Song of the Week: Walk On

Often times, on U2 forums the question arises: it's U2's last concert, and it's the last song; what do they play? Personally, i cannot answer this question as nobody else can, but I can suspect one possibility would be U2's Walk On.

Walk On was the fourth single (except in Canada, it was number 2) released from U2's 2000 All that you Can't Leave Behind Album. U2 was the first artist ever to win two Grammy awards for songs of the same album in two consecutive years.

The song is a cornerstone to the album, to U2's career and their current 360 tour. The song was written and often dedicated to Burmese freedom activist Aung San Suu Kyi.

You can download it from iTunes, or from Amazon here.

-A. Kennedy



Walk On stats
Walk On Wiki

U2 Secrets

Everything you never knew about Ireland's premier export:

-A. Kennedy

U2 in the Studio?

@U2 is reporting that (of all sources) another artist, Dave Hollister is in the studio recording with U2. The claim isn't that solid, mostly because it came from one of his 'Tweets' on Twitter (I'll never really understand that site). Anyways, @U2 apparently didn't know if he was in the studio with U2 literally or by some other means of communication--or at all..so who knows.

In the recently released home video telling America that they are coming back next year, U2 blatantly admit they have been writing and recording songs and also that they will most likely play some for Europe this summer. So anything is possible at this point.

If there is one thing I've learned from U2, it is to be patient for new material. Being in the studio recording and writing songs is great, but to me doesn't necessarily mean a new album is coming out in 5 months (songs of ascent...). So I'm just kicking back and enjoying No Line on the Horizon until I get to see U2 in Seattle next summer.

-A. Kennedy

@U2 Article

Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own: Live from Milan 2005

Its really a shame that U2 never officially released a DVD of their Milan concert filmed on their 2005 Vertigo Tour. Chicago's DVD was a great performance and I am so glad we got it on DVD, but I think they should have made some changes to their setlist. I admit, I am getting somewhat greedy in this statement since they did play Boy classics such as Electric Co and An Cat Dubh/Into the Heart. Perhaps what you don't know is that in the 4 concerts they played in Chicago, they featured songs that would've been stellar live performances on DVD--such as Bad, Party Girl, The Ocean, Gloria...and not quite as relevant but when they came back to Chicago later on that September, they played songs like Walk On AND Discotheque! How amazing would that have been for their Chicago DVD.

This video is of course, Sometimes you Can't Make It On Your Own from one of U2's 2005 Milan shows, although I'm not sure which concert the video was recorded from of the two they played in Milan. But just like the Chicago DVD, Milan's final edits were a combination of multiple shows (I believe U23D was the same way too). Really an emotional performance from Bono in this video, I recommend it. You can also download this live version off of the itunes store under U2's U218 Singles Deluxe Version album, or from Amazon here.

-A. Kennedy



Chicago Setlists

U2 Song of the Week: Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own

I figured having a song of the week might make things a bit more interesting on this blog, so I decided to incorporate it starting on this Monday of July. I couldn't really figure out what song to pick, so I just hit shuffle on my iPod and Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own came up first!

Perhaps this song's most important aspect is the fact that it keeps the U2 tradition of a having very long song title name. It's the third track and third single released by U2 from their 2004 How To Dismantle and Atomic Bomb CD. It's been played live 139 times; the last concert that saw it live was in Honolulu on the last concert of U2's 2006 Vertigo Tour. The song has yet to debut on U2's 360 Tour.

The song was written and often was dedicated in concert to Bono's father, Bob. Often times Bono would tell a small story about his relationship with his dad in the Vertigo Tour concerts. The song won two Grammy awards in 2006, one for Song of the Year, the other for Best Rock Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal. It peaked number 1 in the UK and number 15 in the US (Billboard).

Truly a great song and I am so lucky I was able to see it in 2005's Portland concert...

-A. Kennedy



Wikipedia's SYCMIOYO
Elevation Tour Database

U2 3D on Blu Ray?

I remember seeing U23D in theaters like it was just yesterday. There are very few things on this earth that have given me chills and goosebumps that weren't temperature related. U23D was one of them. Ironically, the most moving part of the film in my opinion was actually the introduction. The lights flashing, the people screaming, and of course the chanting of "everyone" gets your adrenaline going like you are actually waiting to see a U2 show. The scene of the crowd rushing in at the GA, screaming and shoving to get a good place to stand for their epic U2 night were a really good addition to the film as well.

Of course who can deny the actual concert footage--it was all incredible and gave you a chance to go to a U2 show if you hadn't already been to one. I remember seeing it and just wishing I could see it just once more, as if saying goodbye to a loved one. That was years ago however and until recently, not much hope had been around for either another theater release of U23D or a Blu-Ray release.

While no real sources can claim anything, the chances of U23D getting released is more and more likely due to the improvements of 3D in film and televisions. 3D capabilities will likely be the selling point of this or next years technologies around Christmas time.

@U2.com reports that U2 recently developed BD-Live into the Blu-Ray copies of their U2360 Rose Bowl release, giving fans content from internet stream into the Blu-Ray player. @U2 also reports U2's U2360 Rose Bowl Blu-Ray is "the first Blu-ray title to be produced in the U.K. with BD-Live content." The link (below) also says that in the future "...users will be able to buy tickets through their Blu-ray disc..."

While nothing is certain, we can still hope for a release sometime within the decade. If there's one thing we can count on U2 doing, it is definitely saving up fan favorites like U23D for a rainy day...Until then...

-A. Kennedy



@U2 Blu-Ray Article

Underneath the Claw

Perhaps the average U2 ticket holder takes for granted what goes on behind, or underneath I should say the stage. Its tall, its massive and yes, during a concert the Claw is mesmerizing--I've seen it firsthand! Yet this stage is not some cheap trick to capture an audience of potentially 90,000+, this stage took months of planning and designing--and it was constructed exactly as it was designed--essentially a space-ship looking claw, hence the name.

The technology behind the Claw is actually state of the art. No LED screen was large enough or advanced enough to accommodate such a stage--especially considering that it has to physically expand and shrink! The screen itself weighs 56 tons and carries 1 million pieces...

Constructing the stage is no easy task either...

-164 ft. tall
-189 trucks to transport
-550 crew members/construction workers that are hauled by 12 buses
-8 full days to construct, perform and deconstruct
-Cost of stage: 20 million (Euros..)
-Excluding construction, the stage costs the band $750,000 a day to operate

While your thinking about that, think about this: U2 built three Claws. And while Claw number one is being used for U2 to perform, number two is being deconstructed from a previous concert, and lucky number three is being constructed for the next performance! Two stadiums (Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas and the Hippodrome de Montreal in Canada) actually had to be renovated to accommodate for the Claws presence--costing the band over an extra $5 million.

U2 has yet to break even with their ticket sales which is saying something since most stadiums can accommodate over 70,000 people.

Watch this time lapse of the claw being constructed--very interesting!

-A. Kennedy



U2360 Wikipedia Page
Claw Facts

What is U2 bringing to the setlists this summer in Europe?

One of the joys of being a U2 fan is having a plethora of songs to pick from to carefully construct their dream setlist at a fictional U2 concert. Since no one person has that kind of power, we can hope, suggest and perhaps predict what U2 will play next in the upcoming European leg of the 2010 U2360 Tour.

It is my belief that there are two methods to predict what U2 will pick for their setlist changes: the 'logical' way, and what I am going to call the 'indicative' way. You may be wondering what these mean, as I have recently coined the phrases myself.

A 'logical' setlist change would consist of the addition (or removal) of a song based on the trends of previous tours. An example of a logical setlist addition for the U2360 Tour would be the Unforgettable Fire or Ultraviolet. It is logical that the band would add these songs to the setlist because U2 are consistently bringing songs to each album tour that fans would love to hear and they are most notably songs that miss the majority of the tours--sometimes even the particular tour for the album of that particular song (Ultraviolet missed many tour dates on ZOO TV). The Unforgettable has over 20 years of shelf life to make up for, and Ultraviolet has almost 20 itself.

What song would U2 'logically' remove from the setlist? Well I think the perfect example would be Bullet the Blue Sky. Bullet the Blue Sky has been played on EVERY tour since the song was released in March of 1987, and in a sense it has run it's 'live' course. In order to accommodate for song additions to the setlists, songs must be (sadly) removed to compensate.

Some songs however, are added that aren't as easy to predict based simply on U2's live trends. All the hopeful rumors and hints that U2 provoke prior to a leg of tour would fall into this category. Bono said that on the U2360 Tour the band would play songs they've never played live before. Perhaps Bono said it best when he said that "we've got old songs, we've got new songs, we've got songs that we can barely play!" Perhaps he is referencing the difficulty of the songs to transpose to a live setting, or maybe its for the songs they've never played live before.

What would be an 'indicative' addition to U2's setlist? Your Blue Room and Electrical storm would be two examples, perhaps because nobody really saw it coming. Maybe some did, but most only proposed the idea of these songs being played live based on provocative sources such as interpreting U2's quotes and applying them to foreshadow changes in the upcoming dates, and also from the band's rehearsals days before a concert.

It's difficult to predict what U2 is going to 'indicatively' remove from their setlists for U2360, but I think that on U2's Vertigo tour, 'With or Without You' and 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For' were often interchangeably used from one another and many dates missed both--despite being arguably their two most popular songs. THAT isn't very logical in my opinion.

So after this (perhaps unnecessary) tangent on setlist changes, you might be asking what would be some changes U2 might (either logically or indicatively) make on U2's 2010 European leg?

I believe that U2's next logical setlist addition is going to be 'Even Better than the Real Thing' to Europe's setlists. They stopped playing it after Popmart in 1997, and it's a great song that gets the fans pumped--very similar to Until the End of the World which might be U2's next logical setlist removal :[

What about indicative? Well I think Drowning Man will make its appearance live--but I don't think it will be until 2011 in North America, and here's why: U2 brought some old trophys out in the later tour dates of the Vertigo tour in 2006 because, like the North American leg of 2011, they rescheduled dates and vowed to make up for it. They did so by playing songs like One Tree Hill, Bad, Walk On and The Saints Are Coming. U2 already tested out Drowning Man at Barcelona's rehearsal last summer, and the band were pumped to play it--rumor has it that they just couldn't find a good spot or perhaps segue in the setlist. I believe they will find that spot next summer.

I haven't heard about any rumors of songs being removed, but I predict it would be songs like In A Little While or Stuck in a Moment. Both are great songs and translate very well under the 'Claw,' which would not make it logical to remove (hence why it would be 'indicative'!).


I guess for now we'll wait and see and keep dreaming out loud for our own setlist changes!

-A. Kennedy

Bono (possibly Edge) to be involved with new Pixar film?

@U2.com is reporting from anonymous sources that Bono and possibly the Edge will be involved in an upcoming film by Pixar animation studios. I can only assume that the correlation between Pixar and the band members is in some way related to music (I'm pretty good at piecing the puzzle together like that). This could mean simply producing a score, writing lyrics or best yet composing an entirely new song (single?) for the film.

Knowing that most songs and scores to animated movies sound upbeat and positive, U2 should have no problem pumping out a good melody for the film. The film's name is apparently going to be 'Brave,' but again, all of this is merely a rumor, yet @U2.com stated that their sources claim the rumor to be “reasonably solid.” We'll see I guess.

-A. Kennedy

@U2 Article

2011 North American tour dates rescheduled!

It is really funny how things work out in the end, isn't it? I had purchased 4 tickets around the beginning of the year to U2's Seattle show on June 20, 2010 and couldn't wait. I was going to take my at-the-time girlfriend and then things broke off between us. So I didn't have a date, and I didn't have hotel reservations or anything! Bono's back injury was perhaps a blessing in disguise for me, but for many fans it was a terrible disappointment--especially those who made hotel and flight reservations all over America (and the rest of the world too).

Good news though, U2 released the new dates for their 2011 tour in North America! They are as follows (would like to thank @U2 for organizing the dates in the following reader-friendly version):

May 21: Denver, Colorado (Invesco Field, formerly June 12/10)

May 24: Salt Lake City, Utah (Rice Eccles Stadium, formerly June 3/10)

June 1: Edmonton, Alberta (Commonwealth Stadium, formerly June 23/10)

June 4: Seattle, Washington (Qwest Field, formerly June 20/10)

June 7: Oakland, California (McAfee Coliseum, formerly June 16/10)

June 17: Anaheim, California (Angels Stadium, formerly June 6/10)

June 18: Anaheim, California (Angels Stadium, formerly June 7/10)

June 26: East Lansing, Michigan (Spartan Stadium at MSU, formerly June 30/10)

June 29: Miami, Florida (Sun Life Stadium, formerly July 9/10) *previously Dolphin Stadium

July 5: Chicago, Illinois (Soldier Field, formerly July 6/10)

July 8: Montreal, Quebec (Hippodrome, formerly July 16/10)

July 9: Montreal, Quebec (Hippodrome, formerly July 17/10)

July 11: Toronto, Ontario (Rogers Centre, formerly July 3/10)

July 14: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Lincoln Financial Field, formerly July 12/10)

July 20: East Rutherford, New Jersey (New Meadowlands Stadium, formerly July 19/10)

July 23: Minneapolis, Minnesota (TCF Bank Stadium, formerly June 27/10)

U2.com advises all ticket holders to hold on to their stubs as they will be honored at the rescheduled dates. Anyone else going to Seattle? :] The video below is a good end to this post and is definitely reassuring! Also hints on some new material--perhaps played live this summer in Europe? U2 is coming back!

-A. Kennedy




U2.com 2011 N. American Date Schedule (updated)

U2 performs at Live Aid 25 years ago today

25 years ago, a prominent Irish band from Dublin called U2 took to the stage at Wembley Stadium in London. Whether you were alive back then or not, anyone can easily plug in U2 at Youtube and see first hand U2's passion and fire on the stage. That passion was rooted not just from the intensity of playing to one of the largest crowds U2 had ever seen at the time, but also was fueled by their passion (and all the bands' passion who were there playing) to help Ethiopia.

Live Aid is arguably the defining moment for their live career, and the world witnessed their ability to put on a show. Two great songs were played by U2; Sunday Bloody Sunday and Bad.

Check out this video, it gives an interesting perspective from the band's point of view during their performance:

-A. Kennedy

Welcome to the Joshua Tree

Greetings fellow U2 fans and friends alike! This is my first post, that is to say my first of many. I plan on having many things on here to make it worth stopping by when you can! In the meantime, keep your eyes out for updates and news from The Joshua Tree!

-A. Kennedy