Good omen for setlist shake-up!?

[U2girl]

I preferred the setlist that featured NLOTH more prominently in 2009.

The additions in 2010 and this year just help make the setlist an incoherent mess. The last leg with EBTTRT and Zooropa feels like a Zoo TV nostalgia set.

 

[djerdap]

I preferred the setlist that featured NLOTH more prominently in 2009.

The additions in 2010 and this year just help make the setlist an incoherent mess. The last leg with EBTTRT and Zooropa feels like a Zoo TV nostalgia set.

Well, I agree that the setlist is an incoherent mess. I also agree that songs like Breathe (but not as an opener) and No Line on the Horizon would improve it. But it was precisely the inclusion of EBTTRT (probably the best opener since Mofo) and Zooropa that made the setlist finally at least good IMO. Now about this ZooTV nostalgia silliness...

There are 4 Achtung songs (5 on some nights when you include Ultra Violet), out of which 3 songs are mostly staples since 1992, and 1 Zooropa song in a setlist that has 24 songs. If you want to do more math, this represents a quarter of a setlist that covers an era that represents one third of their career. Songs are combined completely differently than on ZooTV (with the exception of Ultra Violet and With or Without You, which was there in 2009 as well), Even Better Than the Real Thing is a radically different arrangement, it was never an opener on ZooTV, not to mention the fact that Zooropa was performed 3 times on ZooTV, never in full, so nothing about this year's performances makes me think of that tour.

And this is a ZooTV nostalgia set?

According to your criteria, some setlists were then Elevation Tour nostalgia sets with 5 songs from All That You Can't Leave Behind in them.

Now this is a ZooTV nostalgia set and it was designed precisely to be that:

U2 Setlist - Chicago - May 16, 2001 - U2tours.com

Hell, even the Vertigo Tour encore, a personal favourite, reeked of ZooTV nostalgia. But this what we have now? Nah.

 

[lemonfly]

I really, really hate the new arrangement of EBTTRT. It has completely lost its edge (pun intended). Edge's guitar just sounds so sappy and anorexic now. What happened to those hard, vicious chords he used to play so well? They butchered The Fly on the Vertigo tour and now they've butchered EBTTRT. A once blistering song on Zoo TV and PopMart now sounds like fucking Dire Straits. What has happened to this band that I loved so, so much?

 

[U2387]

Well, I agree that the setlist is an incoherent mess. I also agree that songs like Breathe (but not as an opener) and No Line on the Horizon would improve it. But it was precisely the inclusion of EBTTRT (probably the best opener since Mofo) and Zooropa that made the setlist finally at least good IMO. Now about this ZooTV nostalgia silliness...

There are 4 Achtung songs (5 on some nights when you include Ultra Violet), out of which 3 songs are mostly staples since 1992, and 1 Zooropa song in a setlist that has 24 songs. If you want to do more math, this represents a quarter of a setlist that covers an era that represents one third of their career. Songs are combined completely differently than on ZooTV (with the exception of Ultra Violet and With or Without You, which was there in 2009 as well), Even Better Than the Real Thing is a radically different arrangement, it was never an opener on ZooTV, not to mention the fact that Zooropa was performed 3 times on ZooTV, never in full, so nothing about this year's performances makes me think of that tour.

And this is a ZooTV nostalgia set?

According to your criteria, some setlists were then Elevation Tour nostalgia sets with 5 songs from All That You Can't Leave Behind in them.

Now this is a ZooTV nostalgia set and it was designed precisely to be that:

U2 Setlist - Chicago - May 16, 2001 - U2tours.com

Hell, even the Vertigo Tour encore, a personal favourite, reeked of ZooTV nostalgia. But this what we have now? Nah.

This.

I almost feel asleep at my 2009 shows.

There was clearly something missing and a lot of fans I know who were there said the exact same thing.

All the NLOTH songs right at the outset only confused most people and they didn't get into the show until MW or BD was played as the 5th song. Even then, they only brought in the radio/00s focused casuals and not the long time casuals like they do now with NYD and IWF.

I'm all for bringing back some NLOTH, but please, please, for the love of God, make it at the expense of ATYCLB and not AB!! I love the new arrangement of EBTTRT, it's an awesome opener, Zooropa is already sounding great, showing even more potential, etc. Until The End of The World and Ultraviolet are being performed incredibly well and even One is sounding pretty damn good! I'm starting to get used to MW without the solo, and it's a really tight, energetic performance even if it could be better.

ATYCLB's been played to death, time to give other eras a shot!

More Joshua Tree would be nice- Running To Standstill, Trip Through Your Wires, In God's Country, even Bullet with a nice new arrangement!

 

[Earnie Shavers]

I really, really hate the new arrangement of EBTTRT. It has completely lost its edge (pun intended). Edge's guitar just sounds so sappy and anorexic now. What happened to those hard, vicious chords he used to play so well? They butchered The Fly on the Vertigo tour and now they've butchered EBTTRT. A once blistering song on Zoo TV and PopMart now sounds like fucking Dire Straits. What has happened to this band that I loved so, so much?

I love it this EBTTRT version, but do agree that Edge could be doing more with it. I don't think the Fly was butchered on Vertigo. It wasn't as good as ZooTV, but fucking hell, Vertigo Fly was a billion times better than the truly wings-clipped Elevation Fly. That was horrific.

 

[BVS]

I really, really hate the new arrangement of EBTTRT. It has completely lost its edge (pun intended). Edge's guitar just sounds so sappy and anorexic now. What happened to those hard, vicious chords he used to play so well? They butchered The Fly on the Vertigo tour and now they've butchered EBTTRT. A once blistering song on Zoo TV and PopMart now sounds like fucking Dire Straits. What has happened to this band that I loved so, so much?

I couldn't disagree more. I always thought EBTTRT always suffered live, I wasn't very excited about them bringing it back but then heard it and now realize the real potential of this song live.

Vertigo FLY may actually be better than ZooTV FLY.

 

[lemonfly]

Christ, don't get me started on Elevation Fly. I wanted to slash my wrists.

 

[gareth brown]

i don't think its the greatest arrangement but it's still very good the 360 'remix'. i still prefer Zoo TV/Popmart. more energy to it and in that higher key sounds a lot better, particularly Bono

 

[djerdap]

I couldn't disagree more. I always thought EBTTRT always suffered live, I wasn't very excited about them bringing it back but then heard it and now realize the real potential of this song live.

Vertigo FLY may actually be better than ZooTV FLY.

Agreed, except for the fact I still like ZooTV and Popmart version of Even Better Than the Real Thing more. Vertigo Fly rocked. Hell, it was even good when Bono fucked up the lyrics. The band was on fire. Edge too.

 

[gareth brown]

Christ, don't get me started on Elevation Fly. I wanted to slash my wrists.

fair enough, it's probably my favourite personally

 

[Steved1998]

I really, really hate the new arrangement of EBTTRT. It has completely lost its edge (pun intended). Edge's guitar just sounds so sappy and anorexic now. What happened to those hard, vicious chords he used to play so well? They butchered The Fly on the Vertigo tour and now they've butchered EBTTRT. A once blistering song on Zoo TV and PopMart now sounds like fucking Dire Straits. What has happened to this band that I loved so, so much?

They're continuing to grow.

 

[gareth brown]

Now this is a ZooTV nostalgia set and it was designed precisely to be that:

U2 Setlist - Chicago - May 16, 2001 - U2tours.com

...whoa, that's a great running order actually. and there's even a earpiece matrix recording on u2start, will check that out tonight. cheers

 

[daygloeyes2]

I Elevation Fly. Haters gonna hate!

 

[prbiker15]

I Elevation Fly. Haters gonna hate!

Love it as well. All three versions are just spectacular, would love to hear it live someday.

 

[rjhbonovox]

Yeah I prefer Elevation Fly to the Vertigo version mainly due to the god awful type of guitar Edge uses on the Vertigo version. That semi acoustic weak as piss shit ruined both that and the weak as piss version of Love and Peace or Else. The Zoo TV version beats the whole lot as its the proper live version of The Fly with Larry playing it like he did on the album version. Also, and this has probably been pointed out before, the newer live versions of The Fly since and including the Vertigo version are more of a cross between "Lady with the spinning head" and "The Fly". It has the drums and rhythm from spinning head.