2011 tour rumours/discussion/timothius memorial thread, part III

[Axver]

Here we go.

Latest from the rumour mill:

SOUTH AMERICA: There is a rumour that if all three Sao Paulo shows sell out, Time For Fun will allow local promoters to add shows in Rio de Janeiro (Engenhao not Maracana; no specified date) and Porto Alegre (21 April). Santiago and La Plata have also been rumoured to get a second and a third show respectively.
(Status: Well, Sao Paulo III has sold well, so we'll see! Santiago's sales have been too slow, so a second show there looks very unlikely right now. La Plata's chances for a third probably aren't good either.)

NORTH AMERICA: Looks like all extra dates have been announced, unless a new album suddenly drops and they decide to add extra shows in some cities that already have a gig.
(Status: Any more shows would be quite the surprise.)

GLASTONBURY: The official line-up, according to the Glastonbury Festival website, won't be announced until the Northern spring. However, U2.com left a whopping great big hint that U2 will be in the 2011 festival line-up.
(Status: Odds are good.)

EUROPE: Rumours have circulated about the tour ending with a short leg through Europe after the end of the North American leg. There have been specific rumours for a while of U2 playing Aviva Stadium in Dublin to end the tour in October. One rumour suggests 10 dates, including Dublin, Belfast, Paris and/or Amsterdam, and 6x UK (although some suggest there has been a bit of confusion and it should be "6x UK - not forgetting Belfast is in the UK!" or "6x UK and Ireland"). There have been no updates on this rumour for a long time, i.e. the entire duration of the last rumours thread!
(Status: Still very vague and questionable. Don't hold your breath, but don't dismiss it either. Remember, U2 were reserving stadiums for a 2002 European stadium tour to end Elevation, and that never happened.)

ASIA: Until recently, no rumours. Now we have conflicting rumours, oh joy! Paul McGuinness has reportedly told one fan the tour will end in Asia, and apparently told another fan that U2 won't be playing in Japan.
(Status: God knows, but don't get your hopes up too much yet.)

SLANE & DATES IN 2012: Vague rumours a while ago suggested U2 might play at Slane again, and that there may even be live dates in 2012. No firm details.
(Status: Weak rumour, easily the weakest of the bunch. Don't go expecting anything.)

ANYWHERE ELSE: Nothing. But feel free to dream about an Antarctica tour. Man I can't wait for a gig in the Ross Dependency!
(Status: Chilly.)

This thread is dedicated to timothius and the good times in the Australia Desperate and Dateless threads from the Vertigo era.

 

[ramblin rose]

I'm surprised this poster hasn't made it to this thread.

 

[NewKillerStar]

Back to the Chinese media thing, it's everywhere, check BBC for instance.

I can image they have such a twisted thinking that even a concert (especially a western band's act) would be considered as some sort of 'media'. At least something that appeals to a huge audience hence quite undesirable by the government.

But this is just my thought it can be completely untrue.

(Even the new Hungarian government are trying to control the media with a new law so what can you expect from a still Communist government?)

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Who's timothius?

 

[Vlad n U 2]

.

 

[cobl04]

Great title.

More aus shows plz

 

[paulrg]

All I want for Christmas is to know whether there will be shows in Europe next year or not. I'd even settle to hear they are considering it. But the complete silence is bloody annoying.

By the way, what happened to the December single?

Come on McGuinness give us a news snippet for Christmas.

 

[Axver]

Who's timothius?

Oh you forum young'uns!

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Oh you forum young'uns!

Was he a prominent figure in Interference folklore? Was he?

 

[cathalmc]

I'm timothius!

 

[KEVIN051269]

No, I'm timothius!

 

[NewKillerStar]

All I want for Christmas is to know whether there will be shows in Europe next year or not. I'd even settle to hear they are considering it. But the complete silence is bloody annoying.

I'm with you on that.

But I still have hope. As a friend put it 'big silence comes before big announcements' (or something like that, hope you understand what I mean )

 

[kramwest1]

Are there any remaining NA gaps that could accommodate a new show or a second night?

(Minneapolis 2 )

 

[ryancoke71]

Are there any remaining NA gaps that could accommodate a new show or a second night?

(Minneapolis 2 )

...you and I continue to pray for that elusive second night!

 

[DRay9911]

NORTH AMERICA: Looks like all extra dates have been announced, unless a new album suddenly drops and they decide to add extra shows in some cities that already have a gig.
(Status: Any more shows would be quite the surprise.).

**looks for foxboro**

**doesn't see foxboro**

**re-reads to make sure**

bwahahahahahahahahahahaha

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

Slane in 2012 ?
Just give me an Irish date for 2011!

 

[HBK-79]

Remember, U2 were reserving stadiums for a 2002 European stadium tour to end Elevation, and that never happened.

I don't mean to go back in time 8 years. But all these years I've been curious as to why the Elevation Tour just ended in Miami and lasted only one year.

Last week, a couple of Aussies enlightened me and said that U2 couldn't make it Down Under in 2002 because the Australian dollar had been in bad shape. (Had there been an Elevation Tour 2002 Down Under, the band would've done 10 shows at the Sydney SuperDome and 20 shows at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena.)

So why wasn't the Elevation Tour extended in 2002 to include gigs in Japan and a second go-around in Europe?

(I didn't go to any shows on the Elevation Tour.)

 

[DRay9911]

10 and 20 are way too high to believe

bummer you missed the 2001 tour, it was awesome

 

[Axver]

Was he a prominent figure in Interference folklore? Was he?

Highlights of timothius's Interference career:
- A couple of legendary Aussie tour rumours threads during Vertigo, "Australia doesn't quite know what the fuck is happening, 2007-2029" (in which I predicted a 2010 We're Not Playing Outside North America and Europe Tour), and "Australia - Desperate and Dateless".
- When him and I flooded Put 'Em Under Pressure so that EVERY thread on the first page was about New Zealand sports.
- Our hilarious "arguments" in Vertigo leg 3 setlist parties about Auckland vs Wellington.
- His unceasing championing of Crowded House/Split Enz/the Finns. UNCEASING. And you think I like them.

I miss the guy.

So why wasn't the Elevation Tour extended in 2002 to include gigs in Japan and a second go-around in Europe?

The band pulled the plug, not sure if the reasons have been stated for sure but I think they just were happy with what the tour had achieved and believed it had run its course. Plus there was some enthusiasm to go back in the studio ... which of course didn't translate to a quick album, alas.

10 and 20 are way too high to believe

I suspect more than a little exaggeration. Nobody's ever achieved 20 nights at Rod Laver (though Pink came damn close recently). I also suspect more than a little exaggeration because the original Vertigo Tour plan (never mind Elevation), when they were still looking at coming here in December '05/January '06 and playing in arenas, was 4x Sydney, 4x Melbourne, 2x Brisbane. The stigma of Popmart still held sway then.

 

[robbrecon72]

So why wasn't the Elevation Tour extended in 2002 to include gigs in Japan and a second go-around in Europe?



I think the main reason is because Bono was having problems with his voice.

 

[HBK-79]

10 and 20 are way too high to believe

bummer you missed the 2001 tour, it was awesome

I missed the Elevation Tour because I was still in school at the time. Plus, I didn't like ATYCLB that much. But I do regret missing out on their highly talked-about shows in Boston and MSG.

I suspect more than a little exaggeration. Nobody's ever achieved 20 nights at Rod Laver (though Pink came damn close recently). I also suspect more than a little exaggeration because the original Vertigo Tour plan (never mind Elevation), when they were still looking at coming here in December '05/January '06 and playing in arenas, was 4x Sydney, 4x Melbourne, 2x Brisbane. The stigma of Popmart still held sway then.

Yes, it was an exaggeration on my part. But I never knew that U2 had had a Popmart stigma when it came to Aussie shows. Based on the fact that they did 2 shows at the Telstra Dome and 3 shows at Telstra Stadium on Vertigo led me to believe that Australia has been a hot-bed for U2 shows.

 

[Axver]

Yes, it was an exaggeration on my part. But I never knew that U2 had had a Popmart stigma when it came to Aussie shows. Based on the fact that they did 2 shows at the Telstra Dome and 3 shows at Telstra Stadium on Vertigo led me to believe that Australia has been a hot-bed for U2 shows.

Popmart:

Perth: Sell-out, but in an arena.
Melbourne: Waverley was only about half-sold.
Sydney: I can't remember if it just sold out, or had a few thousand tickets unsold.
Brisbane: Dire. In a venue that has a capacity around 50,000, the attendance was (if I remember correctly), under 18,000.

Hence their original Vertigo Tour plan was to bring the arena production. However, both ATYCLB and HTDAAB (as well as the Best Ofs) were quite successful here and broadened the concert interest amongst the casual market. Hence the improving dollar and economy made it more likely that a). casual fans would shell out for tickets when they may not have done so in 2002 and b). ticket prices would be more in the vicinity of what casual fans would willingly pay. So they went to the stadiums, and the ticket sales vindicated their judgement.

Also, remember Sydney was originally only meant to get two shows. The third show was added after the postponement (there were also rumours of a third show in Melbourne), and it didn't sell out. Well, it was a technical sell-out; all tickets made available were sold, but some sections of seats sold on nights 1 and 2 were not sold on night 3.

(And we were all stunned when New Zealand got gigs. Even ZooTV did poorly in New Zealand. There were initially rumours that New Zealand's gigs would be at the Events Centre in Wellington, and if they'd played there, it would've been their smallest full tour gig since the Point Depot in 1989!)

 

[4U2Play]

How great is it to have a U2 historian like Axver posting here on a regular basis

Merry Christmas to you, mate

 

[blueeyedgirl]

ANYWHERE ELSE: Nothing. But feel free to dream about an Antarctica tour. Man I can't wait for a gig in the Ross Dependency!
(Status: Chilly.)

This thread is dedicated to timothius and the good times in the Australia Desperate and Dateless threads from the Vertigo era.

I'd like to see the die hards camp out for that!!!

Tim Tam Not even the tour coaxed him out of hiding...

 

[Axver]

How great is it to have a U2 historian like Axver posting here on a regular basis

Merry Christmas to you, mate

Heh, thanks. On the side, I'm also a real historian.

Hope you have a good Christmas over your side of the world!

Tim Tam Not even the tour coaxed him out of hiding...

His account info notes that he actually logged in during September this year! But the last time he posted was in 2007 ...

 

[cleazer]

- Our hilarious "arguments" in Vertigo leg 3 setlist parties about Auckland vs Wellington.

those were the best

 

[kramwest1]

Popmart:

Sydney: I can't remember if it just sold out, or had a few thousand tickets unsold.

There were quite a few rows of empty seats behind me up on Edge's side.

(Shittiest seats I've had for a U2 show btw)

 

[HBK-79]

The band pulled the plug, not sure if the reasons have been stated for sure but I think they just were happy with what the tour had achieved and believed it had run its course.

BTW- What are the chances of the band doing the same thing ("pulling the plug" upon believing that the Claw has run its course) for this tour?

There have been no solid rumors beyond July of next year. For all we know, the Pittsburgh show could just about be it.

Even AC/DC ended their last tour in Bilbao, a city in Spain that I had never known to exist.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Highlights of timothius's Interference career:
- A couple of legendary Aussie tour rumours threads during Vertigo, "Australia doesn't quite know what the fuck is happening, 2007-2029" (in which I predicted a 2010 We're Not Playing Outside North America and Europe Tour), and "Australia - Desperate and Dateless".
- When him and I flooded Put 'Em Under Pressure so that EVERY thread on the first page was about New Zealand sports.
- Our hilarious "arguments" in Vertigo leg 3 setlist parties about Auckland vs Wellington.
- His unceasing championing of Crowded House/Split Enz/the Finns. UNCEASING. And you think I like them.

I miss the guy.

He seemed like such an amazing guy.

I'd like to see the die hards camp out for that!!!

They'd have to learn to swim since Edge would've already melted half the continent by the time the concert starts.

 

[Axver]

BTW- What are the chances of the band doing the same thing ("pulling the plug" upon believing that the Claw has run its course) for this tour?

There have been no solid rumors beyond July of next year. For all we know, the Pittsburgh show could just about be it.

I think it's hard to speculate about this at the moment, since we don't know if there is going to be a new album or not.

If a new album drops, I'd bet that Europe will get at least a brief leg.

(Honestly, I'd like them to delay a new album until after 360's done so that they can begin a whole new tour to promote it, but that's tied up with various negative personal opinions on 360.)