Willie's Diary - All info and updates HERE

[corianderstem]

Interestingly enough, in the new article in Rolling Stone, Edge makes a comment that they're "not promoting anything" on the new leg, which makes it easier to explain the decision to not open with a NLOTH track.

I'd still argue they could come up with a better choice than BD, but whatever.

 

[Blue Room]

I caught one show where Love and Peace opened; I much, much, MUCH preferred City of Blinding Lights. It was a visually and musically great way to start the show.

Agreed, I saw all three openers and City was the best one.

All three though were better than any of the openers they have done on 360 though.

 

[corianderstem]

Oh, right I forgot about them opening with Vertigo ... they just did that at the stadium shows on those legs, right?

 

[Honey_child]

That version someone mixed of Black Angels coming into the "Why So Serious?" opening to HMTMKMKM was quite awesome.

I would be blown away if u2 would ever give into their crazier ideas.

 

[corianderstem]

What's Black Angels?

 

[Honey_child]

What's Black Angels?

YouTube - Black Angels - George Crumb

Someone at the At U2 forum had a version that was a live mix of HMTMKMKM from Turin I think. The song above was like the intro and it started clashing with the intro violins of HMTM. It sounded pretty cool and it creeped me out last night when I was listening to it.

Imagine that coming out of the 360 speakers.

 

[Zooropa man]

That version someone mixed of Black Angels coming into the "Why So Serious?" opening to HMTMKMKM was quite awesome.

I would be blown away if u2 would ever give into their crazier ideas.

Where is that available? Where can we hear it?

 

[corianderstem]

That's just really random and weird. Sorry.

It might mesh well into the opening strings of Hold Me, but I can't see something like that being played over the PA to announce U2's entrance.

I'll just assume the mash-up you're talking about was better that this piece itself.

 

[Blue Room]

Oh, right I forgot about them opening with Vertigo ... they just did that at the stadium shows on those legs, right?

Actually they did it at some of the Toronto third leg shows and at the 4th first leg show in Chicago also.

 

[corianderstem]

Huh! Well then scratch everything I said about two songs not being a rotation.

 

[Blue Room]

Huh! Well then scratch everything I said about two songs not being a rotation.

It really wasn't. After the Toronto 3rd leg shows I believe City opened every other Vertigo show. Joe O. was the one that made that determination as mentioned previously.

 

[SBU2]

BD does not work.... it's not the Elevation tour... it's the 360. Start it up No Line and whatever comes after that is debatable.

Why would they open with a song where it requires Bono on guitar, that wouldn't work. Beautiful Day does work, its just the intro to it, doesn't blend.

 

[Zooropa man]

Why can't he play the guitar for an opener for a change? It would make for a better show I think.

 

[KEVIN051269]

Didn't he used to have a guitar strapped on for 11 O'Clock Tick Tock on the UF tour? Don't see a problem with it really

Do Stingray lights up, lights down (if possible) UTEOTW or stingray keep lights on IWF

My personal favoured opening would involve darkness, lots of screen images, claw lights flashing like fook, band playing stingray in the dark,then the 'rocker' of your choice with big houselights on

 

[digitize]

Or Bono could just not play guitar for NLOTH. It's not like Joe turns it up loud enough for us to hear it, on most occasions.

 

[KUEFC09U2]

Gavin Friday to blame for "return of the stingray guitar" those that dont like it

Here is another episode of Willies Diary, i'll keep positing for those that cannot view, if that is ok with the mods of course?:

Turin. Production rehearsals.

Groundhog day kicks in as everything starts to blur into one. We get out of bed and come to the stadium, spend the day trying to tick off as much as possible from the endless task list, then go from the stadium to our beds.

Gavin Friday is with us and made an interesting proposal today. Back in February at a meeting in New York, Bono played me a mad instrumental piece with the suitably loopy title of The Return of the Stingray Guitar. I'd completely forgotten about it until Gav suggested that the band walk on stage to Space Oddity then play this piece live. Consequently, we found ourselves rehearsing yet another possible show opening. It's a completely mental piece of music - like Marc Bolan channelling Brian Eno on Juke Box Jury - and it sounds fantastic over the P.A. Bono was running round the outer ring chanting 'Torino...Torino...' and suddenly you could see that there was no way back.

We rehearsed a new element for Walk On that replaces the Aung San Suu Kyi masks with lanterns for the walkers, and managed to run through all of the remaining songs to the end of the set.

There's a new encore-break spaceship made by animator Run Wrake, who has worked on all the U2 tours since PopMart. It features two of his 'meat head' characters in a little flying saucer, coming home from the U2 360 show. In their tiny little craft, one of them is whistling Where the Streets Have No Name as they discuss the gig and how much their feet hurt, before being buzzed by the 360 Space Station stage flying past. The characters speak in machine noise with subtitles, so it's all very pleasantly daft and gets funnier every time you watch it.

We were due to programme late again and might well have gone til dawn, but fortunately the generator blew up at 3.30am, so we had to go home.

 

[Galeongirl]

So they already created that piece in February? That is really interesting! Thanks for posting!

 

[catlhere]

NLOTH live doesn't have the explosion-of-noise boom yet of the album version. If they can work on that song and actually make it blast off instead of just rumble along until the drums kick in like they do currently, then I'm up for it opening. As of now, it doesn't have that kick.

GOYB could work, if it were to follow a really interesting opening visual/audio barrage. Keep with the space theme, of the Zoobaby watching what the band and crowd is up to. Something other-worldly and futuristic. The countdown can follow and then straight into the riff, house lights turn on and the band is suddenly there.

Magnificent would be possible if they played it a little faster. Not metal speed, but just the slightest increase in tempo to get the song moving a bit. It's not quick enough to really have that POP good openers have. It has the perfect intro for an opener though, the whole loud note and synthy beeps/boops building up the tension. I wonder what ever happened to their intro they were planning on doing for Magnificent before the tour started?

YouTube - U2 - 11 Days Countdown to U2 360 - U2MIRACLE.COM

Would be kinda interesting if they had went that route. The band walking out unseen on to the dark stage. That eerie string music and droplet noises as the crowd waits in excitement. Then straight into the start of the song.

 

[digitize]

So they already created that piece in February? That is really interesting! Thanks for posting!

Actually, Stingray is apparently significantly older than that.

 

[Galeongirl]

Woah I never knew that! Is there any audio of that old file? And how does it compare to what it is now?

 

[Blue Room]

One of thought of that is one of my favorite openers from the past (only used a couple of times) and I would LOVE for them to play again.

Open with: God Part II

They could come out during Space Oddity (or some other intro music)

Adam starts playing the bass line, Edge hits four chord scratching every once and awhile, while Bono struts around the rim of the stage. When he gets to the front and stops, he starts the first verse. When the full band kicks in the stadium goes dark and the 360 stage lights up.

 

[brooklynmike]

How is this for an opening:

HMTMKMKM
Magnificent
Return of the stingray guitar
Beautiful Day
Mysterious Ways

I think this is on the money.

Follow it up with GOYB and away we go!

The current opening is the worst by far (based on my opinion of the you tube clips)

GOYB would be the best option off NLOTH

For a non- NLOTH song opener, I'd say HMTMKMKM or UTEOTW or The Fly

MOS? What are they thinking?

Stingray I don't feel is an opener, it's still intro. However, when U2 hit the stage the crowd has that Pavlovian response, as Adam calls it. I want to see/ hear them playing something familiar and "take you by the balllls"

 

[Zoo360]

Open with Miami.

 

[digitize]

Woah I never knew that! Is there any audio of that old file? And how does it compare to what it is now?

No idea, and no idea. I have half a mind to PM that guy on U2Start and ask him.

 

[digitize]

Open with Miami.

Ooh, U2 wrote that.

 

[Zoo360]

Open with In A Little While.

 

[Harry Vest]

Hey, if anyone out there knows Willie will you ask him when "Bad" will make an appearence? Let's hope it's soon!

 

[coolian2]

i'll ask him when we brunch next tuesday.

 

[Popmartijn]

My personal favoured opening would involve darkness [...]

That's not possible on the 360 Tour. When the band hits the stage it's still light outside. There is no darkness. So whatever song they open with (and personally I'm fine with Beautiful Day) it cannot be enhanced by any big light effects.

 

[nickoslo]

open up with elevation, then kite, then bd and acustic stuk, and then ialw all under house lights