The Acrobat problem

[sharky]

I think with Acrobat, it's not so much the fact that the song is a top ten list song. I think Zoo TV was REALLY heavy with AB songs...I think Acrobat was the only AB song NOT played on the tour -- So Cruel was there but rare. I think that's the added allure -- It's kind of like wanting what you can't have.

 

[Roland of Gilead]

Acrobat is one of my favorites off AB. The curse this song has though is that One, Until the End of the World, Even Better..., Mysterious Ways, and now the Fly will all see the light of day on a setlist before Acrobat would. And with the dawn of a new album and tour coming soon, the chances of hearing 4 or even 5 Achtung Baby songs on any given night of the new tour will be slim. A brilliant album, a difficult situation for a song as great as Acrobat is.

By the way, I felt damn lucky on the last tour (my first ever U2 concert experience). I got all FIVE of those AB songs that I mentioned above on one night in Vancouver. Even Better... was not played much on the last tour.

 

[ShellBeThere]

I love Even Better...it damned well better be on the current set list! I really want to see a lot of AB songs on this tour, goodness I want to see a lot of AB songs on this tour..I can't stand the idea of there not being a lot of AB songs on this tour...
where can we put in our requests for a lot of AB songs this tour?!

I don't need to see Acrobat, that would actually be wrong I think.
But Real Thing would be very right.
And so would Ultraviolet surely.
Maybe mysterious ways and/or wild horses too.

g'night all!

 

[gareth brown]

A lot of you are whining about how Acrobat was not played on ZooTV, but could you please tell me, where would you put it on the ZooTV setlist?

Either opening the encore, or played just before Love is Blindness, thus ending the concert.

 

[U2Kitten]

While we love it and would go bonkers to hear it live, I bet if you were at a show probably most of the audience wouldn't even recognize it. Besides whatever other reasons they have for not playing it live, they probably won't drag out any semi-obscure song to add to the setlist. Still, you never know what surprises they may have up their Bonosleeves

 

[Blue Room]

While we love it and would go bonkers to hear it live, I bet if you were at a show probably most of the audience wouldn't even recognize it. Besides whatever other reasons they have for not playing it live, they probably won't drag out any semi-obscure song to add to the setlist. Still, you never know what surprises they may have up their Bonosleeves

and if they did, it would most likely be some form of an acoustic version. Much like they rehearsed in Hershey in 1992. Which oddly enough they were looking at opening the show with it. I could see Bono singing a few snippets of it tacked onto another song as well. I agree though, its VERY doubdtful this song will ever be done live, especially not a full band version.

 

[U2Kitten]

I don't think I'd want to hear it without its full power and all the layers of music.

 

[TheBrazilianFly]

I don't think I'd want to hear it without its full power and all the layers of music.

Me neither. I don't see what's the point of playing Acrobat without the electric guitars and the great solo. I think the band likes this song and they know that many fans like it and want them to play it so I think that they will play it in the future (don't think they will do so on this tour though).

 

[gareth brown]

What's with everyone saying no-one would recognise it? Who cares? If you decided to keep the tracklisting of the 'Elevation Boston' DVD out of your sight and watched the whole DVD not knowing what was going to be played, would you have recognised 'The Fly'? Not the best point, I know, but only when Bono sings 'you shine like a burning star...' or whatever, do we recognise what song they're about to play...and if U2 DID decide to play Acrobat, we would be able to tell immediately what we were hearing when Edge strikes up that godly riff!!!

 

[Nate Dogg]

personally I would say that just about every song that gets mentioned in threads like these in all reality never sounded as good live as they did on the album

I would guess that they never performed Acrobat live because they reckoned it just didn't work (your opinion based on some bootleg of the band rehearsing may differ, but perhaps that's why you're not a member of one of the greatest band this word has ever seen )

if songs had to be brought back I would mainly look at War and October
songs like Surrender, Two Hearts Beat as One, Rejoice and I Fall Down were great live and have aged well
I can see why they dropped these during the Joshua Tree tour since they wouldn't fit in the set list, but perhaps with a slightly more rocking album coming our way it would be possible again

or not

well said.

 

[Layton]

This is a little off subject, but does anybody else think that The Cure's new song Alt. End sounds a little like Acrobat?

 

[djerdap]

This is a little off subject, but does anybody else think that The Cure's new song Alt. End sounds a little like Acrobat?

I really can't see the similarity... Acrobat is superior in every way...

 

[Layton]

I really can't see the similarity... Acrobat is superior in every way...

I agree Acrobat is superior. I just think the heaviness of the mix combined with the arrangement of the 2 songs are similiar. Of course it could be the after effects of the acid I took last night-----lol (just kidding--I don't do drugs).