U2
Support: none
Date: Monday July 6th, 2015
Venue: Air Canada Center in Toronto, Ontario
T-Shirt worn: plain black

Going in to this show I wasn't very excited at all. The sets I've seen from other shows were comprised of almost the entire new album Songs of Innocence, the "standards", Out of Control (which I really like) and a small chance you may hear either Bad, All I Want Is You or '40', but a bigger chance that you won’t hear any. Going to night one of a two night stand had me worried too because in my experience on other bands tours has been night one is usually the more "standard" set with night two offering something a little different. So honestly I wished I wasn't going.

But once they hit the stage and broke in to Out of Control I was very happy I did. I really like that song and was really happy to hear it. The vibe of the show was totally different from when I saw them four years ago at Skydome. My seats were really good, I could actually see them and their performance was a lot less mechanical-spectacle. Bono wasn't going off with his timing and phrasing of songs, something he did four years ago that I didn't like one bit. Maybe they'll get criticized for phoning this tour in but I honestly didn't care. He did go off on a few of his tangents during the first set about his upbringing and then focusing on issues in Ireland and the rest of the World.

Aside from Out of Control though the song selection was still a bit of a downer. They came out to the worst walk-on song I’ve heard in my life (People Have the Power by Pattie Smith). The new album really isn't that great and playing seven songs out of eleven from it in the first set really...sucked. And even though they played a lot more familiar stuff in the second half I really don't like a lot of those songs. Mysterious Ways, Elevation, Desire and Stuck in a Moment That You Can’t Get Out Of are songs I honestly hate. Sunday Bloody Sunday was actually terrible. Larry Mullen got out from behind his drum kit and played the song with just a snare. It sounded very hollow and empty, not very powerful at all. Even Better Than the Real Thing sounded very weak too. Even though I hate Desire it was actually cool that Bono noticed a guy with a sign or something that said him and his U2 cover band were in the general admission area. So he brought them on stage and they played Desire with them. I don’t know whether or not that was planned but I really don’t think it was, especially since the Edge was sitting at his piano waiting to start Stuck in a Moment That You Can’t Get Out Of. So Adam and Larry went off stage and watched while Bono and the Edge performed it with them. So even though I hate that song it was really enjoyable because I’ve never seen anything like that. Then they played Stuck in a Moment That You Can't Get Out Of and Every Breaking Wave and I was bored again.

But things took off with Bullet in the Blue Sky. Even thought they're all in their mid-fifties now and billionaires that song was intense. It was fucking awesome actually. Then a bit later they broke into Bad and I was happy. So was everyone else. The last seven songs (plus two snippets of shittier songs) made up for the rest of the set and left me very happy. I’d have rather a different ending than Still Haven’t Found What I'm Looking For/Stand by Me but it was definitely better than Moment of Surrender four years ago. Though they still had to play a bit of that song towards the end. Are there other songs that I’d have rather heard? Absolutely. Seven new songs wasn’t that bad since they played twenty-eight but the pacing and structure could have improved. Maybe play a new piece of crap and then play two that people know. But to hear one of the songs I really wanted to hear (Bad) made up for anything. That song rules and you can all suck a dick.

U2
1. Miracle (of Joey Ramone)
2. Out of Control
3. Vertigo
4. I Will Follow
5. Iris
6. Cederwood Road
7. Song for Someone
8. Sunday Bloody Sunday
9. Raised by Wolves
10. Until the End of the World
11. Love and Peace or Else (snippet)
-- The Wanderer (over P.A.)
12. Invisible
13. Even Better than the Real Thing
14. Mysterious Ways
15. Elevation
16. Desire (by some cover band)
17. Stuck in a Moment That You Can't Get Out Of
18. Every Breaking Wave
19. Bullet in the Blue Sky
20. Hands that Built America (snippet)
21. Pride (In the Name of Love)
22. Beautiful Day
23. Moment of Surrender (snippet)
24. Bad
25. With or Without You
[encore]
26. City of Blinding Lights
27. Where the Streets Have No Name
28. Still Haven’t Found What I'm Looking For/Stand by Me

Four years ago I left the U2 show saying I may see U2 in ten years if their albums got better. Tonight I left really upset that I’m not going to see them again tomorrow night for night two and fully prepared to pay a hundred dollars to see them again.

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Follow-up:

Lol, U2 played here two Fridays ago on their Joshua Tree anniversary tour and while I wanted to see them a lot made me not want to see them.  First: they played at the Skydome again and fuck that.  Secondly: the ticket prices were beyond insane.  I'm not paying upwards of two hundred dollars for nose-bleed seats.  And last: Ring of Honor Wrestling had a pay per view that night which I much rathered stay home and watch.  The pay per view wasn't that great but it cost me fifty dollars.  

And from what I've heard the U2 show was actually not very good at all either.  

I'll see them again some day I'm sure and while the price will possibly sway me in either direction I WON'T see them at a stadium.  I have no time for stadium shows anymore.