Best Intro

[Blue Room]

They opened with Vertigo on the EU dates because for COBL they needed it to be dark to have full effects of the confetti and lights. Summer in Europe = dark at 10pm. So they had to start with something else.
No idea why they dropped LAPOE though, that was a great opener.

The conversation I "overheard" about this is that it started the show to dark and they did not think it worked going into Vertigo.

You are correct on Vertigo in Europe. However the band thought it was a strong opener also and struggled with what to open with on the third leg, Vertigo or COBL. It was their sound engineer Joe O. at soundcheck in Chicago on the third leg that made the choice. Bono asked him which he preferred and he went with COBL. Opened every show for the rest of the tour, I think. At least most of the rest of the tour.

 

[Salome]

Zoo Station, easily.

A close second is the 360 version of EBTTRT.

Third ... Mofo.

Honourable mention Elevation.

same here

though half the time I would put Elevation in at #2 and give the honourable mention to Even better .....

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

I forgot how good LAPOE was opening for some of the early Vertigo Tour shows.

Totally off-beat, ominous start, with the darkened room and the searchlights and the jets flying overhead and the "Ooooh Oooooh Oooooohhhhh" intro, ending with Edge's awesome solo, fucking great.

Can't find a decent video of it on YouTube, just this crappy clip from the Denver show:

‪U2 - Love and Peace or Else opens in Denver‬‏ - YouTube

that is cool. I think I am one of the few people that actually like Love and Peace or Else. I had no idea that they used it for an opener on this tour. thanks for the video and post.

 

[Explorer10]

"Even Better Than The Real Thing" was amazing live. That is my favourite intro so far. I discovered it after watching videos from Glastonbury and I think I fell in love with the rythym of the song. I still love it.

"Breathe" is probably second, it was also a great intro and it sounds great live.

 

[GibsonGirl]

Top three:

1. Mofo
2. Even Better Than The Real Thing*
3. Zoo Station

* I hated the 360 version of EBTTRT the first few times I saw/heard it on YouTube, but it grew on me quickly. Witnessing it in the flesh was awesome.

 

[mellow moog]

Zoo Station.

Indoors tour : Bono singing the Aria before the start of Zoo Station was bonechillin!!! I hated Acthung baby (too poverproduced compare to the achtung demos) until the Earls Court show in 92 that this started with and it was like I was born again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVObysOYzQQ

Outside broadcast : George Bush doing 'We, will, we will, rock you!!1" into Bono being elevated against the giant screen kickstarting "Zoo Station" !!!! That image will last with me forever!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zZeDKDqe4A

 

[BlueSilkenSky]

Even Better Than The Real Thing... that guitar solo. GAAAAAHHHH.
Pop Muzik/MOFO.
Television, The Drug of the Nation/Beethoven's 9th/TV static/random noises/Zoo Station. My mind was and then... when I first heard that.

 

[midnightlemon]

I don't think anyone's mentioned the worst, but I just gotta say I was not a fan of Stingray/Beautiful Day. I never saw it live, but I saw tons of videos and the intro had no buildup. It was just them walking on stage with all the lights on, then the three boys start playing while Bono just walks around and makes faces at the crowd for a few minutes. I'm glad they got rid of it before I saw them for the second time on 360.

Although for the best, I can't decide between Pop Muzik/Mofo and Interference/Zoo Station. I do think Soon/Breathe was way underrated though.

 

[cobl04]

No one was. Horrible.

 

[Fly-2000]

I'll have to say 'Pop Muzik/MOFO' as well. Though I think that 'Even Better Than The Real Thing' is also good too.

 

[tsweeney]

Best U2 opening songs:

1. George Bush Rap - Zoo Station
2. Pop Muzik/Mofo
3. Elevation (Influx Remix) - Elevation
Wake Up - Everyone - City Of Blinding Lights
4. Space Oddity - Even Better Than The Real Thing

 

[TheEdge10]

I changed my mind to EBTTRT.

 

[mirrorballman]

I must say "Streets" worked for its time and was the ultimate opener, nowadays I wouldn't want it anywhere else than at the climax of the setlist though.

That said:

1. MOFO (incredibly energetic)
2. Zoo TV (legendary)
3. Elevation (burned the house down with house lights still on. Incredible)

 

[Gabi_Clayton]

I loved Stingray guitar

and then City Of Blinding Lights, Zoo Station, Mofo, Streets, Elevation and others

 

[Yahweh_OMG]

Zoo Station

or

Mofo

 

[zoopop]

U2 has 2 types of intros. Magical & Swagger.

I enjoy my U2 intro w/ some swagger, that being Popmuzik to Mofo. It was such a beast and blew faces off in the audience. For a band to walk out like a boxing match and then rip into a song like that takes some guts.

And seeing Real Thing brought that back which was great. The complete darkness and having Larry start banging!!

 

[U2387]

Of the one's I've seen, Even Better Than The Real Thing wins going away!!

Love everything about it...lights down, the main riff repeating, Larry pounding and then the solo before they rip in. Absolutely outstanding!

After that:

-City of Blinding Lights

-Magnificent(Boston 2, 2009)

-Get On Your Boots(Somerville, NLOTH Promo)

-Breathe(Boston 1, 2009)

As for the one's I haven't seen, I am quite fond of Out of Control on War, Zoo Station and red screen Streets. MOFO obviously as well.

Elevation and Vertigo got the job done on their respective tours.

The only time I think U2 really veered off course with openers was with Breathe in 2009. Just didn't work.

So many here hated Stingray into BD, I would never go that far!! Stingray was cool and while I could think of as many better ways to open as anyone else, at least it got the crowd going early and was a recognizable song. Watching that Turin feed, it felt like the U2 we're used to was back.

 

[marik]

U2 has 2 types of intros. Magical & Swagger.

I agree with this.

Streets- magical
zoo station- swagger
mofo- DEFINES swagger
elevation- magical (the whole walking on in house lights thing)
city of blinding lights- magical (confettii)
StingRay- swagger
Real Thing- swagger

not so clear cut is Breathe. thoughts? i guess i would say magical.

 

[corianderstem]

U2 has 2 types of intros. Magical & Swagger.

Love this!

See, Beautiful Day fits into neither category. Clearly, an unfit opener.

/cue argument about Stingray being the actual opener on that leg.

 

[zoopop]

I agree with this.

Streets- magical
zoo station- swagger
mofo- DEFINES swagger
elevation- magical (the whole walking on in house lights thing)
city of blinding lights- magical (confettii)
StingRay- swagger
Real Thing- swagger

not so clear cut is Breathe. thoughts? i guess i would say magical.

That's the problem w/ Breathe we just don't know whats going on, haha.

I would say the Soon part is the magical part and then it turns into swagger w/ Larry. Were lost after that.

 

[IanIinTheSky]

Elevation was much more in the swagger category than magical. Just good rockin'

I guess the most extreme "magical" openings were MLK and The Ocean. Most extreme swagger was MOFO.

 

[BlueSilkenSky]

I think I like the swagger openers a thousand times better than the magical ones.

 

[midnightlemon]

I feel like Breathe was very underrated as an opener and it just killed me to know it was left off the Rose Bowl DVD.

I remember right after the album came out, I was wondering how U2 were going to open their shows. I thought they would open with Breathe, then NLOTH, Boots, and Magnificent. A few months later, I was totally right! I wish I had posted that here before then.

I pictured Larry coming on stage by himself and doing the intro to Breathe while Edge, Adam, and Bono eventually appear. It seemed like the perfect intro for the tour (and it was, although EBTTRT was great too).