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Originally posted by stj0691[..]

Zoo TV at its finest in 1992, as for the first two legs. You've forgetten about the outdoor broadcasts again...(which neither of us like, considering Wild Horses was gone and Still Haven't Found didnt close so much anymore).

lol nah, I haven't forgotten the other legs etc., although perhaps it would be worth clarifying. One can't deny the Outside Broadcast shows were amazing, but I still think Stockholm was one of, if not the best show of the entire tour, although there are others like the Milan show which could rival it

. ZooTV had some amazing shows throughout, so I know it's a big call, I just know what I think too

WojBhoy

16 years

2005-06-21 - Glasgow, Scotland - Hampden Park:

Sound

Right, well, first things first, I think everyone's fairly agreed that the sound isn't perfect. I have a fairly tolerant pair of lugs so I was able to overlook the hiss that occurs, especially in between songs or during the intro. as Arcade Fire blares out over the PA. With this in mind, I'd say it's a solid 3-star, 6/10 boot soundwise - nowhere near good enough to be considered anything higher, but on that note no way near bad enough to go down to 2-stars or suchlike. There are the odd few instances where it sounds as if someone walks in front of the mike or something, which makes everything sound as if from a distant, but personally it didn't affect my enjoyment of the boot. Another thing to note is that once or twice, the audio seems to be baulking under the strain of loudness such as the bass or Bono's singing and fuzzes, slightly, but again, it wasn't particularly endemic of the show...
Bandwise, Bono is clear throughout (although when is he not? lol); Edge is always fairly audible; Adam comes through well but doesn't standout that much, but that's how a bass should be in my opinion - driving the truck from the passenger's seat, as it were; and Larry is solid as far as sound is concerned.

Performance

Now we get to the nitty-gritty part. I appreciate there are those here who don't really rate the Vertigo tour or the majority of shows and really take something exceptional (by their standards) to raise an eyebrow, but I personally do, and thus you won't be surprised to hear that I rate this show lol. Ok, due to the recording, one cannot get a complete feel for the audience but I think there's enough to suggest that the place wasn't a graveyard where atmosphere was concerned - particularly during large sections of the main set and the encore, the crowd really get into things, although they do sound a bit distant - good placement by the recorder to capture as much of the band? Or merely shite mikes for picking up audience noise? Who knows...but back to the band. Bono's voice isn't A-list but I don't think it detracts the show too much in the grand scheme of things. To my mind, he really seems to getting into the swing of things, and as far as the rest of the band go, they seem fairly impeccable on a musicianship level - the only thing I can think of is when Edge's sound seems to go - perhaps the jack came out of his guitar - but that is pretty much it off the top of my mind...

Ok, to stop me spouting rhetoric for a bit, I'll list some of the highlights and lowlights etc.;

- The openers (i.e. Vertigo >> Beautiful Day) - great atmosphere in my opinion, the band really getting stuck in, crowd lapping it up, good stuff. Incidentally, I quite liked seeing ABOY up amongst the opening numbers as they did on a few European shows, it just fits things better, i.e. a rock'n'roll song that gets a crowd on their feet.
- WGRYWH - I don't think this comes much as a surprise to anyone when I say that the inclusion of this is a factor in why I rate this show! Not the only one, far from it, but it was definitely what originally drew me to it. As far as musicianship goes, I feel this is the best performance of the tour without any hiccups and the solo being spot on. It's not the best version as far as Bono's voice is concerned, but Edge, Larry and Adam cannot be faulted. Great stuff.
- Miracle Drug - great performance. Enough said. Edge's solo blows away any cobwebs, the crowd really go for the "oooh" during the middle 8, love it.
- RTSS - really evocative performance in my opinion with the dedication to Aung Sang Suu Kyi and the inclusion of Walk On (albeit snippet form).
- WTSHNN - I don't care what anyone else says, this is one of my standout versions from the tour - crowd get into it, Bono really thrives, really energetic throughout (although one should expect this of such a great song).
- The encores - Zoo Station and the Fly were great, WOWY was above par for Vertigo performances and Mysterious Ways wasn't included and thus subsequently shamed! Also want to mention the second rendition of Vertigo for the immortal line "just give me what I want-...fuck off!" and a generally energetic performance to finish the show on a high.

Ok, now for what I didn't think was so good;

- Setlist issues - this is more of a gripe with how some setlists were formatted over the tour, not necessarily just this one. Vertigo opened, so why use it to close? I appreciate it was a nod back to the early days (i.e. utilising encore performances), much as was the return of songs like An Cat Dubh, Electric Co. and Out Of Control to fit the theme of the tour, but surely it wasn't to difficult to choose something else to finish a show? I prefer the idea of COBL opening but it's fair enough to consider that the LED displays wouldn't garner the same effect in daylight, an issue that doesn't come under scrutiny during indoor shows. However, if you're gonna include it in the middle of the set but also include WGRYWH (something I'm always in favour of), where's the harm in including AIWIY aswell (or something similar) so as to make the transition less clunky? I know part of the thinking probably revolved around mixing the rarities, but if you're gonna play a 23 song set, is it really too much to perhaps bump it up to 24 and make the show run slightly more smoothly?
- A bout of pickiness - SYCMIOYO, although performed surprisingly ok this time around, just doesn't do it for me live, mainly because (as I've said innumerable times before) Edge's guitar is too thin and misses some oomph; I think it's the perfect example of a great studio song that can't really translate onto a live setting. Also, One - otherwise a nice performance, but my main gripe is the outro. I know it was part of Bono's plugging for the ONE Campaign, but surely the "do you hear us coming, Lord?" snippet is just as effective as wailing a drawn out shout of "caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall ONE"?

Overall, I personally like and rate the show (hence why I picked it), but on an objective level, I'd quite happily give the performance a good 7/10, and it is (for me) one of the better shows from the 1st-3rd legs. Of course, I have a few gripes, but in my opinion there's no such thing as a flawless show, and yes I am including shows such as Slane, the reknowned Stockholm and Milan '92 shows, Red Rocks and (for the benefit of the doubt, until I can get hold of it myself) Brussels '87 in that statement, because there's always something that will knaw away at an individual's perspective, whether it's the lack of a song in the setlist or a couple of moments where Edge or Bono messes up something fairly minor, but that's what this is all about - perspective and opinion. Tis what makes this so fun!

aussiemofo

16 years

Originally posted by U2Nick
I love this boot. I've listened to it a lot sence I've downloaded it. easily 9/10........ 10/10 when I'm in the right mood

You've got to be kidding.

aussiemofo

16 years

Well said Harry. Agree on many counts. For the record I did not hate this boot as was reported earlier. I said it was a solid performance in my review.

Originally posted by WojBhoy Also want to mention the second rendition of Vertigo for the immortal line "just give me what I want-...fuck off!" and a generally energetic performance to finish the show on a high.

I forgot to mention this. I enjoyed that too.

WojBhoy

16 years

Originally posted by aussiemofoWell said Harry. Agree on many counts. For the record I did not hate this boot as was reported earlier. I said it was a solid performance in my review.

[..]

I forgot to mention this. I enjoyed that too.

good to hear you agreed on whatever parts you did mate. I hope I wasn't one who you think insinuated that you hated it, I don't think I was anyway...

aussiemofo

16 years

Originally posted by WojBhoy[..]
good to hear you agreed on whatever parts you did mate. I hope I wasn't one who you think insinuated that you hated it, I don't think I was anyway...

No don't worry mate. Would love to compare this to a lossless version.

WojBhoy

16 years

Originally posted by aussiemofo[..]

No don't worry mate. Would love to compare this to a lossless version.

Definitely, I think it would benefit so much more. I think I remember Gerard saying it wasn't a bad recording in itself, but was rather just a bodged encoding or something? Not certain, but anyway, we won't know unless one should pop up lol.

Hans23

16 years

2005-06-21 - Glasgow, Scotland - Hampden Park:

Sound

From the start of this recording, I got th impression that this would far from the best Vertigo recording I would have heard. Nothing really stood out, the crowd were muffled, softened and, In my opinion was miss throughout the majority of the bootleg. I would rather listen to last weeks Brisbane bootleg with the overpowering crowd that listen to this show which was too my ears, was like gone off milk is to my mouth.
The band didn’t come across well either. Its true that they were audible, but rather distant, distorted and playing in one of Glasgow’s many metro stations below the ground.

Performance

The bands Performance was average, not bad, but not that good either. It had some standout performances of All Because Of You and The Fly (which had a lovely little transition into With Or Without You), but many songs have had better outings elsewhere.

Sound: 4/10

Performance: 5/10

kisho8

16 years

nice review harry

germcevoy

16 years

I'm sorry folks but what a dull dull gig. I tried my best and give it every chance but yikes it was bland. Was this really only a few days after the London broadcast. Bono might as well just not have been there. He was completely lackluster, tired, no spirit or drive. There was a cloud over him on the night. I really tried to give this gig a chance, I wanted to like it (Glasgow gigs are usually immense) but it fell way short of the mark. Wild Horses was the performance hilight of the night but that was only 3/5, Bono's 'Dont you look back' was pathetic. And why did Bono say that was only the second time they played it ever. Was he not present during ZooTV?

And the sound. . So nearly brilliant but it isn't. The taper either had cheap equipment or a damp connection or 2. I've literally never heard a more hissy recording. The gig was a little muffled (cheap mics?). A lossless re-encode might improve it but I think its the actual recording that has problems in this instance. Credit to the taper for his efforts and letting use hear it.

I really can't think of anything positive to say. I'm sure the crowd were good but I couldn't hear them. Setlist was as standard, Bono was crap and the band were as solid as ever. Good news is that it's off my iPod already and shall never return.

Not sure if this was a proper review but i'll happily debate further and add anything else that I noticed.

Performance : 3.5/10
Sound : 3/5

WojBhoy

16 years

Originally posted by kisho8nice review harry

Cheers mate, although I think I got slightly overzealous in cramming in every detail lol...

Originally posted by germcevoyAnd why did Bono say that was only the second time they played it ever. Was he not present during ZooTV?

That's what I forgot to mention - I just wonder whether Bono missed a trick or two over the last few years lol, I mean it's either he miscounts Miracle Drug's chimey notes ("3 notes...4 notes!") or he forgets the entire duration of ZooTV and the fact that WGRYWH was actually on Achtung Baby in addition to One, The Fly etc.

Originally posted by germcevoyNot sure if this was a proper review but i'll happily debate further and add anything else that I noticed.

I think that was a fair enough assessment, like I always say, it's about opinions etc. and I wasn't aware that there were any regulations in how we put forward our reviews

(thinks about Nate and yours truly's assessment of the Stockholm ZooTV show lol

)

germcevoy

16 years

Originally posted by WojBhoy[..]

That's what I forgot to mention - I just wonder whether Bono missed a trick or two over the last few years lol,

when they played it at Boston he says thats the first time we played that in 15 years

2005-1992 = 13 Bono

He does that a lot

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