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  1. From a historical standpoint, most of U2's tours since Zoo TV have featured at or around 50 different songs, so I don't think we should be thinking that this setlist is going to stick around for the entire tour. HOWEVER, I don't think the core feel of the show will change until they move into stadiums. Here's why:

    As the show is currently formatted, the first half consists of three large narratives: Innocence, Memories, and Loss of Innocence. Aside from the rotating slot of OoC and Electric Co, we shouldn't expect any of these songs to change because they are core to their respective narratives. This is the part of each concert that feels more like theater than an actual concert. The second half is where we have been seeing the most variation. Why is this significant? If you think about each U2 show as not a concert, but a production, it should be very obvious that the first half of the set requires the most choreography. You not only have heavy visual use, but also a lot of moving stage parts compared to the second half. I'd say the first half of and IE show requires more choreography than an entire 360 show. Because they've set up their stage in this way, I see it highly unlikely that they would change the identity of the portion of the show that most heavily utilizes the stage they brought with them. When they move on to stadiums, they may bring an entirely new set of stories with them.

    There are still some story lines in the second half of the show, featuring Invisible/EBTTRT, the two rotating e-stage songs, Bullet/Pride/BD/WOWY, COBL/Streets. But compared to the first half of the show, these stories are far less connected, even interchangeable. If we're going to see variation, it's going to happen here BUT it will require them to break apart these vignettes or find suitable substitutes to alter the story a bit. Adding Bad/The Troubles between BD and WOWY enhances that sequence of events, as an example. I think swapping Beautiful Day for Kite would also enhance that sequence.

    Again, this is assuming U2 wants to keep having narratives in the second half, but based on many responses here it seems like people are done with story time and just want U2 to play Acrobat. Ironically, if they decide to keep the first half as it is, but design the second half to consist of a majority of rotating spots, they would still be able to market the tour as a "two show experience" because the first half would feel like a polished narrative while the second half would be more of a raw concert.
  2. Originally posted by dylbagz:am i the only one who thinks that these SOI songs (maybe other than EBW) will struggle to ever get played again after this tour? i just can't see it happening
    Some of them might remain. Many of them won't fit, of course, but I can see The Miracle and EBW on future tours.
  3. Seeing how SOI is narrative dependent, I also think many will be dropped in future tours. Perhaps they will be put into rotating spots. I do agree that The Miracle and EBW and maybe even SFS will remain as staples.
  4. (discussion started on the Montreal thread)

    Originally posted by RattleandHum1988:I think the likelihood of certain songs sticking around highly depends on how much faith the band puts in the songs to begin with. The fact that they're only playing a little more than half of the songs is a little sad, I was really hoping to hear most of them. Like why aren't they playing California, Volcano, Reach Me Now at every show? They're fast and energetic and they have a lot of personality. The Troubles and Sleep Like a Baby, while would be cool to hear, to me never came across as songs they were going to play live anyway. Everything else though, GET THOSE IN THE SET! We'll never be able to see how the crowd takes to them if they don't even play them.
    I think they've been pretty confident so far in this material. Also I believe that there's a huge difference in how much they're willing to wager on these songs unlike the NLOTH songs... these ones are personal, are their songs; in No Line they were playing all these characters songs, so at the end it was not worthy to risk a bad crowd reaction in order to play this or that.
    But this time? if they die as a band playing their songs, their story, so be it.

    7 new songs fixed on the set (I'd say 8, The Troubles was supposed to be there as well but they really haven't been able to make it work - not because lack of confidence on it, I'd say), plus 3 or 4 on rotation so far? I think that's enough confidence on the new material.

    In an interview at the beginning of the tour he said that his role was to take notes throughout the whole show to see what could be improved or to see what wasn't working out, but I'm not sure how much he focus on the crowd reaction and for how many shows he was supposed to do that -maybe it was just the first 2 in Vancouver-.
  5. Originally posted by RattleandHum1988:I think it also depends on the song. If they're trying a song at the e-stage like Lucifer's Hands or Ordinary Love, they're definitely gauging the reaction of the crowd to see if they should keep playing it.

    Songs like Cedarwood Road, Song for Someone, Raised by Wolves, The Miracle, and Iris, I think those will most definitely stick around because they're an integral part of the show. Not only that, but they all got huge crowd responses in Montreal which I was pleased with. Hell, I was most excited to hear those songs and now I want to keep going back to listen to SoI again. Such a great album.
    Yeah, totally agree.


    Originally posted by RattleandHum1988:Every Breaking Wave needs a new arrangement or something. It was meant to be the huge ballad from the album and Song for Someone has easily taken that role and ran with it. It just has so much of a better presentation and performance to it that Every Breaking Wave and it's little piano campfire thing can't even keep up. It comes at a weird time in the show and it's not nearly epic enough as it should be, like how they played it on the promo tour.
    I agree to a certain extent.
    EBW was given a support role to make Bullet shine more. (similar to SBS for Wolves). I'd think that their thought process is that they don't care if EBW doesn't shine as long as it sets up the play for Bullet (which they have mentioned that it's the most important song in the set).

    I believe that our best chance to ever hear them play the album version would be in the next tour.
  6. I'd say The miracle will go the same way as Get on your boots. Sometimes you can't make it on your own is a superior song to Song for someone and that was dropped after one tour so that will go. All the others will go the way of Wire, Trip through your wires, God part 2, Trying to throw your arms around the world, Dirty day, If you wear that velvet dress, New York, Love and peace or else, Maginificent - i.e. key songs on their own tour but never more to be heard after it ends. Every breaking wave may stick around.
  7. "Future tours", eh? You guys are more optimistic than I am...I honestly think this may be their last. I do think they'll tour again next year once Experience is out, but yeah. If there was ever a tour to end on, I think this is it.
  8. Also, I gotta say it. I remember a lot of people talking shit about Iris when SoI dropped. If you can honestly say you've seen this show and not felt something during that song, you're crazy.
  9. Originally posted by RattleandHum1988:"Future tours", eh? You guys are more optimistic than I am...I honestly think this may be their last. I do think they'll tour again next year once Experience is out, but yeah. If there was ever a tour to end on, I think this is it.
    That was my thought as well, but didn't wanted to voice it out .

    Either way, every tour / every album, it becomes harder and harder to win a spot in the set list, not even talking about a regular much less a fixed spot on it.
    This album has the advantage of being too personal for them (Cedarwood, Iris, Miracle, Wave, SFS), so maybe that buys them one or two spots in the future.

    Also, I wouldn't be surprised to see Wolves remaining on the setlist in a possible future tour, there's always room on the setlist for a heavily political song, and Wolves fits the requirements.
  10. Originally posted by RattleandHum1988:Also, I gotta say it. I remember a lot of people talking shit about Iris when SoI dropped. If you can honestly say you've seen this show and not felt something during that song, you're crazy.
    I don't think I was posting here about it, but I've always felt Iris was one of the weakest points in the album, basically because the "hold me close" line always felt awkward for me. I loved the 3rd third of the song, though.

    But yeah, live it works perfectly. The "hold me close" line sounds very natural when sang live,

    For me:
    Cedarwood = awesome in studio, awesome live
    Wolves = great in studio, awesome live
    Iris = so-so in studio, great live
    Miracle = mediocre in studio, great live
    SFS = so-so in studio, ok live
    Wave = great in studio, ok live
  11. I think it's hard to tell that sort of thing this early in the tour. You'll see more hints of that around the last set of shows to see what they're still playing. What were they still playing by the end of 360? Boots, Magnificent, Crazy Tonight, and Moment of Surrender. I feel like we will see at least one of those at some point in this tour, but yeah. There came a point when you could tell they were playing it out of obligation. I can honestly remember the lack of crowd reaction to any of those songs, except maybe Magnificent.
  12. Replace Streets for Hawkmoon (with the long Sydney intro).
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