest of the world, are a large mix in age, from the original Boy/October era to fans who have gotten into U2 over the last few years. Although it's unfair to say "it's only the newer fans" who want to hear, Electrical Storm for example, it is probably true. I for one think that as good a song Electrical Storm is, it has nothing over a lot of the older tracks I would rather hear U2 play live. There is no way it would get my nod over Electric Co, Bad, Exit or 11 O'Clock Tick Tock. It's waaaaaaaaaaaaay down on my wishlist that is for sure.
U2 are more than aware of the different generations of fans attending their shows and although I wouldn't fully agree the set lists are always designed with the older fans in mind, they do a pretty good job of blasting out a 2 hour set I can be happy with and so I never go away complaining that I didn't hear Bad this time around etc. I know I've seen my favorite band play a great rock 'n' roll show and that's what counts.
There are going to be people at the shows who have never seen the band before too. I have corrected several people in the last 6 months alone, who have purchased tickets for the Australian leg of the Vertigo Tour, and truly believed that U2's first album is The Joshua Tree, which they thought Pride was on. So they don't even own the album! If these people heard An Cat Dubh or The Electric Co at the shows they are attending, they would probably take a swipe at it coming from Rattle & Hum or Pop!!!!
U2 are in a position where they do not take so many risks with their set lists, it's a fact. They go out with a set list they are pretty much fully comfortable with and thats it. You still get to see a fantastic rock & roll show regardless. On the other side of the spectrum you have a band like Pearl Jam who go out on tour incredibly well rehearsed and will play anything from their entire back catalogue when they feel like it, and play it damn well. It's all down to how comfortable the band is in mixing it up.
Unless your perfect set list is currently being played or has been played by the band, it's safe to say that you will never see it unless you have a few spare millions sitting in the bank to book the band for a private function and tell them what they have to play!!
With setlists, it's each to their own peeps - if you're lucky enough to see the band live, enjoy it and lose yourself in the music. That is ultimately what it's all about.
