U2 are not Phish

[drummerboy]

Reading some of the thoughts on people's setlists are laughable.... The idea that there are only 1 or 2 "must play" songs for a live U2 show is crazy - there are a good half dozen songs at least that you know are going to get played every night. While I agree that it would be absolutely incredible to hear them play an extended version of A Celebration or Wire, the fact of the matter is the vast majority of fans would have no idea what was being played....

U2 has an amazing hardcore fanbase that knows all of the words to all of the songs on all of the albums, just like for example, Phish or the Dead, but also cater to a mass populace that those bands don't touch - while the jam bands can get away with that, U2 sadly could not.

That being said, while there will be some variation from night to night and occasionally one or two of these songs will be left out of a setlist, U2 will always play the following songs live:

Streets
One
Until the End of the World
Pride
Beautful Day
With or Without You

Well... those ones and maybe an extended jam version of Acrobat. A guy can dream, cant he...

[korczykp]

WoWY hasn't always been played... at least I don't think so

I'm sure Axver can come in and correct me on that though

[Axver]

Actually, With Or Without You was cut after only three shows on the third leg of Elevation. It is technically classified as a cut song and its guaranteed status is no longer as certain as it used to be. I was a little worried about UTEOTW until they did it at the RARHOF induction, and Bono wanted to cut Pride before Popmart and it didn't appear every night initially on Elevation, so it's not certain either.

I feel One, Streets, and Beautiful Day are the only certainties leading into this tour and the next. One and Streets are the only certainties from tour to tour. I don't mean to say, however, that they are like Phish. It's that those two songs will absolutely be in the set and there will be a considerable number of regulars for the whole tour carried over from the previous tour that you couldn't necessarily guarantee beforehand.

Also, I don't think a lack of recognition is that important. Who recognised the reinvention of The Fly when U2 first did it on Elevation? When U2 were just starting out and establishing themselves to crowds who didn't know them, they played songs the audience didn't know and won them over. When U2 were at the height of their popularity during JT/Lovetown, they would sometimes play songs that were yet to be released and thus unheard-of - When Love Comes To Town, She's A Mystery To Me, et cetera. A song doesn't need to be well-known for U2 to absolutely thrill a crowd.