Is this the BEST tour yet...?

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From what I've read/seen regarding the tour, I'm setting myself to be slightly underwhelmed. (I think disappointed would be far too strong a word.) I'm going in thinking it won't be the best tour yet. The stage is amazing and beautiful, but there's something niggling in my brain that's telling me that the show itself isn't "filling" that stage, or the stadium, like what they're doing isn't big enough.

And yes, I might completely be way off, as I haven't seen it or heard a bootleg yet - just going by what I've heard. I'm perfectly happy with realizing I'm wrong once I've seen the show. Maybe that prejudice is also based on the fact that the only stadium concerts I've ever seen were ZooTV and PopMart, so they're my only frames of reference for comparison. And those were B-I-G, big. (Zoo TV I had a very mediocre experience, PopMart a great experience.)

But you know what? I'm totally okay with all of that. I'm still seeing my favorite band play a buttload of great songs, getting to experience it with friends ... it's going to be great!

And if the shows are better than my slightly-lowered expectations, then that's just even better. :)
 
From what I've read/seen regarding the tour, I'm setting myself to be slightly underwhelmed. (I think disappointed would be far too strong a word.) I'm going in thinking it won't be the best tour yet.

But you know what? I'm totally okay with that. I'm still seeing my favorite band play a buttload of great songs, getting to experience it with friends ... it's going to be great!

And if the shows are better than my slightly-lowered expectations, then that's just even better. :)

This.

Any tour of theirs is a good tour.
 
The longer I'm a U2 fan, the more I realize just how much the tour DVD affects the impression and overall rating of a U2 tour. I'm really hoping that this time, they cobble together the best live versions of each song they play, from various cities around the world. It would guarantee that every song on the DVD is top-grade. Plus, it kind of aligns with the whole "360" theme, too.
 
The longer I'm a U2 fan, the more I realize just how much the tour DVD affects the impression and overall rating of a U2 tour.
I agree
and I think this is quite sad as U2 shows for me are about the reaction from the crowd to the songs
which is mostly lost when sitting behind your tv comparing it to other dvd's
 
Well i had a blast but you can't say yet if it will be their best one yet.

My opinion is that this kind of stage requires a lot more rocking songs (Gone, last night on earth, dirty day, the fly, discotheque etc) which also make great use of the screen and the whole claw itself. Sure the older songs like pride and wowy are nice but id rather see them being dropped for more rocking songs.
 
I think its safe enuff for me to make an educated guess, having been at UF, JT, Zoo Tv, Popmart, Elevation and Vertigo tours, that this will NOT be u2's defining moment. there seems to be a lot of people creaming themselves over the technology/stage on this tour. A gig is supposed to be about the music? Maybe, thats why 2 of my 3 fave tours, were basic shows (JT and Elevation)

As a footnote, YES, i do think u2s quality went down after JT album, but only because they pulled the once in a generation album out of the bag with the Joshua Tree.

I agree and outwith the fanbase it's getting mixed reviews and some bad ones too.

The spectacle does nothing for me, I enjoy a little live 'theatre' in a rock show lke The Flaming Lips have done for years or the NIN With Teeth and Lights In The Sky tours but not this where it just seems big for the sake of it.

I like the album, it's superb in places but this time just haven't warmed to the actual Live show, and it is a show, with little room for the radical song changes per night, sure... you get one or two changes, but some acts do up to 8 or 9 set changes a night and U2 used to epitomise that, alas no more... and where Bono used to speak much more spontaneously regarding ah.... "events" it seems now more part of the show, ie every night we get tada! 'the speech' as opposed to the real visceral bile of the Denver 1987 diatribe...

The JT > Lovetown & ZOOTV tours were great, because of the contrast factor, but POP to me was just another big show and I don't particularly enjoy stadia concerts to start with let alone where there is such a static 'show' aspect.

So far I've watched enough good quality video and the band look slightly dwarfed, they haven't quite got the intro right either, that awful flat lull before Breathe in Barcelona still stands out for me... yeah the setlist is okay, lacks the cop and change of old and funny thing is it resembles an iTunes playlist I compiled back in April prior to the tour, just me thinking what will they play! ahem my lawyers are on the case.. though my Another Time, Another Place / The Ocean - Unnown Caller segment is missing... that and I opened with Fez/Being Born... and MOS is not the closer [AIWIYStreets/MLK was]

It's subjectve really ie "is this the best tour" personally I think no.
 
I agree and outwith the fanbase it's getting mixed reviews and some bad ones too.

The spectacle does nothing for me, I enjoy a little live 'theatre' in a rock show lke The Flaming Lips have done for years or the NIN With Teeth and Lights In The Sky tours but not this where it just seems big for the sake of it.

I like the album, it's superb in places but this time just haven't warmed to the actual Live show, and it is a show, with little room for the radical song changes per night, sure... you get one or two changes, but some acts do up to 8 or 9 set changes a night and U2 used to epitomise that, alas no more... and where Bono used to speak much more spontaneously regarding ah.... "events" it seems now more part of the show, ie every night we get tada! 'the speech' as opposed to the real visceral bile of the Denver 1987 diatribe...

The JT > Lovetown & ZOOTV tours were great, because of the contrast factor, but POP to me was just another big show and I don't particularly enjoy stadia concerts to start with let alone where there is such a static 'show' aspect.

So far I've watched enough good quality video and the band look slightly dwarfed, they haven't quite got the intro right either, that awful flat lull before Breathe in Barcelona still stands out for me... yeah the setlist is okay, lacks the cop and change of old and funny thing is it resembles an iTunes playlist I compiled back in April prior to the tour, just me thinking what will they play! ahem my lawyers are on the case.. though my Another Time, Another Place / The Ocean - Unnown Caller segment is missing... that and I opened with Fez/Being Born... and MOS is not the closer [AIWIYStreets/MLK was]

It's subjectve really ie "is this the best tour" personally I think no.

you do realize that ZooTV featured one of the most static setlists in the band's entire history?
 
People always want U2 to be something different, last time on the vertigo indoor leg people complained that it was just like the elevation tour with the ellipse etc, and now people are complaining that its big and not in arenas, they cannot win whatever they do, be it setlists, stage design etc there is always someone saying that someone elses opinion is wrong.
 
It's the curse of being one of the biggest bands in the world - there's no way in hell you're going to please everyone.
 
and can i just add, i have seen more positive reviews 10 shows in on this tour, than i have the whole of the first leg of the vertigo tour.
 
The amsterdam II gig was utterly fucking epic. My hand is smakking on the big YES button.
 
the one version i heard of walk on was not that good. don;t like the intro streets. think things are still a little rough around the edges. then again its 10 shows in. i'm holding judgement.
 
Oh i dunno, ZooTV had a cohesive theme and the band were so comfortable with it they allowed it to grow organically. Compare Miami in 92 to Australia in 93, it's an amazing shift even taking into account the arena to stadium shift. This tour seems to lack a coherent idea or theme, some people say it's about space, others "in the round", but I think that the "in the round" concept isn't really a concept, it's just too physical.

I actually think that the obsession with the claw has left them bereft of a musical theme, afterall what has the Claw to do with Fez, or the Traffic Cop story? I honestly expected these themes to be what the show was based around, regardless of the staging. Listen to AB, you can hear the concepts coming to fruition in ZooTV, the same for Popmart. I don't want to talk about setlist variation, I really don't care - if it works it works. But I honestly don't think that they have thought enough about how they are going to play the news songs (apart from Crazy Tonight), and the connection they have to their musical beginnings... I still think that NLOTH (song) as a developed set opener is the biggest missed opportunity for some time... :doh:
 
Having seen U2 in 1985(Unforgettable Fire), 1987(The Joshua Tree), 1992(Zoo TV), 1997(Popmart), 2001(Elevation) it's hard to say which tour was the "best"...there are so many variables (mood, songs, stage, lighting, band energy/momentum) - I liked them all but I have to say, at least in a way, that 1985 was my favorite...meeting Bono back then was amazing, he was extremely shy and polite...and, I may add, a tad nervous about how big the band was becoming...plus the songs, especially "Bad" and "The Unforgettable Fire" had such an energy to them it was unbelievable. On the other hand The Joshua Tree tour (of which I saw 3 shows) was something else alltogether - it was the band at their first "peak" and the shows were fantastic - meeting the band once again they had changed - much more confident but still very friendly. Then came Zoo TV...WOW is all I can say, here was U2 at thier second "peak" - amazing concerts!!! Saw Popmart in my hometown and I must say it was NOT the best of the shows...it was great in it's own way but something was missing. Finally, saw them in New Jersey in June of 2001 and I really enjoyed the show...they seemed to have more energy than 97...maybe it was just me but it really seemed that way. Missed the Vertigo tour (Damn!!!) and have tickets to Vancouver in October 2009. Looking forward to it and REALLY hoping that "Bad" makes an appearence. I'll reserve judgment on the tour until I actually see it although the "claw" does look spectacular.
 
I totally agree with that. IMO...it sounded rushed. am hoping its because they have yet to back in the swing of playing it live, as its one of my faves!

oh...and no hallelujahs at the end is unforgivable :p

Yeah it was so strong and ended the elevation show so well, but it seems flat and missing so much energy. The mask thing doesnt give it any justice neither, with walk on being on my favs, i was really disappointed hearing this version.
 
The theme issue is a good point... I think Bono wants it to become about space, but the use of clocks indicates time is meant to important...
 
you do realize that ZooTV featured one of the most static setlists in the band's entire history?

uh.. yes but where did I say it was 'non-static' I did say that I liked the contrast between the 87-89 and 92-93 style of presentation. ZOO TV as a conept was anything but static though they did ocasionally have some on the screens.... dum de dum..
 
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