Peaked with PopMart?

[Saracene]

I was only a casual U2 fan during POPMart era so I'm only acquainted with the tour through the Mexico concert. I have mixed feelings about it; on one hand there's something undeniably endearing about the band going so shamelessly over-the-top and oversized, giant lemons and all. You had to admire their ambition. On the other hand, it also often gave me this uncomfortable feeling akin to watching a brilliant actor in a horribly miscast role. To keep the analogy going, what rubbed me wrong was not the role itself - I think that the POPMart concept was brilliant - but no matter how versatile any given actor can be there are still roles which they simply cannot pull off. Casting against the type can be genius and it can be disaster. I loved almost everything about ZooTV and though there was a lot in it that was shockingly different to the U2 I've known so far I never got a feeling that the band was "miscast" - even when Bono walked on stage in make-up and horns, I loved all that deliberately ridiculous, outlandish stuff and the band mocking their serious image even more than the straight-faced renditions of older songs. But I just don't think that the band can pull off that POPMart style of cheesy trashiness and campness very well.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

I should disclose the fact that for about 80% of Sydney Popmart I had Christy Turlington and Helena Christensen standing about 3 feet away from me. May have effected my memory of it somewhat.

"Popmart? "