2015 U2 Tour - General Discussion Thread IV

[BigMacPhisto]

Lame that they dropped the two different setlists strategy. My shows are at the start of the tour, so I'll be fearing nearly identical material each night, even if the plan is to have the second half of the show change up from time to time.

I would love it if the latter half of the show wasn't very choreographed. The first half obviously will be given that they've planned everything out (I'll make the jump that "The Miracle" is the show opener given the opening they have planned) and that article obviously spoiled the set closer for that half. What I really want to see is U2 play a lot of great songs to the best of their ability, not have them waste days trying to have Bono work out some dance steps to "Cedarwood Road"...

 

[Roland of Gilead]

I'm very happy that Raised By Wolves is going to be a significant song on this tour. Sounds like it's a lock given all the work that Gavin is putting into the visual/audio aspects. One of the better songs from SOI.

 

[BVS]

Lame that they dropped the two different setlists strategy. My shows are at the start of the tour, so I'll be fearing nearly identical material each night, even if the plan is to have the second half of the show change up from time to time.

I would love it if the latter half of the show wasn't very choreographed. The first half obviously will be given that they've planned everything out (I'll make the jump that "The Miracle" is the show opener given the opening they have planned) and that article obviously spoiled the set closer for that half. What I really want to see is U2 play a lot of great songs to the best of their ability, not have them waste days trying to have Bono work out some dance steps to "Cedarwood Road"...

Me,me,me


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[bobsaget77]

I kind of thought the article was inferring that Cedarwood Road would open the show, then RBW would open the 2nd half....maybe I misread it..
But for the 2nd half, I'm gonna take a leap and say it starts out...RBW-Bullet-OSC-Iris.

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[prbiker15]

I kind of thought the article was inferring that Cedarwood Road would open the show, then RBW would open the 2nd half....maybe I misread it..
But for the 2nd half, I'm gonna take a leap and say it starts out...RBW-Bullet-OSC-Iris.

I think RBW will close the first half of the show.

 

[BVS]

I'm very happy that Raised By Wolves is going to be a significant song on this tour. Sounds like it's a lock given all the work that Gavin is putting into the visual/audio aspects. One of the better songs from SOI.

yeah I'm loving the concept... I'm wondering how the PM rumor fits in? Or some of the "warhorses"?


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[BVS]

I kind of thought the article was inferring that Cedarwood Road would open the show, then RBW would open the 2nd half....maybe I misread it..
But for the 2nd half, I'm gonna take a leap and say it starts out...RBW-Bullet-OSC-Iris.

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Yeah, you definitely misread it...


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[bobsaget77]

I think RBW will close the first half of the show.

Ok, that would make way more sense.

Yeah, you definitely misread it...


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Yeah, I thought so. Lol.


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[Super Yo]

No one said it yet, because you may have noticed that there aren't a lot of Rush fans around who would know that.

Roger Waters used to do that too.


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[gvox]

What is OSC again I forget

Surely not One Step Closer lol

 

[pepokiss]

Out Sof Control

 

[Hewson]

One Stree Chill

 

[DeVaul]

"One of the things that experience has taught us is to be fully in the moment. What’s the moment? Pop music.”

 

[pepokiss]

I think we can say this will happen, according to the article:

A relatively fixed first half

So, maybe 1 or 2 songs may change night to night


and a varying second one

The 2nd half WILL change from show to show

But for the 2nd half, I'm gonna take a leap and say it starts out...RBW-Bullet-OSC-Iris.

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NO SPOILERS!!!
Go to the spoilers thread

 

[bobsaget77]

I think we can say this will happen, according to the article:



A relatively fixed first half



So, maybe 1 or 2 songs may change night to night





and a varying second one



The 2nd half WILL change from show to show













NO SPOILERS!!!

Go to the spoilers thread

Whoops. Sorry.


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[Headache in a Suitcase]

The description of the tour and staging sound very Pink Floydish to me... I think this could be U2's greatest moment, or a complete and utter disaster that is abandoned for heets by the middle of the first leg. I don't see any middle ground.

 

[wolf]

Lame that they dropped the two different setlists strategy. My shows are at the start of the tour, so I'll be fearing nearly identical material each night, even if the plan is to have the second half of the show change up from time to time.

I would love it if the latter half of the show wasn't very choreographed. The first half obviously will be given that they've planned everything out (I'll make the jump that "The Miracle" is the show opener given the opening they have planned) and that article obviously spoiled the set closer for that half. What I really want to see is U2 play a lot of great songs to the best of their ability, not have them waste days trying to have Bono work out some dance steps to "Cedarwood Road"...

Bono's dance steps to "Cederwood Road" could be the highlight of the show. I think it will also be apart of the video for Cedarwood Road when its released as the fourth single from the album.

 

[dan_smee]

The description of the tour and staging sound very Pink Floydish to me... I think this could be U2's greatest moment, or a complete and utter disaster that is abandoned for heets by the middle of the first leg. I don't see any middle ground.

That is exactly what I was thinking. My excitement has peaked, and I really hope it is the former


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[last unicorn]

So the band has kind of reacted to what many fans expressed about fearing that they would get the "worse" one of the shows if there really were two totally different sets every night? I think they are making a good decision by combining a "relatively" fixed first half with a variable second one because most people only come to one show and don't want to miss out on certain songs. Plus it has been clear from the beginning that this band won't play different sets every night, that's just not the way a U2 show works.

The technical details in the NY Times article sound very interesting, also the talk about the HBO documentary and the mobile recording studio, the stage setup, the screens, the sound system, the new SOE songs ... and Bono being blonde now Seriously, very good and exciting stuff, can't wait for the tour to start

However, I hope Bono's arm and hand will indeed be getting better with time, poor guy, that injury was the worst thing to happen and I'm sorry to hear he's still having so many problems. So no guitar from Bono. What will that mean for songs like One which have always featured the second guitar?

 

[ChargedVT]

However, I hope Bono's arm and hand will indeed be getting better with time, poor guy, that injury was the worst thing to happen and I'm sorry to hear he's still having so many problems. So no guitar from Bono. What will that mean for songs like One which have always featured the second guitar?

Pull someone from the audience to play rhythm guitar maybe? I'd put my hand up for that!

 

[SpiralStaircase]

Pull someone from the audience to play rhythm guitar maybe? I'd put my hand up for that!

brb making a colourful cardboard sign

 

[Nick66]

Lame that they dropped the two different setlists strategy.

Disagree. The "two setlist" strategy would never have worked, for the obvious reasons the band stated. Some of us said months ago they'd never really stick with this, and I'm glad they didn't. I think what they're doing (a set first half, and some variation for the second) is about the most you can expect from a band like U2 that has such a huge fan base who all expect to hear certain songs. IMO even the second half, at the end of the day, won't mix it up too much.

As a die hard fan I might have one preference on this, but from the perspective of casuals, who will make up a big part of the audience, the two setlist thing was bound to leave a lot of people attending these shows disappointed, and would have opened the band up to a whole new area of criticism ("You have to buy tickets for multiple nights to hear all the good songs"!). I think they were cognisant of this, and didn't want to chance any negative buzz around this tour after what happened with the record. They rightly want the attention on the design of the show and the music. The only people who would have been really pleased are the die hard fans who would have attended at least two (if not all) the shows in any given city.

That said, very, very excited about this tour after reading the NYT article and Peter's excellent rehearsal reports. Opening night can't get here fast enough.

 

[gareth brown]

Honestly quite disappointed that it's not going to be as varied as they originally intended. If this means One, With Or Without You and Pride are just automatic locks for every single night then that's bollocks.

I do understand this is not the time to generate any negative buzz though like Nick said.

 

[SpiralStaircase]

Disagree. The "two setlist" strategy would never have worked, for the obvious reasons the band stated. Some of us said months ago they'd never really stick with this, and I'm glad they didn't. I think what they're doing (a set first half, and some variation for the second) is about the most you can expect from a band like U2 that has such a huge fan base who all expect to hear certain songs. IMO even the second half, at the end of the day, won't mix it up too much.

The two setlist thing was bound to leave a lot of people attending these shows disappointed, and would have opened the band up to a whole new area of criticism ("You have to buy tickets for multiple nights to hear all the good songs"!). I think they were cognisant of this, and didn't want to chance any negative buzz around this tour after what happened with the record. The only people that would have been really pleased are the die hard fans who would have attended at least two (if not all) the shows in any given city.

That said, very, very excited about this tour after reading the NYT article and Peter's excellent rehearsal reports. Opening night can't get here fast enough.

I understand all that, and largely agree. I DID go for two nights though on the premise I'd be able to see everything, but I guess it won't really matter, cos I get to see U2 twice, and I can live with that

 

[Nick66]

If this means One, With Or Without You and Pride are just automatic locks for every single night then that's bollocks.

As a die hard fan like you that has and will attend lots and lots of U2 shows, I agree with you.

But most people attending U2 shows are "casual" fans, and for many it may be the the first and/or only time they'll attend a U2 show. That's who U2 are mostly playing for. And those people are going to want to hear a good number of the "warhorses", and if U2 didn't play One, or WOWY, or God forbid Streets, those fans would come away feeling disappointed and cheated...and rightly so.

 

[dan_smee]

Disagree. The "two setlist" strategy would never have worked, for the obvious reasons the band stated. Some of us said months ago they'd never really stick with this, and I'm glad they didn't. I think what they're doing (a set first half, and some variation for the second) is about the most you can expect from a band like U2 that has such a huge fan base who all expect to hear certain songs. IMO even the second half, at the end of the day, won't mix it up too much.

As a die hard fan I might have one preference on this, but from the perspective of casuals, who will make up a big part of the audience, the two setlist thing was bound to leave a lot of people attending these shows disappointed, and would have opened the band up to a whole new area of criticism ("You have to buy tickets for multiple nights to hear all the good songs"!). I think they were cognisant of this, and didn't want to chance any negative buzz around this tour after what happened with the record. They rightly want the attention on the design of the show and the music. The only people who would have been really pleased are the die hard fans who would have attended at least two (if not all) the shows in any given city.

That said, very, very excited about this tour after reading the NYT article and Peter's excellent rehearsal reports. Opening night can't get here fast enough.

Nick - your well thought out, reasoned logic is not welcome. Clearly he wasn't going to be happy either way. There have been a few people popping up on all these threads automatically moaning about every piece of information that comes through. Bono could hand out flipping great wodges of cash at each show and some here will complain about how much, or what currency it's in.


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[God Part III]

Although I agree that the 2-night thing was never going to work, U2 has dropped WOWY and Pride before and I can see them doing it again. Maybe alternate between One and WOWY, even. Beautiful Day, Streets, Vertigo - I think those will be played every night.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

As a die hard fan like you that has and will attend lots and lots of U2 shows, I agree with you.

But most people attending U2 shows are "casual" fans, and for many it may be the the first and/or only time they'll attend a U2 show. That's who U2 are mostly playing for. And those people are going to want to hear a good number of the "warhorses", and if U2 didn't play One, or WOWY, or God forbid Streets, those fans would come away feeling disappointed and cheated...and rightly so.

So here's the thing... Shit tons of " casual" fans go to Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam concerts. They're not all walking out after the first hour.

If the band is a good enough performer, and U2 are, they can engage the crowd with just about anything. You have to be smart about it, but I just patently disagree with this idea that playing deep cuts somehow prevents casual fans from enjoying a concert.

I was a casual Bruce Springsteen fan before I saw him live for the first time. I was a die hard by the time I left.

Sure, if you play 10 straight deep cuts you're going to lose a lot of people. But if you mix them up and keep a good mix of hits, non single fan favorites and deep cuts that perform well in a live setting, the only way you'll lose the crowd is if you just simply aren't good enough.

 

[Dragonfave]

Blonde-no

 

[trevgreg]

So the band has kind of reacted to what many fans expressed about fearing that they would get the "worse" one of the shows if there really were two totally different sets every night? I think they are making a good decision by combining a "relatively" fixed first half with a variable second one because most people only come to one show and don't want to miss out on certain songs. Plus it has been clear from the beginning that this band won't play different sets every night, that's just not the way a U2 show works.

Disagree. The "two setlist" strategy would never have worked, for the obvious reasons the band stated. Some of us said months ago they'd never really stick with this, and I'm glad they didn't. I think what they're doing (a set first half, and some variation for the second) is about the most you can expect from a band like U2 that has such a huge fan base who all expect to hear certain songs. IMO even the second half, at the end of the day, won't mix it up too much.

But... but.... SPRINGSTEEN! PEARL JAM!

Although I agree that the 2-night thing was never going to work, U2 has dropped WOWY and Pride before and I can see them doing it again. Maybe alternate between One and WOWY, even. Beautiful Day, Streets, Vertigo - I think those will be played every night.

And if you go to only one or two shows, that could make all the difference in the world anyway in terms of hearing/not hearing a song.

That said, very, very excited about this tour after reading the NYT article and Peter's excellent rehearsal reports. Opening night can't get here fast enough.

Definitely.