1. In this series we will be regularly interviewing fans during the tour to ask them about their personal experiences. Today we have an interview with ahn1991, who attended the 3rd and 5th Los Angeles shows. It's a long interview, very interesting and insightful!


    "Between my two shows the band changed up 5 songs, which is perfectly fine for me".

    You attended both Los Angeles 3 and 5 shows; which was better in your opinion?
    It’s honestly really hard to say since my experiences between the two were so diverse! I came into LA 3 completely spoiler free, so walking into that venue not knowing what to expect makes things really exciting. At the same time I was no less excited going to LA 5 after knowing full well what to expect. Granted, LA 5 still came with several surprises. If you had to pin me down for an answer, I would have to say that LA 3 was a bit better, but only because I had gone spoiler free up to that point and I was on the GA floor absorbing all of the visuals while also being physically close to the band.

    Los Angeles 5 featured the tour debuts of Ordinary Love and Volcano, as well as the comeback of The Troubles after missing 10 shows. Did you expect any of those? Did you enjoy them?
    When I was driving to The Forum, I definitely did not expect any of these to show up. But at the venue I heard them sound-checking The Troubles and Volcano, which got me very excited. I still didn’t expect Ordinary Love until they started playing it during the show. I enjoyed all three of these songs, but probably Ordinary Love the most. Knowing the history behind that song, its lyrics come off as incredibly powerful and weighty. However, the acoustic rendition retains that power while also sounding beautiful and even playful. Very rarely can you find a song that can be all of these things at once. It’s a song that U2 has performed at a suit and tie event, but also wouldn’t feel out of place if performed on some boardwalk.

    The Troubles is one of my favorite songs from the new album and I was very surprised when I found out it was only performed once during the tour, so of course I’m incredibly glad to have been able to see it return. I really liked where it was placed in the set, between Beautiful Day and With Or Without You. Beautiful Day is a song of celebration, With Or Without You is a song of moving on, resigned acceptance, so a song like The Troubles provides a great transition between these two feelings. It feels really heavy and in some places incredibly sharp, but isn’t that similar to how we experience life? We celebrate, mourn, and regret sometimes all in the same day. To me, The Troubles is that weight you need to bring you down from the high of Beautiful Day, down to a place where a song like With Or Without You becomes most relevant and powerful.

    Finally, Volcano. When people were joking about the tour being rebranded as the “Volcano Tour”, I thought they should start calling their shows “Eruptions” to carry on the metaphor. This is definitely Adam’s song and I think it’s really fun, probably one of the most simple rock songs on the album. I did have some reservations about the band’s “plug and play” sort of approach regarding the visuals used. Personally I think the song would have benefitted from more customized visualizations instead of the general stream overlay (which I initially thought was a feature exclusive to Elevation).

    Where were you standing or seating in the venue? How was your spot regarding the visuals and sound?
    For LA 3 I was on the GA floor. When I saw the stage and the massive screens, I knew immediately that there was no “sweet spot” on the floor because the action would be all over the place. That being said, I spent the entire first evening moving around from place to place, depending on where the band was and if there were visuals present. Knowing that it was my only GA show, I wanted to absorb as much as I could. Ultimately, that led to an incredible GA experience for me. I started off close enough to the “e” stage to give Bono a handshake as he entered (I don’t think he saw my California shirt as they didn’t play it), and spent some songs standing right at the edge of the floor, simply observing the visuals and stage from afar. The sound was great regardless of where I was. The visuals would obviously depend on where you were standing and what you wanted to look at. Personally, I found it much easier to get close to the “e” stage than the “I” stage, which was int
    eresting, because I felt that the band gets much closer to you when they are on the “e” stage. I took pictures on my phone during my time on the floor and it’s entertaining that my shots are from all over the place.

    For LA 5, I had a seat in the 3rd row from the bottom right behind the “e” stage. From there it was impossible to get a decent view of the middle screens, but they had mounted large screens at the top of the sound setup to give close-ups of the band and sometimes of the screens. However, I thought I had a great view of the overall stage setup and it felt very close to the “e” stage. Again, the sound was great, but instead of the visuals from the screen, I was able to really appreciate the band members themselves and how they manipulate the physical space to forward their show. I think it’s also nice to see things from afar, such as how the crowd moves or how the lighting sets up ambiance in the venue. When you’re right on the floor it’s hard to appreciate things like that, so I’m very glad to have had the opportunity to experience the show from both up close and afar.

    Were you trying to be spoiler-free or already knew some (or all) details of the show? Did you regret or enjoy your approach, whatever it was?
    I did everything within my power to remain spoiler free until my first show (LA 3). Even still I ran across headlines of Edge falling off the stage, which gave me a bit of a heart attack. Ironically, I think it would be best to describe my two nights with the same “innocence/experience” metaphor used by the band. Heading into my first night, I had no idea what was in store for me. I had stayed away from all videos, bootlegs, even setlist discussions and ultimately it was well worth the effort. Walking on the floor, I was rewarded with my first view of the two stages and the massive video screen in between. I had done GA during 360, so I knew the usual mindset was to look for a “sweet spot” on the floor. Fortunately I did not follow the “usual advice,” instead opting to actively move about throughout the entire show. I won’t describe my flight plan in detail, but I would best describe myself as a young child first visiting an amusement park, pretty much wandering whereve
    r my heart felt led. This approach rewarded me with a truly special experience. I was at one point close enough to have had a part of Bono’s torn books land in my hands while also able to enjoy the visuals of the video screens. I want to put a special mark on those screens though. The first time I saw Bono walk up the ladder into the screens themselves, my jaw hit the floor. I spent so much time looking at those screens before the show, but I had no idea that it also served as a catwalk. The use of that catwalk during Cedarwood Road could be described as nothing less than a stroke of genius. It felt like more than just a concert. At that point it felt like theater.

    Coming into my second show (LA 5), I already knew what to expect. Even though it was just a few days after my first show, I had delved into so many videos, photos, and recordings that I felt like I had been to at least 5 or 6 shows going into it. I think this is why I had some remarks about the second show I attended, but found absolutely nothing to complain about in my first show.

    I think I was lucky that the LA shows were scheduled so close to the beginning of the tour. If this had been their second or third leg, I don’t think I would have had the discipline to remain spoiler free. If I could repeat the week over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. People say that it’s usually better to know, but I think to a certain degree knowing can destroy the wonder of an experience.

    Are there any ways in which you think the band could improve their current setlist?
    I don’t think there are any ways in which the band can improve their current setlist and here’s why. U2 have gotten to a point where they have so many “classics” and “warhorses” that no matter which one you cut out, you’re going to piss somebody off. They also have so many rarities that no matter which one you play you’ll end up leaving someone out of the loop. Their current set has a decent amount of potential rotation spots and I think the band should continue to utilize that as they have. Between my two shows the band changed up 5 songs, which is perfectly fine for me. When you ask for more setlist variety, you will always have somebody wondering why they won’t play Acrobat or why they keep ignoring Pop or what happened to No Line On The Horizon, etc. The band has a singular job; to convey a particular mood or theme to the audience. Rather than tailor their set to the whims of many indecisive and demanding fans, U2 should continue to do what feels appropriate for
    them.

    I will say that when the band decides to put new songs in rotation, they should not overlap visuals. During my two shows, Elevation and Volcano shared the same visuals and ultimately I found it very confusing because I felt the visuals fit Elevation far more appropriately than it did Volcano. Obviously this doesn’t apply to songs that don’t use visuals, but I know that U2 has the artistic mind to create specially tailored visuals to accompany each song and I think they should take advantage of that when they decide to swap songs.

    U2 have a special history with California, specially in Los Angeles. Did you get a sense of that during the shows?
    I would have gotten a better sense if California were played during the concerts I attended…
    But all joking aside, in the first show, I didn’t really get that sense. Yes, he gave a shout-out a local restaurant that was later featured on the news because of Bono’s sizable tip, but it still felt like it could have been anywhere. However, I felt that connection during my second show. It wasn’t because of the setlist, but rather what he did during the technical difficulty. During that downtime, Bono strolled about the stage and started checking out the GA crowd. He made some remarks regarding same-sex marriage, the large Hispanic population, and finally brought up an Elvis impersonator to the stage. These things were all just efforts to pass the time while Edge figured out his technical issues, but I think his interaction with the crowd is very significant because it seemed like he wanted to let people know that his special history with California couldn’t have been possible without the people of California. When you think about the people Bono mentions during his mini-t
    alk show, you have people making a political statement, people from across the border, and a guy dressed up like Elvis. Los Angeles is, in many ways, summed up by these groups of people. I mean, he could have said this anywhere about any crowd, but I found it very symbolic.

    --

    Thanks Alex!
  2. Wow, great interview, insights and read!
  3. I think I might opt for Alex' GA approach if I can make it to more shows. My GA in Amsterdam will be besides Remy at front row (?) and same goes for Barcelona1... But if I win a lottery and can make it to all 4 Barcelona shows, I would love to move around the GA, it sounds like a great experience.
  4. I will admit at first I thought I was committing some sort of concert going taboo by moving around during songs, but I soon figured "If the show is moving around, why can't I?"
  5. 1. I liked and agreed with what I read.

    2. If I go to a show, and manage to get GAs, I'll try that strategy as well.

    3. Have you seen the other songs that have been used on the streaming slot? Sweetest thing, angel of Harlem? Because neither elevation nor volcano are the songs that I think about when I think on that moment of the show...
  6. I haven't seen the other songs played live on the streaming slot, but based on the videos I've seen I still think Elevation is the best fit. It kinda reminds me of Elevation from the Boston 2001 concert DVD. There are segments where it looks like Bono's carrying around a camera, or there's a camera mounted in his glasses. It feels rough and amateurish, very much like the streaming segment. To me, that sort of feel just screams Elevation.


    But Volcano definitely did not fit in that spot. It was a blast to hear, but I wish they gave it a bit more visual love.