The Joshua Tree Tour 2019 - Show & Setlist Discussion

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Look, I can admit I was wrong in that I was convinced the band was going to take some form of i+e/e+i to the "Outer Rim", as opposed to resurrecting a 30th anniversary tour 2 years later. I thought they were more passionate about what they were working on now, but for some reason nostalgia won out.

But there were so many people who were just so sure that it was going to be JT30 because of Lovetown and that the band just knew how important it was there and well...that doesn't appear to be the case. And since I proved that the band is now playing even less R&H material than they were on i+e, it's clear they don't know or don't give a fuck and just brought JT30 there because of general marketplace demands, or because the stage setup works bettter with stadiums compared to i+e's, or whatever.

So I guess we'll just have to wait for those admissions of incorrect assumptions from the other side now.
 
Unfortunately, you overestimate how much any of us remotely care Laz and that is exactly zero. I thought they'd do more R&H, they're not, and life goes on, so if you're hoping for some sort of grovelling, Happy Gilmore-esque I-was-wrong-you-were-right, you're not gonna find it in here. But, I am glad you admitted you were wrong about thinking they'd bring a tour & album no one gives a fuck about down here :D

lazarus said:
Because of your typo it's hard to know if Bono did a shout-out to the fires, or fries.

Either is possible, really.
Click to expand...

:huh:
 
kabigon said:
This show eclipsed JT30 Rose Bowl 1 for mine. Crowd and band energy right up there. And this is despite it being the same setlist as Auckland 1. Caught me off guard.
Click to expand...

Wow. No way, for mine. My thoughts on the night....

I am really excited for the show on Friday night. My partner is coming, along with some friends, so it will be really special to share it with her and others, and for her to see just how much U2 means to me.

Nitpicking negatives...
- the drumming on SBS should be faster
- Bono's voice might be cooked for real, he was still great, but there are so many parts he doesn't even attempt to hit any more
- Hard to express how good Bad is in words, but this was probably my least favourite rendition of the four or so I've seen, not a fan of Bono bowing out of the "I'm wide awake" parts so early, and while Beds are Burning was extremely fitting, it didn't blow me away. and its hits a million times harder when it comes as catharsis later in the set
- Hate to say it, as much as I loved it, but reckon they could have given a bit more during RTSS
- which flows into my next point, I thought the crowd was engaged, but any time Bono or Edge tried to get chants going the audience steadfastly refused to do it, which killed "still running..." we didn't even get the Invisible snippet in One!
- RHMT's piano sucks, IGC's guitar wasn't fast enough
- Edge's funky guitar at the start of MOTD didn't work for me. would be sick as some sort of Zooropa-esque freak-out though.
- Noel's band had three fucking cunts with horns! Bring them out for Angel of Harlem!! The horns lift that song so much.
- just not into EBW at all, the piano is very plain, it's nice enough when the full band comes in, but that's it. And they could do with following their own advice "are we ready ... to stop chasing every breaking wave"
- if they're going to do One, which they've done at every show so far, do it like you did it earlier in the tour, more visuals, less crowd-led singing
- I think they could have done a lot more with the visuals for Love is Bigger, I think they missed an opportunity to wow people more, cos it did sound great.

The positives, which far, far, far outweighed the negatives...
- Catching up with family I never se
- Pride was fucking great.
- Streets reduced me to a mess, I just stood there weeping and barely moving. My all-time favourite song and shit, how powerful is them walking back up the stage, standing in front of the red screen, Edge's guitar, the lights when the guitar explodes, and then that amazing visual.
- Bullet & Exit both had me fucking absolutely amped, like shadowboxing, on my toes, breathing heavy, just so fucking energetic and moved, fuck those songs are so fucking good live.
- Ugly crying as Bullet ended and RTSS began
- Trip is fun as hell
- One Tree Hill demonstrating once again how good of a song it is, just always blows me away. Not sure it would make my personal top 10, but if I'm rating U2 songs based on just how good they are as compositions, lyrics, music, then it's right up there. It's so impressive. And I really liked that they left the Greg Carroll images just for NZ.
- Angel of Harlem, fun as hell.
- Vertigo, great fun, in spite of everything.
- EVEN BETTER THAN THE GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKING REAL THING. HOLY FUCKING SHIT. the personal highlight of the night for me, I've never seen it live, and they just fucking brought it, and all the theatrics with the screen and the band intros were great fun as well. And fuck me dead does that song slap all kinds of ass. What a song. So funny to hear it bookended by Vertigo and EBW; its superiority to both stands out like dogs balls.
- Ultraviolet, yeah I've heard it a ton of times now, but fuck me dead that guitar will always get me. and it was great to see some Aussie women on the screen, and it finish with Greta Thunberg, that was really cool, I think? there was a big cheer.
- Love is Bigger is by far the best song they've written since City of Blinding Lights & Vertigo. My favourite? No way. Best? Nah. But smartest and 'best' for audiences that have largely lost interest in new U2? it works a lot.
- Bono being Bono, and his shoutouts to the firies :up:
- Larry - happiest I've seen in him in a long time, and his hair is funny haha

It was an awesome show and I think Melbourne is going to be even better as I'll be in a better state of mind. I did however feel quite sad at points that I'll never know U2 in the 80s and 90s, when it still felt like there was something at stake. How magical it must have been to see the band throwing 110% into every moment, because they were younger, and all this music was new, not nostalgic. That must have been incredibly powerful, that palpable energy, which you just don't quite get with the U2 I've known.

Bring on Melbourne!
 
cobl04 said:
Nitpicking negatives...
- the drumming on SBS should be faster
- Bono's voice might be cooked for real, he was still great, but there are so many parts he doesn't even attempt to hit any more
- Hard to express how good Bad is in words, but this was probably my least favourite rendition of the four or so I've seen, not a fan of Bono bowing out of the "I'm wide awake" parts so early, and while Beds are Burning was extremely fitting, it didn't blow me away. and its hits a million times harder when it comes as catharsis later in the set
- Hate to say it, as much as I loved it, but reckon they could have given a bit more during RTSS
- which flows into my next point, I thought the crowd was engaged, but any time Bono or Edge tried to get chants going the audience steadfastly refused to do it, which killed "still running..." we didn't even get the Invisible snippet in One!
- RHMT's piano sucks, IGC's guitar wasn't fast enough
- Edge's funky guitar at the start of MOTD didn't work for me. would be sick as some sort of Zooropa-esque freak-out though.
- Noel's band had three fucking cunts with horns! Bring them out for Angel of Harlem!! The horns lift that song so much.
- just not into EBW at all, the piano is very plain, it's nice enough when the full band comes in, but that's it. And they could do with following their own advice "are we ready ... to stop chasing every breaking wave"
- if they're going to do One, which they've done at every show so far, do it like you did it earlier in the tour, more visuals, less crowd-led singing
- I think they could have done a lot more with the visuals for Love is Bigger, I think they missed an opportunity to wow people more, cos it did sound great.
Click to expand...

-I guess the drumming could be a little faster, can't say it bothers me too much because it's hard to focus fully when everyone's excited about the first song of the night and watching when the other three get to the tree stage.
-I think I've come to terms with this. He has been doing the 'raining in your heart' bits here and there for One Tree Hill more than I remember in 2017 at least.
-Agreed it's always best late in the set when you know it's not guaranteed to show up.
-RTSS I don't mind being a bit lower key, it's a bit of a breather after the eight songs played before it which are fairly energetic.
-I think my area might have been a lot more switched on and knew when to join in.
-I don't mind the RHMT piano. IGC's already a <3 minute song, I'd rather it didn't get much shorter.
-It does feel a bit incongruous with the song but to me sounds good and they probably want to reduce the ambience where they can for Side 2 with a stadium crowd and all.
-Absolutely
-Never been a fan of EBW live but it's the least worst version they've played to this point
-Yes this is a bugbear of mine
-The set seems fairly settled at the moment but maybe they'll do some better visuals if they decide to keep it in there. I thought they would've added a song after Angel of Harlem and made Love is Bigger the closer but now I can see singalong One being the closer for the rest of the tour unfortunately.

Yes I'd love to go back in time to when this was all new and pre-internet you had no idea what to expect

Also can't wait for Melbourne :up:
 
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Glad you had a good time, Cobbler (and that our show was better).

What was your partner’s reaction? Was she just happy for you and tolerating it or did she come away with more respect for them?
 
Rattle and Hum songs on 360:
Auckland I - 0
Auckland II - 1
Melbourne I - 0
Melbourne II - 0
Brisbane I - 0
Brisbane II - 0
Sydney I - 0
Sydney II - 2
Perth I - 0
Perth II - 3

So we're already beating the average, don't @ me

At all three shows so far they've had Never Tear Us Apart in the preshow music and the crowd has joined in singing it every time. Wonder how that will go with Crows fans next Tuesday :shifty:
 
The songs are slower because they're old now.

That's not gonna change, and only get slower as time goes on I'm afraid.

And Bono - man, I don't know how many more of these things he has left. His voice is different from that of Springsteen, Jagger, Vedder, Dylan. When it starts to go, it's going to be very difficult for them to continue and have the song sound anywhere near how they're supposed to.

I'm afraid it'll be more like Daltrey trying to do Love Reign Oer Me vs Jagger doing Sympathy.
 
U2 review – who knew stadium rock didn't need constant reinvention?
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
World’s biggest band bring Joshua Tree tour to Australia for first time, but the music shines brighter without added spectacle

Ben Smee
Wed 13 Nov 2019 03.14 GMT
Last modified on Wed 13 Nov 2019 03.24 GMT

4 out of 5 stars.

It is hard to imagine a time when U2 was not a rock and roll monolith; even harder to recall the last time the band performed their music without the giant screens and props that have for decades turned its concerts into extroverted performance pieces.

The 2019 Joshua Tree tour – the third time U2 has toured the American-inspired 1987 album but the first in Australia – seems to present a romanticised version of the band’s various reinventions. The first four songs at the Brisbane opening night of the Australian leg are early-career standards, performed on a small secondary stage with room for just four musicians and a smoke machine.

This is U2 stripped of the sort of pomp that has, in their most overblown moments, managed to relegate the music to the role of circus soundtrack. There is nowhere to look but the stage. Bono even has to resort to analogue stagecraft, looking and pointing to the front row more often than the twinkling lights at the back, engaging directly with punters in a way they likely haven’t since the band’s first decade.

Without the distraction of a spectacle, the music shines. Who knew stadium rock didn’t need constant reinvention? The key ingredients seem to be a bass drum set to the level of a Napoleonic cannon and familiar galloping tunes the crowd can screech into the Suncorp Stadium void.

On Sunday Bloody Sunday, the Edge’s guitar needs no visual embellishment to evoke the march of foot soldiers during the Troubles; on Bad, Bono shouts “fade away” with the sort of ache that infects his best vocal performances.

This was merely the entree. The main course that follows is Joshua Tree, played start to finish from the high-set main stage with a stunning but calm visual backdrop of scenes of Americana, including visions of the Death Valley desert that provided the album cover’s most stunning artwork.

On rare occasions when the show stutters (like at the outset of With or Without You, where the haunting infinite guitar seems too piercing), Bono is still, at 59, able to rally the crowd with a bellow. Some punters complain about an echo on the vocals, an effect that amplifies the singer at his most searching.

The highlights are (surely not a coincidence) the most political songs from an album pitched musically as an homage to America, but where the lyrics explore its excesses and failures of the 1980s, many of which feel more relevant today to Trump’s United States. There are collapsing coal towns and opioid addicts, thieving preachers and US interventions overseas that feel remarkably fresh.

On Bullet the Blue Sky in particular, a powerful ramble arranged to sound like a fighter jet overhead, the refrain is “outside it’s America”. Never before has that sounded so real, so scary.

It’s hard to explain how a show can pivot from “You plant a demon seed / You raise a flower of fire” on Bullet the Blue Sky to “a mole digging in a hole” on Elevation within the space of an hour – other than that around the songs from Joshua Tree, U2 seems intent on mimicking its transition from rock band to red shimmering caricatures in a way that might (or might not) be intended with irony.

The extended encore of post-Joshua Tree songs replicates too many of the band’s failures since, an era flecked with moments of brilliance that were too often unappreciated as U2 focused its efforts on being the world’s biggest band, rather than its best. There are some crowd-pleasing moments and certainly high points at the back end: the under-appreciated Ultra Violet was remade as an ode to groundbreaking women. But the second section never really recovers from its manic first two tracks, back-to-back early 2000s radio staples Elevation and Vertigo, both from an era where U2 recorded at least a dozen better songs.

The visual effects are amped up and spectacular in the encore, but some don’t stick the landing. One is a sort of submarine/disco ball/kaleidoscope effect that might have been an unexplained attempt at self parody.

Bringing the Joshua Tree tour back (again) seems like an acknowledgement that this band – whose contemporaries have settled into comfortable, crowd-pleasing greatest hits shows – has dropped the pretence that its newer music is somehow comparable to its best. But that shouldn’t be confused with a lack of relevance. U2 has now toured the album three times, but only now has come to Australia. The moment feels right for us too.

It is not until the final song, One, that Bono seems to unravel that thread.

“The way we live in one place affects life in every other place. None of us is really an island,” he says.

“From rising sea levels in one country to catastrophic fires in yours. Big crisis. Global crisis. But we can put out these fires if we act together as one.’’

• U2 is touring major capital cities around Australia in November before heading to Japan and South Korea in December
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https://www.theguardian.com/music/2...-stadium-rock-didnt-need-constant-reinvention
 
Positive reviews which is good to see.

They seem to have hit the ground running. They must have rehearsed well. Important given it’s such a short tour.

Kudos.
 
lazarus said:
Glad you had a good time, Cobbler (and that our show was better).

What was your partner’s reaction? Was she just happy for you and tolerating it or did she come away with more respect for them?
Click to expand...

Yeah, can't see much topping LA1, even if I can barely remember ASOH (we were so far away, it was daylight, wish I recalled more of it).

Thanks for asking :) she's coming to the Melbourne show tomorrow. My prediction is that she will come away with a more respect for them. She's going to hate parts of JT thanks to the visuals (we're both put off by American exceptionalism) but I'll explain the context of the album before the show to hopefully lessen that. To me it represents a faith in the best of the US. But she is really, really going to hate Trip Through Your Wires :lol:

So she's coming because she knows it's important to me, I'm paying for 80% of her ticket, and tolerating it, but I think she will walk away with a much greater appreciation for them. I'm really looking forward to showing to her why I care about U2 so much, it was all I could think about at the Brisbane show. I think it will be pretty special. Thanks for asking, I appreciate it :)
 
Headache in a Suitcase said:
I'm afraid it'll be more like Daltrey trying to do Love Reign Oer Me vs Jagger doing Sympathy.
Click to expand...

I totally agree with your overall point there Headache, but Daltrey has been kicking ass on LROM on tour the last few years. He doesn’t always nail it, but the nights where it’s amazing vastly outnumber the nights it’s a wreck.
 
Hey guys, couldn’t find a thread for this, but I have two GAs for Melbourne 11/15 that I’m willing to sell under face value. I can’t make the show (doing Sydney instead). Stubhub has my listing blocked and I’d hate to see them go to waste...

Mario
 
I can’t wait for tomorrow. Can only do one show (although I did get to see it in Mexico City a few years back) cause of new baby, but aiming for a spot just left of B stage on the rail. Should get good proximity to the band and good sight of the visuals. Hoping lining up from 3pm will be good enough. My bladder isn’t what it used to be.

What a wonderful album it is.
 
tommycharles said:
I totally agree with your overall point there Headache, but Daltrey has been kicking ass on LROM on tour the last few years. He doesn’t always nail it, but the nights where it’s amazing vastly outnumber the nights it’s a wreck.
Click to expand...
Right but I think that's exactly where Bono will be, too... slower, lower key, still capable of being amazing at times but just can't consistently bring it every night the way he once could.
 
cobl04 said:
Yeah, can't see much topping LA1, even if I can barely remember ASOH (we were so far away, it was daylight, wish I recalled more of it).

Thanks for asking :) she's coming to the Melbourne show tomorrow. My prediction is that she will come away with a more respect for them. She's going to hate parts of JT thanks to the visuals (we're both put off by American exceptionalism) but I'll explain the context of the album before the show to hopefully lessen that. To me it represents a faith in the best of the US. But she is really, really going to hate Trip Through Your Wires :lol:

So she's coming because she knows it's important to me, I'm paying for 80% of her ticket, and tolerating it, but I think she will walk away with a much greater appreciation for them. I'm really looking forward to showing to her why I care about U2 so much, it was all I could think about at the Brisbane show. I think it will be pretty special. Thanks for asking, I appreciate it :)
Click to expand...

Ahh, looks like I misread your earlier post, thought she had come to the first show. Hope she likes Friday’s show enough to make it a really memorable experience for you. I think it’s harder for “younger” people to appreciate a lot of the recorded music of this band without context, but regardless of how they may not be at their performance peak anymore, there’s a distinct energy created by them in the live setting that is hard to describe but palpable and I think anyone but an absolute grouch can feel it.

And yes, I think you pre-emptively highlighting that JT is very critical of U.S. foreign policy, historical racism, and hypocritical clergy will help to appreciate the thematic content of the material. It seemed that the videos are celebrating more than anything else is the country’s geography/natural beauty and Bono’s “America is an idea” thing than anything cultural. At least from what I remember.
 
i rolled my eyes pretty hard at the trip through your wires video of the woman in a stars and stripes bikini painting a stars and stripes flag and yee-hawing around with a lasso. but that's the only time that i really felt hit over the head with the "america!" stuff that i can recall.

no matter how hamfisted U2 tries to be about america they'll never be as tone-deaf as the time two summers ago that lynyrd skynyrd came to toronto and less than two weeks after donald trump started a trade war against canada and snubbed our prime minister at the G7 the band decided it would be a good idea to play a song called "america (love it or leave it)" and project a 100-foot US flag onto the entire audience and stage. i've never heard a band that everyone there paid to see get booed so hard during their own show. and then the lead singer asks the crowd "don't you guys love america?!?" the same way snoop asked if the east coast loved the west at the 1995 BET awards, and got the same reaction as snoop. it was marvelous.
 
DaveC said:
i rolled my eyes pretty hard at the trip through your wires video of the woman in a stars and stripes bikini painting a stars and stripes flag and yee-hawing around with a lasso. but that's the only time that i really felt hit over the head with the "america!" stuff that i can recall.
Click to expand...
That's Mrs. The Edge with the lasso

no matter how hamfisted U2 tries to be about america they'll never be as tone-deaf as the time two summers ago that lynyrd skynyrd came to toronto and less than two weeks after donald trump started a trade war against canada and snubbed our prime minister at the G7 the band decided it would be a good idea to play a song called "america (love it or leave it)" and project a 100-foot US flag onto the entire audience and stage. i've never heard a band that everyone there paid to see get booed so hard during their own show. and then the lead singer asks the crowd "don't you guys love america?!?" the same way snoop asked if the east coast loved the west at the 1995 BET awards, and got the same reaction as snoop. it was marvelous.
Click to expand...

Clearly Skynyrd had no idea they were outside the US, ….Helllooo Cleveland!!
 
rennowba said:
https://www.abc.net.au/doublej/musi...eview-joshua-tree-2019-brisbane-live/11699534

Love this review. The reviewer obviously hates U2 . But can’t help but be amazed at the live show . Cracking review
Click to expand...



This review reminds me of a friend of mine who claims to HATE U2. Personally I think it’s just a bandwagon he has jumped in without doing much research.

One night recently we were all drunk at a karaoke bar, and somebody not in our group sang “Streets”. This guy who hates U2 so much, was passionately belting out all the lyrics as we all sang along. “GREAT FUCKING SONG!!!” he exclaimed after it was over.

While the next day he probably went back to his normal U2 hating persona, maybe not even remembering the night before, I will always remember the primal reaction he had to that song. He let his guard down for a moment, and loved it! Which I think a lot of these “haters” will do in their more honest moments.
 
lazarus said:
Ahh, looks like I misread your earlier post, thought she had come to the first show. Hope she likes Friday’s show enough to make it a really memorable experience for you. I think it’s harder for “younger” people to appreciate a lot of the recorded music of this band without context, but regardless of how they may not be at their performance peak anymore, there’s a distinct energy created by them in the live setting that is hard to describe but palpable and I think anyone but an absolute grouch can feel it.

And yes, I think you pre-emptively highlighting that JT is very critical of U.S. foreign policy, historical racism, and hypocritical clergy will help to appreciate the thematic content of the material. It seemed that the videos are celebrating more than anything else is the country’s geography/natural beauty and Bono’s “America is an idea” thing than anything cultural. At least from what I remember.
Click to expand...

Yeah totally. And I think the staging helps too, it's a pretty immersive, impressive experience, and not one she's likely to see anywhere else. And I think she will appreciate seeing how much I love it.
 
Headache in a Suitcase said:
Right but I think that's exactly where Bono will be, too... slower, lower key, still capable of being amazing at times but just can't consistently bring it every night the way he once could.
Click to expand...

Do you think a long break would help? Or is he just unfortunately not going to get it back?

This would all be moot if he leant into his current voice, instead of trying to get away from it. Thinking of other old singers, Van, Neil Young, Nick Cave, Bruce, Tom Waits, Leonard, Bowie, they all are/were embracing their voices and singing to them, which a) didn't threaten their vocals as much and b) made the songs more authentic. That's probably why Cedars of Lebanon remains on my Rushmore of the last decade.
 
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