I adore the Love Town shows... however, I'm very glad there was a change.
One reason Love Town stands out so is Bono's voice. Clearly this was the most powerful, most operatic, most dynamic he's ever sounded. Listening to Love Town was not only Bono at his best, but perhaps the best male rock vocal - period! He was able to cover all ranges, all emotions! However, his vocal acrobatics came with a HUGE price. U2 had to cancel shows because Bono's voice often failed (due to that ridiculous range he was showcasing). Also, the operatic voice - while great to hear in moderation - became a bit too much. For example, I love hearing it now and then on this current tour - Bono uses that voice well. But back on Love Town, every song had his operatic wailing! It was a case of "too much of a good thing". Then there was the preaching... ugh... And lastly, I wouldn't want Bono in the 90's or in the 00's to look or sound like that guy again. Little silly vests, long greasy hair, pants tucked into boots... it was fun then, but now, uh...
The second reason Love Town stood out was because The Edge really ripped up the 80's songs. Finally some of the JT-era songs came to life during the Love Town tour. It was great fun hearing him just really rock out and have these outstanding solos - something that Edge really hasn't done much before or after.
The third reason Love Town was fun was hearing B.B. King. This collaboration, along with the Voices of Freedom, was unique in the U2 touring world. However, like many U2 fans, I prefer my U2 to be just that - U2, not a group of others on stage. A guest here and there is fantastic. But nightly collaborations, as was done with King, seems too contrived and planned. Talk about the lack of spontaneity.
I don't mean this with any disrespect to the always outstanding B.B. King, but I'm just glad U2 doesn't do this any more.
The ZOO TV Bono changed his vocal style, but this was done for many reasons. First, if Bono continued to sing as he was doing on Love Town, there wouldn't be a ZOO TV tour. I don't think his voice would last. JT and R&H had Bono wailing away, but those moments were few and far between on AB. Of course, the more toned down vocals on AB also meant less opera-style vocals on ZOO TV as well. Consequently, an operatic Bono would not work with ZOO TV at all. All of this said, Bono's vocals on ZOO TV were fantastic. He was still strong and powerful, and hit outstanding falsettos (his falsetto was the best of his career on this tour hitting notes in the stratosphere) while portraying a vastly different side to his personality. U2 had to change, and Bono led the way.
Additionally, Edge seemed to continue his style of just ripping songs on ZOO TV. Maybe his solos were less, but he made many of the new songs shine immediately in concert. Songs such as "Mysterious Ways", 'The Fly" and "Until the End of the World" were brilliant. Furthermore, U2 didn't appear just to be "jamming" like they did on Love Town. U2 sounded fresh, yet powerful and professional - and this is due to both Edge and the brilliant rhythm section.
The apparent dynamic set-list of Love Town is fun, but really, for the most part, it was just order changes, with perhaps a few token new songs thrown in here and there. Mixing up the order isn't really mixing up the set-list, IMO. ZOO TV, by the very nature of the tour, had to be more static due to the video connection. I realize that some fans hated this aspect, but it seems to me that U2 have always worked toward finding a perfect set-list, which they vary only when they do three or four nights at a particulare venue. This was true way back when and remains true today.
So while both tours were great, I actually give the nod to ZOO TV. It's fun to "visit" Love Town, but it's like a good memory - one you are happy to have, but wouldn't want to repeat.
Work of show-off-ery, more like it. Oooh, big fancy stage. Last time I checked, music was about the audio, not about the visuals.
but hearing him say the same crap was what got up my nose. You just felt like shouting "just shut up and sing" 
