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show
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performance
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audience
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sound
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overall
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2009-08-22 Cardiff, Wales
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Performance:
Outstanding. Half a star taken off for a slightly ropey voice in places and Bono needing to ask us to help him along.
Bootleg catches the performance well, full of energy and emotion.
Audience:
Ok, I'm biased, I was there, but an absolutely amazing crowd. Just listen to ISHFWILF.
Sound quality:
Overall it's pretty good - a little muddy in places, but not bad.
Almost ruined though by talking audience members near the taper - makes the first 4 songs virtually unlistenable to me.
Couple of jumps and bag opening/closing is all else.
Overall:
Fantastic end to the European leg and this is a decent document of it - full thanks to the taper. I do hope a clearer recording without the intrusive local audience emerges at some stage, but if not, this will do fine.
(Based on Iron Paddy recording)
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1985-02-05 Bologna, Italy
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Performance:
On fire. Very impressed. I don't have many UF boots and this one has perked my interest. Some outstanding performances of some classic songs and others that you don't hear any more.
Audience:
Very into this first ever (Really?? Wow - I had no idea about that!!) Italian crowd. Singing along to everything.
Not intrusive in the mix either
Sound quality:
For the age of bootleg this is very good indeed. It's not top-class, but a very good audience. Really it's a 3.5 I think if we're sticking to our rating rules (I never give an audience more then 4), but this will get a 4 due to the age and the overall impact. Plus that the audience doesn't intrude.
Overall:
If, like me, you are limited in your UF boots then get this one. It's a corker. If you love UF boots then you'll likely have it anyway, but do give it a listen. It's a keeper.
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2006-11-16 Adelaide, Australia
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Performance:
Decent 5th leg. I like the relaxed style of it and the band are on good form after their enforced break. Solid.
Audience:
Didn't quite do it for me - not a complete recording disaster to my taste, but nothing that outstanding either. We obviously couldn't hear the guys from our forum who were there!
Sound quality:
Maybe a little harsh, but I just didn't like it at all. I suspect a fair rating for the site is 3 stars. But for personal taste it makes the difference between a boot I would have kept on my harddrive and one that will be shipped to the back-up drive.
Overall:
A good listen if you're not fussy about the sound, but there are better equivalent gigs around. Nice to hear Desire though.
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2005-09-17 Toronto, Ontario
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Performance:
Good. Bono is a bit off key on occasion (especially right at the beginning with COBL) but otherwise they're all very good. As others have commented, Bono is in good cheer and whilst I usually hate the fact that he has a teleprompt, I did find the 'glass of water; comment before SYCMIOYO pretty amusing.
Audience:
Impossible to comment really
Sound quality:
Uggh. Like listening in a toilet while you have tinnitus. Really drags it down for me. IEM has never been anything other than a curio for me - as a listen-along boot I think they are awful. And this is not a good one (eg Saitama is). Pops, scratches, scuffles underneath the jacket, dropped songs. Really ruined the whole thing for me and I struggled to listen to all the songs in their entirety because of it
Overall:
Good gig let down by a bad recording. If you are not a fan of IEM avoid. This will not convert you. If you can bear it then it's a good curio listen, but nothing more. Keeping Discotheque and Fast Cars, deleting everything else as I have far better quality recordings available to me. Band were good though; it would be nice if a good audience ever turned up.
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1989-12-27 Dublin, Ireland
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Performance:
Stellar. Very much on top of their game and playing for their tribe....
Audience:
..... who responded in kind, Excellent participation and picked up well on the boot without interfering too much.
Sound quality:
There are slightly better (31st) but it doesn't get much better than this. Very clear, a hugely enjoyable listening experience, whether it be on iPod or Hi-Fi or in-car
Overall:
An essential download along with the other 3 Point shows. Let's hope the new Point sees gigs this good.
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1993-08-18 Cardiff, Wales
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Performance:
Good. Not great like many Zoo concerts, but certainly up there. Numb is poor, but Babyface, Desire, Ultraviolet, BTBS and Pride are strong.
Audience:
Slightly too much talking at times for my liking (in the quiter songs) and I couldn't make it so half a star off for that too!!
Sound quality:
Washed out and certainly the weak link in this bootleg. Numb is almost inaudible and there are skips in a lot of the tracks. Bass is non-existent. Listenable though.
Overall:
Good Zooropa performance but poor sound make this a collectors bootleg only.
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1987-07-08 Brussels, Belgium
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Performance:
I first listened to this boot months ago, upon the recommendation of you know who.....I remember thinking "that's quite good, I must listen to it again at some point. However, I didn't remember having my socks blown off as I was promised.
So when it came to this review, I was of a like mind to Harry. "It can't be that good, really. I'm going to be a picky little bastard and find every single flaw, dissect and destroy it",
So the first lines of each section of review will contain my picky little bastard notes.
Performance
Edge makes a wrong note during I Will Follow and one other song. Bono slightly forgets the words to I Still Haven't Found.
Really, that's it. This is quite simply the best band in the world on top of their game doing one of their very best gigs. It's not as well known (until now lol) as some other shows (Rock's Hottest Ticket, Sun Devil, LA, Paris), so it hasn't received the hype(until now lol....). It's better than all of those.
Quite honestly, it's hard to pin down why. Again, as with Harry, there are, individually, better performances of nearly all these songs, for me. But as a whole, it just works. I really didn't want to stop listening the three times I've listened for this BRT. I even put it on when I was awake at 1.30am this morning (long story...). Then the battery on my iPod ran out (I was playing Connect 4 as well.....).
Audience:
insert picky bastard comments here............ummm...........I have none......
Best audience (audibly) in a bootleg I've listened to. And that's from a guy that was at the Cardiff Vertigo gig.
Sound quality:
Dips a bit during beginning of RTSS. Cuts off suddenly at end of a couple of songs (noticeably TUF)
It's a 5 star audience recording, among the very best. The crowd don't piss you off with interfering talk etc and all 4 band members are clear. Stellar work from the recorder.
4 stars (to fit with rating guidelines here)
Overall:
I must have been in quite a bad place when I listened to this those months ago. Even my picky deliberations fell short. I listened to it twice more just because I wanted to.
Get this bootleg now. Stop reading the review and click on the download provider of your choice. Convert it as soon as the download is complete, get it on your portable device/burn to CD, find about 3 hours and listen (time allows for second listen that you will want to do, for sure).
Up there with the well known favourite shows of your choice. Entered my top 10 for sure (of any tour) and is now my number one JT boot.
As I've said, individually there are better performances of most of these songs for me (exceptions would be MLK, possibly TUF and probably SBS, which are going to replace their respective counterparts on my 'Best Of Live' compilations {previously from R&H, Paris JT and R&H respectively}. I will also note that WOWY is beautiful and probably, in agreement with Gerard, the best pure rendition I've heard.).
However, the sum is greater than it's parts, for sure. This is perfect U2 listening. You won't be disappointed.
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2001-08-27 Glasgow, Scotland
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Performance:
Enjoyed this. It's not their best on this tour, let alone ever, but there is a raw nature to this that is endearing. Bono had just buried his old man and is on top form. Chat to a minimum and genuine when it comes. Good playing by the other guys. Pretty standard Elevation setlist, so no real surprises.
Audience:
As usual for Glasgow, excellent. Very energetic and captured well on the boot. Knocked off half a star for talking during One and not knowing all the words
Sound quality:
Far better than advertised and very listenable. Again nowhere near the best but a good capture of a raw gig.
Overall:
Recommended. Nice little listen and if you like the Elevation Tour it's definitely one you should try.
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1992-05-07 Paris, France
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Performance:
I was expecting great things when I listens to this boot, buoyed by Harry's opinions. And, mostly, they were delivered. Very good performance. Especially Bullet, Wild Horses (best I've heard), Still Havent Found and the encore.
BUT
It's not great. Their are errors (wrong note in WOWY grates) and Bono's voice is sub ZooTV standard. He talks parts of Bad and Pride and bottles the high notes. Given the high standards on this tour, I took half a star for that.
And a whole star for an incomplete encore. Where are Desire and Ultraviolet?!?! Why??!!
It sounds like the band have come back on after Love Is Blindness (true?) but the bootleg fades out.
Audience:
Excellent. Vocal in all the right ways, great vibe.
Sound quality:
Occasionally washy but generally excellent.
Overall:
Audience and sound are fantastic. Better performances are available. And there is an (admittedly excellent) horribly truncated encore. Unforgivable.
A worthy listen and some songs will remain with me (Bullet, Horses and LIB). But not as a whole gig. Other European arena legs are superior (Milan, Stockholm).
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1997-07-02 Foxboro, Massachusetts
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Performance:
Average. Some good bits (Mofo, Discotheque, IYWTVD and HMTMKMKM spring to mind) and occasional surprises (Shine Like Stars in WOWY) do not make up for Bono hardly interacting with the audience and average performances of everything else.
LNOE was poor. I never got the intro bit (just get on with it), but it was flat as a pancake on this performance.
Audience:
For an American crowd, surprisingly vocal and some very good singlalongs in all the right places. They didn't seem to know the Pop songs very well.
But the talking....... Aaaaaarrrgggghhh!!!. During AIWIY especially, but also other quiet bits, there seemed to be a need for people to talk. Piss off to the bar if you don't want to listen, but don't spoil it for the rest of us. Brings the boot down severely for me.
Sound quality:
Good audience recording, bit wobbly in places, but generally good.
Overall:
It's a decent Popmart bootleg. If you're a fan of the tour, it's worth a listen, but don't expect to keep hold of it.
If you're looking for just a few Popmart boots, look elsewhere (Leeds, Sarajevo, Mexico, Santiago).
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1997-09-23 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Performance:
Bono's voice is ravaged. We all know this.
But the band excelled themselves here. Easily one of their best from the entire tour, they were really up for it.
Emotionally, one of the most exquisite shows you will ever listen to.
Audience:
Seeing as the singer had no voice, the band needed a decent audience.
The people of Sarajevo showed why it was worth everything the band went through to do a show here.
Carried the band (well, Bono) whenever it was needed and were hardly shabby the rest of the time. Just look at ISHFWILF/Pride to see what I mean
Sound quality:
Broadcast.
Perfect.
Overall:
Essential.
Along with Leeds and Mexico 2, this is the representation of the Popmart Tour.
Download now. Burn it to CD. Keep it in the car.
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1993-07-02 Verona, Italy
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Performance:
liked it. Individually there are better performances available from this tour of virtually every song, however I didn't sense the apathy of the band that other reviewers have. Zoo TV was rarely if ever poor and this is no exception. Enjoyable.
Audience:
Energetic. Interrupt the recording occasionally, but that's not their fault! Sing along well and overall added to the boot for me
Sound quality:
OK. It's perfectly listenable, nothing overly objectionable. The polishing by Steve certainly doesn't warrant the self-depreciation seen!!
Levels are not balanced however, the audience interferes on occasions and it fuzzes.
Overall:
It is not, ultimately, a failure of this show to deliver. I suspect the people of Verona had a great time. However, the show suffers in comparison to some truly startling bootlegs of the same tour, and, indeed, the same leg. Paris, Stockholm, Milan for example. Sound is infinitely superior in such boots, making the listening experience more pleasurable and individual songs have little nuances that heighten their standing compared to those here.
If you like ZooTV, give it a listen. But it won't stay on your iPod and may not stay on your iTunes depending on disk space. There's too many other superior ZooTV boots.
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2005-06-21 Glasgow, Scotland
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Performance:
Solid average Vertigo fayre. Bono's voice isn't too bad but it lurches from quite raspy to very nice. Band are technically excellent as always
Audience:
Don't seem into it from what's heard. Not compared to other European audiences. Quiet.
Sound quality:
Average. Nothing more, nothing less.
Overall:
Average fayre. London and Cardiff are far better in the same week. But try it for WGRYWH. Then delete it.
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2006-11-07 Brisbane, Australia
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Performance:
They would go on to do better in this leg; however 5th Leg is a standout of this tour and it does come together well. WOWY is listenable, which for a Vertigo boot is saying quite a lot. Kite must have given goosebumps to the audience, although it did go on to be bettered. Walk On is a nice inclusion. Otherwise, standard Vertigo fare, although performed solidly.
Audience:
Very intrusive on this recording, spoils the listening to me. But, very enthusiastic and clearly loving the show. And that's what this rating is for
Sound quality:
Pretty awful. I didn't enjoy this listening experience at all. Particularly when there are other. much better 5th Leg boots out there
Overall:
By all means give this a try, the performance is worth it. But the sound severely drags it down (I very nearly gave 3 stars just because of this) and makes it an uncomfortable listen. Much better 5th leg material is available and if you're limited to space or download options they would serve you better (Sydney, Saitama etc).
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1989-10-27 Adelaide, Australia
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Performance:
Good, solid Lovetown performance. Not the best of the tour, but hardly bad.
Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Sound quality:
Terrible. You can get through the gig, but it feels like a chore, not a pleasure.
Overall:
Good performance but bad sound mean you are better off looking elsewhere for your Lovetown boots (Point Depot, Rotterdam)
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1997-09-20 Reggio Emilia, Italy
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Performance:
Liked it. Not fantastic, but good, solid. I'm a fan of Popmart anyway so I will always like most shows.
Highlights:-
EBTTRT - "Ciao Reggio. Viva Italia...., viva Popmart, ... viva..... Bono!" B-Man on top form
Mofo - very good and I agree with Jeremy entirely about the hairs on back of neck thing.
Discotheque - excellent performance
One - very good performance. None of the extended guitar from early ZooTV, but everything else.
Please/Streets - as normal this was amazing.
Bono's voice was generally very good, especially compared to the next show (Sarajevo)
Poor bits:-
LNOE dragged and I will never like Miami, ever.
Not keen on the karoake either.
Otherwise, nothing.
Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Sound quality:
Right, first and foremost let me make a recommendation. Do not, repeat do not listen to this show through a cassette adapter in your car from your iPod. I did this and could barely listen; sucked, a lot.
So I gave it another go whilst walking the dogs with my Sennheisers - bloody fantastic by comparison.
Not 5 star by any means, needs changing to 3 or 3.5 in my opinion. No bass, poor drums and fuzzy occasionally. As others have said, no real impression of 150000 screaming Italians either.
But it's not bad
Overall:
Good listen. Just listen to it in the right circumstances.
There are better (Leeds, Santiago, Mexico, Sarajevo), but this is a solid, recommended 3.5 star listen
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1992-06-11 Stockholm, Sweden
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Performance:
+ WGRYWH - top-notch performance of a ZooTV rarity
+ Angel of Harlem / Dancing Queen - well, what do you expect with half of Abba on stage in their home-country!!
+ Ultraviolet without MacPhisto
Audience:
An insane crowd
Sound quality:
A 5-star recording worthy of it's status. Crisp, clear and very listenable.
Overall:
Arguably the best arena show of Zoo TV. Milan may challenge it and there are highlights in some of the American legs (WOWY in Washington, One in Tacoma), but as an overall record of '92 ZooTV you can't go wrong. Have this and Dublin 28/08/93 and you have the perfect record of this monster tour.
Essential. Download now.
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2001-10-10 South Bend, Indiana
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Performance:
Very good, but slightly short of great for me. I think they'd lost a little energy after the break and Bono was obviously still ravaged by his father's death. He struggles occasionally.
All performances are good. No weak songs. I've just heard them more inspired on other occasions; the little things that lift a concert to the greats (like the Zoo Milan show last week).
UTTEOTW was very strong. Two Tribes is a great snippet at the end.
Beautiful Day makes a great opener but I do prefer Elevation, especially a la Slane. Shakes it up a bit though which is good.
Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Sound quality:
I still had the old version on my iPod so I listened to that to start.It's good but has some horrible jumps during Kite, Angel of Harlem and Bad.
I wouldn't recommend that version, but you can't get it anymore from this site at least as the links have been replaced with:-
Hodel05's upgrade. Wow. Fuck me. Stunning sound. Up there with the best boots, broadcast quality
Overall:
You should definitely have this boot in your collection. It's now one of the best sounding for all tours and has a very good show in it. Just short of great as I've said but an excellent addition to any collection none-the-less
The historical aspect of this show cannot be ignored. Most bands cancelled their shows. U2 helped pull America back off it's knees just by being a rock 'n' roll band who cared.
I personally still prefer the three MSG shows and the 25th certainly sounds just as good as this but has a more inspired feel to it. So for that part of the tour I would recommend this show after those. And Slane is my favourite show of the whole tour but was outdoors so is not quite representative as a whole. Still places this show as my 5th favourite Elevation Tour recording though, which says a lot I think
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1981-02-01 London, England
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Performance:
Impossible to assess Adam as the bass is so washed out and fuzzy. Larry excels (does he ever not?). Edge is Edge (although it's not one of his best). Bono sucked rotten eggs. Seemingly couldn't be bothered.
Electric Co. is ok, I Will Follow is rarely bad. Early All Along The Watchtower but it got done much better later on.
Ignore the rest.
Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Sound quality:
I know this show is 27 years old nearly, but there is no excuse for the deeply sucky sound that this boot offers. All reviewers agree that this is at absolute best a 2-star recording. I personally found it unlistenable. Whatever you may think of the performance, the sound is a serious drag here
Overall:
Even if the sound had been better there would be little to commend this show. As it is there is nothing to commend it. Deleted off my iPod and iTunes already.
Far better Boy boots are available. Just one example would be 1981-03-06 - Boston, Massachusetts - The Paradise (2). Don't try this one.
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1982-12-01 Glasgow, Scotland
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Performance:
The band had obviously just upped their audience size a little and were enjoying that but it is still all just about the music and they did come across a little nervous at times. Hearing classics like SBS and New Years Day get their first, tentative, airings is very strange
As Bono says it's like alive rehearsal. That said, I thought the performance was strong. Many similar songs to the last boot; I Fall Down still grabs me and Electric Co. was also strong. Fire was better than last week's boot too but is still a weak song.
Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Sound quality:
For a 25 year-old boot this didn't sound bad at all. Chronic lack of bass as always but otherwise very good. As it is a soundboard this is to be expected though. Doesn't stand up to modern soundboards however, hence the 4 rating
Overall:
Overall I really enjoyed this boot and it is staying in my collection and on my larger iPod. Recommended.
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1989-10-16 Melbourne, Australia
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Performance:
Pros
Pretty much everything for me I have to say. I loved this show. In particular:-
Hawkmoon - Like fenderman I'd not heard this live before. Thought it was great.
Desire - very good
Bullet - Storming. Listened to it twice. Neighbours = LOL!
Streets - great opening - agree
God Part II - Very good
"40" - excellent
Cons
Not a lot
Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Sound quality:
When I tried the iPod I didn't like this. However, burnt to disc and in the car with a little bit of eq fiddling I didn't find it too bad. I've heard a lot worse. I'd give it 3 stars
Overall:
A top band on top form, clearly enjoying themselves. Excellent tour and this is a fun boot. I've not heard a bad Lovetown boot yet and this didn't disappoint.
There are far better quality recordings for Lovetown available (Point Depot obviously, Rotterdam) but users would be foolish not to give this a listen. You just need to chose your equipment carefully
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1987-07-15 Madrid, Spain
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Performance:
Very good. It's JT tour, so you know this and some songs go on to be done better (Bullet for me was not so good on this tour), some not so well ever again.
I picked out Streets, Electric Co. The UF, Spanish Eyes and "40" as standout performances. Not that the other songs were bad; they're all top-drawer, but these were especially good.
The band all feed off the energy of the huge crowd that others have mentioned. Bono especially, and he's in fine voice.
Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Sound quality:
Decent audience recording with an outstanding crowd make this a 3-star in my book. Some bits are better than others but it's very listenable, especially given the performance...
Overall:
A worthy addition to any bootleg collection, there are better JT boots that combine better sound quality with equal performance (see Gerard's review for ones from this leg; there's the Denver's of this world too also), but it was the biggest crowd ever for U2 at the time and that gives a little something to it.
It will stay on my iTunes and, for a while, my iPod too.
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1985-03-21 Chicago, Illinois
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Performance:
Bono's voice ranged from shit (The UF) to pretty good (Amazing Grace snippet during Electric Co.). Couldn't work that one out. He acknowledges after The UF that it's not working and struggles with Pride too, but didn't seem to struggle so much on other songs.
General band performance was good.
One of the better boots of recent weeks for me. I was pretty tired when I listened and it kept me awake which is a good sign.
It didn't blow me away though either - just very solid.
Nice to hear some songs we don't hear much done well - Wire for example. I thought Electric Co was very good as was '40'.
Nothing else has stuck in my mind though.
Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Sound quality:
Good boot this one, especially for the era. I thought during 11 o'clock it was bit ropey but it settled (that often seems to be the case?)
I did notice there wasn't much bass, had to boost that up a bit.
Audience very muted too; not sure if they were just quiet or not much was picked up by the taper
Overall:
I think this boot is a good UF boot, solid performances, except Bono's voice is poor on several songs
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1992-05-22 Milan, Italy
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Performance:
11. Yes, ELEVEN of the tracks from Achtung Baby played. Only Acrobat (what a real shame ) missing. Apart from snippets the first eight songs are from the album they were touring. That's confidence in your new material, and it showed. Stunning.
All the songs are great (as you may have guessed!), but the following stood out:-
EBTTRT. Full vocal on 'take me higher', not falsetto. Wow.
The Fly. Band outsung by audience. To be heard to be believed.
Bad. Variation within the main song then So Cruel as a snippet. OMG.
Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Sound quality:
A rare thing. Excellent audience where they augment the recording rather than irritate the listener, although some may find the clapping slightly irksome after a while. Laughable 3-star rating here should go up to 3.5 or even 4 stars. As good as it gets without soundboard etc really. Only slightly muffled in places.
My copy skipped slightly during Bad, but that may just be me.
Overall:
Get this bootleg. Now. Stop reading, click on the link above and listen. Then come back here and dare to disagree.
For some the best Zoo tour bootleg (yes, that includes you RDS Dublin and Sydney). Definitely the best overall '92 ZooTV bootleg. Others have individually stronger songs, but not the whole package like this.
Essential
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1992-08-16 Washington, District of Columbia
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Performance:
Highlights:-
+ Zoo Station, EBTTRT, UTEOTW. Blistering opening. One is strong but was better at other shows as mentioned above
+ "Ramp it up, come on, DC" in SBS - superb.
+ Superb Bullet
+ Excellent coda to Bad - especially Larry's drums. Didn't mind the backing track glitch at all; thought it was deliberate to start
+ "You know something, you're one fucking ugly son of a bitch" before an amped up Desire with the classic I have a Vision speech. Then followed by a classic phone call "The President of the United States isn't available to me?! Oh, I musn't be as important as I thought....... Watch more Television"
+ "I was all fucked up" in Ultraviolet - always welcome
+ WOWY - WOW. Nothing more to be said. My favourite recording of it, no questions. Stunning
+ LIB - also amazing
+ ie the entire encore is one of the strongest on the tour and ever performed.
Not so Good (warning - extreme pickiness alert!)
- Falsetto not as good in Mysterious Ways as other shows
- New Years Day messy for the first verse but rescued by the "1, 2, 3, 4" from Bono
- No "Hear Us Coming Lord" in One
- I missed the fish/bicycle in TTTYAATW - is it there at all?
Audience:
Default rating as no crowd noise present due to this being a soundboard recording.
Sound quality:
For a soundboard, very near perfection. Not quite up there with RDS Dublin on the Zooropa leg, but very nearly. Crystal clear 99% of the time with only a couple of lapses to my ears.
But you don't get audience noise, as others have mentioned, which may be a let down to some. I miss the feedback in certain songs (eg Angel of Harlem, Pride) that adds to the performance and feel. I'm sure it was there, just not on this boot.
Overall:
If you have this already, please get the new source, it's an excellent upgrade. Increases the listening pleasure significantly.
If you don't have the show, download it and give it a listen - it's a great and there's a couple of stunning individual song performances. There is better (as above) but this is Top 10 ZooTV for me, easily.
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1987-04-20 Los Angeles, California
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Performance:
Very solid. But like Gerard I was expecting more. I fell asleep listening to the boot which is not a good sign (although admittedly it was late).
Maybe expectation was too high compared to the Popmart boot but I actually got more out of that one.
I enjoyed Bad (great drumming) and I Shall Be Released. All the songs were ok, but should have been amazing as they are on other JT boots.
Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Sound quality:
Not a lot to add to previous posts really. I noticed the difference with this and Vertigo boots for sure, reflecting it's age. Streets was ropey sound but overall it didn't affect my listening to the show.
Nothing to pick out particularly good or bad.
Overall:
I listened to this only once (Thursday night) and it was on my laptop via headphones which didn't necessarily help matters. But given the trouble I had getting it this was better than nothing!!
I liked it but expected to love it and whilst it will stay in my boot collection it's not going on my iPod. I have better JT boots
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1997-04-28 San Diego, California
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Performance:
At times, there were some good bits. Best for me was the performance of Miami. Bizarre choice, as regular readers may know this is one of my least favourite songs. But this is the first time ever I haven't skipped the song and it wasn't because I was listening to it for the round table.
A lot of the songs were average. They just seemed to lack bounce and vitality. Not bad, but not good either for the bar that this band sets themselves. Bono seemed to keep needing to reassure himself that they were doing ok ("I like San Diego", "Are we doing alright?", "Can you hear us ok" etc). This has probably got a lot to do with the car crash that was Las Vegas the gig before (he even says at one point "Did you see what we brought you from Las Vegas?! This is like our first real show"). I couldn't work out if they genuinely felt it went ok or were just trying to convince the audience and themselves.
I liked the drums for Sunday Bloody Sunday at the end of Please too, but wasn't sure if this was intentional on Larry's part or a mistake? It didn't flow with the transition to Streets particularly well.
Bad points
Mofo - much prefer the arrangement used later in the tour,this was a weak start.
I Will Follow - Did Bono remember any of the words except I, Will & Follow?!
Do You Feel Loved? - A poor live song; love it on the album, glad they dropped it here
If God Will Send His Angels - Ditto
Staring At The Sun - worked better acoustic I think (but at least they performed it ok).
Generally Bono seemed to forget the words to nearly everything. His ad libbing was good occasionally and just poor at other times. The Edge made a couple of mistakes, missed vital riffs in Please certainly that I noticed but overall the rest of the band seemed solid.
Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Sound quality:
was on an iPod again and found the sound to range from very good to really quite poor. Some bits were very quiet (Do You Feel Loved, Mofo), other bits much better (later in the show).
Audience were intrusive at times and flat as a pancake a lot of the time (compare to the European and South American crowds)
I would personally rate it as 3.5 stars, not the 4 it gets here.
Overall:
It wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Not as good, by a long way, as they can and should be but not the total failure that other members of this forum and the U2 fanbase at large have written it off as. They still knock the socks off most other live acts even with an average gig like this. Trouble is they set the bar so high for themselves and us as fans that these sorts of things become more obvious and therefore less accepted. I can guarantee that had I been there and you add in the visuals etc that I would have been happy. Happier at other gigs later in the tour, but happy non the less.
That not with-standing, it will be a one time listen on my iPod and will be coming off. But it will stay on my iTunes library.
I hope the rest of you didn't completely hate it and got some value from it. Bring on the Joshua Tree next week.
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1992-08-23 Foxboro, Massachusetts
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Performance:
I'm going against the grain here and saying that really this show left me cold. Don't get me wrong, no ZooTV show is bad in my opinion (at least none I've heard). This one just lacked a little something for me - it was solid but not spectacular. There are many better boots available (although my knowledge of the American stadium section of the tour is limited, admittedly).
TTTYAATW was weak, AOH was messy and the start of the show was lethargic. They sounded relaxed and pleased to be in Boston, but I felt they were maybe a little too relaxed.
Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Sound quality:
Good, deserves the 4-star rating given here. Clean for all 4 players, faded a little for me on Zoo Station but after that no probs (this was on an iPod too)
Overall:
Caveat to this - I haven't listened to the whole show. I only downloaded part 1 and was so unimpressed that I didn't bother with part 2. Having read all your comments, I will go ahead and listen to the rest of the show and give a revised opinion in the week.
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2005-06-12 Gelsenkirchen, Germany
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Performance:
Negatives –
• Not so keen on Beautiful Day performance
• Miracle Drug isn’t great vocally and lacks a little cohesion (but the guitar is great, especially Edge’s solo), but that isn’t isolated to this boot. Probably explains why they dropped it for later legs.
• No Unchained Melody at the end of One which was a good feature at other concerts during this stage of the tour; BUT (see below)
• No “Shine Like Stars” on WOWY (not common on this tour though)
• You get Party Girl with absolutely no recollection of the lyrics by Bono!
Positives
• New Years Day is strong
• Love “No regrets, no tears goodbye” snippet at end of SYCMIOYO
• Edge’s guitar on LAPOE is some of the best I’ve heard
• Audience + performance during SBS is very good
• Very good Bullet, good snippets, but I can’t hear a Please snippet as listed on this site?
• Great little bits in Streets – “I love you Adam Clayton” and “Nice one The Edge”.
• We get ‘Do you hear us coming Lord” in One, which wasn’t usual in this stage of the tour
• Great The Fly
• Excellent snippet of My Sweet Lord at end of Mysterious Ways
• Audience excellent during WOWY
• You get Party Girl (Edge knows it at least!)!!
• I always liked the Vertigo encore (maybe because they did it at the show I went to!)
Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Sound quality:
Negatives –
• On headphones the sound flits from ear to ear occasionally which is off-putting.
• Audience noise is a little intrusive occasionally, especially on quieter songs eg One & Yahweh (singing wrong lyrics, talking during song etc)
• Edges guitar varies from being very prominent in the mix to a little quiet
• Bass is a little quiet
Positives
• Despite the above it is all very clear and one of the better boots of this part of the tour that I have heard.
• Bono is very clear at all times
• Larry is very clear
Overall:
Generally a great boot. Deserves its 4-star rating on here.
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