ZOOTVTOURist
Refugee
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2005
- Messages
- 1,700
Many postings here unfortunately are not very grounded on facts, but individual taste or emotions - which is not a way it should be for such a sensible topic.
Like it or not:
1. U2 never have been a band changing "dramatically" their setlists - that in fact were nearly mostly (last exceptions during a few 80ies gigs) built upon one important thing: the current tour album, that builds a kind of frame for the shows and occupies a good percentage of the nightly sets. So, the most important thing is: You should really want to hear the new tunes, when you go to the gigs. If you don't, only this point might be enough to make you unhappy, an eternal critics-person or even might stress you that much, to go for another band.
2. The rest of the spots always has has a strong weight on the so called "Greatest Hits" or U2 classics - this being the fact especially in stadium tours, where a lot of people have to be entertained - and that IS the priority. So: If you don't like these tracks (too) this might be your second chance to turn to other music or at least not lament anymore on the "logic" of the setlists...
3. There might be different spots (at least since the mid 80ies) reserved for "obscure" tracks, as Bono himself calls them - tunes, that might be not familiar to everybody in the audience, but they (mostly) let fans' hearts beat faster. Now: If you only search for those tunes in the setlist - poor boy/girl, you never will smile at the light of sun again.
The thing with the current tour has only one "problem": It started out in the arenas with the band hacing a really strong tour album and performing a very fine selection of "Greatest Hits" - and at nearly a nightly basis playing around with openers and closers (LAPOE, COBL, Vertigo, Bad, '40'), plus further on dusting off tracks from their brilliant, sadly too often neglected back catalogue (An Cat Dubh, Into The Heart, Gloria, The Ocean ...).
This ideas have changed or even dispappered in the stadiums of Europe: From the elder, "obscure" tracks of the past only very few have survived (The Electric Co., Zoo Station - and Running To Stand Still, at least until the Amsterdam Shows). "Only" one tune came there (Miss Sarajewo) and the other spots were filled with more classics in adition to those, that already were in the setlist (IWF, ISHFWILF, AIWIY - at least until Munich, WOWY). There has been no live premiere of any track from the current album, plus: U2 play a lot more single nights in short frequences - and they have worked out a setlist, that - apart from the snippets - reflect a rather static setlist at the moment, even for U2's standards. the wish, other old "obscure" tunes might appear until now has not been realized, neither tracks from the '93-'97 period of ZOOROPA and POP.
Of course there are outstanding nights over here, too: The three Dublin shows - without a doubt the musical highlight of the whole European leg -, some elements at Amsterdam, especially the 2nd half of third night being easily as strong as the Croker ones and some multiple nights. On the single nights, the only good setlist surprise is the casual addition of Party Girl, the big minus the loss of Yahweh therefore - and, since Munich, another spot in the general setlist between ISHFWILF and COBL. Yeah, folks, the band can play shorter and less than the night before, too.
In the end, I can only declare for myself: I am very much interested in setlists; I like it, when the band decides to switch the setlists - and I do really love the current stadium setlist. U2 are playing for more than two hours a very strong and moving tracklist with a mixture of the elements I described above, covering (nearly) all phases of their career. It leaves me dancing, singing and celebrating - memories, I'll keep forever. Not more, not less. And when they decide to play a "special song", well, what more do I want. Hey, it is U2 out there and they are playing one of their strongest tours ever. So I wish to all of you for the forthcoming shows to enjoy it - and not to spend too much time thinking, what COULD BE - but, what there IS!
Like it or not:
1. U2 never have been a band changing "dramatically" their setlists - that in fact were nearly mostly (last exceptions during a few 80ies gigs) built upon one important thing: the current tour album, that builds a kind of frame for the shows and occupies a good percentage of the nightly sets. So, the most important thing is: You should really want to hear the new tunes, when you go to the gigs. If you don't, only this point might be enough to make you unhappy, an eternal critics-person or even might stress you that much, to go for another band.
2. The rest of the spots always has has a strong weight on the so called "Greatest Hits" or U2 classics - this being the fact especially in stadium tours, where a lot of people have to be entertained - and that IS the priority. So: If you don't like these tracks (too) this might be your second chance to turn to other music or at least not lament anymore on the "logic" of the setlists...
3. There might be different spots (at least since the mid 80ies) reserved for "obscure" tracks, as Bono himself calls them - tunes, that might be not familiar to everybody in the audience, but they (mostly) let fans' hearts beat faster. Now: If you only search for those tunes in the setlist - poor boy/girl, you never will smile at the light of sun again.
The thing with the current tour has only one "problem": It started out in the arenas with the band hacing a really strong tour album and performing a very fine selection of "Greatest Hits" - and at nearly a nightly basis playing around with openers and closers (LAPOE, COBL, Vertigo, Bad, '40'), plus further on dusting off tracks from their brilliant, sadly too often neglected back catalogue (An Cat Dubh, Into The Heart, Gloria, The Ocean ...).
This ideas have changed or even dispappered in the stadiums of Europe: From the elder, "obscure" tracks of the past only very few have survived (The Electric Co., Zoo Station - and Running To Stand Still, at least until the Amsterdam Shows). "Only" one tune came there (Miss Sarajewo) and the other spots were filled with more classics in adition to those, that already were in the setlist (IWF, ISHFWILF, AIWIY - at least until Munich, WOWY). There has been no live premiere of any track from the current album, plus: U2 play a lot more single nights in short frequences - and they have worked out a setlist, that - apart from the snippets - reflect a rather static setlist at the moment, even for U2's standards. the wish, other old "obscure" tunes might appear until now has not been realized, neither tracks from the '93-'97 period of ZOOROPA and POP.
Of course there are outstanding nights over here, too: The three Dublin shows - without a doubt the musical highlight of the whole European leg -, some elements at Amsterdam, especially the 2nd half of third night being easily as strong as the Croker ones and some multiple nights. On the single nights, the only good setlist surprise is the casual addition of Party Girl, the big minus the loss of Yahweh therefore - and, since Munich, another spot in the general setlist between ISHFWILF and COBL. Yeah, folks, the band can play shorter and less than the night before, too.
In the end, I can only declare for myself: I am very much interested in setlists; I like it, when the band decides to switch the setlists - and I do really love the current stadium setlist. U2 are playing for more than two hours a very strong and moving tracklist with a mixture of the elements I described above, covering (nearly) all phases of their career. It leaves me dancing, singing and celebrating - memories, I'll keep forever. Not more, not less. And when they decide to play a "special song", well, what more do I want. Hey, it is U2 out there and they are playing one of their strongest tours ever. So I wish to all of you for the forthcoming shows to enjoy it - and not to spend too much time thinking, what COULD BE - but, what there IS!
