U2

[Pandemonium]

Edge and Adam guested with a U2 cover band yesterday.

That's so fucking cool.

We'll be going to Glasgow for the show on Nov 7. It'll be my wife's first U2 show, and probably our last. Should be great, despite the setlist.

You know, I don't think the current tour is their best mainly due to the heavy reliance on the new songs in the first half of the set, but it does have it's moments and judging from what I've seen and heard from the European leg, it's a better overall show then the two nights I saw in LA last Spring.

[Larry B.]

This little clip sent shivers down my spine. What a voice that was.

[Pandemonium]

Pretty awesome appearance by Patti Smith at the end of U2's 3rd show in London last night:

[Larry B.]

Last night's show was incredible. At one point I actually thought "these bastards... if I had the chance of seeing them again, I would." I don't know what they do or how they do it, but they always manage to grab my emotions by the balls and leave me drained.

I was also very lucky to get ALL the optional songs that I wanted to hear: Gloria (I'd been waiting my whole life for that moment), Desire, Angel of Harlem, Bad and 40. Their rendition of Where the Streets... was also very moving. That bit of Zooropa they do also touched a bit of my soul.

I don't know... it was so much better than I expected, or than what I would've hoped for. Bono's voice was great, the band as tight as always...

Could this be their last ever tour? When they said goodbye, Bono said "we will remember this."

[Pandemonium]

Last night's show was incredible. At one point I actually thought "these bastards... if I had the chance of seeing them again, I would." I don't know what they do or how they do it, but they always manage to grab my emotions by the balls and leave me drained.

I was also very lucky to get ALL the optional songs that I wanted to hear: Gloria (I'd been waiting my whole life for that moment), Desire, Angel of Harlem, Bad and 40. Their rendition of Where the Streets... was also very moving. That bit of Zooropa they do also touched a bit of my soul.

I don't know... it was so much better than I expected, or than what I would've hoped for. Bono's voice was great, the band as tight as always...

Could this be their last ever tour? When they said goodbye, Bono said "we will remember this."

Yeah, I read about your show on one of the U2 fan sites, you got a pretty good setlist. I do think they are capable of a couple more major worldwide tours over the next 10 years before they scale it way back to sporadic shows or just calling it quits but I do think they are on the cusp of becoming The Rolling Stones and just flogging the oldies and giving up on meaningful new material. I do think (and hope) the next leg or next tour they are going to cut down to maybe 2 songs max from the last album. You take away that big A/V presentation for the new songs on the first half of the set, and those songs just do not cut it compared to the dozens of other songs they could be playing.

Will be interesting to see if they actually can follow through in 2016 with the supposed "Songs Of Experience" album and another tour or if they'll go back in hibernation for a few years as usual.

[Larry B.]

Last night's show was incredible. At one point I actually thought "these bastards... if I had the chance of seeing them again, I would." I don't know what they do or how they do it, but they always manage to grab my emotions by the balls and leave me drained.

I was also very lucky to get ALL the optional songs that I wanted to hear: Gloria (I'd been waiting my whole life for that moment), Desire, Angel of Harlem, Bad and 40. Their rendition of Where the Streets... was also very moving. That bit of Zooropa they do also touched a bit of my soul.

I don't know... it was so much better than I expected, or than what I would've hoped for. Bono's voice was great, the band as tight as always...

Could this be their last ever tour? When they said goodbye, Bono said "we will remember this."

Yeah, I read about your show on one of the U2 fan sites, you got a pretty good setlist. I do think they are capable of a couple more major worldwide tours over the next 10 years before they scale it way back to sporadic shows or just calling it quits but I do think they are on the cusp of becoming The Rolling Stones and just flogging the oldies and giving up on meaningful new material. I do think (and hope) the next leg or next tour they are going to cut down to maybe 2 songs max from the last album. You take away that big A/V presentation for the new songs on the first half of the set, and those songs just do not cut it compared to the dozens of other songs they could be playing.

Will be interesting to see if they actually can follow through in 2016 with the supposed "Songs Of Experience" album and another tour or if they'll go back in hibernation for a few years as usual.

About the presentation of the new songs, I have to give it to them how they managed to make those songs entertaining, if only thanks to the visual aids. Their last album is absolutely skippable for me, and yet I found myself not entirely bored by those songs. However, the audience (ourselves included) had one clear dynamic: new songs, everyone sat down.

My wife also pointed out something that I thought was funny, how we got to the point where Vertigo is considered a classic. How the hell did that happen.

Here's Gloria, from www.u2gigs.com. Poor Adam, always the weak link and at 50+ years old still fucking up his "solo" in Gloria.

[Tyler Durden]

I love the new album.

[Tyler Durden]

I'm curious to hear U2 fans' thoughts on criticism of their rhythm section. I heard and read stuff saying that Adam and Larry are the most boring rhythm section in rock and roll.

While I can sort of see why people might say that, I disagree. To me, they are great precisely because they aren't "showy". They focus on song craft and what is going to make the song its very best. I'm not a fan of wankery.

[Larry B.]

I'm curious to hear U2 fans' thoughts on criticism of their rhythm section. I heard and read stuff saying that Adam and Larry are the most boring rhythm section in rock and roll.

While I can sort of see why people might say that, I disagree. To me, they are great precisely because they aren't "showy". They focus on song craft and what is going to make the song its very best. I'm not a fan of wankery.

I think U2 as a whole has gradually become musically boring, starting probably in ATYCLB with the songs Wild Honey and Walk On. The last album is very unremarkable in terms of musical novelty, as everything sounds very average, almost high school-like. What I mean by that is that any band could've come up with that rhythm section, those dynamics, the entire approach to the song. It's basically a background to Bono's increasingly lame lyrics, instead of being an entity that is sort of self-reliant, like it was the case in songs ranging from the Boy album to Pop, The Unforgettable Fire being the greatest example as an album. You remove Bono from the equation and it still sounds incredible. I think No Line on the Horizon and I'll Go Crazy if I Don't go Crazy Tonight are their last songs to have this quality. I remember watching interviews for How To Dismantle... and Bono said that he wanted to create a guitar-driven album, which U2 has never been. However, from that year and until today, U2 songs are guitar-driven and Bono's lyrics are created with a hip-hop feel to it, instead of the creative process he used to have in years past. That's what took U2 to a lower level.

However, I'd never say Adam and Larry are boring. They do the perfect job in a band that never relied on the guitar as a rhythmic (or even harmonic) part of the structure. Even in hits like Mysterious Ways or With or Without You, they drive the song forward with repetition and simplicity, without leaving anything amiss. Edge is playing like 2 notes in the entire song, and I don't even mean "chords": he's playing two notes.

Same thing in songs like The Fly, Lemon, New Year's Day, Sunday Bloody Sunday... you change one thing of what Adam and Larry are doing and those songs don't work.

In the last album, however, they play average stuff. You change one or two things in the rhythm section and it doesn't make a difference, because the song is just lame to begin with. They sound like unfinished demos.

Not a fan of wankery here either.

[Pandemonium]

I think back when they started out at the end of the 70's up through the end of the 80's Adam and Larry at least had a certain unique style. They weren't particularly musically proficient when they started out (and it could be argued they still aren't) but I wouldn't say they were boring back then. Larry's drumming really propels much of the "War" album and later 80's songs like "Where The Streets Have No Name." Adam's bass playing in a song like "Two Hearts" and "Bad" is really the lead instrument, it's different and compelling. I think where things changed dramatically is after the Zooropa tour and Adam's breakdown when the pair moved to New York and studied music and took lessons for a few years while U2 was off the grid. When they started using samples and loops in the mid 90's and especially when Larry had back surgery before they recorded the "Pop" album, you could hear and see the change towards a more generic style of playing with those two guys. Samples and loops took the pressure off the rhythm section in the studio and with each succeeding album and tour, Adam and Larry's playing has essentially grown simpler and simpler. Two songs where you can really hear this (de)evolution over the past couple decades at least with Larry's playing live is "The Fly" and "Streets" ....

[Tyler Durden]

A confession...

Like MANY people, I was never a fan of the song "Vertigo". Especially during the first year or two that Atomic Bomb was out and the song was inescapable. However, I don't know what it is...but like a light switch being turned on, suddenly 11 years later I am loving this song. I genuinely think it rips. I think I had to judge it outside of the "new U2 album" hype machine and the iPod marketing, etc.

Okay, go ahead...flog me...

P.S. Elevation is still horrible.

[Pandemonium]

So Patti Smith and Eagles Of Death Metal w/Josh will guest with U2 for the 12/6/15 rescheduled show in Paris. Unclear if EODM are opening or more likely, guesting w/Smith for an encore song, probably Smith's "People Have The Power." The 12/7 final show of the tour will be broadcast live on HBO.

[Tyler Durden]

So Patti Smith and Eagles Of Death Metal w/Josh will guest with U2 for the 12/6/15 rescheduled show in Paris. Unclear if EODM are opening or more likely, guesting w/Smith for an encore song, probably Smith's "People Have The Power." The 12/7 final show of the tour will be broadcast live on HBO.

I knew about Patti appearing. As for EODM, it doesn't come as a surprise. Good on Bono and the guys...I seriously don't get the cynical people who shit on U2 as human beings. They're straight up, damn good people.

[Tyler Durden]

[Bandit72]

Sky describe them as 'The Bataclan Band' which I thought was a bit off and odd.

Watch Bataclan Band Join U2 On Stage

http://news.sky.com/story/1601675/watch ... 2-on-stage

[Larry B.]

Bono remarked that "they were robbed of their stage three weeks ago, so we would like to offer them ours".

And so the final song of the show was played solely by EODM. I thought that was a nice gesture.

[Tyler Durden]

[creep]

he is quite the dancer

[Pandemonium]

The HBO broadcast was pretty good, U2 were in very good form. The sound mix was kind of timid compared to how fucking loud they were in person. Although they cut the two wild card song slots out of the set because they added the two tunes for the encore with Eagles Of Death Metal, it was still a satisfying set, especially with "Bad" at the end. One thing this broadcast (and countless times seeing the band live through the decades) reinforced is that "Where The Streets Have No Name" is probably one of the greatest, uplifting live rock songs - no matter how many times I see them play it even with occasional flubs and crummy intros (Bono speechifying, etc) the last few tours, it's still an amazing song live. It's funny, the original broadcast was supposed to run a little over 2 hours and my recording cut off right as EODM came on for the encore so I had to re-record the later showing with 15 minutes added to catch the whole thing. I give them big props for including EODM doing their song alone at the end of the show, they could have very easily just bumped it or faded to credits while they played.

[Tyler Durden]

Here's the televised version of the EODM's appearance...

[Larry B.]

One thing this broadcast (and countless times seeing the band live through the decades) reinforced is that "Where The Streets Have No Name" is probably one of the greatest, uplifting live rock songs - no matter how many times I see them play it even with occasional flubs and crummy intros (Bono speechifying, etc) the last few tours, it's still an amazing song live.

Absolutely. In Glasgow, as Zooropa faded into Streets I felt shivers down my spine, and by the time Bono started singing I was already crying.

[Pandemonium]

Looks like U2 is ready to fire up the machine in 2017, finally releasing the oft-delayed follow-up album to Songs Of Innocence, tour it, as well as playing apparently a short series of shows playing the entire Joshua Tree album first. Supposedly, the tour will start in Spring of 2017 to coincide with the 30 year anniversary of the release of The Joshua Tree with dates in the US before moving to Europe for Summer and the release of the new studio album. The bad news is, this will likely be an all-stadium tour.

[SR]

I know what 'made' them, and I know JT is universally understood to be their masterpiece, but for me U2 is October, Boy and War.

[blackcoffee]

I know what 'made' them, and I know JT is universally understood to be their masterpiece, but for me U2 is October, Boy and War.

Through my high school lens, Joshua Tree was the album that introduced U2 to everyone else, and suddenly short little ponytails were everywhere at my high school.

[kv]

I know what 'made' them, and I know JT is universally understood to be their masterpiece, but for me U2 is October, Boy and War.

they lost me with jtree but then again maybe we are just too old