nathan1977 said:
I had front row seats to Foxboro 2 for Zoo TV, and absolutely loved it -- even though it was a bit mind-blowing. There was a cohesiveness to the visuals, the songs, and the setlist that really worked. To me, PopMart (9th row, Foxboro 1) lacked that same cohesiveness. It was like the concept didn't really follow through in execution. Zoo TV may have been a bit heavy-handed in hindsight, but the experience of it was like none other. With PopMart, it felt like U2 didn't really know what it wanted to do. (And they probably didn't -- according to Rolling Stone, as of two weeks before the first show, "Still Haven't Found" and "Pride" weren't in the setlist and Paul McGuiness had to talk them into it.)
I agree with this.
I've been to 4 Zoo TVs, 2 PopMarts, 2 Elevations, and 4 Vertigos . . . and of all of those, for whatever reason, the PopMarts are definitely the
least memorable.
The first PopMart I saw was in San Diego and I cut them somewhat slack because it was the 2nd show of the tour. We even had great seats where we ran straight to the catwalk as the lights went down. So my best friend was pressed up against the rail of the catwalk (about 1/2 way between A and B stage), and I was pressed right behind her.
And even being that close, U2 felt very far away. For Zoo TV, even with all that was going on, they still managed to hone it in and make it about the songs. On ZOO TV they managed to be intimate in a gargantuan setting. I never felt that way with PopMart.
There were some parts I really felt worked. The opening "Pop Musik/MoFo" was great. They walked right passed us on their way to the main stage. And the "Please/WTSHNN" was also great, as well as HMTHKMHM. But other songs like Staring At The Sun, Pride, ISHFWILF Last Night on Earth, Gone . . . they just didn't seem to work and you could definitely feel the awkwardness between band and audience.
The 2nd PopMart show I saw was at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum. Though, by this point, they were a little more cohesive, it still never came close to the ZOO TV experiences I had. My seats for the 2nd PopMart were dead center floor, about 1/2 way back -- and I will admit, the whole show
looked a hell of a lot better from somewhat afar. But again it was spotty and never fully gelled. I would say it was fun, but not great.
The 1st PopMart show taught me an important concert (life) lesson: you can be up front, up close and pressed against the rail, and still lack intimacy and feel a million miles away.