**SPOILERS**Las Vegas 2 U2eiTour Show Thread

[GoldenStateGirl]

PEOPLE ARE BEING ASKED TO SIT DOWN??
AT A BLEEDING ROCK CONCERT?

<cries>

Shine that.
I. Will. Stand.
And dance. And pogo. And dream aloud!

[Billy Rhythm]

Went to both Vegas shows and walked away pretty disappointed last night. After seeing them 23 times, this will be the last time I see them multiple times on a tour. They sounded great, but your literally watching the same show again.

After seeing them open 'The Joshua Tree Tour' last year in Vancouver, I would've dutifully paid to see the EXACT same show the next night...  I think that your stance here underscores the fact that this is a sub-par U2 show...  Now that the opening night anticipation has fizzled, it's becoming painstakingly clear that it's very probable that this is the worst U2 show ever, but still better than most other's offerings...  that likely has more to do with the state of music these days...  I mean, 'Acrobat' sounds better live than I thought that it would, but if 'Achtung Baby's weakest track is your highlight then you've got problems...:-)

[the_chief]

Went to both Vegas shows and walked away pretty disappointed last night. After seeing them 23 times, this will be the last time I see them multiple times on a tour. They sounded great, but your literally watching the same show again.

After seeing them open 'The Joshua Tree Tour' last year in Vancouver, I would've dutifully paid to see the EXACT same show the next night...  I think that your stance here underscores the fact that this is a sub-par U2 show...  Now that the opening night anticipation has fizzled, it's becoming painstakingly clear that it's very probable that this is the worst U2 show ever, but still better than most other's offerings...  that likely has more to do with the state of music these days...  I mean, 'Acrobat' sounds better live than I thought that it would, but if 'Achtung Baby's weakest track is your highlight then you've got problems...:-)

So Acrobat is a weak song and U2 are only good live these days because of the state that music is in...

I think something is painstakingly clear alright...

[Luzita]

I've never understood the fans who complain about how the band doesn't change the set list for every show. They don't put a set list together because you have chosen to go to or stream 2, 3, 20 shows of the same tour. I'm sure the band very much appreciates that you are a big enough fan to want to see them that many times on one tour, but they really put the set list together for the 75% or so of the audience that is only going to see them that one time. The band never mentioned shaking up the set list each night, and have never really been known for doing that anyway, so I'm not sure why some fans get upset with them when it is YOU having placed YOUR expectation of different songs each night on them.

U2 has never been a band that shakes up the list a lot, so it amazes me that there are still fans out there that put this expectation on them and then get upset when it doesn't happen.

Yeah many of us uber fans do have an expectation that there will be some changes for a multi-show run in a single city. Not big changes, just one or two songs. You may think that an expectation of very minimal changes to the show from night to night is too much to ask for. But I don't, & as you can read above, I'm not the only one.

No, us multi-show ticket holders don't make up a large proportion of the crowd. But when you are failing to sell out either show of a two night run in Vegas, curtaining off entire sections (a bad look), every seat counts! We all know that for Live Nation, this is purely a money making exercise. So they probably should cater to U2's most loyal fans, as it will have some effect on the shows finances. Mopping up the remaining tickets for this leg (of which there are plenty), & particularly when it comes to buying tickets for future legs & tours.

I saw 5 shows on i+e. Some of my highlights we're seeing Gloria once, in the opening set rotation slot, & seeing Party Girl & AIWIY once, in the e-stage rotation slots.

For e+i I currently have tickets to European two shows. I was thinking about getting tickets to a third, but a lack of rotation will certainly make me reconsider this. If they make it to Australia I'll likely come home for that. But if there are no changes to the set it may only be for one or two shows, or I may not even come home at all for the tour.

I was at the first Vegas show and I don’t understand what you mean about curtained sections. The arena wasn’t completely full but it was nearly full, and there were no curtained sections.


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[d.darroch]

Sorry, I meant to say Vegas weren't sell outs, while other shows even had curtained off sections. It was San Jose 2, not Vegas 2 that was curtained off behind the stage.

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As was St Louis.

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Vegas 1 was much better. Though I noticed AXS was still showing plenty of seats available (not resale), well into the show.

[scrittoresabino]

Um... I was at both U2 shows in Vegas. I had seats for nite one. I was constantly checking Ticketmaster and AXS daily, which were the official ticket sellers. Nite 1 was sold out. I don't know where you got your information. The only tickets available for nite 1 were aftermarket, which is never counted in terms of determining a sold-out show. Also, being there there didn't seem to be many empty seats on nite 1. Nite 2 perhaps had some, which isn't surprising considering Vegas isn't that big of a city and LA and San Jose are both 2 nite events. Vegas would usually get a lot of people traveling from CA if the events are too close together.

[scrittoresabino]

In general, I am disappointed that there were no song differences between the 2 Vegas shows. Did I want more? Would I like to have heard different songs I have experienced yet on this tour? Or course.

However, am I extremely thrilled I went to nite 2 (got tickets late)? F YEAH! Nite 2 was seamless compared to Nite 1, everything flowed much more smoothly. Every single song except Love is Bigger, was much better on Nite 2. I got chills from songs I did not feel as moved by, the night before.

Ive been to a few shows from bands where there are 2 nites in a row, and little to no setlist change occurred. I go with the expectation it will most likely be the same unless it's a band known to be more of a jam band. I go for the experience and thrill of live music, where the same songs may have a different feel or impact with different crowds, and the band may perform the songs differently, no matter how small the change. The feel and character of a show is different, even if the setlist is exactly the same.

[d.darroch]

Um... I was at both U2 shows in Vegas. I had seats for nite one. I was constantly checking Ticketmaster and AXS daily, which were the official ticket sellers. Nite 1 was sold out. I don't know where you got your information. The only tickets available for nite 1 were aftermarket, which is never counted in terms of determining a sold-out show. Also, being there there didn't seem to be many empty seats on nite 1. Nite 2 perhaps had some, which isn't surprising considering Vegas isn't that big of a city and LA and San Jose are both 2 nite events. Vegas would usually get a lot of people traveling from CA if the events are too close together.

Well that’s weird, because I was on the AXS site for days leading up to the shows. Looking for a GA or cheap seat for a friend, for Vegas 2.

There were plenty of uppers for Vegas 1 from $46 in the corners, & some further around behind the stage for that price. Moving around to $81 seats, in the uppers adjacent to the stage. Vegas 2 had zero seats behind the stage available, & started at $81 for uppers adjacent to the stage. I thought that it was a bit weird that Vegas 2 had zero seats still available behind the stage, & was expecting seats to drop here at some stage. So I was keeping a VERY CLOSE EYE on seats right through the first show. GA’s for Vegas 2 dropped half way through the first show, right around the intermission, & didn’t sell out until an hour or two after the show finished.

My friend managed to get one of these GA’s for Vegas 2, so I stopped searching, so have no idea if any more seats dropped for Vegas 2.

Yeah, weird that you said you couldn’t find anything. Are you sure you were looking at AXS’s site for primary sales, not resales (do they even have resales)? AXS was the official seller, so I didn’t go anywhere near the TM site, thankfully. Happy to keep away from Ticket b******, when I can.

All very strange, I’m in Australia. But I can’t believe that my address would have any effect on my ability to get tickets.

[scrittoresabino]

Odd.  For Vegas 1 there was nothing when I checked. Vegas 2 I saw plenty of open seats on both Ticketmaster and AXS. Ticketmaster didn't even have a link for Vegas 1 for almost a week before, due to it being "sold out", while it still had a link for Vegas 2 right up to near show start. And I was looking for official tickets first, then would check for resale. I wonder if there is some sort of reserve for a number of tickets based on location?

I ended up getting decent price on resale for GA elsewhere for both nite 1 last minute. Nite 2, I had already bought GA resale several weeks before, so prices did had not gone down yet.

[d.darroch]

Yeah, very odd. This is what I wrote to my friend on Thursday 10th. Nothing much changed right up until showtime for Vegas 1.

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And this for Vegas 2

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Haha, totally weird if they were just selling seats to Aussies. I couldn't have gotten there on time if I wanted to!

[boom boom]

With reports from the first few shows that there are unsold seats and sections curtained off, what does this mean for the future for U2.  Even last year, I noticed it on the JT tour, with sections on the upper decks in Pittsburgh and Buffalo curtained off.  It is evident that U2's popularity on the live circuit at least in North America is dwindling with tickets still left for this tour even in major cities like LA, Boston, Chicago, New York, which would be unheard of before.

I found it hard to believe that U2 don't notice this themselves or choose to turn a blind eye on the empty or curtained off sections.  I'm sure it is not going to get easier of future tours.  I think they have over-saturated themselves over the last few years with 3 tours in the last 4 years.

Also after this tour, I think U2 might have lost a lot of the casual fans, who are going to remember that this tour, U2 played a whole lot of new songs that they didn't know, didn't play any JT songs and probably might want to sit out the next tour which might be a good thing (maybe not for U2) but for us die hard fans, in that we might (and I'm probably dreaming) get a tour focused on the core fans rather than the casual fans, in terms of mixing it up more and playing more rarities.

Also, not only casual fans might be done with U2 for a while, but also U2's hardcore fan base.  With a lot of us complaining with U2's static set and nothing being changed for multiple nights in the same city, a lot of us are saying they are done with going to multiple shows, which are definitely going to effect ticket sales on the next tour.  With high ticket prices and static set list, I think a large portion of U2's hardcore base will be going to less shows.

Easy way to bring back both sets of fans is lower tickets prices.  People on the fence thinking whether to go, might choose to buy a ticket and hard core fans might go for more shows if tickets were lower.

[the_chief]

Jesus Christ....

A few rows of empty seats at a gig or two and all of a sudden it's the end for them.
Losing all their fans...

Hysterical much no?!

[McSwilly]

With reports from the first few shows that there are unsold seats and sections curtained off, what does this mean for the future for U2.  Even last year, I noticed it on the JT tour, with sections on the upper decks in Pittsburgh and Buffalo curtained off.  It is evident that U2's popularity on the live circuit at least in North America is dwindling with tickets still left for this tour even in major cities like LA, Boston, Chicago, New York, which would be unheard of before.

I found it hard to believe that U2 don't notice this themselves or choose to turn a blind eye on the empty or curtained off sections.  I'm sure it is not going to get easier of future tours.  I think they have over-saturated themselves over the last few years with 3 tours in the last 4 years.

Also after this tour, I think U2 might have lost a lot of the casual fans, who are going to remember that this tour, U2 played a whole lot of new songs that they didn't know, didn't play any JT songs and probably might want to sit out the next tour which might be a good thing (maybe not for U2) but for us die hard fans, in that we might (and I'm probably dreaming) get a tour focused on the core fans rather than the casual fans, in terms of mixing it up more and playing more rarities.

Also, not only casual fans might be done with U2 for a while, but also U2's hardcore fan base.  With a lot of us complaining with U2's static set and nothing being changed for multiple nights in the same city, a lot of us are saying they are done with going to multiple shows, which are definitely going to effect ticket sales on the next tour.  With high ticket prices and static set list, I think a large portion of U2's hardcore base will be going to less shows.

Easy way to bring back both sets of fans is lower tickets prices.  People on the fence thinking whether to go, might choose to buy a ticket and hard core fans might go for more shows if tickets were lower.

Agree with all of this except one thing - the seats are not failing to sell due to price, it is the poor quality of the last 3 albums, and their insistence on playing so many new songs, in my opinion. They will need to take a long time off to figure our their next step.

[Billy Rhythm]

Went to both Vegas shows and walked away pretty disappointed last night. After seeing them 23 times, this will be the last time I see them multiple times on a tour. They sounded great, but your literally watching the same show again.

After seeing them open 'The Joshua Tree Tour' last year in Vancouver, I would've dutifully paid to see the EXACT same show the next night...  I think that your stance here underscores the fact that this is a sub-par U2 show...  Now that the opening night anticipation has fizzled, it's becoming painstakingly clear that it's very probable that this is the worst U2 show ever, but still better than most other's offerings...  that likely has more to do with the state of music these days...  I mean, 'Acrobat' sounds better live than I thought that it would, but if 'Achtung Baby's weakest track is your highlight then you've got problems...:-)

So Acrobat is a weak song and U2 are only good live these days because of the state that music is in...

I think something is painstakingly clear alright...

It's easily the weakest song on the 'Achtung Baby' album...  it was only because of its long absence from their shows that it sparked so much curiosity from the hardcore fans...  most U2 fans really don't care about 'Acrobat' (a lot of them aren't even familiar with it)...  really, what's so great about it?  every other song on the album rips it to shreds...  it's more along the lines of their B-Sides and would've fit in much better there, in my opinion...

People think that because it's been trumpeted on the boards for years that it belongs amongst their upper echelon of great recordings or something...  it's filler and having it as a showcase on a tour in 2018 tells me that they're beginning to scrape the bottom of the barrel here...  The song even had to be dressed up with a MacPhisto intro to give it some gusto...  The slot, like many others, in the set could've been put to much better use...  I'd probably like the song a lot more if it weren't for the hardcores going on about how great it is...:-)

[laoghaire]

Acrobat being "easily the weakest song" on AB is your opinion and nothing more.

For me, Acrobat is one of the strongest, and I know people talk about the closing three songs on the album as being a high (if dark) point of their careers.

Hate Acrobat if you want, that's cool, but to ascribe a personal opinion of it that is not widely shared as a sign U2's tour sucks and their careers over is a real stretch and not based on any logic.