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U2, Popmart
Jun. 25th, 1997 07:30 pmA bunch of us went to this show in Madison. Derek, Joe, Paul, Phil (Laura?), Steve and his friend Paul, most likely.
The Fun Lovin' Criminals opened up. Derek and I had seen them earlier this year, opening for Live. They were about the same, only instead of taking up a small part of a theater stage, they were dwarfed by U2's stadium stage.
U2 says that their Popmart tour, in support of Pop was their most successful tour, in terms of message and art. The message was anti consumerism. In typical U2 fashion, they did it big, but I think they had bitten off more than they could chew. It seemed a little empty (especially in comparison to the overload of ZOO-TV), in that everything was so big, but there wasn't much there. The stage was huge. It featured a single yellow arch over most of the stage (with a bank of orange speakers hanging in the top of it), and a spire with an olive. There was a red backdrop behind the whole stage - no rigging showing, making a very clean set. For the opening act, part of the backdrop became a giant video screen. When U2 took the stage, the entire backdrop became the video screen. I was amazed.
At the beginning of the second half, a giant lemon drove out at the right side of the stage. Yes, a big yellow lemon, upright on a tripod, with tires. Then they pulled the yellow cover off, and it was covered in mirror. Then it split, and the top half raised up, revealing the band inside. It all seemed a little pointless.
Musicwise, it was nearly of Pop, with their usual greatest hits. I was pleasantly surprised to hear "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me". The most memorable moment was "Bullet the Blue Sky." There were huge spotlights arranged around the edge of the stadium floor. They were on pivots and would spin about wildly. for this song, the sky was lit up red, and these spotlights shone straight upward. It felt like they were the pillars holding the sky up.
( setlist )
The Fun Lovin' Criminals opened up. Derek and I had seen them earlier this year, opening for Live. They were about the same, only instead of taking up a small part of a theater stage, they were dwarfed by U2's stadium stage.
U2 says that their Popmart tour, in support of Pop was their most successful tour, in terms of message and art. The message was anti consumerism. In typical U2 fashion, they did it big, but I think they had bitten off more than they could chew. It seemed a little empty (especially in comparison to the overload of ZOO-TV), in that everything was so big, but there wasn't much there. The stage was huge. It featured a single yellow arch over most of the stage (with a bank of orange speakers hanging in the top of it), and a spire with an olive. There was a red backdrop behind the whole stage - no rigging showing, making a very clean set. For the opening act, part of the backdrop became a giant video screen. When U2 took the stage, the entire backdrop became the video screen. I was amazed.
At the beginning of the second half, a giant lemon drove out at the right side of the stage. Yes, a big yellow lemon, upright on a tripod, with tires. Then they pulled the yellow cover off, and it was covered in mirror. Then it split, and the top half raised up, revealing the band inside. It all seemed a little pointless.
Musicwise, it was nearly of Pop, with their usual greatest hits. I was pleasantly surprised to hear "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me". The most memorable moment was "Bullet the Blue Sky." There were huge spotlights arranged around the edge of the stadium floor. They were on pivots and would spin about wildly. for this song, the sky was lit up red, and these spotlights shone straight upward. It felt like they were the pillars holding the sky up.
( setlist )
