The John Tree
War Child
I have a feeling the setlist stays mostly the same, due to the production pieces. I think the changes are as follows:
1. Staring at the Sun will be replaced by acoustic Summer of Love, a la the Cape Cod performance, with the White Supremacy In America video being replaced by something regarding Syrian refugees. I can also see that going directly into COBL, or even Pride - though Pride makes a bit less thematic sense. Though with Bono playing with the "One man washed up on an empty beach" line to make it applicable to the refugees, I have a feeling Pride will stay. Though if I had my way, this is where Red Flag Day would go. European audiences are more adventurous and accepting of new material - maybe the band will give Red Flag Day some shine.
2. I can actually see them dropping American Soul. Or trying it for a few gigs and then dropping it. Maybe replacing with The Showman? Seems crazy to me that Showman hasn't gotten any appearances - that song seems made for the stage (although I can see it being a live flop).
I think U2 would have been better off marketing this as something similar to Springsteen On Broadway - "this is the story of our career, set to music. Only instead of doing it in an intimate setting on Broadway, we're bringing it around the world with all the bells and whistles because, y'know, rock and roll." So much of the set seems to be tied to the set pieces like Iris, Cedarwood Road, etc. Even "Elevation" and "Vertigo" have been re-purposed to be songs about the success of a rock and roll band and the loss of innocence that accompanies that. Those aren't going anywhere. But admitting that this show very much sticks to a storyline would quell some of the setlist complaints, I think.
1. Staring at the Sun will be replaced by acoustic Summer of Love, a la the Cape Cod performance, with the White Supremacy In America video being replaced by something regarding Syrian refugees. I can also see that going directly into COBL, or even Pride - though Pride makes a bit less thematic sense. Though with Bono playing with the "One man washed up on an empty beach" line to make it applicable to the refugees, I have a feeling Pride will stay. Though if I had my way, this is where Red Flag Day would go. European audiences are more adventurous and accepting of new material - maybe the band will give Red Flag Day some shine.
2. I can actually see them dropping American Soul. Or trying it for a few gigs and then dropping it. Maybe replacing with The Showman? Seems crazy to me that Showman hasn't gotten any appearances - that song seems made for the stage (although I can see it being a live flop).
I think U2 would have been better off marketing this as something similar to Springsteen On Broadway - "this is the story of our career, set to music. Only instead of doing it in an intimate setting on Broadway, we're bringing it around the world with all the bells and whistles because, y'know, rock and roll." So much of the set seems to be tied to the set pieces like Iris, Cedarwood Road, etc. Even "Elevation" and "Vertigo" have been re-purposed to be songs about the success of a rock and roll band and the loss of innocence that accompanies that. Those aren't going anywhere. But admitting that this show very much sticks to a storyline would quell some of the setlist complaints, I think.
