Bono's Lip Synching at concerts (Edge too)

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Miroslava said:


As for the audio loops, everybody does it, I don't quite see the big deal...

No. Not everyone does.
 
I've seen TEENY bands do so. Some friends of mine in a band used to have them too. They are not uncommon.

So yes, it's a generalization to say EVERYONE does it, but what I'm trying to say is that the usage of loops is not the end all be all that some people make it out to be. I guess The Church doesn't need them... :wink:
 
I noticed that Crumbs definitely had something weird going on. Bono missed part of the chorus. I don't care one way or another, but it was very obvious, and I believe he even apologized for it.
 
klombardo said:
I noticed that Crumbs definitely had something weird going on. Bono missed part of the chorus. I don't care one way or another, but it was very obvious, and I believe he even apologized for it.

I read that Bono apologised for bad singing during Crumbs in Boston. I'd be fairly certain there's no backing tracks - why would be apologise for singing badly if it was studio vocals!
 
corianderstem said:
Interesting about the drums on WOWY. What's the reason for having them prerecorded at the beginning?

Guitar nerd coming out..... Alright. So we all know Edge is big with his delay. The thing is, his is different. It is set to a dotted eighth note. Which is hard to time out when using a tap delay. The only way to get it perfect is to have it set to the tempo. In this case, Edges delay is set to 325bpm (In the standard case) and the tempo of the song is 110bpm. Making the delay act on a dotted eigth timing... So he has it preset to a certain delay time. And that is played overhead, so Larry picks up the beat and continues with it. Thus Edge's delay being perfectly on time. The end.


........Most of you wont get that.......... But hey :wink:
 
i was front row in toronto and unless bono lip synched all his mistakes he did a pretty damn good job.
 
Miroslava said:
I've seen TEENY bands do so. Some friends of mine in a band used to have them too. They are not uncommon.

So yes, it's a generalization to say EVERYONE does it, but what I'm trying to say is that the usage of loops is not the end all be all that some people make it out to be. I guess The Church doesn't need them... :wink:

Of course they don't. ;) And actually the reason why they don't is that if a song can't stand up live without additional backing tracks/loops/etc. they don't play it live (and they are cheap :wink: ). For those bands that want to be able to play all (or at least most) of their songs in concert (and who's songs aren't really, really basic) perhaps loops and/or backing tracks are their only choice. I guess it just depends on what the band wants -- either every single note completely live, or the ability to play a wider variety of songs. :shrug:
 
I was at Boston II when they played Crumbs... I was in the balcony behind the stage, so I got lots of views of band interaction mid-song, etc.

Bono fucked Crumbs up by forgetting to sing the bridge at the appropriate time, so the band played the progression a few times until Bono hopped in.

If there was lip-synching going on, it would've taken a verrrrrrrry astute tech to see this unravel and NOT cue up the vocal track.

Also, Edge DEFINITELY sang the spanish backing vocals on Vertigo tonight on Conan.
 
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There was no doubt at Boston II that Bono was either late or early to a particular verse during Crumbs.

The end result was that a voice enhancing backing track started and Bono's voice was projected at a time when his mouth was no where near the microphone.

I do not believe it would be fair to call it lip-synching. I believe that there are certain songs and notes that Bono has trouble with. Thus, there is a supporting track in place in case he needs it.

It's quite possible that he has a signal worked out with the people working sound. If he needs it, it's added. Some nights he might need it, others not. Sometimes Edge picks up on Bono's difficulty and blends his voice in. No big deal.

Having been in the elipse at both Boston shows, and not too far from Bono when this happened, I can tell you with certainty that it happened. Anyone who was paying attention and was close turned to their nearest friend and acknowledged it. Thus, the speech Bono gave. I'll paraphrase:

"I'd like to appologize for that problem / interuption...I believe that was the singer."

The response from the audience was grin, smile or laugh. Personally, I chuckled and was greatful that the enhancement was addressed and out of the way.

Future audio and video will show up. I'm sure you'll see / hear about it.

dave
 
chocky said:
On another (non-U2) website there was much talk about U2 lip synching at their Boston shows.

Several forum members (casual U2 fans) allege Bono lip synched Crumbs and partially lip synched at least 3 other songs. And they claim he was busted - big time!! Especially at the end of Crumbs. :shame:

They also claim Edge lip synched the backing vocals on a number of tracks - and pretended to be singing when Bono was clearly not in time with his pre-recorded lead vocals.

Can anyone verify these claims or comment on how much lip synching actually goes on at U2 concerts this tour.

I haven't seen U2 live since '97 (being an Aussie) but I've seen footage that suggests some songs have been played to backing tracks for both instruments and vocals - such as Beautiful Day (which had/has both).

And I've often suspected the Spanish call-out vocals in Vertigo were not really sung live by Edge (on the many TV performances).

I'd love to hear first-hand comments.


I was at the two Boston shows.

During Boston 1, there was a bit of a loop feedback - which might have given the illusion of lip-synching, but I thought it was a backing vocal tape that "hiccuped".

These backing tapes are just that - backing tracks. For example, do you really think Edge has the ability to sound like a chorus of boys/men in the backing lyrics of "Beautiful Day"? He sings along to the tape. Also, the tape is obvious when songs like "Love and Peace", "Streets" or "With or Without You" start. No one is playing an instrument, yet music is heard. Clearly this is a backing loop - and U2 don't pretend that it's anything else.

So the answer to the question is no. Furthermore, if Bono was lip-synching, I think all of his shows would be vocally perfect. However, given his bouts of scratchiness or where he might lose his voice (as he did when he coughed during "Pride" in the Boston show) or his made-up lyrics or when he forgets the lyrics or when he really belts out some notes (like in "Sometimes..." and "Miss Sarajevo" - which are actually better than the studio versions), it's clear there's no lip-syncing going on.
 
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indra said:


No. Not everyone does.

Sorry, Indra, but unless a set is 100% acoustic, it's done by everyone. Anyone that even has a hint of keyboards will have this backing loop - but it might not be called that. With keyboards, it's all programmed in, so even if the keyboardist is there "jamming" with the band, he's not really playing all of those notes.

But this is fine - U2 has used this backing loop for decades now. Usually there's some backing music or vocals. But as I wrote above, given Bono's good and bad vocals, his changing lyrics, and his speeches, it's impossible that he's lip-synching to anything. There might be a backing vocal (like in "Beautiful Day") but it's clear it's not the main vocal at all.
 
I think most people have no problems with obvious backing tracks (Mofo, Mysterious Ways) but they have a problem with not so obvious being covered up by the band pretending to sing/play them. It's dishonest and runs against what U2 are apparently about.

I'm yet to see anything that is terribly incriminating yet.
 
They are lip-syncing especially when they screw up the song completely and have to start it again. Now that's what I call art!
 
If you've been following this tour, you'll have noticed how many screw ups Bono has with the lyrics, so how can he be lip-syncing?

This is U2 for Christ sake, not Britney Spears :mad:
 
They use backing vocal tracks occasionally (Beautiful day at the end of "see the world in green and blue" part, it sounds like a bunch of Edges - that said he still sings live over it), but with all the improvised (forgotten) lyrics and obvious difference in Bono's voice on a good/bad night, it's live singing.

TV shows use pre-recorded music, as far as I know (TOTP). Tours are a different thing.
 
Wait, what are people complaining about? That they use synthesized sounds? Are you kidding? Or that they use backing vocal tracks? Or is it the "more than one guitar" thing?
 
While U2 definately uses loops on certain parts of certain songs, I think the main culprit of this accusation is accoustics. Sound does have to travel to get to you and you could be in the nose bleeders, behind the stage, behind a bunch of people on the GA floor... Sound will bounce around and bounce off of things on its path to your ear. It can cause a delay between what you see and what you hear; especially if you are at an arena show where sound is even coming of the roof to add further distortion.

TV can have broadcast delays, bootleg dvd's can have synching issues; really, they're no way to judge.

Besides, if U2 can go out and do the Superbowl live, Edge can definately shout "ola".
 
Axver said:


I read that Bono apologised for bad singing during Crumbs in Boston. I'd be fairly certain there's no backing tracks - why would be apologise for singing badly if it was studio vocals!

In MN, you can tell there were obviously no backing tracks for crumbs lol
 
People who think Bono was lipsynching.. perhaps its their first concert and don't realize theres a little delay between whats on the video screen and what they are hearing or something :ohmy: ?
 
What makes this complaining odd is that a number of songs have LESS backing than on past tours. Elevation has live "woos", Zoo St. and others have been relieved of their click tracks.

u2fp
 
u2 have been playing with click tracks and backing tracks for years.

as the productions became more complex from unf fire onwards, it becamer necessary. thank eno and lanois.
the lead guitar, vocals, drums and bass are live.
its a live show with certain 'props' to fill out the sound in venues which were never designed for music.
no big deal.
 
Edge lip-syncs to Holas and Donde estas...
It's obvious on Phoenix II DVD...
 
The hundreds of major sports venues build throughout the world over the past 20 years weren't designed with live music events in mind?

u2fp
 
U2FanPeter said:
The hundreds of major sports venues build throughout the world over the past 20 years weren't designed with live music events in mind?

u2fp

If you were in section 306 on September 16, 2005 (Toronto III) at the ACC, you'd probably say: yes, a venue that was built only 5 years ago wasn't designed with live music events in mind (it probably was, but the audio that night in section 306 would make you think otherwise)... and thats beside the point, sound can only travel at a certain speed, so you'll have that weird echo and those weird delays.. always
 
Maybe the real question everyone should be asking is this:

Does Bono have his voice ENHANCED for particular notes during a show?

Let's clear some things up.

a.) It's clear he doesn't lip sync an entire show.

b.) The problem had nothing to do with the venue's echo.

c.) The problem had nothing to do with the number of concerts we have been to. I believe hard core fans picked it up more easily than those who are not familiar with their shows.

d.) It wasn't a processed sound.

Hey, I love the band as much as anyone. I'm willing to cut them some slack in this area. It's not an easy job to get out there every night / other night for an entire year and expect the voice to be brilliant for every show.

One of the reasons I love the band so much is that they have taken pride in not lip-synching for television shows. Last night, Bono sounded terrible on Conan O'Brien's show.

Meeting the expectation level of 20,000 or more fans per night is a different story. It might be better for us all that he has his voice "enhanced" for critical notes during full shows. With it, the band can continue to show up every night and not have to disappoint an entire town by dropping a gig. Have a look back to 1989 & Lovetown, they were some of the best shows ever performed but, Bono did have to shut the voice down & they had to cancel several dates. I'm sure having to re-schedule those dates was neither fun for the band, or for their fans.

dave
 
daveydave said:
Last night, Bono sounded terrible on Conan O'Brien's show.

Really? Bono has had his bad nights (Sometimes@Grammys), but I thought he sounded great last night... ABOY and OOTS were perfect... he started off bad in Stuck, but it was more to do with his timing than his voice.... and he recovered after a couple of verses
 
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