I'm just going to address some of the arguments that are commonly made in defense of the current setlists.
(Full disclosure up front, I've been to one show on Elevation, one show on Vertigo, and I'll be going to one show(as of now) on 360, the second Giants Stadium show in September.)
1. I can't speak with certainty for anyone but myself, but I don't think anybody expects U2 to put on PJ-type shows or Bruce-type shows, but rather shows similar to the ones they're putting on with a little more rotation, because a little more rotation can add 10 songs to the 'regular' list for a tour. I seriously doubt anyone is expecting U2 to play back-to-back shows that don't share a single common song.
2. I think the terms 'obscure' and 'rarity' have little place in this discussion, yet they're thrown around all the time. Nobody is up in arms because U2 isn't playing Love Comes Tumbling(how amazing would that be
). By and large, the people that go on and on here are hoping for U2 to add songs that were singles, and/or that were regulars on their initial tours and in some cases even subsequent tours, to the setlist as rotational songs; 11 O'Clock Tick Tock, I Will Follow, Two Hearts Beat As One, A Sort Of Homecoming, Even Better Than The Real Thing, Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, The Fly, Lemon, Dirty Day, Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me, Discotheque, Mofo, Staring At The Sun, Last Night On Earth, Gone, Please(full band), Kite, New York...et al. These songs are not obscure...well, you could make the argument for a couple of them, but most of them are not. These aren't b-sides or never-before-played holy grails. Most of them were singles. And, honestly, it's early in the tour, a lot of the above could very well show up by the time all is said and done(I Will Follow, EBTTRT, Horses, The Fly, Discotheque, Kite, etc).
2a. There are only three b-sides I will even talk about being performed live at this point. One has already been played this tour - Party Girl. The other I think would work beautifully in this set is Sweetest Thing. It seems like it's relatively easy/simple to play, it would work in the stadium because it's very, very catchy and it's well-known because of the 1998 single release(making it not exactly a b-side anymore but a single), and it would fit nicely in the portion of the set between Beautiful Day and Unknown Caller. I think it would be a great and painless addition to the set - I'm not really sure why they ever dropped it after the early Elevation shows it was played at. The third b-side I will talk about is Spanish Eyes, just because it was played semi-regularly in the late 80s and seemed to get a good reaction on the boots...but it's been forever since they've played it, and it wouldn't be nearly the home-run I think Sweetest Thing would be, and probably isn't worth giving up other songs for. But it would be cool.
3. The argument that the band has to balance pleasing die-hard fans with pleasing casual/new fans. This is absolutely valid. When I think hypothetically of a 16 year old somewhere who just discovered U2 in the last few years and is going to his/her first U2 show, maybe he/she owns a few albums and the best ofs, and his/her favorite song is Still Haven't Found or SBS or (insert other warhorse here) and, and walking out of the show disappointed because that song wasn't played that night, it makes me sad. Really. I appreciate the difficulty of trying to create a set that pleases everyone. I think longer shows could be the answer - and no, I'm talking about three and a half hour Bruce-style gigs. I'm simply suggesting adding 3 or 4 more songs to the set, and making the average set 25-26 songs instead of 22. Because they're already playing most of the 'required' warhorses...at some point you have to fill slots 23-26 with something else. Which pleases the die-hards without taking anything away from the casuals and the show would still probably be two and a half hours, max. However, I disclose absolutely and openly that I don't play in a band or alone, and I don't know what it's like to 'add just 3 or 4 more songs to the set'. If it is indeed that much harder than it sounds, please tell me, and I'll take your word for it if your word comes from experience.
4. Just for the hell of it, I typed out a (perhaps excessively lengthy) series of 360 sets, imagining them to be consecutive shows with more rotation than the current sets. The structure of the set is slightly altered(Beautiful Day is immediately before Unknown Caller, and a song is sometimes placed between Boots and Magnificent), but by and large I tried to stick to the basic set we've seen, with added rotation and an effort to cover as any albums as possible in each show. I also made sure to never drop BD, Vertigo, COBL, SBS, Pride, Streets, One, UV, TUF, or any of the NLOTH songs. This was random, and I tried not to overthink too much(I failed at some points
), and the sets I came up with are a few tracks longer than what U2 normally play. Oh, and I rarely changed the encore at all in my head, and I didn't want to type the same thing out a million times, so just imagine the same encore, with Kite replacing WOWY sometimes, for each set.
Breathe, No Line On The Horizon, Get On Your Boots, Even Better Than The Real Thing, Magnificent, New Year's Day, 11 O'Clock Tick Tock, I Will Follow, Desire, Stay(Faraway, So Close), Beautiful Day, Unknown Caller, The Unforgettable Fire, City Of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Crazy, Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me, Discotheque, Elevation, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Pride(In The Name Of Love), MLK, Please, Walk On, Bad, Where The Streets Have No Name, One
Encore: Ultraviolet(Light My Way), With Or Without You, Moment Of Surrender
Breathe, No Line On The Horizon, Get On Your Boots, Last Night On Earth, Magnificent, New Year's Day, Out Of Control, New York, Gloria, Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, If God Will Send His Angels, Beautiful Day, Unknown Caller, The Unforgettable Fire, City Of Blinding LIghts, Vertigo, I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight, Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me, Mofo, Love And Peace Or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Pride(In The Name Of Love), MLK, Walk On
Breathe, No Line On The Horizon, Get On Your Boots, Until The End Of The World, Magnificent, Gone, New York, An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart, Electrical Storm, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, White As Snow, Beautiful Day, Unknown Caller, The Unforgettable Fire, City Of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight, Lemon, The Fly, God Part II(only time I used this, just an idea), Bullet The Blue Sky, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Pride(In The Name Of Love), MLK, Running To Stand Still, Walk On
Breathe, No Line On The Horizon, Get On Your Boots, Fez-Being Born, Magnificent, Until The End Of The World, New Year's Day, The Ocean, A Sort Of Homecoming, Beautiful Day, Unknown Caller, The Unforgettable Fire, City Of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight, Dirty Day, Bullet The Blue Sky, Running To Stand Still, Pride(In The Name Of Love), Sunday Bloody Sunday, Please, Where The Streets Have No Name, MLK, Walk On
Breathe, No Line On The Horizon, Get On Your Boots, Even Better Than The Real Thing, Magnificent, Lemon, Electrical Storm, Gone, I Will Follow, Fast Cars, Angel Of Harlem, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, One, Beautiful Day, Unknown Caller, The Unforgettable Fire, City Of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight, Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me, Love And Peace Or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Pride(In The Name Of Love), MLK, Where The Streets Have No Name, Bad
Encore: Ultraviolet(Light My Way), Kite, Moment Of Surrender
Breathe, No Line On The Horizon, Get On Your Boots, The Fly, Magnificent, Gloria, An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart, If God Will Send His Angels, The Ground Beneath Her Feet, Fast Cars, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Beautiful Day, Unknown Caller, The Unforgettable Fire, City Of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight, Staring At The Sun, Pride(In The Name Of Love), Sunday Bloody Sunday, Please, MLK, Bad, Where The Streets Have No Name
Breathe, No Line On The Horizon, Get On Your Boots, Magnificent, New Year's Day, 11 O'Clock Tick Tock, I Still Haven't Found, Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, White As Snow, A Sort Of Homecoming, Beautiful Day, Unknown Caller, The Unforgettable Fire, City Of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight, Discotheque, Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Pride(In The Name Of Love), MLK, All I Want Is You, Where The Streets Have No Name
Breathe, No Line On The Horizon, Get On Your Boots, Even Better Than The Real Thing, Magnificent, Until The End Of The World, New Year's Day, I Will Follow, Desire, Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, A Sort Of Homecoming, Beautiful Day, Unknown Caller, The Unforgettable Fire, City Of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight, Elevation, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Pride(In The Name Of Love), MLK, Please, Streets, One
Breathe, No Line On The Horizon, Get On Your Boots, Magnificent, Gone, Electrical Storm, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, If God Will Send His Angels, Beautiful Day, Unknown Caller, The Unforgettable Fire, City Of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight, Discotheque, Elevation, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Pride(In The Name Of Love), MLK, All I Want Is You, Where The Streets Have No Name, One
Breathe, No Line On The Horizon, Get On Your Boots, Magnificent, Mysterious Ways, Even Better Than The Real Thing, Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, A Sort Of Homecoming, Beautiful Day, Unknown Caller, The Unforgettable Fire, City Of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight, Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me, Love And Peace Or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Pride(In The Name Of Love), MLK, Walk On, Where The Streets Have No Name, One
Breathe, No Line On The Horizon, Get On Your Boots, Magnificent, Last Night On Earth, Mysterious Ways, Electrical Storm, Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, Stuck In A Moment, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Beautiful Day, Unknown Caller, The Unforgettable Fire, City Of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Pride(In The Name Of Love), MLK, Please, Where The Streets Have No Name, One
Breathe, No Line On The Horizon, Get On Your Boots, Vertigo, Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me, Bullet The Blue Sky, Running To Stand Still, White As Snow, A Sort Of Homecoming, Beautiful Day, Unknown Caller, The Unforgettable Fire, City Of Blinding Lights, Elevation, I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight, Discotheque, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Pride(In The Name Of Love), MLK, Bad, Where The Streets Have No Name, One
Breathe, No Line On The Horizon, Get On Your Boots, Magnificent, New Year's Day, An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart, Sweetest Thing, Beautiful Day, Unknown Caller, The Unforgettable Fire, City Of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight, Mofo, I Will Follow, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Pride(In The Name Of Love), MLK, Bad, Where The Streets Have No Name, One
Breathe, No Line On The Horizon, Get On Your Boots, Magnificent, The Fly, Electrical Storm, Sweetest Thing, A Sort Of Homecoming, Beautiful Day, Unknown Caller, The Unforgettable Fire, COBL, Vertigo, Crazy, HMTMKMKM, Please, SBS, Pride, MLK, Walk On, Streets, Bad, Ultraviolet, One, MOS
Breathe, No Line On The Horizon, Get On Your Boots, Magnificent, Until The End Of The World, New Year's Day, I Will Follow, Desire, Stay(Faraway, So Close), White As Snow, Beautiful Day, Unknown Caller, TUF, COBL, Vertigo, Crazy, Discotheque, Elevation, SBS, Pride, MLK, WO, Streets, One
Breathe, No Line On The Horizon, Get On Your Boots, Magnificent, New Year's Day, Gone, Electrical Storm, If God Will Send His Angels, Beautiful Day, Unknown Caller, TUF, COBL, Vertigo, Crazy, Discotheque, SBS, Pride, MLK, Bad, Fez, Streets, One
Like I said, they're probably a little too long, but I don't think the track selection is
that unrealistic. You don't see Wild Irish Rose or Lady With The Spinning Head anywhere. I think any of these sets would please most of any stadium.
Anyway, those are my thoughts for now.