dsmith2904

Please post all reviews of the November 2nd show here.

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Don't you know it's gonna be alright?

speedracer

Out from last time (LA 1): Electric Co/The Ocean, The First Time, Stuck In A Moment, Out Of Control, Fast Cars, Yahweh, 40

In: I Will Follow, Walk On, Wild Horses, Bad, Mofo.

Just kidding about Mofo.

Shorter set than last time. Only one person pulled up on stage -- Bono pulled up a girl for half of With Or Without You. Another girl in the ellipse held up a sign that said "Will Dance For Peace" but was ignored.

Bono attempted to sing a snippet of In A Little While and couldn't remember more than one verse, so he started ad-libbing new lyrics.

Bono also forgot the words to the third verse of Wild Horses (You stole me 'cause I needed the cash), so the rest of the band had to play for about eight bars before he finally remembered.

Bad was excellent. Bono hit the high C in the chorus multiple times ("I'm wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide awake"), which he can't always do.

Partyslammer

Caught my 4th and final U2 show of the tour tonight at Staples Arena.

A really solid if somewhat predictable show. I had perfect seats in section 113 right next to the Ellipse ramp on The Edges side in the 6th row which afforded a perfect view of everything about as close as I could possibly want to be without being inside the Ellipse itself. The one thing that was inconsistent though throughout the show was the sound which at times seemed to drown in the cavernous arena yet on some songs, was crystal clear.

The Edge seemed really “on” tonight. One of the things I’ve noticed this tour is that The Edge is playing with a lot more energy and fewer screwups then I can ever remember and he’s ever better now then he was at the beginning of the tour. Bono was spot on the entire night and nailed all the tough songs (for him usually) like Bad, etc. Miss Sarejevo was stunning. Several times through the show, the audience just thundered their approval at a deafening level and this really seemed to inspire the band.

We got the basic core setlist with "I Will Follow” in the 4th song slot. I was really hoping for Gloria but got a very solid, energetic “I Will Follow” instead. The one surprise of the main set was a full version of “MLK” dedicated to Rosa Parks after “One” which was an audible after "One" was finished. Bono had The Edge gently strum the chords on guitar while Bono sang the song.

The encore was pretty much the standard Night 2 set, with a nice acoustic version of “Walk On” followed by a full band version of “Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses” with The Edge breaking 2 strings on acoustic guitar at the tip of the Ellipse. It actually got pretty hilarious with Edge’s guitar tech crouched a few feet behind The Edge unseen holding a new guitar while Edge obliviously continued the song while Bono sang “don’t turn around” with a huge smile on his face (he blew a couple lyrics too). No "Crumbs" which was the only song I missed the acll on when predicting the set for tonight.

Although the overt political aspects of the show and the relentless plugging of the “One” campaign have been toned down just a bit since earlier in the tour, this tour still features Bono pushing his agenda far more then any previous tour that I can remember.

They ended with a very strong version of “Bad” with Bono quoting Patty Smith’s “People Got The Power” to great effect and for a few minutes after they left the stage, I thought we might get one more song but the house lights came up and that was it.

T.B.

ultraviolet353

WOW--what an incredible show! Maybe one of the best I've seen, and definitely the best of the 4 LA Vertigo shows (as much as I liked Night 1, this one blew it away, and seemed far more emotional and moving). What was best about this set is there were no"slow" moments--even the down tempo songs soared. I felt that The Ocean and The First Time on night 1 seemed a bit boring to the crowd (especially The Ocean) When they played Bad (the song I really feel is the quintessential U2 live song), I almost fell over--and it was an unbelievably powerful performance. The crowd was also much more into it--Bono even had a few "wow" moments, thanking the crowd for the response on a few occasions. WGRYWH was amazing--much better than I thought it would be--IMO a pretty much flawless night! I was in the ellipse both nights, and am so grateful that I got to experience the band from that vantage point.

I would love to know how others who have seen multiple Vertigo shows ranked this LA #2 show. I have been somewhat critical of Vertigo setlists, and the first 2 LA shows on the first leg, but last night was simply stellar.

camiloj

I was very critical of the setlist (I called this night's setlist U2's Greatest Hits) but oh by the time Bono sang the Pavarotti parts in Miss Sarajevo I was sold. Walk On acoustic, Horses, and the INCREDIBLE "bad" was the best. I was sold by the end of the show. In my 21 years of seeing U2 perform Bad, that was by far the most powerful and intense performance I have even seen them give of it.

I Have photos here too (have at em if you want)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/camiloj/sets/1283447/

nephilim

I thought this show was better than the first nights, but I did have a question: Did anyone else notice that Bono put the mic to his side during Miracle Drug, but kept "singing" at full volume?

I know portions of the show are definitely boosted, (Pavarotti’s part in Ms. Sarajevo - come on) but this looked a lot like straight out synching. One of the people I was with noticed this too. We were in the ellipse, so we had a good view and slip up was pretty blatant.

Then, after MD he was very chatty, almost like he realized he'd made a mistake and wanted to remind everyone that it was (at least mostly) live.

camiloj

NO when he put the mic down I didnt hear him at all, I heard the people and myself singing still but not him.

trojanchick99

What a great show! I liked this setlist better than the other LA show I attended April 6th. Yeah, it's a "Greatest Hits" show but come on, there's a reason they are so popular.

Of course, I would have loved some Discotheque or Until the End of the World, but nobody's perfect

From where I sat, Section 106, the energy was so so, a lot of casual fans. But I could see the entire arena and the crowd looked rocking in GA.

Highlights: Miss Sarajevo, the crowd absolutely roared at certain points, Walk On (makes me cry every time), and of course Bad. Freaking Amazing!

As for Bono forgetting lyrics, he did the same thing during One in April, I do like that he winged it a couple of times, very entertaining. Edge sounded great, his guitar licks just soared.

Oh, and I think someone already has the DVD on U2Torrents. That has to be somesort of world record.

KUEFC09U2

you should of taken a look at edge

and from what i have heard bono sings pavaroties part without any help, hence people who have been up close seeing him turn blue

blueyedpoet

Last night was the best performance I've seen thus far on the Vertigo tour (LA rehearsal, SD1, and JS2). Bono's scant singing at the end of Still Haven't Found was beautiful. He seemed really touched by the thunderous response at the end of Streets. It was amazingly loud.
I felt like the band shouldn't have left the stage after WOWY as the momentum kinda slipped a little.
Everyone should have a chance to hear/see the opera part in Miss Sarajevo. His face and neck are so strained i don't see how he could be lip-syncing that. It's haunting, chilling, and beautiful.

lov12113

My first U2 concert ever!!!! I was unfortunately behind stage and in the upper deck so I missed alot of good stuff. But the sound up there was phenomenal!! The base drum was so loud that at times it obscured all the other drums and even some of the guitar. Oh well, most of the set sounded great. I noticed Bono's voice was really good compared to what I've heard on the live DVDs and Conan O'brien.

He hit the high notes left and right.....it was like late 80s Bono coming back to haunt us. The missed lyrics on Horses was pretty funny.

Anyone else notice the teleprompter on stage in front of Bono's mike stand....the lyrics were scrolling up during the show.....I guess when you catalogue is that freakin' big....its not easy to remember all the material.

Not bad for a first U2 show!!

jfk2005

I was in Section 301. A lot of casual fans there too so the energy up there wasn't as heightened. I was pretty excited though. I thought the show was great, but I still liked 10/7/05 the best so far of the shows I've seen. That said, Miss Sarajevo was sooo amazing, as others have mentioned. After we left the show my husband said that Miss S was better than 10/8/05 (the other show he saw) and he commented on how his voice was just amazing, how he hit the notes better and longer. Aww, hubby

The audio sounded a little weird from where I was sitting at times. Like not everyone was keeping the same beat a couple of times. I think being up that high you hear the drums louder than anything else, echoing off the ceiling or something.

Unlike the others here, I thought Bad wasn't the best or most emotional I've ever heard but still superb. From where I was I thought they cut the song short a few bars here and there (no biggie and I could be wrong), and at one point Bono high-tailed it back to the teleprompter after being intimate with the front row (a quick scramble that was more cute than anything however). I did think that they cut the show a little short. It felt a little abrupt. From where I was sitting, it seemed like Bono looked at the others after Bad/People, who only then concluded, ok, that was the last song, as if they were prepared to go on. In any case, ya know, gotta say I'm biased. U2 can do no wrong on any night!

elevation2u

I got into the ellipse, and man oh man greatest thing I've ever experienced

great setlist,
great voice,
great sound,
overall just great

Zooropa man

Well, to answer your question regarding both nights in LA(I was lucky to go both nights this leg and first night the first leg) I thought these past two nights were mind blowing. Amazing. VERTIGO the first night was way more intense but the second night was just as good. First night had more songs and the show was a bit longer then usual. Second night they still had that energy but maybe just a tad less then the first night.(maybe.. he he..) I thought that hearing Fast Cars the first night was a treat. I think what made the first night a bit more then the second was that it was more like Larry's B-day bash. So it had something special to it.... I don't know, that just my opinion. But defenitely, these two shows were better then the April show, at least the first night of the first leg.

I love the songs that they have been playing in the encore but IMO, I think that they need a more intense set, say....bring back or add ZOO STATION, THE FLY, MOFO, DISCO... hint!, Hint! I just think that it's a bit blah to start off the encore with THE FIRST TIME. It's a great song don't get me wrong but c'mon, ZOO STATION kicks ass as the encore opener. I don't know, those are some of my observations. Oh, one more thing, the first nigh I sat somewhat to the rear off the stage. Before the show started, I heard the drum technician jam it up to that MOFO intro. Will they play sometime soon? Perhaps, you never know. Next up for me, VEGAS BABY!!! night two. Let's see what Vegas has in store. Adios!

Lila64

just so you know, there's a portion of Miracle Drug that, when performed live, THE EDGE sings:

Beneath the noise
Below the din
I hear a voice
It's whispering
In science and in medicine
"I was a stranger
You took me in"


We had front row ellipse, Adam's side. AMAZING. The enegry was there all night, Bono was snippet happy, even when he was forgetting lyrics. He always has a teleprompter on stage. I had just never seen it close up before. Actually, I could only see the side of it from my spot. It seemed like the energy was better on night 2 (I was in 106 on Tuesday), but that could just be my perspective from my spot.

And...there was no lip synching going on. We watched every note coming out of Bono's mouth. From l'amour in 'Miss Sarajevo' to wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide awake in 'Bad'.

I caught Anaheim 2 in April, as well as both L.A. shows on the first leg, and both of these L.A. shows. I may be biased, but I think the 11/2 show was the best - being front row for a U2 show - that was a dream come true for me . And to share it with my daughter. And to also share it with another U2 fan (U2Fanatic4Ever). Incredible!!!

For me...sometimes where you are in the arena contributes to my enjoyment. I love being on the floor with the other fans jumping up and down and just going crazy.

Oh, and after Bad/People Got the Power, which seemed to have the crwod going crazy, the band were finished playing their instruments, put them down, all were on stage - they were still singing People Got The Power. Edge was singing like he was really into it. Looked like they were pretty happy and enjoyed the show as well... my view from the front....

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