Stunned by U2

[Baker]

Went Friday night, one of the best gigs I've ever been to!

We were on the pitch and got a spot near enough to the front so didnt notice any problems with the sound that seem to have affected a lot of the stadium.

I didnt like the political bit around the middle and the version of Walk On was disappointing despite the fact its one of my favourite U2 tunes. The two encores were breathtaking, the whole place went nuts!

Whatever anyone says about U2 you'll be looking a long time before you find another band that puts on such a good show.

Just sorry its all over now!

[Lionel Ritchie]

anyone got a setlist? -I'm not a u2 fan or anything.

-just that I've heard that the setlists shoot through the head Paul McGuinness' assertion that the band aren't whoring it round the cabaret circuit.

He claimed that approx a dozen songs in the set were from the last two LPs which I heard someone claim last night was a barefaced lie.

[Drumcondra Red]

Friday's was:

Vertigo
I Will Follow
Electric Co.
Elevation
New Year's Day
Beautiful Day
Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Wild Horses
City of Blinding Lights
Miracle Drug
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
Love and Peace
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet The Blue Sky
Running To Stand Still
Pride In The Name of Love
Where The Streets Have No Name
One

Zoo Station
The Fly
With or Without You

All Because of You
Yahweh
Vertigo

[Macy]

Saturday's...

Vertigo
Out of Control
Electric Co.
Elevation
New Year's Day
Beautiful Day
Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
All I Want is You
City of Blinding Lights
Miracle Drug
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
Love and Peace
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet The Blue Sky
Running To Stand Still
Pride In The Name of Love
Where The Streets Have No Name
One

Zoo Station
The Fly
Mysterious Ways
Party Girl
All Because of You
Yahweh
Vertigo

Not sure I get you're point - plenty of recent stuff, and several of the older one's wouldn't be that widely known, unless you were a fan.

[Lionel Ritchie]

Certainly on the saturday set theres 10 possibly 11 songs I either know to be from the last two or haven't heard of and so am presuming them to be from recent LPs so it does appear McGuinness is on solid enough ground

Vertigo
Electric Co. (?)
Elevation
Beautiful Day
City of Blinding Lights
Miracle Drug (?)
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
Love and Peace (?)
Party Girl (?)
All Because of You
Yahweh (?)

...and they started and finished with Vertigo? -jaysis I'd find that annoying. An act with a 20-odd year canon of work repeating songs. Morrissey did the same with 'There Is A Light...' before christmas and I was not amused.

[fosterdollar]

Morrissey did the same with 'There Is A Light...' before christmas and I was not amused.

Tough crowd...

[Macy]

Electric Co is on Boy and the Under a Blood Red Sky live album
Party Girl is an early B side (October era I think) and also on Under a Blood Red Sky.

The others you question are on the new album. So maybe not the 12, but hardly caberet circuit stuff either. He also did a few bits of Walk not then there was also a few bits of the Hands That Built America (during Bullet the Blue Sky) and Walk On (during Running to Stand Still) iirc.

Think it's a cop out too to repeat the same song twice, although not really the same version, given the Boys are Back in Town/ Jailbreak additions. Also big screen wasn't on for the opening....

[Lionel Ritchie]

Tough crowd...

Ah it's just these gigs are never more than 2 hours and the amount of stuff that wasn't played to make way for two runs through There is a Light was frustrating -had it been an impromptu reprise you wouldn't have been bothered -but he knew the first time he was doing it that they'd be finishing with it as well which I considered a cop out as there was no room for Ouija Board, Boxers, Interesting Drug.... Likewise I'm sure there's U2 fans who wouldn't have minded hearing something else -though i take the point about the screen.

[Macy]

Ah it's just these gigs are never more than 2 hours and the amount of stuff that wasn't played to make way for two runs through There is a Light was frustrating -had it been an impromptu reprise you wouldn't have been bothered -but he knew the first time he was doing it that they'd be finishing with it as well which I considered a cop out as there was no room for Ouija Board, Boxers, Interesting Drug.... Likewise I'm sure there's U2 fans who wouldn't have minded hearing something else -though i take the point about the screen.

If it was a straight re-run then I would've been more píssed off but it wasn't so doesn't matter that much. Everytime I've seen Primal Scream they've repeated their first song as the encore....

[Gerrit]

I only saw Friday, but I think the first encore and the texts posted on the screen were an absolute highlight, they sounded more new-wave like than ever then. Also I was very pleasantly surprised by Sometimes You Can't Make It... I saw a live recording on the internet where Bono had problems with his voice during this song, didn't sound good at all. Friday it sounded stunning.

Too bad they didn't play Electrical Storm, my favourite post-eighties U2 song.

[Countyman]

Saw them again last night and they blew me out of the water. Was there friday as well but didnt have the same impact for me. Maybe because of the sound and the bad seats i had in the canal end.


But last night they rocked. There was a real edge (no pun intended) to some of the harder songs like An Cat Dhubh , Bloody Sunday, Love and Peace, Bullet etc.

40 was another highlight as was Gloria. The old stuff is by far the best for me.

Didnt mind the 2 Vertigos - There was a lot of improvisation in them anyway and the place was bouncing for the encore version.

I thought bonos voice was on the verge of collapse at one stage but he held it together. Even Larry got to sing centre stage a few times.

Definately one of the best U2 gigs I've ever been too last night. Thank you God for the ticket!

[Countyman]

How did I forget BAD . bloody hell that was class.

Here's the setlist

Vertigo
All Because of You
Gloria
Elevation
An Cat Dubh / Into the Heart
Beautiful Day
Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Original of the Species
Bad
City of Blinding Lights
Miracle Drug
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
Love and Peace
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet The Blue Sky
Running To Stand Still
Pride In The Name of Love
Where The Streets Have No Name
One

Zoo Station
The Fly
With or Without You
Vertigo

Yahweh
'40'

[tetsujin1979]

Was in the Canal End Upper Tier last night, absolutly amazing. Perfect view, sound. Blew me away.
Edge strumming the intro to Elevation with the crowd going "wooo-ooooo"
"My name is Paul, but my friends call me Bono"
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Elevation twice
The one-armed bandit effect on the screen
Tony Blair getting booed

Special mention to Ash playing Kung Fu!

[Gerrit]

Saw them again last night and they blew me out of the water. Was there friday as well but didnt have the same impact for me. Maybe because of the sound and the bad seats i had in the canal end.


But last night they rocked. There was a real edge (no pun intended) to some of the harder songs like An Cat Dhubh , Bloody Sunday, Love and Peace, Bullet etc.

40 was another highlight as was Gloria. The old stuff is by far the best for me.

Didnt mind the 2 Vertigos - There was a lot of improvisation in them anyway and the place was bouncing for the encore version.

I thought bonos voice was on the verge of collapse at one stage but he held it together. Even Larry got to sing centre stage a few times.

Definately one of the best U2 gigs I've ever been too last night. Thank you God for the ticket!

I went to the Friday show, they didn't play 40" and Gloria then, and I'm not sure anymore but think An Cat Dubh was also not there the first two Croker gigs. Did the special effects and films projected on the screens vary as well from what they did the first night ?

[Countyman]

I went to the Friday show, they didn't play 40" and Gloria then, and I'm not sure anymore but think An Cat Dubh was also not there the first two Croker gigs. Did the special effects and films projected on the screens vary as well from what they did the first night ?

to be honest I had to keep ducking down to see the big screen on friday night as I was right at the back of the lower levels. Throw about 9 5 euro pints of Budwater into the mix and the memory is a bit fuzzy.

Last night The big screen only kicked in from City of blinding lights and gradually built to a crescendo with major highlights being Love and Peace / Bloody sunday / Bullet the blue sky / Streets / Zoo station and especially The Fly.

For me the best effect was seeing croker lit up and gazing around 3 stands.
Incredible!

[Peadar]

For me the best effect was seeing croker lit up and gazing around 3 stands.
Incredible!

Same for me.
Tried to capture it in my pictures but didn't do it justice.
For a moment, I believed that all present in the stadium could Make Poverty History and could end world hunger.

[Eire06]

For me the best effect was seeing croker lit up and gazing around 3 stands.
Incredible!

It would have been much better if they had turned off the lights in the corporate boxes.. that kinda took away from the effect

[Peadar]

that kinda took away from the effect

On the contarary, in my opinion, it added to the affect.
It gave a greater sense of scale to the venue.
Perhaps it just looked different from where you were sitting.

[Eire06]

On the contarary, in my opinion, it added to the affect.
It gave a greater sense of scale to the venue.
Perhaps it just looked different from where you were sitting.

I was standing right in front of the stage so could see all around and it did take away from the effect IMO...

The stage lighting was great though.. the old man walking (Bono's Dad) for 'Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own' looked class.. as did the lighting for City of Blinding lights

[fosterdollar]

For a moment, I believed that all present in the stadium could Make Poverty History and could end world hunger.

I heard Bono talked about the horrors of poverty, and that was followed by George Best talking about the wonders of a sober lifestyle.