I found the fairly complex stagecraft (Bono was doing a lot) between the band and the cage on I/e quite thrilling and, if anything, underappreciated — look at BTBS and UTEOTW on the Paris video. It was the most cohesive, thought-through tour since ZooTV, which was their artistic peak. They sold the new songs in a way that they didn’t in 360, what with forced sing-alongs. RBW and Cedarwood Road were absolutely highlights that demanded your attention, and if you were bored, then that’s on you, casual.
The I/e show in Boston remains the absolute best concert I’ve ever seen. It was exactly what U2 should have been doing at the time — using the “visuals” to push the new stuff (exactly what they did in Zoo TV) and then ride the wave of classics into a glorious finish.
Absolutely! The I/E tour was quite impressive all around. You and I have spoken before about Boston 1 and we are not alone here. They frequently put on shows like this. I've seen them on every tour since Vertigo and was with family members who saw them at the Paradise in 1980! Everyone had a comment on how special that show was, how comfortable they seemed with themselves and how well the narrative worked.
My uncle said it best "they did a great job of showing what they've been trying to say all these years. I think with even a little bit of focus on something other than just the songs you hear on the radio, anyone there would've gotten it."
I also remember saying to my aunt after the first few shows of the tour "this combines Elevation sincerity with Zoo TV visual presentation."
When did this ever happen? They didn’t do this at all. You are making this up.
The longest stretch of SOI songs was iris-CR-SFS. That’s three, and they followed it with SBS.
Going back and checking set lists in 2015 and 2018 were very mixed with old and new. So, you don’t know what you are talking about. At all it seems?
Yeah, that's the tell of a troll there.
Don't hit him with facts.
Unreal. I liked I/E way better than E/I, but objectively, none of that happened on either tour.
He mentioned starting I/E with a slap in the face?!
Miracle-Electric Co-Vertigo-I Will Follow. Literally everyone in that crowd is thrown a bone right up front, with a direct emphasis on the early die hards (Electric Co, OOC, Gloria). Those early songs are also way better known among the people in attendance than they would appear to be on paper- given how most of the people with the money to attend are older fans.
I overheard many conversations from casuals and die hards alike complimenting those set lists.
I+E is their best tour thematically and production-wise since ZooTV, and I’ll cherish those nights for a long time. Felt like they were really trying.
E+I was more like going through the motions and only served to show how special the Innocence tour was.
Totally agree! E/I definitely didn't match I/E for me and that was mostly because I perceived a "going through the motions" feeling to the tour when I saw it on Leg 1. Don't get me wrong, it was still U2 so that's a relative term. It also didn't apply all show- I thought Staring at the sun/Pride, COBL and Acrobat were out of this world.
If there was a show I saw of my 16 so far that didn't match my usual U2 experience, it was that one.
I know just based on the setlist changes that if I'd seen Europe, it would've been right on par with I/E.