Catman
Rock n' Roll Doggie
Have yet to attend the latest tour (and, honestly, it's not looking likely that I will), but between I&E and TJT, I gotta give the edge (heh... hehheh... hahhaha hahahaha 
) to the former: I love the album, so it was a pleasure just hearing the band's latest material (and unlike NLOTH (barring a few exceptions), most of songs worked well live and felt as if they had a sense of purpose within the context of the concert); there was a clear story and theme throughout the set, with some surprisingly effective performances of old standbys (e.g. Bullet), though a few of the classics fell prey to an uninspired showing (I'm lookin' at you, One). It was also the first major concert with my girlfriend (now wife 
), and I appreciated her transformation from filthy casual to enlightened U2 fan.
Of course, The Joshua Tree tour had a few things going for it, too--namely, it was my first time seeing them in my home state! Sure, that might not sound particularly noteworthy to some, but I kinda appreciated the local observations and shout-outs, clear pandering to the crowd... you know, stuff that happens at every concert, but it was the first time these sporadic references were relevant to me. So yeah, just a little thing, but I'm happy to've been there (and hearing The Saints Are Coming, albeit not much more than a snippet, was pretty cool).
I really loved the first half of this concert--obviously this includes a bunch of tunes we've all heard time and time again, but somehow just hearing them in a different order than I'm accustomed to managed to positively affect how I perceived them (sorta like Anaheim 2 on the 360 tour). The second half... while not bad, just didn't hit the highs of what came before (and how could they considering how front-loaded TJT is?). Don't get me wrong, I loved hearing a lot of the album's deeper cuts for the first, and most likely last, time, but as the show went on (and knowing how the rest of the night, for the most part, would play out), the novelty of the show kinda wore out its welcome for me. I dunno; maybe I was hoping for more of a statement from the band regarding the apparent impetus for touring the album. Sure, Exit was glorious... I guess I just wanted more of that lol. There seemed to be a bit of a disconnect (for me, at least) between why U2 chose to tour The Joshua Tree again, and how they presented it on stage.
Well I guess that's that. Enjoyed both shows, but preferred I&E, and kinda sad that I won't be seeing the band on this tour (though the fact that they're not playing a handful of my favorites from SoE mildly mollifies my dismay).
) to the former: I love the album, so it was a pleasure just hearing the band's latest material (and unlike NLOTH (barring a few exceptions), most of songs worked well live and felt as if they had a sense of purpose within the context of the concert); there was a clear story and theme throughout the set, with some surprisingly effective performances of old standbys (e.g. Bullet), though a few of the classics fell prey to an uninspired showing (I'm lookin' at you, One). It was also the first major concert with my girlfriend (now wife ), and I appreciated her transformation from filthy casual to enlightened U2 fan. Of course, The Joshua Tree tour had a few things going for it, too--namely, it was my first time seeing them in my home state! Sure, that might not sound particularly noteworthy to some, but I kinda appreciated the local observations and shout-outs, clear pandering to the crowd... you know, stuff that happens at every concert, but it was the first time these sporadic references were relevant to me. So yeah, just a little thing, but I'm happy to've been there (and hearing The Saints Are Coming, albeit not much more than a snippet, was pretty cool).
I really loved the first half of this concert--obviously this includes a bunch of tunes we've all heard time and time again, but somehow just hearing them in a different order than I'm accustomed to managed to positively affect how I perceived them (sorta like Anaheim 2 on the 360 tour). The second half... while not bad, just didn't hit the highs of what came before (and how could they considering how front-loaded TJT is?). Don't get me wrong, I loved hearing a lot of the album's deeper cuts for the first, and most likely last, time, but as the show went on (and knowing how the rest of the night, for the most part, would play out), the novelty of the show kinda wore out its welcome for me. I dunno; maybe I was hoping for more of a statement from the band regarding the apparent impetus for touring the album. Sure, Exit was glorious... I guess I just wanted more of that lol. There seemed to be a bit of a disconnect (for me, at least) between why U2 chose to tour The Joshua Tree again, and how they presented it on stage.
Well I guess that's that. Enjoyed both shows, but preferred I&E, and kinda sad that I won't be seeing the band on this tour (though the fact that they're not playing a handful of my favorites from SoE mildly mollifies my dismay).
