Bootleg Round Table Show Summaries

Originally posted by djrlewishttp://www.u2start.com/topic/2090///180/10/#52105[/url]]Quick Summary of Gelsenkirchen:-

All seemed to agree that this is a very good sound quality (poss excpetion the bass and Larry's bass drum) audience recorded bootleg. Deserving of its 4-star review on this site.

It contained some sonically sound performances but split the table in terms of the band's performance. Some found the performance average and forgettable; others seemed to like it more.
So it's all a matter of taste.

If you download this show you can be certain of good sound quality; you may or may not be blown away by U2's performance however.

Originally posted by djrlewishttp://www.u2start.com/topic/2090///255/15/#54729[/url]]
Apart from Reclinerman we all seem to feel pretty much the same. We all agreed on the poor songs (mainly the new ones massively under-rehearsed) and general poor performance by Bono. But we all felt the show wasn't as bad as some press would have you believe.

Sound-wise it earns its rating of 4-stars here.

Performance-wise sub-par by U2 standards and if you want a really good representation of Popmart look to Mexico, Leeds or Sarajevo (to see how a show can be amazing even with fucked up vocals).

Originally posted by djrlewishttp://www.u2start.com/topic/2090///360/22/#56837[/url]]Summary:-

1987-04-20 - Los Angeles, California - Sports Arena

Seemed that most of us were a bit disappointed with this boot. Either through general dislike or through higher anticipation that wasn't realised. Some preferred it more than others.

All would agree that sound quality was average at best and a 3.5 star boot. Also all would agree that there are better JT Tour boots available, especially from later in the tour when they had found their feet more.

Worth a download for the guest appearance of Bob Dylan for 2 songs

Originally posted by djrlewishttp://www.u2start.com/topic/2090///420/26/#57980[/url]]Summary for 1985-03-21 - Chicago, Illinois - University Of Illinois Pavillion

All members of the roundtable enjoyed this boot. Several said that they thought is was the best we have listened to in recent weeks.
There were some excellent performances of several songs, especially ones rarely heard live by U2 in the modern era. Electric Co, ASOH and '40' have all been mentioned
The sound was very good for a 23 year-old bootleg but has been changed here to 4 stars to reflect a few glitches.
Only real negative - Bono's voice weak in a couple of places.

The concert was all about the music and is a good example of an UF boot for anyone looking for somewhere to start.

Originally posted by djrlewishttp://www.u2start.com/topic/2090///525/33/#59844[/url]]
Summary for 1989-10-16 - Melbourne, Australia - National Tennis Centre

Recording

Overall this was a pretty decent recording and should be upgraded to 3 stars. Some of the roundtable found the sound quality an off-putting thing, but most got into it despite the flaws in sound.
Bass is weak
It doesn't make this an unlistenable concert by any means, and other things more than make up for it:-

( * Note:- All I Want Is You and Pride skip/jump once during playback, which is a little distracting * )

Performance

Ups

Originally posted by germcevoy
LoveTown was U2 at their peak. They weren't as serious as they were on the JT tour, there's less ego in these shows. It's just a band playing music for the sake of playing music and it's reflected in this show.

The setlist is excellent.
Uniformly this show was very popular with the roundtable. We all agreed that this was a very top-notch performance.
Some highlights mentioned include:-
- Powerful Bullet with a quirky 'Neighbours' (Aussie soap) snippet, but a dodgy Texan accent (thanks to our American contributors for this!)
- Gerard noted WOWY had the 'with or withOUT YOU!!!' which is excellent
- We all liked God Part ll
- Everyone enjoyed Hawkmoon 269 being in the set
- Several noted that New Year's Day has the - 'and maybe the time is right'. A rarity to hear
- Running to Stand Still. Were it not for the sound quality almost a definitive version. Stunning
- BB KIng and his band never disappoint.

Downs

- None really. fenderman didn't like Gloria or All I Want is You. That's about it.
- Gerard said "Shows like this make me feel dissapointed with the U2 of the present era".
Maybe considered a little harsh by some but it does summarise the quality of this performance

Overall

These comments warranted posting in their entirity in my opinion. Clearly you'll see that the sound is the only issue here. (Sergio agreed with my final comment which I've shamelessly put last )

Originally posted by Reclinerman
The show was pretty awesome, though. But the sound...

Originally posted by haytrain
I personally found the audio really bad and distracting, which really made it hard for me to enjoy the show.

Originally posted by germcevoy
Fucking awesome show and definitely the best we've listened to yet. It's LoveTown so it was always going to be great but what a gem. It's all about Running To Stand Still for me. I've been suffering from a tiny bit of U2 burnout these past few weeks but that one song just relit my fire. It was that good. Definitely a keeper

Originally posted by Ali709
This is an amazing show, a blow-away, they are well in form, people follow them perfectly and everything seems to go as planned.
But the recording clearly fails the show here, It’s a 3 star recording for a 5+ star show.
If you’re used to bootlegs and are as die-hard a fan as we are here, I think you will enjoy it despite the whole recording quality issues.
The show won’t stay on my iPod (only because of the recording), but it’s not leaving my collection.

Originally posted by fenderman
Overall: Indeed this boot should be rated higher. Good decent all around sound. Considering this was the last of 7 nights, the boys sound great. I feel an energy coming from them

Originally posted by jean_pasquerel
All in all, this bootleg was a very pleasant experience, a little reminder of how extraordinary was the Lovetown tour.

Originally posted by djrlewis
A top band on top form, clearly enjoying themselves. Excellent tour and this is a fun boot. I've not heard a bad Lovetown boot yet and this didn't disappoint.

Originally posted by djrlewishttp://www.u2start.com/topic/2090///570/36/#61412[/url]]Summary:- of 1981-06-09 - London, England - Hammersmith Palais

Sound
We all felt the sound was overrated at 4 stars on here. Opinion varied on whether it was worthy of 3 or 3.5 stars, but Gerard's point that at lower volume the negatives (hiss mainly) are less obvious. Lack of bass is obvious whatever the volume, but this is common of most audience boots (as noted by haytrain).
Bearing in mind the concert is 26 years old it's not at all bad.

Performance

The first song, Carry Me Home, wasn't overly popular. Reclinerman noted that most of the lyrics were virtually inaudible. Poor opener.
However, the rest of the show was a different matter. Some high points noted between the roundtable
--I Will Follow rocked, even twice
-- I Fall Down was excellent
--An Cat Dubh & Into the Heart was on fire
-- I'm A Believer was a very popular snippet (within Boy-Girl, see below)
--

Originally posted by Reclinerman
The Electric Co... Oh. My. God. That song sounded like they were going to destroy the world.

Sums up the popular view of this song
-- Hearing some of the old songs played live was nice - Stories for Boys, Twilight for example

Only negatives - Fire is not one of U2's finest songs, although Gerard would like to hear the riff resurrected. Boy/Girl is best confined to the annals of history.

Overall

Again, some of the members comments some this up best, so I'll leave it to them:-

Originally posted by ReclinermanI can't help but think of Bono's quote, "We had nothing but 'it'." This gig really shows. They're just four men in overdrive, not planning to stop for anything. It's cool to hear that.

Originally posted by haytrainOverall, I love this bootleg. Sure, the audio quality isn't spectacular, but the crowd's energy alone makes it worth having. Oh, to be able to jump in a time machine and check out the band's early shows......

Originally posted by fendermanBesides the sounds quality not being that great, this is one rocking boot. You ear adapt to the sounds quickly. The energy throughout the show is great. I'd recommend this boot.

Originally posted by easports43
Overall I felt this was a great show. The energy was there, from both the band and the crowd. The audience seemed to have an intense passion, especially during the opening numbers.

Originally posted by germcevoyGood show, good recording, good performance. Solid all round. How great is it to think that people in the audience were recording U2 that early on? Just another band passing through to most but they had fans devoted enough to come and recordthem. Would you or I think aout recording a show of some random band that we went to see? I know I wouldn't. The crowd reception and participation was great. It was heart warming to hear and feel the warmth of the British crowd to the 4 Irish boys onstage in a time when relations between the two countries still weren't great. Will I kep this show on my iPod? No, but i'll keep a few ofthe performances for my Random playlist and i'll remember the show for a long time.

Originally posted by haytrainOne of the highest energy gigs I can remember listening to, which is really cool to think about. Here's a band coming off their first major album our, and they're coming home (somewhat) after playing across Europe and the United States. The crowd sings along and really carries the show for a lot of the songs. You can tell the guys are really having fun and enjoying themselves at this show.

Originally posted by reclinerman
Historical note: This was the gig attended by Bruce Springsteen & Pete Townshend that would be referenced in Bruce's Intro for U2's Induction and in U2 by U2.

Originally posted by djrlewishttp://www.u2start.com/topic/2090///615/37/#63317[/url]]Summary review of Tiffany's - Glasgow, Scotland

Sound

For a 25 year-old boot this didn't sound bad at all. Chronic lack of bass as always but otherwise very good, although missing some audience sound. As it is a soundboard this is to be expected though. Doesn't stand up to modern soundboards however, hence the 4 rating

Performance

The band had obviously just upped their audience size a little and they did come across a little nervous at times, especially at the start, which is slow to get going. Incredible energy though and still it was just about the music.
Classic performance of An Cat Dubh, one of the best.
I Fall Down, 11 O'Clock, Tick Tock. Excellent.
We mainly liked all the performances, but the songs that got their debut (Surrender, Sunday Bloody Sunday, New Years Day) would obviously go on to be better performed.

Fire was still a bad song. And it was in the encore for this show ?!

Overall we really enjoyed this boot. Recommended, along with London 1982-12-06 and Groningen (3 days later) (thanks Sergio !).

Originally posted by djrlewishttp://www.u2start.com/topic/2090///765/48/#67924[/url]]In the end there were only 2 full reviews of this show, by iTim and Casper (MWSAH). Nate (easports43) seemed to agree with iTim (who incidentally should be congratulated on an excellent in-depth first review)

I listened to the show whilst on holiday so will add any bits below:-

Summary

Sound

I know this show is 27 years old nearly, but there is no excuse for the deeply sucky sound that this boot offers. All reviewers agree that this is at absolute best a 2-star recording. I personally found it unlistenable. Whatever you may think of the performance, the sound is a serious drag here.

Performance

Impossible to assess Adam as the bass is so washed out and fuzzy. Larry excels (does he ever not?). Edge is Edge (although it's not one of his best). Bono sucked rotten eggs. Seemingly couldn't be bothered.
Electric Co. is ok, I Will Follow is rarely bad. Early All Along The Watchtower but it got done much better later on.
Ignore the rest.

Overall
Even if the sound had been better there would be little to commend this show. As it is there is nothing to commend it. Deleted off my iPod and iTunes already.

Far better Boy boots are available. Just one example would be 1981-03-06 - Boston, Massachusetts - The Paradise (2). Don't try this one.

Originally posted by djrlewishttp://www.u2start.com/topic/2090///765/48/#67930[/url]]Reviewed by Gerard, Patrick (U2Starter) and iTim. I've had a listen in my absence too so my thoughts will percolate through here.

Summary

Sound

A rare thing. Excellent audience where they augment the recording rather than irritate the listener, although some may find the clapping slightly irksome after a while. Laughable 3-star rating here should go up to 3.5 or even 4 stars. As good as it gets without soundboard etc really. Only slightly muffled in places.
My copy skipped slightly during Bad, but that may just be me.

Performance

Well, Gerard summed it up very well I think:-

"Every song was nailed. That simple. Full stop"

11. Yes, ELEVEN of the tracks from Achtung Baby played. Only Acrobat (what a real shame ) missing. Apart from snippets the first eight songs are from the album they were touring. That's confidence in your new material, and it showed. Stunning.

All the songs are great (as you may have guessed!), but the following were mentioned by all reviewers:-

EBTTRT. Full vocal on 'take me higher', not falsetto. Wow.
The Fly. Band outsung by audience. To be heard to be believed.
Bad. Variation within the main song then So Cruel as a snippet. OMG.

Overall

Get this bootleg. Now. Stop reading, click on the link above and listen. Then come back here and dare to disagree.
For some the best Zoo tour bootleg (yes, that includes you RDS Dublin and Sydney). Definitely the best overall '92 ZooTV bootleg. Others have individually stronger songs, but not the whole package like this.

Essential

Originally posted by djrlewishttp://www.u2start.com/topic/2090///915/57/#70040[/url]]

Reviewed by Drew, Casper, Sergio, Dan, Gerard, Ali, Patrick, Tim, and Jeremy

Notes

- Elevation Tour's first US show in four months (previous show June 22 in New Jersey) and first show since the infamous and superb 2nd Slane Castle gig (2001-09-01).
- Elevation Tour 3rd leg: North America
- A shorter show at only 19 songs; the average length of previous and later shows is 20 songs.

Sound

This was previously a soundboard from the satelite webcast that went out live on the night of the show but it suffered from some major skips and lack of clarity. If this sounds like the version you have then upgrade.
If you are new to this bootleg then the version now available on this site is an upgrade by hodel_05 from the pre-satelite feed that is superb. Easily 4.5 star and actually rated 5-star ; it is one of the very best soundboard recordings available on the site. Sounds like a soundboard but with all the benefit of an audience recording.

Sensational

Performance

The set opens with Beautiful Day – a unique event in the Elevation Tour. This makes for a good change – some reviewers prefered this to the more traditional Elevation opener; some were in favour of the standard opening and found it to be an amusing distraction.
The band are in good form, although Bono’s voice does suffer in places, especially New Years Day and Pride. He’s strong on other songs though, such as Stuck… and Kite.
UTEOTW is very powerful (ever not?) and has an excellent ‘Two Tribes’ snippet at the end.
Bad has an unusual snippet (‘Molly Malone’) which nearly all reviewers singled out.
Other songs warranting a mention are New York (so much better than the album version and really finding it’s feet on this leg), With or Without You (mainly because it wasn’t commonly played on this tour) and an excellent cover of What’s Going On.

The encore deserves special mention – opens with Elevation and the Police and Fire Departments of New York on stage during Walk On. Excellent

A couple of reviewers noted an error at the beginning of ISHFWILF – either Edge or Bono are out of key; but it’s quickly corrected by Edge and doesn’t affect your listening enjoyment.

Everyone enjoyed listening to this boot, although Patrick I think wishes he hadn’t changed his rule of not listening to Elevation boots. Most thought the gig was superb. Gerard and I both felt that the gig fell slightly short of greatness – just a certain ‘something’ that you can’t define missing; that little spark that you get at some U2 gigs that make them the ones we talk about forever. It’s nearly there (especially during the encore) but not quite for us.

Audience

Sergio made special mention of the dynamics of the venue and the audience that I feel bares quoting:-

Originally posted by SergioThe South Bend' Joyce Arena is small. That’s the first point. It can hold about 7000-10000 people. And since it's near a university, most of the tickets were sold to students, young people. That meant an extra-point to the audience usual energy and reactions, etc. The stage's heart, as we have all seen on Slane and Boston DVDs, is huge. And the venue was small. Therefore, there was almost no space between the heart tip and the rear seats. That meant an unusual proximity between the band and the audience. Some people have even reported like being in an unplugged show. Those of you who have seen the DVD of this show know what I mean

Overall

Download and listen to this gig and you will not be disappointed. It’s up amongst the very best Elevation bootlegs. Few can deny that 2001-10-25, New York MSG and 2001-09-01 (Slane, DVD rip) are even better, but you should have it in your collection.

Originally posted by TimCompared to some shows a very 'quiet performance’. Not in terms of loudness, but in terms of the songs. No Bullet the Blue Sky, no Fly, no Zoo Station, no Gone etc. Some melodic tracks chosen instead, which makes it a good show in it's own right

The historical aspect of this show cannot be ignored. Most bands cancelled their shows. U2 helped pull America back off its knees just by being a rock 'n' roll band who cared and gave that crowd of people the chance to live again for 2 hours before they got back to the reality of what just happened 1 month previously.

Originally posted by GerardExtra special credit to Bono for not turning this into a memorial service.

I can’t close this without one last quote from our American reviewer:-

Originally posted by Jeremy
Post 9/11, the band does a brilliant job in helping a wounded nation heal. Normally I would criticize a band for taking the bold stance and saying "let our music help you heal" but when you listen to these songs, you can make the case that each and every one is directly related/in response to the tragedy one month earlier. The boys pulled it off with grace. (but thankfully not the song "Grace," because that would have put everyone to sleep...)