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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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1992-02-29 Lakeland, Florida
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Performance:
My type of show. Ballsy and fun. Large amounts of faith in the new material, I could never have saw so many new songs going down well with an American crowd but it went so well. It's great to here ZooTV at such an early stage and trying to find its feet.
Performances were great and energetic. No opening night disasters, in fact this is probably the most impressive opening night i've heard from any tour. Every song is a hilight but special credits go to Wild Horses and Ultraviolet. Both hard songs to play I would have imagined. This is Lovetown but more fun.
Audience:
Very good. First US show in 5 years so they were understandably upbeat. They were no doubt not too chuffed by the amount of new material but they lifted the roof for the old classics. Good job.
Sound quality:
Not stunning but a nice recording to my ears. Good through headphones. Doesn't sound like a master and lacks a bit of clarity. Bass in particular is a bit muddy. Some channel switching throughout. Good recording though.
Overall:
A great start to ZooTV. It went on to become so much more but these early gigs are effing fantastic. A must.
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1993-08-08 Glasgow, Scotland
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Performance:
Proper Zooropa show that sets itself away from the typical standard ZooTV gig. Zoo Station to Until The End Of The World is by in no time and in fantastic fashion. Great energy overall. Numb, Stay and Zooropa make a good combo though neither song is fully nailed imo. RTSS into Streets is amazing this gig.
Fun little attempted phone call to John Major.
Negatives :
That Sarajevo link up just completely sucks the life out of the show. The silence from the crowd is eerie. Luckily Bad was there to rescue it mostly. Encore also lacks WOWY
Audience:
Great Scottish crowd. There aren't many sing along moments in the setlist but they make themselves heard when they can.
Sound quality:
I listened to the lossless DAT source and it is fabulous. Great clarity and balance from all 4 band members. Really worth having.
Overall:
Great capture of the band moving from ZooTV into Zooropa. Brilliant gig overall
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1993-05-10 Rotterdam, Netherlands
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Performance:
Love it love it love it. This is the band just having fun. It's Bono's birthday and I have a suspicion that the drink may have been flowing before the boys took the stage and it makes for a great great show. It just flows and has a great overall mood and vibe to it. There is something about U2 and this venue that always resulted in a great show from Joshua Tree through to Popmart. Hopefully they return one day. Loved the My Girl snippet during Angel Of Harlem (one of the best snippets to ever grace a U2 song imo). Also great was the lyrical muck up during One. I Will Follow was mighty fun in its new guise - slow and acoustic. Really really worth a listen.
Audience:
It's U2 - It's Rotterdam - It's full of Dutch folks. The recording doesn't give them their justice but you can just tell they were great. I've also happened to have watched a DVD of this show and they crowd are fantastic.
Sound quality:
I listened to the 'Bono's Birthday Party' recording in lossless and it's just brilliant. Clear vocals, drums and guitar. Lacks a tiny bit on the bass but even a shitty mp3 player can rectify that. No clappers or screamers in the audience either. Brilliant.
Overall:
Will take a treasured spot in my top 10 bootlegs ever. Great show, great recording, great tour. Just great
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1987-07-10 Rotterdam, Netherlands
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Performance:
Great showing from the boys. They always deliver in Holland. This performance can't match the stratospheric heights reached 2 nights before in Brussels but is excellent none the less. Can't be faulted at all. Standouts include Streets and Running To Stand Still
Audience:
Only those around the taper can really be made out but just because it's Rotterdam and the fact that the crowd the next night were brilliant we can rest assured that the crowd here were super.
Sound quality:
Pretty good audience recording. A bit harsh sounding and plenty of clapping etc but a good listen none the less. Stick with it for a great performance.
Overall:
Another great show from one of the greatest weeks the band has ever put out on tour.
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1993-06-04 Munich, Germany
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Performance:
Something about this performance gets me. There's nothing outstanding but everything is excellent. Nice and smooth from the band, tight performance and just a great all round mood. I Will Follow and Sunday Bloody feature in the same set. Just give it a try. It's brilliant.
Audience:
Hard to judge with this recording but i'm sure they were brilliant.
Sound quality:
Great great great recording. Up there with the Wembley nights series. Brilliant clarity from all 4 members, stunningly clear bass. Just an awesome audience recording. Audience noise is minimal. One of the best recordings from this tour.
Overall:
Great performance, great sound, slightly shaken up setlist, great mood. Instantly one of my favourites from 1993. Highlights have to be the Redemption Song, One and Mysterious Ways.
Highly recommended
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2009-07-25 Dublin, Ireland
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Performance:
A performance I coudn't appreciate at the time due to so so audio in the seats I had. I could visually see that the band were on super form but couldn't go through it with them as I might have had I been in GA. Recently picked up a DVD of the gig though filmed from a better spot than II was in and I was able to relive the gig. Fantastic all round. Adequate shake up in the setlist from the previous night with Mysterious Ways standing out nicely. Just a great gig, great mood. Particularly love the moment where Bono waves and says 'Hi Edge' when he is out on the catwalk. A great Saturday night
Audience:
Not as loud as i'd have like but i'm picky.
Sound quality:
Not at all bad. Taper is a little hard on himself. An enjooyable listen.
Overall:
Hard to split this from the other Dublin nights. They gave it their all, enjoyed themselves, great atmosphere. Mysterious Ways was great and everything else was as it should (+ a half)
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2009-06-30 Barcelona, Spain
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Performance:
Still the show of the tour by my reckoning. Fantastic enthusiasm and gusto from the boys thats clear to hear on the bootleg. Unknown Caller was ropey, One was a pleasant shambles but everything else was bloody great. Best Breathe, NLOTH, Crazy and Ultraviolet to date. Top job
Audience:
90 thousand of us, all noisy, all bouncy. Great bunch of people. Was great to have been one of them.
Sound quality:
edomedo source. Absolutely fantastic audience recording. Clear as day and packing some great punch (especially during Crazy Tonight). Some clappers nearby at times but they never get intrusive. Recording only matched by Berlin and Dublin 3
Overall:
great performance, opening night nerves and energh, huge and up for it crowd and all brilliantly captured on tape by edomondo. A great one to have
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2009-07-27 Dublin, Ireland
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Performance:
I had written this show off as the weakest f the 5 I had attended. But the more I listen to the stunning bootleg, the more I appreciate it. Yes Bono's voice was close to breaking but that voice works for the majority of songs (not Stay though). Massive energy from the opening 4 songs), a tour debut with New Year's Day, Stay and the best Ultraviolet to daye. Great gig. Bad was a little uninspired though
Audience:
Best crowd of the 3 Dublin nights. Great atmosphere, endless Mexican Waves, noisy, active.
Sound quality:
Like the tapers Milan 1 recording. The Mics are amazing. Great clarity, great punch. Best bootleg of the tour
Overall:
Must have bootleg. Great atmosphere, recording and performance. Possibly the best of this tours Irish shows. Get it
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2009-07-24 Dublin, Ireland
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Performance:
Propere pumped up. Not quite sure it tope either of the Bracelona shows I attended but they did great. Bono was up for it, there was a great mood to the whole thing. Made me proud to be Irish. Great shaken up setlist and an impromtu performance of The Auld Triangle that just delivers gooosebumps. Bono ripped his voice up to deliver a great version of Bad and everything else was spot on. Better than Barcelona though? Not sure. . .
Audience:
After the spectacle and the madness of the Spanish in Barcelona, I really thoought the Irish would have turned it on. They didn't. The stadium was literally half empty with 5 minutes to go before the band came on and people were still entering during Magnificent!! GA area seemed mostly up for it but thoose in the stands couldn't reallly get into it. Fair play to Bono for stayinng pumped up with limited feedback.
The crowd did great during The Auld Triangle though. Not enough Irish in the house. . .
Sound quality:
The Mics seem a little overworked on this recoording and seemed to struggle with the volume from the stacks. Nice atmoosphere to it though and a good souvenir of the show. Thanks to the taper
Overall:
Great performance, goood recording, average crowd, great setlist. Auld Triangle a standout hilight.
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2009-07-02 Barcelona, Spain
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Performance:
First night jitters and nerves no longer present. I wished they were though. A nervous show is more enjoyably to my ears than a polished one. Not as good as night one but still a great gig. Loved seeing it from high up seats rather then GA. Great atmosphere, great crowd, tour debuts of Desire and Party Girl and the only performance of the album version of Crazy Tonight to date. Plus the world premiere of Electrical Storm. Brilliant show, not as good as the opener though.
Audience:
GA were rocking, seated folks were noisy but rather statiic.
Sound quality:
I went for the Bedoc source. So nearly a 4 but et down by the clappers etc. Slightly muffled, lacking clarity. Good recording though.
Overall:
Electrical Storm debut is what its all about here.
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2009-07-11 Paris, France
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Performance:
Band unwilling to push the envelope out during this one. A tight yet stanndard performance. Not an awful lot of crowd interaction by Bono but the crowd did seem pretty stale. Bottom of the list of shows so far
Audience:
Judging by the recording, they were pretty poor as a whole
Sound quality:
Nice little recording. Nice and clear with all instruments and Bono's vocals getting a good share of the mix. The GA location of the taper means the od d random shouter and the inevitable clapper are clear. They are quiet during the actual songs for the most part though.
Overall:
Performannce and recoording mixed together gives a 3.5 star rating foor mysellf. The crowd didn't get into it enough for my (and probably the bands) liking, so the performance suffered. Short and standard setlist (for the tour so far) leads to a fairly forgettable bootleg experience. Hit or miss
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2009-03-11 Somerville, Massachusetts
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Performance:
Awesome little gig. Best of the promo tour so far. Boots was Boots, not much to shout about. Magnificent showed a bit of potential, good feedback from the crowd. Breathe and Vertigo were both top notch. Best of the lot was Crazy Tonight though. Bono just nailed the hell out of it, the crowd loved it, I loved it. Great little gig. Q&A was shit
Audience:
Great reaction from the crowd to the new songs
Sound quality:
Solid FM recording. I have heard better broadcasts but this can't be faulted.
Overall:
Top notch. New songs being performed and recieved well.
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2009-02-03 Dublin, Ireland
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Performance:
Great early rough run out for the title track. Bono gets the vocals right. Edge clearly hadn't fully worked out the guitar sound at this time but does a good job. The 1 second pause before 'i'm a traffic cop. . .' was awesome.
Audience:
No audience present
Sound quality:
TV broadcast so quality is great. Not enough volume though
Overall:
Boots is a song I don't care for but loved the debut of the title track. Should become a live gem
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1987-07-08 Brussels, Belgium
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Performance:
Ahhhhhhhhh where to start. Quite simply the best U2 concert of all time. Flawless. I've had phases with all U2 eras but this one gig is the one that stands out above all of the rest (Red Rocks and Point Depot included). I was never a massive fan of JT Streets but this is the best version i've heard full stop. Others will disagree but Streets has had many reinventions over the years but this one ticks the boxes and sets the tone and pace for the rest of the gig. 'ahhh I LIKE IT', the man sounded like he was on drugs. Brilliance.
I Will Follow was it's usual self. I Still Haven't Found was great but i'm still not keen on the exodus snippet. MLK was flawless, Bono's voice was silky smooth and filled the arena. It lead into the best ever Unforgettable Fire ever. Just compare this to the Paris performance on the DVD where his voice was harsh and breaking. Bullet had plenty of flare and energy. Running To Stand Still is the second highlight of the night. It has no lengthy snippets or improvisations but it is just flawless. His voice just rocks and the crowd backs him up perfectly. Bonos little ramble before 'she runs through the streets' gives me goosebumps.
The rendition of Sunday Bloody Sunday served up is a 10/10. Perfectly paced with the vocal and passion to match. 'trenches dug within our hearts' - anybody ever heard him sing that good. Just a great performance, I only wished he'd skipped on the amnest international line. Exit and In God's Country both excellent.
The Electric Co comes in as another brilliant highlight. Without The Cry it just works. Great pace and enthusiasm. Bono's 'what colour is this' rant with the Irish flag made a simple but heartfelt statement about affairs in his homeland. Larry's drumming in this song was especially good. The 'UP UP UP' followed by Break On Through (awesome snippet) rounded off an immense performance. Help was lovely. Bono's speech about Greg made for an emotional moment backed up by a storming perfirmance of the song.
The crowd taking over at the start of New Year's Day makes for another hilight. Party Girl isn't a song I enjoy but it hit the spot here, especially Bono letting the crowd do a round of 'oh oh oh oosss'
Final hight moment is WOWY. Sure there maybe more epic and unique versions out there but this is my go to version when i'm looking for a great all round version of WOWY. Shine Like Stars, Tear Us Apart, solo and another refrain of 'ohhh o o ohhhs'. What else do you need? 40 rounded off the best show ever. 10/10
Audience:
Among the best you will ever hear. Every word of every song they sang aswell as guessing snippets before Bono sang them. 'Ala la america' for eg, that was Boy era!!. You could just feel that some in that audience were enjoying the best night of their live and all I can say is JAMMY BASTARDS. 10/10
Sound quality:
Perfect audience recording. Simply perfect. Sure theres the odd clapper or individual shout but overall this is perfect. The taper here was awesome, I have no idea how he managed to get such a great recording in such a small, loud venue. I've watched the DVD which has a different audio source and the crowd were so much more powerful than they come across in the recording. Bono and the band perfectly balanced with the crowd greatly prominent providing a great ambient and atmosphere. To knoow that this is a 1st gen and not the master is exciting. This is brilliant, I just winder how good the master would be. This recording could also do with a fresh transfer as there are plenty of cuts and trims throughout so we have probably lost a few small speeches etc. Just stunning. Beats Rocks Hottest Ticket. I'd give 5/5 for it being an audience recording but it is a 4.
Overall:
For me it is quite simply the best U2 gig of all time. Screw Red Rocks, Point depot, Sarajevo etc. This is the real deal. Just read the reviews and download it.
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1984-11-05 Edinburgh, Scotland
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Performance:
All the passion of War with better vocals. The band and especially Bono had some fire this evening. Bono gave this gig some effort and it just delivers a fantastic listening experience. The passion is unreal. It's like 'Boy' era Bono but somehow slightly more mature. Larry had a great night and Adam and Edge were as spot on as ever. Nailed it. Gloria is a huge standout. Theres a glitch mid way through where the band feck the timing up and Bono has to count them in again and the whole song just clicks. Fantastic energy and enthusiasm.
There was a technical hitch during Bad which was a bit of a downer but Bono hides it with some nice improvised lines. The War songs were top top notch and The Electric Co was its usual standout self.
Excellent all around.
Audience:
Powerful. Great voice and gusto. Listen to the reception for SBS. The whole building shakes. From start to finish they were just unreal. This always seems to boost Bono, he feeds of their energy. These guys were good.
Sound quality:
A sensational audience recording. Perfect balance of band, vocals and crowd. How the taper managed this at such a noisy gig I do not know but this gig delivers. It packs a great punch and does a fantastic job of delivering the atmosphere of that evening straight to your ears or filling up your room. A classic
Overall:
Fantastic snapshot of the early (and much much better) UF gigs. The band were enjoying their work that evening and the crowd even more so and this recording makes you feel like you were there. Definitely a top 5 Unforgettable Fire gig
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1997-07-02 Foxboro, Massachusetts
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Performance:
Spirited but stale and more than a little bland. It was the end of the first leg but things still didn't seem right with the whole Popmart setup. Things started well with Mofo but i'm at my wits end trying to remember anything else from the entire show Last Night On Earth was terrible. The first minute or so was just soo flat. There wasn't anything especially bad about the performance but the whole show felt like the band were just keeping their head above the water. Very little in the way of crowd interaction from Bono. Even Streets sounded flat. Miami was decent. MLK was nice due to it's rareness but it didn't sound great at all. Uninspiring overall with no real high points. No comparison to gigs like Leeds or Santiago
Audience:
Boston crowds are typically excellent at U2 gigs and those in attendance during this gig certainly were energetic. Kinda didn't know their way around the POP songs but enjoyed the oldies.
Sound quality:
A very very good sounding gig ruined by it's low bitrate. I'll be watching intently for the lossless of this if it pops up and I guarantee there'l be a massive improvement. Drums were a little muddy and the crowd featured nicely throughout. 4/5 but it could be a 4.5 with a fresh conversion.
Overall:
Good sounding Popmart gig that should tick many of your boxes. I need more to keep me interested though and this gig just didn't deliver.
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1987-06-12 London, England
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Performance:
Pretty standard by Joshua Tree levels of performance which means it's bloody excellent. Everything greatly performed with particularly great versions on Exit and In God's Country.
Audience:
Due to this being a soundboard recording the crowd don't really feature so I can't mark them up or down.
Sound quality:
It's a great soundborad. Simple as that. It does suffer from some bad echo on Bono's vocals during the first 3 songs but after that it is great. Fantastic Bass and drums on this recording. Due to it being a soundboard the crowd noise and atmosphere is almost completely lost which is sad for a Wembley gig. When the crowd can be heard they sound like they are miles away. On the plus side though, this gives more emphasis on the great quality of the music. Bono's vocals also sound slightly more audience recording than soundboard. Sounds a little odd amongst the great clarity of the instruments. Thats being picky though. It's a Joshua Tree soundboard so you're gonna download it regardless.
Overall:
It's an on par Joshua Tree performance. Solid in every possible aspect. It doesn't blow my mind like other 1987 gigs but it ticks all the major boxes. Get it and enjoy it.
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1984-11-06 Glasgow, Scotland
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Performance:
Solid. Not the best i've heard from the tour by any means (try the gig from the night before for all round awesomeness) but hard to fault overall. Set was standard for that particular stage of the tour and the War material really compliments the new material. Indian Summer Sky was sadly not included in the set. Wire was as thumping as ever but didn't come across as well in the recording due to the problems with the recording listed above. Bad was disappointing with the lack of snippets, bass and 'Wide Awakes'. Both TUF and ASOH seem to be getting high praise here but i'm not seeing why. It sounds like the band still hadn't worked how to play each of those particular songs at that time of the tour. The GLORIA snippet at the end of Surrender was one of the worst i've ever heard. I love the start of Two Hearts but the song itself isn't that great. Hilights for me were the energy of the gig in general, good crowd reaction, Wire and Surrender.
Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Sound quality:
As you all know, I am one picky little bitch. The sound here is good, if not very good. All instruments and vocals are audible and clear, good crowd balance and for the age of the recording I have to say it's very good. My only gripe (and a big one it is) is the lack of power. You can hear Adam's bass lines and Larry's drums but there is no kick or thump from them. This is most likely caused by the lack of lineage and known source. I was able to get a little life into the recording after adding some bass via itunes but I like a recording to be naturally good and not need fettled with. One the whole it deserves it's 4 star rating and it will stay as 4 but for me personally I would give it a 3.5. I'll let you guys sample the lossless when it pops up and I bet the difference is massive
Overall:
The gig from the night before and 1984-11-15 - London both rate higher for me on audio and performance.
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1997-09-23 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Performance:
Phenomenal performance considering the state of Bono's voice. The show started off fantastic with a fantastic rendition of Mofo and thee best performance of Gone i've ever heard then Bono's voice sensationally just cracked. The man was in pain but he thundered through. You could hear the emotion in his cracked voice, he wanted to give the audience it all. Luckily for him, the Edge and the crowd sang what he couldn't. Sunday Bloody Sunday was the big surprise of the night. When everybody was expecting Edge to break into Karaoke he just seeped out that Beautiful rendition of the song. Eerily beautiful. Fantastic
Audience:
Whether they were there that night for U2 or not, they bloody loved it. You could just sense that these people were just enjoying their night out, dancing, shouting and singing along in this little bowl in the midst of their ruined and cracked city. They loved it and perform just aswell as the band. Great great audience.
Sound quality:
Audio downloaded form here. 'Noiseless' remaster of the original broadcast. It is a fantastic listen. It does sound slightly artificial but other than that all instruments are clear with great thumping bass. Easily a 5/5 recording. If you don't have the remaster then I strongly suggest clicking on the links in the top right hand corner of the page there.
Overall:
Hilights :
- The occasion
- Edge carrying Bono through Pride
- Mofo and Gone
Lowlights :
. . . .
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1993-07-02 Verona, Italy
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Performance:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Sound quality:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Overall:
can tell you all what the problem with this gig was. Too many shows playing the exact same songs (over 120 at this point?). Whereas the early 93 gigs were excellent with that nervous energy and Macphisto only finding out who he was, the gigs too a dip then levelled out at ok (just like this gig). It wasnt until the Zooropa material came into the sets that the shows began to lift again and the band sounded more upbeat and the better performances came to light and it remained this way right to the end of the tour as more and more new material made it into the set. This gig and others like it were just flat. Not bad but just flat and my reasons above make sense of that I reckon.
on a more positive note, My Girl is one of the best snippets to grace a U2 set and When Love. . . Is a fun little number when played Zoo style. Hilight for me was Edge's little guitar outtro to Love Is Blindness. Never heard that before.
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2005-06-21 Glasgow, Scotland
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Performance:
I'm sorry folks but what a dull dull gig. I tried my best and give it every chance but yikes it was bland. Was this really only a few days after the London broadcast. Bono might as well just not have been there. He was completely lackluster, tired, no spirit or drive. There was a cloud over him on the night. I really tried to give this gig a chance, I wanted to like it (Glasgow gigs are usually immense) but it fell way short of the mark. Wild Horses was the performance hilight of the night but that was only 3/5, Bono's 'Dont you look back' was pathetic. And why did Bono say that was only the second time they played it ever. Was he not present during ZooTV?
Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Sound quality:
And the sound. . So nearly brilliant but it isn't. The taper either had cheap equipment or a damp connection or 2. I've literally never heard a more hissy recording. The gig was a little muffled (cheap mics?). A lossless re-encode might improve it but I think its the actual recording that has problems in this instance. Credit to the taper for his efforts and letting use hear it.
Overall:
I really can't think of anything positive to say. I'm sure the crowd were good but I couldn't hear them. Setlist was as standard, Bono was crap and the band were as solid as ever. Good news is that it's off my iPod already and shall never return.
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2006-11-07 Brisbane, Australia
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Performance:
Walk On, although under-rehearsed sounded very good. The solo in the middle was nice, no drums just guitar and it had an alternative solo at the end. Kite was ok. No real high points
Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Sound quality:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Overall:
One listen and it's gone from the iPod. The updated links do give life to the bass and Larry's foot drum though
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1989-10-27 Adelaide, Australia
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Performance:
Probably nowhere near as bad as my personal opinion stated after my first listen but it's well known that a shit sounding recording really can put a dampner on a potentially great performance. The show had much more of a Joshua Tree feel than a LoveTown gig (maybe because it was outdoors?). The recording masked any power that there might have been and despite Bono's shouts of 'I CAN SING!!' and 'The doctor bla bla bla' his voice still sounded broke (and crap) to my ears. I can't really pick out any hilight moments but if forced I would say Streets as I think a broken and rusty voice kinda suits the song. Setlist was bog standard LoveTown so nothing much to shout about there.
Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Sound quality:
Disappointing. This could very well be one of the all time great bootlegs but the version we have on here is compressed to nothing and it's from a very high gen source (this is probably a second or third copy of the original). In it's current state it's a 3 star but it could be a 5 some time in the future. Bono's vocals came through fine but the recording really struggled when trying to let the bass through. Maybe if I can get the lossless and re-encode it myself to 192kbps we might see some improvement but we really do need a lower gen. You can't polish a turd after all.
Overall:
The recording and Bono's lack of voice kinda ruined the gig overall for me. As my progression into an audiophile continues it pains me to hear that there is such a great recording out there just waiting to be released and when it does, i'm sure it will be a classic. As it stands though, I found no connection to the gig at all. A re-encode from a known source may help but we really do need a master or 1st gen. Here's hoping
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1992-06-11 Stockholm, Sweden
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Performance:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Sound quality:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Overall:
I couldn't be arsed posting on this show because there isn't a lot that can be said about this show that hasn't been said before so I shall type out Willie Williams thoughts for you all as he hits the nail bang on the head :
Originally posted by Willie William's Diary:
STOCKHOLM. Well tonight was the one. It was the night that I stopped during the gig and thought to myself ''This is the high point on my career''. The entire gig from the Globe in Stockholm was broadcast live to just one person's house - that of Mr John Harris of Nottingham, England. He won an MTV competition, so got the private broadcast. His small living room was piled high with TV's and of course everybody from the whole street was in there. There was also a camera at their end, sending pictures back to us, so at various points during the show, the living room in Nottingham would appear on the stage video walls. Bono would break to speak to them and they would reply of course. Of course by 10pm everyone at the Nottingham end was blind drunk, which made it all the more entertaining. Technologically it was flawless too, which was pretty astounding.
So later on, Benny and Bjorn - the guys from ABBA - appear. We have U2 and ABBA performing 'Dancing Queen' beneath the mirrorball trabant, being broadcast live from a giant spherical building in Sweden to one terraced house in Nottingham. I rest my case.
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2001-10-10 South Bend, Indiana
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Performance:
I'll mirror Dan when I say very good but not wow. I couldn't complain about any of the performances, everything was par with the odd song here and there being pretty darn good. I refer specifically to Beautiful Day, UTEOTW (Two Tribes oh yea) and that lovely Molly Malone snippet at the end of Bad. Sunday Bloody Sunday was a bit flat for me. Other notables performances were New York, What's Going On and With Or Without You wasn't too shabby. Pretty decent One speech also if I may so. Everything was correct and extremely relevant. For a soundboard/American crowd, the audience noise and enthusiasm filtered through quite well which is always a huge plus for me
Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Sound quality:
First things first, the sound was sensational. Hodels upgrade makes this one of the best sounding bootlegs out there. It sounds like the best audience recording ever (and rarely a soundboard can do this). Exceptional. If you've still got the old version then upgrade now
Overall:
Definitely one to add to your collection if you haven't already done so. Pretty spot on souvenir of the Elevation Tour but I don't think this gig captured all that was great about those post 9/11 gigs, for that you need 2001-10-24 - New York. Although we may say that this show was not 'great' lets give credit to the band for giving that crowd of people the chance to live again for those 2 hours before they got back to the reality of what just happened 1 month previously and extra special credit to Bono for not turning this into a memorial service. 
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1981-06-09 London, England
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Performance:
Performance + Points
+As energetic as you would expect from a band that doesn't give a fuck. A band just trying to conqeur England. Great stuff.
+Absolutely loved the intro to I Fall Down. Sounds so fresh even today.
+We talk a lot about songs we wish to see dusted off some day and Fire is one of them that deserves a mention. Maybe not the whole song but that riff kicks serious ass.
+I Fall Down was excellent.
+Things To Make And Do is a playful little number.
+I'm A Believer was a truly great snippet.
Performance -Points
+What a pile of crap Carry Me Home was.
+Boy-Girl was piss poor also. God I hate that song.
+Bongolese was on display at this show. The only lyric I could hear from Another Time, Another Place was 'Another Time, Another Place'
+Thats about it really/
Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Sound quality:
Not worthy of its 4 star status but as long as you keep the vulume down then it's a very worthy 3.5 so thats what i'll change it to. Turn the volume up though and the static and hiss make it an uncomfortable listen. For an audience recording of this age though it's still pretty darn good. Great crowd too.
Overall:
Good show, good recording, good performance. Solid all round. How great is it to think that people in the audience were recording U2 that early on? Just another band passing through to most but they had fans devoted enough to come and recordthem. Would you or I think aout recording a show of some random band that we went to see? I know I wouldn't. The crowd reception and participation was great. It was heart warming to hear and feel the warmth of the British crowd to the 4 Irish boys onstage in a time when relations between the two countries still weren't great. Will I kep this show on my iPod? No, but i'll keep a few ofthe performances for my Random playlist and i'll remember the show for a long time.
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1989-10-16 Melbourne, Australia
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Performance:
Ups
- LoveTown was U2 at their peak. They wern't as serious as they were on the JT tour, theres less ego in these shows. It's just a band playing music for the sake of playing music and it's reflected in this show.
- Setlist is excellent.
- Hawkmoon is a great opener but it still doesn't beat the album version for me.
- Like A Hurricane was nice at the end of WatchTower.
- Bullet was very well executed. Loved the blend of humour intwined with the underlying serious issue of the song.
- Running To Stand Still. WOW. Absolute highlight of this show and definitely challenging for the best version of this song I have ever heard. How can Bono play 7 nights in the same venue and still pour that emotion into that song. Fantastic.
- In The Midnight Hour was another great choice of snippet.
- WOWY had the 'with or withOUT YOU!!!' which gives it a mighty thumbs up from me. Not as good as the version at the first Point show but I love to hear Bono really try.
- God Part ll as great as ever
- New Year's Day - 'and maybe the time is right'. Wow he sang that as late as 89? I though that was an 82 thing. Nice
- 10/10
Downs
- Negatives? must be having a laugh. Only negative is that they didn't play Dancing Barefoot which they had soundchecked that very same day.
- Shows like this make me feel dissapointed with the U2 of the present era.
Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Sound quality:
- 3 stars absolute max
- Almost brilliant. It suffers from either the taper being too close to the stage as his mic can't deal with volume. You can hear that static inteference throughout. Or else this is just an old gen tape and age hasn't been nice.
- I wished I got this in lossless. Lots of bumps and skips and fast forward. No fault of the tapers though.
- Edge's guitar comes and goes in places.
- Overall a pretty decent recording
Overall:
Fucking awesome show and definitely the best we've listened to yet. It's LoveTown so it was always going to be great but what a gem. It's all about Running To Stand Still for me. I've been suffering from a tiny bit of U2 burnout these past few weeks but that one song just relit my fire. It was that good. Definitely a keeper.
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1987-07-15 Madrid, Spain
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Performance:
I have listened to this show many times before as I say and bar a few standout moments it doesn't differ an awful lot from other JT shows. Streets was a little better than its awesome usual self in 1987 and that was definitely down to the crowd and Bono feeding off their energy. The end of Still Haven't Found was nice with those 'Oh way Ohs'. Everything else up until Spanish Eye's was Joshua Tree normality I felt. Spanish Eye's has to be the hilight, how they nailed that song on it's debut performance and how the audience reacted to a b-side a lot of them probably hadn't heard was awesome. '40' was thee best version i've ever heard. Simple as that.
Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Sound quality:
Extremely raw recording and a lot higher in quality than I remember from previous listens. All instruments could be heard well enough and this recording did a decent job in capturing the enthusiasm of the crowd which is always welcome from me. Just don't turn the volume up too loud or else things go tits up. Maybe some audiophile could clean this one up slightly in the future, who knows. 5 stars is a little bit generous I think, 2.75 for me.
Overall:
Mostly standard Joshua Tree performance with the 115,000 strong crowd, first visit to Spain and Spanish Eye's giving it the edge over most. The sound is very listenable though not brilliant. If you have quite a few JT European boots already then try this one out for size, you won't be dissapointed.
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2001-07-21 Turin, Italy
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Performance:
The whole gig was as flat as a pancake with Bono's vocals playing the biggest part of this. It didn't sound wrecked (ala Sarajevo), his voice was just ugly. Obviously we know of the certain personal issues he was suffering at the time but this night sounded worse than most. His voice didn't compliment songs like Stay and Bad but actually sounded good during Streets I thought.
The extra encore was kinda cool but I thought it would have been better playing Out Of Control alone. I'd love to hear a set without Pride..
Audience:
Excellent audience. Sang along to everything they good and gave a flat gig a little spark.
Sound quality:
The recording was so so so nearly a cracker but this wasn't to be as a number of certain individuals knew every word to every song and sat very close to the taper. Individual claps and voices are heard throughout which is a big fat minus. Unfortunate but no-ones to blame. . the taper has to sit where he has to sit and some people like to sing along.
Overall:
Overall, the gig was a very somber listening experience. Bono sounded as if he didn't want to be there and when thats the case, the rest of the performance hits the floor. I also don't think that the Elevation Tour suited the stadium sized venues (excluding Slane because it's unique). I don't know whether this is only because Elevation was almost exclusively outdoors but their seemed to be something missing in the atmosphere for this gig.
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1992-08-16 Washington, District of Columbia
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Performance:
Relaxed performance and it does show at times but this show does not deserve the criticism that i've heard raining down on it in the past. The band were still at the early stage of the new mammoth setup and introducing a few older tracks to the set and obviously it was always gonna show. I enjoyed the performance. I like to hear the band nursing a few nerves and teething problems and they dealt with it pretty well. Good solid performance, it won't rock tyour socks off but you're gonna download it anyway because it's a soundboard aren't you?? WOWY is a stunner, ISHFWILF would have been ewquisite had the crows ambience been present.
Audience:
Default rating as this is a soundboard recording so therefore cannot be heard so i'll leave this as 2.5. Can't praise or fault them if we can't hear em can we?
Sound quality:
It's an excellent soundboard. The drums and bass pack so much power and Bono and Edge are not lacking either. This is a proper soundboard taken fro a pro-shot VHS so therefore hardly any crowd noise present but this only lets us hear the band more. Powerful, punchy recording. Sounds a little icy at times but this all comes with the soundboard genre of recordings. Get it. And if you can get in lossless then please to. It is stunning in lossless.
Overall:
Ity's a soundboard so it's automatically popular. Don't believe the bad press you may have heard before about New Year's Day etc, download the gig and give it a listen. A welcome addition to anyones collection. WOWY is the standout, but Ultraviolet is hardly lacking and Larry's drumming on the Fly will blow your head off.
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1992-05-22 Milan, Italy
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Performance:
Absolutely top top notch andone of the most highly regarded performances i've ever came across. In my opinion it is simply thee best ZooTV show of the lot. 11 tracks from Achtung Baby (includig lengthy So Cruel Snippet), amazing 'Bad' solo and the best Ultraviolet ever. Every song, and especially the new tracks were nailed to perfection. Bono dropped tha falsetto 'TAKE ME HIGHER' falsetto during The Real Thing and replaced it with a Lovetown-esque full vocal belt. Simply outstanding. Get it.
Audience:
Better than the band on the night. A lot of the audience had to wait an extra night to the show thanks to a postponement due to a technical hitch and boy they made up for it. They sing the Zoo Station guitar parts, outsing Edge during the Fly chorus, raise the roof during Streets and Ultraviolet. Just unreal and has to be heard.
Sound quality:
The crowd were loud, really loud but they didn't detract from the recording. In the most part the crowd sang as one complete unit and you very rarely hear any individal claps or shouts which is a big killer during many high energy recordings. A real good quality solid audience recording. It doesn't quite make 5 stars due to it being a tiny bit muffled. Not sure if this recording is from a master tape but it could sound a little better. The recording erfectly captures the essence of the night, the eneergy, the performance and the amazing connection between the band and the audience.
Overall:
5 stars overall. This could be a 1 star recorsding and would still get 4. Everysong his a higlight but The Fly, Even Better, Bad, So Cruel and Ultraviolet are all just outstanding. Get it.
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1987-04-20 Los Angeles, California
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Performance:
Not a lot to say. Bono still hadn't shaken of his voice problems that he had encountered in Tempe and that dragged the show down a little. The band sounded like it hadn't really got into a rythm at this stage of the tour, there was more than a couple of bum notes in there. Although none of the performances were especially bad, the only song that made my ears prick was I Shall Be Released (and i'm not even a big Bob fan). One thing that I did enjoy this show (and most of the early JT shows) was that Bono wasn't to cocky, he didn't have that swagger about him that he had in the later leg. He seemed to still be humbled by the success of the band and I enjoyed that.
Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.
Sound quality:
Fenderman got this spot on. Pretty poor to start but it does gradually settle in to a nice sounding recording. Great balance between crowd and band.
Overall:
First of all, I had very high expectations from this show (afterall Rocks Hottest Ticket was recorded little over a week after this), but this show didn't really push my buttons. It is a JT show sow it's automiatically better than hundreds of other U2 shows but for me the show was below par and below expectations.
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1997-04-28 San Diego, California
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Performance:
#Why was Bono so in love with this show. 'If every nights like this then we'l be fine'. Good one. Apart from Bono the only weak thing was the show itself. The rest of the band were good.
#Adam's bass was fantastic.
#Great setlist but poor delivery.
#Mofo intro was poor, I Will Follow, Do You Feel Loved, Angels, Staring At The Sun and Bullet were all poor.
#Have to make a special note for the performance of Miami. It's a song that I hate (and always will) but it would be harsh to fault Bono's delivery.
#WOWY was fantastic. Adams Bass was awesome and there was a slight dance edge to the drumming which sounded equally great.
#Everything else was alright but below par
Audience:
Didn't like the crowd. They were good in places but generally flat and impatient and humorless (they just didn't get Daydream Believer. Listen to Singin in the rain from Leeds to hear the contrast)
Sound quality:
aried at times but worthy of 4 stars.
It's great to here a really great bass bootleg and this is one of them.
Overall:
Not a lot to say on this one. The show wasn't as bad as I had expected it to be but it was still poor. This was a band who were suffering from stupid decisions made on their behalf. They were so under rehearsed it was actually painful to here. Why play songs that when you literally don't have a clue how to (Do You Feel Loved, Angels, Staring At The Sun. . .) I think the band tried its best but Bono ended up being the weak link with his come and go vocals and forgetful lyrics.
I'd rather have free space on my ipod rather than this show. It wasn't brutal but it was still poor. Could you imagine seeing them on ZooTV then seeing this? My dislike of most things Popmart has not been altered. I did feel kinda sorry for the B-mans spirited attitude during the show. He was only kidding himself.
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1992-08-23 Foxboro, Massachusetts
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Performance:
Pros :
- Pretty excellent performance I thought. Not the most polished performance you are ever gna
here but a nice relaxed performance.
- Standard setlist but always good to hear Larry on vocals and how many bootlegs to do you
know off that have the crowd chanting 'Larry Larry Larry' ? Awesome moment
- Adam was absolutely outstanding at this show. Bass isnt always of importance to me but
I have to say that Mr Clayton was the stand out of this show.
- I didn't pick up on Bono's vocal problems that some of you guys talked about. Again they
wern't stunning but I found them hard to fault.
- WOWY was excellent, as was Bad (Bono sang all the really old snippets which was
great and I Still Haven't Found. Everything else was just plain old ZooTV (ie : excellent)
- Have to make a seperate point for Angel Of Harlem. The My Girl snippet is perhaps my
favorite snippet out of them all and I loved the inclusion in this show. Fantastic.
- Bono had a go at improvising Pride. Whether it worked or not I;m not sure but its sure as
hell good to here some variation in a song that bores me to tears these days.
Cons:
- Slow start. Takes a few songs for the show to get going
- Ultraviolet would not play on my ipod!!!!! Hardly the bands fault but that annoyed me shit
loads.
- Tryin To Throw Your Arms Around The World sounded pretty muddled up.
- Nothing else to add here really.
Audience:
They were really into this show, more into it
than any other American stadium show i've heard so that surprised me in a very good way.
Sound quality:
- I loved the sound quality of this show. Definitely worthy of its 4 star status. As good as an
American stadium recording can get.
- I didnt experience any of the sound swithching from left to right on my ipod. On just a few
occasions the sound dipped in volume a tiny bit. I'm guessing that someone walked by the
mic
- All instruments and Bono's vocals vere very clear.
- Great recording.
Overall:
A very enjoyable listen. Its great to hear U2 so relaxed and without worry and just enjoying their music and enjoying their time on stage. For those who haven't downloaded yet it will be a worthy addition to your collection. An on form band, great crowd, great audio quality, ZooTV. . . . . 7/10
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2005-06-12 Gelsenkirchen, Germany
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Performance:
Ups
~Not a lot unfortunately. Very average I thought with no stand out performances.
~Liked the inclusion of Hear Us Coming Lord at the end of One. Not a rare snippet but nice to here
none the less.
~Despite Bono not knowing the lyrics I did enjoy Party Girl. It showed the spontaneous side of
U2 that doesn't raise it's head all that often.
~I liked Bono's 'Hold me inside' at the start of Streets. Different to every other performance of
Streets that I have heard.
~Bono had a good go at New Year's Day. He tried to hit a few high notes instead of just being
conservative.
~My Sweet Lord snippet during Mysterious Ways was decent (Bono did sound strained though)
Downs
~Still don't like Vertigo as an opener. Especially with the extended drum intro. If it just kicked right in
with the main riff then I would 'get' it more.
~All the songs were belted out in quick succession without fault but there wasn't a single
performance that stood out for me.
~Very uninspiring setlist.
~Bono didn't seem to get the crowd into the show very much. He didn't seem to form a bond with
them. He didn't play the crowd as it were.
~Beautiful Day was poor. As was With Or Without You. Bono butchered this song up until the
very final leg when he actually had a go at singing it.
~All Because Of You = 
Audience:
Pretty decent crowd participation. I don't mind the occasional clapping although the talking during
Sound quality:
*Great sounding bootleg I thought (especially for a stadium recording). One of the better recording
from this leg of the tour. Definitely worth its 4 stars.
*With my headphone/ipod combination the bass from Larry's bass drum was just way too prominent
and made the listening experience a little uncomfortable at times.
quieter songs was a tiny bit annoying.
Overall:
In summary, this show will probably just disappear from my knowledge. I didn't enjoy listening to it and I can't see myself ever giving it a complete run through again. Just very uninspiring. It lacked the nervous tension and energy of the 1st Leg shows, the relaxed mood and setlists of the 3rd, the emotion of the 4th and the awesomeness of the 5th Leg shows. In terms of sound quality then it comes highly recommended by myself but if your after a great performance then go look elsewhere.
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Been a U2 fan since: 
Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
