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  1. Originally posted by CMIPalaeo:For me, "40" is in its own category anyway. It's not like the other closers, it's "40." It's THE show closer. Personally, I'd rather hear LIB or MOS as a show closer, but I'm also completely certain that if I was at a show and they played "40" to close, nothing would be better. It's sort of its own thing - its own sort of spiritual category, not just because of its religious basis, the song itself is its own entity in the U2 world. I don't think "40" could be compared to the other songs that they use to close, not because it's just incalculably better -- there are barely any songs (by U2 or any other artist) that are better than some of the songs in the poll (LIB, MOS, One) and "40" certainly isn't a better song than those. But it's a different song. It's a new song. "40" is just a touch unlike everything else in U2's catalogue. One of my favourite performances of it (at the Dortmund Unforgettable Fire show) has Bono preface it by saying 'this song is yours, this song is "40".' And that is a really powerful thing to say, it's always stuck with me. "40" is our song. It's not the band's song, it's the crowd's. There's just something about it.

    So just my thoughts at the moment. I'm really glad this wasn't a poll that asked 'what's your favourite show closer?' and included "40". Because I'd be torn in answering. Sure I LIKE Love Is Blindness and Moment of Surrender much much better - heck, they ARE better - than "40," but like I said... "40" is "40" and it means so much to us, the U2 fan family, that I always think it will occupy I special place all its own.
    Preach. I'm not sure I could word that better.
  2. Originally posted by CMIPalaeo:For me, "40" is in its own category anyway. It's not like the other closers, it's "40." It's THE show closer. Personally, I'd rather hear LIB or MOS as a show closer, but I'm also completely certain that if I was at a show and they played "40" to close, nothing would be better. It's sort of its own thing - its own sort of spiritual category, not just because of its religious basis, the song itself is its own entity in the U2 world. I don't think "40" could be compared to the other songs that they use to close, not because it's just incalculably better -- there are barely any songs (by U2 or any other artist) that are better than some of the songs in the poll (LIB, MOS, One) and "40" certainly isn't a better song than those. But it's a different song. It's a new song. "40" is just a touch unlike everything else in U2's catalogue. One of my favourite performances of it (at the Dortmund Unforgettable Fire show) has Bono preface it by saying 'this song is yours, this song is "40".' And that is a really powerful thing to say, it's always stuck with me. "40" is our song. It's not the band's song, it's the crowd's. There's just something about it.

    So just my thoughts at the moment. I'm really glad this wasn't a poll that asked 'what's your favourite show closer?' and included "40". Because I'd be torn in answering. Sure I LIKE Love Is Blindness and Moment of Surrender much much better - heck, they ARE better - than "40," but like I said... "40" is "40" and it means so much to us, the U2 fan family, that I always think it will occupy I special place all its own.


    In an ideal U2 gig, we'd be able to say "Oh yeah, they closed the show with Moment of Surrender (or whatever your ideal show closer is) and then they played 40." To me, this almost makes me wish they would never "replace" a show closer with 40, but instead just add it on as an extra something to send off the crowd. Granted, it messes with the whole ritual of "let's bow and give people opportunities to take group pictures" and so on, but the experience of seeing the band leave one member at a time is something that I feel is uniquely U2.
  3. Moment of Surrender, when I listen some 360 concert, when they closed with this song, I feel good, with peace, very good way to close a show... Love is Blindness is great also, but different sensation, isn't the same vibe, but both are great
  4. Originally posted by CMIPalaeo:For me, "40" is in its own category anyway. It's not like the other closers, it's "40." It's THE show closer. Personally, I'd rather hear LIB or MOS as a show closer, but I'm also completely certain that if I was at a show and they played "40" to close, nothing would be better. It's sort of its own thing - its own sort of spiritual category, not just because of its religious basis, the song itself is its own entity in the U2 world. I don't think "40" could be compared to the other songs that they use to close, not because it's just incalculably better -- there are barely any songs (by U2 or any other artist) that are better than some of the songs in the poll (LIB, MOS, One) and "40" certainly isn't a better song than those. But it's a different song. It's a new song. "40" is just a touch unlike everything else in U2's catalogue. One of my favourite performances of it (at the Dortmund Unforgettable Fire show) has Bono preface it by saying 'this song is yours, this song is "40".' And that is a really powerful thing to say, it's always stuck with me. "40" is our song. It's not the band's song, it's the crowd's. There's just something about it.

    So just my thoughts at the moment. I'm really glad this wasn't a poll that asked 'what's your favourite show closer?' and included "40". Because I'd be torn in answering. Sure I LIKE Love Is Blindness and Moment of Surrender much much better - heck, they ARE better - than "40," but like I said... "40" is "40" and it means so much to us, the U2 fan family, that I always think it will occupy I special place all its own.
    Amen - and that's why we didn't include it among this poll's options
  6. closing with Kite in 2006 for the Aussie shows was pretty amazing, MoS gave me similar feels.
  7. Originally posted by RUMMY:[..]

    I see your point but I never really thought of Love Is Blindness as a downer. It was more of ....an calm exhale.

    Namaste.


    a calm exhale? more like a dying breath after excruciating heartache
  8. ohh yes it was AMAZING but yeah MOS does it for me.
  9. Vertigo was also very cool as a closer IMO
  10. definitely! it was the closer on my first u2 show edge left the guitar ringing on the floor and you could hear bono call "hello? hello???" and then they were gone. awesome stuff.
  12. Yeah I have a soft spot for Vertigo too since it was the closer of my first show back in 2005. It wasn't that bad of a closer, probably better than a good bunch of other closers they've had through the years.

    My main problem with Vertigo closing is that they had previously played it as the 1st or 2nd song of the show already!!!