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  1. i went to the 2nd melbourne show and i have to say it was the best night of my life...

    does anyone else think that you would be better off not having a rough idea of the setlist before the show??? like for instance i knew that they were gonna play kite because i looked at all the other setlists from the aussie shows before... i'm kicking myself now because i can just imagine the thrill i would have got if i didn't know they were gonna play it.... there were a few suprises on the night (the first time, party girl, bad, until the end of the world) but i knew pretty much exactly what they were gonna play like; the first 3 of city of blinding lights, vertigo, and elevation... i knew what they were gonna play from sometimes you can't make it on your own to one... the next U2 concert i go to i'm definitely not looking at the setlists of the shows leading up to it...

    not taking away from the night tho... to this day it remains one of the best nights of my life...



  2. yea we u2 fans are so spoiled by knowing EVERY U2 setlist. I have never been 2 a U2 show (became a fan in 05 and im 14) but i know all about the setlists of every tour and now I have so many expectations for the next tour because I am 100% sure I'll be there so knowing everything might ruin my experience as a first time U2 concert goer....
  3. Yeah!!

    When I went to my only concert I even didn't know that I could find U2-stuff on the web... I only had entered u2.com, so I didn't know any setlist or nothing like that. I only began to search for pictures, bootlegs and so AFTER the concert, so I was absolutely surprised by the setlist, the stage, etc.

    PS. Honestly, I knew that they were going to open and close th show with Vertigo, because I heard it on the TV two days before the show...
  4. Absolutely agreed, must be great to here Edge coming up with the first notes from Streets
    I'd go nuts
  5. Originally posted by Genaro92U2I have so many expectations for the next tour because I am 100% sure I'll be there so knowing everything might ruin my experience as a first time U2 concert goer....
    Of course.
    I would quit up from the web when the tour begins, so I wouldn't know anything bout setlists,stages,etc.
    I like to be surprised
  6. Originally posted by LikeASongOf course.
    I would quit up from the web when the tour begins, so I wouldn't know anything bout setlists,stages,etc.
    I like to be surprised




  7. Originally posted by LikeASong[..]Of course.
    I would quit up from the web when the tour begins, so I wouldn't know anything bout setlists,stages,etc.
    I like to be surprised


    but what you say is easier said than done my friend. u2 will tour america before it tours europe so there will be loads of new bootlegs available to download (hopefully) months before u2 are playing live near us. there is no way i would be able to resist not downloading an early bootleg from the next tour. the curiosity would kill me!

    hmmmm... i guess that makes a bit of u2 addict. hi my name is robbie and im a u2aholic!
  8. Originally posted by robbie07but what you say is easier said than done my friend. u2 will tour america before it tours europe so there will be loads of new bootlegs available to download (hopefully) months before u2 are playing live near us. there is no way i would be able to resist not downloading an early bootleg from the next tour. the curiosity would kill me!

    hmmmm... i guess that makes a bit of u2 addict. hi my name is robbie and im a u2aholic!
    I know it's going to be difficult, but.. I'll achieve it!

    And about the last sentence...
    Originally posted by robbie07hmmmm... i guess that makes a bit of u2 addict. hi my name is robbie and im a u2aholic!
    I agree. I think I must go to a Psychologist. I spend too many time in front of U2Start...
  9. me to LikeASong me 2.... yea i dont want to know the setlists when the tour comes... its going to be hard but we can do it. although i live in the states its going to be a lot harder for you guys over seas...
  10. Originally posted by BelgianBonoAbsolutely agreed, must be great to here Edge coming up with the first notes from Streets
    I'd go nuts


    ME TOO
  11. And that's true...I think U2 should change the setlist every single show...not completely...but at least some musics
  12. Originally posted by AidanFormigoniAnd that's true...I think U2 should change the setlist every single show...not completely...but at least some musics


    i kind of like it the way it is.

    don't get me wrong, i love when a band throws the setlist in the blender (lovetown). pearl jam, dave matthews, and bruce springsteen are all great with this.

    the main issue is that changing your setlists ONLY benefits hardcore fans who plan on seeing more than one show at a time.

    PJ, DMB & bruce have a much higher percentage of diehards in the audience each night (i heard PJ once estimated at 80-90% diehards). U2 is more mainstream, so they only have maybe 10-30%. they owe it to their casual fans to play songs that everyone will know and recognize.

    think about it: if you paid $100+ for your first U2 show, and you're just starting to get into the band, and they DON'T play any songs you know but play obscure songs, wouldn't you feel ripped off? U2 would become an elitist band, never to win over a new fan for the rest of their careers.

    if you're a diehard, you can solve this problem by 1) attending several shows, or 2) going to one show and then experiencing variety by downloading other shows at U2start.com (all for free) we are usually more than willing to do #2 REGARDLESS. why should we make newcomers suffer (who already paid $100+) because they don't know all of U2's ENORMOUS catalog? it really is a tough feat to pull off. it requires a great investment of time and effort.

    that being said, if you listen to one show from each leg of a tour, you'll usually notice many differences in the setlist, and in the way the new songs are played.

    ---

    now, most people overlook the flip side of this... it's one of the things that makes U2 so great, and U2start.com so worthwhile.

    because U2 have a (somewhat) consistent setlist from one night to another, they are able to build an entire EXPERIENCE that, even at it's most routine / bland, is exciting b/c it is consistent. every single person who attended the Vertigo Tour got to experience Bono drumming between love & peace and sunday bloody sunday. they got "jesus, jew, muhammad, it's true" & coexist. MOST of them got the ZooTV-trifecta encore tribute. they got the "bomb shelter" ellipse, the hanging light beads, city of blinding lights (with the blinding lights). the presentation of the show is so complete and sensory, and that is possible b/c the setlist is reliable.

    the other thing is, even if you go to ONE vertigo show, you know the next tour will be completely different. i.e. most of HTDAAB will be played this time, but in years to come i may never hear most of them live again.

    as a result, U2's live career is very neatly time-capsuled. Vertigo, Elevation, PopMart, ZooTV, JT, UF, War, are ALL different versions of U2, different experiences. even individual songs -- Streets in 1997 is techno whereas Streets in 2005 has a tribal beat (think about that, the same song sounds different!) that is why we can tolerate downloading lots of bootlegs and even listening back-to-back-to-back (ZooTV dublin - lovetown dublin - elevation slane, for instance) and never get tired. each tour is a U2 we have never seen before and a U2 we will never see again.

    i don't think PJ, DMB, or bruce can say the same thing, at least not to the same extent. someone can correct me if i'm wrong here, but i don't think Dave in 2003 vs Dave in 2006 is anywhere near as different as Elevation vs. Vertigo.