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U2’s latest tour, the 360 tour (named for its unique circular stage), has now been operating for four weeks and while most of the reviews have been largely positive, many fans are watching the set lists and YouTube clips wondering if the praise is for the stage or the music? I’ll make a full confession; I have not seen any shows and have only watched the YouTube clips here and there. However, after what I initially deemed to be the tour of the year, I can’t help but think U2 is retreading already traveled ground this time around.
People look at U2 in two ways; they love them or hate them. “Hate” may be a strong word, but ultimately most of these people just feel u2 is overrated, which I can understand. One can only hear how many times a band is great without rolling their eyes. To the rest of us, this is a band who just doesn’t speak to our mind, body and soul, there’s a higher spiritual power to the music which can’t be put into words. Anyone who saw one of U2’s concerts post 9/11 between October and December 2001 knows exactly what I am talking about. One of the reasons they are often heralded as one of the best bands also comes from their innovativeness. These guys had the audacity to film a movie, not just a home video, but a movie of their 1987 tour. They self-financed the “Zoo TV” tour, foolishly tired to repeat themselves with Popmart (still an underrated tour IMO), reinstated GA at a low price for their fans in 2001, partnered with iTunes and the iPod for a gargantuan campaign, made the greatest 3-D experience ever with U23D and now this tour as taking a in-the-round stage of sorts into stadiums. With all of that being said, now that the tour is in full bloom, I can’t help but express my disappointment.
Love them or hate them, U2 has always been about promoting their latest record in concert. And while there is plenty of it for us to chew on in the current set list, the odd sequencing makes me wonder why someone hasn’t spoken to them about the pitfalls. First off, opening with “Breathe” a mid-tempo number, doesn’t exactly set the stage on fire and firing off no less than four songs from No Line on the Horizon, but why are they not opening with the pulsating “Magnificent”. They need to come out swinging and go for that knockout immediately and I get the sense they’re playing it safe for lord knows what reason.
Then there’s the remainder of the set list. Fans began to salivate when it was discovered “Drowning Man” from War was being rehearsed. The song, a treasure, had never been performed live. However, four weeks into the tour and it’s yet to make an appearance. Granted, the band recently did some major set list changes but it meant dumping “The Unforgettable Fire”, “In A Little While” and Unknown Caller”, the moodiest and most mysterious track on the new album. So what are the replacements? “Elevation”, “Until the End of the World” and “Bad”. “Bad” is one of those songs I believe to be integral to every U2 show, much more so than “Sunday Bloody Sunday” or “Stuck in a Moment”. My issue with the set lists over the last few weeks is I have this feeling that I have seen this all before, albeit with new songs. I expect this from Bon Jovi, but not U2. No other act on the planet has been able to thematically execute a show full of uplifting and powerful themes better than U2 and this time around, I get the overriding sense that they’re playing it safe; too safe. “Elevation”, “Until the End of the World”, “Stuck In A Moment” are all great songs, just not ones I am sure I need to see nightly or even every tour. Plus there is nothing from either of the first two records being played. The band dug into Boy deeply on the last tour, so I can understand them passing it this time, but as much as I think October is a messy record, I would still like to see a song or two played here and there. The entire Unforgettable Fire record is underperformed and what about the non-singles from The Joshua Tree? I should probably just be thankful that “Bullet the Blue Sky” has been retired (for the moment).
Don’t get me wrong, there are some great things happening with the set list. The inclusion of “Ultraviolet” is wondrous and should never have disappeared for as long as it did. Plus there’s “The Unforgettable Fire” and just recently, moving “One” further up in the set instead of relying on it as the main set closer. It will be interesting to see what happens in Ireland over the next three shows. Will they play it close to the bone? Will they spread their wings and take some chances? We’ll see. I’m still looking forward to seeing them in September, but I am sensing more of a nostalgic feeling than an adventure down the path least traveled.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network and his daily writings can be read at The Screen Door and can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com.
