Originally posted by anstratdubh1979
Again, keep in mind that those that see multiple shows are fans as much as those that see one or none. Some can't afford the price of the shows or the days off. I understand that. But I have seen bitterness on various lists, that seems to come from nothing more than jealousy toward those that can/do see more thanone show. Silly. Keep in mind, for me and those that do see multple show, we save for years and save up our vacation days at work to do so; it is all a matter of planning and spending control during non-touring times.
This is a good point and I think in America (I think this is where you are?) in particular there's more access to multiple shows; maybe they could throw in more variety here. But in Europe and the rest of the world each country's lucky to get one or two shows (apart from the UK) and variety would be counter-productive.
Let's remember that those of us here represent a very important part of U2's fanbase, but they are such a huge band that the requirement for the show is to cater to the "everyday" fan. Most people I know / work with like U2 and would consider going to see a gig of theirs but think I'm strange for my participation in this site! Throwing in 'obscure' songs would throw the gig for these types of fans and they would leave unhappy - not a good result for U2.
Popmart in particular, irrespective of its perceived success, was an 'event' as much as it was a concert and being in stadia there were not the multiple shows in one town that have occurred on other tours. They were playing to the mass population of U2 fans each time and therefore needed a consistent setlist.
The opportunity for changing things up would come in tours such as Elevation / Vertigo where they spend 3, 4 even 5 nights in the same town. And I believe this is when they did vary the setlist.