Personally, I love ISHFWILF so I don't care about that song being in every night, hearing the audience sing the first couple of verses is awesome. I can live with WOWY and SBS. But words cannot express how happy I was when they skipped Pride on Sunday.
I do not accept the argument of the «we, diehard's, are only 1% of the audience, so the casuals need the big hits to feel happy».
not everyone has been here for like 5 years or whatever, I only just joined in august for example (started following the band for real in 05 then got all their previous work & rare stuff)
Is this website closed off to new people? there's nothing as puke-inducing as snobby condescension
I'm interested that youve heard it all before - that in itself tells me something
But if youve heard it all before, and are therefore bored by the topic, just ignore the thread - the world would be that infinitesimally small bit better!
then sodomize it! you sound like a necrophile!
not everyone has been here for like 5 years or whatever, I only just joined in august for example (started following the band for real in 05 then got all their previous work & rare stuff)
Is this website closed off to new people? there's nothing as puke-inducing as snobby condescension
I'm interested that youve heard it all before - that in itself tells me something
But if youve heard it all before, and are therefore bored by the topic, just ignore the thread - the world would be that infinitesimally small bit better!
@ Aygo & digitize
yeah I missed that point - playing some songs too much, the passion can take a hit and a "by the numbers" vibe can set in - I've never associated U2 with that
I would swap old reliables for Kite, Even Better, Wild Horses, Drowning Man, Gloria and God's Country, or at least do a lot of rotating
[EDIT: oh yeah i forgot about HMTMKMKM, that would be awesome]
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He turns his money into light to look for her
I do not accept the argument of the «we, diehard's, are only 1% of the audience, so the casuals need the big hits to feel happy».
But we are a small percentage. Bands like U2 and Pearl Jam have completely different make ups in their audiences, one has to realize that. PJ doesn't exactly have a big portion coming out just to Alive or Jeremy anymore, but U2 still has a big portion that only knows a certain part of their catalog and are coming to see "the greatest live band".
You would be surprised at how many people still go to see Pearl Jam to hear Alive or Jeremy. I was pretty surprised the last time around.
If you'd been on this forum longer you would know that I'm actually one of the people welcoming every new member and defending them against U2 "snobs" who think new fans have no idea.
Sometimes I feel that people just love to open their own threads to gain attention, especially if they want to complain about something.
'Fraid I'm not into fucking dead animals.
These threads pop up constantly. They come up every two or three months even when this forum is closed. You can't say ignore the thread because this happens in nearly every thread.
"From a bootleg I listened to, Pride, SBS, Bullet, WOWY, One all sound like the remnants of a dead horse. (See what I did there?) They should stop playing them. Why? Because I think it's boring. They should replace them with Acrobat, Zooropa, Mofo, Acrobat and Mofo."
+
"There are more casual fans in the crowd. They are more familiar with the hits. They want to hear all the hits. They can't cater to everyone."
=, in two short paragraphs, the essence of this argument, every single time.
It's like people think if we bitch about it enough U2 will take notice, stop playing them and replace them with Acrobat and Mofo.
Have you seen a show this tour? And when you are at a U2 show and they play one of these songs, do you sit right back down, fold your arms, cross your legs, furrow your brow and mumble under your breath until they end?
Diemen illustrates the point perfectly. You can bitch and moan behind a computer screen all tour, but when you're there, it's something else. Pride, WOWY, SBS... they were jaw-dropping when I saw my show in 06.
No one is trying to be snobby or condescending, at least I'm not, but aren't some people sick of debating this, when nothing is going to change? I'd certainly love to see some rarities bought back too, but peeps don't really need to clutter this joint with the same warhorse arguments.
I've been an avid follower of both and percentage wise I don't see the same casual fans at PJ concerts than I U2 concerts, I've seen in drop off a lot in the last few tours. Yes there still are some, in fact went with one last tour, but not nearly the same percentage.
There are usually far more people on U2 concerts, so it is natural to see more casual fans at a U2 concert, which is often more of an event or a spectacle than a regular gig, by which it attracts the regular crowd more. My point being that it is impossible to compare U2 and PJ like this. But at all of my PJ shows there have been lots of people who were waiting for those hits to come. More than I had expected.
Also, "One" could be added to the list, in my opinion.
Also, "One" could be added to the list, in my opinion.
If they decided to play more new stuff and rarities late in the show, they are in danger of losing the crowd.
I think most people are pretty much agreed at this stage that to a greater or lesser degree, U2 over the course of the last 20 years are starting to play some hits too much (like the 5 mentioned and soon possibly Beautiful Day also). There's no doubt that each and every one of those songs is a brilliant song, but that doesn't mean you can't overplay them, and it could lead to them turning into the Rolling Stones! I don't want wanna see that happen - U2 settling into a comfort zone (pretty sure they don't either!)
To me, it makes no sense when theyve got such a rich catalogue to exploit - I think it's time for the band to say "ok guys you can sit this one out this time" to the 6 songs mentioned, and delve into the following 2 pools of songs for future shows:
(split between excellent, obvious candidates in the 1st group, and then less obvious, but awesome songs ppl would love to hear live in the 2nd group - and leaving aside for the moment that I'd kill to hear Fez and Stand Up in 360!)
Obvious replacements:
Mofo
Even Better
Kite
Last Night
Lemon
Gone
Dirty Day (Edge transformed this live to amazing effect towards the end)
Wild Horses
Love is Blindness (again heroic live ending from Edge)
and I'm not yet tired of The Fly!
NY (Edge would need to refine this live to match the brilliance of the album recording)
Silver & Gold
Exit
One Tree Hill
In God's Country (R&H version but full length - the most powerful sound I've ever heard U2 make - big props to Joanou)
A Sort of Homecoming
Gloria
11 o'clock... Tick... ... ... Tock
A Day Without Me
Stories for Boys
UV itself is a great example of what I'm talking about here
Less obvious replacements:
Wire
Like a Song
Drowning Man
Two Hearts
Rejoice
October
Is That All?
Love Comes Tumbling
Trip Thru Your Wires
Red Hill Mining Town
Indian Summer Sky
Ground Beneath Her Feet
Crumbs
Acrobat
Zooropa
Heartland
God Pt 2
Hawkmoon
there's definitely 6 songs in there (way more than 6) that would make awesome substitutes for the overplayed songs - and you wouldnt have to shelve ALL 6, maybe 4 out of 6.
[btw big kudos for Your Blue Room! hope they play it in NJ (my first show!)]
Do you agree or disagree?