Peterrrrr
New Yorker
2009-09-21 - Foxboro was a bit different, worth listning 
WOWY - what happened ?
- Thread starter U2girl
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Jamescorymiko
Refugee
- Joined
- May 2, 2005
- Messages
- 1,250
R&H is on Palladia right now (in Chicago). WOWY was gorgeous back then!
The John Tree
War Child
Well I went to my first 360 show in DC last night.
My first thought after leaving the show was to come into this thread and argue for WOWY because it was, in my opinion, one of the clear highlights of the show.
A U2 concert, specifically a 360 show, is about the visual just as much as the music. We are lucky to be fans of a band that has Bono as their frontman because he's more than just a singer - he's a performer. These songs are not always about people, they're about characters. They're about moods. And the second encore is about heartbreak.
Starting with Ultraviolet, a song about infidelity, deception, and the end of a relationship, Bono comes out, clinging to a wheel colored red, as if burning. The passion, the screaming of a dying relationship is so clear. Ultraviolet is so clearly the middle of a lover's row, which is exactly what Achtung Baby was all about: a breakup.
And then?
And then the mic turns blue, the stars come out, and the character, played by Bono, is all alone. His relationship is over.
On a bootleg recording, it sounds like a bored singer just getting through one of his old hits, but live? It's a man torn up at the end of a relationship. He sings the verses like Frank Sinatra sang "Send In The Clowns". And indeed, WOWY does have a burnt out, 2AM lonely vibe to it. And that's exactly what Bono brings to it, a haunting, jaded heartache to the song.
"What happened" to WOWY is that it's sang more honestly now. It's not a sexy, bass driven complaint from a man in the midst of a breakup; it's a reflective, remorseful lament from a man looking back on one. Played perfectly by Bono under the starlight of the 360 disco ball.
Trust me, going into the song, I was worried, because I'd read this thread first. After leaving the show, WOWY was definitely one of my favorite performances. You have to watch Bono perform it to really feel it.
My first thought after leaving the show was to come into this thread and argue for WOWY because it was, in my opinion, one of the clear highlights of the show.
A U2 concert, specifically a 360 show, is about the visual just as much as the music. We are lucky to be fans of a band that has Bono as their frontman because he's more than just a singer - he's a performer. These songs are not always about people, they're about characters. They're about moods. And the second encore is about heartbreak.
Starting with Ultraviolet, a song about infidelity, deception, and the end of a relationship, Bono comes out, clinging to a wheel colored red, as if burning. The passion, the screaming of a dying relationship is so clear. Ultraviolet is so clearly the middle of a lover's row, which is exactly what Achtung Baby was all about: a breakup.
And then?
And then the mic turns blue, the stars come out, and the character, played by Bono, is all alone. His relationship is over.
On a bootleg recording, it sounds like a bored singer just getting through one of his old hits, but live? It's a man torn up at the end of a relationship. He sings the verses like Frank Sinatra sang "Send In The Clowns". And indeed, WOWY does have a burnt out, 2AM lonely vibe to it. And that's exactly what Bono brings to it, a haunting, jaded heartache to the song.
"What happened" to WOWY is that it's sang more honestly now. It's not a sexy, bass driven complaint from a man in the midst of a breakup; it's a reflective, remorseful lament from a man looking back on one. Played perfectly by Bono under the starlight of the 360 disco ball.
Trust me, going into the song, I was worried, because I'd read this thread first. After leaving the show, WOWY was definitely one of my favorite performances. You have to watch Bono perform it to really feel it.
bonocomet
Blue Crack Distributor
^ Thank you. I cannot wait.
Rob33
Rock n' Roll Doggie
well said, John Tree...thanks
I never agreed with all the crap WOWY gets on here lately...sure, at times it sounds like they're bored and going through the motions but I think that's natural after performing it a million times over again. I think Bono purposefully sings it the way he does and the song changed as Bono changed as a person, so I'm not surprised at all really that he doesn't sing it the way he did 20 years ago or whatever, although it sounds like he could if he wanted to.
bonoschild2009
War Child
well said, John Tree...thanks
I never agreed with all the crap WOWY gets on here lately...sure, at times it sounds like they're bored and going through the motions but I think that's natural after performing it a million times over again. I think Bono purposefully sings it the way he does and the song changed as Bono changed as a person, so I'm not surprised at all really that he doesn't sing it the way he did 20 years ago or whatever, although it sounds like he could if he wanted to.
I agree with this...I think the songs are sung the way the singer "feels" they should be sung- sometimes in some kind of character, other times just out of emotion. Who knows, maybe just out of boredom? My gripe isn't how WOWY is sung, it's just that it's been played in almost every show of every tour over the last 22 years- why not try a new song in its place? Don't get me wrong though- I'll still be singing along with it in Glendale on Oct. 20....Ultraviolet-I Threw A Brick-Moment of Surrender....yeah, that flows wonderfully I think!!!
beau99
The Fly
Excellent post
I'd had a feeling Bono might have been doing it on purpose, and your post makes it make sense now.
My show's in less than 2 weeks... can't wait...
ZooMacPhisto800
War Child
Excellent post
I'd had a feeling Bono might have been doing it on purpose, and your post makes it make sense now.
My show's in less than 2 weeks... can't wait...
Alternate take: Bono is bored of singing the song.
Question: Is One being sung more "honestly" now also? Because, superficially, it also appears to be being played by a bored U2 and, coincidentally, it's also been played night-in and night-out for 18+ years.
jphelmet
Refugee
One was a highlight for me, and has the "Hear us calling Lord" ending which makes it really special. I don't get the bashing of it. If you don't like the song, that's cool. It sounds great though at the show.
wowoy is a very deliberate style. you can debate the merits of the style, but he is NOT singing that way because he is tired or bored of the song. its the only song in the set he sings that way, and its pretty obvious its intentional. if you can't see that
ZooMacPhisto800
War Child
One was a highlight for me, and has the "Hear us calling Lord" ending which makes it really special. I don't get the bashing of it. If you don't like the song, that's cool. It sounds great though at the show.
wowoy is a very deliberate style. you can debate the merits of the style, but he is NOT singing that way because he is tired or bored of the song. its the only song in the set he sings that way, and its pretty obvious its intentional. if you can't see that
(This isn't directed at you jphelmet, just my impression...)
I'm amazed at the excuses:
U2 also has to cater to the casual fans
He's singing WOWY more honestly
It's the only song he sings like that
They can't vary the setlist because of the elaborate stage
The elaborate stage is part of the U2 concert experience (to the same degree as the music itself)
We all get bored of the same task. We all grow up as the years go by. U2's no different. Singing WOWY the way it was meant to be sung is difficult, mostly because it is played every night.
-----
U2 aren't going to release WOWY (honest mix) for the 25-year anniversary of the Joshua Tree.
jphelmet
Refugee
i'm sure they get bored of the songs- how can they not? maybe bono is tired of wowoy and he is singing that way to make it more interesting for him. who knows? i think the way he is singing it is trying to have a different take, and maybe because it takes less effort. it could be, he is old and by that time in the show, he has to have a song where he rests somewhat for MOS. i don't think anyone can definitively say one way or the other. it's most likely a combination of all these things.
i don't think he just doesn't care at all, and is just mailing it in though. the show is way too good overall for that to be the case.
Moser
Refugee
Yes! I couldn't have said it better!
corianderstem
Blue Crack Distributor
wowoy is a very deliberate style. you can debate the merits of the style, but he is NOT singing that way because he is tired or bored of the song. its the only song in the set he sings that way, and its pretty obvious its intentional. if you can't see that
To me, the interpretation that he's singing it in an intentionally weary way makes perfect sense. I can easily agree that's what he's going for.
What I can't agree on is that he's been successful with it. To me, he sounds bored.
monsieur fly
War Child
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2008
- Messages
- 793
Some of these interpretations amuse (and bemuse) me- if Bono wet himself on stage some of you would think it represented a "literal outpouring of an artist's tensions." He sings One horribly in my opinion- it's nothing to do with him "being honest" but it's everything to do with awful phrasing, which totally ruins the song. As for WOWY, it's the rendition of a man who is sick of performing the song. Barring slight deterioration there is no real change from the Vertigo tour version, and I don't recall people namechecking Sinatra then. As bizarre as it might seem to some, Bono might actually be singing a couple of warhorses rather badly because they have become tired.
Jamescorymiko
Refugee
- Joined
- May 2, 2005
- Messages
- 1,250
that is the best preformance of with or without i have ever heard
ZooMacPhisto800
War Child
The exception that proves the rule?
Jamescorymiko
Refugee
- Joined
- May 2, 2005
- Messages
- 1,250
Link?
monsieur fly
War Child
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2008
- Messages
- 793
Interesting point- and yes I think the winter 2006 versions of WOWY weren't bad. Nevertheless, they were the excpetions which proved the rule- Milan 05 anyone? Bono's voice was amazing on the last leg of the Vertigo tour, falsetto especially.
popshopper
Acrobat
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2002
- Messages
- 459
If Bono was that bored with Without or Without You, they'd just drop it. They've dropped bigger and better songs, hell they've actually dropped Without or Without you itself on occasion. He's definately singing it 'lounge style' on purpose, perhaps it's not so much about artistry as it is by the fact he can't belt it out anymore, the performances are too uniform for it not to be on purpose, personally I don't think it works that well at all, but hey it's not all bad.
ZooMacPhisto800
War Child
You'd think so, but you'd in the minority. Many are of the opinion that they can't drop it. They have to please the "casual fans", it's one of their biggest songs... people "sure as h" want to hear it when they go to the show.
There is no bigger song. Streets could be debated... it's never dropped either.
We were all amazed. The band must have gotten cold shivers or something because that didn't last long...
I hope they re-release WOWY in its more "honest", "lounge"-style, Leonard Cohen-esque form for the 25th anniversary of TJT. It actually takes more effort to sing WOWY in that pseudo-bored manner... it is just the latest example of U2 incredibility.
That's just a bored man singing WOWY because he has to...
-----
Keep on snippet-ing
I don't think there's a YouTube video, but here's the full show for download:
U2 start.com | Bootlegs | 2006-11-30 - Saitama, Japan - Saitama Super Arena
This is actually one of my favorite performances of the song ever, and by far my favorite from after 1993.
Also, this show has one of the best performances of AIWIY I've ever heard.
Jamescorymiko
Refugee
- Joined
- May 2, 2005
- Messages
- 1,250
bono_212
Blue Crack Distributor
I really don't know what everyone's talking about, it sounded fantastic last night. Bono's voice was kind of bad, but all in all it was just great.
beau99
The Fly
popshopper is absolutely right - if they were indeed tired of it, they wouldn't play it any longer, period.
Radiohead did it with "Creep".
They Might Be Giants have made "Particle Man" a semi-rarity now simply to piss off the casual "fans" that only listen to Flood. Likewise for "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" and "Birdhouse In Your Soul", though the latter 2 are performed more often.
I could go on, but I'll stop there.
Radiohead did it with "Creep".
They Might Be Giants have made "Particle Man" a semi-rarity now simply to piss off the casual "fans" that only listen to Flood. Likewise for "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" and "Birdhouse In Your Soul", though the latter 2 are performed more often.
I could go on, but I'll stop there.
popshopper
Acrobat
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2002
- Messages
- 459
They've dropped it for reasonably long periods. Where the Streets has only been dropped once or twice and has (684 performances according to U2gigs), WOWY has 620 performances so that's at least 65 performances it's not been played, Bullet the Blue Sky (not a hit) has been played more often than WOWY. Pride has been played more often and it's been dropped.
They're playing it because they want to, and because they think it fits the mood and the staging after Ultraviolet (you know the position it had most of the time during ZOO TV, where incidentally it shared the a similar mirrorball light show).
It's not individual songs which please casual fans, it's having enough songs they recognise so that there are not long periods at a gig where the hits are missing. Would their be folk disappointed if U2 didn't play it, of course but that's pretty much the same for any song in their catalog (apart from Red Light and Love Rescue Me)
He can't sing it anymore but that's largely been true since 93, and he's taking the path of least resistance in his approach to it. But U2 would still sell a crapload of tickets if they announced today that they'll never play WOWY again, so no they don't have to play it.
ZooMacPhisto800
War Child
Ask anybody what U2's biggest songs are... you're likely to hear WOWY and/or Streets. They're in a league of their own.
"The path of least resistance"... that's what I said, but I said it to suggest that if that's the effort they're going to give it, they should just drop it. Others here will suggest that the pseudo-bored approach is both deliberate and quality.
Similar threads
