Letterman - Magnificent Performance (3/3/09)

[popacrobat]

hey, congrats on getting in! that's awesome!

ha thanks! it was quite the day yesterday. i went with my sister, we were stuck in traffic getting through Hartford for 40 minutes, usually takes literally 5-10 minutes, so we said ah shit, this sucks. missed the first train from Greenwich (CT), but got into grand central around 12:04, walked to Broadway, noticed the podium and the NYC Dept. of Transportation sign above 53rd ST. and said, no way, they're going to have a press conference for the U2 way?? We had read about it on Monday night. So we huddle up on the side there and they allow a certain number of people in front of the podium, and we got to be one of them. so we were like 5 feet away from them...granted, it was fucking cold standing outside for an hour and half! then we went to get our letterman tickets, then to eat lunch. they told us to be outside of Roseland (theatre across the street to line everybody up in) between 3 and 3:30. Notice some gates set up, Adam, Larry and Edge roll in in a black SUV, get out and go inside, didn't sign anything just waved. Next car comes, it's Bono, he gets out, signs a few things, walks past me asking for an autograph to somebody else but because I had a book (Bono in Conversation) he smirked when he saw it, came back and signed it, and crossed out "Bono" on the title page and replaced it with a huge autograph of him. Then we got to go Letterman which was okay when U2 came on we wanted to jump out of our seats, which we basically did, but then the world wide pants people came over and said you HAVE to sit!!!! so we were forced to sit...though the performance was fucking awesome and it was a great time. lame production people though, very lame. I heard a few of them muttering while we were all walking in "I don't want to deal with THESE people today..." okay, well, don't have U2 on your show for a week straight then, jackass.

that is all for my really long run on paragraph. Oh and we met Dallas Schoo after the show for a minute. He went to go buy chocolate for U2 apparently and my sister was like, We like the way the guitars sound!! haha. he said thanks and smiled and said its a great record isnt it? truly amazing and then gave her some candy, lol.

 

[powerhour24]

Amazing performance, much better than the BBC one which somewhat disappointed me.

One thing I have to ask though, why wasn't Edge doing backing vocals?

 

[sony]

Fantastic, just the beginning was ..WOW

 

[mikal]

ha thanks! it was quite the day yesterday. i went with my sister, we were stuck in traffic getting through Hartford for 40 minutes, usually takes literally 5-10 minutes, so we said ah shit, this sucks. missed the first train from Greenwich (CT), but got into grand central around 12:04, walked to Broadway, noticed the podium and the NYC Dept. of Transportation sign above 53rd ST. and said, no way, they're going to have a press conference for the U2 way?? We had read about it on Monday night. So we huddle up on the side there and they allow a certain number of people in front of the podium, and we got to be one of them. so we were like 5 feet away from them...granted, it was fucking cold standing outside for an hour and half! then we went to get our letterman tickets, then to eat lunch. they told us to be outside of Roseland (theatre across the street to line everybody up in) between 3 and 3:30. Notice some gates set up, Adam, Larry and Edge roll in in a black SUV, get out and go inside, didn't sign anything just waved. Next car comes, it's Bono, he gets out, signs a few things, walks past me asking for an autograph to somebody else but because I had a book (Bono in Conversation) he smirked when he saw it, came back and signed it, and crossed out "Bono" on the title page and replaced it with a huge autograph of him. Then we got to go Letterman which was okay when U2 came on we wanted to jump out of our seats, which we basically did, but then the world wide pants people came over and said you HAVE to sit!!!! so we were forced to sit...though the performance was fucking awesome and it was a great time. lame production people though, very lame. I heard a few of them muttering while we were all walking in "I don't want to deal with THESE people today..." okay, well, don't have U2 on your show for a week straight then, jackass.

that is all for my really long run on paragraph. Oh and we met Dallas Schoo after the show for a minute. He went to go buy chocolate for U2 apparently and my sister was like, We like the way the guitars sound!! haha. he said thanks and smiled and said its a great record isnt it? truly amazing and then gave her some candy, lol.

that's an awesome story!

 

[zwervers2]

Sorry but I think it doesnt sound good at all.
It sounds too slow for some reason and it drags a bit.
Bono is not sounding good in this song esp when you compare it to Breath.
Man the "I was born"part is so incredibly weak vocalwise, it is shocking. it's a shame because I love magnificent on the record. they have A LOT of work to do for his tour. up till now the only song that holds up is Breath whch is a shame because they got a great album to promote

 

[popacrobat]

that's an awesome story!

thanks! and some picture evidence for the doubting thomas' out there

 

[mikal]

how cold was it popacrobat? i know yesterday in Wisconsin we didn't get to 20 degrees.

 

[popacrobat]

it was about 24-25 or so. but, there was a decent amount of wind, and we were only in the sun for about 25 minutes of the hour + waiting or so for the press conference, so we were in the shade otherwise, which was cold. Plus the streets were slushy and icy, so my body itself wasn't cold, but my fingers, face and feet were frozen. and i'm used to the cold, i ski a lot and have skied since I was three, but it was my feet that were killing me from the freezing. But it was very fucking cold. Everybody was bundled to the max.

 

[Lila64]

Great story popacrobat - congrats

 

[mikal]

it was about 24-25 or so. but, there was a decent amount of wind, and we were only in the sun for about 25 minutes of the hour + waiting or so for the press conference, so we were in the shade otherwise, which was cold. Plus the streets were slushy and icy, so my body itself wasn't cold, but my fingers, face and feet were frozen. and i'm used to the cold, i ski a lot and have skied since I was three, but it was my feet that were killing me from the freezing. But it was very fucking cold. Everybody was bundled to the max.

i can only imagine! wind is the worst, IMO.

 

[KristenCaNaDiAn]

ha thanks! it was quite the day yesterday. i went with my sister, we were stuck in traffic getting through Hartford for 40 minutes, usually takes literally 5-10 minutes, so we said ah shit, this sucks. missed the first train from Greenwich (CT), but got into grand central around 12:04, walked to Broadway, noticed the podium and the NYC Dept. of Transportation sign above 53rd ST. and said, no way, they're going to have a press conference for the U2 way?? We had read about it on Monday night. So we huddle up on the side there and they allow a certain number of people in front of the podium, and we got to be one of them. so we were like 5 feet away from them...granted, it was fucking cold standing outside for an hour and half! then we went to get our letterman tickets, then to eat lunch. they told us to be outside of Roseland (theatre across the street to line everybody up in) between 3 and 3:30. Notice some gates set up, Adam, Larry and Edge roll in in a black SUV, get out and go inside, didn't sign anything just waved. Next car comes, it's Bono, he gets out, signs a few things, walks past me asking for an autograph to somebody else but because I had a book (Bono in Conversation) he smirked when he saw it, came back and signed it, and crossed out "Bono" on the title page and replaced it with a huge autograph of him. Then we got to go Letterman which was okay when U2 came on we wanted to jump out of our seats, which we basically did, but then the world wide pants people came over and said you HAVE to sit!!!! so we were forced to sit...though the performance was fucking awesome and it was a great time. lame production people though, very lame. I heard a few of them muttering while we were all walking in "I don't want to deal with THESE people today..." okay, well, don't have U2 on your show for a week straight then, jackass.

that is all for my really long run on paragraph. Oh and we met Dallas Schoo after the show for a minute. He went to go buy chocolate for U2 apparently and my sister was like, We like the way the guitars sound!! haha. he said thanks and smiled and said its a great record isnt it? truly amazing and then gave her some candy, lol.

Wow that's awesome

 

[RademR]

shit....im in NY for a work trip but came in last night. what bad timing

going to check out U2 street today. GREAT performance

 

[Purplereign]

thanks! and some picture evidence for the doubting thomas' out there

lovely stuff popacrobat . . . what a fantastic day . . . hope the memories keep you warm for a long time to come

 

[popacrobat]

thanks everyone! and yes, i'll be remembering this day for awhile. it's so funny too, because the press conference and the autograph just fell into our laps. We didn't plan on that. We just planned on getting the tickets, lining up early so we could be some of the first ones to get them, but, then there was the press conference and we were like hey a-okay with us. then bono just happened to drive by when we went to the meeting place. just one of those days where everything goes right.

and yes mikal, the wind was the killer. if it were just sunlight and 24 degrees, it'd have been gorgeous. but the shade, wind and slush, yeesh. cold. and i forgot my jacket leaving, whoops.

 

[corianderstem]

Great story - good for you!

I haven't watched it yet. I just had a DVR hooked up, and last night's Letterman was the first thing I tried to record - we'll see if I did it right or not when I get home.

 

[zwervers2]

ha thanks! it was quite the day yesterday. i went with my sister, we were stuck in traffic getting through Hartford for 40 minutes, usually takes literally 5-10 minutes, so we said ah shit, this sucks. missed the first train from Greenwich (CT), but got into grand central around 12:04, walked to Broadway, noticed the podium and the NYC Dept. of Transportation sign above 53rd ST. and said, no way, they're going to have a press conference for the U2 way?? We had read about it on Monday night. So we huddle up on the side there and they allow a certain number of people in front of the podium, and we got to be one of them. so we were like 5 feet away from them...granted, it was fucking cold standing outside for an hour and half! then we went to get our letterman tickets, then to eat lunch. they told us to be outside of Roseland (theatre across the street to line everybody up in) between 3 and 3:30. Notice some gates set up, Adam, Larry and Edge roll in in a black SUV, get out and go inside, didn't sign anything just waved. Next car comes, it's Bono, he gets out, signs a few things, walks past me asking for an autograph to somebody else but because I had a book (Bono in Conversation) he smirked when he saw it, came back and signed it, and crossed out "Bono" on the title page and replaced it with a huge autograph of him. Then we got to go Letterman which was okay when U2 came on we wanted to jump out of our seats, which we basically did, but then the world wide pants people came over and said you HAVE to sit!!!! so we were forced to sit...though the performance was fucking awesome and it was a great time. lame production people though, very lame. I heard a few of them muttering while we were all walking in "I don't want to deal with THESE people today..." okay, well, don't have U2 on your show for a week straight then, jackass.

that is all for my really long run on paragraph. Oh and we met Dallas Schoo after the show for a minute. He went to go buy chocolate for U2 apparently and my sister was like, We like the way the guitars sound!! haha. he said thanks and smiled and said its a great record isnt it? truly amazing and then gave her some candy, lol.

cool

 

[nicv]

ha thanks! it was quite the day yesterday. i went with my sister, we were stuck in traffic getting through Hartford for 40 minutes, usually takes literally 5-10 minutes, so we said ah shit, this sucks. missed the first train from Greenwich (CT), but got into grand central around 12:04, walked to Broadway, noticed the podium and the NYC Dept. of Transportation sign above 53rd ST. and said, no way, they're going to have a press conference for the U2 way?? We had read about it on Monday night. So we huddle up on the side there and they allow a certain number of people in front of the podium, and we got to be one of them. so we were like 5 feet away from them...granted, it was fucking cold standing outside for an hour and half! then we went to get our letterman tickets, then to eat lunch. they told us to be outside of Roseland (theatre across the street to line everybody up in) between 3 and 3:30. Notice some gates set up, Adam, Larry and Edge roll in in a black SUV, get out and go inside, didn't sign anything just waved. Next car comes, it's Bono, he gets out, signs a few things, walks past me asking for an autograph to somebody else but because I had a book (Bono in Conversation) he smirked when he saw it, came back and signed it, and crossed out "Bono" on the title page and replaced it with a huge autograph of him. Then we got to go Letterman which was okay when U2 came on we wanted to jump out of our seats, which we basically did, but then the world wide pants people came over and said you HAVE to sit!!!! so we were forced to sit...though the performance was fucking awesome and it was a great time. lame production people though, very lame. I heard a few of them muttering while we were all walking in "I don't want to deal with THESE people today..." okay, well, don't have U2 on your show for a week straight then, jackass.

that is all for my really long run on paragraph. Oh and we met Dallas Schoo after the show for a minute. He went to go buy chocolate for U2 apparently and my sister was like, We like the way the guitars sound!! haha. he said thanks and smiled and said its a great record isnt it? truly amazing and then gave her some candy, lol.

They like chocolate, now I love them even more!!!! This was an awesome story! I am very jealous happy for you. I just love hearing how Bono took the extra time with his fans and came to you to sign the book, how cool is that? Then Dallas sounds like a great guy too, no surprises that they are surrounded by good people. Thanks for sharing!

 

[U2opra]

the last weeks has been busy for Bono, alot of interviews, singing outdoor.. That isnt good for the voice... Also that he is a bit nervous because that havent learned playing/singing the songs 100%. He seems to have a few problems on the low singing, but he is great on the high notes.

I think his voice will be more stable a few weeks in the tour, the only thing that worries me is that the whole tour seems to be outdoor wich isnt the best for him due to allergies, heavier air... Just remember 2nd leg Vertigo wich was outdoors and he didnt sing on that leg like he did on 1st and 3rd.

I agree. However, I do not understand why his voice over the last 5-6 years has improved in regards to achieving those high notes, yet struggles with something like his falsetto? His falsetto was always something he could slip into quite easily before HTDAAB era, but after that it got worse for a while, then it improved for a bit, now worse again. If you look at the elevation tour and popmart he couldn't hit the high notes but his falsetto was pretty strong still.

 

[doctorwho]

Thank you for the video. Getting me all emotional again. I freaking love this song so much.

Bono flubbed some lyrics though? Oh well that's nothing new.

I snuck in a listen at work.

Maybe I don't know the lyrics well enough, but from what I heard, it was outstanding. I didn't catchy any lyrical mistakes (although Bono is famous for changing lyrics anyway, so who knows?) and I thought his voice was outstanding on what is a very challenging song (one of the most challenging he's done in years - maybe decades).

As this is one of my favorite tracks (top 3), I loved the performance. Bodes well for the tour.

Funny Letterman comments too.

 

[doctorwho]

I agree. However, I do not understand why his voice over the last 5-6 years has improved in regards to achieving those high notes, yet struggles with something like his falsetto? His falsetto was always something he could slip into quite easily before HTDAAB era, but after that it got worse for a while, then it improved for a bit, now worse again. If you look at the elevation tour and popmart he couldn't hit the high notes but his falsetto was pretty strong still.

Falsettos require a man to really hit a high note that's different from open throat singing. On the JT tour, there were plenty of times one could hear Bono belt out a song, but then ask the audience to sing a falsetto (including the "wooh's" in "Bad") because he just couldn't.

I'm no singer, but I can relate. There are days I can sing along to a song and hit a falsetto (granted, I'm singing this in my car - not in front of a national audience or tens of thousands of people), and other days, my voice just cracks. Bono probably warms up first and knows exactly what he's capable of on a given day. Remember, a voice is not a guitar.

 

[ladywithspinninghead]

really? yes applause was loud at the end yes because i couldn't hear what he was saying either, but I didn't feel like there were loads of HUGE U2 fans in there. I felt most of the people were like "yeah, hey, cool U2 i know them they're pretty good." I did meet quite a few of huge U2 nuts in the line though, so they were there, i just don't know if it were loads.

also like I said last night, the world wide pants people are as lame as it gets

You're right, there probably weren't 'loads of huge U2 fans' but everyone was on their feet right after their performance and the applause was absolutely deafening.
And it seemed like every time Dave would mention U2, the crowd would get really loud. Felicity Huffman hardly got any love compared to the lads.

 

[ladywithspinninghead]

ha thanks! it was quite the day yesterday. i went with my sister, we were stuck in traffic getting through Hartford for 40 minutes, usually takes literally 5-10 minutes, so we said ah shit, this sucks. missed the first train from Greenwich (CT), but got into grand central around 12:04, walked to Broadway, noticed the podium and the NYC Dept. of Transportation sign above 53rd ST. and said, no way, they're going to have a press conference for the U2 way?? We had read about it on Monday night. So we huddle up on the side there and they allow a certain number of people in front of the podium, and we got to be one of them. so we were like 5 feet away from them...granted, it was fucking cold standing outside for an hour and half! then we went to get our letterman tickets, then to eat lunch. they told us to be outside of Roseland (theatre across the street to line everybody up in) between 3 and 3:30. Notice some gates set up, Adam, Larry and Edge roll in in a black SUV, get out and go inside, didn't sign anything just waved. Next car comes, it's Bono, he gets out, signs a few things, walks past me asking for an autograph to somebody else but because I had a book (Bono in Conversation) he smirked when he saw it, came back and signed it, and crossed out "Bono" on the title page and replaced it with a huge autograph of him. Then we got to go Letterman which was okay when U2 came on we wanted to jump out of our seats, which we basically did, but then the world wide pants people came over and said you HAVE to sit!!!! so we were forced to sit...though the performance was fucking awesome and it was a great time. lame production people though, very lame. I heard a few of them muttering while we were all walking in "I don't want to deal with THESE people today..." okay, well, don't have U2 on your show for a week straight then, jackass.

that is all for my really long run on paragraph. Oh and we met Dallas Schoo after the show for a minute. He went to go buy chocolate for U2 apparently and my sister was like, We like the way the guitars sound!! haha. he said thanks and smiled and said its a great record isnt it? truly amazing and then gave her some candy, lol.

Wow, someone really said that? Was the comment about "these people" referring to U2 fans you think?

I thought everyone was really pleasant, especially the women; remember the guy giving us the pep talk and cracking jokes on stage at the Roseland? He's the one who freaked on me twice for standing up and dancing. Surprising, actually. I said "But it's my favourite U2 song!". That didn't matter to him
I really don't know what the big deal

 

[popacrobat]

Wow, someone really said that? Was the comment about "these people" referring to U2 fans you think?

I thought everyone was really pleasant, especially the women; remember the guy giving us the pep talk and cracking jokes on stage at the Roseland? He's the one who freaked on me twice for standing up and dancing. Surprising, actually. I said "But it's my favourite U2 song!". That didn't matter to him
I really don't know what the big deal

haha he was in the balcony right? so you must have been in the balcony to the left of me. they told us to sit down too. we were told to sit down too by the guy with the dark spikey hair.

and yeah, i'm pretty sure the guy was referring to u2 fans. they didn't seem to like that people were there for them and not letterman. at least that's what i was getting from them.

 

[popacrobat]

They like chocolate, now I love them even more!!!! This was an awesome story! I am very jealous happy for you. I just love hearing how Bono took the extra time with his fans and came to you to sign the book, how cool is that? Then Dallas sounds like a great guy too, no surprises that they are surrounded by good people. Thanks for sharing!

haha yeah, dallas is pretty cool. so are all of them. was pretty funny that he went sprinting out of the building to return with...chocolates.

 

[U2opra]

Falsettos require a man to really hit a high note that's different from open throat singing. On the JT tour, there were plenty of times one could hear Bono belt out a song, but then ask the audience to sing a falsetto (including the "wooh's" in "Bad") because he just couldn't.

I'm no singer, but I can relate. There are days I can sing along to a song and hit a falsetto (granted, I'm singing this in my car - not in front of a national audience or tens of thousands of people), and other days, my voice just cracks. Bono probably warms up first and knows exactly what he's capable of on a given day. Remember, a voice is not a guitar.

Oh I know what you mean, I'm a guy myself and I can achieve a falsetto much easier than belting out to hit those open throat high notes. Am I right in guessing, that whatever technique he is using on the day, he can only do one and not both? Sounds weird but I think I'm starting see why he does it.

Also, here is some examples of what I was talking about:

1. Here in Popmart Mexico where he is singing With Or Without You near the end where he does his little falsetto part which is pretty strong still compared to the ZooTV days - at 3:54 on the video.

YouTube - U2 Pop Mart Live From Mexico - With Or Without You

2. Here in the Elevation Tour, the falsetto is weaker and maybe not as clean as it was on the Popmart tour but he can still hit it - see 3:57 on the video.

YouTube - U2//With Or Without You//Elevation Tour-South Bend

3. Here in the Vertigo Tour, he can still do the falsetto but it falters and he takes breaks more to continue it - see 4:29.

YouTube - U218 Singles Album is In Stores Now! ("With or Without You")

 

[ladywithspinninghead]

haha he was in the balcony right? so you must have been in the balcony to the left of me. they told us to sit down too. we were told to sit down too by the guy with the dark spikey hair.

and yeah, i'm pretty sure the guy was referring to u2 fans. they didn't seem to like that people were there for them and not letterman. at least that's what i was getting from them.

Yep, I was in the balcony - I was disheartened at first but a New Yorker actually said it's preferable as the view is often obstructed by cameras on the lower level. You know the sound guy just above the band? I was right behind him.

And for the person who said it was cool U2 liked hot chocolate (still don't know how to multiquote ), well, I was watching U2 and Mayor Bloomberg eat sorbets out of those tall-ish bowls in the restaurant, now THAT was funny!

 

[popacrobat]

Yep, I was in the balcony - I was disheartened at first but a New Yorker actually said it's preferable as the view is often obstructed by cameras on the lower level. You know the sound guy just above the band? I was right behind him.

And for the person who said it was cool U2 liked hot chocolate (still don't know how to multiquote ), well, I was watching U2 and Mayor Bloomberg eat sorbets out of those tall-ish bowls in the restaurant, now THAT was funny!

yeah i was a bit let down at first about the balcony, but people were saying they're the better seat because theres nothing obstructed. besides, the venue was so small that there was no bad seat. we had "RED" written on our tickets, so i figured that was really good or really bad

I was pretty much right next to the big camera that was on the center of the balcony. guy was just reading a magazine the whole time, was pretty weird. i think i noticed that guy who gave the pep talk to tell some people to sit down now that i think about it.

 

[kitkat234]

I am late in posting but I loved Magnificent last night!!!! What a great job they did, this ones going to rock live.....

 

[Peterrrrr]

Oh I know what you mean, I'm a guy myself and I can achieve a falsetto much easier than belting out to hit those open throat high notes. Am I right in guessing, that whatever technique he is using on the day, he can only do one and not both? Sounds weird but I think I'm starting see why he does it.

Also, here is some examples of what I was talking about:

1. Here in Popmart Mexico where he is singing With Or Without You near the end where he does his little falsetto part which is pretty strong still compared to the ZooTV days - at 3:54 on the video.


2. Here in the Elevation Tour, the falsetto is weaker and maybe not as clean as it was on the Popmart tour but he can still hit it - see 3:57 on the video.



3. Here in the Vertigo Tour, he can still do the falsetto but it falters and he takes breaks more to continue it - see 4:29.

I think why he didnt use the falsetto in the DL performence is that he didnt want to chance. He isnt sure how to sing the song. Remember there are alot of good falsettos on the album. Same with the 5th leg of Vertigo tour. He has still has it.

 

[Yahweh_OMG]

Breath = better live

Magnificent = better live

can't wait to see UC and MOS live....