U2 Claw too big for Cowboys Stadium

lukin2006

http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2009 ... aw_vs.html

Saw U2 in Chicago and it was very good, however, I think with the massive stage the band gets lost in it.

Saw PJ in San Diego and they were great, no fancy stage, no fancy lighting, just great music and a concert that was unscripted.

I know U2 has been around longer but maybe they should check PJ out and see how you can go with the flow, change your setlist and give the folk what they came to see and hear, the band and the music.

BF89905

I agree with you. I was quite disappointed in the fact that I checked out a few of U2's setlists prior to seeing them in NJ and I was amazed to see that they were playing essentially the same songs every night. As long as they've been touring/playing - is it not just natural to cahnge things up a bit? With this being said.... it was a great show. However, I will never ever look at their previous setlists again.

The varied setlists at their concerts is just one of many reasons why Pearl Jam is so great.

helplessdancer

BF89905 wrote:

I agree with you. I was quite disappointed in the fact that I checked out a few of U2's setlists prior to seeing them in NJ and I was amazed to see that they were playing essentially the same songs every night. As long as they've been touring/playing - is it not just natural to cahnge things up a bit? With this being said.... it was a great show. However, I will never ever look at their previous setlists again.

The varied setlists at their concerts is just one of many reasons why Pearl Jam is so great.

in the bands defense they just cant wing the setlist like PJ do from nite to nite cause every song with that claw stage is choreographed with the lights/screens

also in their defense as the tour moves down the road they ARE dropping songs and adding songs and adjusting the order somewhat

FINALLY if you dont get ill go crazy, then stay home...that song alone makes this tour A+ in my books

Cosmo

Are you sure it's the claw... not Bono's Ego?
...
Just kidding... just kidding!!! I like U2 and I like Bono.

12345AGNST1

I really wish i knew about this tour earlier and saw them. That stage looks incredible.

cutz

I don't know about that CLAW, having to do with them NOT changeing the setlist or not. But, U2 RARELY change ther setlist, regardless of the tour. HEY! I like U2, but after trying to collect some bootlegs from them, i soon realised that i ONLY needed ONE QUALITY boot, from each tour.

dcfaithful

IMO: The best concerts are the ones with the least theatrics.

That being said, I'm going to see Alice Cooper this weekend, and I have high expectations

dcfaithful

Cosmo wrote:

Are you sure it's the claw... not Bono's Ego?

g under p

dcfaithful wrote:

IMO: The best concerts are the ones with the least theatrics.

That being said, I'm going to see Alice Cooper this weekend, and I have high expectations

I asked this question of whether or not this stage could fit in the new Dallas stadium? I saw the height of their stage and I just didn't think it could fit where the crew wanted it to stage it. The theatrics was a bit much especially for me being dead center on the outer stage. However, for the Fed Ex Field fans in the nose bleed and in the stands the stage theatrics I think made the concert more visual on the senses.

Overall I felt less would be MORE for a band like U2, I'll never though go to a concert like that by myself again.

Peace

mfc2006

Cosmo wrote:

Are you sure it's the claw... not Bono's Ego?

awesome!!!!

i agree with some of the other posts...not into giant stadium shows where the music isn't the main attraction. just my $0.02.

fife

cutz wrote:

I don't know about that CLAW, having to do with them NOT changeing the setlist or not. But, U2 RARELY change ther setlist, regardless of the tour. HEY! I like U2, but after trying to collect some bootlegs from them, i soon realised that i ONLY needed ONE QUALITY boot, from each tour.

to be honest, i also believe that 1 reason that Pearl Jam changes their set list is because they know that many of their fans see many shows on 1 tour while with U2 the situation is different. just my 2 cents

Get_Right

fife wrote:

to be honest, i also believe that 1 reason that Pearl Jam changes their set list is because they know that many of their fans see many shows on 1 tour while with U2 the situation is different. just my 2 cents

nah dont kid yourself
Its a packaged tour, designed to squeeze dollars
start to finish

that being said u2 does put on a good show and bono is a great frontman, but not like they used to
I saw them for the first time in 83 and WOW
05/08/1983 Trinity College - Hartford, Connecticut, USA
Out Of Control, Twilight, An Cat Dubh, Into The Heart, Surrender, Two Hearts Beat As One / Let's Twist Again (snippet), Seconds, Sunday Bloody Sunday, The Cry, The Electric Co. / Send In The Clowns (snippet)
encores: New Year's Day, Gloria, I Will Follow, 40

same with REM

yield2me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8IcF9MYCmg

lukin2006

Get_Right wrote:

fife wrote:

to be honest, i also believe that 1 reason that Pearl Jam changes their set list is because they know that many of their fans see many shows on 1 tour while with U2 the situation is different. just my 2 cents

nah dont kid yourself
Its a packaged tour, designed to squeeze dollars
start to finish

that being said u2 does put on a good show and bono is a great frontman, but not like they used to
I saw them for the first time in 83 and WOW
05/08/1983 Trinity College - Hartford, Connecticut, USA
Out Of Control, Twilight, An Cat Dubh, Into The Heart, Surrender, Two Hearts Beat As One / Let's Twist Again (snippet), Seconds, Sunday Bloody Sunday, The Cry, The Electric Co. / Send In The Clowns (snippet)
encores: New Year's Day, Gloria, I Will Follow, 40

same with REM

I agree with you, and I saw them, but I knew I would only see them once because it will not change much over the course of the tour. I saw PJ in Toronto in August and last Friday in San Diego, the 2 shows were totally different.

helplessdancer

cutz wrote:

I don't know about that CLAW, having to do with them NOT changeing the setlist or not. But, U2 RARELY change ther setlist, regardless of the tour. HEY! I like U2, but

its a valid point, and certainly in u2's defense(again), u2 arent the worst at changing setlists...there's some artists that do a whole tour and change NO songs at all from the start to the end of the tour. u2 fit in the middle somewhere....when u2 play back to back shows in the same city they do tend to not do the exact same show each night, by changing a couple of songs.

Grandma

fife wrote:

cutz wrote:

I don't know about that CLAW, having to do with them NOT changeing the setlist or not. But, U2 RARELY change ther setlist, regardless of the tour. HEY! I like U2, but after trying to collect some bootlegs from them, i soon realised that i ONLY needed ONE QUALITY boot, from each tour.

to be honest, i also believe that 1 reason that Pearl Jam changes their set list is because they know that many of their fans see many shows on 1 tour while with U2 the situation is different. just my 2 cents

Maybe it's the reverse - we go to multiple PJ shows because we know we'll get different setlists each night. What's the point when the show will be the same?

(or maybe we just go because it's the best f@#% band in the world?)

dcfaithful

Grandma wrote:

fife wrote:

cutz wrote:

I don't know about that CLAW, having to do with them NOT changeing the setlist or not. But, U2 RARELY change ther setlist, regardless of the tour. HEY! I like U2, but after trying to collect some bootlegs from them, i soon realised that i ONLY needed ONE QUALITY boot, from each tour.

to be honest, i also believe that 1 reason that Pearl Jam changes their set list is because they know that many of their fans see many shows on 1 tour while with U2 the situation is different. just my 2 cents

Maybe it's the reverse - we go to multiple PJ shows because we know we'll get different setlists each night. What's the point when the show will be the same?

(or maybe we just go because it's the best f@#% band in the world?)

I think that's the main reason why I love PJ shows....each show is different, and a pleasant surprise...I love the thrill of not knowing what you could possibly hear that night!

justam

Even though I enjoyed the huge U2 concert, I noticed what we have with PJ. (Maybe it's like that for U2's fanclub on the floor too?!)

I think the best thing about the Pearl Jam shows is that they are still concerned with how they sound rather than how big the audience is and how fancy the stage and light set-up is. The concerts sound good. We enjoy the performances of the songs. Mike plays his solos differently on different nights. Ed picks songs to sing and we hear emotion not weariness...

I thought the sound quality was horrible even though I enjoyed the U2 show very much last week. It really WASN'T about hearing a beautiful voice or really even about being able to enjoy the songs live because often they actually didn't sound too good. :? (And I feel bad saying that.) I liked seeing them move around, I liked seeing the enormous audience react, in fact I think that was the BEST part--(seeing 65,000 people pumping their arms in some of the songs!!). Also, I was happy that a crowd that large was coming out to hear music. That's a pretty great thing.

catefrances

justam wrote:

Even though I enjoyed the huge U2 concert, I noticed what we have with PJ. (Maybe it's like that for U2's fanclub on the floor too?!)

I think the best thing about the Pearl Jam shows is that they are still concerned with how they sound rather than how big the audience is and how fancy the stage and light set-up is. The concerts sound good. We enjoy the performances of the songs. Mike plays his solos differently on different nights. Ed picks songs to sing and we hear emotion not weariness...

I thought the sound quality was horrible even though I enjoyed the U2 show very much last week. It really WASN'T about hearing a beautiful voice or really even about being able to enjoy the songs live because often they actually didn't sound too good. :? (And I feel bad saying that.) I liked seeing them move around, I liked seeing the enormous audience react, in fact I think that was the BEST part--(seeing 65,000 people pumping their arms in some of the songs!!). Also, I was happy that a crowd that large was coming out to hear music. That's a pretty great thing.

and this is why theyre doing a stadium tour here in oz.

Brain of mJ

I witnessed the claw last week and was unimpressed compared to ZooTv and Popmart's setup. It just didn't do it for me like the other ones did and thier video stuff wasn't as good as what was on Elevation or Vertigo.

K.LO

I saw U2 at Cowboys Stadium and in Houston. I had never been to a U2 concert before, so I didn't have any shows to compare it to, but I thought they were pretty good. I didn't expect intimacy or great sound, considering the stadiums were mainly built for sports. The crowds, however, didn't seem as enthusiastic as I thought they would be. One slow song and people in Houston around me started sitting down. Maybe it's because I'm 19 and still clap, sing, and go crazy for over 2 hours straight, but I just thought they'd be more energetic.

Grandma

Anybody see the last Rolling Stone? Bono had this to say:
"In this age of celebrity and pop stardom, maybe it's a sensible thing to question the values of being a pop star. Radiohead, Pearl Jam, a lot of people, who maybe had much more sense than us, reject it. But the thing that's suffered from that stance was that precious, pure thing, what they used to call the 45. That new Pearl Jam song ("The Fixer") -- it's brilliant. It's got that attitude, like 'We Want it.'"

So - I guess the stadium size tour with all the effects/staging/same setlist is one of the differences between pop stardom and serious rock-n-roll by folks in it for the music, not the stardom.... And I don't see any suffering. I'm not entirely sure I understand this quote ( especially the last bit).

kenny olav

U2 has been disappointing me a lot lately. It's mainly because the quality of music has sunk so low. No Line on the Horizon is the only U2 album I don't have, and I don't want it. It sounds like a completely different band... one that makes shitty, pointless music and tours with a shitty, pointless band like Muse and uses a pointless giant prop on stage, and that's just fucking shitty. Bye bye U2. Nice knowing ya. I'll still crank the good tunes you've given us.

That said, I was offered a ticket to see them on this tour, and I probably would have gone if not for a previously agreed-to obligation I had. I've never seen U2, and I've been wanting to for a long time. Probably should see them before they get worse?

lukin2006

Kenny Olav wrote:

U2 has been disappointing me a lot lately. It's mainly because the quality of music has sunk so low. No Line on the Horizon is the only U2 album I don't have, and I don't want it. It sounds like a completely different band... one that makes shitty, pointless music and tours with a shitty, pointless band like Muse and uses a pointless giant prop on stage, and that's just fucking shitty. Bye bye U2. Nice knowing ya. I'll still crank the good tunes you've given us.

That said, I was offered a ticket to see them on this tour, and I probably would have gone if not for a previously agreed-to obligation I had. I've never seen U2, and I've been wanting to for a long time. Probably should see them before they get worse?

Wait for an arena tour, vertigo was waaaaaay better than the 360 show, just my humble opinion.

WaveCameCrashin

I got to see them in Raleigh on my birthday and I had a fuckin blast. This was my first U2 experience. I was blown away by the size of the crowd and the claw or spaceship whatever it's called. I love how they opened up the show with David Bowie. I thought the set list was a good mix of new and old songs, 2 encores a little short IMO.but still a good show.

g under p

prfctlefts wrote:

I got to see them in Raleigh on my birthday and I had a fuckin blast. This was my first U2 experience. I was blown away by the size of the crowd and the claw or spaceship whatever it's called. I love how they opened up the show with David Bowie. I thought the set list was a good mix of new and old songs, 2 encores a little short IMO.but still a good show.

Well for me this was one of the best highlights of the show hearing one of my favorite songs of ALLTIME *Space Oddity* by BOWIE. Sang it to the top of my lungs as it went perfect with the spaceship looking setup of the Claw. My 13 year old daughter would this song had she been there, she wants to be an astronaut and loves Bowie too.

Peace

JordyWordy

Kenny Olav wrote:

U2 has been disappointing me a lot lately. It's mainly because the quality of music has sunk so low. No Line on the Horizon is the only U2 album I don't have, and I don't want it. It sounds like a completely different band... one that makes shitty, pointless music and tours with a shitty, pointless band like Muse and uses a pointless giant prop on stage, and that's just fucking shitty. Bye bye U2. Nice knowing ya. I'll still crank the good tunes you've given us.

That said, I was offered a ticket to see them on this tour, and I probably would have gone if not for a previously agreed-to obligation I had. I've never seen U2, and I've been wanting to for a long time. Probably should see them before they get worse?

I see where you're coming from, but calling Muse a "shitty and pointless" band is pretty insane. Muse's own stadium shows piss all over that 360 setup. I firmly believe the 360 setup is the least visually engaging U2 setup since the 1980s. The Vertigo setup was far better.

Funnily enough, i think the only kind of concerts that are suited to stadiums are dance gigs, as there is no real need to see the DJ/band. A huge light/laser/screen show can be the makings of it.... Faithless, Basement Jaxx, Daft Punk, FatboySlim...they all do pretty brilliant stadium shows.