Joshua Tree tour hits Chicago - All discussions

Originally posted by MattG:Alright everyone, I'm finally back after staying "in the dark" as long as possible before these two shows. I'll put my thoughts below just to collect them all in one place, although I think much of what I have to say more or less echoes the opinions bouncing around in here.

The Stage
This is maybe the biggest problem with the entire tour. It contributes to almost all of my frustrations with energy level, and made for a relatively poor first night for me. We had some real jerks in the GA crowd near us which isn't U2's fault, but once the band had gone on, even with a good spot some yards back from the B-stage, we couldn't see a damn thing.

So, you know how U2 are always saying they're "bringing the show closer to the fans" and that "the fans are a PART of the show"....I never really got that until this weekend. I always thought it was a gimmick that Bono would just spit out to sound relatable....he's absolutely right. That connection feels more absent this tour than it has in the history of me being a U2 fan. The large-scaled outdoor stadium shows are just impossible to NOT be disappointed by after having witnessed the Claw.

With that being said, I found myself equally loving and hating the video material on the screen. The 4k video shit is highly noticeable - it really does look like there are real Joshua Trees behind them during WOWY. However, I thought the focus on landscaping, politics, and lifestyle - while a good accompaniment for the album songs - kept the band feeling more distanced from the crowd. There wasn't as much "immersive" video content as there always has been.

The Joshua Tree
-The album is flawless. The performance is not. I am finally settling into the opinion/realization that U2 is not the same band I saw 10 years ago, or even 2 years ago. Maybe it's the setlist not allowing for as much rambunctiousness from Bono, but I miss him leaning down shouting at the crowd off the microphone, throwing water, strutting, just giving a real PERFORMANCE. Bono sounds fantastic on this tour, but I felt that overall the energy level from the band was sub-par for the first time in the decade I've been seeing them.

-The JT set sort of drags, as mentioned in posts above. I am so enamored with the songs themselves that it never really bothered me, but I did honestly turn to my girlfriend at one point during RHMT on night one and just say...."this is really boring." The energy level depleted from the stadium entirely around that song. It went from something I was so excited to see, to a piss & beer break night two (no joke).

-It was really surprising to me that Still Haven't Found was the true album version, with the deep bass synth kicking in at the beginning, Edge's muted chord intro...I don't know that I've ever heard the song played that way live. Was a real treat to hear that (and other songs) played in "note for note" fashion, which may sound boring on paper, but in all truth is something we rarely get out of these war horse songs anymore...they've all taken on a live life of their own.

The Rest
-Stop getting up in arms about them playing Elevation, Beautiful Day, etc. I know I'm not the first to spell this out, but if you're seeing any amount of shows on this tour, you have the odds of seeing: Bad, A Sort of Homecoming, NYD (back after a ten year break in the US), Running to Stand Still, literally all of side 2 of JT, Ultraviolet for fuck's sake, and a new song. Shelve the complaints - U2 will never put out a more balanced set for people who casually want to see U2, and die-hard fans. This is literally as good as it will ever get - smell the flowers while you can.

-Bono sounds really phenomenal. There were one or two moments I heard a waver or crack, but nothing horrendous at all. Larry is still killing it, too. I honestly was worried about him on the I&E tour just a little bit, because he was frequently starting the wrong songs in their first set. He was on fire. The whole band was honestly REALLY tight.

-If you're going to play Mothers of the Disappeared, and then take a break, you better come back out of that gate swinging. No more of this Miss Sarajevo bullshit. Even Beautiful Day, which has a truly eye-rolling rendition this time around, picked the crowd right back up on night one.


In all, to be fair - the shows pretty much "arrived" at where my expectations were set, and never went beyond it other than the TRULY cracking performance of IWF to close night one, and ASOH on night two. In 9 shows, these might have been the "worst" ones I've seen just based on the points mentioned above, but that by no means made it bad.

It is very easy to verbally point out all of the bad elements of the show, because they stick out like sore thumbs compared to the ethereal feeling experienced when it is good - which is most of the time - and that emotion truly cannot be put into words. Often times, in this forum included, we intertwine criticism and complaint and sometimes stop to remember that feeling. That feeling was there on both nights of this tour for me, as I expect it always will be in the future.

Viva la U2!

Originally posted by Release3:[..]
100% this. I went to both shows. Both shows were incredible. I took my dad to his 20th show the first night, so we definitely had a blast. But I agree, from Running to Stand Still up until Elevation was tough to get through if you're not a U2 fan. My dad and I were really enjoying the tunes like Red Hill, Exit, Trip, etc. But even us die hards were looking for a Vertigo, The Fly, Until the End of the World, I Will Follow etc. I get that they have to play it in order, but I agree, the middle of the show, although really good, was still tough.

Originally posted by deanallison:[..]
I remember pre-tour we had a discussion about whether they had to play the album in sequence and you were quite adamant that you wanted it played that way. I've got no complaints with TJT section having only listened in but seeing as you felt TJT set dragged and a few others have spoke about it, would you now be open to changing your opinion or do you still firmly believe the album should be played in sequence?

I remember pre-tour we had a discussion about whether they had to play the album in sequence and you were quite adamant that you wanted it played that way. I've got no complaints with TJT section having only listened in but seeing as you felt TJT set dragged and a few others have spoke about it, would you now be open to changing your opinion or do you still firmly believe the album should be played in sequence?

Originally posted by MattG:Oh I don't mind them playing the song at all, I love it - I just don't think it works right after a slow, relatively unknown song like Mothers.

[..]


I'm glad this came up, and I still stand behind being adamant that they play it in full. I really don't think the problem is the sequencing, I think the problem (as others have stated) is that they sort of don't know what to do with the end of the show. It's like they HAVE to play some hits, and they want to do the women-themed section which I loved and which came across great, but they just haven't cohesively put it together yet. Because of that, when you come off of side 2 of Joshua Tree - which itself is absent of a single "greatest hit," the show fumbles until its over, really.

Originally posted by MattG:Oh I don't mind them playing the song at all, I love it - I just don't think it works right after a slow, relatively unknown song like Mothers.

[..]


I'm glad this came up, and I still stand behind being adamant that they play it in full. I really don't think the problem is the sequencing, I think the problem (as others have stated) is that they sort of don't know what to do with the end of the show. It's like they HAVE to play some hits, and they want to do the women-themed section which I loved and which came across great, but they just haven't cohesively put it together yet. Because of that, when you come off of side 2 of Joshua Tree - which itself is absent of a single "greatest hit," the show fumbles until its over, really.

Originally posted by robotsandmonkeys:I saw the Seattle and Santa Clara shows and I'm equally happy and sad that Seattle - the second show - has had the best setlist of the tour.

The encore is the biggest problem of the show...I felt that way on both shows, and sounds like the common opinion of others who have gone. Bono (who remained admirably quiet all show) is an unwelcome chatterbox as he tries to cram the "her story" theme into songs that aren't natural fits. It's a good message, but bad execution.

What makes it such a head shaker is that it's SUCH AN EASY FIX. Part one is pre-JT, part two is JT, make part 3 post-JT...open with ZooStation, the Fly, keep Ultraviolet, etc...remove ATYCLB songs (PLEASE!), and CLOSE WITH 40!!!!

Sooo easy. These lads are usually good at tweaking a setlist to overcome deficiencies - they have been doing this long enough so the MUST sense something is off with the encore. My fear now that they haven't done anything different in Chicago is that they aren't interested in addressing the problem.