jick
Refugee
U2: Sacrificing Concert Quality To Avoid The "Nostalgia Act/ Tribute Band" Label?
From the outset, it seems U2 have been trying hard - actually trying way too hard - to avoid being labelled a nostaligia act or to being their own tribute band.
In an effort to avoid the label of "Greatest Hits Tour" or being a "mere nostalgia act" U2 seem move heaven and earth to avoid playing the greatest of their hits like With Or Without You, Desire, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, All I Want Is You, or even the perennial fan live favorites like Bad and Until The End Of The World. Instead, we have to deal with second or third rate songs like Zoo Station, The Cry/Electric Co, The Ocean, An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart, or Running To Stand Still.
Some would argue that these songs are tailored for the hardcore fans in the shows. I don't buy that argument. Sure, hardcore fans would love to hear some old songs played again or other songs never played live. The surveys show Acrobat, Ultraviolet, Red Hill Mining Town, or Gone at the top of the list. But when you see U2 trading With Or Without You and Bad for Electric Co and The Ocean - then you know something is wrong with the picture.
U2 are just trying too hard to avoid being a nostaligia act. They avoid the excesses of Zoo TV and Popmart, they try not to be overly intimate as Elevation (no band introductions or acoustic sets this tour save for Yahweh). They even try to avoid the customary red screen of Streets.
But U2 clearly have no achieved their objectives. They have a tour that has no distinguishing theme (like the irony of Zoo TV, the excesses of Popmart, or the intimacy of Elevation). It like a distant cold (un-intimate) version of Elevation Tour that has more lesser songs than Greatest Hits.
Elevation celebrated the return of the full band Sunday Bloody Sunday on the setlist for the first time since the early Zoo TV days. Vertigo celebrates the return of The Ocean. Now that's a world of difference.
The band don't seem to add anything to their older songs, especially their hits. It seems like they are going through the motions. Bono sings totally off-key some nights. The timing is off, they seem underrehearsed and unprofessional. THe lyrics are forgotten too much.
When U2 launch into Electric Co and its pairing Boy song (whether The Ocean or An Cat Dubh), it is automatically the restrom or hotdog stand break for the audience. No one really pays attention.
By intentionally evading their greatest hits in favor of obscure songs, and by intentionally avoiding long-standing concert traditions (such as red streets screen), U2 try to hard to avoid being their own tribute band. But in trying so hard to do so, they fail miserably and make the public actually want U2 to be a tribute band already. They'd rather have another version of a huge U2 hit over a crude version of an unkown song like The Ocean.
U2 have truly sacrificed their concert quality.
Cheers,
J
From the outset, it seems U2 have been trying hard - actually trying way too hard - to avoid being labelled a nostaligia act or to being their own tribute band.
In an effort to avoid the label of "Greatest Hits Tour" or being a "mere nostalgia act" U2 seem move heaven and earth to avoid playing the greatest of their hits like With Or Without You, Desire, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, All I Want Is You, or even the perennial fan live favorites like Bad and Until The End Of The World. Instead, we have to deal with second or third rate songs like Zoo Station, The Cry/Electric Co, The Ocean, An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart, or Running To Stand Still.
Some would argue that these songs are tailored for the hardcore fans in the shows. I don't buy that argument. Sure, hardcore fans would love to hear some old songs played again or other songs never played live. The surveys show Acrobat, Ultraviolet, Red Hill Mining Town, or Gone at the top of the list. But when you see U2 trading With Or Without You and Bad for Electric Co and The Ocean - then you know something is wrong with the picture.
U2 are just trying too hard to avoid being a nostaligia act. They avoid the excesses of Zoo TV and Popmart, they try not to be overly intimate as Elevation (no band introductions or acoustic sets this tour save for Yahweh). They even try to avoid the customary red screen of Streets.
But U2 clearly have no achieved their objectives. They have a tour that has no distinguishing theme (like the irony of Zoo TV, the excesses of Popmart, or the intimacy of Elevation). It like a distant cold (un-intimate) version of Elevation Tour that has more lesser songs than Greatest Hits.
Elevation celebrated the return of the full band Sunday Bloody Sunday on the setlist for the first time since the early Zoo TV days. Vertigo celebrates the return of The Ocean. Now that's a world of difference.
The band don't seem to add anything to their older songs, especially their hits. It seems like they are going through the motions. Bono sings totally off-key some nights. The timing is off, they seem underrehearsed and unprofessional. THe lyrics are forgotten too much.
When U2 launch into Electric Co and its pairing Boy song (whether The Ocean or An Cat Dubh), it is automatically the restrom or hotdog stand break for the audience. No one really pays attention.
By intentionally evading their greatest hits in favor of obscure songs, and by intentionally avoiding long-standing concert traditions (such as red streets screen), U2 try to hard to avoid being their own tribute band. But in trying so hard to do so, they fail miserably and make the public actually want U2 to be a tribute band already. They'd rather have another version of a huge U2 hit over a crude version of an unkown song like The Ocean.
U2 have truly sacrificed their concert quality.
Cheers,
J
Oh wait, they're always overly long....must mean that they're right huh?
Zoostation is probably my favorite song of the first 4 concerts...I am totally in favor of freedom of opinion but you cant be serious...
)
