U2's weakest live moments ...

[U2lunatic]

that one has a fantastic youtube vid



weakest live moment?


playing One live.

I don't agree
http://youtube.com/watch?v=VkFdGE_mty0

 

[LyricalDrug]

PopMart, opening night, Vegas. My first U2 show. When 'Staring at the Sun' came to a crashing, abrupt halt mid-song, and Bono had to tell the audience, "sorry, we're having a family row," I knew it wasn't going well.

 

[coolian2]

I don't agree
http://youtube.com/watch?v=VkFdGE_mty0

One of my favourite versions of One.

 

[Chizip]

I love all three of those songs!!

I love those songs too, but they were never able to pull them off live properly, which is a pity.

 

[angelordevil]

The Bomb songs from the Vertigo tour are pretty bad, with the possible exception of sometimes and love and peace. Original, yahweh and all because of you had the potential to be great. I'm not sure if they weren't cracked this time, or if they simply don't translate as well as we hoped they might live.

All Because of You had serious translation problems in the second Toronto show. I think I actually cringed, and I know that Larry definitely did, as I was about 20 feet in front of him. It just sounded bad, like an off-kilter jam from hell.

 

[last unicorn]

The Bomb songs from the Vertigo tour are pretty bad, with the possible exception of sometimes and love and peace. Original, yahweh and all because of you had the potential to be great. I'm not sure if they weren't cracked this time, or if they simply don't translate as well as we hoped they might live.

I agree to an extend. I think All because of you, Crumbs and especially Miracle Drug were pretty bad live, much worse than on the album, they never manged to pull these one off properly, and it's no surprise they were dropped pretty soon.
But I must say that I quite like the OOTS performances, especially the ones with the orchestra.
All the other songs like Vertigo, COBL and LAPOE were okay.

 

[coolian2]

I farking LOVE Vertigo live.



Stadium rock and fucken roll, every single person yelling HELLO HELLO

 

[Chizip]

I thought ABOY was the only weak live Bomb song. The other ones worked great I thought, I know a lot of people didn't like Miracle Drug live, but I thought it was amazing.

 

[U2girl]

WGRYWH acoustic on Zoo TV, IGWSHA and DYFL.

ABOY (except when it's done early in the set like last Chicago show on first leg), Yahweh from Bomb for me. To a lesser extent MD.

 

[An Cat Gav]

Replacing Miami with that useless Edge version of Bloody Sunday is one of the low points for me. Not only was it a 'mistake' setlist wise, it sounds really crap imho and didn't fit in at all in that part of the show.

Quire right, Miami was one of the highlights of Popmart. Acoustic versions of Staring At The Sun, MOTD, SBS, Stay, basically any U2 acoustic track is crao IMHO and would be 1000 times better played full band.

 

[coolian2]

Quire right, Miami was one of the highlights of Popmart. Acoustic versions of Staring At The Sun, MOTD, SBS, Stay, basically any U2 acoustic track is crao IMHO and would be 1000 times better played full band.

lol

You listed my favourite acoustic conversions there. The only way it could have been a 'worse' list is if you included the fooking awesome acoustic Walk On

 

[An Cat Gav]

lol

You listed my favourite acoustic conversions there. The only way it could have been a 'worse' list is if you included the fooking awesome acoustic Walk On

Can't remember the acoustic version of that, no doubt if I could it would be on my list too as Walk On is my least favourite U2 single.
I also meant to include Wake Up Dead Man, a full band version of that would be incredible. In my opinion U2 songs are so much better full band, they just don't work for me in acoustic form.

 

[JulioArca]

Can't remember the acoustic version of that, no doubt if I could it would be on my list too as Walk On is my least favourite U2 single.
I also meant to include Wake Up Dead Man, a full band version of that would be incredible. In my opinion U2 songs are so much better full band, they just don't work for me in acoustic form.

Agree Gav, if they gonna play anything acoustic, at least include the whole band like Stay from Dublin/Sydney 93 etc.

 

[PookaMacP]

No way! The COEXIST set in Vertigo was pretty haunting and although some performances were weak, the segment worked well.
What's wrong with the Human Rights Declaration? Probably most of the people that attended the shows don't know two of the main 10 articles. It was a good idea to make people know it and that child pronouncing it made it a beautiful moment.

I had heard no bootlegs before I saw the Vertigo tour and only saw two of the DUblin shows on that tour, but I really thought those segments were intensely cringeworthy. It just didn't work for me as it obviously did for other people. I thought it was a little too forced, and vastly over-simplistic and idealistic. Yes, there is a place for idealism, but there's also a place for not assuming your audience knows absolutely nothing about these issues. The Make Poverty History campaign I didn't mind as much because it was something Bono was invovled in and something new that he wanted everyone to get involved in, but the posturing on co-exist, etc, was just too simple and without nuance.

Perhaps, though, as I've seen suggested elsewhere, it's a European thing, that these sections that work for US audiences simply don't work for European audiences?

 

[An Cat Gav]

I had heard no bootlegs before I saw the Vertigo tour and only saw two of the DUblin shows on that tour, but I really thought those segments were intensely cringeworthy. It just didn't work for me as it obviously did for other people. I thought it was a little too forced, and vastly over-simplistic and idealistic. Yes, there is a place for idealism, but there's also a place for not assuming your audience knows absolutely nothing about these issues. The Make Poverty History campaign I didn't mind as much because it was something Bono was invovled in and something new that he wanted everyone to get involved in, but the posturing on co-exist, etc, was just too simple and without nuance.

Perhaps, though, as I've seen suggested elsewhere, it's a European thing, that these sections that work for US audiences simply don't work for European audiences?

 

[BVS]

Perhaps, though, as I've seen suggested elsewhere, it's a European thing, that these sections that work for US audiences simply don't work for European audiences?

Europeans don't like to coexist? I'm not understanding your point.

 

[An Cat Gav]

Europeans don't like to coexist? I'm not understanding your point.

Not sure, but I think he's trying to say that maybe we don't all need to be spoon fed this groundbreaking piece of information by Bono. Wow, if only someone had thought of this before?? World peace?? Let's just co-exist!!
However I'm sure American's are just as able as we are at working this out.
It just seemed very cringeworthy and patronising to me. And I'm a man who sat was present at all but one of the Sarajevo broadcasts. Believe me they were all awkward but I backed the band 100%. The co-exist stuff was far more painful for me to sit through in comparison.

 

[BVS]

Not sure, but I think he's trying to say that maybe we don't all need to be spoon fed this groundbreaking piece of information by Bono. Wow, if only someone had thought of this before?? World peace?? Let's just co-exist!!
However I'm sure American's are just as able as we are at working this out.
It just seemed very cringeworthy and patronising to me. And I'm a man who sat was present at all but one of the Sarajevo broadcasts. Believe me they were all awkward but I backed the band 100%. The co-exist stuff was far more painful for me to sit through in comparison.

Well it's like Eddie Vedder said:

"I know it's already been sung. Can't be said enough.
Love is all you need. All you need is love."

It's not as if Bono think's he's saying something new, he's just trying to reinforce it. And it wasn't like he made some speech about it, they showed one image and he wore a blindfold. How is that patronising? I think it would only be patronising if it was actually occuring and he still kept bringing it up, but it obviously isn't...

 

[An Cat Gav]

Well, I live in a part of London that is 60% or more Arab, I think we would find it a lot easier to co-exist if it wasn't for Bono's pals Tony and George W. I know that Bono is only friends with George to make a gretare good...blah blah blah, but the fact is i find it hard these days to be preached to by Bono about what is right and wrong, when he keeps such shady company.

 

[An Cat Gav]

Well, I live in a part of London that is 60% or more Arab, I think we would find it a lot easier to co-exist if it wasn't for Bono's pals Tony and George W. I know that Bono is only friends with George to make a gretare good...blah blah blah, but the fact is i find it hard these days to be preached to by Bono about what is right and wrong, when he keeps such shady company.

Don't get me wrong. i still love Bono but I'm just sick of his fucking blathering on...

 

[BVS]

Well, I live in a part of London that is 60% or more Arab, I think we would find it a lot easier to co-exist if it wasn't for Bono's pals Tony and George W. I know that Bono is only friends with George to make a gretare good...blah blah blah, but the fact is i find it hard these days to be preached to by Bono about what is right and wrong, when he keeps such shady company.

Yeah I'm sure Bono's having drinks with George because he just likes his company.

I think some people miss the big picture...

 

[An Cat Gav]

Yeah I'm sure Bono's having drinks with George because he just likes his company.

I think some people miss the big picture...

Yeah because we're all so one dimensional andstupid and don't have the benefit of you're highly original and amusing gift of sarcasm.
Of course I get the big fucking picture, but i feel that Bono over-estimates his place in that big picture, George Bush etc would spit him out the second they get bored with him.
I just think that Bono wearing a blindfold is completely pointless and rubbish compared to their previous efforts, eg the Sarajevo broadcasts, which were truly groundbreaking and did make a difference in people's lives.

 

[BVS]

Yeah because we're all so one dimensional andstupid and don't have the benefit of you're highly original and amusing gift of sarcasm.

My whole point was you were judging him by the "comapany he keeps", but he's the only one out there using his celebrity status to do something good at this caliber...

But you're right, he should just stay home and eat caviar.

 

[KUEFC09U2]

Yeah because we're all so one dimensional andstupid and don't have the benefit of you're highly original and amusing gift of sarcasm.
Of course I get the big fucking picture, but i feel that Bono over-estimates his place in that big picture, George Bush etc would spit him out the second they get bored with him.
I just think that Bono wearing a blindfold is completely pointless and rubbish compared to their previous efforts, eg the Sarajevo broadcasts, which were truly groundbreaking and did make a difference in people's lives.

why because they were part of ZooTv? were everything on that tour was 100% cool

oh and white flag during earlier shows anyone?

 

[digsy]

hate to step into the middle of this argument, but back to the original point....

i thought Fast Cars at the December 4th gig was pretty bad!
it was actually rather funny and a bit of a quirk at the time, but now whenever i see the youtube vid i cringe.

still, it was impromptu and getting a 3rd encore was just so damn cool that I can't even complain that much about it... I was glad to see it live, however vague the resemblance to the original!

 

[last unicorn]

Okay, the discussion is getting a little out of hand.
I don't see the point in saying: Everybody knows we need peace and we need to coexist, so there's no need for Bono to preach it over and over again.
Okay, you could as well say: everybody knows we need love and love is wonderful and beautiful and important, so obviously there is no need for artists to sing, write, talk about love over and over again.

This is what drives Bono as an artist, this is his message and his way of showing it. I don't see much different to the earlier stuff the band has done in terms of political messages.

And Bono is not friends with Bush. I think he has made it perfectly clear what he thinks about the president's foreign policy.
I don't think we should go on discussing these things in a thread that is about what people like or don't like about U2's live shows.

 

[Vincent Vega]

Thinking about how many people in this forum think the torture and other things happening in Guantanamo or Abu Ghraib, and in the secret prisons is good, or at least acceptable, and how many people just throw all Muslims in one big pot and say they are preaching terror, and this is people from all countries, I think his coexist section is justified.

It's political songs, and U2 concerts are always political to some extent. I think criticising that is a bit off the point.

If Bono could have gotten the message though differently? Sure, there are always alternatives. But they created this, and I think it was received positively by the majority.
It would have been odd if they did this only in the US, because people would probably have complained about the stereotyping of Americans, rightfully.

 

[JulioArca]

No ones mentioned the flute on Tomorrow yet

Who played that anyway...Edge?

 

[Aygo]

My whole point was you were judging him by the "comapany he keeps", but he's the only one out there using his celebrity status to do something good at this caliber...

But you're right, he should just stay home and eat caviar.

People seem not to get it.
Many didn't take Zoo TV's message.
Many didn't take Popmart message.
Still, many won't take Vertigo's message.

 

[ZOOTVTOURist]

I agree to an extend. I think All because of you, Crumbs and especially Miracle Drug were pretty bad live, much worse than on the album, they never manged to pull these one off properly, and it's no surprise they were dropped pretty soon.
But I must say that I quite like the OOTS performances, especially the ones with the orchestra.
All the other songs like Vertigo, COBL and LAPOE were okay.

It depends on gusto, but I thought especially "All Because Of You" and "Miracle Drug" fitted perfectly in the setlists, especially when played indoors. But, of course, I'm not independent - because I do love the song "Miracle Drug" live & studio.
For "Crumbs From Your Table" I do have only a regret - the regret, that I didn't manage to hear it live in concert. I had high hopes, U2 would perform this great tune in Europe (it was rehearsed in Brussels). Still I do think, it would have been a perfect stadium rocker - but obviously the band decided not to play it at all here with us. A missed opprtunity, because I fear, we won't hear it again live ...