What will be the future of Touring after 'the claw' ?

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phommel

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In lots of media it is commented that U2 changed the concept of live performing with this new way of playing stadiums 360.
My personal perception has to agree completely with that.

But I am wondering, I know it's early they just started but still: what's next? Can they ever Tour in an end-stage setup like they used to do previously? They succeeded in making the concert more intimate like this, which is a big achievement in these huge stadiums that are cold and ugly. I witnessed that even the concrete-ugly-cold monster of an Amsterdam Arena changed into a club-like place with a lot of atmosphere. It is clearly a step forward according to the band and also most of the audience. Not unimportant: the sound is better in this setup!

If they go back to end-stage performances it is a step back in audio quality, intimity, audience involvement, atmosphere.. But if they Tour next time with a "Claw 2.0" it might be concerned as not innovative and new anymore...And what about other bands? It is probably too expensive for any other band to Tour with 200 trucks around the world...
 
If they go all-stadium again (that is a big IF, and is hardly a given considering the state of the world, the music industry, and U2), then I wouldn't be surprised if we see Willy Williams coming up with what PopMart was to ZooTV to The Claw. He'll probably be scratching his head...
 
I'm sure they have some idea on what they can do next. I'm very impressed with the Claw though. And I hope U2 start a trend for stadium shows are fun. I know many people don't like them, but I see them as events/spectacles for a band. I just don't know if bands can do a stadium tour because of the state of music........thanks commercial radio :angry:
 
When you think about it, elevation was 360, the stage was very open and wide to the ones sat behind the stage, and then they switched to a 1 way stage on the vertigo, so it can be possible to switch back. Its a shame now though, everyone seems more concerned on whether it will appeal to every seat, rather than the actual stage.
 
I just finished reading the book U2 Show. Things u2 did for the first time are now common for most concerts. Ego ramps, B stages, use of video, acoustic sets....
Joshua and ZooTV really set the standard for touring.
 
I dont really think they got what they wanted with 360!
I hope (if they continue doing stadiums!) that they go back to doing an end stage!!
it just looks bigger and more complete to me,

But really what came to mind right after the gig, my real wish would be to see U2 do a small arena tour!!! dunno what the chances are, but I could see it been a huge success! no sound problems no narky neighbours to put up with, and it would be v intimate, nobody could be far from the band! which I guess they wanted on this tour but failed imo.


I'm hoping they play the O2 in Dublin! great venue and a vvv good sound set up! I could see these type of gigs been great for the band and for the fans, I remember Bono saying when the O2 opened after they performed Desire there, that they (U2) better be playing here this year not once not twice but three times! I dunno if this was just him thinking out loud, but I really hope it goes ahead!!! perhaps a small residency there around christmas time!
 
Vertigo's American legs were 360 as well, in the arenas. That was the entire reason they got Barco to design the MiSphere - it was invented specifically to allow them to have a 360 viewing angle.

I think a completely open setup would be really epic. If they could find some way to hang the 360 screen above the stage without needing the legs of the claw at all - just a completely unroofed platform in the middle of the stadium with walkways all around it, no huge structure or anything. I dunno how they'd solve the problem of having the screen and the light rigs without needing some massive scaffolding like the Claw to support them, but U2's recent touring history had been all about making the impossible possible, right? No one ever thought something like 360 would work. I'd say no one had even imagined something like the MiSphere before the Vertigo Tour was being put together.

Either way, I'm sure they'll come up with something - their design team had already proven itself to have a really bizarre and wild imagination!
 
But really what came to mind right after the gig, my real wish would be to see U2 do a small arena tour!!! dunno what the chances are, but I could see it been a huge success! no sound problems no narky neighbours to put up with, and it would be v intimate, nobody could be far from the band! which I guess they wanted on this tour but failed imo.

Haven't they already done this with Elevation?
 
The next step in touring evolution would be to actually have a stage in the middle of a stadium.

I guess we are still one step away from that.

:reject:
 
a stage ACTUALLY in the middle of the stadium
and 4 ramps...

kinda like an + stage with a circular ramp to conect everything... so it could look like this

Circle.jpg


or this

showroom_eva-harlou_architects_denmark_interior-design_diagram1.jpg




but maybe someone will come up with a thing like that before they tour again
 
I actually hope they stop touring after this. Then I can finally enjoy my life without dealing with all of you.

:wink:
 
At the end of the 360 tour, the alien spaceship claw will take off and our four little irish aliens will just go home. :hmm::crack::hmm:

Maybe going back to something more... green oriented, more human, less blackberry could be a good thing. We will see, but I think they will have to follow what Live nation want... Stadiums, 80 000 people each night and $$ everywhere ;)
 
In lots of media it is commented that U2 changed the concept of live performing with this new way of playing stadiums 360.
My personal perception has to agree completely with that.

But I am wondering, I know it's early they just started but still: what's next? Can they ever Tour in an end-stage setup like they used to do previously? They succeeded in making the concert more intimate like this, which is a big achievement in these huge stadiums that are cold and ugly. I witnessed that even the concrete-ugly-cold monster of an Amsterdam Arena changed into a club-like place with a lot of atmosphere. It is clearly a step forward according to the band and also most of the audience. Not unimportant: the sound is better in this setup!

If they go back to end-stage performances it is a step back in audio quality, intimity, audience involvement, atmosphere.. But if they Tour next time with a "Claw 2.0" it might be concerned as not innovative and new anymore...And what about other bands? It is probably too expensive for any other band to Tour with 200 trucks around the world...

I think they will stay with the 360 set up when outdoors, but there are lots of different ways you can do a 360 set up. They could do the a 360 set up where the main stage is on the 50 yard line, with 2 B stages, one at one end of the field and the other at the opposite end, connected by 35 yard long cat walks. The GA area would be divided up into 4 different area's with this set up.

Playing 360 in an outdoor football stadium is very demanding in terms of attracting enough people to fill the stadium as well as the cost. I think U2 are the only artist out there that can do an exclusive tour like this and sellout or fill up all the shows.
 
The next step in touring evolution would be to actually have a stage in the middle of a stadium.

I guess we are still one step away from that.

:reject:

The Claw really needs to be in the middle of the pitch .
The setup in Croke Park was shambolic to say the least.
Having that stage at one end of the largest pitch on the tour with nobody behind it was a waste.
It looked stupid.I'd much preferred to have a standard stage like the Vertigo one used instead.
Also the ellipse is too small ,it should go out alot further into the crowd ,at least another 20 yards .
B stage is definitely the way to go.
 
Imagine if they had the technology to present the 3D images (as seen in U23D) on their touring screen. 3D is the future.

eta: I don't know...the old "huge speaker towers on both sides/B-stage" setup is old and too generic by now and they used the ellipse/heart 3 tours in a row now.
 
i actually hope they stop touring after this. Then i can finally enjoy my life without dealing with all of you.

:wink:

:d:d:d:d:d:d … and, yes, I could concentrate more on other realities on this planet, too. On the other hand – why? And we would miss so much ...
 
Def Leppard was playing "in the round" in 1987...granted, they didn't have some huge thing hovering about, but that's probably good cause with Def Leppard's luck, it would have fallen and killed someone, but that's beside the point. So clearly while U2 was trying to remember they were looking for, Def Leppard was way ahead of the curve playing on an open stage.

Since U2 ripped off ef Leppard, the answer is to see what Def Leppard did on the tour following Hysteria.
 
Def Leppard was playing "in the round" in 1987...granted, they didn't have some huge thing hovering about, but that's probably good cause with Def Leppard's luck, it would have fallen and killed someone, but that's beside the point. So clearly while U2 was trying to remember they were looking for, Def Leppard was way ahead of the curve playing on an open stage.

Since U2 ripped off ef Leppard, the answer is to see what Def Leppard did on the tour following Hysteria.

I disagree completely. U2 360 with the Claw isn't ripping off any other band - it is unique and innovative. If anything, we'll probably see other bands trying to do some sort of claw configuration of their own. Being able to mount the speakers, video screen and most of the lights above the band really creates a great atmosphere for a concert, not to mention superior sound quality for the audience.
 
Def Leppard was playing "in the round" in 1987...granted, they didn't have some huge thing hovering about, but that's probably good cause with Def Leppard's luck, it would have fallen and killed someone, but that's beside the point. So clearly while U2 was trying to remember they were looking for, Def Leppard was way ahead of the curve playing on an open stage.

Since U2 ripped off ef Leppard, the answer is to see what Def Leppard did on the tour following Hysteria.

That is incorrect!

The first time U2 did a 360 show was on the Unforgettable Fire Tour in 1984. Every arena show U2 have played since 1984 as been 360. Prior to U2 360 in 2009, no artist had ever done a STADIUM TOUR with a 360 set up. Doing a 360 set up inside the arena is easy since you can just hang almost everything from the ceiling. In an outdoor stadium, thats not an option, which is why U2 had to build the Claw to have a 360 show in an outdoor stadium.

Def Leppard did not go 360 inside Arena's until 1987, 3 years AFTER U2 first went 360 in arena's. Def Leppard have never done a 360 tour in Stadiums, and in fact have never done any type of a stadium tour.
 
Bars. They are going to play bars the next time around. Everyone expects them to do something "bigger and better" but I think they should really knock all those expectations off their collective asses and play bars. It would be revolutionary.

Anything else is just anti-climatic.

:)
 
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