Rolling Stone Interview
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adypole
Refugee
links=sexy
Shawn Bonneau
New Yorker
I do know The Edge mentions playing some very rare out there tracks. He even mentioned B sides and "LT"
SMB
SMB
jphelmet
Refugee
RS: How much will the show change night to night?
Edge: Our shows start to connect in a very emotional and organic way, and those connections between songs, the segues, start to become like mini-movements or acts within a play. So one or two songs will be different per night, but no like eight songs per night.
Oh well, we might get a b-side and a rare song or two, but its going to be the usual setlist for u2.
Edge: Our shows start to connect in a very emotional and organic way, and those connections between songs, the segues, start to become like mini-movements or acts within a play. So one or two songs will be different per night, but no like eight songs per night.
Oh well, we might get a b-side and a rare song or two, but its going to be the usual setlist for u2.
djerdap
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2004
- Messages
- 7,605
Fuck.
last unicorn
Blue Crack Addict
The RS interview of Edge is indeed a strange one. First he says only half of the new album will be played and now this.
I hope this isn't right. I mean, the Vertigo setlist was good, maybe except for the very last leg, I hope they keep mixing it up for this tour. In an earlier interview Edge said that there will be no static setlist. I understand that they will have to keep certain sequences within the show to make the concept work, but U2 should definitely rotate about half the songs. I'm thinking that Edge may have meant something different here: That they have different sets that will remain the same, but that the mini sets themselves could be varied. I'm sure they will to a certain extent. Otherwise this board will implode
AndrewCowley
Refugee
Surprise surprise. They can't be bothered with setlist variation.
I see no reason not to at least rotate these "mini-movements" like the band did on Lovetown.
Yahweh_OMG
New Yorker
kind of confusing.... until I hear something from a band member, I don't trust anyone 
last unicorn
Blue Crack Addict
Exactly.
mikal
Blue Crack Addict
i'm fine with 2-3 songs and never expected 8. at least it will still be more variation night to night than the Popmart tour.
U2lunatic
Refugee
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2006
- Messages
- 1,315
I think I won't care too much about setlist at my first gig, in Dublin, I'll be happy as a fuck either if they play Pride 20 times or set of B-sides and rarities. But then at another shows I'd welcome some variations. 2 or 3 songs rotated per night surely doesn't sound very good. Like Axver said, they should rotate those mini-movements
chrissybaby
Refugee
Absolutely, of course there are going to be segueways but they could have these in rotation. There will always be a spine of songs that relate to the theme of the tour, but just playing "old" songs acoustically seems lazy to me. It's been said before, but U2 aren't a jam band, they are never going to rotate whole sets and play what "feels right at the moment", but their back catalogue is too good to keep with the old favourites and 6 songs off the new album.
Kill the war-horses, play all the new album and give some different songs a go. Don't be the Rolling Stones.
Worst thing is, because it's Edge saying this you know it probably is true. I think he is the "setlist man"...
RedRocksU2
Blue Crack Addict
This made me laugh.
Mr. Millennium
Acrobat
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2005
- Messages
- 339
I think people are reading way too much into the interview. Just because Edge says only two songs will be different from night to night doesn't mean it will be EXACTLY two. Same with the amount of songs from NLOTH.
How I see it, the setlists will be similar in style to that of the Vertigo Tour. Think of all the "new" songs we got on the last tour: Gloria, The Electric Co, The Ocean, An Cat Dubh, Wild Horses, Miss Sarajevo, The First Time, Zoo Station, etc. All of these were songs we never thought they'd play again, but they did. And some of the songs, like Zoo Station, were played pretty consistently throughout the tour.
Now, imagine something similar, but instead of the songs mentioned above, it will be a completely new group of older songs. Some will come and go, but some will have an important place in the set and will be played virtually every night. And while some shows on the Vertigo Tour only did see a change of two songs from night to night, that was not true of every setlist on the tour.
U2 have very choreographed shows. They always have and they always will. People who expect twenty different songs every night are following the wrong band. The last tour had some of U2's most diverse setlists ever, and as long as that continues this tour, I'll be happy.
How I see it, the setlists will be similar in style to that of the Vertigo Tour. Think of all the "new" songs we got on the last tour: Gloria, The Electric Co, The Ocean, An Cat Dubh, Wild Horses, Miss Sarajevo, The First Time, Zoo Station, etc. All of these were songs we never thought they'd play again, but they did. And some of the songs, like Zoo Station, were played pretty consistently throughout the tour.
Now, imagine something similar, but instead of the songs mentioned above, it will be a completely new group of older songs. Some will come and go, but some will have an important place in the set and will be played virtually every night. And while some shows on the Vertigo Tour only did see a change of two songs from night to night, that was not true of every setlist on the tour.
U2 have very choreographed shows. They always have and they always will. People who expect twenty different songs every night are following the wrong band. The last tour had some of U2's most diverse setlists ever, and as long as that continues this tour, I'll be happy.
subnet
New Yorker
maybe they will switch up NLOTH with The Fly
everything is speculation until showtime + 6 or so shows when they get a feel for the crowd and music
everything is speculation until showtime + 6 or so shows when they get a feel for the crowd and music
U2 plays as strongly as it reherses. Often times they have attempted to play a varient song or take a chance... at times the songs come off as flawed and U2 abandons the concept returning to "the set." They believe in a solid set and this happens after a set has become perfected. They are trying to nail down a set and they probably do not have the time to get dozens of songs down (which also includes VISUALS) in time to switch the set night after night. This is not the U2 way. What they learned from ZOO TV is that a solid set can make a tour. PopMart revealed a weak set can sink a tour. A U2 fan should only expect a 2 song variation... it has been the method now for 30-plus years and with so few dates, in all, I doubt they are worried about playing "Luminous Times" as much as they are playing a full set that will please audiences every night. I remember Paul M. hinting that God Part II would be played during ZOO TV... so it goes.
jphelmet
Refugee
popmart was weak at the beginning because they didn't rehearse enough, because the tour was booked too early. they sounded awful for the first couple weeks of the tour. there was nothing wrong with the set, and the shows at the end of the tour were fantastic.
the weakness was never the set, but the lack of preparation.
subnet
New Yorker
absolutely positively true
I was there to witness PopMart and I gotta say, the set was dope and the music was thumpin
what I liked about PopMart was all the phat bass that Adam brought into town
I was there to witness PopMart and I gotta say, the set was dope and the music was thumpin
what I liked about PopMart was all the phat bass that Adam brought into town
AndrewCowley
Refugee
I think if Edge has said this then we should expect less variation than there was on the Vertigo tour. This tour will be stadiums only and mostly one show per city. For me, these factors combined with Edge's comments really does mean there will be very little variation. If Vertigo is the new high water mark for setlist variation then we'll be below that for this tour. All the signs are there.
tommycharles
War Child
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2005
- Messages
- 778
Those magic sorts of moments that U2 tours are made of aren't really well served by changing the setlist a ton - once you find something like Please-Streets, or the Mark Chapman version of Bullet, or Bad-October-NYD or whatever... you want to make that moment the best it can be for as many audiences as possible. It's what makes U2 concerts a sort of whole experience, rather than just being their catalogue on shuffle, with the bonus of having the band in front of you (not that I'm knocking that method either, Springsteen, REM, and Crowded House all use it to tremendous effect, U2 just does something different entirely).
Prior to the 2000s, it wasn't super common for arena-sized bands to vary the show at all within a tour, there have always been exceptions but not a lot of them. It's been one of the odd side effects of the internet on touring - as Bono said before the Vertigo tour "it's difficult to surprise an audience when they've got last night's setlist."
Prior to the 2000s, it wasn't super common for arena-sized bands to vary the show at all within a tour, there have always been exceptions but not a lot of them. It's been one of the odd side effects of the internet on touring - as Bono said before the Vertigo tour "it's difficult to surprise an audience when they've got last night's setlist."
popacrobat
Rock n' Roll Doggie FOB
war horses that should stay: new years day, streets and I do say with or without you as well.
bullet, pride, sunday bloody sunday can go.
NYD is still so thunderous and awesome. seeing it during U23D was fucking awesome. glad I did get to see it on Vertigo.
as far as this interview...that was as to be expected. did anybody think they're going to mix it up even more than Vertigo when they have a huge production to go along with it? fooling yourselves. I'm sure the tour will rock...they don't disappoint when they put on a show.
bullet, pride, sunday bloody sunday can go.
NYD is still so thunderous and awesome. seeing it during U23D was fucking awesome. glad I did get to see it on Vertigo.
as far as this interview...that was as to be expected. did anybody think they're going to mix it up even more than Vertigo when they have a huge production to go along with it? fooling yourselves. I'm sure the tour will rock...they don't disappoint when they put on a show.
phommel
Refugee
well, is this not every tour the same?
Their setlists have been rigid since a long time, in spite of some band members mentioning they will vary more...
They are not Bruce Springsteen...
Furthermore this is only an issue for people attending multiple concerts.
Their setlists have been rigid since a long time, in spite of some band members mentioning they will vary more...
They are not Bruce Springsteen...
Furthermore this is only an issue for people attending multiple concerts.
'RoomOnFire
The Fly
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2009
- Messages
- 122
Well Edge did say they would play songs that they havent played in a long time, anyone considered the possibility that these rare songs they choose will be played consistently? I dont understand all the doom and gloom tbh, you're going to see U2 for God's sake!
hibricc
Refugee
I think the concern is that the band will revert to the PopMart model of having only one or two flexible "slots" in the setlist, and that only one or two different songs will be swapped into those slots. This is different from Elevation and Vertigo, when there were several flexible slots, and there were MULTIPLE songs which might appear in each slot, sometimes at a moment's notice. But I think that much change is less important on a stadium tour when few people are seeing multiple shows.
bonoschild2009
War Child
I think the best thing for me to do is to try and stay away from Interference after the tour starts- that way I won't have any preconceived ideas or feelings about setlists and how they are changing or not changing...i'm still excited as hell to see my fave band, but i am vowing to not have any feelings, good or bad, about changes or non-changes to setlists...
bonocomet
Blue Crack Distributor
I will be clinging to every setlist party for dear life 
I don't care what they play, I just want to know what they're playing. 
I don't care what they play, I just want to know what they're playing. 
