U2 after Glastonbury thoughts and chats

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Earnie Shavers said:
I have now watched the whole broadcast, and I can understand why so many people here – especially those who haven’t watched many (any?) Glastonbury headlining sets before – thought they nailed it. It paints a very rosy picture! Which is good, because far, far, far more people were watching it on the BBC than were actually in the field. But I can assure you, from the field, they came within an inch of crashing that into the wall. As Mikey said above, it was nerve wracking to watch.

I have actually been surprised to read a lot of the great reviews. From punters there it seemed to be mixed - very mixed. But as I was walking away from it, I actually thought the whole thing was very exciting from a fan perspective – you never, ever see U2 so raw and real, so terrified and panicked, running on pure nerves and adrenalin – but that from a casual perspective, I thought that they had probably tanked it.
So it’s nice to read and hear that so many think they didn’t, although weather + gremlins + poor setlist (Moment of Surrender – what the fuck were they thinking?) really did hold it back. They never really got the massive lift off everyone expects from a Glastonbury headline set. It all peaked with the Achtung run. If they’d been on one night later (with the better weather, sound and field conditions Coldplay enjoyed), and if that was all that was holding Bono back from really working with the crowd (and if it was the weather that seemed to weaken his voice significantly song after song), then that plus just a two song different encore could have really knocked them over the top. Real shame.

But yes, this U2 fan right here thought that ‘realness’ was fantastic. The Fly was my standout. They were super nervous, super edgy. Even Better failed to take off with the whole band looking like a deer in headlights, possibly rattled by such a shonky start, and perhaps the realisation that this is going to be fucking tough. But then they seem to throw all of the adrenalin, fear, frustration into the next song and ripped into The Fly. Again, this was certainly not technically the greatest version. I don't think Bono got *any* of the chords right (and they actually had him turned up quite high) plus Edge flubbed it in a few spots - but - the raw energy to it was just unreal. Again, something not picked up on the BBC, but at the very end, when the camera is focused on Bono facing Larry, I remember thinking at the time that people 'here' watching this online must be loving this moment, but the BBC didn't catch it - the three of them were huddled around Larry as they did in Anaheim for the finish, but properly banging it this time, like a much, much younger band. It was fucking great. Edge is hitting the wrong notes, Bono is just hitting whatever chord, but they're absolutely going for it. All of this, and I'm there in the pit and I'm looking up at seven big screens flashing the rapid-fire words and slogans. Where am I? When is this? Fuck nostalgia complaints, for five minutes there I was at ZooTV. This absolutely wins my All Time U2 Live Highlight Award. I was a pig in mud, in every way, as it was.

But yes, sadly, for several reasons - some their own fault, some not - as I said before, they competently landed this gig, which in itself was amazing given the truly awful conditions, and it was very special and unique for U2 fans, but it failed to get lift off, failed to be something bigger. It will probably end up settling as being one of the better/best of the weekend, but definitely not an all time great. Their inexperience with gigs and crowds and events like this, and the truly awful conditions, proved to be too much.
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Great review :up:
 
+ 1 :up:

yeah great review Earnie! thanks a lot!

have to say i was on tenterhooks watching on tv, could see the nerves and tension for sure, but no way near as clearly as you guys could... petrifying!! lol!!!

from seeing it on tv, i didn't feel they took off and got into orbit... they were heading there at the beginning i think, but it definitely fell flat when they played Boots, and MOS didn't come across well either - glad they pulled out OOC at least, otherwise it would've been a real anticlimax at the end...

also, how was the flow, live? there seemed to be quite a bit of empty space between songs on the BBC coverage, but maybe that's because i'm so used to U2 having so much other stuff going on in between songs, and maybe they're too used to that too? so to me, the flow seemed a bit stilted on the tv coverage...

overall, although they might not have reached transcendence, it kind of looked like they set out to do a job, and they got that job done... just... but by totally busting their asses... that was a big relief in itself though, especially given the crappy conditions...

i found myself wishing they'd played Glastonbury years and years ago back in the 80s and maybe early 90s... that would've been something, they would've been astounding then and it would've worked wonders for their profile in the UK... sounds harsh, but maybe it's too late on in their career now... maybe they missed that boat... i dunno... still a great gig though! :)
 
hahahaha you bastard :lol:

basically agree with most of what Earnie said actually. personally because whatever was making me ill got worse and worse with each song, I'd peaked by UTEOTW...so i was REALLY fucking glad to have been in good shape for the first three. I'd been looking forward to The Fly and Mysterious Ways more than any other song that weekend oddly. The Zoo TV section was pretty much perfect apart from The Edge playing REALLY out of time on EBTTRT and the entire key fuck-up at the beginning of UTEOTW. Those first 4 songs had me going absolutely crazy, but being ill and Streets cropping up so early just left me feeling a bit...meh, for the rest of the gig.

walked away feeling it had been such a missed oppurtunity, especially with the setlist. But you can't complain about what you DON'T get, and I'm just happy to have seen U2 again. Gutted i'll probably never hear Zooropa while some Americans get up to take a piss when it's being played, but it's a good thing they played Out Of Control at the end after nearly killing it stone dead with Moment Of Surrender.

The flow of the set was okay, but Streets was just TOO fucking early. On paper it looks brave and all that, but when you're actually there...hearing it after One and so early on didn't work. Bono obviously took the Jerusalem snippet on too long with the organ perhaps turned down, Edge looking to the side of the stage with a "fuck it, i'll just start" look on his face before playing the riff...which then went wrong. To be frank, it was all over the place. A real mess of what should have been the greatest moment of the set.
I stood there wondering why I wasn't stood there with a massive grin on my face, almost teary-eyed as I had done the two times I'd heard them play it before. Put simply, Muse did it better, nearly :huh::huh::huh:

but yeah, I'm just repeating what other people have said, but while it was a great gig, there have been MUCH better on this tour. After two years of anticipation, there's no doubt it just fell flat :( the weather/plenty of off-moments musically/bad setlist overall just dragged it down. perfect opening set of songs (up til one) I still think they should have just turned up, played their REGULAR set (with 40/Bad). Instead of saying "oh we've no idea what to play!!" "oh, we're doing a special set..." when all they did was just drop songs. it was all talk and no substance in the lead up to the night. OH WELL!!! Still a great night, and I'll always remember jumping up and down and singing along to EBTTRT/The Fly and being in absolute heaven.
 
mama cass said:
from seeing it on tv, i didn't feel they took off and got into orbit... they were heading there at the beginning i think, but it definitely fell flat when they played Boots, and MOS didn't come across well either - glad they pulled out OOC at least, otherwise it would've been a real anticlimax at the end...

also, how was the flow, live? there seemed to be quite a bit of empty space between songs on the BBC coverage, but maybe that's because i'm so used to U2 having so much other stuff going on in between songs, and maybe they're too used to that too? so to me, the flow seemed a bit stilted on the tv coverage...
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Boots was definitely the song where everyone turned around and started talking to their mates, lighting cigarettes, grabbing their bags for another drink and that sort of thing. It fell completely flat. I suppose they 'had' to play it, but it's a real shame they did. That was actually the first time I've seen it live. A lot of people say it's better live, actually a good song live. Sorry - still think it's shit. It wasn't actually the smartest choice either. Boots here is like Pop in the US. It's the defining U2 failure. It's the part in their narrative where they did something really bad. I think the crowd actually audibly groaned a bit and I think you can even pick it up on the broadcast.

I actually think one of the issues with the set was that all the songs (or all but two) were so big that it meant none really stood out. For most other bands - even pretty big ones - of a 15-20 song set, you're only hitting maybe 4-5 that are as big as, say, Pride. But with U2, they all are. So there's kind of no drop and rise in the set. You're not waiting for the next big one, so there's not a kind of release when it comes around. No ecstatic mini run of hits. That sort of thing. U2 needed to work on the drama within that set. Somehow. They maybe could have done with another 2-3 songs in there, breaking it up a bit. Maybe followed more closely their normal routine of distinct mini sets in there. Perhaps a real b-stage would have been a good idea. Even though those songs would have also been 'big ones', just coming down and out into the crowd and giving them Desire/Angel of Harlem or something, before wandering back up and launching into the anthems again, probably would have done a lot of good. I'm sure if the weather were better, the performances would have been as well. I'm sure Bono was itching to do exactly what every frontman (and woman - Beyonce did it on Sunday) does at Glastonbury, and at some point get off the stage and out to and up on the barriers for a song. That must have been killing him. And just that could have turned one of them around.

What everyone is hanging on is a 'moment' like that, and they really didn't provide that. Nothing that singularly stood out. Some of those are planned (see Muse providing a huge one last year with Edge/Streets), some are spontaneous. He did miss one spontaneous one though - after I Will Follow, the crowd kicked off on the 'ba-duh, ba-duh' part Bono dropped into Streets from the PSB version/Can't Take My Eyes Off You. It was the whole crowd in on it, very loud. Bono was in a little band huddle, but turned around and smiled and lifted the mic to his mouth, stepped forward a bit. At that point, I was already thinking that they were flailing a little bit - Streets had gone nowhere and that is a bit of a worry - and I think I even said out loud "Do it!" But then Bono put the mic down and turned around again. It sounds like a silly small thing, but if he'd wandered out to that ramp and taken the crowd on with that, right into a screaming acapella "I love you baaaaaaybe" chorus, that is the kind of thing that really works there and tips it all over. U2 leading the crowd, or the crowd leading U2? The crowd rules over the band at Glastonbury. Small thing, sounds silly, but it was a shame he didn't do it. You know what? Chris Martin would never have missed that cue.

So, I think they kind of missed nailing it mostly by a lack of experience and lack of rehearsal. For a lot of other (most other) huge bands, headlining Glastonbury is *it* and still is no matter how big they get. It's their biggest gig, their most important gig, and will remain so throughout their career. For U2, their most important gigs are... what, whichever one is getting filmed for the fucking tour DVD? I don't know, U2 don't really do stand out/epic/momentous gigs. It all just blends, and some are slightly better or worse than others.

Point being: for a band like Coldplay, it's genuinely a big fucking deal. They've played there a lot, they love it, they know exactly how to work it, and they know how much work and what type of work is involved in it. They played a bunch of festival gigs leading in, and you can bet Chris Martin considered them all nothing but Glastonbury rehearsal. They went way over the top on production (as an aside - I have no idea why Adam said U2 were going to do "Glastonbury on steroids", production wise, both Coldplay and Beyonce made U2 look incredibly minimalist), Martin went way over the top on the frontman-theatrics, and they played up to the warm, everyone in it together atmosphere that rules there - and in doing so, they completely got away with playing five new and unknown songs. Beyonce played a super slick, super choreographed, heavy on the theatrics and pyro, very 'big' set, that she had rehearsed for three weeks in a warehouse in East London, with the full stage set built up for her. I know she's got all the dance routines and whatever, but still, she put a lot of effort into this, and it showed.

U2? A few hours in a theatre in Winnipeg running through a setlist order for the opening set of songs. That's it. Through either arrogance or ignorance, they rocked up there assuming it would all go right and would all be right and would all be huge... and it wasn't. The technology fell over. They were lost on that stage. The setlist was off. What does that say? They should have taken it to a crowd somewhere first. Squeeze in a theatre gig or two in the US on off nights and get practice on that kind of stage while giving that setlist a run through. If they had the time, they should have booked in on one of the smaller European festivals - as almost all other Glastonbury acts do - as a dry run. Even Coachella if it worked with their schedule (?). And you know what? The only part they nailed was the part they really worked on and test-ran.
 
mama cass said:
i found myself wishing they'd played Glastonbury years and years ago back in the 80s and maybe early 90s...
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I think career wise, and ability wise, the best time might have actually been after ATYCLB. They didn't really need it around the late 80s/early 90s. Although doing it then would have been wicked + credibility that would have lasted. That they're not part of that scene/community/culture I think is a large part of why they lack respect and credibility from a lot of their peers and the media. The number of other Glastonbury acts that either dismissed or outright trashed U2 leading into it was quite astounding. They're not 'part of the gang' in a way. And really, looking at photos of Bono wandering around backstage at Glastonbury - it looks weird, he really does look out of place. More one of the visiting celebrities than one of the participating acts. Why does it look odd? He's the front man for a big fuck off rock band, he should look completely at home in that 'scene', but he really doesn't.

Having not dropped in on 'the festivals' at least once a decade has probably been one of their larger mistakes. And it sounds awfully arrogant when someone like Larry (and this came just the other day from their dickhead lapdog in Neil McCormick - worst music writer in the UK, surely only employed because he lands U2 exclusives?), openly say that they don't do festivals because why would they because they can do their own shows and charge people more for them. Not exactly endearing.
 
Really interesting to see the different perspective. I can totally see how it came across both as a success and a "not quite, but almost!"

Earnie Shavers said:
With the foul ups, I think they must have been having IEM issues. They were having a lot more problems up there than the broadcast gives away. They were doing those between song band huddles a lot - often when the BBC was showing wider shots and whatnot - but they weren't 'go team' huddles, but rather they seemed to be really quite panicked, and throughout the whole thing there was a lot of shouting at each other, Edge shouting at Dallas, Adam sticking closer to Larry than usual, Bono and Edge keeping eye contact.
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Again - interesting! Thanks for sharing all of that.
 
It pains me to say it but I think the best thing U2 can do now is finish the tour and just go away for a sizable length of time. Just let people forget about you for a while and then when you finally return they might find that they missed you while you were gone. There's just such a swarm of negativity engulfing them at the moment that I think they did well to get such positive reviews from the media. If you consider all the flak they've taken recently from Spiderman, Edge's housing developments, lukewarm album reviews, and of course the tax issues (which is, in my opinion, the biggest factor contributing to their unpopularity in the UK right now), then the obvious response is to lay low, rediscover the passion for songwriting and then when the time is right, make a comeback.

Other people might feel differently, but this is the way I feel now as the dust is settling on the Glastonbury performance. They've done it, they've ticked that box, they've proved to themselves and to others that they can pull it off; now just leave the stage for a while.
 
I agree actually. There's stuff I wouldn't dare say in 'here' (and there'd be no point anyway, no discussion would actually come from it) but would be quick to say about U2 in the real world, but needless to say, they need to get off this tour and have a little think about it all. Go away for a long while, dream it all up again, or let it go.
 
re. the tax issue, i guess we're living in more troubled times economically right now, what with all the austerity measures, so it really cuts, and looks bad
 
Yep - part of a wider growing anger at social divides that has been bubbling for the better part of a decade, and the financial crisis and response to it (and who is seen to be punished for it) has only turned that red hot.
 
awful comment from Larry re. festivals :angry:

plus i wonder if they're so big and self-sufficient, they're a bit out of touch with their peers?

guess U2 have always been a bit out there on their own though, which can be perceived as both a strength and a weakness i guess
 
Earnie Shavers said:
They didn't really need it around the late 80s/early 90s. Although doing it then would have been wicked + credibility that would have lasted. That they're not part of that scene/community/culture I think is a large part of why they lack respect and credibility from a lot of their peers and the media.
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yeah, that's why i wish they had done it back then, when they didn't need it, but just because it would've been so awesome... oh well... no use crying over spilled milk ha
 
KUEFC09U2 said:
What did Larry say?
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it was in Earnie's post, KUEFC09U2:

Having not dropped in on 'the festivals' at least once a decade has probably been one of their larger mistakes. And it sounds awfully arrogant when someone like Larry (and this came just the other day from their dickhead lapdog in Neil McCormick - worst music writer in the UK, surely only employed because he lands U2 exclusives?), openly say that they don't do festivals because why would they because they can do their own shows and charge people more for them. Not exactly endearing.
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Bono also said that they've never done Glastonbury before simply because they hadn't ever gotten the BBC to agree to them using their own director before.
 
KUEFC09U2 said:
This thread is starting to make me sad
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Why ? I didn't expect an all-time great gig at Glastonbury.

I expected them to prove (to themselves, and to others) they can do very good gigs without it being on their terms - not their own stage, not their own audience. And they did it. Admiteddly without practice - but I understand Glasto doesn't have soundchecks, admiteddly with bad conditions. And for a mid-tour appearance (let alone one-off U2 shows), those were good vocals. This isn't even considering the icy relationship in the British papers re; U2 most of the time.

The thing lacking was 3 little changes in the setlist that would make a bit of a push towards greatness:

1) Play Streets later. Right after Pride would have been great. Also, you get some leverage later on for that opening AB rush of energy. Though I guess they wanted this from Bad.

2) Put One in the encore, with WOWY and 40. Add OOC if necessary.

3) Strike acoustic songs if you're doing energetic sets. Drop Stay, add NYD after UTEOTW. Unless they were planning on making this feel more like a U2 gig, with one acoustic song in the middle.

A lesser point : Boots and Vertigo back to back felt odd.
 
did anybody else think they were going crazy and had listened to too many IEM recordings when they heard the "1...2...3...4" on streets?? :wink:
 
Earnie Shavers said:
They had signs up at all the info points about some dodgy amphetamines going around. That what got you? I've actually got a killer cold now. That is U2's fault.
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nah, I think it was just the sun from the day before. face wasn't so red next day but my head was just in agony. :huh:
 
Earnie Shavers said:
He did miss one spontaneous one though - after I Will Follow, the crowd kicked off on the 'ba-duh, ba-duh' part Bono dropped into Streets from the PSB version/Can't Take My Eyes Off You. It was the whole crowd in on it, very loud. Bono was in a little band huddle, but turned around and smiled and lifted the mic to his mouth, stepped forward a bit. At that point, I was already thinking that they were flailing a little bit - Streets had gone nowhere and that is a bit of a worry - and I think I even said out loud "Do it!" But then Bono put the mic down and turned around again. It sounds like a silly small thing, but if he'd wandered out to that ramp and taken the crowd on with that, right into a screaming acapella "I love you baaaaaaybe" chorus, that is the kind of thing that really works there and tips it all over. U2 leading the crowd, or the crowd leading U2? The crowd rules over the band at Glastonbury. Small thing, sounds silly, but it was a shame he didn't do it. You know what? Chris Martin would never have missed that cue.
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pah Chris Martin...

i loved that bit, and really thought Bono was going burst into the chorus as well - that could've been a wild exhilarating moment with the crowd singing their heads off but just fizzled... maybe B-man was just so nervous he didn't trust his instincts enough to go for it...

i also groaned at Boots, but was very relieved Crazy Tonight wasn't played... :D
 
Maybe Chris Martin wouldnt have missed the chance, but he would have been spinning all round the floor like someone having an epileptic fit while doing it!
 
Bono talking to Jo Whiley "I wanted to throw up. Whenever you see me giving up a lot of attitude that means I'm terrified. I felt like I was going to retch at the side of the stage."

Another factor to take into consideration when deciding how good they were. I have to say, on first viewing, i was nervous for the band aswell, and the amount of errors didn't help either. But after giving it a second watch on Saturday morning, i could certainly enjoy the performance alot more and actually sit back and enjoy the music.
 
i must be one sick bitch because the thought of them being terrified just really tickles me :D
 
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