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U2 Joshua Tree 30th anniversary tour 2017 (1 Viewer)

Osato

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I won't be attending one of the concerts but I am curious to see what other songs they play and the order as well.

http://www.u2.com/news/title/the-joshua-tree-tour-2017

I'm a bit surprised at how well ticket sales are going:

http://www.atu2.com/news/the-joshua-tree-tour-11-million-tickets-sold-within-24h.html

I guess I shouldn't be as this album is so popular and a staple of everyone's music collection?

I became a fan well after the Joshua tree but heard the singles on the radio. My first u2 album was
Achtung baby.

I missed the last tour as they did not play close to Atlanta. Same with this short tour.
I guess the new album is coming in the fall.

Looking forward to the new album.
 

DavidJ

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To me The Joshua Tree is one of the best albums of all time and it's my favorite U2 album. I would love to see this tour, but it probably won't happen.
 

Josh Steinberg

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I'm in for Philly, Boston and New York (both shows).

I never in a million years imagined them doing something so backwards looking. They've always been about forward momentum. But even though it's not my favorite of their albums, it's a big milestone for them and something worth celebrating and revisiting. I've heard all the songs from Side A countless times but never heard them play anything off Side B before. That alone makes it worthwhile for me.
 

Mikael Soderholm

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Well, if Bowie, ever forward looking, could play the complete Low in 2002, I guess it's OK for U2 to do this, although I'd rather see a full Achtung Baby as I missed the Zoo TV tour.
Not my favorite album, but if they decide to finally release Songs of Experience, and if it turns out to be good, and if they play songs from it, I might go. (lots of ifs there, I know).
 

Alf S

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To me The Joshua Tree is one of the best albums of all time and it's my favorite U2 album. I would love to see this tour, but it probably won't happen.

This.

I was lucky enough to see the original tour in Dallas and it was AWESOME.
 

Josh Steinberg

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Not my favorite album, but if they decide to finally release Songs of Experience, and if it turns out to be good, and if they play songs from it, I might go. (lots of ifs there, I know).

Songs Of Experience isn't coming before the tour - there's a big interview with the Edge in Rolling Stone. The long and short of it was that the album was basically done, and then 2016 happened and the political world changed and the band wasn't sure that they wanted to put out the album as it was in the changing climate. They weren't sure if they were just going to sit on it for a while and then release it as is, or if they were going to be inspired to write additional songs for it.

I don't expect we'll see them play any songs from the album before its release. U2 very seldom play unreleased material in advance of a release. I think the most recent time was in 2010, when they played an instrumental called "Return of the Stingray Guitar" which later evolved into the Songs Of Innocence bonus track "Lucifer's Hands". I think either Edge or Adam was saying that they might look to see how the early material and Songs Of Innocence material could lead into the Joshua Tree material but that nothing was set yet.
 

Osato

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Finally watched the Paris show as it aired on hbo. It is on YouTube.
Very cool stage and the concert was good. October!!!

Zoo tv was amazing.
My first concert was on the vertigo tour in Chicago. A night or two after they recorded for the video release.
 

Josh Steinberg

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The Joshua Tree 2017 hits Philadelphia tomorrow, and I'm taking a little day trip from NYC to catch the show. The Lumineers are opening; I've never seen them but I like their singles.

At this stage of the tour, U2 have been playing 21 songs nightly; they begin with 3-4 from the War and Unforgettable Fire albums, and then segue into a complete performance of all 11 songs from The Joshua Tree. Following that, the band take a brief break and then return for a 6-7 encore mostly consisting of post-Joshua Tree songs.

At the beginning of the tour, U2 were closing shows with a brand new song called "The Little Things That Give You Away" but seem to have dropped this in favor of "I Will Follow" or "Vertigo" depending on the night. At the beginning of the tour, U2 were playing the awesome and rare "A Sort Of Homecoming" for the first time since 1987, but have dropped this in favor of "Bad" which has been played on every tour since it was written.

So I prepare for this date with less enthusiasm that I had after opening night, as the goodies I was really excited for are no longer part of the show. The Joshua Tree has never been my favorite U2 album, but I am excited to hear them play the six songs that comprise Side B; most of those songs are never played on tour, and one had never been played at all before this tour. So even if they don't have a new album and have dropped the new material from the show, there will still be a decent portion of the show consisting of songs I've never had the chance to hear them play live before.
 

Osato

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The Joshua Tree 2017 hits Philadelphia tomorrow, and I'm taking a little day trip from NYC to catch the show. The Lumineers are opening; I've never seen them but I like their singles.

At this stage of the tour, U2 have been playing 21 songs nightly; they begin with 3-4 from the War and Unforgettable Fire albums, and then segue into a complete performance of all 11 songs from The Joshua Tree. Following that, the band take a brief break and then return for a 6-7 encore mostly consisting of post-Joshua Tree songs.

At the beginning of the tour, U2 were closing shows with a brand new song called "The Little Things That Give You Away" but seem to have dropped this in favor of "I Will Follow" or "Vertigo" depending on the night. At the beginning of the tour, U2 were playing the awesome and rare "A Sort Of Homecoming" for the first time since 1987, but have dropped this in favor of "Bad" which has been played on every tour since it was written.

So I prepare for this date with less enthusiasm that I had after opening night, as the goodies I was really excited for are no longer part of the show. The Joshua Tree has never been my favorite U2 album, but I am excited to hear them play the six songs that comprise Side B; most of those songs are never played on tour, and one had never been played at all before this tour. So even if they don't have a new album and have dropped the new material from the show, there will still be a decent portion of the show consisting of songs I've never had the chance to hear them play live before.

How was the show? The set list seemed to be pretty standard for most of the shows.

I am looking forward to the new album.
 

Josh Steinberg

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Osato, I'm sorry I'm late in seeing and responding to your post!

The show was fantastic. The setlist didn't change much from night to night (just a slight shuffling of the encore songs), but seeing The Joshua Tree live from start to finish was quite an experience. Initially, I wasn't too psyched for the tour. I like when U2 look forward, not back, so it seemed weird to be attending a nostalgia show. But they took a thirty year old album and showed how it was still relevant today, and the sound of that album was and is remains unique and revolutionary. The first half of the album, from Streets to Running To Stand Still, was fun but didn't initially stand out because I had heard all of those songs live so many times at so many shows. But I had never heard anything live from the album's side two, and that was really the amazing part. Even though I know the album by heart, I'm not sure I realized just how good that second side is until I heard them play it live. I saw the show four times, and after the first time, I looked forward to Side Two the most each time. To see the entire album was great, but that sequence of songs in particular was just stunning. After this tour ends, it's not unlikely that those songs will go back into the vault, so it may have been my only chance to ever hear them.

Months later, I'm still thinking about the show.

Visually, it was incredible. They had the largest screen I've ever seen - it was about the size of four IMAX screens side by side -- the 15/70 "real" IMAX type screens. The resolution and image quality was staggering. Anton Corbijn shot a bunch of incredible footage for it, and it was a mindblowing presentation.

Taken together, songs, visuals, live performance, and it was like a desert road trip into the soul of America. What I thought would just be a throwaway show ended up being a profoundly deep and moving experience for me. And everything surrounding the shows in those couple weeks worked out beautifully in my personal life. I traveled to Philadelphia for the first of my shows, and by coincidence my stepsister was driving there that day for a bridal shower, so I was able to share a wonderful car ride that made the two hour drive fly by. Before and after the show, I reconnected with a dear friend from my college years, and we've remained in touch since. Then I traveled to see them in Boston the following week, where I had lived during college and for a few years afterwards. I saw the show with one of my best friends, and also got to visit another wonderful friend I hadn't seen in far too long and meet his beautiful young daughter and lovely wife (my friends are having children...and so it begins!). Before the last shows, there was a MusiCares benefit concert in NYC honoring Adam Clayton, and I was able to score a ticket last minute and see a bunch of cool acts cover U2, and then finally see them do a few songs in a tiny theater. Finally, I saw the two New York shows, one with my mom, who took me to my first U2 concert twenty years ago (after much pleading and begging on my part!), and that was a really fun thing to commemorate. I finished up with a show on my own, just two weeks after I had begun but somehow feeling so much fuller in heart and spirit.

My favorite show was the Boston one, for the combination of friendships and what felt like an extra powerful performance. I've seen U2 in quite a few places, and of those places, they seem to consistently give their best performances in Boston. On that night, they ended the show with a new song, "The Little Things That Give You Away" - it starts out as a piano ballad and then it builds into something that's half electric prayer and half soul-baring confession. It was an incredibly beautiful song and the crowd really went with it, and to me it was extra satisfying because it ended the show on a forward-looking note. The song, on some level, seems to be about the fear of losing that spark as you get older, that maybe this time the magic won't be there; Bono's lyrics worry that sometimes he's "so far away from believing that any song will reappear." To hear that kind of naked confession after playing their most well-known and acclaimed album was really brave and moving, and filled both the new song and the whole evening with added poignancy and urgency. The song is beautiful and I can't wait for it to appear on the new record.

The Lumineers opened all of the shows I saw. I knew their hit song "Ho Hey" but nothing else, and I thoroughly enjoyed them each night. They played the same set (makes sense since they were in a different city each night) but it was really solid, and their music both sonically and thematically fit perfectly with The Joshua Tree. It was one of the very best combination of headliners and opening acts I've ever experienced. In the past twenty years of seeing U2, I think only once have I liked the opening band I saw - they get great openers but never for the shows I go to. Some of the bands that have opened for U2 on the same tours I've been to, but not at the shows I attended, include Rage Against The Machine, Garbage, No Doubt, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Coldplay, Arcade Fire, The Killers, Pearl Jam, and more that I'm forgetting. I got stuck with bands that ranged from forgettable to dreadful. So to get an opener that not only was bearable but actually fantastic and a perfect fit for the show, that was really special too.

I wish I could have kept following them for the rest of the year. Real life makes that impractical, but my mini-tour of the Northeast ended up being the highlight of the summer. That, and Twin Peaks. Between those two things, U2 playing the Joshua Tree, and David Lynch and Mark Frost resurrecting Twin Peaks, I had, for me at least, what will be a year for the ages in entertainment. 2005 sticks out in my memory in a very powerful way for similar reasons -- U2's Vertigo tour and Revenge Of The Sith, both of which I saw about a zillion times, also resonated in a strong way.

One thing from the U2 shows that brought me back into the movie world at home -- the performance of "Exit" was incredibly intense, and some imagery of the "love" and "hate" tattooed on hands, reminiscent of Robert Mitchum in The Night Of The Hunter, was shown at the beginning of the song. I had never seen that movie but knew of it, and saw it once I finished with the shows. That movie was astonishing, and it really felt on the same spiritual level as the U2 album and show. I think the song "Exit" and that film will be forever linked in my mind now.
 
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Osato

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Osato, I'm sorry I'm late in seeing and responding to your post!

The show was fantastic. The setlist didn't change much from night to night (just a slight shuffling of the encore songs), but seeing The Joshua Tree live from start to finish was quite an experience. Initially, I wasn't too psyched for the tour. I like when U2 look forward, not back, so it seemed weird to be attending a nostalgia show. But they took a thirty year old album and showed how it was still relevant today, and the sound of that album was and is remains unique and revolutionary. The first half of the album, from Streets to Running To Stand Still, was fun but didn't initially stand out because I had heard all of those songs live so many times at so many shows. But I had never heard anything live from the album's side two, and that was really the amazing part. Even though I know the album by heart, I'm not sure I realized just how good that second side is until I heard them play it live. I saw the show four times, and after the first time, I looked forward to Side Two the most each time. To see the entire album was great, but that sequence of songs in particular was just stunning. After this tour ends, it's not unlikely that those songs will go back into the vault, so it may have been my only chance to ever hear them.

Months later, I'm still thinking about the show.

Visually, it was incredible. They had the largest screen I've ever seen - it was about the size of four IMAX screens side by side -- the 15/70 "real" IMAX type screens. The resolution and image quality was staggering. Anton Corbijn shot a bunch of incredible footage for it, and it was a mindblowing presentation.

Taken together, songs, visuals, live performance, and it was like a desert road trip into the soul of America. What I thought would just be a throwaway show ended up being a profoundly deep and moving experience for me. And everything surrounding the shows in those couple weeks worked out beautifully in my personal life. I traveled to Philadelphia for the first of my shows, and by coincidence my stepsister was driving there that day for a bridal shower, so I was able to share a wonderful car ride that made the two hour drive fly by. Before and after the show, I reconnected with a dear friend from my college years, and we've remained in touch since. Then I traveled to see them in Boston the following week, where I had lived during college and for a few years afterwards. I saw the show with one of my best friends, and also got to visit another wonderful friend I hadn't seen in far too long and meet his beautiful young daughter and lovely wife (my friends are having children...and so it begins!). Before the last shows, there was a MusiCares benefit concert in NYC honoring Adam Clayton, and I was able to score a ticket last minute and see a bunch of cool acts cover U2, and then finally see them do a few songs in a tiny theater. Finally, I saw the two New York shows, one with my mom, who took me to my first U2 concert twenty years ago (after much pleading and begging on my part!), and that was a really fun thing to commemorate. I finished up with a show on my own, just two weeks after I had begun but somehow feeling so much fuller in heart and spirit.

My favorite show was the Boston one, for the combination of friendships and what felt like an extra powerful performance. I've seen U2 in quite a few places, and of those places, they seem to consistently give their best performances in Boston. On that night, they ended the show with a new song, "The Little Things That Give You Away" - it starts out as a piano ballad and then it builds into something that's half electric prayer and half soul-baring confession. It was an incredibly beautiful song and the crowd really went with it, and to me it was extra satisfying because it ended the show on a forward-looking note. The song, on some level, seems to be about the fear of losing that spark as you get older, that maybe this time the magic won't be there; Bono's lyrics worry that sometimes he's "so far away from believing that any song will reappear." To hear that kind of naked confession after playing their most well-known and acclaimed album was really brave and moving, and filled both the new song and the whole evening with added poignancy and urgency. The song is beautiful and I can't wait for it to appear on the new record.

The Lumineers opened all of the shows I saw. I knew their hit song "Ho Hey" but nothing else, and I thoroughly enjoyed them each night. They played the same set (makes sense since they were in a different city each night) but it was really solid, and their music both sonically and thematically fit perfectly with The Joshua Tree. It was one of the very best combination of headliners and opening acts I've ever experienced. In the past twenty years of seeing U2, I think only once have I liked the opening band I saw - they get great openers but never for the shows I go to. Some of the bands that have opened for U2 on the same tours I've been to, but not at the shows I attended, include Rage Against The Machine, Garbage, No Doubt, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Coldplay, Arcade Fire, The Killers, Pearl Jam, and more that I'm forgetting. I got stuck with bands that ranged from forgettable to dreadful. So to get an opener that not only was bearable but actually fantastic and a perfect fit for the show, that was really special too.

I wish I could have kept following them for the rest of the year. Real life makes that impractical, but my mini-tour of the Northeast ended up being the highlight of the summer. That, and Twin Peaks. Between those two things, U2 playing the Joshua Tree, and David Lynch and Mark Frost resurrecting Twin Peaks, I had, for me at least, what will be a year for the ages in entertainment. 2005 sticks out in my memory in a very powerful way for similar reasons -- U2's Vertigo tour and Revenge Of The Sith, both of which I saw about a zillion times, also resonated in a strong way.

One thing from the U2 shows that brought me back into the movie world at home -- the performance of "Exit" was incredibly intense, and some imagery of the "love" and "hate" tattooed on hands, reminiscent of Robert Mitchum in The Night Of The Hunter, was shown at the beginning of the song. I had never seen that movie but knew of it, and saw it once I finished with the shows. That movie was astonishing, and it really felt on the same spiritual level as the U2 album and show. I think the song "Exit" and that film will be forever linked in my mind now.

That's really cool!
It's great how you were able to connect with old friends and places from your life on the tour. Great that you are staying connected to friends and family too. Life is so busy at times!

Great points on side 2. I've always liked it a lot. In fact I tend to skip through the first side of the album at this point.
I know u2 always does amazing shows. Is there a blu ray in the world?
It isn't strange the band has avoided Atlanta on the last 2 tours.

I heard the new track from the new album. It was ok.
I find myself at an interesting point in my life. One where I'm giving a lot of my favorites a break: U2 and even the James Bond series. Even with Star Trek I should be excited about discovery, but I'm finding that my feelings are a bit indifferent to it.

By contrast I'm still really into old Star Trek and the Star Wars films too. I guess it helps that my boys are into Star Wars and batman the animated series too.

All that being said I still love hearing a U2 track from October or boy. Or even heartbreak hotel?
But overall I am feeling a bit disconnected from U2. I'm still curious about new material from them, but for me something has changed. It could be the politics, or just how I am changing in this stage of life too.

Anyway, I'll be interested in hearing the new album. Wish they would give it to me free again!

I loved the vertigo and 360 tours. Saw 2 shows on both tours. The Minneapolis one in 360 was the best one I have seen.

I just had a funny thought, I enjoy hearing the deep tracks but I had no interest in the Joshua tree tour.
Again I think the political charged comments didn't help me with the tour reasoning too, maybe it just helped push me away further / along in a way that I was already heading too. I rarely listen to a u2 album these days. But I stillness enjoy hearing a song here and there. (Same for Van Halen!)

At any rate, we will always have 2005! Vertigo!

Another though: maybe I have simply outgrown the band too. If that makes sense?
 

Josh Steinberg

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That’s great. I think the fan logic had been that 2019 seemed most likely for a release - it wasn’t a secret that the show was being filmed - but it also made sense that they wouldn’t put it out while they were touring Songs Of Experience.

I had a much better time at the JT tour than I had imagined I would. I can’t wait for the concert movie.
 

Osato

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That’s great. I think the fan logic had been that 2019 seemed most likely for a release - it wasn’t a secret that the show was being filmed - but it also made sense that they wouldn’t put it out while they were touring Songs Of Experience.

I had a much better time at the JT tour than I had imagined I would. I can’t wait for the concert movie.

Will Rattle and Hum album and film ever get reissued??

Same with Pop...
 

Josh Steinberg

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Not sure what's happening with Rattle & Hum the film. Paramount has distribution rights, and their home video output right now is fairly meager. I'm not sure how much (if any) pull U2 have in compelling them to re-issue the title, or if U2 have the ability to buy out Paramount's distribution.

The band hinted -- I forget what the source was -- that they were working on something for the Rattle & Hum anniversary, which would have been this year. I'm thinking that there's a possibility that we could get some kind of box set which might include the JT30 filmed show along with a remastered version of the Rattle & Hum album, extra tracks. etc. Maybe -- and this is pure speculation -- a reissue of the Rattle & Hum film could be included in that. There are also tons of filmed outtakes that have never been officially released. I used to have something like ten or twelve hours of unedited raw footage on VHS that was never used in the film. Frankly, much of it wasn't very interesting, but I'd bet a skilled editor could cut all of that down into a worthwhile bonus feature.
 

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