Originally posted by iTim:Review for Daly City, California.
Performance
Many argue that there's no better way to start a show than with Where The Streets Have No Name. I don't think there's a better way to start a Joshua Tree show that's for sure. Tonight's show, in Daly City, is right in the middle of the first North American leg and the band sound like they are well into the groove by now. Each member is spot on with the delivery of Streets and this can only provide the base for an excellent show. Immediately upon finishing Streets, they rip into the fan favourite from their debut album, I Will Follow. Expectedly, the band nail it and the crowd love it. Continuing to pull out the big hits, I Still Haven't Found What I'm looking For follows on. Bono sounds in perfect voice, the rest of the band seem to be in perfect form. Lovely snippet of Exodus at the end too, one of my favourites. In a throwback to the previous tour, MLK provides the perfect introduction to The Unforgettable Fire. I've always been of the opinion that The Unforgettable fire was played better during this tour than on the tour for its respective album. From the moment those first notes are heard, it's four minutes of shivers. The Edge sounds amazing, he always does, but it's Bono's vocals that steal the show. Powerful delivery.
Bullet the Blue Sky imposes itself on the show now, after a fairly subdued evening, this is the first full on rock song for me. Driven by Larry's drumming, it really is a song that gets in your face. I'm all for it, excellent performance. Once it's hit it's peak, bang! Everything comes crashing down to the sound of Running To Stand Still. Another chance for Bono to show how good his voice is at this stage of his career. Simply perfect. No other words to describe it. As Bono tells us that the world revolves around Ireland, we can hear the simmering sound of the next song. A live classic from previous album, A Sort of Homecoming. The crowd love it and I love it. Another powerful performance, particularly from Bono. Sunday Bloody Sunday picks up where Bullet the Blue Sky finished off. Energetic, loud, thumping. Simply nailed. This is one of the songs where The Edge really shines as the backing vocalist. Now, it's one of my favourite songs from The Joshua Tree and a song that really explodes when played live, Exit. Absolutely love the snippet of Gloria at the end too. A thoroughly enjoyable performance.
In God's Country moves us along nicely. Bono messes up in the first verse, forgetting the words it seems. The highlight of this song will always be The Edge's guitar. Bad is up next, begins with the usually story of the songs background and moves into a typical lengthy performance. Rounded off with the common snippets, Ruby Tuesday and Sympathy for the Devil. Bono encourages the crowd to join in and they oblige. The Edge moves over to his piano for October, building up to the next big hit, New Year's Day. If the crowd love October, just wait until they hear what's coming next. As you'd expect, the Cow Palace erupts. Now it's Adam's time to shine. In truth, they all shine. Perfect build up to arguably U2's greatest hit until now, Pride. Great way to end the main setlist.
Opening the encore is With Or Without You. Exceptional performance and exceptional snippets at the end. Tonight was worth it for this alone. The band then aim to send the audience home with a spring in their step with Gloria, not Van Morrison this time. It's well executed as you'd expect with an old favourite. It would be a really good way to end the night, if it wasn't for '40'. This really does close the set down perfectly. Bono's additional vocals in the song are worth hearing.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Audience
They're well up for it. The love to hear the little songs as much as the big hits, cheering and clapping throughout. They join in with the singing as well. Can't ask for much more, just a shame they're a little quiet and muffled in the audio.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Sound
A little muffled but it doesn't stop the overall enjoyment of this show. The Edge's guitar rings through, Larry can be heard quite clearly and it's no trouble picking out Adam's baselines. The audience also come through well, though they'd sound much better in a cleaner recording.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Overall
Overall, it's an almost faultless show. The band are really into the swing of things, each track is more or less played excellently, the crowd are really up for it and the sound is good enough to enjoy the show. Of course, the sound could be better, but don't let that ruin the show too much.
Highlights:
- I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
- The Unforgettable Fire
- Running To Stand Still
- A Sort of Homecoming
- Exit
- With Or Without You
Lowlights:
- The sound
Rating: 4 out of 5
Bullet was surprisingly powerful for a J Tree performance. It was always an underrated song before Zoo TV. And then of course, Running to Stand Still. What else could follow Bullet the Blue Sky? There’s always a drop of emotion that goes along with this song, and this version doesn’t disappoint. Epic conclusion to this part of the set.
Really, really enjoyed this. Putting Exit after that performance of SBS is genius. A somber, powerful, punchy note following a strong song. What a performance it was too.
