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  1. I think it’s really cool about The Claw becoming part of an aquarium. Just checked out their site, it seems like an awesome facility. Would love to take a trip out to Utah and visit once the expansion is done.
  2. This is, well, nothing short of amazing. I knew the girl by name and would recognise her face among a crowd, but I didn't know she was around U2's orbit since the very beggining of things. Wow. Respect.

  3. If anyone ever gets a chance, would you mind asking Gavin Friday if 1979 by the Smashing Pumpkins is his all time favourite song? Popped up again in the pre show music, barely misses a tour
  4. This is fucking brilliant. Quite probably among my Top10 moments of U2 live ever.

  6. just cements why i think it's their second greatest tour, only behind lovetown (which funnily enough, in my opinion, shares all the same characteristics as elevation): they changed the sets around, had balls, played with a desire (pun intended) and desperation rarely seen since the 80s and they actually look and sounded like they were having fun again

    only wish i could have been fortunate enough to see a show
  8. Originally posted by dylbagz:[..]
    just cements why i think it's their second greatest tour, only behind lovetown (which funnily enough, in my opinion, shares all the same characteristics as elevation): they changed the sets around, had balls, played with a desire (pun intended) and desperation rarely seen since the 80s and they actually look and sounded like they were having fun again

    only wish i could have been fortunate enough to see a show
    Fair enough way to look at the tour and at this brilliant performance, in particular, even as I disagree completely. Sure they had great intimate performances and played with energy on Elevation - four guys in a rock band banging out great music. But ATYCLB the album and the Elevation Tour represent to me the band losing balls. The only reason they played with "desperation" is they worried that if they didn't return to safer, more familiar territory in 2000, they would lose even more fans alienated by Pop/PopMart. So they "reapplied for the job of best band in the world" by releasing and then touring a collection of overall mid-tempo, musically and lyrically safe songs, abandoning most of Pop in the process, and ever since.

    As far as setlist variations go, you could argue that from Leg 1 to Leg 3 they changed up quite a bit of the middle of the show. But the opening 3-4 songs and the encore material stayed pretty much the same throughout 2001. For a tour that could have seen a whole lot more variation with a minimal stage set-up, not a whole lot of "balls" there. Playing only 20-22 songs most nights not really, either.

    Ironic for me then, at least, that a lot of people are criticizing a current tour where the band are not only not playing anything off of their most famous album, but where 10-11 songs a night so far are from their most recent two albums, they are playing 26-27 songs a night, and doing it all in the context of what you might call Broadway theater when they could easily just play the hits with a big "heart" in the middle.

    Just another man's opinion.
  9. Originally posted by bpt3:[..]
    Fair enough way to look at the tour and at this brilliant performance, in particular, even as I disagree completely. Sure they had great intimate performances and played with energy on Elevation - four guys in a rock band banging out great music. But ATYCLB the album and the Elevation Tour represent to me the band losing balls. The only reason they played with "desperation" is they worried that if they didn't return to safer, more familiar territory in 2000, they would lose even more fans alienated by Pop/PopMart. So they "reapplied for the job of best band in the world" by releasing and then touring a collection of overall mid-tempo, musically and lyrically safe songs, abandoning most of Pop in the process, and ever since.

    As far as setlist variations go, you could argue that from Leg 1 to Leg 3 they changed up quite a bit of the middle of the show. But the opening 3-4 songs and the encore material stayed pretty much the same throughout 2001. For a tour that could have seen a whole lot more variation with a minimal stage set-up, not a whole lot of "balls" there. Playing only 20-22 songs most nights not really, either.

    Ironic for me then, at least, that a lot of people are criticizing a current tour where the band are not only not playing anything off of their most famous album, but where 10-11 songs a night so far are from their most recent two albums, they are playing 26-27 songs a night, and doing it all in the context of what you might call Broadway theater when they could easily just play the hits with a big "heart" in the middle.

    Just another man's opinion.
    I managed to catch 8 Elevation shows and loved them. Stadium U2 is great and like no other band or artist, but indoor U2 always wins for me personally.

    Whilst nothing's beyond criticism, I have to say that I personally find it difficult to criticise that tour, as you have to remember Bono was really going through the mill at the time with his fathers illness and his eventual passing. All that flying back home to Dublin straight after a show, on the European leg at least, to go and be by his father's bedside, staying up all night with him, and spending his non-show-days with him, and then flying back for gigs.

    It must have been exhausting for him and I've no doubt it took its toll, yet he still gave it everything and then some come showtime, with the rest of the band carrying him as always whenever he needed it as well as the crowd.

    It was a heavy tour, with a heavy-hearted and no doubt heavy-headed Bono. Perhaps you had to be there with knowledge of what he was dealing with to fully understand I guess.

    But for me I have to say those shows were probably the deepest and most emotionally charged I've ever experienced from U2, and I have some very special memories of them, not least of which London 21/8. My love, admiration and respect for U2 grew even more after that night, and it was already riding pretty high.

    But if I put all that aside and look at things in the manner you did, yeah the sets were definitely a bit shorter than usual, I agree with that. Bono made comment during the rehearsals for the tour that he was tired about halfway into a setlist run and doesn't know how the likes of Bruce does as long as he does on stage. I think Bruce and others that do 4 hour marathon sets or whatever are really not the norm, they're the exception.

    As for ATYCLB... well I look at it that after all the envelope-pushing of the albums of the 1990's, and the excesses and extravagances of the tours that decade it was time to have a rethink, and strip back and see if they could get back to basics, the whole reapplying for the job thing. I think they stripped back with the tour partially to prove to themselves that they could still do it without all the bullshit wrapping paper that Zoo TV / Popmart had - as awesome as they were, it was time for another shakeup. Yeah some might say that they still had some of that bullshit wrapping paper with the heart setup on the Elevation tour, but it was actually a really simple and brilliantly executed idea.
  10. Originally posted by Caledonia:[..]
    I managed to catch 8 Elevation shows and loved them. Stadium U2 is great and like no other band or artist, but indoor U2 always wins for me personally.

    Whilst nothing's beyond criticism, I have to say that I personally find it difficult to criticise that tour, as you have to remember Bono was really going through the mill at the time with his fathers illness and his eventual passing. All that flying back home to Dublin straight after a show, on the European leg at least, to go and be by his father's bedside, staying up all night with him, and spending his non-show-days with him, and then flying back for gigs.

    It must have been exhausting for him and I've no doubt it took its toll, yet he still gave it everything and then some come showtime, with the rest of the band carrying him as always whenever he needed it as well as the crowd.

    It was a heavy tour, with a heavy-hearted and no doubt heavy-headed Bono. Perhaps you had to be there with knowledge of what he was dealing with to fully understand I guess.

    But for me I have to say those shows were probably the deepest and most emotionally charged I've ever experienced from U2, and I have some very special memories of them, not least of which London 21/8. My love, admiration and respect for U2 grew even more after that night, and it was already riding pretty high.

    But if I put all that aside and look at things in the manner you did, yeah the sets were definitely a bit shorter than usual, I agree with that. Bono made comment during the rehearsals for the tour that he was tired about halfway into a setlist run and doesn't know how the likes of Bruce does as long as he does on stage. I think Bruce and others that do 4 hour marathon sets or whatever are really not the norm, they're the exception.

    As for ATYCLB... well I look at it that after all the envelope-pushing of the albums of the 1990's, and the excesses and extravagances of the tours that decade it was time to have a rethink, and strip back and see if they could get back to basics, the whole reapplying for the job thing. I think they stripped back with the tour partially to prove to themselves that they could still do it without all the bullshit wrapping paper that Zoo TV / Popmart had - as awesome as they were, it was time for another shakeup. Yeah some might say that they still had some of that bullshit wrapping paper with the heart setup on the Elevation tour, but it was actually a really simple and brilliantly executed idea.
    Great post.

    I do understand all of what you put here and am sure that if I had had the opportunity to see an Elevation show (didn't become a big fan until right after Vertigo Tour left N. America, unfortunately), I would have loved it. Still prefer the 90s era for its music and inventiveness, but can appreciate Elevation for what it was.
  11. I wanted to find out why in 2001 the U2 crowd it was very animated and knew most of the lyrics, and today's u2 crowd they are lazy and dead.
  12. Wow, if only they had a bit of spontaneity nowadays, something like this could make their fanbase explode.