The Joshua Tree Tour 2019 - Show & Setlist Discussion

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How is that even possible? The tree image and gold color are painted onto the screen. The screen is not rendering them.

Or at least that is how it was in 2017.
So this was mentioned in the newest Pollstar article about U2:

The “Joshua Tree” artistic endeavor required more than just steel and freight as well, with the actual desert plant painted onto the screen as a canvas for the show, which has more of a focus on the visual landscapes and video rather than closeups.

“For the 2017 tour the Joshua Tree was painted onto the screen in silver and gold,” Williams says. “As you can imagine that was an enormously expensive operation. All the little shaders had to be taken off individually and painted and each one had something like 16 little screws or something mad.”

For the current 2019 run, the tree was depicted by video, as it wouldn’t be efficient to paint the screen for a shorter batch of shows on the other side of the world with rented materials. However, nearly everything else was brought over from the 2017 tour, which shows the band’s commitment to delivering worldwide.

“The sort of ‘rest of the world’ audiences really appreciate it,” Williams says. “They know when they’re getting the B-show, and the fact U2 won’t go anywhere without the full thing is very appreciated.”
https://www.pollstar.com/article/artist-of-the-decade-u2s-experience-dominance-142820
 
Overheard this on the way out tonight...

"it was good, except for that middle section"

"yeah, they could even play something like Wild Horses to break it up a bit"

"oh, I do like Daryl Braithwaite"

"yeah, he's good"
 
I wonder if they’re talking about the 2nd half of The Joshua Tree or the encore? :hmm:

Desire and Best Thing in the set tonight.
 
I had never heard Desire live and it did not disappoint.

Best Thing was made more entertaining when edge had to leave the stage at the start due to tuning issues and Bono started talking about how his father was asking why they hadn't finished making their first album yet.
 
Overheard this on the way out tonight...

"it was good, except for that middle section"

"yeah, they could even play something like Wild Horses to break it up a bit"

"oh, I do like Daryl Braithwaite"

"yeah, he's good"


:lol: I would have allowed that if they’d said “Rolling Stones”.

I think there was a reasonably knowledgeable crowd around me, few people singing along to the “second side” of the JT.
 
What with limited wifi connection, and sloshing through all the Republiklan lies during the House hearings these past 2 weeks back in the usa, and following that FYM thread...
hadn't had time to drop in (since most of you would be here) and say - 'been thinking of you Aussies' during this horrific swath of conflagrations!
And i remember that other bad one some years back.

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...

- RHMT's piano sucks, IGC's guitar wasn't fast enough

- 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

Bring on Melbourne!
So glad you got to see them again and in your home country and to hear songs you've never heard live as well! Oh, yeah, EBTTRT, it's a smack down live (love the recording, too)! Glad they played LIB, it's a very good song (i have other preferences for my favs from that album). EXIT omg that was amazing, the singing, the music and his persona.

And that your partner was appreciative the next show.
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.
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.
True, Bono's voice being different than the others you've mentioned. What you predict is probably close to that eventuality. Whether it will be a matter of very good to goodish shows, or wider variances within one show, or both? We shall see. And the mentioning of the others embracing their "now" voices- how they sing into them.

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.
Our night at MSG in Sept, he kinda messed it up- while being fantastic on just about everything else that evening! Pete apologized that they were not completely up to par. I'll have to yt some of these other shows. In 2015 at Forrest Hills Stadium he brought it! (i have earlier shows to compare it to)

That’s my brother. We’ve been talking a lot since the show - we are both wondering how much better the show could be if they didn’t abandon the idea of the chronological narrative.
oh, cool!
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
Def a great review.
That's Mrs. The Edge with the lasso
Ha!

Clearly Skynyrd had no idea they were outside the US, ….Helllooo Cleveland!!
Omg! :lmao: dumbasses! Never a big fan anyway, but geez.
What a great pic.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B44lIjXgVzn/?igshid=1wwuel5htve8y

Melbourne...I Will Follow was played tonight, surprisingly between Sunday Bloody Sunday and New Year’s Day. Looks like everything else remained the same as Brisbane.
wow, great photo!
I can't remember all of them but I'd put the Rose Bowl 1 me and Cobbler saw together at #2 because as he said above we didn't expect it and freaked out with joy.

#1 would have to be the Vertigo show in Los Angeles on the second U.S. leg. It was a pretty standard setlist (they had soundchecked Mofo but didn't play it :sad:) but in the encore we got full-band (but I don't think full lead electric) Wild Horses, and then closed with Bad, with a long outro snippeting Patti Smith's People Have the Power that took it into the stratosphere, the crowd continuing the refrain after the band stopped playing.
If you start from minute 5 or 6 you'll get the drift.

Oh! Love that people sang along to Patti Smith's PHTP!

Why the fuck did they drop Bad? [emoji20]
Have to find a video of Exit, people keep saying tonight’s version was a highlight.
Oh, boy. I'll have to find it as a well.
 
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I mean if you saw how talented and ridiculously hot her and YSEÉ are, you'd know their names too.

I was quite impressed with them and their music. Genuinely really enjoyed three or four of those songs. The Oasis covers, meanwhile, ranged from shit to decent. Little By Little sucks arse, Wonderwall was flat as all fuck, Stop Crying was okay and Don't Look Back in Anger was pretty great. He's obviously really enjoying his new band, and less so Oasis, and he makes that very clear, so all power to him :up:



Yeah I was a disappointed in Wonderwall - Don’t Look Back In Anger has really surpassed it in recent years as the most appeasing Oasis song. Everyone got amongst it.

And the High Flying Birds are an impressive bunch. Didn’t release it was Gem on guitar - he’s well grey now. And completely agree on YSEÈ and Jess on all counts.
 
i saw noel et al open for smashing pumpkins this summer and thought they were far better than the pumpkins were.

Yeah I was a disappointed in Wonderwall - Don’t Look Back In Anger has really surpassed it in recent years as the most appeasing Oasis song. Everyone got amongst it.

don't look back in anger is a song on the level of strawberry fields forever and like that beatles song it's taken 20+ years for people to really start to appreciate it in a historical context.
 
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:lol: I would have allowed that if they’d said “Rolling Stones”.

I think there was a reasonably knowledgeable crowd around me, few people singing along to the “second side” of the JT.


There were a few around us belting out the lyrics to In God's Country which was fantastic, and as an aside IGC absolutely slaps live.


Yeah I was a disappointed in Wonderwall - Don’t Look Back In Anger has really surpassed it in recent years as the most appeasing Oasis song. Everyone got amongst it.

And the High Flying Birds are an impressive bunch. Didn’t release it was Gem on guitar - he’s well grey now. And completely agree on YSEÈ and Jess on all counts.


I thought it was Paul Weller until I realised it was Gem :lol: Also Chris Sharrock (last Oasis drummer and drummer for The Lightning Seeds) there too.
 
My section were good / engaged except a couple people in front of me wanted to have an argument in the middle of Bad. Come on.
 
Sooo (from) nyc at 5pm+ to GMT GB is now 9pm+ then 10hrs to Sydney is ? 7am+.
Then since concert is in Perth it's 2 hours (time zones) back so that makes it about 5am+ in Perth.

So Good Morning Perthian and other Aussie, NZ and international:love: U2 fans. :D
Have a greaaaat show tonight! :hyper:

(timezones are fascinating, sometimes confusing things)
 
As the first show I'm missing this tour, I'm taking 100% of the credit if they finally bust out All I Want is You after rehearsing it way back in Auckland.
 
Yeah I reckon, but on 360 it appeared at the last Australian show which was also in Perth. Only a single Perth show this time around though so I'd expect Angel of Harlem to return as the token Rattle and Hum song.
 
Yeah I reckon, but on 360 it appeared at the last Australian show which was also in Perth. Only a single Perth show this time around though so I'd expect Angel of Harlem to return as the token Rattle and Hum song.



They played all I want is you into love rescue me in Sydney. It’s on U22
 
They played all I want is you into love rescue me in Sydney. It’s on U22

Ah yeah, forgot about that. U2Gigs was down when I was trying to remember if they played it once or twice on that leg.
 
That’s it for Australia and New Zealand. Love is Bigger back in the set.

[TWEET]1199703672470622214[/TWEET]
 
that's a hell of a picture. edge looks like he's doing some kind of weird shoegaze shuffle, bono looks like he's pulling his pants down to sit on the crapper, and adam and larry appear to be searching for someone's contact lens. :huh:
 
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