Performance:
"Right, here we go. Get ready..." says one fan close to the microphone as The Beatles come across the PA. The band kicks off the show with Hawkmoon 269 and it sounds fantastic. Bono's voice is in full force. Once finished, The Edge launches straight into an energetic Desire and treat us to a reprise with a great snippet of So You Wanna Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star before breaking into All Along The Watchtower. Again, a faultless performance full of energy. The band rein in that early pace with All I Want Is You. A little too early in the setlist for me, I don't see why they can't continue with something like God Part II or I Will Follow. Still, they nail the performance down and the crowd love it. They continue to go wild as they realise that Where The Streets Have No Name is next. A brief snippet of Heartland is spoken during the introduction, which I quite like. Really good performance of Streets on the whole. I Will Follow is next and it's a pretty standard effort. I love the "woo-hoo-hoo"'s that Bono throws in early on. There's a tiny mistake by The Edge at the end, forgivable. Tonight, Bono's vocals have really been on the money. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking for is up now and everything comes together nicely. Great vocals, perfect music, good crowd interaction and the definitive snippet of Bob Marley's Exodus. MLK follows on and you'd perhaps expect to hear The Unforgettable Fire afterwards, but surprisingly it's One Tree Hill - very refreshing and very well done.

On to God Part II. Disappointing that the audio skips towards the end as it leads into Bullet The Blue Sky, but still sounded very good. I don't think the snippets thrown into Bullet The Blue Sky really add anything, disappointing. Inevitably it leads into Running To Stand Still and we can be sure that this will make up for any nonsense that has preceded it. Great performance, highlight of the night so far for me. Bad is next and as usual, a brilliant effort. I love the Walk On The Wild Side snippet too. Bono takes a time-out as The Edge and Van Dieman's Land lead us nicely into With Or Without You. Great energy from the crowd early on in this song, on person even thinks he's finished before the song has started as he sings "Ohhhh-ohhh-oh". Very strange to hear New Year's Day afterwards, I suppose that's the nature of Lovetown though. Thoroughly enjoyable performance, Bono still shining vocally. The main set finishes with an energetic rendition of Pride that the crowd go wild for.

"This gig is so good, I just split my pants" - Bono. Time for the encore, kicked off with Angel of Harlem alongside the B.B. King Orchestra! Party time. Full of energy, the crowd love it, I love it. Here comes the big man himself for When Love Comes to Town which is great until it starts skipping. Very nice snippet of In The Midnight Hour though. Knockin' On Heaven's Door is the first song tonight to give me goosebumps. Simply amazing. Love Rescue Me ends a quartet of songs featuring B.B. King and it's a great way to close the show. Well, that is until they begin '40'. Very good show.

Audience:
They enjoy the show and I suppose you can't ask for much more than that. When the band kill the sound to allow the crowd to sing, you can hear them joining in. Other than that, it's difficult to hear them throughout unless they're close to the taper. Notable songs include I Will Follow, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, With Or Without You, and Angel of Harlem.

Sound quality:
To be honest, it's not great. Persistent hissing, distortion across The Edge, intermittent drop-outs, and persons standing too close to the taper and shouting.

Overall:
A very good show on the whole. The band are in fine form and Bono's voice is really good. I suppose it's only let down by the sound quality and skips in audio. If it had been a broadcast or higher quality audience recording, it'd be without question a show worth listening to. If you can put up with the poor audio, then go for it.

Highlights:
- Bono's voice
- Desire
- One Tree Hill
- Running To Stand Still
- Angel of Harlem
- Kockin' On Heaven's Door

Lowlights:
- Sound quality

Performance:
The unmistakable Larry Mullen Jr. helps to kick us off as the band tear straight into Gloria. The band are midway through the third leg of the War tour and sound on top form. Adam's bass slapping around the festival grounds, Larry's drums pulsating from the back and The Edge's guitar driving the melody throughout. I Threw A Brick Through A Window is next and follows a very similar pattern to Gloria, with Larry laying the foundation for The Edge and Adam. Bono sounds very good too, though nothing really challenging his vocal range yet. Adam's bass sounds incredible. Typically the band segue effortlessly into the next number, A Day Without Me, and this really highlights the energy and drive of the young band. Impeccable timing from Bono as he shouts "Hold it!" to the band before they head into the bridge, a snippet of Dear Prudence fills the space perfectly. Once Bono has pronounced himself Irish, the band continue with the black cat, An Cat Dubh. As usual, it leads into Into The Heart, a song that gives The Edge the chance to show off his simple, yet most effective playing style. Now it's Adam's time to shine as he leads off with that iconic introduction to New Year's Day beginning a run of four songs from the War album. The band are clearly on top of their game as they continue to play songs without flaw. After more Bono nonsense, the band begin Surrender. The Edge backing bono up on vocals, tight performance all round as Bono tries to give the crowd something to sing about. Two Hearts Beat As One is next and it, for me, has already established itself as a true classic in the set. The tone of The Edge's guitar is perfect, the rhythm is infectious. Let's Twist Again is throw in towards the end, just prior to a delightful instrumental performance from the band as Bono is off playing with the crowd. Sunday Bloody Sunday follows on in a typical throbbing fashion, an excellent effort topped off with a reprise. An extended Electric Co. closes the main set as Bono embarks on a journey to the top of the staging whilst the band play on. Amazing.

For the encore, the band produce the lead single, live staple, and fan favourite from Boy - I Will Follow. This pushes Boy's representation up to five songs, one more than War at this stage. Great performance that sets us up nicely for the final song of the set. For the first time today, the band slow it right down with '40'. Perfect ending.

Audience:
Ok, they're barely audible throughout due to the nature of the recording but it doesn't take away any of the energy.

Sound quality:
Excellent throughout. There's a couple of small blips, but they don't affect the listening experience too much.

Overall:
A thoroughly energetic, confident performance from the band. Each and every song is delivered to the highest standard as the band drive their songs home with what must've undoubtedly been one the best performances of the weekend. A truly exceptional show that highlights the power that the band possess.

Highlights
- A Day Without Me
- Two Hearts Beat As One
- Sunday Bloody Sunday

Lowlights
- Lack of an audible crowd

Performance:
The beginning of the show is cut off, so we join midway through 11 O'Clock Tick Tock. There's nothing really to say about it because it's so short. The second song is I Will Follow and it sounds remarkably better than a few nights ago in London. Touch is next and whilst I don't think it's up to the standard of anything from Boy, the band give it a good shot. All three songs so far have not been met with any applause from the audience, I think Bono says "We'll just slow it down a bit, in case you're getting tired" with his tongue firmly in his cheek. Slowing it down is An Cat Dubh alongside its usual partner, Into The Heart. The Edge does make a mistake during An Cat Dubh but it doesn't detract from what is a solid performance. Of course, they segue perfectly into Into The Heart and they do a good job of this too. Bono finishes with another dig at the audience, before they begin A Day Without Me. Again, a solid effort. It's already proving at this early stage to be a good live track. There's a false start for Twilight, The Edge obviously wanting to get on with things. Once restarted, it goes on to be another good performance. Tonight, Twilight segues directly into The Electric Co. which is a nice addition. This is arguably the highlight of the night so far with the band in full flow - excellent performance. Things To Make And Do is up next and is possibly the best received song of the night. It's not a particularly notable performance, it serves more of an interlude before Stories For Boys, which is much more notable. The band don't seem to want to stick around much longer as they immediately begin Boy-Girl. It's not a favourite of mine, but I can appreciate the effort and the energy that they put into it. Again, there's no hanging about as Adam starts pumping out the bassline for Out of Control. The sound deteriorates halfway through, possibly for the best as it sounds like The Edge makes a few mistakes at the start of the solo. However, it's a great energetic end to the show.

Well, it's not the end is it? The 11 O'Clock Tick Tock sandwich appears again and this time we get to hear much more of the song. Now it's a good end to the show.

Audience:
It doesn't sound like there's a lot of people in. To be fair, it is Scarborough and I wouldn't expect many to be out anyway. There's little applause for the songs and no participation during whatsoever. They sounded like they at least had a pleasant evening though. Bono does give them some stick at the start of the gig, but eases up once the pace picks up.

Sound quality:
Again, it's not great but it is listenable. There is some horrible feedback at times, like a vibrating noise. The sound deteriorates further during Out of Control but returns to normal for the final song.

Overall:
Still early in the tour and their career which probably explains the lack of enthusiasm in the audience. The band sound much improved from a few nights ago in London and there's a few extra numbers in the setlist which is great. They obviously don't feel comfortable with all of the songs from Boy, which is a shame because I don't think there should be room for songs like Things To Make And Do over something like Another Time, Another Place. Touch has great energy to it though.

Highlights:
- The Electric Co.
- Stories For Boys

Lowlights:
- The lack of crowd participation
- Sound quality
- Part of the first 11 O'Clock Tick Tock is missing

Performance:
Second night of the Boy tour and we're in London. This is the first recoding we have from the tour and the first setlist that we know of. The band kick off with the non-album single, 11 O'Clock Tick Tock and they sound really up for it. A good performance that segues nicely into I Will Follow. It's full of pace, very energetic. An Cat Dubh is next and it moves effortlessly into it's album partner, Into The Heart. Both songs really show off the abilities of the band members I think. The first two songs were straight up rock songs, with speed and energy, but they show that they can slow things down too. The crowd really appreciated the pairing. The pace picks up again with Stories For Boys. Good performance but there's a few mistakes from The Edge. It sounds faster than the album version, as did I Will Follow. A Day Without Me now, and they sound comfortable playing this even though they've played it a lot less than the other songs. Very enjoyable. Twilight is equally as enjoyable and comfortable for the band. Next up is The Electric Co. and Bono messes up some of the lyrics before proceeding to try and get the crowd going. A potentially good effort had Bono not overdone it. I'm not surprised he's clearing his throat before the final song, a second 11 O'Clock Tick Tock. A good way to close the night, though Bono continues to shout excessively at the crowd. Tomorrow night they play The Marquee Club, though we won't hear anything until they play Scarborough in five nights time.

Audience:
The audience don't really seem that interested. They welcome the band onto the stage but don't really offer anything to the gig. A warm applause for An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart is nice. Despite Bono's attempts to fire the crowd up for the final couple of songs, they don't get any more involved. He probably scared them during The Electric Co. - they do offer a round of applause at the end of the gig though in appreciation of a good performance.

Sound quality:
It's not great but it's not terrible. It's an old recording, but it's certainly listenable. It is muffled but everyone is distinguishable.

Overall:
Overall, a good show. Very early in the Boy tour but U2 are no strangers to performing. A good setlist that focuses on songs from the Boy album sandwiched between two performances of 11 O'Clock Tick Tock. There are quite a few mistakes that creep into the young band's performance, but it's an enjoyable night nonetheless.

Highlights
- An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart
- A Day Without Me

Lowlights
- The sound quality
- Bono's over-excursion at the end

Performance:
Return of the Stingray Guitar is first up, for me it just serves as an introductory piece. I don't particularly like it and would rather to hear Breathe or another U2 song opening the show. Beautiful Day is second but I'll count this as the real opener. A few lyrical changes to reflect that it's raining (at least I assume it is) and on the whole, a good start to the show. The band move straight into I Will Follow which is as good as you'd expect after 30 years of performance. Bono sounds like he's having trouble keeping up with the pace though. Nonetheless, a hit with the crowd. Lead single from No Line On The Horizon now and it sounds a little awkward compared to the good start we've had. Not the best performance of the song on the tour. Even Better Than The Real Thing rocks in fourth on the setlist and the crowd are happy to hear it, assisting The Edge's guitar intro. "Woo woo". Fantastic effort all round I feel. A slight hiccup to the start of the second verse, but it doesn't ruin the performance. Absolutely love the "You take us higher..." part. The introduction to Mysterious Ways is hilarious, Bono requesting that the crowd make these horrific noises before The Edge kicks us off with that unmistakable riff. The tone of the guitar is amazing. Elvation follows and it's a solid effort. Excellent noise made by the crowd at the start too. Up next is Until The End of the World, taking Achtung Baby's representation to three from seven. Decent performance, my only issue is the band introductions midway through.

Bono then rambles on for a while about sport, Irishmen and the usual. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For offers us a welcome relieve from all of that. The crowd sound in good voice for the first verse and Bono sounds in good voice too. It must've warmed up a little since Beautiful Day. Leon Gieco takes to the stage to perform with Bono and the crowd love it. I don't understand what's being sung, but I quite like it. Pride is up now and the audience are probably at their loudest so far. It is overplayed, but they do nail it. Putting the little number with Gieco aside, we're on a good run of hits as Bad enters the arena. Mesmerising song. It's easy to get lost in the Edge's guitar, but that backing track is so perfect. Really good performance. Well, some would argue that In A Little While breaks that run of hits, but oh my, it's so good. Miss Sarajevo is beautiful. Bono does a superb job on Pavarotti's section. Now I'm getting really excited as I hear FEZ/Zooropa over the PA. Unfortunately I know that it's going to amount to nothing more than City of Blinding Lights. Oh well, the intro is one of my favourites. Solid effort throughout, segues straight into a Vertigo performance of equal solidity.

Now if there's a song to divide the crowd, it's this one. The Redanka/Dirty South mix of Crazy Tonight. Personally, I'm a big fan of it and hearing Bono sing "I know I'll go loco if I don't go loco tonight" definitely brought a smile to my face. Strong performance of Sunday Bloody Sunday, as you'd probably expect. Scarlet follows, providing the platform for a speech about Suu Kyi and a nice introduction for Walk On. Again, it lives up to the high standard we expect of the band, even if there's another slip-up from Bono during the transition to a new verse. Fantastic tone in The Edge's guitar again though. Of course, those who know me on the forums will understand why You'll Never Walk Alone doesn't sit well with me.

I love a bit of Desmond Tutu, what a character. He and One open up the encore. Nothing extraordinary, but at the same time, nothing really wrong with it. Just a standard performance. Mothers of the Disappeared makes an appearance and it segues perfectly into Where The Streets Have No Name. Yet again, it's delivered to the highest standard. Thoroughly enjoyable performance. A old favourite of mine now from the Popmart tour - Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me. Love it! A rather (and surprisingly) enjoyable rendition of With Or Without You follows on, setting us up nicely for the final song of the night - Moment of Surrender. One of the best songs from No Line On The Horizon and one of my favourite closing songs during a U2 tour. Perfect close to the show.

Audience:
Very good interaction throughout, but what do you expect from an Argentinian crowd? They don't always join in with every word, but they certainly know the chorus to many songs.

Sound quality:
It's pretty good. Vocals and guitar are both clear, but I think it lacks some bass. Adam doesn't really come through that well and Larry sounds a little...suppressed? There is occasionally some individuals who come over quite loud in the mix, usually with a high pitched "woo".

Overall:
A solid performance from the band. No major mistakes, but I feel it's let down by a rather strange order at the beginning of the show which prevents it from flowing early on. The crowd are in good voice throughout which is a bonus.

Highlights:
- I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
- In A Little While
- Miss Sarajevo
- FEZ!
- Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me

Lowlights:
- Return of the Stingray Guitar
- Get On Your Boots

Performance:
Where The Streets Have No Name kicks us off here in Louisiana and once the euphoric introduction has tickled the tastbuds of the crowd, we get to hear the state of Bono's voice - wow. Getting towards the end of the tour and a very long decade for U2 but his voice is so strong. I Will Follow is next and it sounds perfect. There's something about it that sounds relaxed, effortless. The Edge doesn't sound as though he's forcing it out as I find it sometimes can. It just flows perfectly. Trip Through Your Wires is in slot three and save for a the odd stumble by Bono, it's really good. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For follows and it's a fun performance with a nice little Exodus snippet at the end. MLK serves as in introductory piece to The Unforgettable Fire as it has done many times. Nothing worth noting on MLK, but The Unforgettable Fire...incredible.

Gloria is well performed. I don't think there's anything in particular to note. It's always a pleasure. Sunday Bloody Sunday is next and it's a solid effort from the band. Exit is as good as it always is, but I love the way they segue into Silver And Gold. I'd say you can't beat Van Morrison's Gloria at the end of Exit, but this comes close. In God's Country follows on and I'll hold my hands up and say that I have no idea what happaned at the start. It sounds alright otherwise. Very short though due to being cut off at the start.

Now, whilst I'm a fan of Help performed by U2, we know we're all here for Bad and it's excellent, as expected. Great snippet at the end. October serves a similar job to MLK, in that it offers a brief period of rest before New Year's Day. A good little song it is too, though I am slightly put off by the nonsensical noice that I assume Larry is making. New Year's Day is good and so is it's successor, Pride. A really good close to the main set.

Bullet The blue Sky opens the encore. Again, much like most of the songs tonight they knock it out with ease. Running to Stand Still starts with a small mistake, the band try to hide it but it's not enough to prevent the crowd having a laugh. Once they get back into it, it's quite beautiful. I think it would actually be a really good closing song if the band didn't end it so abruptly. Let it fade with "Still ruuuuning" being sung over the harmonica. Still, not ending with Running to Stand Still allows us to hear a few more tracks. With Or Without You with the absolute must snippet, Shine Like Stars. It's a decent performance, nothing too special in my opinion. Point worth making is that Bono says he has been suffering from a sore throat - I didn't notice. The band then perform People Get Ready for the cameras and invites someone up on stage to play his guitar. I really enjoyed it, fantastic cover. It leads us nicely into the closing song, '40'. Like there'd be any other. "Hoooooooow looooooooong, to sing this song?..."

Audience:
Well they sound in good voice for I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, whish is always a plus. They also have notable appearances in Sunday Bloody Sunday, Pride, Running To Stand Still and '40'.

Sound quality:
Ok, it's not great. During Streets (of all songs) there is a particularly annoying child (well, probably not a child) who asks questions, makes remarks, and just generally deserves ejecting. The show is certainly listenable though.

Overall:
Overall, I think this is a very solid performance from a band at the top of their game. Almost every song is played to a very high standard and the setlist is packed full of great songs. A few mistakes throughout (Trip Through Your Wires, In God's Country, and Running to Stand Still) prevent this from being a truly excellent show in terms of performance. I feel that with better sound, this show may be appreciated more by the fans. But the fact that the taper isn't well positioned (away from annoying people) just lets it down somewhat. enjoyed it thoroughly. If you want a top performance and can listen past the typical bootleg audio issues, then give this show a chance.

Highlights:
I Will Follow
The Unforgettable Fire
Exit/Silver And Gold
Bad
Running To Stand Still
'40'

Lowlights:
Sound
People near the taper

Performance:
First up we have Mofo, Larry kicks us off and really drives the song throughout. Bono doesn't sound too good tonight, somewhat lazy. I like how he deliver "sooth me sister..." though. I Will Follow immediately continues, a little breakdown in the middle for a little interchange with the crowd and whilst difficult to hear them, they do sing along. Even Better Than The Real Thing follows on and it's bang on. Perfect. Pop throws in it's second song of the night in Do You Feel Loved. I don't want to criticise it too much because I love the album version, but unlike most of U2's catalogue, it struggles to match or better itself live. It has its plus points for sure but it's struggling early on compared to the show opener. Pride brings us back to a high level of performance and it sounds very tight. The pace is slowed a little now for the classic and crowd favourite, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. I don't think there's anything to pick fault with here, the crowd are certainly enjoying it. Bono delivers some excellent additional vocals at the end that is worth hearing.

Gone picks up the pace again and is a thoroughly solid performance throughout. Next up is a personal favourite of mine, Last Night On Earth, so take my comments with a pinch of salt. First off it's apparent that Bono isn't too comfortable of the lyrics that he wrote. How hard is it to remember your own work? Ok, it's not that good, but it is early in the tour. A familiar face makes an appearance now as Until The End Of The World enters the stadium. There's a few mistakes throughout the song which is unusual for such a much played song, still, it doesn't take away any of the enjoyment. Another Pop song now - If God Will Send His Angels. Just like Do You Feel Loved, it fails to match or better itself in front of a live audience. It's far too one dimensional with The Edge playing the same thing over and over. A rework of this would work so much better. Staring At The Sun is a song that they've really struggled with so far and tonight it falls far too short of the mark again. It's very empty. It's actually quite boring. The Edge brings proceedings to an end with a thoroughly enjoyable rendition of Daydream Believer. Go The Edge!

Miami really is a tale of two halves. The first half is terrible, Bono is distant and the song just mumbles along until half way through, it suddenly picks up and becomes somewhat decent. Miami segues into Bullet The Blue Sky and the band deliver a very solid performance. Please puts in a challenge for best performed Pop song of the night, excellent. Sunday Bloody Sunday makes a brief appearance, if only musically. That interruption makes for a poor transition into Streets, a song that is known for it's partnership with the song prior to itself. If Im honest, I wasn't bowled over by Streets too much. It just never seemed to get going.

You can reach...well maybe you can't. The best part of the song, ruined! I joke of course. Very energetic, extremely enjoyable and a perfect way to kick the encore off. With Or Without You follows and it's very well done. There's better, but it's by no means a poor performance. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me is next and it's a very solid performance, setting us up nicely for the final couple of songs. The first of those is Mysterious Ways and the band nail it. There's little more to add, they really do give it everything. One closes off the show and it's the perfect ending. After some rocky moments, we finally get there in one piece.

Audience:
Well, there's a crowd in. When the time is right, you can hear them having a good sing along and they offer up their appreciative applause throughout.

Sound quality:
I think the sound is quite good. The band don't sound particularly muffled or distant. Everything comes through quite clearly. There's a few skips here and there between some songs and at the beginning the sound briefly pans hard right followed by hard left. Other than that, no major issues.


Overall:
Still very early in the tour here and you can tell that the band are lacking rehearsal with the new songs. Gone, Please, Mofo, and Discotheque are finding their feet quickly, whilst Do You Feel Loved, Staring At The Sun, If God Will Send His Angels, and Miami are still falling short of the required standard.

Highlights:
Even Better Than The Real Thing
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Please
Mysterious Ways

Lowlights:
If God Will Send His Angels
Staring At The Sun

Performance:
Elevation typically kicks off the show in what sounds like a packed out Stadio Delle Alpi. The crowd are certainly fired up for it and judging by the weakness in Bono's voice during Elevation, they're going to have to lend a helping hand throughout. Beautiful Day follows on and it sounds significantly better. Bono doesn't suddenly become a 1987 Bono, but his strained voice really does lend itself well to the song. The rest of the band sound very tight as they launch into Until The End Of The World. Towards the end though, it becomes a little uninteresting. With a lack of power in the vocals, it might have fared better as an instrumental. Moving on with a throwback to the early 90s as the bass of New Year's Day kicks in. Again, as with Beautiful Day, the state of vocals fits well with the song and Adam sounds amazing throughout. Kite provides us with a break in the initial pace of the show. It's a solid performance, nothing more and nothing less.

Next up is one of the few survivors from Pop - Gone. Decent performance, but you can really hear the strain in Bono's voice as he attempts the longer notes. The crowd didn't seem to be up for that one much, a nice round of applause ends the song. New York is fantastic, even as Bono gets lost in the middle. After a lacklustre period for the crowd, they're treated to an old favourite in I Will Follow. The band can't get this wrong after all of these years. Simple yet effective. So effective, that the band immediatley enter another classic with Sunday Bloody Sunday and it continues the really strong middle section that the band have going.

Stuck in a Moment kicks off a slower section and there's nothing wrong with it. It comes in for some stick on these forums, but I like the full band version and thoroughly enjoyed it tonight. In A Little While is another little song from All That You Can't Leave Behind that I love. Desire features in the usual stripped back Elevation style - a little bit of fun in the middle of the show. Stay rounds off this mini-slower/stripped-back/acoustic section nicely.

Bad begins a run of classics that will close out the main set. It's a strong performance that segues perfectly into an even stronger performance of Where The Streets Have No Name. Mysterious Ways is pretty standard stuff. Bono's voice is holding up much better now and the crowd are really loving this string of songs. The Fly (Elevation style) closes out the main set and it does so driven by The Edge's fantastic work on guitar.

Bullet The Blue Sky opens up the encore and it's almost faultless. Bono just lets the side down, but still, excellent. With Or Without You is standard stuff. The crowd seems to be in the mood to sing along but aside from a Shine Like Stars snippet, it's very typical With Or Without You. One sounds quite good, Bono is a little off in places but it's perfectly rounded off with the Hear Us Coming snippet (pulling out all of the favourites tonight). Wake Up Dead Man is excellent as it usually is on the Elevation Tour. Walk On would have closed the show superbly, very strong performance I though. However, the band decide to play Pride and Bono really doesn't do it any justice. The crowd however are determined to end the night on a high. Not quite sure what goes on at the end, it seems as though half the band want to stop and the other half wants to continue. Anyway, if you think that it's a good time to start the car and go home, you'd be treated to a performance of Out of Control as you're making your way out of the ground. This is a far better way to end the show than Pride.

Audience:
The rest of the crowd sing along with pretty much every song and really help to carry it in places. Italian crowds are usually passionate about a live U2 show and tonight is no different.

Sound quality:
Not enough bass. I joke, I thought my head was going to implode at first. There's a lot of clapping picked up new the taper and individual voices can be picked out throughout, particularly during Stay. If you can listen past this, then the actual recording is rather good.

Overall:
Overall it's a good show. It takes a while to get going and for Bono to settle in with a weakened voice, but when it does pick up it becomes quite an enjoyable listen. The second encore is a long drawn out affair, but it's well worth waiting for just hear Out of Control.

Highlights:
New York
I Will Follow
In A Little While
Where The Streets Have No Name
Bullet The Blue Sky
Wake Up Dead Man
Walk On

Lowlights:
Bono's voice
Immediate crowd around the taper
Elevation
Until The End Of The World
Mix-up at the end of Pride

Performance:
The show begins with with the usual, Elevation. It's an energetic start for sure. It's still very early in the tour but the band have pretty much sussed this song out. It's not great, but it's certainly not bad. They continue with the lead single, Beautiful Day, and the crowd are really liking it. Bono has a timing issue or two and there are a few mistakes musically but it doesn't really take much away from the overall enjoyment. We are immediately launched into the fan favourite, Until The End Of The World. Excellent performance, but it's a shame it didn't have the Two Tribes snippet that was heard in Atlanta a few nights ago. New Year's Day tries to continue in that classic combination from the Zoo TV tour, but the introduction is a mess and it kind of ruins that. However, with the help of a very tight performance from then on and some strong vocals from Bono, the intro can be overlooked. Bono takes a short break to talk about U2's experience in Denver, focussing on Red Rocks in 1983. Of course, there's been plenty more great shows in Denver along the years. On with the show, this next song (Stuck In A Moment) is for Michael Hutchence. Despite a weak start from Bono it's quite good. The vocal interplay between The Edge and Bono towards the end is excellent.

Gone keeps the ball rolling. A massive live hit from the Popmart tour, it's great to hear that it's lost none of that energy for the Elevation tour. Discothèque follows on and wow. Serious goosebumps from the moment the first words leave Bono's mouth. The Edge's guitar sounds incredible. I love the Devil Inside snippet and of course, the inclusion of Staring At The Sun is not only popular with me, but the crowd also. New York keeps up this high standard well. I know it's a little bit of love or hate with this track, but I do fall on the love side so I'm bound to enjoy it. Another crowd pleaser and high energy song follows on - I Will Follow. It just packs that typical punch that it has done for over 20 years. The band are showing no signs of slowing down yet as they tear into Sunday Bloody Sunday, much to the delight of the audience. Very strong performance that includes a Get Up Stand Up snippet. Now the band show signs of holding back on the energy as The Sweetest Thing begins a run of more relaxed songs. For a song that has very little time in a live setting the band really deliver.

Another short break taken by Bono to introduce the band, before we slip into In A Little While and it's beautiful. Bono humourously introduces The Ground Beneath Her Feet as a song written by a very famous punk rock singer. Performed by just Bono and The Edge, they do a really good job. But we're not here for Rushdie punk rock we're here for U2 rock and here comes Bad. It's an excellent performance that includes a snippet of '40' at the end and segues nicely into Where The Streets Have No Name, which in itself is exemplary. Mysterious Ways continues and it's a decent performance. Closing the main set is a reworked performance of The Fly and it's a fantastic end to the set.

Bullet The Blue Sky opens up the encore. It's really well executed, great start. With Or Without You is up next and it sounds broken. Something is wrong somewhere. Anyway (once Bono finds out where he is) One is here to make up for the previous song. Everything slots into place nicely this time. Amazing snippet (Do You Hear Me Coming?) from Bono and for an added bonus, another snippet of '40', in the style of One. Walk On closes the show and it's the perfect end.

Audience:
They're pretty good. Sing along during many songs and are very favourable with their applause towards some of the big live hits.

Sound quality:
Comes and goes throughout some songs seeming to fade across from left to right. There's also some voices near the taper that come through prominently, but other than that it's quite a good recording.

Overall:
Overall, it's a very enjoyable show. Plently of highlights early on in the tour. Of the new songs, In A Little While and Walk On are probably the best performed. The inclusion of Pop and Zoo TV material is good and the performances of the songs from pre-1990 are to a high standard.

Highlights:
- Discothèque / Devil Inside / Staring At The Sun
- The Sweetest Thing
- In A Little While
- Bad
- Where The Streets Have No Name
- The Fly
- Walk On

Lowlights:
- Sound
- Mistakes by the band during a few songs
- With Or Without You

Performance:
Many argue that there's no better way to start a show than with Where The Streets Have No Name. I don't think there's a better way to start a Joshua Tree show that's for sure. Tonight's show, in Daly City, is right in the middle of the first North American leg and the band sound like they are well into the groove by now. Each member is spot on with the delivery of Streets and this can only provide the base for an excellent show. Immediately upon finishing Streets, they rip into the fan favourite from their debut album, I Will Follow. Expectedly, the band nail it and the crowd love it. Continuing to pull out the big hits, I Still Haven't Found What I'm looking For follows on. Bono sounds in perfect voice, the rest of the band seem to be in perfect form. Lovely snippet of Exodus at the end too, one of my favourites. In a throwback to the previous tour, MLK provides the perfect introduction to The Unforgettable Fire. I've always been of the opinion that The Unforgettable fire was played better during this tour than on the tour for its respective album. From the moment those first notes are heard, it's four minutes of shivers. The Edge sounds amazing, he always does, but it's Bono's vocals that steal the show. Powerful delivery.

Bullet the Blue Sky imposes itself on the show now, after a fairly subdued evening, this is the first full on rock song for me. Driven by Larry's drumming, it really is a song that gets in your face. I'm all for it, excellent performance. Once it's hit it's peak, bang! Everything comes crashing down to the sound of Running To Stand Still. Another chance for Bono to show how good his voice is at this stage of his career. Simply perfect. No other words to describe it. As Bono tells us that the world revolves around Ireland, we can hear the simmering sound of the next song. A live classic from previous album, A Sort of Homecoming. The crowd love it and I love it. Another powerful performance, particularly from Bono. Sunday Bloody Sunday picks up where Bullet the Blue Sky finished off. Energetic, loud, thumping. Simply nailed. This is one of the songs where The Edge really shines as the backing vocalist. Now, it's one of my favourite songs from The Joshua Tree and a song that really explodes when played live, Exit. Absolutely love the snippet of Gloria at the end too. A thoroughly enjoyable performance.

In God's Country moves us along nicely. Bono messes up in the first verse, forgetting the words it seems. The highlight of this song will always be The Edge's guitar. Bad is up next, begins with the usually story of the songs background and moves into a typical lengthy performance. Rounded off with the common snippets, Ruby Tuesday and Sympathy for the Devil. Bono encourages the crowd to join in and they oblige. The Edge moves over to his piano for October, building up to the next big hit, New Year's Day. If the crowd love October, just wait until they hear what's coming next. As you'd expect, the Cow Palace erupts. Now it's Adam's time to shine. In truth, they all shine. Perfect build up to arguably U2's greatest hit until now, Pride. Great way to end the main setlist.

Opening the encore is With Or Without You. Exceptional performance and exceptional snippets at the end. Tonight was worth it for this alone. The band then aim to send the audience home with a spring in their step with Gloria, not Van Morrison this time. It's well executed as you'd expect with an old favourite. It would be a really good way to end the night, if it wasn't for '40'. This really does close the set down perfectly. Bono's additional vocals in the song are worth hearing.

Audience:
They're well up for it. The love to hear the little songs as much as the big hits, cheering and clapping throughout. They join in with the singing as well. Can't ask for much more, just a shame they're a little quiet and muffled in the audio.

Sound quality:
A little muffled but it doesn't stop the overall enjoyment of this show. The Edge's guitar rings through, Larry can be heard quite clearly and it's no trouble picking out Adam's baselines. The audience also come through well, though they'd sound much better in a cleaner recording.

Overall:
Overall, it's an almost faultless show. The band are really into the swing of things, each track is more or less played excellently, the crowd are really up for it and the sound is good enough to enjoy the show. Of course, the sound could be better, but don't let that ruin the show too much.

Highlights:
- I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
- The Unforgettable Fire
- Running To Stand Still
- A Sort of Homecoming
- Exit
- With Or Without You

Lowlights:
- The sound

Performance:
4th of July begins the show over the PA, gearing the crowd up for a show on The Unforgettable Fire Tour. Bono introduces the first number, 11 O'Clock Tick Tock. Quite a tight performance from the band who have been performing this now for over half a decade. Bono sounds in good voice whilst The Edge, Larry and Adam all seem to be on their game. Once finished, the band immediately burst into I Will Follow, which again, is as clean as you'd expect after years of practice. Following this, is a song from War, which seems at first glance, one of the unlikely survivors from that album - Seconds. Bono, being in North America introduces it as a song for the president of the time, Ronald Reagan. The Edge takes the first verse as he does in the studio and sounds alright. Bono continues from the second verse and shows that he really is in fine form. Over in a flash, seconds almost. MLK begins the run of tracks from the album that the tour is supporting. The introduction ruins the song somewhat for me, once Bono begins the vocals it becomes the beautiful little track we all know and love. From here, it's straight into The Unforgettable Fire, with that unmistakable introduction. Absolutely fantastic song, but tonight it doesn't quite click for me. The Edge's supporting vocals are a particular negative. It just sounds a little flat. Wire finishes off this little run. Decent performance from the band.

The huge Sunday Bloody Sunday makes an appearance now and the band nail it. After a mildly disappointing couple of tracks just gone, this really picks the show up again. The Edge makes a few mistakes during The Cry/The Electric Co., but that doesn't detract from the enjoyment. A really solid track for the band, just a shame about the odd mistake. Weird song to throw in an Amazing Grace snippet though. Great vocals, wrong time. A Sort of Homecoming is a brilliant track and it really sounds great in the live show. Bad continues, complete with the usual snippets of Ruby Tuesday and Sympathy for the Devil. Very good performance, I'm not sure if Bono has timing issues in the first chorus or not, he sounds a little out. October really is a beautiful little track, haunting in some ways. Larry's metronomic drumming is a little annoying though. Perfect segue into another classic, New Year's Day. It sounds good, the band don't put a foot wrong and Bono really delivers with the vocals. Now, closing the main set, the lead single from The Unforgettable Fire - Pride. A really strong performance to close as well.

Opening the encore is a cover of Knockin' On Heaven's Door. Absolutely stunning performance. Bono really nails it vocally and The Edge does well to back him up. Fantastic way to open the encore. Gloria continues the encore, a real rocker from the October era. Only one of two songs from that album played tonight. It's a few years old now and really has been a staple in the live show, alongside I Will Follow. The band pretty much hit the nail on the head with the performance, flawless. Closing the night is '40', Bono asking the crowd to sing along as is customary at a U2 show. Oddly, a snippet from Do They Know It's Christmas is thrown in, in March. Very strange thing to hear, maybe someone should've let Bono know that springtime has come...Larry, The Edge, Adam, Bono and the crowd really finish the show in style.

Audience:
They sound interactive and as though they're loving the show, but sound really distant in the recording so are a little quiet. They round '40' off nicely though

Sound quality:
For its age, it has very good sound. Mainly clear, though there are some minor distortions throughout, expected really. Very listenable and very enjoyable

Overall:
A really tight performance from the band. At the height of The Unforgettable Fire tour, they really have the older tracks mastered and the newer tracks have really found their place in the live show. A decent mixture of tracks from their four albums and an excellent cover.

Highlights:
- Seconds
- Sunday Bloody Sunday
- Pride
- Knockin' On Heaven's Door
- Gloria

Lowlights:
- MLK introduction
- The Edge's vocals on The Unforgettable Fire

Performance:
Typical opening for a Vertigo show, a bootleg that contains 'Wake Up' in full is a treat. I'm very happy with City of Blinding Lights as the opener. The Edge creates a noise like no other, it just sounds amazing. I do wish the introduction to the song was a little longer really, but then it kicks in for real and the sound from The Edge just gets better and better. Bono is perfectly fine here, doesn't quite nail the "ooh ooh" sections and does sound a little rough in parts, but it's good enough for me. A little lyrical mix up at the end, then again it is Bono. He makes up for it in the "Ohhh Tokyo" though. No messing around, straight into Vertigo we go - with a little Japanese flair at the start. Pretty solid performance as you'd expect at this stage in the tour. Fantastic snippet of 'She Loves You' at the end. Bono continues his Japanese speech at the start of Elevation, I have no idea what he's saying - the Japanese crowd probably has no idea either. Again, the band nail the performance. They continue this streak with an excellent performance of Until the End of the World, the crowd seem to be loving it too. They follow with New Year's Day, and if I'm honest, I wasn't feeling it much at the beginning, but Bono really does step up and deliver some spine tingling vocals. I guess it's always good to hear an old song in the show. Beautiful Day rounds off the energetic start and it is pretty much perfect. Again, shivers when Bono goes into the "You can touch me/Teach me" part and he throws in some very nice lyrical changes for "See the world...". The only thing that could make it better? A snippet of Blackbird, and, Bono begins " Blackbird singing in the dead of night"...

Now we enter the slower section of the show, Angel of Harlem kicks us off. The usual semi-stripped back performance of just Bono and The Edge on the first verse, with Adam and Larry coming in for verse two. It's a great song to hear live, a favourite of mine for a long time. Nice to hear Bono on the harmonica too, a little throwback to the late 80's there. Now, here's a rarity. Not only Zooropa song to be played during the Vertigo Tour, but also one of the few times we hear it in full at all. It's really nice to hear, until Bono sings "I feel love....love! Love! Love!" - that takes away some of the magic. Moving on, back to some normality with Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own. Bono dedicates is to not only his father, but all fathers. It's an incredibly touching song, particularly with the story that goes behind it from just Bono's perspective, but also it's a song that can adapt to many people's lives and sometimes, you just have to sit back and listen, take it in. The Edge always compliments Bono nicely in the chorus part and does so again tonight. A shame there isn't a snippet of No Regrets thrown in, but that's personal preference. Now, surprisingly, we have another treat thrown into the setlist now with One Tree Hill. Rarely seen outside New Zealand this one. Perfect.

Sunday Bloody Sunday kicks off the more political section of the show. It's an energetic, strong performance. You can argue all day about whether or not it has a place in the set, but the band will continue to nail it. Ok, the speeches do get a little annoying after a while. Singing the song is fine, but stopping it to give a speech is a little too much. Sunday Bloody Sunday lasting for eight minutes? Give us Bad?... Perfect, effortless segue into Bullet the Blue Sky though. A fantastic song that really comes alive when played live. Exceptional performance, it sounds so good. The tempo of the show is slowed down now for Miss Sarajevo, a truly beautiful song that they really get right live. Of course, the main attraction may be Bono's attempt of Pavarotti's part...well...he does it justice. The Human Rights declaration at the end really doesn't sit well with me, so it's great to actually hear Pride kick in. Solid performance, I can't really pick any faults out with it, so we'll move on to that lesser known song, Where The Streets Have No Name. More political messages from Bono, the journey of equality. It's difficult to really pick the song apart, it's so powerful that you just get carried away and end up loving it. The musical arrangement before One is really nice to listen to, it kind of helps with having to listen to Bono talk. One closes the main set off really well. The crowd really love it.

The Fly opens the encore in the only fashion that The Fly can. A real shame that the vocals let it down somewhat. Good start to the encore though, continued through Mysterious Ways. It's not a notable performance for me, but enjoyable nonetheless. With Or Without You brings some intimacy back to the show. It's a really good performance, Bono is strong throughout and it's capped off with the must have snippet of Shine Like Stars. Just as you think we're done for the night though, another rarity is pulled out of the bag. The second ever performance of Window In The Skies. Dedicated to Hiroshi Sugimato, who of course played a future role in U2's history. The performance is great. Really, for just the second time it's been played, they do really well. Desire continues the encore and the band deliver a flawless performance. Some of my favourite vocals of the night in truth. " Guitar solo" and "harmonica encore" - what more could you ask for? It does set us up nicely for the closer and All I Want Is You closes the show perfectly.

Audience:
This crowd are fired up for the show. Singing along to the usual parts in Vertigo, Elevation etc. They are pleased to hear Until the End of the World, Miss Sarajevo and so on. They do lower their voices in some parts, but they do come back strong again. They really help to close the show well.

Sound quality:
Pretty solid throughout. Obvious arena environment, which isn't my favourite setting and it does have that particular sound to it, common to arena shows of this era. It's almost crystal clear though, very enjoyable, easy to listen to. A few little interruptions in sound quality, interference during Streets for example - which may not be the tapers fault. Other than that, you can't ask for any more.

Overall:
A very solid performance at the end of the Vertigo tour. Almost all of the songs are played to a high level, the band remain consistent throughout and put of a great show for the crowd.

Highlights:
- Until The End Of The World
- Beautiful Day
- One Tree Hill
- Bullet The Blue Sky
- With Or Without You
- Window In The Skies
- Desire
- All I Want Is You

Lowlights:
- The politics, I know they're part of a Vertigo show, but they drag on and on.

Performance:
Starting off with Gloria, Bono states that "this festival starts now" and there's no song much better than Gloria for kicking off a U2 show. Fresh from the October album and a staple of the October Tour, it's delivered to a high standard. Vocal changes towards the end would be the only letdown. Continuing the high energy opening, a performance of I Threw A Brick worked to perfection keeps the pace. Then onto it's perfect partner and fan favourite, A Day Without Me. Excellent start to the show so far. Sounds like The Edge changes it up midway through though, slightly different tone to the guitar than is usual, nothing wrong with it though, it's good. Bono comes across as a bit of twat at the end of the track though, unfortunate. An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart are just standard performances, but delivered to the high standard we expect. Rejoice, the very last time this song was played. Makes you wonder why it was dropped because it rocks. The next few songs The Cry/Electric Co., I Fall Down, I Will Follow are just really standard performances, enjoyable and energetic, but nothing worth noting. Twilight follows on from I Will Follow to begin a very Boy orientated setlist from now on, which is kind of the way October shows go. A nice little segue into Out Of Control, I like it. Despite Bono saying goodbye to everyone, they're not finished. It's time for A Celebration apparently. Odd song really, because it's obviously not as polished as Boy/October songs and they haven't really tried to perfect it since it was released as a single. Nice to hear though. 11 O'Clock Tick Tock is always perfect, you can tell the difference between this and the previous track in terms of how polished the tracks are and how comfortable they are performing the tracks live. The Ocean is a beautiful little track, I hope it stays in the setlist for years to come...Closing the show now, I Will Follow, again. Oh wait, a special song for Turku. Southern Man, goosebumps hearing that tone come from Edge's guitar. Wow, I'd take the instrumental of this any day. Good little show that was.

Audience:
Barely present throughtout the songs, but they cheer at the end, so they must've enjoyed it.

Sound quality:
Sure there's hiss and a little distortion throughout but for a 30 year recording, it's perfectly listenable.

Overall:
Overall, it's a solid little festival show to end the October era. I just wish they'd thrown some tracks like Tomorrow, Fire and With A Shout into the extended set to celebrate the end of the tour.

Hightlights:
- A Day Without Me
- Rejoice
- Out of Control
- 11 O'Clock Tick Tock
- The Ocean
- Southern Man guitar

Lowlights:
- Bono's crowd interaction
- A Celebration
- Lack of October tracks
- Southern Man vocals

Performance:
Out Of Control sounds...sounds decent. I think Edge's solo is good. Vocally, Bono is doing well. Twilight is good. Very solid performance of An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart. Surrender is great though I'm not keen on the particular snippet. Two Hearts Beat As One has always been a favourite of mine and despite the sound, I thoroughly enjoyed this performance. Even though Bono messes up midway through. Standard performance of Seconds. Same goes for Sunday Bloody Sunday. Good, but not particularly noteworthy. Good effort on The Cry/Electric Co. Solid rendition of Gloria, sounds energetic. New Year's Day sounds fantastic, not sure the vocals are up to scratch though. Enjoyable though. Starting to close the set now, I Will Follow. Delivered with the experience they now have with this track. Solid. Finally, "40" puts an end to the show. Decent. Nothing more, nothing less. Shame the recording fades out halfway through.

Audience:
Not really present in the audio, maybe because they're just standing there appreciating the music or they're generally not that into it. They clap at the end of songs and sometimes clap rhythmically to songs like Surrender and even sing during Surrender. Present again, clapping during the intro Seconds. Sunday Bloody Sunday seems to be the track they're waiting for.

Sound quality:
Well...the start is horrific. Almost unlistenable. Picks up a little for Twilight, some audience coming through now and the music comes through clearer. Sounds like a show now.

Overall:
I think it's a very standard set from U2. Towards the end of the War tour now, so most of the tracks they have spent plenty of time perfecting. Something we'd expect, enjoyable gig nonetheless, very solid but perhaps let down by an unenthusiastic crowd and poor sound quality.

Highlights:
- Surrender
- Two Hearts Beat As One
- Gloria

Lowlights:
- Overall Sound
- Audience only come in when prompted

Performance:
Kicking off with the usual, Elevation. It's an energetic start to the show, difficult to judge Bono's vocals at this point because of the nature of the song but so far so good. The band sound tight and in the mood. The Pump It Up snippet at the end is good. Is that Pride? Second? Wow. Decent performance overall, not particularly outstanding but I'm thinking it actually works better early in the set. I suppose this is a good time to assess Bono and I think it's thumbs up vocally. Introduction to Until The End Of The World sounds a little loose musically, but it comes together for the start of the first verse. In fact, it comes together for a truly enjoyable performance. Sticking with a little Zoo TV ensemble, enters The Fly, in it's typical Elevation reincarnation. Sublime, nothing much else to say. Even Better Than The Real Thing sounds fantastic. Edge makes a minor mistake but other than that, bang. Could it get any better? Well when Mysterious Ways kicks in, you can only assume that it can. Excellent. Stuck In A Moment was executed to near perfection. That is in turn followed by a great performance of Kite, which in turn hands over the floor to an old Pop favourite, Gone. Nailed. What else can I say? This is why I love U2. Now onto the Miami of the Elevation Tour. New York. I've always been a fan of it and tonight, I'm still a big fan. *Fast forward the tape* Sunday Bloody Sunday! I love this song on the Elevation Tour and it just continues a long line of extremely enjoyable performances on this one night in Boston. Desire is a song that is difficult not to enjoy. The beat, the lyrics, everything is just perfect. The snippets just turn it into something else though. Party Girl is so relaxed, everything just seems to be going in the right direction for this show.

Stay is performed with such a beautiful feeling. Simply perfect. Bad is faultless. Perfect segue into Streets and a perfect performance. Great bouncing feel to the show now. Well, here it is. The song we should've heard long before now, Beautiful Day. Closing the main set in a very unusual fashion. I'm tired of praising the set and the performance now, but I am finding it difficult to pick faults. A good way to end what has been a brilliant main set.

Bullet The Blue Sky opens the encore with the power we have come to expect from this song. Edge is bang on throughout. Time to slow it down now, With Or Without You. I'm not to keen on Bono's vocals at the start, but he picks it up and starts singing. Strong performance on the whole. One is exceptional. Closing the show is Walk On, such an inspirational song yet it's so easy to forget how great it is as a closer.


Audience:
Already up for it by starting the "oooh" during the Elevation introduction and continuing to be vocal throughout. Also contribute to Pride. They continue throughout to be fair to them, laughing at jokes, booing those who deserve it, cheering when applicable, singing when the chance allows. Credit to them.

Sound quality:
There are a few distorted moments throughout the show but unless you are listening for them, they're barely noticeable. Some members of the crowd come through individually in the recording which is never good. The low frequencies rumble quite a bit more than you'd expect them to throughout. The actual clarity of the recording though is pretty good. Nasty fast forward sound after New York


Overall:
An absolute jewel in the crown. Nothing more.

Highlights:
- Pump It Up Snippet
- Zoo Tv Section
- Sunday Bloody Sunday
- Desire
- Stay (Faraway, So Close)
- One

Lowlights:
- Where is Out of Control?
- Noticeable skip midway through

Performance:
The introduction to City of Blinding Lights is amazing. Absolutely stunning. On the whole, it's a strong beginning to the show. The crowd really elevate Vertigo here, Bono's vocals sound a little rough. Adam's bass sounds great. Bono plays with the crowd at the start of Elevation, I don't know what he says but they love it. Vocals are considerably easier in this song and that helps Bono. The band interact well at the start, and it carries through. Good performance, even though Bono messes up late on.The introduction to Until The End of the World sounds tight, Bono starting to sound a little more rough now, vocals keep breaking and there doesn't seem to be a lot of energy from him. It's a litle frustrating because the rest of the band sound on top form and Bono is letting them down. Vocally, the Vertigo Tour wasn't an exceptional showcase of his ability. It is the 118th show of the tour though. New Year's Day is pretty much the same story as the previous song, vocals are a little better though. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking for is a marked improvement in my opinion, not an amazing performance but it's fairly decent. Beautiful Day sees yet another uninspired effort from Bono, there has been some fluctuation already and we're only seven songs in. Have to give credit for the "You can touch me..." section though. Nice local vocal change in the "See the world..." part too. The rest of the band still sounding great. The First Time is a beautiful little number, Bono comes in slightly early but it doesn't matter that much. Not keen on the interaction with the crowd though. Bono really steps up for Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, excellent. Love And Peace Or Else is a real soaring track, a track that should've survived the Vertigo Tour if I'm honest. Good performance, leading the show into a bit of a warzone. Always a good segue into Sunday Bloody Sunday, though it's a little bit tired after 23 years of touring. Bullet The Blue Sky is played well, though I'm not sure there is a place for it into today's setlists. Miss Sarejevo is a brilliant track and it's performed with excellence. Pride tries so hard to please. Yet it always sounds tired. The crowd try and help it along and to an extent it works. Where The Streets Have No Name is a track that shows it's possible to be a staple of a U2 after all these years. Good performance. One is a pretty standard performance, Edge's guitar comes through a little harshly.

Zoo Station sends us all the way back to 1992.I have to admit, I probably prefer Vertigo renditions as opposed to Zoo TV. Good performance tonight. Bono really lets The fly slip through his grasp though, very poor effort. The Edge sounds great at the start of Mysterious Ways, but it soon descends into something a little disappointing. Very relaxed performance of With Or Without You but that's not necessarily a bad thing, it's actually quite pleasant to hear. The music accompanying Mothers of the Disappeared is absolutely terrible. A solo performance from Bono would've been significantly better. What a shame, vocals + crowd were amazing. Original of the Species is nice, not outstanding but not bad either. bono seems to be giving it a lot more now, though a little too late. Closing with All I Want Is You is an odd one, but I can see why it was chosen. Powerful end to the show.

Audience:
They are loud when the chance comes along for them to sing. Vertigo a shining example. I Still Haven't Found, Sunday Bloody Sunday and One are others.

Sound quality:
It's pretty good. Nice and clear, instruments seem well balanced, the crowd aren't muted. The radio presenter soon becomes annoying though, introducing every song. There is a noticeable skip at the end of Vertigo/start of Elevation and again at the end of Beautiful Day/start of The First Time. And again...seriously? Some poor editing of the show.

Overall:
Very hit and miss show. Some highlights (below) but many lowlights, mainly down to the vocal performance. Musically, the band sound in good shape. Crowd are really energetic throughout and the sound helps the listening experience.

Highlights:
- Elevation
- Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
- Miss Sarajevo
- With Or Without You
- Mothers of the Disappeared (Vocals + crowd)
- Some exceptional performances musically

Lowlights:
- Vocals throughout
- Until The End Of The World
- The Fly
- Mothers of the Disappeared (Music)

Performance:
Beginning, as usual, with a rumble in the form of Mofo. It's very late in the Popmart tour (last date) and I think it's already showing. compared to Mexico about 4 months earlier it's all very routine and Bono sounds as though he's just going through the motions and looking forward to his break. Always an enjoyable segue into I Will Follow, early Boy material is difficult to make special in the bands old age, but it does seem more suited to the lazy Bono. The rest of the band sound top drawer. Not a particularly great version, quite short in truth. Gone is dedicated here to Michael Hutchence, so you'd expect a passionate performance from Bono in particular. Good vocals during the "And I'm already gone..." section though it still feels very routine. Even Better Than The Real Thing kicks off with that signature guitar and that almost is enough to kick the show off, until Bono starts speaking in the language of the natives, very awkward. At least he sings as though he's in the groove (even throws in some Joshua Tree vocals). Again, a pleasure to hear the band perform this great song. Moving into one of my favourite live songs now, Last Night On Earth. I can only hope the energy from the previous song carries through. On the whole, it's a good performance but it could be better. There's no "Would you believe in someone..." but Bono does give the crowd a small cry to repeat, nice touch. Also some good changes to the "It's not the last night on Earth" section. Until the End of the World is more Elevation than Zoo TV, crowd are enjoying it. Great to hear the bassline of New Year's Day kick in, some controlled falsetto from Bono at the start helps the intro along. Again I can't help but feel that it all sounds very routine, Bono throws in some good vocals but always remains in control of them, Edge does great with the solo. The introduction to Pride is good, but quickly it settles back into the typical Pride. I Still Haven't Found sounds good, shame Bono has to ask twice to switch the lights off...good solid performance though. Now, we can't really beat some Popmart Stand By Me goodness, crowd come across here brilliantly. Upon it's end we move straight into All I Want Is You. It's no Lovetown performance, that's a given, but when the dust is brushed off this classic, the band do it justice. Bono's vocals sound good here and credit has to be given for the Never Tear Us Apart snippet, most passion he's put in all night. Bono always sounds stunning on guitar during this next track, Staring At The Sun. Very chilled performance but really enjoyable nonetheless. Sunday Bloody Sunday is played in usual Popmart fashion with Edge performing solo, a hauntingly beautiful and peaceful performance. ~Bullet The Blue Sky attempts to bring the show out of that slow section by throwing into a howling wind, works well for the most part...credit to the band for nailing it, have to question the vocals again though. Sounds very empty. One of the lasting memories of Popmart is undoubtedly the Please/Where The Streets Have No Name partnership, Hasta La Vista (Mexico) delivers one of the best examples of this in my opinion so it's always interesting to see how other shows stack up against this, even more so when the show seems to be sitting on the backseat as other great shows drive down the road of history. Of course, Streets offers that extra gear to any show, and we need another gear in this one. Please almost starts the engine in this case, something that Mofo should've done from square one, good rendition but it all hangs on the falsetto at the end, long and high is what we need...and long and high is what we get. Streets just starting to shine through and then bang, it kicks in. "Going up!" exclaims Bono, I sure hope so. Good thumping bass throughout, vocally it's not too bad, a little coarse but that falls in line with how his voice has been all night. Great way to end the main set. Funnily enough, Lemon over the PA is probably the best track to be played so far...At the start of the encore, it's clear that Bono needed a little break because he delivers almolst faultless vocals at the start of Discotheque, the faster pace of the middle section exposes him a little though. If You Wear That Velvet Dress actually offers Bono the chance to nail it because it's slow and requires less in the way of complexity. Edge's guitar deserves a mention here because it sounds so good. A good effort, I liked it anyway. With Or Without You keeps the higher standard going, again it's not great but it's in no way bad. The show is suddenly catapulted into a new light with the pure rock song that is Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me. Edge and Larry really carry this song and that makes up for anything Bono may be lacking. And, just as you thought that was it, Mysterious Ways kicks in. Bono gives the "It's alright" parts at the end a good go, his voice definitely suffering from the tour though, a good performance but time to kill it off and say goodnight to Popmart. Vocals are actually ok during One, we've heard stronger but given the night he's had behind the microphone, they're good. Edge's guitar solo at the end signalling the end of the tour, the end of a tough few years and the move into the unknown again. Well, almost. '40' rears it's head again, perfect way to end the tour.

Audience:
Present throughout, seem to enjoy the show and take part when the occasion permits.

Sound quality:
Good sound, not particularly spectacular. Sources listed here do feature some audio skips during a few songs. In all honesty, it may be the sound or the band but it sounds quite dead. Almost 'rehearsal' in parts. At some points, there is some feedback noticeable.

Overall:
Good show on the whole, doesn't quite do the Popmart tour justice though as the closing show.

Highlights:
- Even Better Than The Real Thing
- Discotheque
- If You Wear That Velvet Dress
- One

Lowlights:
- Mofo
- Vocals throughout

Performance:
Always good to kick off with a pounding Gloria. Good solid perfromance, nothing really exceptional in my opinion. The band keep the standard up throughout I Threw A Brick - given a good pounding from Larry. It's very typical of the band in this era to not stop for a break and we're straight into A Day Without Me. I've always been a fan of these two songs paired together, good effort all round. Edge is a little of on the piano at the start of New Year's Day but that's no real issue. Again, it's not a special performance or one of particular note but the band still deliver. For Out Of Control there are some distracting echo's on Bono's vocals at the start which really ruin it. A real shame. They kind of reappear in Sunday Bloody Sunday too, doesn't stop the band from nailing it though. Sometimes it's easy to overlook such a track but it's got a great rhythm. Not just from Larry either, you can pick out a good beat in all instruments. Back to some of the old favourites now, The Electric Co., good performance. I'm surprised I Fall Down made it's way out of the October Tour, not the greatest live song but it kind of serves it's purpose I suppose, remain quite up tempo whilst mixing elements of the next song to slow the show down a touch. October is always a beautiful song when performed live. Tomorrow is equally as beautiful. Adam's simple bassline is just great. I think the percussion is slightly fast for the song though. Good to hear the crowd joining in as well. Excellent. "This is called Two Hearts Beat As One" - sure is, and beat it does. Always a favourite of mine, I can only approve. Seconds is pretty damn good also. Some killer grooves in these War Tour shows. Another October survivor now, Fire. It's a good little song in my opinion, actually fits quite nicely with the whole War theme. At this stage of their careers, 11 O'Clock Tick Tock is about as safe as Vertigo is now. They've played it countless times and shouldn't get it wrong. They don't. Great effort, crowd pleaser also. I Will Follow by name and nature, another solid effort. first ever performance of Party Girl here, doesn't fit the setlist at all, great fun song when reserved for special occasions. Onwards and upwards I suppose. Surrender seems a little rough around the edges but they have a decent shot at it. Now here's a rarity, the only performance of Like A Song... - it's a good novelty to hear but you can figure out why it was dropped. They didn't quite convey/improve upon the studio version for the live setting. Even more evident when you compare it to 40, also a new song but translated well for the live set.

Audience:
Not too bad, some distinct voices appear sporadically. They come in nicely for Tomorrow and take part in 11 O'Clock Tick Tock


Sound quality:
It's not the best to be fair. Not the worst either. The band are audible, Adam sometimes fades away but the guitar and drums are about as clear as you'd expect from the something of this quality. Some unwanted echo on Bono's vocals early on.

Overall:
Good first night of the War tour, the band do a stellar job on the old classics, they experiment with the new songs, most work, some don't, some need refining a little. On the whole, a good listen, worth revisiting in the future too.

Highlights:
- I Threw A Brick/A Day Without Me
- Tomorrow
- Fire
- 11 O'Clock Tick Tock

Lowlights:
- Out Of Control
- Party Girl

Performance:
I always disagree with starting a show with Streets for some reason, but every time I hear it at the start of a Joshua Tree gig, it's so full of energy that it's hard not to approve. Tonight the band truly deliver with this song, some particularly nice vocals from Bono. The energy remains as the band move into a full blown I Will Follow. Excellent. Next up is a song that really encapsulates the whole Joshua Tree style, Trip Through Your Wires. In my opinion, it's a really good song. Definitely should only live on Joshua Tree shows though. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For is pretty much bang on, Exodus is always a welcome snippet. Bringing the pace back up, Gloria. Again, there's very little I can find wrong with the performance, it's just great. I don't agree with the placement of MLK in the set, maybe would've been suited more paired with I Still Haven't Found although it flows nicely into the bass of New Year's Day, so give it credit there. New Year's Day sounds a little empty here, but we have come to expect so much of the classic track.Don't think the bass is thumping enough. I'm a big fan of Sunday Bloody Sunday in this style, Bono is excellent with the vocals. Now, here is another epic Joshua Tree track - Exit. Excellent song, brilliant Gloria snippet at the end. Massive enjoyment. Straight into yet another quintessential Joshua Tree track, In God's Country. Although they're great tracks I'm really glad they stayed with that era. They wouldn't work today. Excellent performance. Fairly average performance of Bad if I must say, Help has almost dampened the show. It's by no means a bad rendition (no pun intended) but there are better. October? Yes, it's a good song but it really belongs back in the early years unless they can polish it up a little. This era really was the best for With Or Without You, vocals are really good. I'm not really feeling Pride, like Bad, there are better performances out there and in a little disjointed section of the gig I don't think it's working. But, all is not lost. Bullet The Blue Sky brings us right back to where we should be. Good solid performance. Immediately followed by the evergreen Running to Stand Still, always beautiful. And, as one last blast - Out Of Control, full of energy, great way to set the crowd up for the final song. And the crowd duly oblige in singing the refrain.

Audience:
Good. There when they're needed but in the recording they don't overshadow the band. As far as i'm aware, there were maybe a few moments when individual voices can be heard but nothing offputting. Great in the refrain for 40.


Sound quality:
Pretty damn good. Obviously it's no soundboard recording or crystal clear audience recording but it's not far off. Only issue is the start of Streets where it sounds a little muffled. Also another issue at the start of October but that might be the band's fault. Comes in a little loud.

Overall:
Overall it's a surprisingly good show. At first I was a little disappointed by the sound of the bootleg but once it cleared up it was a really enjoyable listen. Definitely worth listening to and maybe even worth revisiting.

Highlights:
- Streets
- I Will Follow
- Trip Through Your Wires
- Sunday Bloody Sunday
- Exit
- With Or Without You
- Running To Stand Still
- Overall energy
- Vocals

Lowlights:
- Show falls away a little in the middle
- October just didn't cut it for me

Performance:
As with every Zoo TV show, we begin with Zoo Station. I think it's a song that they could just pull out every night and perform with a degree of comfort. This night was no different, clean performance and no mistakes. Quickly we change into The Fly, again, we start off like a standard Zoo TV night - Bono's vocals sounding a little lazy and Edge's falsetto lacking a bit of power. The Edge more than makes up for it though with the solo and Bono even seems to put some more effort in afterwards. Unmistakable introduction to Even Better Than The Real Thing, bringing with it a solid performance of the song, even if Bono's vocals don't seem to match the music in terms of power, the music almost leaves him behind. Straight into Mysterious Ways, as we'd expect. Again, the band pull out another clinical rendition, even Bono finds form towards the end of song with some nice falsetto's before and after the solo. One brings the show back down to earth, vocals are good, seguing into She's A Mystery To Me which is a nice change from Unchained Melody although not as good. "Jeeeesus?!" - no, not tonight. Until The End Of The World takes the show up a gear or two, fairly sound performance overall. New Year's Day keeps the pace running at full speed, sounds really good tonight. Bono adds some extra vocals to the beginning which add something to the introduction. Best vocals of the night now, Larry performing Wild Rover. From one Irish drinking song, to another. Tryin' To Throw your Arms Around The World is the kind of song it's difficult to not like. Good performance all round, though there are better on the tour. They follow up with a standard performance of Angel Of Harlem, Bono's vocals are standing out a lot more now than they did at the start of the show. That said, I'm not keen on his vocals in the first verse of When Love Comes To Town - Adam's vocals? No wonder they give him a verse on Passengers. No need to put Satellite of Love in the set, serves no purpose unless it's at the end of Bad. If it was at the end of Bad though, there'd be no Fool To Cry snippet. Bad sounds pretty good underneath the idiots in the crowd, real shame. Good snippets at end, work well. At least a really good crack at Bullet The Blue Sky shuts the mouths of those exchanging words in the crowd, followed up by a good performance of Running To Stand Still. The segue into Where The Streets Have No Name is always a pleasure to hear on a Zoo TV bootleg, this is no different. The audience know what's coming. A pleasurable listen any day of the week. The U2Start favourite up now, Pride. In reality, it's not bad, maybe overplayed but who cares when it sounds like this? A speech precedes I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, with Bono thanking Canada and blasting the ticket scalpers. Not overly keen on The Edge's guitar work during the introduction, a little messy. From the moment Bono starts singing, the song only lasts 2 minutes. Maybe worth cutting short when they go into a full cover of Stand By Me? One of the highlights for me actually, crowd seem to enjoy it too. Desire is pretty standard tonight, not as enjoyable as it has been on the tour. With Or Without You is little short of excellent tonight. Vocally, it's good, musically it's near perfect - a good way to slow the show in preparation for the closer. The Edge, as usual, nails it (Love Is Blindess). Excellent end to the night and if that left you feeling a little depressed, we're treated to usual Can't Help Falling In Love. Good vocals on this one from Bono, now let's hear Elvis have a shot.

Audience:
Good audience, come in and out throughout when needed. Will mark down though for some having a fight at the end of Bad and beginning of Running To Stand Still, absolutely ruin Bad. Some members of the audience stand out over the top of the track which is annoying.

Sound quality:
The sound on this bootleg is good. Rated 4 stars, I think that's about right. Everything is clear and distinguishable which is good.

Overall:
Overall, it's a good solid setlist from the band. Some musical highlights from The Edge, some vocal lowlights from Bono. A rare performance from Adam and another cameo from Larry.

Highlights:
- New Year's Day
- Adam's vocal
- Fool To Cry/All I Want Is You snippets
- Stand By Me
- With Or Without You
- Love Is Blindess

Lowlights:
- The Edge's guitar on I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
- Bono's vocals at points throughout
- Crowd arguing during bad.

Performance:
Pretty good to be honest. Faultless 'Even Better Than The Real Thing'. Nice solo in 'Mysterious Ways', one I've not heard before. Solid of 'One'. Good versions of 'Tryin To Throw' and 'Wild Horses'. Very nice 'Wild Horses' in fact. Edge, Larry, Adam and Bono are all having a great night. No major criticisms of the music.

My only problem, the setlist is too short, apparently because Bono's voice is not holding up well, but he certainly hit the high notes at the start of the show. There is no noticeable detereoration in his voice. But we get no Desire and after With Or Without You, he kicks the microphone stand into the crowd and walks off. So no 'Love Is Blindness' either. He does apologise.

However, still a good show, well worth hearing.


Audience:
Present throughout the show, participate when the oppurtunity arises. The show sold out in a Civic Center record 40 minutes and with there being just under 16,500 there, they do a good job.

Sound quality:
Very listenable.

Overall:
Good show. Shame some songs are left out. Highlights include:

- Even Better Than The Real Thing
- Mysterious ways solo
- Second half of One
- Wild Horses
- Ultra Violet
- No nonsense setlist

Performance:
First off, I like how they start with Stand By Me, Bono trys to put some power into it at the end and strangley I was dissappointed they went into Pride, I would've liked something a bit more laidback. Perhaps Desire. It's an ok performance of Pride, though the crowd could've made it so much better. Always nice to hear New Year's Day make an apperance on a live show, though I think the bass lacked a lot of punch. Still a very acceptable performance. Loving the way I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For opens up. That's about all I can say about it, the rest is pretty average. Still lacking bass. I like People Get Ready, nice little filler. MLK is as good as it always is and it's followed up by a rather nice One Tree Hill. Can you go wrong with Streets? No. Very good performance I'd say. Think I've finally gotten into the bootleg and looking at the remaining setlist I might enjoy the listen. Nice rocking performance of Gloria and an enjoyable performance of Bad. Nice Van Diemans Land from Edge. Standard Bullet The Blue Sky calmed down by a peaceful Running To Stand Still though it just seems to die halfway through. Would've liked a "Still running" from the crowd like in Rotterdam. Didn't like Slow Dancing on this occasion. Have high expectations for Angel of Harlem, pretty fine piece of music on the Lovetown Tour. It delivered. Not the best from the Tour but still very worthwhile. Sluggish segue lol, should've been bang in there. Minor issue however. Decent When Love Comes To Town. Ok rendition of Love Rescue Me. Love the way The Edge just threw that opening chord of Desire out and let it hang. Should've gone straight into it after that but hey.Was a good bouncy performance. All Along The Watchtower doesn't belong here this late on in my opinion. But it's a good end to the show, solid performances of All I Want Is You and '40'.

Audience:
Thought it was a closed soundcheck. In all fairness they come and go. Probably louder than the recording make out.

Sound quality:
It's clear. Vocals come through well, guitar is very audible. It does lack some bass though and that's a real shame.

Overall:
Highlights
- Stand By Me - Good opening song I think.
- I Still Haven't Found Intro - Like the way Bono starts with the vocals and then Edge fades in.
- Desire - That ringing chord at the start could have been used for a very memorable performance. Almost like Vertigo on the 360 tour when that noise builds up and the drums come in and then it reaches a crescendo and then it's rips into the song. Something like that could've been done here I think and it's would've been good to hear.

Lowlights
- Bass levels - Really degrade the long term listenability of the bootleg and really drags some songs down with it.
- Setlist is a little muddled I think, could've been rearranged for more effect.

Performance:
Only the 2nd performance live of the song so it's still a bit shaky. It just hasn't all come together yet.

Audience:
Just a bunch of people sitting down having a drink, not a U2 audience, just a general audience.

Sound quality:
Sound quality is good, but i'm sure someone could go one better.

Overall:
Well it's an acceptable performance. Better than the performance at the Grammy Awards (08/02/2009) but it still has some way to go until it becomes a great live track.

Performance:
Beautiful Day - I love the start to this. First the speaking of the lyrics and then the throaty shouting on "the heart is a bloom!" Followed by a near perfect version of the song. The crowd are well up for it tonight. New Year's Day - Bono's seemingly sore throat is perfect for the cry out at the beginning of this song. Great performance, despite what I think is a mistake, at 1:40, Adam seems to forget what comes next lol. Edge's guitar as good as ever here, very good performance nonehteless. Until The End of the World - Jeeeeesus! I adore this song. Don't care where it's played, it's brilliant. I especially love the "love love love, love love, loo-ooo-ooove looove" bit. Two Tribes is also pretty good after it. Stuck In A Moment is agreat song and this is a pretty good performance. The crowd do a pretty good job as well. What's Going On? is a song I love U2 doing. Great performance. New York is a song I don't really like, the album version anyway, but live it's so full of life. Pretty good. Pride - Typically good performance of such a great song. Sunday Bloody Sunday...I don't think it's possible for me to rate this song poorly, ever. Like Pride, it's such a staple in their shows that it's just nailed to perfection every time. Kite is awesome, always has been. Really emotional every time. Angel of Harlemhaha, I love this song live too. I love to play it, love to sing it too. Great song. Staring at the Sun, beautiful little track. Bad...always brilliant. Streets, well, no version of this can be bad. ISHFWILF is great in this bootleg, the crowd really enhance it. With or Without You is just another fantastic song in the long line in this bootleg. What's the significane of the 10 months bit though?

Elevation is a really good encore opener, crowd really going for it here as well. Good track. Followed by Mysterious Ways which is a song I really like, when done properly, when it's one dimensional and lasts over 7 minutes, it's tedious. I like this performance though. The intro is very strange, great though. One, is this seriously 10 minutes? Nope, there's a speech. Speech is very true though. Good performance follows. There's a brief Peace on Earth which is ok, an Unchained Melody would've been better, but considering the occasion, [Peace on Earth[/I] was quite apt. Finally, Walk On, which is a brilliant song. And it's awesome live.

Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.

Sound quality:
This part is only rated, not commented on.

Overall:
A very good performance although compared to some shows a very 'quiet performance. Not in terms of loudness, but interms of the songs. No Bullet the Blue Sky, no Fly, no Zoo Station, no Gone etc. Some melodic tracks chosen instead, which makes it a good show in it's own right.

Performance:
1) 11 O'Clock Tick tock - I like this performance, only thing I didn't quite like was the fact that Bono couldn't sustain the high notes. Musically it's a very sound performance. 4/5

2) Touch - First time I've heard this live. I like the studio version, it's quite good. Live...it's pretty good also. 3.5/5

3) An Cat Dubh - One of my favourite songs live this. This performance is good, not one of the best. I don't like Bono's voice much on this and throughout the gig, it's as though he's shouting most of the time and he's not really putting any emotion into the songs, which lets it down a lot. Music-wise, another sound performance 3.5/5

4) Into The Heart - The small crowd seem to like this one. I'm liking Edge's guitar on this, it's the first song so far that's made me shiver. Bono again, doesn't seem to be putting any emotion into it. 4/5

5) Another time, Another Place - Don't like this performance at all. The introductory vocals, high pitched screaming, doesn't really do it for me. 2/5

6) Electric Co. - This song is so good live it has to be included in every show I say. Still early days for it of course, only a year old. Brilliant performance. So far, the best from this gig. 5/5

7) Things To Make And Do - Like Touch, this is the first time I've heard it live. Good song, hasn't got Bono ruining it with his poor vocals. 4/5

8) Stories for Boys - This is the worst recording possible. I can't even hear Bono and the music is very very bassy. Because of the poor sound quality i'll have to give it 1/5

9) Twilight - Same as Stories for Boys, poor sound. 1/5

10) I Will Follow - Again, it's poor sound, but you can make this one out. And it's quite a good performance. 3/5

11) Out Of Control - I don't like this performance. Bono again. It's as if he isn't really trying, I could sing some of these better than him to be fair. As we reach War, you can hear his voice getting better live and he's more into the music, this gig sounds like a kareoke. 2/5

12) All Along The Watchtower - Terrible version of this song. Rattle & Hum is like a million times better. What is Bono doing? 1/5

13) 11 O'Clock Tick Tock - For the second time tonight. Bono keeps the high notes in this one better, but I think I prefer it the first time round. 3.5/5

Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.

Sound quality:
Originally marked as 5*, but the sound quality is quite poor in my opinion, 2* I'd say, most of the time you can't hear Bono.

Overall:
The sound quality really lets us down here and the fact that Bono, in my opinion, isn't trying at all. No emotion, very shouty and at times you wonder if it's really him when you listen to some later stuff, not that much later mind you, 1983 onwards.

Performance:
It's ok. Not the best performance ever, I think some would agree, but it's not the worst ever. Bono seems to be drifting in and out of the songs, really annoyed me when he kept grunting throughout, but the encore made up for some of that. As did Bad. Some unnecissarily fast tracks in there though, really sped up. Overall it's ok, like all performances, it has it's good and it has it's bad. Well, not ALL performances. There are some exceptionally good ones out there.



Details on individual songs:

1) Where The Streets Have No Name - Well, no matter where it is, this intro always seems to raise the hairs on the back of my neck. Such an elegant song. The crowd seem in a great mood and that's what you'd expect as this is the first time U2 have been to them. Very good musically so far. The sound quality isn't bad either. I have to admit though, they aren't Bono's best vocals ever for this song, doesn't seem to have any of the emotion you'd expect in this song, only at a few points does it sound like a real classic WTSHNN. He seems to be tailing some of the lines off and going really high. Sort of like "where the streets have no nameARGH!". Nonetheless, a great way to kick off the night.

2) I Will Follow - Now, let it be known, I'm not a huge fan of 'I Will Follow' live, so the versions have to be exceptional to really please me. So far so good though. I seem to be finding myself singing along with the crowd though. In my head of course. I'm liking this. I'm still wanting more.

3) I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - Whatever Bono said, it seemed to have pleased the crowd. This intro is different, usually we get a nice melodic intro from Edge, unless I can't hear it. Good vocals, good bass, good drums. Can't really hear The Edge chiming out. Still a good performance though, crowd are definitely playing their part by the sounds of it.

4) MLK - Never really understood why this song is played at number 4. It's a very slow track and doesn't really follow the up tempo start we've had. It's about MLK, why not put it near Pride? Or the song before "40"? Hmm...I still like the song very much, it's peaceful and a nice little track.

5) The Unforgettable Fire - I recently praised Joshua Tree performances of this song because of the great use of the e-bow by Edge and the all round manner in which it's played. The intro I like is "There are some fires you can't put out..." because that's the way it feels to me, it's a timeless masterpiece. This performance seems a little bit faster, especially the piano part. Bono's falsetto has been better, I must admit, still good though. Would be nice with the album version's ending.

6) Bullet The Blue Sky - I get the feeling that this song should be somewhat 'intimidating' when played live. Strong vocals, howling guitar, and a dark bass/drumline. This version...is a bit timid if you ask me. The music is good, but the vocals ruin it for me. Unfortunately. Doesn't really seem emotional if you ask me. singing from his head, not his heart. A bit too fast in some parts too.

7) Running to Stand Still - Please don't ruin it Bono.....Yes! He seems to be singing from his heart. nice intro anyway. Such a beautiful song. This has immediately erased Bullet the Blue Sky from my memory. I've heard better performances, I think I have anyway, I'd imagine there were better performances out there, still good though.

8) Sunday Bloody Sunday - Whoa-oa-oa-oa-oa oa-oa. I'm liking this slow intro. The crowd are also liking this song too. This followed by a stellar performance from Larry. Not a bad performance all round. Very speedy towards the end, which is kinda cool. Edge's guitar does sound a little throaty though.

9) Exit - Such a haunting intro. What was that Bono? You're not Mexican. At least his vocals are good on this track. Except for these silly grunts etc. Love how it speeds up half way though...then dies. Then speeds up again and kind of hits a peak. The music is great.

10) In God's Country - For a moment I thought it was Pride. The chucking at the start lol. Never mind. I love this song. The guitar is sounding peachy. Vocals are good. Larry and Adam are doing well. Good all round perfromance, it must be said.

11) The Electric Co. - I'm a massive fan of this live, so they better perform. No Cry? Ah well. Stop grunting Bono! Ruining the song. Where have the crowd gone as well? Good performance so far I must say, except, again, the grunting. Oh, hello, the crowd have their drinks. Very good solo from Mr. Edge, albeit shortlived. Sure, I've heard better performances of this live, but it's alright. Would've been better with a Cry at the beginning and perhaps a little less grunting. Don't know whether I would scrap this fro a Trip Through Your Wires though. I think, right there, I would've preferred a little harmonica.

12) Help - This would've followed better from 'Trip' than 'Electric co.' I think. Good little excerpt though.

13) Bad - I'm liking the intro. Bono's vocals are at the best they've been all night I reckon. His "woo woo"'s are a bit funny though lol. Very good performance, possibly the best of the night. The crowd have found their voice again. Though for 115,000, is it? They could be better. Not just on this song, but a few others, they've seemed a bit quiet. Could just be the recording though.

14) October - This would go well near 'The Unforgettable Fire' in my opinion. It's a such a haunting track I think. The piano is anyway. I think it'd be nice as an instrumental as well myself, though Bono does do an acceptable job here. Definitely doesn't seague well into New Year's Day though.

15) New Year's Day - This sounds a lot less powerful, it's more upbeat, doesn't have the howl from Bono at the start, which is what I think of when New Year's Day is mentioned. That "yeaaaaahhhhh-eaaahhhhh" is just great. But none tonight. It's very fast, a bit too fast for my liking. As with many of the songs tonight, they've been quick.

16) Pride (In The Name Of Love) - Another dedication to MLK, could've had just the one. Sounds like a typically good perfromance. The crowd certainly know the words. Yeah, it's a sound performance. No issues here for me.

Encore:

17) Party Girl - Part time! This song, for me, serves no other purpose than to get the crowd going. And listen to them, they're up for the encore. and so am I. Just an ace song in my opinion.

18) Spanish Eyes - Finally, this is what I've been waiting for. I love it! Perfect upbeat song to follow Party Girl. For the first performance ever, I think they do a good job. It's very different from the studio version. It's very good. Very good interplay with the crowd too. Partay!

19) With or Without You - This is sounding very good. Bono is crucifying it lol. Very good performance throughout I think. Lovely little snippets at the end as well.

20) "40" - Eight minutes long? Great. I love this live. Why? Because the crowd just go on forever as the band slowly disappear. It's a catchy tune to sing along to, always has been. The refrain is great, because how long do we sing this song? Forever. I'm liking this performance very much. Fitting end to the night to be fair.

Audience:
Start off great, die down a bit in the middle/toward the end of the main set, then come back alive again at the end. Certianly in full voice at the start and end, but to me, doesn't sound like 115,000 fans there.

Sound quality:
It's not shabby, you can definately hear what's going on. There are some moments when you can't properly hear The Edge. Like ISHFWILF for example. There are also some part when the audio is almost screeching in your ear, but other than that, it's ok sound.

Overall:
I'm going to give it.... 7.5 out of 10. for reasons mentioned above, Bono's grunting, his lack of emotion is a few songs, the extremely upbeat perfomances of New Year's Day, The Unforgettable Fire etc.

And there you have it. After spedning an hour and a half in Madrid, you finally have my pennies worth.

Performance:
A lot of the songs are amazingly good, played to perfection. Mysterious Ways drags on a bit too long for my liking though.

Highlights:
Zoo Station
The Fly
Until The End Of The World
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
Crowd singing the chorus to Angel of Harlem followed by a rendition of When Love Comes To Town
Bad
Bullet The Blue Sky (I like the fast versions of this with the superb Zoo solo)
Pride
Ultraviolet (Absolutely amazing)

Audience:
This part is only rated, not commented on.

Sound quality:
Sound quality is good despite being muffled. The performance of the band are phenomonal. Top draw. The crowd....simply amazing (except the rhythm clapping which got on my nerves after a while). Great gig

Overall:
It's a great gig. Simply put.