So I finally got around to buying the Vertigo – Live From Chicago DVD…

[trevgreg]

I had seen some clips in the past. But for whatever reasons came up, I never got around to buying the DVD itself and seeing it in full until now. I had the audio rip since it came out, so I was already familiar with much of it. But it was interesting finally getting to see some of these scenes on my flat screen for once! I found the deluxe version for around $10 during my visit to Amoeba Records L.A. this past weekend, so it was a pretty neat find over there!

Some initial thoughts here…

• Not that I’m for aesthetic appearances of what my favorite bands look like, but you do forget how both Bono and Larry were rocking the slightly longer hair in this era!
• City of Blinding Lights… what an intro.
• Gotta dig Bono singing part of the chorus to “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” during The Electric Co.
• An Cat Dubh/Into the Heart looks just as good as it did on the audio rip (This was also one clip I had seen prior to buying this). The deal with the young boy is cute too.
• Love and Peace or Else is another one I’ve heard often through the years, but haven’t seen until now. I was never really a fan of the album version, but I started to appreciate it a bit more after seeing it live. Not an exception here!
• I know SBS gets some crap on here for being played at every show, but I do think it fits well for an arena show. Bullet also must’ve been something else down in the GA section.
• Nice interaction between Bono and Edge during SYCMIOYO and with Adam during the middle of Streets.
• ZOO STATION!!!
• On the other hand, not a fan of how The Fly sounded here. Maybe it was just the mixing though?
• Anyone big on the whole “warts and all” aspects of the show, like Bono messing up the lyrics to Elevation moment (due to the “frog in the throat”) or the Mysterious Ways solo? I know they filmed over two nights, but I wonder if people are glad they didn’t correct these or not.

Overall, I thought this was alright, but not quite on the level of the Elevation DVD. Still curious to see an arena show from close-up though eventually! The only Vertigo show I was at was in the upper deck except for the encore, haha.

Anyone else have thoughts on it?

 

[LadySpinHead]

Thanks for the review- I have the Slane Castle DVD, but have yet to purchase either Vertigo Chicago or Elevation Boston- been holding out on whether I really *need* them. Good to hear Vertigo is worth the $$.

 

[The Panther]

Nice reminder. I bought this DVD back when it came out but I think I haven't watched it for 5 or 6 years.

I enjoyed the newer songs a lot, especially the HTDAAB numbers. I also liked the Boy tracks. I didn't enjoy any of the old chestnuts. (Hey guys, how about changing a note or two in 'New Year's Day' after 23 years of playing the hell out of it?)

Bono sounded good, but he also was the worst point of the show, mainly due to: 1) How utterly ridiculous he looked in that military hat and garb he was in the habit of putting on, and 2) the 273 minute introduction to "One", which was a complete waste of time.

Overall, solid DVD but Slane Castle was better.

 

[corianderstem]

but you do forget how both Bono and Larry were rocking the slightly longer hair in this era!

I WISH I could forget.

 

[Galeongirl]

I WISH I could forget.

What has been seen, cannot be unseen.

 

[Blue Room]

Some initial thoughts here…

• Gotta dig Bono singing part of the chorus to “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” during The Electric Co.
• Love and Peace or Else is another one I’ve heard often through the years, but haven’t seen until now. I was never really a fan of the album version, but I started to appreciate it a bit more after seeing it live. Not an exception here!

Overall, I thought this was alright, but not quite on the level of the Elevation DVD. Still curious to see an arena show from close-up though eventually! The only Vertigo show I was at was in the upper deck except for the encore, haha.

Anyone else have thoughts on it?

Bono worked on the Bullet With Butterfly Wings acapella in soundcheck for 10 or 15 minutes before the show on the 9th. So it is interesting that you point that out.

They also worked on LAPOE for a good 40 minutes just trying to get the lighting and intro time right before the show on the 10th, which I believe most of the video on the DVD for that song is from that night.

It is an ok DVD, but it was shot to early in the tour. Mostly because Chicago was originally much later in the tour. The rescheduling delay caused it to be earlier and they had already planned out the DVD shoot for Chicago. They did very long soundchecks before both shows working on things and songs that they should have probably had down already. They also worked on Please for some reason, which was never played on Vertigo obviously, and some new songs. Figure that one out?? Nervous energy maybe?

 

[PhilsFan]

• On the other hand, not a fan of how The Fly sounded here. Maybe it was just the mixing though?

They got better as the tour went on, but it was probably the weakest tour for the song simply because Edge insisted on playing it on that Variax guitar. That and they didn't get the intro exactly right. The good thing is that they figured out how to mix this version with ZooTV on 360, and came out with a fucking awesome final product. The 360 version of The Fly is boss as shit.

 

[Vlaco]

Bono worked on the Bullet With Butterfly Wings acapella in soundcheck for 10 or 15 minutes before the show on the 9th. So it is interesting that you point that out.

He did that snippet too during the Amsterdam III show I was at. Sounded fantastic!

 

[DU2]

I don't particularly love this DVD, I think we have much better ones like Slane or RoseBowl.
But I gotta say there are a few enjoyable moments on Chicago, like the Boy songs that really made the Vertigo tour something special. They managed to play really well also the new (at the time) songs, with very good renditions IMO of Blinding Lights, Sometimes You Can't Make It, Original Of The Species or Miracle Drug. I felt though a little bit of a failure with the classic ones, such as Streets, or the AB songs during the final encore. I didn't like them.
Highlights of the show in my opinion: Running to Stand Still (f***ing hope to hear that on the next tour) and One (The Performance wasn't that good overall, but the way Bono and The Edge sing over the solo at the end of the song looking at each other gives me chills everytime I watch it).
Worst moments: That fucking unbearable and embarassing 10 minute intro to One, shut the fuck up and sing Bono. And ''I've got a frog in my throat'' during Elevation, we nearly lost Bono there. Last, the cover, that cover is horrible, I don't know if anyone agrees. Not as bad as the HTDAAB cover though.
Yeah, that's what we get when they relax, as it's been said on another thread.

 

[Blue Room]

He did that snippet too during the Amsterdam III show I was at. Sounded fantastic!

He also worked on adding "Head Like A Hole" by NIN for awhile, not quite as effective but interesting anyway.

 

[mikal]

The "I have a frog in my throat" moment is one of the most embarrassing moments in Bono 's career.

 

[LemonMelon]

The "I have a frog in my throat" moment is one of the most embarrassing moments in Bono 's career.

With that performance of An Cat Dubh on the same DVD? Please.

 

[cobl04]

The DVD is great, save for the following moments:

- Bono being a fuckwit during An Cat Dubh
- The 3-hour Miles Davis-namedropping intro to Miracle Drug
- A great live song like Bullet being soiled by conservative playing from Edge and then totally ruined by two unbelievably boring snippets
- The 5-hour intro to One

 

[LemonMelon]

Vertigo tour Bullet is the worst. It sounds like they've been stuck in some unholy, Groundhog Day-esque time loop and have played it for a thousand days in a row.

 

[Blue Room]

The DVD is great, save for the following moments:

- The 3-hour Miles Davis-namedropping intro to Miracle Drug
- A great live song like Bullet being soiled by conservative playing from Edge and then totally ruined by two unbelievably boring snippets
- The 5-hour intro to One

I agree on these. Bullet needed a rest for a tour anyway and did back on Elevation. At least they paired it with Running To Stand Still (for awhile anyway) on Vertigo which helps it IMO.

Miracle Drug was worse than just name dropping in soundcheck. Bono did a full intro acting like he was Miles Davis's trumpet at the intro. Very cheesy! So at least he didn't use that! They also worked on a great outtro to the song but had trouble duplicating it and it was sadly never used in concert.

The One intro on Vertigo was a slog. Agree completely.

 

[LadySpinHead]

ooooookaaaay, maybe I don't want to make the effort to see this- it seems a bit annoying. I'm sure there's bits and pieces on youtube, maybe I should check that out first.

 

[trevgreg]

ooooookaaaay, maybe I don't want to make the effort to see this- it seems a bit annoying. I'm sure there's bits and pieces on youtube, maybe I should check that out first.

Either way, I'd suggest getting the Boston DVD first regardless if you already have Slane. There's still some stuff on here that's interesting though, so it's not like it was loss here (DU2 and Panther pointed some of those out earlier). And yep, their are a few clips on Youtube for this.

It is an ok DVD, but it was shot to early in the tour. Mostly because Chicago was originally much later in the tour. The rescheduling delay caused it to be earlier and they had already planned out the DVD shoot for Chicago. They did very long soundchecks before both shows working on things and songs that they should have probably had down already. They also worked on Please for some reason, which was never played on Vertigo obviously, and some new songs. Figure that one out?? Nervous energy maybe?

I guess that would explain some stuff here. I didn't realize how early this recording came in the early '05 shows after they were rescheduled!

They got better as the tour went on, but it was probably the weakest tour for the song simply because Edge insisted on playing it on that Variax guitar. That and they didn't get the intro exactly right. The good thing is that they figured out how to mix this version with ZooTV on 360, and came out with a fucking awesome final product. The 360 version of The Fly is boss as shit.

I agree with nearly everything you said. I think there's a clip from a Brazil show on this tour later on that sounded pretty good (Bono goes into something about how they finally got the song right, and it might've been an outdoor show). And yeah, the 360 version just blows these out of the water.

 

[The Panther]

Exactly what affiliation was Bono imagining between Miles Davis, Chicago, and 'Miracle Drug'?

 

[djerdap]

He also worked on adding "Head Like A Hole" by NIN for awhile, not quite as effective but interesting anyway.

Wouldn't that be something.

So I'm guessing you have a recording of this soundcheck or did you manage to catch all this by eaves-dropping?

 

[U2girl]

Best camera work from Hamilton. Boy and AB parts are the best part of the show. Weakest part easily the POW act during Bullet and the apologetic "but we dedicate this to US troops overseas" comment in the next song.

And for once a few mistakes are left in the show.

 

[Blue Room]

Wouldn't that be something.

So I'm guessing you have a recording of this soundcheck or did you manage to catch all this by eaves-dropping?

I was there.

 

[marik]

He also worked on adding "Head Like A Hole" by NIN for awhile, not quite as effective but interesting anyway.

how was this discovered?

 

[tommycharles]

I like it in as much as it reminds me of some great Vertigo tour moments (Electric Co, Zoo Station, Vertigo, COBL, Sometimes), but the versions captured on the DVD weren't really the ultimate versions of those songs.

The more reflective Bullet did occasionally work - they'd found a good way of doing it by the time the Twickenham show came along.

 

[Blue Room]

how was this discovered?

See my last post.

 

[trevgreg]

I like it in as much as it reminds me of some great Vertigo tour moments (Electric Co, Zoo Station, Vertigo, COBL, Sometimes), but the versions captured on the DVD weren't really the ultimate versions of those songs.

I suppose it did have some bad luck in being filmed so early in the tour then? Definitely in contrast to the other DVDs the band had released of shows so far, where they had at least a few months of touring under their belts.

I still enjoyed it, though I'd probably check out the other DVDs before getting this one. Besides the band's 80s output, ZooTV and PopMart are still on my list, despite having DVD-R copies that a kind soul on here burned for me and some other Interference people years ago!

I just discovered it was the Sao Paulo show where I saw that version of The Fly that I mentioned (see below). Were there any other decent pro-shot shows from the Vertigo tour that are worth mentioning here?

U2 - The Fly - Brazil 2006 - YouTube

 

[bono_man2002]

The DVD is great, save for the following moments:

- Bono being a fuckwit during An Cat Dubh
- The 3-hour Miles Davis-namedropping intro to Miracle Drug
- A great live song like Bullet being soiled by conservative playing from Edge and then totally ruined by two unbelievably boring snippets
- The 5-hour intro to One

You forgot to mention that it was Directed by Hamish Hamilton. Okay so its not the Bono show as much as the Boston DVD is. But it's one of the worst edited concert DVD's I've ever watched. I mean I know he was the director and not the editor, but man it's terrible at times.

That said I agree with some previously mentioned comments about it being shot too early in the tour.

 

[Cactus Annie]

I've got Elevation Boston DVD but it keeps on skipping in the DVD player always at exactly the same points so in a minute I'm gonna check how it plays on my computer. My DVD player is getting old, it will be 9 years old on Christmas day. Disc's do skip in there occasionally, and sometimes the tray gets jammed, or sometimes the TV screen doesn't automatically switch on to the DVD viewing screen as soon as you switch the player on.

 

[Cactus Annie]

^^^Well I've just checked it out. I played first two tracks of the concert first, which were Elevation and Beautiful Day. Then I skipped to track 5 which is Kite because this is the point where it always skips without fail in my DVD player. Every darn time! And also I wanted to listen to Bono's speech and listen to this particular song. And guess what? It bloody well works perfectly!

I knew it was the DVD player. I've got it out and cleaned the disc numerous times, and I'm even doing it now in between typing see. Force of habbit. That's one bloody clean disc that is, it's the player that at's fault!

You know around 22 minutes during the first verse, did I see a tear falling from the corner of Bono's left eye, or is that a bead of sweat from his temple?

Awwwwww

 

[djerdap]

That was fascinating stuff.

But wasn't the discussion about the Vertigo Chicago DVD?

 

[Cactus Annie]

That was fascinating stuff.

But wasn't the discussion about the Vertigo Chicago DVD?

Sorry I didn't know where else to post it.

I've already got the Vertigo DVD though. I do prefer Bono and Larry with shorter hair nowadays. But imo, very few people can pull off that very short hairdo that Bono was sporting for a few years back along. I think that only Ralph Fiennes, Chris Eccleston and Bruce Willis maybe, can completely shave off their hair, and they look better that way without any hair. Unfortunately, he's not one of them And if a guy is going bald, they look sexier. Some guys say that they get more attention from women when they shaved off their hair because they were going bald, then they did when they had a full head of hair.

I've seen the Slane DVD although I don't have it with me at the moment. I found that to be very enjoyable.

BTW, why are you lot saying that Bono's 'frog in my throat" is that bad? It's just a mistake isn't it? Why is it so embarrassing for?