prbiker15
Blue Crack Addict
Awesome! The perfect ending to 2 weeks of U2.
I'm fine with not bringing people up, but agreed that there was a lot that felt conservative, and weird that they didn't interact that often. Hopefully just first-jitters.
This was the first U2 show I've ever been to where it seemed the boys were "working". Almost like going through the motions. They were working hard. There were few smiles... few audience interactions.... and very few dialogue.
Without spoiling too much, the themes that were punched out sort of hit me over the head. Aboriginals, America, Trump, Women's Rights.....Childless Mother's. All of these themes are important and integral, but at times, I felt there was no reprieve from each message being hit again and again. Anton Corbjin is amazing... and the work is jaw dropping... but apart from Streets, there were no laughs... no opportunity for the audience to feel good... just a somber progression from one song to next.
I was witnessing something great... but it was soooo heavy.
By the time they did Beautiful Day and Elevation (those can come out of the rotation any time) to lighten the mood, it was too late.
Which reminds me. This is all foreshadowed by some of the most dismal poems be shared ahead of time on the JT screen prior to the show.
And the boys...or at least Bono didn't seem "into it". No smiles. Just smiles when they hit bum notes, or made a mistake or goofed up lyrics. Almost like they were under rehearsed.
My biggest pet peeve was RHMT. Bono bailed on high parts... and the brass. I didn't mind it so much on the Record Store Day version... but now they have a BRASS BAND as part of the visual. RHMT.. perhaps the most anticipated song fans want to hear, and they changed it dramatically.
But for most of the show, I was really miffed. I feel like they played to the whole right side of the stage.
In the past, I've always left a U2 show wanting to see the next one... which normally meant 6 to 10 shows in various cities. I left this one thinking... hmmm.. so maybe the one more show in Toronto is good enough? I never had that feeling before.
And trust me.... as a lover of the band.... like all of you were... it pained me to feel this sort of confliction after a U2 show.
As a person who has had multiple stage appearances....lolol.... I was also fine with that too. This tour doesn't seem like the time or the place.
I'm gonna put my 2cents in. This is totally my opinion. And I'm fine if you agree to disagree. It's been a while since I've been on Interference, but I figured this is the best place to discuss some stuff.
I know that the show in Seattle ended up being off the hook... so I'm happy with that.
For this show, I figured since I was travelling great distances, I decided to buy RED ZONE tickets because I really didn't have the energy to line up for GA. I actually told myself that I wasn't gonna dress up for this tour. It was time to retire the Mirror Ball Man lest someone would think that I was trying to make it onstage again. After discussion with some friends and my wife, I decided that I couldn't do silver again, and decided to just have some fun with it and go gold. I've seen 42 U2 shows and been physically a part of 4 of them. I decided I'd put my headspace in the "dress up and have fun with fans". Be a goof.... and have some laughs. All dreams have been achieved so why not continue the fun. So this time round I made a gold mirror ball hat.... and went from there. (props to people who compared me to Goldfinger the wrestler, Goldmember from Austin Powers, and C3-P0 from Star Wars.) I love meeting people...and people were here from all over the world. U2 fans travel well!
Got in early with Red Zone so when you face the stage, I'm to the left of the tree stage.
On to the show.
This was the first U2 show I've ever been to where it seemed the boys were "working". Almost like going through the motions. They were working hard. There were few smiles... few audience interactions.... and very few dialogue. The band starts on the little stage and then makes their way to larger stage for JT.
A lot of songs were amazing... and with the 8K screen, it was completely breathtaking at times. The screen seemed to engulf the performance of the boys. I'm not sure if that was a bad thing, but it seemed like the art direction here was for the boys to physically play down their involvement in each song? Does that make sense? Like Popmart had a big screen, and Bono played it up with the screen. Here the screen was EVERYTHING. Even bigger that Bono's onstage ego.
Without spoiling too much, the themes that were punched out sort of hit me over the head. Aboriginals, America, Trump, Women's Rights.....Childless Mother's. All of these themes are important and integral, but at times, I felt there was no reprieve from each message being hit again and again. Anton Corbjin is amazing... and the work is jaw dropping... but apart from Streets, there were no laughs... no opportunity for the audience to feel good... just a somber progression from one song to next.
I was witnessing something great... but it was soooo heavy.
By the time they did Beautiful Day and Elevation (those can come out of the rotation any time) to lighten the mood, it was too late.
Which reminds me. This is all foreshadowed by some of the most dismal poems be shared ahead of time on the JT screen prior to the show.
And the boys...or at least Bono didn't seem "into it". No smiles. Just smiles when they hit bum notes, or made a mistake or goofed up lyrics. Almost like they were under rehearsed.
My biggest pet peeve was RHMT. Bono bailed on high parts... and the brass. I didn't mind it so much on the Record Store Day version... but now they have a BRASS BAND as part of the visual. RHMT.. perhaps the most anticipated song fans want to hear, and they changed it dramatically.
Exit = New Bullet. - This was done to so much perfection... with Bono going into character...I couldn't get enough of it.
I personally loved the new theme of Ultraviolet. The women on screen made me feel proud.
But for most of the show, I was really miffed. I feel like they played to the whole right side of the stage.
So I left the show thinking I witnessed something incredible and yet something was sooo off.
At one point Bono asks for the crowd's approval. When have you ever heard Bono do that?
Then I found out about the ticket entry fiasco and the late start. EEEK!
I needed new experiences and so after all these years, I've never done a tour opener. I was told to have cautious optimism because U2 have had a history of horrific tour openers. So I was ready for it. They seemed ill rehearsed, pissed off.... and the big one for me... it looked like they weren't having fun.
....I heard Seattle was off the hook. I'm not surprised. These boys always know how to turn things around.
In the past, I've always left a U2 show wanting to see the next one... which normally meant 6 to 10 shows in various cities. I left this one thinking... hmmm.. so maybe the one more show in Toronto is good enough? I never had that feeling before.
I bet this show will evolve into something even better as we continue...
And trust me.... as a lover of the band.... like all of you were... it pained me to feel this sort of confliction after a U2 show.
On to the show.
This was the first U2 show I've ever been to where it seemed the boys were "working". Almost like going through the motions. They were working hard. There were few smiles... few audience interactions.... and very few dialogue. The band starts on the little stage and then makes their way to larger stage for JT.
A lot of songs were amazing... and with the 8K screen, it was completely breathtaking at times. The screen seemed to engulf the performance of the boys. I'm not sure if that was a bad thing, but it seemed like the art direction here was for the boys to physically play down their involvement in each song? Does that make sense? Like Popmart had a big screen, and Bono played it up with the screen. Here the screen was EVERYTHING. Even bigger that Bono's onstage ego.
Without spoiling too much, the themes that were punched out sort of hit me over the head. Aboriginals, America, Trump, Women's Rights.....Childless Mother's. All of these themes are important and integral, but at times, I felt there was no reprieve from each message being hit again and again. Anton Corbjin is amazing... and the work is jaw dropping... but apart from Streets, there were no laughs... no opportunity for the audience to feel good... just a somber progression from one song to next.
I was witnessing something great... but it was soooo heavy.
By the time they did Beautiful Day and Elevation (those can come out of the rotation any time) to lighten the mood, it was too late.
Which reminds me. This is all foreshadowed by some of the most dismal poems be shared ahead of time on the JT screen prior to the show.
And the boys...or at least Bono didn't seem "into it". No smiles. Just smiles when they hit bum notes, or made a mistake or goofed up lyrics. Almost like they were under rehearsed.
My biggest pet peeve was RHMT. Bono bailed on high parts... and the brass. I didn't mind it so much on the Record Store Day version... but now they have a BRASS BAND as part of the visual. RHMT.. perhaps the most anticipated song fans want to hear, and they changed it dramatically.
Exit = New Bullet. - This was done to so much perfection... with Bono going into character...I couldn't get enough of it.
I personally loved the new theme of Ultraviolet. The women on screen made me feel proud.
But for most of the show, I was really miffed. I feel like they played to the whole right side of the stage.
So I left the show thinking I witnessed something incredible and yet something was sooo off.
At one point Bono asks for the crowd's approval. When have you ever heard Bono do that?
Then I found out about the ticket entry fiasco and the late start. EEEK!
I needed new experiences and so after all these years, I've never done a tour opener. I was told to have cautious optimism because U2 have had a history of horrific tour openers. So I was ready for it. They seemed ill rehearsed, pissed off.... and the big one for me... it looked like they weren't having fun.
....I heard Seattle was off the hook. I'm not surprised. These boys always know how to turn things around.
In the past, I've always left a U2 show wanting to see the next one... which normally meant 6 to 10 shows in various cities. I left this one thinking... hmmm.. so maybe the one more show in Toronto is good enough? I never had that feeling before.
I bet this show will evolve into something even better as we continue...
And trust me.... as a lover of the band.... like all of you were... it pained me to feel this sort of confliction after a U2 show.
Ha! No kidding. I felt so let down at the end of the night after the lineup chaos and lackluster performance. But the more I watch the videos on YouTube, I realize it was a damn good show (encore aaide). I'm enjoying the videos more than the actual show and I think that's what really upsets me the most.Actually the more I'm remembering about the show the more I'm reminded how good it really is! LOL
An email was sent on Friday from TM in regards to a "U2 Vancouver recovery package." TM gift cards are coming express in the mail!
Seems they waited until after Metallica played the venue to see if changes made would work. Look like it did. Sweet!
I actually got mine a few weeks ago. I heard they didn't use CC scanners for Metallica. They must be too scared to try again. Funny they never did admit it was their fault even though other venues have use cc entry with little issue. At least I got $50 back.
I have 4 gift cards today. I haven't checked them online yet. 200?!?! Oh yeah!!!