I Hate U2 after seeing them live on this tour!
solace23
Posts: 704
I saw them at London Wembley Stadium. I felt nothing. The band seemed like they were just there to play the songs. With a Pearl Jam gig I walk out feeling like i've just had a religious experience. It disappoints me that I have always wanted to see U2 but have walked out feeling like I hate them.
Same setlist each night
Bono cockrock moves
Tag after each song
Does anyone else feel the same or is it just me??
Same setlist each night
Bono cockrock moves
Tag after each song
Does anyone else feel the same or is it just me??
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
Personally I can't really compare PJ and U2, two very different bands who approach concerts differently. I think with U2 they give you all the bells and whistles and the way the staging and lighting is setup I doubt they could vary the set list much. I saw U2 opening night in Chicago and had blast, great crowd, great music and the band seemed energized. As with PJ they just go out and perform and entertain without worrying about staging, lighting or special effects, that also allows them the freedom to vary set list from night to night.
Also many PJ fans see more than one concert per tour so its best to vary set list and keep it different, as with U2 I doubt they get many repeat customers per tour, so they probably don't have to vary set list from night to night.
I do enjoy PJ shows better because they play arenas and the smaller venues and they vary the set list which makes it worth going to multiple shows. I also doubt I'm stretching it here when I say PJ is a better live band than U2. I have seen a lot of concerts, the only band that I have seen live better than PJ was The Who.
But U2 must also be doing something right, other than Springsteen what bands today in tough economic times can pack in 60000 plus back to back nights in many cities, impressive following.
Just my opinion. See U2 in an arena next time and you might feel differently.
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The 2005 show had its own briliance too though. Bonos voice had got considerably weaker but a longer show and stomping setlist made up for that. The mini Zoo TV set for an encore was fantastic.
I left both shows feeling spiritual, alive etc.
Cut to May 2009, i was front row, standing beside the Edge & the rest U2 in a TV studio for an ad. They were playing "I'll Go Crazy If I Dont Go Crazy Tonight" over and over for this tv ad. We, the crowd, would dance and act excited. I emphasise that the excitement was an act. The new material was so flat live, especially that song. We were told where the "crescendo" part of the song was, then we had to go uber-nuts. It took several takes to find where that part was, it was no U2 cresendo ill tell you that. It was just shite. Ive seen real live U2 moments of magic, and to have to fake one repeatedly was genuinely depressing.
The band weren't excited either. It was surreal and disappointing, standing in a room with U2, and being bored by it. I didn't believe it was possible.
BUT on breaks from shooting, the band launched into a few Elvis covers, or snippets of older material.....and the place froze in unison and started singing along... the band would be smiling, there was a vibe, and they responded to it. Magical.
Then the director would start barking instructions, and it was back to the dreary work of acting excited again.
A month later I was offered tickets to this tour. I didnt take them.
how can you POSSIBLY equate a band's passion in their live show with a commercial shoot? Did you expect you'd get some mind-blowing experience there? and you got free tickets to a show and didn't take them based on that experience? why wouldn't you have based your decision on your Slane Castle experience? I just don't get it!
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Well firstly, when they played older stuff/covers the passion was there & the place was electric. The new songs never got going though. And the Slane experience was 8 years ago. I went in 2005 for a repeat and i didnt get it. Why would i assume i would this time?
I don't see how it's so difficult to understand. It was the lack of interest in playing their own new material that was the problem. They themselves were in good form, joking and talking with the crowd the whole time. They enjoyed playing older stuff, but when it came to playing anything new....they just weren't into it. Thats all.
Sure its a long day, repeating the song etc. But when they dont enjoy playing it in a room with 100 people, and the crowd dont enjoy it, why would i go see them play the whole album?
Makes pretty good sense to me. THis wasnt some CGI-mania ad, it was U2 and 100 people hanging out for the day. Im sure there are people who enjoyed the current tour, but i doubt there were many who'd see previous tours & thought this was better.
Like i said, when they played old songs, it was cool, the place came alive. but the new ones bored even the guys themselves.
Dont get me wrong, i LOVE this band. i love their shows, the stage show, the whole shebang. Its just a shame to see them slipping, thats all. Still great, but slipping.
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what you are saying doesn't make any sense though. you yourself state that "sure it was a long day" and it was A COMMERCIAL SHOOT. And their supposed lack of enthusiasm during their new stuff could have been due to many factors (like maybe the crowd wasn't into it), but the title of the thread you put up is "I hate U2 after seeing them live on this tour" from seeing them at a commercial shoot is ludicrous. But then you turn around at the end and say "I love this band". Which is it?
I personally don't think I'd waste my time spending the day with even Eddie and boys if it was a commercial shoot. How boring. For the band and everyone else. I can't blame U2 for not being enthused about it. I think maybe your expectations were a bit skewed on this one.
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I didnt have any expectations because I didnt know it was a U2 ad. I do temping work in a studio regularly and this day just happened to be that gig, so i didnt choose to be there, i just happened to be. And of course the atmosphere isnt the same as a stadium, i never said it should be!! But when the material is so average what difference does a stadium make? The new tour shows played pretty much the whole new album, so why would i go to it when i didnt enjoy the live performances of them that id just seen? Friends of mine at the studio went to the show, and said it was "the exact same, only bigger with more lights".
The OP said he/she felt the band just "showed up and played the songs". I saw a mock set up of the new show, and run downs of new songs, a few weeks before the tour, and that phrase describes what i saw. You would think they wouldnt be happy to play new material to a crowd, they were bored. I didnt dig it, there's no need for you to understand it any further. It was my loss after all.
I can completely understand why you did what you did however free is free which doesn't happen too often.
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At least i got paid for being at the studio
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you gotta expand your live show listenings then, numerous bands mix it up a lot more than PJ if that is what you are after
hahaha. i go to live shows all the time. pearl jam takes the cake out of any of the bands i've seen, and have a back catalog to pick from. seriously......paul mccartney, radiohead, ac/dc, billy joel, all of these folks...seen em all -- all huge acts-- none of em mix it up like pearl jam does. even the indie acts i see. they may mix up the order sometimes, but a lot of em stick to the same catalog. pearl jam, out of the hundreds of shows ive been to, mix it up the most, and many would agree. ed takes great care in doing this every night.
2004 Boston I
2006 Boston I
2008 Bonnaroo, Hartford, Mansfield I
2010 Hartford
2013 Worcester I, Worcester II, Hartford
2016 Bonnaroo, Fenway I, Fenway II
2018 Fenway I, Fenway II
2021 Sea.Hear.Now
2022 Camden
2024 MSG I, Fenway I, Fenway II
2004 Boston I
2006 Boston I
2008 Bonnaroo, Hartford, Mansfield I
2010 Hartford
2013 Worcester I, Worcester II, Hartford
2016 Bonnaroo, Fenway I, Fenway II
2018 Fenway I, Fenway II
2021 Sea.Hear.Now
2022 Camden
2024 MSG I, Fenway I, Fenway II