E&I Tour - General topic

Originally posted by Jeef690:Does anyone know if the band rehearsed Little Things at all on this tour? Has anyone asked them why they haven't played the track?

Originally posted by Remy:[..]
They haven't. And can't recall.

I think thematically its the perfect bridge between Innocence & Experience, hence why it made sense on the JT tour. It just doesn't fit on this one from a narrative point of view.

Originally posted by RattleandHum1988:Just because I can't help jumping into a debate:

I saw the current tour in June in Montreal. If I had known how much of the setlist and production was the same from the 2015 shows - I wouldn't have bought a ticket. You could argue this is my own fault as I chose to go in blind, but...is it? Wouldn't U2 prefer that I do that? Why should I be informed to the point of being spoiled on a show to make a fair decision as a customer?

I'm super happy that they've changed the setlist now, and I'm super happy for those that get to see it, but yeah - I'm disappointed it wasn't like this when I saw them - but this is different from people getting disappointed in a setlist changing over the course of a tour.

Why? Because when U2 go out on a NEW tour and promise that it'll be "the same stage, but the experience show instead" - I'm expecting a change like what we're seeing in the setlists now. The shows back in June were kinda bullshit (for those that already paid to see the Innocence show) in that they were very similar, and while I'm not asking for my money back or anything, I wouldn't have hesitated at that time to tell U2 it was crappy of them to do that - to not change the setlist much at all, and to use the stage/screen the same way for so many of the songs as they had already done.

In my opinion, it did feel rushed, it did feel lazy, and there should have been more time taken to create a different show. The show as it is now (or as it's becoming as it still seems to be developing which is awesome) should have been the show that STARTED earlier this year. Guaranteed if this was the case, and if by now in Europe they were playing Pop tunes, people wouldn't be angry they weren't getting to see them. Sure they'd be sad they didn't get to hear them, but there's a difference between that and feeling like you were conned into paying to see a show you had already seen two years ago.

Now, some have made it clear they were perfectly happy with that, but enough people around here and who I personally know who saw both shows (and these people aren't setlist-grubbers, they're casual fans at best) were pretty disappointed about it.

Willie mentioned that U2 don't want any of the same songs in this DVD (being filmed at the END of the tour) as was on the Paris DVD. That should have been the mindset in creating this show from the beginning. Especially because they used the exact same stage setup.

Originally posted by RattleandHum1988:[..]
And despite the fact that U2 is far and beyond my favourite musical artist (no question, no discussion, period end of story!), I can't agree, so you're right - agree to disagree. I've seen a ton of concerts that blew me away (none so much as U2 of course), but maybe that's why when U2 disappointed me a little bit, it disappointed me the most. When _______(insert other artist I like) disappointed me, I'm not as bummed because they're not my lifeblood. When U2 disappointed me, I guess it just hit me hard.

Originally posted by WideAwakeBadBoy:I think the band has missed a trick here - possible unpopular opinion coming up but hear me out:
- First, the band absolutely nailed it in the first few shows with the opening set - great transition from LoH into BD, 2 rotational slots (2 from ABOY, Gloria and RFD) and the ending of the act SBS-RBW-UTEOTW is an absolutely sublime ending - the only thing I'd have changed was not playing LIAWHL and using the Great Dictator speech - it works just as well for the US at the moment as well as Europe with the divisive nature of the 2 political landscapes
- Second, if we have to have Elevation then I suppose the Influx intro is the best way do it, but I'd take EBTTRT as in 2015 with the transition from the screen to the E stage; that was fantastic - alternatively, as people have pointed out, Little Things is the perfect gap from innocence to experience so I think it could've worked well here too
- Then we have to have the kinda Happy Meal section but I'd keep Desire, and Acrobat is a great high for the show
- Next, both Summer Of Love and SATS work into Pride, then keep this section with either American Soul or NYD for the US/Europe
- Then the ZooTV section would work great here as the encore opener - Dirty Day, Zoo Station, The Fly, Stay, WGRYWH
- Then play One, LIBTAIIW, 13, whatever, maybe get Bad in there
So I guess my ideal setlist for this tour would be:

Intro (PA) - It's A Zootiful World/MRI/The Great Dictator
1. The Blackout
2. Lights Of Home
3. Beautiful Day
4. I Will Follow
5. All Because Of You
6. Gloria
7. The Ocean
8. Iris
9. Cedarwood Road
10. Sunday Bloody Sunday
11. Raised By Wolves
12. Until The End Of The World
-Intermission-
13. Even Better Than The Real Thing (à la 2015 version)
14. Desire/Mysterious Ways/When Love Comes to Town (could have a real groovy MacPhisto speech thing going on during WLCTT - like the Sirius XM version)
15. Acrobat
16. You're the Best Thing About Me (acoustic)
17. Staring At the Sun/Summer Of Love (rotation)
18. Pride (In the Name Of Love)
19. Get Out Of Your Own Way
20. American Soul/New Year's Day (US/Europe)
21. City Of Blinding Lights
-Encore Break-
-Women Of The World (PA)-
22. Zoo Station (with drone intro fade in from WOTW - like on Vertigo with the Babyface guy intro)
23. The Fly
24. Dirty Day
25. Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
26. Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
27. One
28. Love Is Bigger than Anything In Its Way
29. Bad
30. 13 (There Is A Light)
Long post, long ideal setlist but I think they could've managed it easily if they hadn't done TJT 30 tour last year and so they wouldn't have been so exhausted - then again, if they hadn't done it then there would definitely have been some JT songs in this set - make of that what you will

Originally posted by LikeASong:[..]

Amen to that as well, Alex. My disappointment after U2's arguably-amazing Croke Park show last year was so big that I seriously considered resigning as U2start crew member and actually not seeing them again. And yet I'm sure 99% of the 85,000 in the stadium left thinking it had been one of the best shows in their lives.

Originally posted by andybrock:30 songs??
Really