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  1. Originally posted by iTim:I think the original comment has been misunderstood a little. I don’t think zooropa93 was saying that you only have permission to form an opinion if you were there. It was more that if you were there, you’d likely have a slightly different opinion since listening to an audio recording 20+ years later isn’t quite comparable to being there in person.
    Maybe that’s what was meant, I just took the words at face value. How things are worded online can be misinterpreted but there is a difference between saying ‘I think you would have a different opinion if you had been there’ and saying ‘something that can only be said by someone who has never witnessed the Popmart era’. It’s not the end of the world (no pun intended) but it does annoy me I will admit. I don’t think I’d respond to someone who attended a show they loved but I disliked by saying ‘you’re just being bias because you attended’.
    It’s very dismissive of someone’s opinion. But anyway if everyone’s happy to move the discussion on then I think that would benefit the thread.
  2. it's better 360 okay no
  3. Originally posted by KieranU2:Your opinion is based on your experience with that event. For most of us, we weren't there so we're basing it purely on videos, bootlegs and information. It's a slightly different experience for someone who was there - who also have access to all the media and information - in comparison to someone who wasn't there. It's the same for all concerts and we all have different perspectives when at a particular concert (same when not at a concert, I guess, hence why the reviews section on shows have a range of viewpoints).

    It's not irrelevant to the argument if someone mentions that they have attended that concert - it's actually quite important - and I'm sure they're not being pious and big-headed about the fact they have been to that concert/tour. We should be asking what it was like to experience that era of the band, not lambasting them because they're supposedly coming across as self-righteous.


    I can add my 2 cents.. I attended both Zooropa (I was 16) and Popmart in the same stadium and followed the (then available) media.

    As far as I remember about public perception: In the netherlands ZooTV at the time wasn't really a 'concept' that a lot of people were aware of or understood (yet). Quite a few fans at the time were saying it wasn't like the 'old U2'. And a lot of concert-goers weren't expecting the show ZooTV was, they just wanted to sing along with the hits. I do remember the reviews also being a bit average . Around the time of Popmart I think the 'new' U2 had sunk in here and the public seemed to know better what to expect. Both tours were instant sellouts in NL.

    To be honest I was a little dissapointed with the Zooropa show. There already was a lot of 'multimedia' style videos out there (MTV, thanksgiving '92 special) so it felt eh.. a little flat in the flesh, less dynamic than that footage suggested.

    Around Popmart there wasn't that much coverage I remember. The band themselves weren't doing all these multimedia bits, nor did the media cover it extensively. So seeing that show was more in line with what I was expecting.

    I don't want to join the debate about which was better, I liked both shows for different reasons. For me the 2 shows were more 'alike' in the stadium than the media coverage/video suggests. So I would understand people having been at the shows have different opinions then people who can only go by videos/bootlegs.

    In short: I liked the 'multimedia' aspect and the story of ZooTV better, but as a concert Popmart was more impressive for me (and sounded better)..
  4. Originally posted by melon51:[..]


    I can add my 2 cents.. I attended both Zooropa (I was 16) and Popmart in the same stadium and followed the (then available) media.

    As far as I remember about public perception: In the netherlands ZooTV at the time wasn't really a 'concept' that a lot of people were aware of or understood (yet). Quite a few fans at the time were saying it wasn't like the 'old U2'. And a lot of concert-goers weren't expecting the show ZooTV was, they just wanted to sing along with the hits. I do remember the reviews also being a bit average . Around the time of Popmart I think the 'new' U2 had sunk in here and the public seemed to know better what to expect. Both tours were instant sellouts in NL.

    To be honest I was a little dissapointed with the Zooropa show. There already was a lot of 'multimedia' style videos out there (MTV, thanksgiving '92 special) so it felt eh.. a little flat in the flesh, less dynamic than that footage suggested.

    Around Popmart there wasn't that much coverage I remember. The band themselves weren't doing all these multimedia bits, nor did the media cover it extensively. So seeing that show was more in line with what I was expecting.

    I don't want to join the debate about which was better, I liked both shows for different reasons. For me the 2 shows were more 'alike' in the stadium than the media coverage/video suggests. So I would understand people having been at the shows have different opinions then people who can only go by videos/bootlegs.

    In short: I liked the 'multimedia' aspect and the story of ZooTV better, but as a concert Popmart was more impressive for me (and sounded better)..
    These are the anecdotes I personally want to read and demonstrates that everyone is completely different. Thanks, melon.
  5. Next thing we'll see is someone suggesting that we erase 95% of the 4,509 show reviews available on our Show Pages since most of them are based upon listening to bootlegs or watching concert videos instead of being there physically.
  7. Wait with that just a little If there's bootlegs of the 2 I attended I'd be curious which I'd like better now (instead of back then)
  10. I think when I was younger I tried to keep up with his bootleg reviewing but it was impossible. The king of bootlegs.
  11. And he had them all burnt to disc as well with handwritten notes. What a guy.
  12. Kept the CD-R market going.