I got U2 under my skin (1 Viewer)

Today, U2 have announced that they will give a tour this summer playing the whole 'Joshua Tree' - Album in full. Thanks!!

Admitted:
Lou Reed did that sort of thing about 10 years ago with his 'Berlin'-album (and Right so!), The Boss did it shortly after with his 'Darkness'-album (and I'm thankful for it).

Now U2 with a 30 yearold record? - Yes! Definitely!
No better time for this album than now.
"Outside it's America ...!!"

 
Lou Reed did that sort of thing about 10 years ago...
The Stooges also did it, playing the entire Funhouse album start to finish back when Ron and Scott Asheton were still alive. Steely Dan did the same thing with the Aja album. I saw that show, but don't know a lot of Steely Dan songs, so they could have been playing any album - or no album - for all I knew.

I can't help but wonder though, why these bands choose to do this. I didn't go to see the Stooges play Funhouse in 2003 (or whenever it was), because I'm pretty sure I would have been disappointed. I didn't go see any Stooges reunion shows for the same reason. I saw U2 on their War tour, and it was incredible, but I don't think I would want to see them do that show or that album now.

I was thinking about the Beatles the other day, what it might be like if they hadn't broken up (and died) and were still going on as a greatest hits machine like the Rolling Stones do. How that would have ruined them for me. I don't know. When there's nothing new to say, maybe it's time to pack it in and do something else. Robert Plant refuses to do a Led Zeppelin tour, and I think he's got the right idea. Of course that's easy for me to say, since I'm not the one leaving millions of dollars on the table.

Not that U2 have been around as long as those other bands, but they've been around for a long time...
 
Yeah I don't get album tours. The Melvins did it with Houdini, but then had to add filler because forty minutes does not a rock concert make.

I don't know that there's any band I'd want to see just play an entire album in sequence. Though maybe Smashing Pumpkins doing Mellon Collie in the Infinite Sadness in the hopes that Billy Corgan would pass out some time during the sixteenth song, hit his head, and just stop doing anything forever.
 
Yeah, I saw U2 back in 87/88 and yes I loved the shows. One could argue that I was a fanatic. Now? I am not at all. I don't even like stadium shows and can't imagine that the tix would be reasonably priced....I guess if I got offered free tix. Bruce & the E St Band I would see. I saw once but that was on the Amnesty International tour at JFK where they had the original Live Aid. There was zero intimacy and they played a short set. Come to think of it, U2 were on the bill as well. Who else? Tracy Chapman, Peter Gabriel, Yousoo Endour (killed the spelling), Sting. Oh and yeah, Bullet the Blue Sky. Definitely. Man I did love me some U2. My obsession lasted from about 84 to 92.

mjp - U2's WAR tour. Did the Alarm open? Heard it was a killer double bill.
 
Did the Alarm open?
No, we got Dream Syndicate. I have no memory of Dream Syndicate, so I couldn't tell you if they were good or bad, but they weren't exactly my cup of tea, so I suspect I wouldn't have appreciated them even if they were good.

The Internet, being all-knowing, says the attendance was 3,674 and the set list was:

Out Of Control
Twilight
An Cat Dubh
Into The Heart
Surrender
Two Hearts Beat As One
Seconds
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Medley: Cry (snippet), The Electric Co., Send In The Clowns (snippet), Glittering Prize (snippet)
I Fall Down
October
New Year's Day
I Threw A Brick Through A Window
A Day Without Me
Gloria
Party Girl
11 O'Clock Tick Tock
I Will Follow
40

U2 wasn't my cup of tea either, I have to say, but my friend bought the tickets and forced me to go ("If you don't use this ticket I'm just going to tear it up. You don't want me to waste $12 do you?"). He was a believer and wanted me to believe too. Well, they were convincing. I was sold. It was really quite an incredible show they put on. I was in an aisle seat and when Bono carried the white flag down the aisle about five inches from me I thought, "This is so god damned cheesy, but it's really great! What the hell is going on here?!" They were tapping into something that very few ever tap into.

Then a few years later he put on the yellow bug eye sunglasses, and they went Hollywood and lost me again. ;)
 
They were tapping into non-irony? Sincerity? I enjoyed the old stuff. Still do.
Dream Syndicate's pretty good. Steve Wynn and company.
 
Yes, I felt they were very sincere, and that's 99% of the battle for any kind of art. Irony was nowhere to be seen. It was not allowed into the building.

But then those were pre-ironic times, for the most part.
 
I can't help but wonder though, why these bands choose to do this.
Yeah I don't get album tours.

I love album-tours - when the album is in the right league for that.

When LOU REED did his entire 'Berlin'-album (2007?), it was like a late success, because back in the time, when it came out right after the smash-hit-'Transformer'-album, the crowd didn't buy it. It was too depressive, too slow for them. (There was no Nick Cave around to prepare them at the time.)
I don't know if this is commonly known, but as a fan I know, that this reaction of the audience to the album caused him so much pain and suffering, he never overcame it. Never. So, I fully see his late triumph[!], bringing his most unwanted baby (except 'Metal Machine Music' that is) on stage again nearing the end of his life.
(Beside - though it isn't a dedicated concept-album, like 'Thomy' or 'The Wall' - it sure is One organic thing as a Whole.)

When THE BOSS staged his 'Darkness'-album (2008?), I was thrilled, when I found out later. Because I love that album so much. But in This case, I can see, why one would say, this wasn't neccessary (except for sales). The 'Darkness'-album does not 'scream' to be played in one row, like 'Berlin' does.

Now U2 with 'The Joshua Tree'.
A wonderful album. One hit after the other. The lyrics are magnificent. The music is mainstream, but intelligent. I love it.

For sure: This one needs Not to be played in one row. Not at all.
For sure: This was a merchandise decission, since we have the 30th aniversary of the album
For sure: When The Edge states in an interview, that after the 'Brexit' and the 'Trump desaster' it was a natural idea to think about some content of this album again, he is right.

Whatever. I'm really in to see this U2-concert, like I wasn't for ca 20 years (I had tickets for the 'Achtung Baby' Tour and they got LOST!!). Well, from the videos on youtube, I'd say, that the 'Vertigo-Tour' would have been my thing too. But I didn't know this then.
Maybe I can get hold of tickets for Berlin at a reasonable prize.
 
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well, for Europe, the official sale starts next Monday (16th), but as a registered member of their fan-club one could buy at a presale since today. A friend has told me, tickets for Berlin would range somewhere between 50,- to 200,- EUR (approx 1:1 at the moment), but I wonder, what sort of seat I can get at 50. And 200?? Still undecided. But thinking. Seriously thinking about it.
And btw: said friend tried to fix his tickets but couldn't get through all day due to too many phone-calls. What a surprise.
 
The ticket business is rigged against us, like the election was rigged against Trump.

Wait, not like that - anyway, it's never easy. The scalpers have armies, they will always get what they want by any means necessary. It's not a fair fight.

I think for $50 you're going to need to bring a telescope. $200 for a closer seat is ridiculous, but then Cat Stevens was getting $925 - $1,250 for close seats on the floor here in Los Angeles. We paid $100 a seat to sit in the front of the balcony. U2 is more popular and happening than Cat Stevens, so I'm not surprised at their prices. Plus you get Noel Gallagher. Ha ha ha ha ha. Ha.

And they wonder why the music business is dying.
 
Jayzus. I haven't gone to a concert that's cost me more than $24-40 since 2001. I just can't justify any more money.

Unless it's Paul McCartney or the zombified corpse of Bob Marley maybe. Then I might drop $60. Or $65.
 
Tonight will be a 6-hours radio-broadcast (repeated 4 times so it adds up to 24 h) with some rare footage from old times and live-material from the new album.

Unfortunately only for amazon-prime-members or so.
If anyone feels like recoding this thing, I wouldn't fight against a copy of it.

The Link (for US-citizens): THE U2 EXPERIENCE

The program (sorry I've found this only in German language - that's why the times mentioned here are MEZ and not EST):

DE_DM_U2XPCTime_program_.jpg
 
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[EDIT: you'll have to remove the (hidden) tag at the end of this link to make it work. I wasn't able to delete the fucker, sorry]
Fixed.

There's a thing here that converts Amazon links. Usually those links are to products so it doesn't matter. This one was different.

I can't offer to record it for you, but I would assume that a lot of people will be recording it and you'll probably be able to find it over the weekend.
 
Well, I was, a lot. I don't dislike them. I channel my musical interests elsewhere. I always check them out but haven't been fired up about them in a long time.
 

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