U2's Relationship With Their Fans

[djerdap]

How do you know? Have you made some poll that no one knows about? Why would someone go to 20 shows if they weren't satisfied?

For example, there was this guy on U2tours.com who reviewed every single show of the Euro Vertigo Tour. Let's just say he was very underwhelmed and almost bored as the tour progressed.

Not a chance that could happen to a Pearl Jam fan.

Someone has to plan to see 20 shows BEFORE they see the first show, especially for U2 shows...

And about the Leash thing... the fans requested that song, the band played it. They didn't play it on the Letterman show you saw because they didn't rehearse it. They took their time and played flawless versions of the song later. Don't see how that "defeats my whole point".

Good and bad setlists? That's subjective. Someone may think U2's permanent setlist is a bad one (for me, almost the entire 3rd leg of the Vertigo Tour and the Elevation tour) and that would result in a disappointment for every show a fan went to (and organized a tour BEFORE he knew the setlist).
There are cases like this. When I compare the PJ message boards and this board, there is lot more disappointment and bitterness here. Setlist variation is one of the big factors of that. Just how many threads have we already seen that U2 should mix it up, that U2 should play Acrobat, that U2 should bring back Mofo... It goes on and on. Not so in the PJ world.

I'm not saying that's the biggest possible factor, but a big one for the fanbase.

 

[U2Man]

hey, why was the "how many shows did you attend" thread locked? it was only just getting good.

 

[xaviMF22]

U2 are the best band in the world and can't do wrong.

 

[BVS]

For example, there was this guy on U2tours.com who reviewed every single show of the Euro Vertigo Tour. Let's just say he was very underwhelmed and almost bored as the tour progressed.

Not a chance that could happen to a Pearl Jam fan.

Someone has to plan to see 20 shows BEFORE they see the first show, especially for U2 shows... [/B][/QUOTE]

How long had he been a U2 fan? What else did he expect?

I understand what you are saying, yes less stagnant setlists would be fun, but you still haven't showed me what it has to do with their relationship with you or I.

And about the Leash thing... the fans requested that song, the band played it. They didn't play it on the Letterman show you saw because they didn't rehearse it. They took their time and played flawless versions of the song later. Don't see how that "defeats my whole point".

You're really not getting it are you? If I requested it today, it does me no good for them to play it tomorrow. So how is playing that song a better relationship?

When I compare the PJ message boards and this board, there is lot more disappointment and bitterness here. Setlist variation is one of the big factors of that. Just how many threads have we already seen that U2 should mix it up, that U2 should play Acrobat, that U2 should bring back Mofo... It goes on and on. Not so in the PJ world.

I'm not saying that's the biggest possible factor, but a big one for the fanbase.

I still see the "why are they still playing Alive", they played too much of this album last night, or they played too less of that album last night, why don't they play 'Dirty Frank'?

So it may not be the exact same complaints, but they are still there.

I saw both bands twice last tour. Both were great shows. To be honest the PJ setlist wasn't that much varied the shows I saw, compared to previous tours. But not once did I feel like they owed me anymore or that somehow our "relationship" was weakened because of this.

 

[djerdap]

You're really not getting it are you? If I requested it today, it does me no good for them to play it tomorrow. So how is playing that song a better relationship?

Between the band and the fans. Fans. Plural. There are hundreds of Leash fans who were delighted to see that song finally played. And I was happy to hear it on the bootlegs. I've seen PJ two times last year and I've heard more songs and more of my favorites than the one U2 show I've seen two years ago.

So, on my example, I am definitely more pleased as a PJ fan than as a U2 fan, purely from the experience I have from the concerts.

 

[BVS]

Between the band and the fans. Fans. Plural. There are hundreds of Leash fans who were delighted to see that song finally played. And I was happy to hear it on the bootlegs.

So if U2 played Acrobat tomorrow they would automatically have a better relationship with their fans?

I've seen PJ two times last year and I've heard more songs and more of my favorites than the one U2 show I've seen two years ago.
So, on my example, I am definitely more pleased as a PJ fan than as a U2 fan, purely from the experience I have from the concerts.

I'm glad you are more pleased. I really am, but it still doesn't show how setlist variation means better relationship...

At the end of the day, each band is playing what they want to play, on their terms, when they want to play it.

When you and I get to dictate the setlist, then I'd say yes that actually has something to do with our relationship. But on the flip side of that, that's when you turn your favorite band into a jukebox.

I'm not arguing if PJ or U2 has a better relationship with their fans. PJ does hands down. Christmas singles(no matter if they come or not), bootlegs, and better knowledge of what's going on in their camp...

but varied setlists have nothing to do with it.

 

[ramblin rose]

hey, why was the "how many shows did you attend" thread locked? it was only just getting good.

Because you are an asshole.

 

[Chizip]

So leave. Clearly they don't care about you. Unless playing monday morning quarterback and complaining about what people should be doing is somehow fun. If you think they don't care about you, make them miss you.

well i stick around because the positives still outweigh the negatives, but unlike some people i can admit that they arent perfect, and thats fine, nobody is.

just because i criticize them at times doesnt mean i still dont love them.

 

[Allanah]

U2 are not very close to their fans at all. Every other band I follow even half as closely as I follow U2 has a much better relationship with their fans. For example, just a few days ago, Crowded House did a free live broadcast of one of their rehearsal sessions - 2.5 hours of music for any fan, anywhere in the world, to enjoy. Or Dream Theater's Mike Portnoy goes to great effort to vary setlists not only from night to night, but from prior sets played in each city, and when filming DVDs, he seeks to make the setlist almost totally different to past DVDs so that fans don't get repeat tracks (meanwhile, U2 have six consecutive appearances of Streets and counting). Or Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson, who goes to great efforts to satisfy fans who, like him, have an enthusiasm for collector's editions, vinyl, and rarities. And so on and so forth.

That's not a fair comparison, especially the Dream Theater one. They played a 3,000-seat venue the last time they were in my town. U2 plays stadiums. When a band is as well-known as U2 and has so many hits, there are certain songs that they can't avoid playing.

When I saw U2 live, I was familiar with their radio singles and owned HTDAAB and JT. I knew almost every song they played that night, and they turned me into their favorite band with that concert. But take, say, my ideal setlist now that I know all of their albums and have dozens of bootlegs... there would be very few hits on that setlist. Had they played my current "dream" setlist during that first concert, I would have been extraordinarily disappointed -- not because they aren't great live, but because I wouldn't have recognized most of the songs.

We are the "cult" subset of U2's fans. A great majority of the fans in an audience are very much like I was back in 2005. They don't want Dirty Day, they want With or Without You. They don't want Drowning Man, they want Sunday Bloody Sunday. They want Streets. They want Pride. Look at what happened with the crowds during the "Boy" trio on the Vertigo tour: they didn't know how to react because they didn't know the songs. The band themselves aknowledged it. And that sucks, because they tried to bust out some old, lesser-known material, and it failed with the audiences.

Dream Theater has a much smaller, much more cult-ish fanbase. Fans don't show up at their concerts because they heard a few singles on the radio and liked them -- they don't have huge hits that the audience is dying to hear at a concert, and thus can take a lot more liberties with their setlists. Smaller, lesser-known bands can do that. U2 doesn't have that luxury.

 

[U2Man]

Because you are an asshole.

 

[Utoo]

well i stick around because the positives still outweigh the negatives, but unlike some people i can admit that they arent perfect, and thats fine, nobody is.

just because i criticize them at times doesnt mean i still dont love them.

I think that most here can admit that they're not perfect. Most of the staunchest supporters have had critical posts. I've called Bono fat plenty of times. And most people here have been critical of individual albums, songs, videos, actions, etc. I guess some people tend to talk more about the positives, and others lean more towards the negatives. I can see that talking about the positive stuff can get old--you can only have so many "Achtung Baby Appreciation Thread"s. But for me, personally, talking about the negative stuff would not only get old, but would also turn me into a cranky old man who'd probably become pretty jaded with respect to anything that U2 does thereafter. For instance, I also 100% agree that the iTunes boxset sucks ass. I just think that there are only so many times one can harp on it---just like the limit on drooling in AB appreciation threads. For me, if I set out to really make a strong, cogent argument that a band has a truly shit relationship with its fans, that would really make me question whether I truly felt that I could see more positives in that band. And when all that people have to "get" someone on are the thoughts that a person posts, when it's a person that speaks so much more of the negatives, it's difficult for other posters to see that the person does believe that there are more positives than negatives. But I honestly do suppose it just comes down to personality types and individual preferences regarding what to talk about. One man's blood is another man's poison. Lo siento, Chizaroo.

 

[AndrewCowley]

Look at what happened with the crowds during the "Boy" trio on the Vertigo tour: they didn't know how to react because they didn't know the songs. The band themselves aknowledged it.

My take on this is that U2 over the years have dug a hole for themselves too great to dig themselves out of. They have consistently *always* underplayed their non-singles back catalogue. So for the Vertigo tour they decided to attempt to undo those wrongs but it was too late. Crowds over the years have been subject to latest album + past singles and it was too late to 'unleash' Boy material on them. Of course varying setlists over the years would have meant their attempts during the Vertigo tour wouldn't have been so much of a shock. This is the crux of the issue; U2's setlists are all about pleasing the casual fans vs. rewarding the hardcore. People may disagree on this, but you'd have to acknowledge there is enough people here saying this that it is what a lot of us hardcore fans believe and in spite of our love for this band we'd prefer it to be different.

 

[fly so high!]

I love U2, they are my band. But I know if Pearl Jam were my band that I'd feel a lot more special about being a Pearl Jam nut than I do being a U2 nut. You only have to look at Pearl Jam's fan club and the ticketing offers that fan club members get. Then there's the setlist issue, which I see as Pearl Jam rewarding the nut fans with songs from leftfield. They know they don't need to play Daughter every night. U2 on the other hand are obsessed big sales, getting into the charts and so on and for that they need to take for granted the nut fans and put all their efforts into 'marketing' of their brand so as to keep growing. This is what keeps U2 interested so I'm not criticising it. But my observation is that their obsession with their popularity (c'mon... what other band would crap on about 're-applying to be the best band in the world') comes at the expense of rewarding and recognising the hardcore fans. Pearl Jam embrace the fact that their are fans who see multiple shows, and from memory (please correct me if I'm wrong) haven't U2 gone on record saying they don't like to see the same faces over and over at the front. Gee those faces are the ones who have bought every single thing U2 have released; some have done this their entire adult lives.

 

[last unicorn]

For example, there was this guy on U2tours.com who reviewed every single show of the Euro Vertigo Tour. Let's just say he was very underwhelmed and almost bored as the tour progressed.

I mean, in all honesty, I believe that would become boring for everyone. It becomes just a job you do, a routine. It's a shame, because the MAGIC gets lost. And it clearly has been lost for many people here. I'd rather go to only a few shows and experience this magic than to 30+ shows and experience the routine. This is not what concerts are supposed to be about. A tour is not designed for people who travel to every show. These are a minority and can in no way set a standard. Sorry, but some of you are taking yourselves far too seriously.

 

[djerdap]

So if U2 played Acrobat tomorrow they would automatically have a better relationship with their fans?

No, we would all be miserable and disappointed more than ever.

 

[U2girl]

I beleve it's the hardcore fans that bought the Milan DVD, and the exclusive versions of their DVDs (especially Sydney) and the limited edition of 80's Best of with the B-sides. It's probably the hardcore fans that will watch the IMAX movie and get the DVD later.

It's not that hard to get the Unreleased and rare songs these days.

E. Storm, S. Thing and Saints are coming were all singles available separately from the Best of's. So is WITS.

U2 7 wasn't a bad deal for getting all of the ATYCLB B-sides on one disc. Promo shows, including free shows like I. Plaza and Brooklyn Bridge.

Webcam during making of ATYCLB, Willie Williams diaries.

Melon remixes, Hasta la vista from Mexico (interestingly enough it doesn't get the "but we got the video already" treatment Communication CD and Sydney audio CDs got), Propaganda magazine - all exclusively done for the Propaganda fanclub members.

The lottery was done because the same people were stalking the band and being the front rows at several shows. If people in the heart weren't enthusiastic enough, it certainly didn't help matters. By all means, let's give someone else a chance, not the disgruntled fan.



U2 and Pearl Jam approach live shows in a completely different way it's really comparing apples and oranges.

Good for PJ for playing song not played for 4 years at the fan request, but U2 played material from first 3 albums on the last tour, which wasn't done since Lovetown. In other words stuff not played for 15 years. They also played a never before played song more than 10 years after the album release, and making a regular live appearance with a song that only made 1 live U2 show before, 10 years after the album release. Looking at the setlist variety, and the complaints, on the last tour, I think pleasing U2 fans is mission impossible.

The setlists have to be, and are, a mix to keep both the casual fans and hardcore fans happy. Naturally when playing big venues and to large masses of people, you will play the hits.
Remember the audience reaction at the slow Boy songs on the last tour? It was probably similar when MS entered the mix.

Well said, Utoo.

 

[BVS]

No, we would all be miserable and disappointed more than ever.

So basically, there's no way to please you.

 

[ramblin rose]

There was also the web broadcast of the Notre Dame Elevation show. I remember how much I enjoyed that. Not to mention the great video bootlegs that were obtained via that feed.

 

[Got Philk?]

In Chicago, I was by a fence waiting for Bono to come by. My wife was there, some other female interferencer's, and me, a big guy.

Anyway, sad story short, I said hello, he ignored me and went strait for the women. Pff, what a jerk.

Now Larry seems like a nice guy. He took a picture with my wife. Such a sweetie.

 

[kellyahern]

There was also the web broadcast of the Notre Dame Elevation show. I remember how much I enjoyed that. Not to mention the great video bootlegs that were obtained via that feed.

And the web broadcast of one of the South American shows this tour (Argentina or Brazil? I don't remember which one ). That was a lot of fun.

I just wish u2.com would at least increase the font size they use. That would be a good start.

It's really, really small and it hurts my eyes .

 

[ramblin rose]

And the web broadcast of one of the South American shows this tour (Argentina or Brazil? I don't remember which one ). That was a lot of fun.

Right, that was the 2nd Argentina show.

 

[LemonMelon]

No, we would all be miserable and disappointed more than ever.

It's pretty depressing being a U2 fan, huh?

 

[last unicorn]

In Chicago, I was by a fence waiting for Bono to come by. My wife was there, some other female interferencer's, and me, a big guy.
Anyway, sad story short, I said hello, he ignored me and went strait for the women. Pff, what a jerk.
Now Larry seems like a nice guy. He took a picture with my wife. Such a sweetie.

Okay, you had bad luck, sorry for you.
But a lot of people will tell you that in situations like these Bono is greeting not only the ladies and has his photo taken with everyone.
Saying he's a jerk because you had one encounter that didn't work out for you simply isn't fair.

On the other hand, we all know Bono's a ladie's man.

 

[Utoo]

Okay, you had bad luck, sorry for you.
But a lot of people will tell you that in situations like these Bono is greeting not only the ladies and has his photo taken with everyone.
Saying he's a jerk because you had one encounter that didn't work out for you simply isn't fair.

On the other hand, we all know Bono's a ladie's man.

Knowing Philkster, he was kidding. And enjoyed a glimpse of B-man's rump as he turned to the ladies.

 

[Copy]

Because you are an asshole.

Wow. I just read the last part of that thread. I hope you aren't as touchy in real life, or I wonder how your social life is.

He was obviously just teasing you because BonoIsMyMuse brought up the thing about either being in debt or astronomically rich. Actually, THAT was the thing he was making fun of.

Get a grip. Your reaction is way out of line.

 

[djerdap]

It's pretty depressing being a U2 fan, huh?

I was obviously being sarcastic...

 

[BonoIsMyMuse]

I didn't mean to set off World War III

 

[corianderstem]

Way to go, BonoIsMyMuse.

 

[Got Philk?]

Okay, you had bad luck, sorry for you.
But a lot of people will tell you that in situations like these Bono is greeting not only the ladies and has his photo taken with everyone.
Saying he's a jerk because you had one encounter that didn't work out for you simply isn't fair.

On the other hand, we all know Bono's a ladie's man.

Whoa whoa...I was totally joking. I thought I portrayed that with the Bono can talk to the women all he wants. I got a good shot of him walking right by!

And I was really kidding about Larry. From what I have heard, he's usually pretty reserved! I thought it was great of him to take a picture with my wife! And he even had a bit of a smile!

Sorry about that Unicorn. I have this problem of never being serious. My bad.

p.s. I'm actually a big edge fan. And he never even walked by me. KIDDING!!!!

 

[Got Philk?]

Knowing Philkster, he was kidding. And enjoyed a glimpse of B-man's rump as he turned to the ladies.

bono's rump.