Beyonce...She was on some show and when she bent over to sit down her "baby bump" sorta folded in half, and her due date has mysteriously moved up a few months.
Hadn't heard about that one! Ridiculous.
Back to U2, I have never seen U2 but I don't think I'd ever go to one of their overblown productions disguised as a concert these days. I would have loved to have seen them back in the War days, though.
From 1985 to about 2002 I was about the biggest U2 fan on the planet. Man how that has changed. I can't imagine a more boring concert than a U2 show now. It's basically a Broadway show. Theatrical, choreographed and full of false emotion. I saw them on this last tour in Toronto and was bored stiff and I was 5 feet from the stage. If I have to see Bono fake scream at the audience or balance on one leg again I'm going to rip my eyes out. First time I saw them was on the Joshua Tree tour and that show was full of real emotion.
As far as hidden musicians, it is super lame that they hide the keyboardist under the stage. The Stones suck nowadays as well but at least they are honest enough to have the orchestra of extra musicians onstage with them. Rush readily admits that they wouldn't be able to play half of their songs without pre-recording some of the sounds but the band triggers those sounds themselves with foot pedals.
With U2 they seem to be about maintaing their status as the "biggest band on the planet" rather than putting out honest and creative music. That died with them after Zooropa.
Rush readily admits that they wouldn't be able to play half of their songs without pre-recording some of the sounds but the band triggers those sounds themselves with foot pedals.
I would think they do it, but I don't really remember a ton of pre-recorded sounds on the live Rush stuff I've seen outside of Peart's drum solo. Al and Geddy(especially) do play alot of foot controlled synths, but they're still playing them live in time with the music.
John Paul Jones used to play "bass" in a similar fashion for stuff like No Quarter and Misty Mountain Hop.
MMJ use some triggered samples, I think for back up vox mostly. At least doin the leg work, but it seems like they lift some of that stuff straight off the albums and it doesn't totally mesh with the the live sound.
From 1985 to about 2002 I was about the biggest U2 fan on the planet. Man how that has changed. I can't imagine a more boring concert than a U2 show now. It's basically a Broadway show. Theatrical, choreographed and full of false emotion. I saw them on this last tour in Toronto and was bored stiff and I was 5 feet from the stage. If I have to see Bono fake scream at the audience or balance on one leg again I'm going to rip my eyes out. First time I saw them was on the Joshua Tree tour and that show was full of real emotion.
As far as hidden musicians, it is super lame that they hide the keyboardist under the stage. The Stones suck nowadays as well but at least they are honest enough to have the orchestra of extra musicians onstage with them. Rush readily admits that they wouldn't be able to play half of their songs without pre-recording some of the sounds but the band triggers those sounds themselves with foot pedals.
With U2 they seem to be about maintaing their status as the "biggest band on the planet" rather than putting out honest and creative music. That died with them after Zooropa.
Saw U2 twice in 05 and I thought they were really great shows but I agree with you about the choeographed production. I mean Bono going to the exact same spots and doing the same poses during the same songs. Then I purchased the Vertigo tour DVD and everything was exactly the same...same poses in the same places with the same facial expressions....it just doesn't look or feel feel natural. That doesn't make it bad..like I said I thought the shows were awesome....but definitely makes it more of a "production" than a rock concert, in my opinion. That's why I skipped their show the last time they were in town.
2003: San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, Seattle; 2005: Monterrey; 2006: Chicago 1 & 2, Grand Rapids, Cleveland, Detroit; 2008: West Palm Beach, Tampa; 2009: Austin, LA 3 & 4, San Diego; 2010: Kansas City, St. Louis, Columbus, Indianapolis; 2011: PJ20 1 & 2; 2012: Missoula; 2013: Dallas, Oklahoma City, Seattle; 2014: Tulsa; 2016: Columbia, New York City 1 & 2; 2018: London, Seattle 1 & 2; 2021: Ohana; 2022: Oklahoma City
Billy Joel was cool like like 30 years ago. We didn't start the fire? It's a shame he's not relevant and feels the need to take cheap shots at other musicians for attention. I could care less about whether U2 uses a back up band or tracks for that matter as long as Bono sings at this point.
And this whole lecture tour thing is even more pompous. It just shows how jealous he is of rock musicians and the fact he can't perform anymore. I will always like Turnstiles and The Stranger records, but wish he wasn't such an embarrassment now.
Ya, I'm pretty much done with them live as well....unless they did a theatre tour. Play mid-size theatres, no production...I'd line up for that.
A theatre tour would be fantastic, but I think they're way too big to even attempt something like that. A show like that would sell out in seconds and they'd have to do at least 3 or 4 shows in each city. I read a recent interview with Adam Clayton where he talked about the band wanting to scale things back on their next tour and go back to playing arenas, which would be cool. I saw them at the Bell Centre in Montreal in 2001, and it still stands as the single greatest concert I've ever witnessed.
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
My thing is, why not bring Terry Lawless (U2 keyboardist) on stage or put him behind Larry at least? Imagine if PJ put Boom under the stage? WTF! The Stones proudly put all the support staff on the stage. I know many bands have added support while playing live as they get older, but either put those people (aka other human beings) on stage with you or except the fact you can't pull your weight and hang it up. Most of these big name bands are filthy rich 20 years later - check ego at door. I wouldn't pay $450 ($900 for my wife) to see U2 at Levi's Stadium on the Joshua Tree 30th even though I could have afforded it. Are you kidding me! I mean, I love U2 and have seen them live twice (1997 & 2001), but I could buy every album and DVD they ever put out for $900. Not to mention parking, dinner, hotel...$1500 for one concert? No thanks!
I don't know if there's any truth to this story but if it is true, I would be disappointed in the band. Since my first show in 1965 to the present day, I've never seen a band with musicians not on stage as an integral part of the band. I can't even imagine that happening.
I did see U2 but that was in 1983 and the only thing under the stage back then were rats and gremlins. I saw Talking Heads in 1982 and they had expanded from the original quartet but no way was any one of the players not in plain sight and tight in with the band. They were a unit.
My thing is, why not bring Terry Lawless (U2 keyboardist) on stage or put him behind Larry at least? Imagine if PJ put Boom under the stage? WTF! The Stones proudly put all the support staff on the stage. I know many bands have added support while playing live as they get older, but either put those people (aka other human beings) on stage with you or except the fact you can't pull your weight and hang it up. Most of these big name bands are filthy rich 20 years later - check ego at door. I wouldn't pay $450 ($900 for my wife) to see U2 at Levi's Stadium on the Joshua Tree 30th even though I could have afforded it. Are you kidding me! I mean, I love U2 and have seen them live twice (1997 & 2001), but I could buy every album and DVD they ever put out for $900. Not to mention parking, dinner, hotel...$1500 for one concert? No thanks!
I wouldn't pay $450 to see God. I agree, that's ridiculous.
Post edited by brianlux on
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
Who cares I’ve stopped going to the big arena shows of all bands including the Mighty PJ , now I look for the smaller unknown bands that play small clubs fuck the big productions ..
This is old news. They have been using backing tracks, click tracks, loops, and under stage musicians for a long time. But so have other bands. In the 80s they were a real rock-n-roll band but then over time the need for perfectionism took precedent. No more surprises No more danger No more excitement No more fun
Who cares I’ve stopped going to the big arena shows of all bands including the Mighty PJ , now I look for the smaller unknown bands that play small clubs fuck the big productions ..
Bravo, Jose! I totally love this.
Some of the best music in the world happens in smaller clubs with bands and musicians who are not mega-stars (and no offense to PJ because they are truly a great band). Some of the most memorable shows I've been to happened in small clubs seeing incredible musicians like Harvey Mandel, David Lindley, John Handy, The Bongos, Cecil Taylor, Steve Lacy, Herb Ellis, Larry Coryell, and on and on.
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
Who cares I’ve stopped going to the big arena shows of all bands including the Mighty PJ , now I look for the smaller unknown bands that play small clubs fuck the big productions ..
Bravo, Jose! I totally love this.
Some of the best music in the world happens in smaller clubs with bands and musicians who are not mega-stars (and no offense to PJ because they are truly a great band). Some of the most memorable shows I've been to happened in small clubs seeing incredible musicians like Harvey Mandel, David Lindley, John Handy, The Bongos, Cecil Taylor, Steve Lacy, Herb Ellis, Larry Coryell, and on and on.
yeah these days i'm only interested in bands that are willing to take chances with their live act , the last two shows i've seen have been in small bars here in NY and it felt so good to be up close and personal with the band and yes PJ are still a great band ...
Comments
Hadn't heard about that one! Ridiculous.
Back to U2, I have never seen U2 but I don't think I'd ever go to one of their overblown productions disguised as a concert these days. I would have loved to have seen them back in the War days, though.
As far as hidden musicians, it is super lame that they hide the keyboardist under the stage. The Stones suck nowadays as well but at least they are honest enough to have the orchestra of extra musicians onstage with them. Rush readily admits that they wouldn't be able to play half of their songs without pre-recording some of the sounds but the band triggers those sounds themselves with foot pedals.
With U2 they seem to be about maintaing their status as the "biggest band on the planet" rather than putting out honest and creative music. That died with them after Zooropa.
I would think they do it, but I don't really remember a ton of pre-recorded sounds on the live Rush stuff I've seen outside of Peart's drum solo. Al and Geddy(especially) do play alot of foot controlled synths, but they're still playing them live in time with the music.
John Paul Jones used to play "bass" in a similar fashion for stuff like No Quarter and Misty Mountain Hop.
MMJ use some triggered samples, I think for back up vox mostly. At least doin the leg work, but it seems like they lift some of that stuff straight off the albums and it doesn't totally mesh with the the live sound.
Saw U2 twice in 05 and I thought they were really great shows but I agree with you about the choeographed production. I mean Bono going to the exact same spots and doing the same poses during the same songs. Then I purchased the Vertigo tour DVD and everything was exactly the same...same poses in the same places with the same facial expressions....it just doesn't look or feel feel natural. That doesn't make it bad..like I said I thought the shows were awesome....but definitely makes it more of a "production" than a rock concert, in my opinion. That's why I skipped their show the last time they were in town.
And this whole lecture tour thing is even more pompous. It just shows how jealous he is of rock musicians and the fact he can't perform anymore. I will always like Turnstiles and The Stranger records, but wish he wasn't such an embarrassment now.
A theatre tour would be fantastic, but I think they're way too big to even attempt something like that. A show like that would sell out in seconds and they'd have to do at least 3 or 4 shows in each city. I read a recent interview with Adam Clayton where he talked about the band wanting to scale things back on their next tour and go back to playing arenas, which would be cool. I saw them at the Bell Centre in Montreal in 2001, and it still stands as the single greatest concert I've ever witnessed.
-Tom Waits
They have been using backing tracks, click tracks, loops, and under stage musicians for a long time.
But so have other bands.
In the 80s they were a real rock-n-roll band but then over time the need for perfectionism took precedent.
No more surprises
No more danger
No more excitement
No more fun