1) Take out that LAPOE-SBS-Bullet-Miss Sarajevo-Pride-Streets-One stretch and there isn't much of that theme left. One tree hill was done because they were in New Zealand, it had nothing to do with the human rights theme. Kite was done due to the didgeridoo player, most likely. Sometimes isn't about this theme either. Same goes for Miracle Drug.
See Niceman's post.
Sure, if you take out 7 songs!
That is like saying there are no bright colored cars in a parking lot with 15 cars if you take out the 3 yellow cars, 4 red cars and 2 hot pink cars.
Also, I also said themes of life and death, which Kite, Sometimes, Miracle Drug and One Tree Hill certainly fit very well. I am well aware of why they played One Tree Hill for New Zealand, but that does not change the fact that it was paired up with "Sometimes" a few shows. They saw the thematic connection.
I sometimes get the sense that you don't read the posts you respond to, but that could just be me.
2) Only 3 or so songs in the set. Not really influencing the entire set.
Look at the entire tour, thats what I was talking about.
The Ocean, I Will Follow, An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart, Cry/Electric Co, Gloria and 40 were all played multiple times, most on a consistent basis.
Where is the other tour that made the thematic connection back to the early days like Vertigo?
Where does the barrage of randomly mixed new songs+oldies+hits and Zoo TV set they played on Vertigo tour fit with these themes ?
I went over that already.
The small part of the set that doesn't, the Zoo TV encore, is at least cohesive and makes sense and sounds good where it is. I would take late set great performances of Zoo Station, The Fly and Mysterious Ways over lackluster late set performances of Walk On and With or Without you any day.
The big question here is how does what we have on 360 encores make a better thematic connection than what we had on Vertigo? I'd say they both had weak connection back to the theme.
Only having one true encore and having it be anchored by Ultraviolet and everyone running for the exits before MOS really hurts 360.
360 set has a bigger case for "space/time" IMO, and it flows much better especially after COBL/UF duo. Anyway, the tour still has (at least) two legs to go, it's too early to judge it up against the other tours.
Hardly. The space/time theme is used only on the IALW/UC segment before we get to UF.
And how is the rest of the set after UF/COBL somehow more fitting with this space theme? COBL and Vertigo are Bomb hits, Crazy remix is a new dance around and have fun number, Sunday Bloody Sunday and MLK are 80s political staples, Walk On is an ATYCLB hit, One and Streets are U2 classics. SBS, One and Streets are right at the place they have come to find a home at in most U2 set lists since Popmart. How is this different or a better attempt to fit a theme?