Re: U2
Posted: Wed May 27, 2015 10:32 am
I caught night 1 at the LA Forum last night from the floor.
For a typical U2 opening night of a big multi-date stand, tonight had a few decent surprises. Usually they concentrate on just pulling off a standard set and getting through opening night jitters but they took a few minor chances this night with the set.
The first four songs of the show really pack a punch together and was the best part of the night for me. I was very happy to get an excellent version of Electric Co in the rotating 2nd song slot and even "I Will Follow" didn't sound like the burned out tune it's become the last few tours. I also MUCH prefer the live arrangements for all the SOI tunes over the album versions. I was not expecting "California" at the beginning of the acoustic set but when I saw Edge strap on a Fender Telecaster after Mysterious Ways, I knew it wasn't going to be Desire, AOH or WLCTT. Probably one of the highlights was the "Hollywood U2" coverband singer who looked like ZooTV era Bono getting pulled onstage for Sweetest Thing and basically first trading verses with Bono and then singing the last 3rd solo with Bono on piano - that was a lot of fun to see. I'm sure their next few months worth of club shows will had a big bump in attendance.
Moving around in GA on the floor is a piece of cake if you don't want to sit squashed against the rail all night on either side of the ramp or directly in front of the main stage. Honestly, the best place to see the show is at half court right behind the Red Zone barrier on either side of the floor to get the full effect of the production yet still be close enough to the band. I found Adam's side a bit looser and easier to move from close to the B Stage and back vs the Edge side, mostly due to the fact there is a VIP area on Edge's side at half court that holds maybe 40 people on a riser that takes up a bit of floor space.
As for the sound.... it is fucking LOUD. The quality varied depending on where I stood, the back around the B Stage is a little muddier and a bit boomy but pretty much anywhere on the floor the high end just cuts into your hearing like nobody's business and when you're dead center on the floor, it becomes fatiguing by the last 3rd of the show. I've seen everyone from Van Halen, AC/DC to Motorhead and Ministry going back to the late 70's and I can say this was one of the louder arena shows in recent memory. I will definitely bring earplugs on Night 4 this weekend.
Regarding the pacing of the set, etc... some things work, some major things don't and it's surprising the band hasn't addressed those issues yet. The first four opening songs work great and really had the audience locked in. The three SOI tunes in a row however seemed to quickly lose the audience and even Bono caught it, mentioning something like "there's two more new ones" after Iris. The current arrangement of Sunday Bloody Sunday sucks. It appeared that the band kind of made it a bit more "electric" compared to the first few performances but Larry banging on a single drum while the rest of the band play it fairly straightforward (if at a slower pace) just doesn't cut it compared to ANY version on past tours (even Edge's solo take on the few Popmart shows in '97). The 5 minute break with the Wanderer/Johnny Cash video is actually a bit welcome in the middle of the show although I could tell a fair number of people were a bit baffled if it was a real bathroom/beer break or merely another extended intro to another song. As for the big video screen/catwalk that is suspended over the long ramp between the two stages that Bono and the band can walk inside and "become" part of the video playing on it basically dissecting the arena floor, I don't think the band quite have grasped how to effectively use it in most songs, the only two it's really effectively utilized is during the three song SOI set w/Iris, Cederwood Road, Song For Someone and especially Until The End Of The World. During "Invisible," members of the band have to turn one way or the other leaving their backs to half the arena at any given time.
Invisible, a song I originally loathed comes off a lot better live and overall despite some strange and clunky transitions between some songs, the second half of the show is much more entertaining and cohesive.
Although there is virtually no long, epic buildup to Streets this tour and it's prefaced by Bono plugging Red.org AIDS cause and a short version of Paul Simon's "Mother And Child Reunion," the song is still magnificent live. It just needs to be sandwiched between something better than City Of Blinding Lights and One and a whole lotta speechin n' Paul Simon dribble.
Lastly, the Forum audience... this was really an obvious example of how a band and it's audience can either push each other to epicness or merely ebb and flow to an uninspired conclusion. Honestly, I put most of the blame on the lackluster crowd. I've seen some truly amazing, loud U2 crowds in LA, Joshua Tree shows and post 9/11 Elevation shows were incredible audiences. Not so, tonight. Maybe everyone's preoccupation with their cell phones is the culprit.
Sadly as a postscript to the show, it appears long time tour manager Dennis Sheehan died overnight in his hotel room which will likely be a tremendous blow to the band.
For a typical U2 opening night of a big multi-date stand, tonight had a few decent surprises. Usually they concentrate on just pulling off a standard set and getting through opening night jitters but they took a few minor chances this night with the set.
The first four songs of the show really pack a punch together and was the best part of the night for me. I was very happy to get an excellent version of Electric Co in the rotating 2nd song slot and even "I Will Follow" didn't sound like the burned out tune it's become the last few tours. I also MUCH prefer the live arrangements for all the SOI tunes over the album versions. I was not expecting "California" at the beginning of the acoustic set but when I saw Edge strap on a Fender Telecaster after Mysterious Ways, I knew it wasn't going to be Desire, AOH or WLCTT. Probably one of the highlights was the "Hollywood U2" coverband singer who looked like ZooTV era Bono getting pulled onstage for Sweetest Thing and basically first trading verses with Bono and then singing the last 3rd solo with Bono on piano - that was a lot of fun to see. I'm sure their next few months worth of club shows will had a big bump in attendance.
Moving around in GA on the floor is a piece of cake if you don't want to sit squashed against the rail all night on either side of the ramp or directly in front of the main stage. Honestly, the best place to see the show is at half court right behind the Red Zone barrier on either side of the floor to get the full effect of the production yet still be close enough to the band. I found Adam's side a bit looser and easier to move from close to the B Stage and back vs the Edge side, mostly due to the fact there is a VIP area on Edge's side at half court that holds maybe 40 people on a riser that takes up a bit of floor space.
As for the sound.... it is fucking LOUD. The quality varied depending on where I stood, the back around the B Stage is a little muddier and a bit boomy but pretty much anywhere on the floor the high end just cuts into your hearing like nobody's business and when you're dead center on the floor, it becomes fatiguing by the last 3rd of the show. I've seen everyone from Van Halen, AC/DC to Motorhead and Ministry going back to the late 70's and I can say this was one of the louder arena shows in recent memory. I will definitely bring earplugs on Night 4 this weekend.
Regarding the pacing of the set, etc... some things work, some major things don't and it's surprising the band hasn't addressed those issues yet. The first four opening songs work great and really had the audience locked in. The three SOI tunes in a row however seemed to quickly lose the audience and even Bono caught it, mentioning something like "there's two more new ones" after Iris. The current arrangement of Sunday Bloody Sunday sucks. It appeared that the band kind of made it a bit more "electric" compared to the first few performances but Larry banging on a single drum while the rest of the band play it fairly straightforward (if at a slower pace) just doesn't cut it compared to ANY version on past tours (even Edge's solo take on the few Popmart shows in '97). The 5 minute break with the Wanderer/Johnny Cash video is actually a bit welcome in the middle of the show although I could tell a fair number of people were a bit baffled if it was a real bathroom/beer break or merely another extended intro to another song. As for the big video screen/catwalk that is suspended over the long ramp between the two stages that Bono and the band can walk inside and "become" part of the video playing on it basically dissecting the arena floor, I don't think the band quite have grasped how to effectively use it in most songs, the only two it's really effectively utilized is during the three song SOI set w/Iris, Cederwood Road, Song For Someone and especially Until The End Of The World. During "Invisible," members of the band have to turn one way or the other leaving their backs to half the arena at any given time.
Invisible, a song I originally loathed comes off a lot better live and overall despite some strange and clunky transitions between some songs, the second half of the show is much more entertaining and cohesive.
Although there is virtually no long, epic buildup to Streets this tour and it's prefaced by Bono plugging Red.org AIDS cause and a short version of Paul Simon's "Mother And Child Reunion," the song is still magnificent live. It just needs to be sandwiched between something better than City Of Blinding Lights and One and a whole lotta speechin n' Paul Simon dribble.
Lastly, the Forum audience... this was really an obvious example of how a band and it's audience can either push each other to epicness or merely ebb and flow to an uninspired conclusion. Honestly, I put most of the blame on the lackluster crowd. I've seen some truly amazing, loud U2 crowds in LA, Joshua Tree shows and post 9/11 Elevation shows were incredible audiences. Not so, tonight. Maybe everyone's preoccupation with their cell phones is the culprit.
Sadly as a postscript to the show, it appears long time tour manager Dennis Sheehan died overnight in his hotel room which will likely be a tremendous blow to the band.