ALL discussion about Acrobat here!!!

[Outsider]

Seriously, I don't like it... and don't care at all about seeing it live.
But anyway, I think there's a chance. Maybe in the first or third leg, if there's one.

this is how i feel about ultraviolet. I know everyone LOVES it but it never really struck a chord in me

Acrobat really is among my alltime favorites if not THEE favorite

 

[U2FanPeter]

FWIW, "Heartland" was once played in snippet form on the Australian leg of the Lovetown tour. I think it was a 30-60 second intro to another song.

 

[stagman]

If you listen to the album version acrobat seems to be a simpler song to play live than mysterious ways and WGRYWH... they could pull it off with reasonable success at least if they wanted to.

BUT: I think the guys love Acrobat so much and believe that it is the pinnacle of thier best period of music that it would be almost blasphemy for them to play it live and make a mess of it... they are too scared to not play thier most revered song with total perfection.

If that's the case I hope they get over it.. .cos they could do an even better job live once they have played it a few times!

 

[gareth brown]

I could imagine U2 bringing this one out. And then again I couldn't. I'm trying to imagine them playing it and for some reason I doubt they ever will. I am VERY happy to be wrong as it's probably my favourite on Achtung Baby, but it's not THAT likely. I mean the only known recording of it being rehearsed was just a snippet before Zoo Station and even then were they just mucking around or was that how they intended to open the show?

My guess here is the song is probably very difficult for them to produce in a live setting very well. Most likely the studio version was put together with alot of technology so to speak and that they know translating to live would be very difficult. I don't think they are up to the challenge the song would present.

I'm sorry to be rude but where the hell are you getting this explanation?!?
The strongest argument for Acrobat to be played live (other than it's just brilliant) is that it's one of the few songs on that album that featured pretty much NO overdubbing. What do you mean "put together with a lot of technology"??
It'd be SO easy for them to produce again in a live setting all they did in the studio was fucking PLAY it haha! It's one of the few songs they could add to the setlist where all they'd have to do was PLAY without worrying about staying in time with Terry the keyboard goblin under the stage or synth loops and click tracks.

 

[Galeongirl]

I think we need a petition to send to the band, 100,000 signatures for U2 to play Acrobat live

Oh man we can easily do better than that! One Million signatures!


Especially Elevation from Canada have a great version of Acrobat. It's NOT difficult to reproduce live at all, but getting it right for U2, while they haven't played it since they recorded.. That is probably the biggest problem. They would have to learn the song from scratch again. They just did that with DM and ES, so I don't see them trying more than one or two songs at the time.

 

[Vlaco]

FWIW, "Heartland" was once played in snippet form on the Australian leg of the Lovetown tour. I think it was a 30-60 second intro to another song.

Correct, it was played in snippet form during the intro of Streets.

 

[bgmckinney]

It'd be SO easy for them to produce again in a live setting all they did in the studio was fucking PLAY it haha! It's one of the few songs they could add to the setlist where all they'd have to do was PLAY without worrying about staying in time with Terry the keyboard goblin under the stage or synth loops and click tracks.

There may not be much overdubbing, but Edge's guitar sound is another story. I'm not much of a musician so I don't know what went into making that sound, but I'm pretty sure it involved a lot of trickery. I played it once for a friend of mine who is a professional guitar player, and he immediately said, no wonder Edge won't play it live.
You can approximate the guitar part, as some cover bands do, but I imagine that for reasons of his own Edge wouldn't be satisfied with that. He's extremely picky about his sounds. This is the same man who had one guitar flown around the world just to replicate the Vertigo riff - and that was a just a basic rock hook.

 

[Swan269]

was that recording a fake? It def was the song...(the rehearsal)

 

[BVS]

was that recording a fake?

 

[Swan269]

^ well it sounded pretty good

 

[BGD75]

I think we need a petition to send to the band, 100,000 signatures for U2 to play Acrobat live

I agree!!! You wanna start or should I?

We should annoy the hell out of them until they play it
and by the looks of it there are tons of fans who would love to hear it live

 

[onyourkneesboy]

My guess here is the song is probably very difficult for them to produce in a live setting very well. Most likely the studio version was put together with alot of technology so to speak and that they know translating to live would be very difficult. I don't think they are up to the challenge the song would present.

Well, if that would be the case, then that would be an utter disgrace!!! It's very obvious now, from all the songs that I heard so far from the 3 concerts up till now, that they HATE rehearsing or at least the "drive and passion" is gone.. To many fuck ups, flubs etc.. mostly from Bono and Edge! Lyrics are forgotten... still!), musical timing sucks, etc...
If they don't have a clue how to play this song, maybe they could go and consult this band: they prove Acrobat is not unplayable live! (sound-quality sucks, but musically it's fantastic!) Shame on you U2 for your attitude on this song!!!
YouTube - U2 Tribute - Acrobat

This is not the band from say 15-20 years ago that spit fire and wanted to create a roaring show live. This time around it's again all the crowdpleasers, the singles, etc... Just on auto-pilot. They have a monsterstage and all they come up with is ISHFWLF , Pride, SBS, WOWY etc..
If they really had the balls they would rehearse and rehearse and rehearse! And come up with: Exit, HMTMKMKM, MOFO, and Electrical Storm WITHOUT that terrible one-string out-of-tune riff by Edge in the pre-chorus!

And another thing: why does nobody in the U2-camp point out to them that there are much, much better openers than Breathe! Great song, but with this song the concert just.. begins..! While with NLOTH or Magnificent or even GOYB the concert would BURST open!!
Glad to read that there are many, many people who agree with me...(on the opener I mean, of course..)

 

[onyourkneesboy]

Still, my guess is: the 1st show in Amsterdam they'll throw Acrobat in!

 

[Ellay]

My guess here is the song is probably very difficult for them to produce in a live setting very well. Most likely the studio version was put together with alot of technology so to speak and that they know translating to live would be very difficult. I don't think they are up to the challenge the song would present.

I don't think so.

What technology? It sounds to me like a straightforward band-played song.

We know they rehearsed it at least once in the run-up to the zoo tv tour, so they're prefectly capable of playing it live..

Would much prefer to hear acrobat than drowning man.

 

[gareth brown]

Me too. On that note, Drowning Man is a stunning song but in terms of recreating it live it's a whole different story and i wouldn't WANT to hear them playing it as there's so much going on in that song it'd just be disappointing hearing them playing it just the 4 of them without all the guitars in the song.

by the same token, but to a lesser extent (as i know many of you detest the song) it's like "New York" live during the elevation tour. I love that song but remember getting the Boston DVD and feeling really deflated hearing one of my favourites off ATYCLB minus those thundering chords that really make that chorus. The great little trademark Edge style riff was there towards the end of the choruses but since Bono doesn't play rhythm guitar the song suffered.

but back to Acrobat, to say that it's impossible to play and that guitar sound is totally impossible to reproduce is to be fair, quite odd. For starters just look at the wall of rack effects and stuff The Edge lugs around the world with him. There's so much equipment there I'd be surprised if he couldn't get the right sound and even then, ironically, I'd bet he could do it just plugging a guitar into a couple of stompboxes through to his amp!

 

[The John Tree]

Serious Set-List Request: Never Play Acrobat, Please.

Hear me out here. This isn't a shock thread, and I honestly feel this way. I know I'm going to get a bunch of people coming into this thread calling me an idiot, but try to understand where I'm coming from:

I hope U2 never play Acrobat live. Not even in snippets, not even with the stellar performances they're giving every night on the 360 tour.

I'm not a "JT-Era and Before" guy. Quite the contrary: Acrobat is my favorite U2 song, located on my favorite album of all time.

It's considered the holy grail of live U2 material: the gem that will not be performed. It's like the U2 diehard test: "what's your favorite U2 song? Streets? Oh, so you're a casual fan. Acrobat? Wow, this guy knows his stuff."

And I don't want them to ever play it live, for a couple of reasons:

1. So much of Acrobat's magic is based on the fact that it is a flawless performance on record: Bono's vocals are perfectly boozy during the verses and perfectly passionate and almost desperate during the chorus. Shit, the final verse just as the song closes sounds like one side of a lover's quarrel. The Edge's solo is so perfect and full of rage. It would be so hard to accurately recreate that pure sonic assault on stage.

2. Specifically, don't play it on this tour. How strange would it be to hear this angry little number, this failure of a marriage, played out after I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For? Or before With Or Without You? "There's no new ideas in the house, every book has been read....but I can't live with or without you?" Doesn't really work. Acrobat is, along with Love is Blindness and Exit, among U2's darkest work. And Love is Blindness closed the show because it HAD to. And, if you ask me, a lot of the JT shows never recovered from Exit, so Acrobat would have a hard time meshing with the setlist or even the general vibe of the show.

3. Does the subject matter work well for a stadium? Or even an arena? I feel like Acrobat, if performed live, would have to be at a club show: something intimate. But even a club, surrounded by people, would be too much. I prefer Acrobat to be played where I think it's suited best: on track 11 of the best album ever, driving through town, late, late at night.

4. Remember what you thought Chinese Democracy would sound like before you'd heard any songs off of it? Now, remember what it actually sounded like?

Remember when Brian Wilson finally released Smile a few years ago? I mean, it was good, but it wasn't that legendary album you thought was abandoned.

I think some songs are better left to the imagination. Acrobat live is too good to be risked.


Just trying to change the topic of conversation around here. And I noticed that normally, people are begging for Acrobat to get played. i figured I'd offer my side of the debate. What do you think?

 

[HCL]

I don't really care. I understand you, but Acrobat is really boring to me, so I prefer them to play and see if they can improve it.

"what's your favorite U2 song? Streets? Oh, so you're a casual fan. Acrobat? Wow, this guy knows his stuff."

And this is pure bullshit.

 

[dan_smee]

Hear me out here. This isn't a shock thread, and I honestly feel this way. I know I'm going to get a bunch of people coming into this thread calling me an idiot, but try to understand where I'm coming from:

I hope U2 never play Acrobat live. Not even in snippets, not even with the stellar performances they're giving every night on the 360 tour.

I'm not a "JT-Era and Before" guy. Quite the contrary: Acrobat is my favorite U2 song, located on my favorite album of all time.

It's considered the holy grail of live U2 material: the gem that will not be performed. It's like the U2 diehard test: "what's your favorite U2 song? Streets? Oh, so you're a casual fan. Acrobat? Wow, this guy knows his stuff."

And I don't want them to ever play it live, for a couple of reasons:

1. So much of Acrobat's magic is based on the fact that it is a flawless performance on record: Bono's vocals are perfectly boozy during the verses and perfectly passionate and almost desperate during the chorus. Shit, the final verse just as the song closes sounds like one side of a lover's quarrel. The Edge's solo is so perfect and full of rage. It would be so hard to accurately recreate that pure sonic assault on stage.

2. Specifically, don't play it on this tour. How strange would it be to hear this angry little number, this failure of a marriage, played out after I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For? Or before With Or Without You? "There's no new ideas in the house, every book has been read....but I can't live with or without you?" Doesn't really work. Acrobat is, along with Love is Blindness and Exit, among U2's darkest work. And Love is Blindness closed the show because it HAD to. And, if you ask me, a lot of the JT shows never recovered from Exit, so Acrobat would have a hard time meshing with the setlist or even the general vibe of the show.

3. Does the subject matter work well for a stadium? Or even an arena? I feel like Acrobat, if performed live, would have to be at a club show: something intimate. But even a club, surrounded by people, would be too much. I prefer Acrobat to be played where I think it's suited best: on track 11 of the best album ever, driving through town, late, late at night.

4. Remember what you thought Chinese Democracy would sound like before you'd heard any songs off of it? Now, remember what it actually sounded like?

Remember when Brian Wilson finally released Smile a few years ago? I mean, it was good, but it wasn't that legendary album you thought was abandoned.

I think some songs are better left to the imagination. Acrobat live is too good to be risked.


Just trying to change the topic of conversation around here. And I noticed that normally, people are begging for Acrobat to get played. i figured I'd offer my side of the debate. What do you think?

Some fair arguements that I, respectfully, do not agree with.

a) Streets is in a rotation with Crumbs and UC as my favourite U2 song, but I am not a casual fan.

b) The performance on the album is amazing, but U2 are a live band. Bono's live vocal intricacies and inflections are what turns seemingly perfect, amazing recorded songs (again, Streets great example) into the finest work of the best band on the planet.

c) The AB is the sound of U2 chopping down the Joshua Tree, for me, is a specific quote about the relationships between the songs: and the best manifestation of this is the Acrobat, WOWY relationship. For me (and bearing in mind, I don't ACTUALLY think this is why the songs were written, just how I interpret them,) WOWY is the prelude to Acrobat. Listen to the examples you made:

WOWY, the frustrated lovers, can't live with or without each other, the passion is still there, the fire burns, but the frustrations are boiling over, and they can't decide whether to cut loose and let the fire burn out, or let their passion rekindle their love: Acrobat is the result of 4 years frustrations, torments and failed attempts to bring back civility. ("when I first met you girl, you ahd fire in your soul, what happened to your face of melting snow? Now it looks like this!!!")

I think WOWY would segue well thematically and aurally into Acrobat (The screams are the manifestation of all the pent up agression, desire and frustrations, as Edge plays the outtro, Larry changes the beat, speeds it up, brings in the toms, then Edge plays those three harmonics, and the crowd explodes....

 

[mobvok]

Then just don't listen to it. They'll play it and everyone will be all OMG and you can be "no I'm not listening to it and I'm ok with that" and everyone will be happy.

Except you, because you don't want others to be able to listen to it?

 

[The John Tree]

Then just don't listen to it. They'll play it and everyone will be all OMG and you can be "no I'm not listening to it and I'm ok with that" and everyone will be happy.

Except you, because you don't want others to be able to listen to it?

I didn't say anything about not wanting others to be able to listen to it. And of course I'd be happy. I'm just trying to make conversation man, don't be so defensive.

I just think it's that one holy grail song that i wouldn't mind leaving to the imagine is all.

 

[SBU2]

Then just don't listen to it. They'll play it and everyone will be all OMG and you can be "no I'm not listening to it and I'm ok with that" and everyone will be happy.

Except you, because you don't want others to be able to listen to it?

I second this.

 

[LyricalDrug]

I'm sure if you could get U2 to chime in on why they don't play this, they'd just chuckle and explain that it's not one of their best songs. I've never understood all the underground hype about this song not being played live. Duh, they don't play it because it ain't that great. That happens with every U2 album: the weaker tracks aren't picked for the live shows. Would it be fun to see live? Sure, I guess, for variety's sake. It'd be worth playing once or twice, in a small venue (example, Somerville show in Boston, French radio broadcast, BBC studio, etc), just so the hardcore fans could get their kicks, but this doesn't deserve being in any sort of regular setlist. Don't be silly

 

[mobvok]

I didn't say anything about not wanting others to be able to listen to it. And of course I'd be happy. I'm just trying to make conversation man, don't be so defensive.

I just think it's that one holy grail song that i wouldn't mind leaving to the imagine is all.

Your request would guarantee no one else hears it either. That's the difference between "Why I wouldn't listen to an Acrobat bootleg" and "Never play Acrobat, please", but the thing is you can deploy all those arguments about the purity of the album version for the former argument too, not just the latter.

I do think you have a point, LyricalDrug, that U2 might not even like the live version.....but we've seen them dredge up unperformed material before. They played The Wanderer, why? Of course there's a pretty good chance it was solely for the Cash tribute, but I think it's at least possible that they didn't think it'd work tonally with the whole setlist or have time to rehearse a version for Zoomerang. And once the tour ended, they were busy cramming new songs in on Popmart and Elevation. I wouldn't be surprised, if not Acrobat or The Wanderer, that some other songs met that fate. And I think we know from Willie's Diary that the effect of Drowning Man on the rest of the setlist is the big reason why it hasn't been whipped out yet, not that they're dissatisfied with the arrangement itself.

 

[youarenotimmune]

well it's not like we hav NO idea what it'll sound like live....we do hav that acoustic Hershey soundcheck version of Acrobat. which i really like btw

 

[BVS]

This is probably the one setlist request thread that will actually come true, so for that...

 

[gvox]

Well I got as far as the perfection point and just want to say that I'm so glad they didn't take this approach with Love is Blindness. When I first heard AB I really didn't think they could do it better live - but they did. On that count alone I can't wait to hear them do Acrobat. Listen to how Breathe opens the tour...Larry can do Acrobat

 

[ZooMacPhisto800]

It's like the U2 diehard test: "what's your favorite U2 song? Streets? Oh, so you're a casual fan. Acrobat? Wow, this guy knows his stuff."

I'm not a big fan of this "test", I hope everyone (casual and diehard) feel free to name whatever song they like as they're favourite and not an obligation to name something relatively obscure to prove their worth. Isn't it a question about your favourite song?

 

[The John Tree]

I'm not a big fan of this "test", I hope everyone (casual and diehard) feel free to name whatever song they like as they're favourite and not an obligation to name something relatively obscure to prove their worth. Isn't it a question about your favourite song?

Re: The "test".

I think I've just been misunderstood or my analogy was not great. I'm not saying that a diehard U2 fan can't have Streets as their favorite song, I was just trying to make a point that Acrobat is more of an obscure song.

Take my friends for example. All of them are casual U2 fans, but I'd bet not one of them has ever even heard Acrobat. That's all I was trying to say.

Your request would guarantee no one else hears it either. That's the difference between "Why I wouldn't listen to an Acrobat bootleg" and "Never play Acrobat, please", but the thing is you can deploy all those arguments about the purity of the album version for the former argument too, not just the latter.

Also, once again, I'm sorry because I didn't think this would be an issue. I'm not trying to deny anyone's happiness, I didn't think that'd be an issue with a post on a message board. My basic point is just that I think Acrobat is such a great song that I wouldn't want to see the live version not blow me away. I'm sorry if I've offended anyone.

c) The AB is the sound of U2 chopping down the Joshua Tree, for me, is a specific quote about the relationships between the songs: and the best manifestation of this is the Acrobat, WOWY relationship. For me (and bearing in mind, I don't ACTUALLY think this is why the songs were written, just how I interpret them,) WOWY is the prelude to Acrobat. Listen to the examples you made:

WOWY, the frustrated lovers, can't live with or without each other, the passion is still there, the fire burns, but the frustrations are boiling over, and they can't decide whether to cut loose and let the fire burn out, or let their passion rekindle their love: Acrobat is the result of 4 years frustrations, torments and failed attempts to bring back civility. ("when I first met you girl, you ahd fire in your soul, what happened to your face of melting snow? Now it looks like this!!!")

I think WOWY would segue well thematically and aurally into Acrobat (The screams are the manifestation of all the pent up agression, desire and frustrations, as Edge plays the outtro, Larry changes the beat, speeds it up, brings in the toms, then Edge plays those three harmonics, and the crowd explodes....

I see your point.

 

[monsieur fly]

Oh the blasphemy haha. Actually, you state your case well but I would still love them to do it (provided it isn't an acoustic cop-out) even if it doesn't quite scale the troubled heights of the studio version. Given that 360 lacks any theme at all, I don't see how throwing Acrobat into the mix would do any harm. Played well it would really rock hard and give the (already good) show the kick that it needs.

 

[el_milagro]

Great post, i agree with you in a lots of points, except in the Acrobat/Streets and especially in:

Remember when Brian Wilson finally released Smile a few years ago? I mean, it was good, but it wasn't that legendary album you thought was abandoned.

Brian Wilson's Smile is totally legendary, the best record of the decade so far!