Vertigo: more surprise tunes than any other U2 tour?

[corner]

Ok...I know there has been plenty of bickering about the lack of variation amongst the setlists throughout this tour. However, this is only an issue for the spoiled/lucky minority of Verti-goers who have attended more than one gig over the first 2 legs (including myself ).

For the vast majority of punters though, there have been huge surprises such as Zoo Station, An Cat Dubh, Who's gonna ride your wild horses, Into the heart, Running to Stand still, Electric co, 40 (full band), Party Girl and The Ocean: ALL of which have not been performed for at least a decade! And there are some who would claim this is a predictable, 'safe' Greatest hits tour? WTF?!?

Vertigo is MUCH more exciting than any other U2 tour in terms of the 'surpising' and unpredictable songs that are being played.
Of course, it's in our nature to complain (especially me, I'm Scottish!) but I challenge anyone to criticise U2 for being boring, in their choice of songs on this tour!

Alright all you Zooropaheads & Popmartians: be gentle with me now.

 

[Nube Gris]

You are right, absolutely right
The thing is, people have the inmediate acess to know every setlist after each gig so the surprise factor as it used to be is no longer a reality

Vertigo is incredible, the setlist seems to be amazing!!
This is the best setlist you can possibly get from U2

But i would include "Dirty Day" somewhere there
But anyway i think its an amazing setlist

'Those days, days, days, runaway like horses over the hill'

 

[bathiu]

Yes, people here have no idea there's life outside of this forum... or even outside of internet...

Here are some strange - for you/us - quotes from the line before the gig I saw:
"I wonder what they're going to play... (Vertigo, City and LAPOE soundchecked in the background)... I hope (with a serious face) they'll play some older tunes..."

After One, before ZooStation there's a longer break... I swear some people thought it's the end and started to walk away... only seconds later to run back... the same thing happened after WOWY, only then I started to tell some of those people that it's not over yet...

 

[KUEFC09U2]

as i said.........lets wait until the very last date of this tour, and imo it could be classes as one of U2's classic tours, it already is for me, for simply the reasons stated above, plus i cant remember bono sounding so good except for Zoo

 

[U2Man]

This is the best setlist you can possibly get from U2

So you would start bitching and writing Bono letters of complaint, if they performed Crumbs, Acrobat, One Step Closer, brought OOTS, An Cat Dubh and Wild Horses back and did a 7 minutes version of Dirty Day?

 

[Seeking Adam]

.

 

[corner]

So you would start bitching and writing Bono letters of complaint, if they performed Crumbs, Acrobat, One Step Closer, brought OOTS, An Cat Dubh and Wild Horses back and did a 7 minutes version of Dirty Day?

Loads of us would start bitching if it happened....but only because we weren't at that gig.

Yeah...I'm still waiting for the crumbs too.

 

[Numb1075]

couldn't agree more, Corner.

As far as U2 changing things up and throwing us curve balls, we've seen more curve balls this tour than any tour in a looong time.

 

[Axver]

Corner's spot on (except that Party Girl HAS been played in the last ten years - four times on Elevation). A lot of us didn't think The Fly was going to stick around either, especially not in such sensational form. This tour has had some absolutely incredible setlist developments and I just can't comprehend all the complaining.

 

[luckytwn]

Are you kidding? On the Joshua Tree tour, there were many more surprises, especially with the array of covers they did.

C'Mon Everybody, Stand By Me, Southern Man, People Get Ready, Helter Skelter, Spring Hill Mining Disaster, Maggie's Farm, etc.

Or how about Tequila Sunrise being played once and sung by Larry. And let's not forget the U2 rarities like Lucille, Spanish Eyes, Silver & Gold, etc making appearances.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg...

You must have zero knowledge of U2 history to make that statement.

 

[Axver]

It's not as if U2 were bringing anything back from the setlist dead on JT, though.

 

[cmb737]

Glad I got to see Gloria, that's all...

 

[corner]

Are you kidding? On the Joshua Tree tour, there were many more surprises, especially with the array of covers they did.

C'Mon Everybody, Stand By Me, Southern Man, People Get Ready, Helter Skelter, Spring Hill Mining Disaster, Maggie's Farm, etc.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg...

You must have zero knowledge of U2 history to make that statement.

Fair play luckytwn...how silly of me to assume that you'd think I was referring to U2 songs! I hope you weren't too gutted with the predictability of more recent tours than JT: doesn't it suck like a gummy whore when U2 play their OWN songs....how boring is that? C'mon lads, bring back the glory days when you used to be a covers band!

It's not as if U2 were bringing anything back from the setlist dead on JT, though

That's exactly what I meant. Cheers buddy

Oh yeah...and well spotted about Party Girl, Axver - you got me there! I was uh...just testing ya

 

[MTEdge]

Well played, corner.

 

[Tennis05]

Are you kidding? On the Joshua Tree tour, there were many more surprises, especially with the array of covers they did.

C'Mon Everybody, Stand By Me, Southern Man, People Get Ready, Helter Skelter, Spring Hill Mining Disaster, Maggie's Farm, etc.

Or how about Tequila Sunrise being played once and sung by Larry. And let's not forget the U2 rarities like Lucille, Spanish Eyes, Silver & Gold, etc making appearances.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg...

You must have zero knowledge of U2 history to make that statement.

I would prefer rare u2 songs like the ocean and party girl over covers, and i think thats wut most of us are looking for. they belong to u2 and u2 fans.

and i think that variety in U2's case involves its history directly. there may have been lots of variation on the JT tour but that was only 5 studio albums worth. vertigo tour is varied with songs spanning an entire 25-yr career. it melds JT songs with an achtung-trio, a war-trio, a boy-trio. you get my point. i think thats wut everyone means and is looking for.

 

[luckytwn]

C'mon lads, bring back the glory days when you used to be a covers band!

Anyone making the statement you make above in regards to the Joshua Tree tour is too stupid to even debate with. Not worth my time if you are suggesting that U2 was a covers band on the Joshua Tree tour.

I love U2. I personally thought the Elevation tour was as good as I have seen them in years and I've seen every tour multiple times since UF (except for Lovetown which didn't come to the States). Nobody was knocking this tour, I was simply pointing out how silly your original statement to start the thread was. And quite frankly when you make a moronic statement, expect to be called on it...

 

[cmb737]

Anyone making the statement you make above in regards to the Joshua Tree tour is too stupid to even debate with. Not worth my time if you are suggesting that U2 was a covers band on the Joshua Tree tour.

I am quite sure he was using a bit of sarcasm in his comment, which apparently went right over your head. Way to jump right in there calling someone stupid on your 10th post. Welcome, you'll fit right in!

 

[corner]

Anyone making the statement you make above in regards to the Joshua Tree tour is too stupid to even debate with. Not worth my time if you are suggesting that U2 was a covers band on the Joshua Tree tour.

Sorry...perhaps it was ambitious of me to use the lowest form of wit on you. I'll save my sarcasm for somebody that's more receptive to it, in future.

 

[Aardvark747]

Sorry...perhaps it was ambitious of me to use the lowest form of wit on you. I'll save my sarcasm for somebody that's more receptive to it, in future.

Your avatar Corner! NEVER change it!!

"We dont have to give a donation for THAT do we?"

"Well dont say it like THAT, all the money raised is for BOTH dances, both excellent dances...in their own right....if there IS a difference...mine was IMPROMPTU"

 

[Joshua_Tree_Hugger]

You are right... this tour is great!

 

[stevec]

Sorry...perhaps it was ambitious of me to use the lowest form of wit on you. I'll save my sarcasm for somebody that's more receptive to it, in future.

LMAO

Absolutely priceless Corner

 

[Hawkfire]

I'm not so sure VERTIGO has "brought back" more songs from the grave than Elevation...to be fair, VERTIGO is only 1/2 way done and there could still be more surprises.

But look at what Elevation brought back from the dead...pretty impressive:

11 O'Clock Tick Tock
Out of Control
Sunday Bloody Sunday (FULL band version)
Party Girl
A Sort of Homecoming
In God's Country
Sweetest Thing (debut, but song was ~15yrs old)
Angel of Harlem
All I Want Is You (FULL version)
The Fly
Stay
Please*
Wake Up Dead Man*
Ground Beneath Her Feet (debut)

(*played previous tour but NOT included in Leg I Elevation setlists, in full version)

Not to mention covers/snippets, including Mystery Girl, People Get Ready, All Along the Watchtower, etc

Vertigo has brought back:
An Cat Dubh
Into The Heart
The Ocean
The Electric Co
Gloria
40 (FULL version)
Running to Stand Still
Zoostation
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses

And snippets of Stories for Boys and Hands that Built America.

I'd say thus far Elevation has the upper hand...VERTIGO still has time though...plus let's be honest a song like The Ocean is nice to hear but the version I caught was about 75 seconds of Edge doodling and Bono wrambling on about 20 years ago. To even count that as a song is a reach.

 

[innocent_eyes]

Please*
Wake Up Dead Man*

(*played previous tour but NOT included in Leg I Elevation setlists, in full version)

-> I don't think these count...they were played on the previous tour.

All I Want Is You (FULL version)

-> played in Full on Pop Tour.

Sweetest Thing (debut, but song was ~15yrs old)

-> but released in '98

The rest are all good though, and nice list, thanks!

 

[U2mixer]

I'm not so sure VERTIGO has "brought back" more songs from the grave than Elevation...to be fair, VERTIGO is only 1/2 way done and there could still be more surprises.

But look at what Elevation brought back from the dead...pretty impressive:

11 O'Clock Tick Tock
Out of Control
Sunday Bloody Sunday (FULL band version)
Party Girl
A Sort of Homecoming
In God's Country
Sweetest Thing (debut, but song was ~15yrs old)
Angel of Harlem
All I Want Is You (FULL version)
The Fly
Stay
Please*
Wake Up Dead Man*
Ground Beneath Her Feet (debut)

(*played previous tour but NOT included in Leg I Elevation setlists, in full version)

Not to mention covers/snippets, including Mystery Girl, People Get Ready, All Along the Watchtower, etc

Vertigo has brought back:
An Cat Dubh
Into The Heart
The Ocean
The Electric Co
Gloria
40 (FULL version)
Running to Stand Still
Zoostation
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses

And snippets of Stories for Boys and Hands that Built America.

I'd say thus far Elevation has the upper hand...VERTIGO still has time though...plus let's be honest a song like The Ocean is nice to hear but the version I caught was about 75 seconds of Edge doodling and Bono wrambling on about 20 years ago. To even count that as a song is a reach.

..and don't forget Elevation ALSO brought us

Spanish Eyes (FULL version)
Hawkmoon 269 (okay so only a snippet, but holy shit!)
Running to Stand Still (first snippet since ZOO tours)
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses (first snippet since ZOO tours)

Elevation was a great tour - and a great arena tour.

 

[Axver]

But look at what Elevation brought back from the dead...pretty impressive:

I have to disagree with some of that list.

Sunday Bloody Sunday (FULL band version): but it WAS played on Popmart. Are we going to say something was 'brought back' simply because it's played differently to the last tour? In that case, Bullet has been 'brought back' on EVERY tour it's been a part of.

In God's Country: only acoustic, mind you, but yes.

Sweetest Thing (debut, but song was ~15yrs old): I say this was a new song, as it was a new single at the time, hence why it was played.

Ground Beneath Her Feet: It was a new song! There had never been any other tour for it to appear on!

Please*
Wake Up Dead Man*
[...]
(*played previous tour but NOT included in Leg I Elevation setlists, in full version)

In which case, we'll need to include some other songs on Vertigo's list as they were 'brought back' during the tour. Out Of Control, I Will Follow, All I Want Is You, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Until The End Of The World are the five that come to mind. And The Fly should also be included by that criteria, as it was cut halfway through Elevation.

Vertigo has brought back:
An Cat Dubh
Into The Heart
The Ocean
The Electric Co
Gloria
40 (FULL version)
Running to Stand Still
Zoostation
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses

It's worth noting that unlike many of the songs that returned on Elevation, the majority of songs brought back on Vertigo have been played regularly at some point of the tour, and in some cases, virtually every night. In contrast, In God's Country was only played thrice on Elevation, A Sort Of Homecoming was only played twice (and the second time only because a fan was dragged on stage), Ground Beneath Her Feet didn't even make a third of the shows, et cetera.

But yes, as pointed out by someone else, there was also the one-off Spanish Eyes (which I'm hoping will show up in Spain again).

 

[corner]

You frighten me with your encyclopedic U2 knowledge, Axver! Sometimes, when I get a hard time off friends and family about my 'obsession', I reassure myself by thinking of you and how it could be so much worse

 

[Axver]

You frighten me with your encyclopedic U2 knowledge, Axver! Sometimes, when I get a hard time off friends and family about my 'obsession', I reassure myself by thinking of you and how it could be so much worse

I blame it all on spending waaaay too much time on u2-vertigo-tour.com!

 

[ouizy]

Yes, in the end this tour will definitely have the most comprehensive song list of all the tours - of that I am certain. My only wish was that that the band would take this list and throw it into a random number generator and switch it up each night. They clearly know all the songs on the list, and all of them (except for that Vertigo #2 song) have gone over famously with the crowd.

 

[zoopop]

Hey Axver, what do you think is U2's greatest concert, setlist wise?

 

[Axver]

Hey Axver, what do you think is U2's greatest concert, setlist wise?

Well, the Dublin III concert recently had a pretty special set, I really liked that.

My favourite, though ... well, how am I meant to pick an individual Lovetown set? That entire tour ...

(Maybe the famous 'backwards' set of 1989-12-01, Osaka.)