Songs That Need A Rest This Tour

[Rival9500]

Sorry if there are similar threads on this, but I am really hoping that some songs get a rest this time. My picks are Elevation,ISHFWILF, and Vertigo. I also hope they drop Boots but I doubt it. It would be nice to hear some lesser played songs instead like Kite and Crumbs. Bono did say during the 360 tour that more b sides would be played next tour and Bono is 100% accurate about everything, right??

 

[Nick66]

There's no way they'd drop both Elevation and Vertigo. And I'd be very surprised if they dropped either. They've dropped ISHFWILF before, so I could see that. Though I thought it was quite effective on 360, with the audience singing along. I agree it would be nice to hear Kite again...perhaps taking the Walk On slot (which they need to drop). But I hope I never have to hear any version of Crumbs again. It will be interesting to see which NLOTH songs survive. I doubt they'll play Boots, even if it was the lead single. I'm sure they want to move past that.

Personally speaking, I wouldn't mind if they dropped One, since they don't seem to have any idea how to play it with any kind of meaning anymore. Fat chance of that either. I could do without hearing EBTTRT also. Great song but I think they played that out last time. I don't need to hear SBS or Bullet again either, and I'd like to see Silver and Gold take that slot. And while Mysterious Ways is one of my favourites, as long as Bono does his "funk it up" thing with that song, I'd rather pass. Though I'd love to hear a punchy version of Zoo Station (not the thin, weak version from the Vertigo tour). My guess is that they'll take it easy on AB after the mini-revival of that record on 360, and highlight more from the Joshua Tree this time (to the extent they "feature" a record other than the new one). But that's just a guess, and perhaps wishful thinking.

Who are we to say though? There will be lots of casuals and people seeing U2 for the first time on this tour, and they will all have an expectation (and rightfully so) to hear most of those songs.

What they need to play is ASOH.

 

[Blue Room]

Seriously doubt they will ever play Crumbs again. They barely played it on the Vertigo tour and it obviously was not a single. Kite is possible but probably unlikely.

Bullet is probably back this tour after a needed break for 360. I can take it or leave it at this point. The song that I think they need to drop at this point is Walk On. The 360 version seemed forced and tired to me.

What they need to play is God Part II!!

 

[ClaytonsKitten]

And while Mysterious Ways is one of my favourites, as long as Bono does his "funk it up" thing with that song, I'd rather pass.

MW is my all-time favorite U2 song. Hands down, no arguments ever. It's my #1 and always will be.

That said, I want the full-length Zoo version back. With the slide solos and the extended outros.

As for songs that need a rest? Suck In A Moment, IALW, and possibly even One.

 

[Mauwer]

Get On Your Boots needs a rest (personally tired of the song)
Especially if they gonna play Vertigo
(Maybe a rotation between the two might happen?)

With Or Without You needs a rest too
But I doubt they will drop it

 

[prbiker15]

The following songs should get an indefinite rest for the next tour:
Get On Your Boots
Walk On
In A Little While
Stuck In A Moment
Elevation

The following songs should not appear on the setlist every night, or should be 'freshened up':
I Still Haven't Found
Mysterious Ways
One
With or Without You
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Pride

 

[gvox]

O-M-G GUYZ U2 NEEDS 2 DROP PRlDE ONE WHRE THE SHREETS HAVE KNOW NAME WlTH OR WITH OUTCHU AND SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAE DONT U THlNK SO??!!?11!!?!

 

[BigMacPhisto]

I was going to start threads about playing catalog songs on their next tour....we could do polling on the entire lists and the goal is that someone would give it to the band and they could see what the diehards want. I know that the majority here not wanting to hear "One" or whatever will essentially be meaningless since there's no way they'll drop a track that resonates with so many people, but we could influence them as to what b-sides they choose...I highly doubt too many were jonesing to hear "The Ocean" or "Scarlet" recently...

Poll 1) Songs that were staples on the last tour (played more than a dozen times)

Poll 2) Songs that were played regularly this century (6 or more times)

Poll 3) Songs that have been played 0-5 times this century but have at least appeared at one U2 show

Poll 4) Songs that have never been played before in a regular U2 show


I don't think we've tried anything like this at Interference. Each poll should list every song that meets the criteria and users are allowed to vote for as many as they like. The question should be along the lines of "Which of the following songs would you like to hear on the next tour?"...75% and up support would effectively be Green, 50-74.9% Yellow and the rest Red. If the band really want to do an arena tour chock full of deeper cuts, this would certainly be a help to them. I doubt they have any idea that "A Sort of Homecoming" is more popular than "Exit" or whatever.

 

[gvox]

I know that the majority here not wanting to hear "One"

Do you honestly think the majority of Interferencers would prefer that U2 drop One? Really? I think that's a pretty big misconception, although you're probably not alone in thinking that..

 

[BigMacPhisto]

Do you honestly think the majority of Interferencers would prefer that U2 drop One? Really? I think that's a pretty big misconception, although you're probably not alone in thinking that..

Well, we could see what the poll says....I think at least 40% of the users here would be in favor of dropping it. It's not so much the quality of the song itself but the quality of the performances lately (not to mention the inevitable minute of Bono speaking and telling people to whip out their cellphones). It's a momentum killer and doesn't really do anything for those that have heard the song to death.

 

[trevgreg]

The following songs should get an indefinite rest for the next tour:
Get On Your Boots
Walk On
In A Little While
Stuck In A Moment
Elevation

The following songs should not appear on the setlist every night, or should be 'freshened up':
I Still Haven't Found
Mysterious Ways
One
With or Without You
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Pride

Since some of these are the 'usual' suspects, it's worth seeing how often these songs were actually played on the 360 shows...

· Get On Your Boots (110 times)
· Walk On (110 times)
· In A Little While (50 times)
· Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of (36 times)
· Elevation (94 times)

For the sake of comparison, Stuck was played 34 times on the Vertigo tour, while Walk On was played 11 times and Elevation got played at every show. IALW was played twice, not including snippets.

It's probably safe to say it's unlikely Boots would see anything in that vicinity for the next tour. Otherwise, it looks like Elevation was the only one that got consistent play on each of the past two tours.

· I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (96 times)
· Mysterious Ways (93 times)
· One (110 times)
· With Or Without You (109 times)
· Sunday Bloody Sunday (108 times)
· Pride (In The Name Of Love) (65 times)

Out of all these, One, Pride, and SBS were ones played at every Vertigo show, with the others taking varying breaks in the sets.

 

[gvox]

Well, we could see what the poll says....I think at least 40% of the users here would be in favor of dropping it. It's not so much the quality of the song itself but the quality of the performances lately (not to mention the inevitable minute of Bono speaking and telling people to whip out their cellphones). It's a momentum killer and doesn't really do anything for those that have heard the song to death.

I couldn't disagree more. I've not only heard the song to death but play it to death, and I can't see dropping it ever, frankly. One on the 360 tour was great, especially Bono. He was really throwing himself into it again. I don't think we were asked to take out our cellphones more than on one tour, either (Vertigo). The cellphone moment last tour was Moment of Surrender, was it not?

 

[ClaytonsKitten]

I wouldn't want them to...say, drop it altogether. But sticking it right around Streets is a killer. It needs moved elsewhere in the set. Maybe they can breathe new life into it, just like ISHF. I love the audience singing pretty much the entire first verse of ISHF. It really gives that whole "gospel" bit even more strength, as we know going to a U2 show is a religious experience.

 

[djparky]

this discussion is a bit pointless- never in a million years are they going to drop Streets, Still Haven't Found, WOWY, One, Pride, Elevation or Beautiful Day, Vertigo, Sunday Bloody Sunday- deal with it

whilst Pride/SBS disappeared from time to time on 360 tour they've been pretty consistently played across every tour since they were released as for Walk On- thought it sounded great on the 360 tour

as for NLOTH songs- only one I see coming is Magnificient

U2 are playing for the masses who may only go to one U2 ever- not for us

 

[Nick66]

this discussion is a bit pointless

Of course it's pointless. You could basically drop this quote into most any random thread on Interference and have the same point, and you'd be right.

And in fact the point you made is pointless because everyone here already knows everything you said, and have said so. The subject isn't what songs they'll drop (we know better), but what songs people here would like to see dropped. If there were a thread on which songs we'd like to see played, you could say that was pointless as well, because we all know U2 is just going to play what they want. Talking about what they'll play on Fallon is pointless. Speculating what will be on the new record, when it will be released, and what it will be called is pointless.

We're talking about a rock band. It's all pointless.

So the question is...what's your point?

 

[BigMacPhisto]

as for NLOTH songs- only one I see coming is Magnificent

Agreed. If I were betting though, I wouldn't expect a single NLOTH song to make an appearance the entire tour. But if any does, it will be "Magnificent" and probably just as a random song thrown into the show near the end like they usually do with the encores near the end of a tour (such as Vertigo arena shows where tracks like "Stuck In A Moment" and "Fast Cars" and "The First Time" started popping up after being gone most, if not all of the tour).

"Magnificent" is loud, it's driving and it's catchy. "Moment of Surrender" is too much of an event song while "No Line On The Horizon" and "Breathe" and "Unknown Caller" couldn't make it through the tour and the band themselves know "Boots" isn't very well liked. I think No Line On The Horizon's biggest failure in the band's eyes was the lack of a song that would connect with the audience enough to become a live highlight. Atomic Bomb gave us "Vertigo" and "City" along with tour highlights "Love and Peace or Else" and "Sometimes" for example. All That You Can't Leave Behind gave us its four singles, etc.

Oh, and a wild card choice would be the regular version of "I'll Go Crazy Tonight" which I don't think made a proper tour appearance (it was performed on Letterman though and at the end of a 360 gig for a music video). That's a very catchy, soaring number that could go over well with casuals and the rest of the live audience, even if the diehards mostly detest it.

 

[Rob33]

this discussion is a bit pointless- never in a million years are they going to drop Streets, Still Haven't Found, WOWY, One, Pride, Elevation or Beautiful Day, Vertigo, Sunday Bloody Sunday- deal with it

whilst Pride/SBS disappeared from time to time on 360 tour they've been pretty consistently played across every tour since they were released as for Walk On- thought it sounded great on the 360 tour

as for NLOTH songs- only one I see coming is Magnificient

U2 are playing for the masses who may only go to one U2 ever- not for us

That's a bit of an overstatement. Before the 360 Tour, I'm sure you would have had Bullet on that list as well as well...I could easily see them bringing Bullet back and replacing it with one of the songs you mentioned.

I think Magnificent live is plodding and they rarely pulled it off...they (read:Bono) struggled bringing the chorus into a live setting...which is unusual. I thought it was going to be epic live, but it was actually kind of a low point for me on 360. So many better songs to take its place...I hope it does not make a return.

And I am PRAYING that Crazy Tonight is NEVER played again. Good god, what an awkward, torturous couple of minutes that was on 360.

 

[Rival9500]

I wouldn't mind anything from NLOTH except Boots or the 360 dance I'll Go Crazy. I have a bad feeling Boots will be back though.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

According to the Wiki, the band had rehearsed these songs on the last tour that never made it to the show:

Drowning Man
If God Will Send His Angels
Luminous Times (Hold On To Love)
October
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around the World
White As Snow

And these alternate versions:

Even Better Than The Real Thing (Perfecto Mix)
Mysterious Ways (Acoustic)
Sunday Bloody Sunday (Acoustic)

So, they definitely were digging pretty deep into their catalog for rarities. The biggest problem tends to be that these sort of songs have no real chance of making the set list after the initial leg gets into motion (or at least the leg they were planned for). That makes it all the more strange that this band performed about a half-dozen never before heard songs (including the unreleased/unfinished "Mercy")...one wonders what sort of rare cuts could have gone up in their place as I'm sure the vast majority of people would have rather heard deep album cuts or b-sides than something as plodding and generic as "North Star" or "Glastonbury"

It's certainly odd that "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" was heavily considered for the set list. It had been played throughout the Vertigo Tour and with a heavy emotional toll on Bono/novelty factor of his father having recently passed away...I can't really see it being something that should return for more than the odd appearance given the place it had in the set list and how it isn't a very universal theme.

"Drowning Man" supposedly sounded great but didn't fit the set list. I think they should have subbed out "The Unforgettable Fire" with it in cities where they did multiple shows (or subbed out with "TUF" entirely since it wasn't all that great). It's surprising that they had never touched upon the track in concert before...probably because a lot of the track hinges on the vocals (both lead and background) and it could make a band feel very vulnerable if it wasn't exactly connecting with the audience. They certainly need to give us SOMETHING from the War album other than the two big hits and a closing song that doesn't really count as more than a mood setter ("40")...more than any album, this one has been ignored the longest which is rather strange as tracks like "Like A Song" and "Two Hearts Beat As One" and "Seconds" could have torn apart arenas/stadiums in the past.

"White As Snow" would have likely been a dull acoustic version made even worse by the fact that the song doesn't have much of a melody. People would have been lining up for the bathroom in drones. "Luminous Times" would have been about on par with "Your Blue Room" where it would be cool that they got the music to sound similar in a live setting, but with the song not really connecting with most of the audience.

"If God Will Send His Angels" is one I always figured could have been a huge hit, and unlike "Staring At The Sun", it feels like all the pieces are there. Would make for a great little ballad in place of something like "In A Little While"...

"October" would get people pretty excited and it's short so the audience won't get bored with it. It would make for a great lead-in to "New Year's Day" or any other tune with a piano riff ("Sweetest Thing" for example).

 

[Axver]

I think U2 need to drop or at least put into rotation some of the old warhorses they are only playing because they feel they "must". I'd rather see a band - any band - perform the songs they are passionate about, rather than playing some big hit in a bored, cursory, robotic manner. If a song means a lot to you, honestly it can be a bit of a downer when you see the band are obviously bored with it and play it like shit.

U2 have a habit of rediscovering songs after giving it a bit of a break and they return fresh. I wonder if, for instance, we'll get Bullet on the next tour sounding inspired again. Also, U2 have the luxury of having so many famous hits that they could play two entirely different setlists just of hits that would make a casual fan happy. Anyone who says that they must play one or two specific songs or "the people" will go home unhappy is talking out of their arse.

So I think U2 could consider rotating (rather than necessarily dropping) pairs like One and WOWY, ISHFWILF and AIWIY, SBS and NYD, Elevation and Vertigo, Mysterious Ways and EBTTRT, Desire and Angel of Harlem - you get my drift. They're never going to rotate as much as we'd like, but it's certainly possible for some of these pairs to rotate and keep everyone happy.

Though if you asked me what I want them to drop the most: One, because it's got so very stale; Mysterious Ways if they're going to keep playing it the shitty solo-less way they did on 360; WOWY unless Bono sings it properly every night.

this discussion is a bit pointless- never in a million years are they going to drop Streets, Still Haven't Found, WOWY, One, Pride, Elevation or Beautiful Day, Vertigo, Sunday Bloody Sunday- deal with it

whilst Pride/SBS disappeared from time to time on 360 tour they've been pretty consistently played across every tour since they were released as for Walk On- thought it sounded great on the 360 tour

For some songs this is simply incorrect. SBS has not been consistently played since it was released - it missed the entire Lovetown tour, lots of ZooTV, and two-thirds of Popmart. ISHFWILF and WOWY have been dropped for tour legs (e.g. WOWY for third leg of Elevation) or been put into rotation, and Elevation was initially not in 360's setlist.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

I agree about the war horse rotation. Here's what I think their plan should be...

1) Rehearse a half dozen new tracks to perfection. Start by not choosing any of the ambient or low-key numbers from the album. Instead, they should pick forceful ballads and louder rock numbers in order to get the audience's attention. Rehearse these tracks in front of fans a few times before the tour begins in order to gauge the audience's response.

2) Practice the war horses. While U2 could play "Elevation" or "With or Without You" in their sleep, they should be able to have 30 or so songs on call for shuffling over multiple nights. This will require a slight bit of rehearsing for each number in order to have them ready to go.

The songs:

Boy - I Will Follow, Out Of Control (2)
October - Gloria (1)
War - New Year's Day, Sunday Bloody Sunday, 40 (3)
Unforgettable Fire - Bad, Pride (2)
Joshua Tree - Streets, With or Without You, Still Haven't Found, Bullet The Blue Sky, Running To Stand Still (5)
Rattle and Hum - Desire, Angel of Harlem, All I Want Is You (3)
Achtung Baby - The Fly, Until The End Of The World, Mysterious Ways, One, Even Better Than The Real Thing (5)
Zooropa - Stay (1)
Original Soundtracks I - Miss Sarajevo (1)
All That You Can't Leave Behind - Beautiful Day, In A Little While, Walk On, Elevation, Stuck In A Moment (5)
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb - Vertigo, City of Blinding Lights (2)



3) Rehearse to perfection about 8 rarities that you can spread out over two nights (4 a night). Deeper album tracks, b-sides, etc.


U2 would then go on tour with the ability to play roughly 45 songs at will. That would be enough for nearly two complete shows.

 

[Blue Room]

According to the Wiki, the band had rehearsed these songs on the last tour that never made it to the show:

Drowning Man
If God Will Send His Angels
Luminous Times (Hold On To Love)
October
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around the World
White As Snow

And these alternate versions:

Even Better Than The Real Thing (Perfecto Mix)
Mysterious Ways (Acoustic)
Sunday Bloody Sunday (Acoustic)

So, they definitely were digging pretty deep into their catalog for rarities. The biggest problem tends to be that these sort of songs have no real chance of making the set list after the initial leg gets into motion (or at least the leg they were planned for). That makes it all the more strange that this band performed about a half-dozen never before heard songs (including the unreleased/unfinished "Mercy")...one wonders what sort of rare cuts could have gone up in their place as I'm sure the vast majority of people would have rather heard deep album cuts or b-sides than something as plodding and generic as "North Star" or "Glastonbury"

It's certainly odd that "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" was heavily considered for the set list. It had been played throughout the Vertigo Tour and with a heavy emotional toll on Bono/novelty factor of his father having recently passed away...I can't really see it being something that should return for more than the odd appearance given the place it had in the set list and how it isn't a very universal theme.

"Drowning Man" supposedly sounded great but didn't fit the set list. I think they should have subbed out "The Unforgettable Fire" with it in cities where they did multiple shows (or subbed out with "TUF" entirely since it wasn't all that great). It's surprising that they had never touched upon the track in concert before...probably because a lot of the track hinges on the vocals (both lead and background) and it could make a band feel very vulnerable if it wasn't exactly connecting with the audience. They certainly need to give us SOMETHING from the War album other than the two big hits and a closing song that doesn't really count as more than a mood setter ("40")...more than any album, this one has been ignored the longest which is rather strange as tracks like "Like A Song" and "Two Hearts Beat As One" and "Seconds" could have torn apart arenas/stadiums in the past.

"White As Snow" would have likely been a dull acoustic version made even worse by the fact that the song doesn't have much of a melody. People would have been lining up for the bathroom in drones. "Luminous Times" would have been about on par with "Your Blue Room" where it would be cool that they got the music to sound similar in a live setting, but with the song not really connecting with most of the audience.

"If God Will Send His Angels" is one I always figured could have been a huge hit, and unlike "Staring At The Sun", it feels like all the pieces are there. Would make for a great little ballad in place of something like "In A Little While"...

"October" would get people pretty excited and it's short so the audience won't get bored with it. It would make for a great lead-in to "New Year's Day" or any other tune with a piano riff ("Sweetest Thing" for example).

They rehearse/horse around with a lot of songw before and during every tour. IE Mofo, Velvet Dress and Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car on Vertigo. Hell, Edge even supposedly tinkered with the riff to Surrender during Vertigo rehearsals. Problem is, they never make it, so is the band really digging that deep when they never do it live? Debatable.

Oh, and I do not think they ever rehearsed Luminous Times for 360. Edge mentioned in an interview that it would be cool if they just pulled out a B side like Luminous Times and played it. But there is no indication that they ever even attempted to play it live. I liked the idea though.

 

[YBORCITY]

I would like PITNOL to go away, i might scratch my ear drums out if I hear it again, with that said I do understand that most people don't see them as much as I will so I get why they'll play it. One might be another they could rotate out.

I said this in another thread but I would love them to play ASOH.
If there's an intern or employee sitting in Hanover Quay or AT Live Nation please suggest to the boys this tour would be perfect time to dust off that gem.

 

[powerhour24]

Pride was already dropped for a large portion of 360, I doubt it sits again.

 

[digitize]

I'm really interested to see what rarities come out this tour. Vertigo had The Electric Co., a handful of other early rarities, Zoo Station, and a bit of Wild Horses. 360 had Ultraviolet, HMTMwhatever, Zooropa, Your Blue Room, and Electrical Storm. Both had a bunch of other cool stuff that was rehearsed and not played. (Mofo, Daddy's Gonna Pay, Please, and Velvet Dress from Vertigo were especially interesting. Along with Drowning Man on 360.) Those rarities are a big part of what made the last two tours fun. Hopefully this tour has some neat stuff too.

 

[Axver]

It's time for the glorious return of Concentration Cramp.

 

[Rival9500]

Another electric version of Please into Streets would be nice. How about replacing I Will Follow with Another Time Another Place and God Part II replacing Elevation or Vertigo or BOTH!!!! I am 100% completely in favor o s Sort Of Homecoming as well. Lets do that into Streets instead of One or Pride.

 

[Nick66]

I would like PITNOL to go away

Isn't it easier to just type Pride?

 

[gvox]

I'm really interested to see what rarities come out this tour.....Those rarities are a big part of what made the last two tours. Hopefully this tour has some neat stuff too.

Totally agreed. I just hope they don't trot out rarities that they seem to default to all the time. Like Out of Control. Give some other earlier ones a spin. Like 11 O'clock Tick Tock. Like A Song. Tomorrow

 

[ClaytonsKitten]

Isn't it easier to just type Pride?