Not impressed by the set-list!

[djparky]

i've been looking at the sets and feel like they're putting on a great show. Like it's been said already, U2 have been playing static sets for YEARS. I remember reading through a book with setlists in it and seeing the setlist from Red Rocks was in fact played exactly the same in many concerts leading up to and after that gig, so got the impression they settled on a set they liked and just played that.

The only people who can complain are people who went and paid loads of money to see them more than once and see the same set twice but even then those people are hardly in a position to complain anywa. They should just be thankful they're getting to see U2 twice quite frankly. I just saw blur at Glastonbury then Hyde Park a week later and they played the exact same set and I knew which songs were coming and it actually took the fun out of it a little bit. But like I said, if you get to see a band you love twice then that's good enough.

As for the setlist being static this time round I really don't care. I'll be really annoyed if I read a post along the lines of "I went to BOTH nights in Wembley and they played almost the exact same setlist only with Mysterious Ways thrown in!! WAAH WAAAH!"

The fact is they're playing the new stuff (Bob Dylan fucking refused to acknowledge his new album even EXISTED at recent gigs!! ) which I can't wait to hear live AND they've brought back some fucking GREAT oldies. If that's not good enough for people then what is?! who here knew every setlist inside out during Zoo TV before going to a gig?

hurrah hurrah- totally agree with you.

what do people want U2 to play??

They're not going to play (relatively) obscure album tracks like Mofo, Last Night on Earth 12 years after they came out- ok they dusted off Ultraviolet- but the tour is about playing the new songs and they do those very well indeed- and lob in some crowd pleasing favourites as well- plus we get MLK and Unforgetable Fire which they haven't done in 20 years

they tour once every 4 years- enjoy it while you can- they won't tour forever.

 

[LemonMelon]

hurrah hurrah- totally agree with you.

what do people want U2 to play??

They're not going to play (relatively) obscure album tracks like Mofo, Last Night on Earth 12 years after they came out- ok they dusted off Ultraviolet- but the tour is about playing the new songs and they do those very well indeed- and lob in some crowd pleasing favourites as well- plus we get MLK and Unforgetable Fire which they haven't done in 20 years

they tour once every 4 years- enjoy it while you can- they won't tour forever.

It's not about playing specific songs, it's about rotation. Playing Wire or Mofo every night would be ridiculous, but rotating them with, say, Angel of Harlem would be welcome indeed.

 

[RedRocksU2]

what do people want U2 to play??

I've been waiting for "Stay" full band...not acoustic.

 

[Blue Room]

hurrah hurrah- totally agree with you.

what do people want U2 to play??

They're not going to play (relatively) obscure album tracks like Mofo, Last Night on Earth 12 years after they came out-

they tour once every 4 years- enjoy it while you can- they won't tour forever.

Something different to open the show. Thats all I need to make the setlist a very good one.

Actually, they could pull out Mofo, they rehearsed it on the last tour so they obviously were thinking about it fairly recently. (I don't think it will be done, but its not completely out of the realm of possibility).

I agree on your last sentence, and I will enjoy it. I just think they need to do some slight tweaking to the setlist this time out. Its strange, typically at this portion of a tour they are really trying to work things out in regards to the setlist a bit more, what songs are working, which ones are not, pacing, theming, etc... to get the setlist set in concrete for the remainder of the tour. This tour they already seem to be set on a specific pattern for the most part with no effort to tweak it. Just look at Vertigo. They experimented and used 3 different openers before settling on City for the most part. I think they need to make the same type of effort on this tour. Maybe they will, but so far it doesn't appear to be happening.

Someone else said in another post maybe they are not opening with NLOTH because Bono plays guitar. I thought of that, but they also have opened with Hawkmoon 269 with Bono on guitar and that worked. It doesn't seem like Bono is all over the stage for Breathe either from what I have seen in bootleg clips. So I think he would be fine playing guitar on the opening song. I think the opener is more about how the song impacts the crowd and pace of the setlist versus Bono's interaction with the audience. If that makes sense. It appears the crowd is really into NLOTH and sings it with Bono moreso than Breathe from what I can see.

 

[RedRocksU2]

Btw, my biggest surprise for the tour so far, is not that they have played TUF but that played Fez has yet to be heard.

 

[corcovadosong]

I think boots would be a good opener, but there's definitely going to stick to breathe, I think, just b/c they want larry to be onstage first.

also, why are they playing coy with the huge stage they have? look at ZOO TV, craziness right away, vertigo's light curtains on cobl, the huge red-green flashes on MOFO in popmart. with the exception of elevation (which, i guess given what the stage was, turning off the house lights is a pretty big effect), they've all come right out of the gate with the staging.

It feels like they don't want the audience to notice what they've built. They're trying to make the biggest tour set-up ever seem SUBDUED. It makes it feel like wasted space in the beginning of the set, and moreover wasted space for the new songs. TUF and COBL and Streets and UV get really cool treatments. Breathe doesn't have one, they have all those great designs for GOYB in the inital award performances that they apparently threw away for something more normal, NLOTH is just the album art? Come on, they aren't selling these songs (which are great songs!).

I just saw a discussion over on the atu2 forums where a bunch of U2 fans beat mercilessly on a guy saying that the zootv tour was, if nothing else, a much more interesting concert experience. I don't know that I agree with that, but I feel like more consistent effort was made in terms of recognizing the stage, treating the newer work, and having it be something that was worth repeating night after night, due to the sheer power of it. The songs that U2 is giving the 100% treatment to, thus far in 360, aren't the new ones, so you can't really say that U2 is really looking forward, and that whole "future needs a big kiss" bullshit won't really fly if it's Pride all over again. 360 is about space and religion and "subtle hopefulness" (quote from a guy on another U2 site)? it's more "mature" than zoo tv? it's more honest than zoo tv? nah. And I don't love Zoo TV.

Zoo TV was a deconstruction of the idea of rock stars, modern culture, TV culture, all these things. They were kinda fucking up their position in the mainstream. This is a display of U2 the global machine - not a deconstruction of it, none of that. It's a showcase for the band that made SBS, Pride, WOWY, etc. A big showcase, but just a showcase, so far. I hope it turns into more. That treatment of UV is really, really good, and I hope some of that spirit migrates and permeates the rest of it.

I love U2, but it concerns me when their fans have to really, really reach to justify the concept of their tours. If nothing else, there's always been a concept to a U2 tour... right?

 

[LemonMelon]

Personally, one of my biggest issues with the setlist (beyond the confusing lack of rotation) is how short the encore is. Three songs? Really? I would restructure the main set, possibly ending it with Breathe or One (rotate the two), and return with this for the encore:

Where The Streets Have No Name
Bad
Ultraviolet
With Or Without You
Love Is Blindness
Moment Of Surrender

Bear in mind, if I had control of the setlist, the main set would be MUCH more upbeat and utilize the Claw to a considerably greater degree. That's not to say the current set is boring, but if you have a giant fucking metal claw at your disposal, you really should have more than 4-5 upbeat songs in the set.

 

[toscano]

I love U2, but it concerns me when their fans have to really, really reach to justify the concept of their tours. If nothing else, there's always been a concept to a U2 tour... right?

Biggest reach I've seen so far, may have been on atu2 forum, was that the concept was "space"

And they didn't mean as in "there is a huge space between the band and most of the audience"

 

[mikal]

yeah, i'll have to agree with those of you who say that Breathe isn't a good opener. just compare it to past openers:

Zoo Station
Mofo
Elevation
COBL

and Breathe just doesn't compare to these. my hopes are that Magnificent starts opening the shows by the time they come to Chicago. hell, i'd even welcome the Crazy remix as an opener!


otherwise, i really like the setlist.

 

[LemonMelon]

It's hard for me to quite place what it is...Breathe is a good opener, but it shouldn't be the indisputable opener for the next year, you know? I'm glad they tried it, I would have in their position as well, but now it's time to give GOYB (w/Fez), NLOTH, Magnificent, and, fuck it, Fez-Being Born a chance. One of them will click. Breathe reminds me of how LAPOE went over last time; a lot of fun, but lacking the epic buildup necessary to kick off a U2 show the right way. GOYB will end up functioning like Vertigo, yeah, but maybe with Fez as an introduction and an awesome enough light show, they can pull it off. I don't think there's a Zoo Station in this batch, and that's fine. I just hope they at least rotate them enough to keep it interesting, which would make up for it. U2 hasn't ALWAYS stuck with just one opener for the entire length of tours, quite the opposite, especially on Lovetown and TUF:

Boy tour - 5 openers
October tour - 4 openers
War tour - 2 openers (healthy mix of OOC and Gloria)
TUF tour - 7 openers
TJT tour - 3 openers
Lovetown tour - 6 openers
ZooTV tour - 2 openers (SBS opened on one occasion)
Popmart tour - 1 opener
Elevation tour - 2 openers (Beautiful Day opened only once)
Vertigo tour - 3 openers

Let's hope U2 turns things around this time. I really can't imagine Breathe opening every single show when it could be so much better utilized elsewhere, and there are equally good openers from NLOTH at their disposal.

 

[mikal]

i think the problem with Breathe is that the song itself seems to go on cruise control about 1 minute in.

here's an idea on how the band can use the same set of songs (or rehearsed songs), but make the setlist work a little better. of course, this is all speculative because i haven't seen the show in person:

Magnificent
GOYB
NLOTH
Breathe
Beautiful Day
ISHFWILF
Unknown Caller
TUF
COBL
Vertigo
Crazy Tonight
Mysterious Ways (with the solo)
Angel Of Harlem
Drowning Man
Pride
MLK
Walk On

Streets
One

Ultraviolet
MOS
Bad

 

[LemonMelon]

What the hell, I'll do a semi-realistic set too.

Main set:

1. Fez (snippet)/GOYB (rotate with NLOTH)
2. NLOTH (rotate with GOYB)
3. Magnificent
4. Until The End Of The World (rotate with Gone)
5. Electrical Storm (rotate with Beautiful Day)
6. Unknown Caller
7. The Unforgettable Fire (rotate with Drowning Man)
8. City Of Blinding Lights (rotate with Stay)
9. Crazy Tonight Remix
10. Discotheque (rotate with Mofo)
11. If You Wear That Velvet Dress (rotate with Even Better Than The Real Thing)
12. Please (rotate with The Fly)
13. Sunday Bloody Sunday (rotate with New Year's Day)
14. Breathe
15. Pride
16. Walk On (rotate with One)
17. One (rotate with Walk On)

Encore:

18. Where The Streets Have No Name (rotate with Fez-Being Born)
19. Bad (rotate with Where The Streets Have No Name)
20. Ultraviolet (rotate with I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For)
21. WOWY (rotate with White As Snow)
22. Love Is Blindness (rotate with Cedars Of Lebanon)
23. Moment Of Surrender (rotate with Bad/40)

 

[bizkitgto]

360

What the hell, I'll do a semi-realistic set too.

Main set:

1. Fez (snippet)/GOYB (rotate with NLOTH)
2. NLOTH (rotate with GOYB)
3. Magnificent
4. Until The End Of The World (rotate with Gone)
5. Electrical Storm (rotate with Beautiful Day)
6. Unknown Caller
7. The Unforgettable Fire (rotate with Drowning Man)
8. City Of Blinding Lights (rotate with Stay)
9. Crazy Tonight Remix
10. Discotheque (rotate with Mofo)
11. If You Wear That Velvet Dress (rotate with Even Better Than The Real Thing)
12. Please (rotate with The Fly)
13. Sunday Bloody Sunday (rotate with New Year's Day)
14. Breathe
15. Pride
16. Walk On (rotate with One)
17. One (rotate with Walk On)

Encore:

18. Where The Streets Have No Name (rotate with Fez-Being Born)
19. Bad (rotate with Where The Streets Have No Name)
20. Ultraviolet (rotate with I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For)
21. WOWY (rotate with White As Snow)
22. Love Is Blindness (rotate with Cedars Of Lebanon)
23. Moment Of Surrender (rotate with Bad/40)

Best Set-List I've seen so far - here's to hoping!!

So far a lot of people have been talking about the absence of the rocker tunes on this forum and may others on the web, so I thought I'd mention that Achtung Baby was one of U2's best selling and defining albums, don't you think by not playing the HITS (The Fly, EBTTRT, UTEOTW....Mysterious Ways if they drop it?) the casual fans that 90% of the stadium is filled with will be disapointed?????? I'm loving that they pulled out Ultraviolet though!

 

[Vlaco]

TUF has to be played at every show people!

 

[edgeplaytheblue]

I've been to Paris and yes I'm disappointed in the setlist. I mean UV and UF are brilliant, but those 2 songs are the only 2 special songs they play. Why not more older songs from boy/october. And again and again the same hits. Thank God they skipped Bullet, but then again still the same JT hits.

Come on U2 play more special song for the non-hits U2 fans ...

 

[Bruce]

I've been to Paris and yes I'm disappointed in the setlist. I mean UV and UF are brilliant, but those 2 songs are the only 2 special songs they play. Why not more older songs from boy/october. And again and again the same hits. Thank God they skipped Bullet, but then again still the same JT hits.

Come on U2 play more special song for the non-hits U2 fans ...

Not gonna happen the setlist you see now like it or not with exception of a song or two will be the same when their playing shows in October. With the catalog of songs that this band has accumulated over 30 years its a shame that the set list isnt changed night in and night out? I think the people who are paying the big $ to go to these shows deserve as much.

I'm just amazed how this band isnt banging their heads off the wall playing the same stuff night in and night out. It would be nice if they could at least play one song from each album. I doubt that songs like A Day Without Me, Surrender, A Sort of HomeComing and some others will ever be played live again.

I also think its a shame that Bad isnt played everynight to the extent that With or Without You is played. And many people who have said it on this board are correct that ever since Bono started singing WOWY like Macphisto the song has sucked live. This is a staple song that should be sung with passion and would be nice if they could bring back the shining stars snippet as well

 

[BVS]

With the catalog of songs that this band has accumulated over 30 years its a shame that the set list isnt changed night in and night out? I think the people who are paying the big $ to go to these shows deserve as much.

I'm not sure what you think they deserve. I guarantee you 90% or more of that audience who are paying big $ have no clue what they played the night before, so how does it affect their experience? No one's been able to answer this for me, it's only been asked a thousand times...

 

[bigjohn2441]

unless you are going to the shows, why should you bitch about what they are or arent playing? sure it's fun to look on u2gigs and look at all the statistics and watch the videos, but if you arent going, who cares?

 

[BVS]

unless you are going to the shows, why should you bitch about what they are or arent playing? sure it's fun to look on u2gigs and look at all the statistics and watch the videos, but if you arent going, who cares?

Stop making sense.

 

[edgeplaytheblue]

i'm visiting 5 shows the next 2.5 week and I visited Paris 11-07.
I really hope they start to rotate the setlist. And yes they should stop playing WOWY. It is really not sung with passion. The worst thing ... once my fav. U2 song is now starting to fall down (it is already not anymore in my top 5 list). What are they doing with streets ... is it just me that i don't like the live perfomance of this song anymore?

Play more boy-war area songs ... DAMN .. play drowning man for gods sake!

 

[dal975]

Put aside for a moment what the fans want or think they are entitled to or the endless pleas to mix up the setlist. Forget the fans for a moment. I have a much simpler question:

Doesn't the band themselves get bored night after night? I have been asking this since Zoo TV. It is not only the setlist that is identical, it is also the routines, speeches, dance moves, stage positioning, etc. They have been playing arenas and stadiums (stadia?) since 1984. The novelty of playing in front of 80,000 people has worn off over the past 25 years.

As individuals whose passions are music and live performance, don't they themselves want to push themselves and go outside the box from show to show? Before a tour design/concept is created and the tour technology locks them into a pre-determined script, aren't there any late nights in the studio or in the pub where larry looks at edge and says "hey the edge, wouldn't it be a kick if we tried to play some of october in berlin this tour?" does edge then look at bono and say "hey, bono, keep your mate in line over here...he is exhibiting some creativity and original thought...you know we agreed in 1992 none of that was permitted on tour" ?

 

[Blue Room]

Combination of being realistic and adding a few other picks.


-Intro (Larry can still walk out first, just start NLOTH differently w/Larry playing the drum part first)
-No Line On The Horizon
-Get On Your Boots
-Magnificent
-Beautiful Day or Walk On
-City Of Blinding Lights
-Vertigo
-Desire (full band electric) or Angel Of Harlem (full band electric w/out the horns) or God Part II (dare to dream )
-The Unforgettable Fire
-Unknown Caller
-In A Little While
-Crazy Tonight
-Breathe
-Sunday Bloody Sunday
-Pride
-MLK
-Moment Of Surrender
Encore
-Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me (sorry, but the staging screams for this song to be played for me)
-If God Would Send His Angels or Stay (full band)
-With Or Without You or Bad or All I Want Is You
Encore II
-Ultraviolet
-Even Better Than The Real Thing or Mysterious Ways
-One
-Where The Streets Have No Name

I could throw all of this out and just change the opener to NLOTH and it would be a 90% improvement.

 

[bonoschild2009]

i'm visiting 5 shows the next 2.5 week and I visited Paris 11-07.
I really hope they start to rotate the setlist. And yes they should stop playing WOWY. It is really not sung with passion. The worst thing ... once my fav. U2 song is now starting to fall down (it is already not anymore in my top 5 list). What are they doing with streets ... is it just me that i don't like the live perfomance of this song anymore?

Play more boy-war area songs ... DAMN .. play drowning man for gods sake!

Yes, listening to some of the recordings of WOWY so far it sounds like it's being played just for the sake of being played- no extended guitar solo or extra lyrics, very short.....I do still like Streets live, though- Bono (at least to me) still sounds passionate with that one.

I do wish Boy and October were represented...Hopefully as they get into a rhythm and become more comfortable they'll shake stuff up a bit? U2.com mentioned that like 27 songs have been played thus far and it seemed like the band was starting to mix it up, but who knows....

 

[Bruce]

I'm not sure what you think they deserve. I guarantee you 90% or more of that audience who are paying big $ have no clue what they played the night before, so how does it affect their experience? No one's been able to answer this for me, it's only been asked a thousand times...

I really dont know if there is an answer to your question. My opinion is that U2 only tours every 3-4 years which means that when they do tour if they are your favorite band you want to see them as much as possible. So say you get lucky enough and can got to 3 to 4 shows over a year. I think it sucks when those 4 shows contain the same set list and are the same show.

I saw about 4 shows for Vertigo and they were basically the same show except that they finally played WOWY in Philly (and Bruce jumped on stage in Philly as well!!!!) and WOWY was not played in New Jersey. I believe from reading your posts that you are a musician. Would you get bored playing the same songs night in and night out over and over again? Has U2 become nothing but a broadway show?

As for the 90% who dont know the set list from the night before there are alot of people who go to see U2 because its the in thing to do and these are not the true fans whose first casette was Boy and have followed the band since 1980. These are the fans who deserve more. Why because they are the true fans. Who cares about some rich guy who goes to see a U2 conncert because its the in thing to do?

Also they are musicians and not rocket scientists. How hard is it to play different music on different nights. I mean its not like they are trying to find the cure for cancer? They tour or basically go to work every 3-4 years while most of us work everyday. In my opinion U2 has become mechanical and I wonder if they enjoy touring anymore or just counting cash? Again your a musician..How much passion are you putting in your show playing the same thing over and over throughout the year.

 

[Bruce]

Put aside for a moment what the fans want or think they are entitled to or the endless pleas to mix up the setlist. Forget the fans for a moment. I have a much simpler question:

Doesn't the band themselves get bored night after night? I have been asking this since Zoo TV. It is not only the setlist that is identical, it is also the routines, speeches, dance moves, stage positioning, etc. They have been playing arenas and stadiums (stadia?) since 1984. The novelty of playing in front of 80,000 people has worn off over the past 25 years.

As individuals whose passions are music and live performance, don't they themselves want to push themselves and go outside the box from show to show? Before a tour design/concept is created and the tour technology locks them into a pre-determined script, aren't there any late nights in the studio or in the pub where larry looks at edge and says "hey the edge, wouldn't it be a kick if we tried to play some of october in berlin this tour?" does edge then look at bono and say "hey, bono, keep your mate in line over here...he is exhibiting some creativity and original thought...you know we agreed in 1992 none of that was permitted on tour" ?

Bingo!

 

[bizkitgto]

unless you are going to the shows, why should you bitch about what they are or arent playing? sure it's fun to look on u2gigs and look at all the statistics and watch the videos, but if you arent going, who cares?

Are you joking? I'm pretty sure everyone on this board is going to more than one show.

 

[RedRocksU2]

Don't be so sure.

 

[RedRocksU2]

Combination of being realistic and adding a few other picks.


-Intro (Larry can still walk out first, just start NLOTH differently w/Larry playing the drum part first)
-No Line On The Horizon
-Get On Your Boots
-Magnificent
-Beautiful Day or Walk On
-City Of Blinding Lights
-Vertigo
-Desire (full band electric) or Angel Of Harlem (full band electric w/out the horns) or God Part II (dare to dream )
-The Unforgettable Fire
-Unknown Caller
-In A Little While
-Crazy Tonight
-Breathe
-Sunday Bloody Sunday
-Pride
-MLK
-Moment Of Surrender
Encore
-Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me (sorry, but the staging screams for this song to be played for me)
-If God Would Send His Angels or Stay (full band)
-With Or Without You or Bad or All I Want Is You
Encore II
-Ultraviolet
-Even Better Than The Real Thing or Mysterious Ways
-One
-Where The Streets Have No Name

I could throw all of this out and just change the opener to NLOTH and it would be a 90% improvement.

Nice.
Just throw in Fez and I'll be happy.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

Are you joking? I'm pretty sure everyone on this board is going to more than one show.

ok, I would be very curious to know though: Out of lets say an average of 70,000 people that see U2 nightly, how many do you think are repeat viewings vs. one time only?

 

[ramblin rose]

ok, I would be very curious to know though: Out of lets say an average of 70,000 people that see U2 nightly, how many do you think are repeat viewings vs. one time only?

My guess is less than 1,000.