Anticipation and Speculation Intensify as U2 Rehearses for Opening Night

June 21, 2009

The Interference Staff & Various Sources

Images Courtesy of Jaime Andres Rodriguez

With opening night for the “360 tour” only days away, with the band rehearsing at the stadium where the world tour will be unveiled, the fierce anticipation and fiery speculation of the last few months are now framed with a new focus.

When Edge told Rolling Stone a while back that U2 might be “resurrecting songs we haven’t played in a long time,” no one anticipated that a gem like “Drowning Man” (from 1983′ War) that has never been a feature of live shows, might show up in a setlist. Apparently, at least in rehearsals, it has. Other deep cuts from the back catalog like “Ultra Violet (Light My Way)” (from 1991’s Achtung Baby) and “The Unforgettable Fire” from the 1985 album of the same name have also appeared on leaked rehearsal setlists.

When Edge also mentioned “certain songs from the last couple of tours, we may not play again,” fans likely had tracks to nominate for that list. Based on what we know now about the songs being rehearsed for the first leg of the tour, the epic radio anthem “New Years Day” and the blistering warfare of “Bullet the Blue Sky” may take a hiatus.

As the rehearsal setlists first began to leak, fan skepticism immediately peaked. Some suspected that the lists were in fact pranks or hoaxes. Others have suggested that the rarities we see in these lists may get dropped before opening night. Fans with tickets for the second North American leg of the tour certainly do not want to wonder or worry too much, since the sets we see will likely differ from those tested early on. Still other fans do not like “spoilers” and are intentionally avoiding vast regions of the Internet, hoping to be surprised when they finally see their favorite band.

A leaked rehearsal setlist currently making its rounds online includes the following tracks:

“Beautiful Day”

“Vertigo”

“Magnificent”

“Get On Your Boots”

“I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight”

“I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”

“Drowning Man”

“Breathe”

“In A Little While”

“Angel Of Harlem”

“(Space Chat)”

“Unknown Caller”

“The Unforgettable Fire”

“City Of Blinding Light”

“Pride (In The Name Of Love)”

“MLK”

“Where The Streets Have No Name”

“Ultraviolet (Light My Way)”

“With Or Without You”

“Walk On”

Encore:

“No Line On The Horizon”

“Elevation”

“One”

“Moment Of Surrender”

“(Ava Maria)”

In addition to excited speculation about what songs the band will play, another area of enthusiastic anticipation involves the band’s new stage, nicknamed “the claw.” Tour designer Willie Williams recently shared in an interview some interesting ideas about the stage set, shedding light on his aesthetic philosophy and the environmental impact of launching such an ambitious tour.

About the design itself, Williams remarked, “Getting rid of the big video backdrop – willfully throwing away the most powerful visual tool you have – is brave and dangerous, but it occurred to me that with this band, perhaps a more powerful backdrop would be a stadium full of people.  U2 have spent 20 years playing indoor venues using this ‘in-the-round-at-one-end’ configuration, so the challenge was to see how we might be able to do it outdoors, with no building roof.  Such structures exist of course, but they always end up looking rather apologetic, like a bandstand, rather than having any real power or aesthetic.  Also, there’s the issue of the truss legs and sightlines and so on.  The breakthrough for me was the moment of reverse logic when I realized that instead of trying to make this structure as small and discreet and possible, what if it was so big that it became part of the stadium?  What if the structure was completely disconnected from the performing area so that the legs were so far from the stage they wouldn’t be in the way?”

And concerning the ecological price of the mammoth tour, Williams weighed it against the inherent social and spiritual benefits of a U2 concert: “U2 are buying carbon offsets in relation to the tour, but other than that I don’t want to speak for them regarding green issues.  For myself though, I have spent much time considering the issue and wondering what possible justification there can be in such a carbon hungry enterprise.  Radiohead are friends of mine and I have talked to Thom Yorke at length about greener touring.  I really admire what they have achieved and Thom is exceptionally sensible about the whole thing.   However, with a tour of this magnitude it might appear abundantly clear that the greenest thing would be to just not do it at all.  In our defense, even the most massive rock tours are extremely short-lived compared with, say, the life-span of a car factory in China.  More importantly, though, on another level, a tour like this has value in another way.   Even though eco-issues are becoming more crucial by the day, it would be cultural and spiritual suicide to declare that humankind should cease any and every activity, which is not utterly necessary or practical.  I’ve been designing shows for a long time and quite regularly I will be approached by a total stranger who is burning to tell me that some show that I vaguely remember doing was “the high point of my life.”   I’m not exaggerating; these shows affect people’s lives in a deeply significant way and somehow provide meaning.   That being the case, I really believe that at least some of what we do as an industry has value that is worth a short-term carbon spend.”

The opening night of U2 360 in Barcelona on June 30, 2009 will take place during the afternoon in the United States. We expect the forums on this fansite and others to be literally buzzing with activity and immediate commentary. We hope to publish pictures and reviews from this and many of the shows throughout the tour. As exciting as the release of No Line On the Horizon was for the fan community, with the tour comes the opportunity to see the band live and meet many of our online friends in the GA line and elsewhere before, during, and after the shows. May the joyful times begin! Stay tuned.

Sources:

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/28257190/u2s_360_tour_big_stage_big_energy

http://www.plsn.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4316&Itemid=40

http://www.chartattack.com/news/71237/u2-tour-setlist-leaked