I'm a long time occasional reader of this site but finally registered to share some info I heard about the tour that goes along with some of the speculation about multiple venues and verying setlists. In the past I used to file reports with the U2 news site that Prarit ran.
Some of you may know of U2/Rolling Stones bodyguard John Sampson, especially those of you who got to meet U2 members on the Elevation tour. Anyone who has met John will know he is a very fan friendly bodyguard. Back on April 25, 2001, on U2's offnight between Anaheim shows, Bono and Edge were attending a concert at UCLA where Gavin friday, Daniel Lanois and Elvis Costello were amongst the performers. At this event I talked at length with John about U2's tour plans (he confirmed the return to the US prior to any official annoucement, as well as the proposed Japan-Australia-S America Elevation legs that they later decided against doing) and he allowed me to walk up to Bono and Edge and ask them for photos.
Even though I saw John at subsequent U2 shows, my next chance at talking with him one on one came on November 3, 2002 while he was working on the Stones tour. On this day the Stones were doing their soundcheck for the Wiltern theater show in L.A., one day before their show. I was out front and saw John come out by himself. I decided to thank him for how he allowed me to get those photos 1 1/2 years earlier. He remembered me from that night and I asked him about Stones touring plans. He told me about them, then brought up U2's touring plans. At the time, specualtion was that the new U2 album would be out in fall 2003. John told me it would definteily be in 2004. He told me the tour was planned to start in March or April 2004 in Florida (did not specify Miami). He also said that on the night that Bono joined the Stones onstage at their theater show in Chicago (Sept 16 02) that Paul MacGuiness was also there. John said that Bono and Paul both loved the concept of what the Stones were doing on their Licks tou-stadiums, arenas and theaters, each with very different setlists, and that they thought it would be a great idea for U2 to try some theater shows.
As we all know, U2's delays in finishing their album pushed back this proposed tour start by 1 year. At this early date, they were planning a Florida start, so I would take Paul MacGuiness' statement about the tour starting in Miami as the more likely scenario, even though Bono said Boston just this week. As far as Bono's comments about them doing 2 different setlists on this tour, perhaps they will have a standard setlist for their arena shows and a very different one for any theaters shows that could occur? The Stones did the stadium-arena-theater series of shows in about a dozen major markets around the world, so perhaps U2 will follow this model? There has not been much talk about U2 inclduing stadiums on this U2 leg, but Paul M was quoted recently in an LA TImes article on stadium rock shows that U2 was undecided on stadiums for the upcoming tour, that the music itself will dictate the type of venues they use.
In December 2002, John Sampson was Bono's bodyguard on his US heartland speaking tour, during a break on the Stones tour, so his work with U2 continues. A key guy like him would be told well in advance about possible schedules, since he works with several top notch level performers.