1. In this series we will be regularly interviewing fans during and around the tour to ask them about their personal experiences. Today we have an interview with member hoserama who attended the first 11 shows of the tour and listened to most of the early rehearsals in the weeks leading up to the opening night in Vancouver.

    "Throughout most of the rehearsals, Bono had a comedy bit towards the end of the 2nd set with a telephone and (I’m assuming) a video on screen. He attempted to call the 18 year old version of U2, and made bad jokes about the SOI album release, the type of music they played, and ragged on his old mullet."

    You followed U2 on the road for the entire first month of the tour, from the tour preparations and the Vancouver shows until Los Angeles. Can you share some personal highlights from these first 11 shows?
    Big personal highlights was the journey—running around, meeting friends and catching good shows. Part of the journey was the evolution of tour. Catching the first month of the tour really saw things go from the jitters of opening night (which was actually pretty good considering past history) to the tour starting to come alive in Phoenix, then to the tour hitting its stride in LA. Throughout that process, you can see ideas get introduced, dropped, and evolve. I did the first 10 shows of the Vertigo tour (plus some rehearsals), and had a similar experience, and wouldn’t trade it for anything.

    Personal Individual Highlights:
    1. Hearing Invisible for the first time in rehearsals—the tour finally became ‘real’ for me
    2. Listening to U2-lite—multiple rehearsals with Larry substitute Keith. Keith subbed in for Larry when his dad passed. I don’t think people realize how close we were to having the tour start without Larry.
    3. Energy of Phoenix 1—after lackluster shows in San Jose, Phoenix seemed to really kick off the tour in a positive manner.

    Can you tell us how you got into U2 and how different this band is for you compared to other artists?
    I grew up listening to U2 from my father. That said--I dove head first into U2's catalog on my own. I remember stealing his vinyl copy of Unforgettable Fire and playing Side A over and over. I remember playing the tape copy of Achtung Baby repeatedly--to the point where I still hear a couple of tape click noises on Trying to Throw Your Arms around the world on a clean copy. U2 is still my favorite first and foremost. That said, I find it's the diehards that are always the hardest to please and the harshest critics. No different for U2. For every great thing they do, they do something that takes away. With impressive stage design comes rigidity in setlist. With the desire for perfection in the studio comes the theft of spontaneity and soul. U2 lost their sense of adventure following the Pop tour, and they've missed it ever since. I can find this in other bands, but I can't seem find that rare combination of ambition, talent, and adventure.

    That said, I catch many acts other than U2. None quite resonate the same way that U2 does, but other acts beat out U2 in certain categories. Springsteen is still the best bang for your buck with a straight up rock show (there's the talent), Radiohead does amazing stuff in the studio (there's the ambition), and Muse is always trying to create a wild experience (there's the adventure). I'm not quite a huge Muse fan, but enjoyed the recent show I saw.

    The great thing about the first months of a tour is that you can see U2 evolve, play with ideas and discard them as easy as trying them out. You listened or heard about many of the rehearsals in these early weeks. Can you share some interesting tidbits from U2's rehearsals?
    I didn’t catch as much of the actual rehearsals for Vertigo or 360. Although I did catch some rehearsals for 360 with Your Blue Room—it originally started out as a duet with Sinead O’Connor in the lines of Satellite of Love with Lou Reed. However, each time they ran through it, the backing track kept getting dialed further and further back. Obviously they never felt too comfortable with it, as it only saw sporadic play in 2009. I actually liked the reworked version of Mofo in 2005, which I caught at soundchecks. I believe there’s a clip of that on YouTube.

    Vancouver 2015 had some interesting stuff. Some of the earlier setlist drafts were strange—longer drawn out quieter sections (Ordinary Love > Every Breaking Wave > One > Bullet). Every Breaking Wave was also acoustic full band with strings, as was One. I was bummed out when they dropped the strings idea. I remember laughing when people were reporting Field of Dreams as an intro to Streets when we clearly knew that was incorrect. I liked the acoustic version of Mysterious Ways, but predicted that would go by the wayside to kick up the energy. They experimented with an acoustic set with some unique choices: The Fly, Ground Beneath Her Feet, Stuck in Moment, No Line on the Horizon (with very strange keyboards pieces), Mysterious Ways, and a few others. Hands that Built America started out as about 2/3rd of the full song, and kept getting cut back further and further.

    They tried really hard to make some songs work. Miracle of Joey Ramone got a lot of work, and didn’t really get dialed in until Phoenix. The Troubles was rehearsed extensively. It was played well for opening night, but it’s just an energy drain. I loved the version played for 6/3/15 LA, but it’s tough with pacing.

    Probably the funniest, depending on who you ask, was the Echo Bono Phone Call. Throughout most of the rehearsals, Bono had a comedy bit towards the end of the 2nd set with a telephone and (I’m assuming) a video on screen. He attempted to call the 18 year old version of U2, and made bad jokes about the SOI album release, the type of music they played, and ragged on his old mullet. Very corny “dad” jokes, if that makes sense. It was the same script just about every night. They didn’t do the bit for the Special Olympics rehearsal on 5/8/15, calling it off shortly before the show. However, he was still doing it for the rehearsals at Rogers the next week. I wonder who broke the ice and said, “Bono—it’s not working.” Trust me, die-hard fans would have hated that bit if it was done every night.

    hoserama (with the glasses) in Los Angeles on May 31, photo by Chrisedge

    Is there any particular song or idea that U2 never put into practice that you personally would have loved to hear or see?
    I think the biggest sticking point for me is the rigidity of the set. The 2015 set is a good example—they had some rotation with the early 80s songs with song #2, the E stage wildcard set, and then the variable closer. There was some early attempts at a rotation with City of Blinding Lights and Miracle Drug (which I enjoyed), but that got dropped quickly. I wish they would do a rotation for the opener; I loved the 2005 rotation between City of Blinding Lights and Love & Peace. I really feel there should be more flexibility within the setlist, and more rotation of songs. Alas, that’s never really been this band’s MO. Of course, they skipped on the idea of alternating setlists on the 2015 tour.

    I’d love to see something akin to the Stones 2002/2003 tour. Combination of Arenas + Stadiums + Club gigs. They could have different setlist flavors (more hits in Stadiums, mix on Arenas, deep cuts on clubs). But of course, that requires much more setlist planning and flexibility than I think they’re comfortable with.

    You have seen almost 50 U2 shows since 2001. Now with the 2015 tour being over, how do you compare and rate this tour to the others you've seen?
    I wasn’t very thrilled with the tour at the start (in fact, I was probably the only person tired of the setlist by opening night), but it grew on me in a big way. I have a special place in my heart for the 2005 tour, as that’s when I really came into my own with U2 concerts. Although I do know the weaknesses of that tour, particularly on the arrangements for certain songs. So for personal sentimental value, I’d probably rank them as Vertigo > IE > 360 > Elevation. Remember, this is personal sentimental value, not musical value.
    --

    Thanks hoserama!
  2. Very interesting interview!
  3. Great read
  4. Intriguing. More interviews like this please!
  5. Brilliant read. Thanks for sharing.
  6. great story
  7. I love reading stuff like this! Thanks a lot!

    I wonder how this tour would have been received if they had stuck with the original plan, to make two different shows. This is from the newsletter when they announced the presales:

    "We are going to try to have a completely different feeling from night one to night two," said Bono, "and have some fun playing with the idea of innocence and experience. More to be revealed!"

    That would have been really cool! And new! But I'm not complaining. I really loved this tour!
  8. Originally posted by LenaF:I love reading stuff like this! Thanks a lot!

    I wonder how this tour would have been received if they had stuck with the original plan, to make two different shows. This is from the newsletter when they announced the presales:

    "We are going to try to have a completely different feeling from night one to night two," said Bono, "and have some fun playing with the idea of innocence and experience. More to be revealed!"

    That would have been really cool! And new! But I'm not complaining. I really loved this tour!
    Yeah, it started out as two different shows being Innocence vs Experience. Then it became two different sets that were Innocence s Experience (see the long acoustic sets). Now it's one full tour as the Innocence set and the next one as Experience. Go figure!

    Not sure who exactly Keith was, but he did an excellent job holding down the fort. I was hoping for more information during the proposed HBO I+E tour documentary, but that keeps getting postponed.
  9. Larry's substitute. Don't know his last name or connection.
  10. Good stuff Hoserama! Any chance you heard One Step Closer or any of the songs that never saw the light of day? How do you think they would have fit in the setlist?