2006-11-30 - Saitama, Japan - Saitama Super Arena


setlist

Performance notes: This is one of three shows scheduled to make up for the postponed show that was planned to take place on 4 April 2006 at Yokohama's Nissan Stadium. Last performance of One Tree Hill until 25 November 2010. Only show on the fifth leg of the Vertigo Tour that does not feature a cover of The Saints Are Coming in the setlist.
Setlist and comment provided by U2gigs.com.

songs per album

  1. The Joshua Tree (4)
  2. Achtung Baby (4)
  3. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (3)
  4. Rattle and Hum (3)
  5. All That You Can't Leave Behind (2)
  6. War (2)
  7. Zooropa (1)
  8. Passengers (1)
  9. The Unforgettable Fire (1)

best song performances

  1. Window In The Skies (3 votes)

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show attendees: 10

6 users from Japan:
P2000, cityofblindinglights2002, dxaqua, mi, nonewyork, yuyuyuy

1 from United Kingdom: chaspope
1 from Korea, Republic of: singnyong
1 from Hong Kong: anitaanita
1 from Brazil: GU2LHERME

review by iTim

11 years ago

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.


Sound

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.
Recording: Audience microphone - 4.5 stars

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.

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.


all reviews

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PolarCamel Read more
KieranU2 Read more
nickbibby Read more
iTim Read more
patou2 Read more
CMIPalaeo Read more

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