Boston In the Review Mirror, New York City Lights Ahead

Boston:   Boston Strong was the theme of U2's four night appearance. Bono and the boys had not performed consecutive shows since Elevation Tour June 2001.  The band and fans have a great love affair going on for sometime.

Daily sound checks offer possible mix ups in the set list. A bar offered a U2 experience that finally U2's twitter feed had to set the record straight. Kind of reminds us to be young NOT dumb.

One of the interesting things on the tour has been @u2bike which not many have picked up on. A member of the crew has been out around each city taking some wonderful images of the city as well as the venue. 

Social media was a buzz "I heard the Fly" " Was that the Fly" mixed in with Invisible. The Fly has not made an arrival this tour. We have go all the way back to May when we heard an acoustic version. During last nights intermission video "The Wanderer" was replaced with a video mixed by Gavin Friday and over the PA was The Fly.  ( Yea we heard that Gavin was in the house) A visual awakening with messages flashing from ZooTV.  "Gloria" made her appearance early in the evening.

Boston Strong! "No bomb can break you" U2 may have physically have left Boston however their message of uplifting hope will carry on until they return. Will they return ? Surely as the Summer turns to a Boston Winter. 

Venue Boston TD Garden July 15, 2015

  1. The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)
  2. Gloria / Van Morrison's Gloria (snippet)
  3. Vertigo
  4. I Will Follow
  5. Iris (Hold Me Close)
  6. Cedarwood Road
  7. Song For Someone
  8. Sunday Bloody Sunday / When Johnny Comes Marching Home (snippet)
  9. Raised By Wolves / Psalm 23 (snippet)
  10. Until The End Of The World / Love And Peace Or Else (snippet)

(Intermission)

  1. Invisible
  2. Even Better Than The Real Thing
  3. Mysterious Ways / Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves (snippet)
  4. Volcano
  5. Stuck In A Moment
  6. Every Breaking Wave
  7. With Or Without You / Shine Like Stars (snippet)
  8. City Of Blinding Lights
  9. Bullet The Blue Sky / 19 (snippet)
  10. The Hands That Built America (snippet) / Pride (In The Name Of Love)

encore(s):

  1. Beautiful Day / Happy Birthday (snippet)
  2. Mother And Child Reunion (snippet) / Where The Streets Have No Name / California (There Is No End To Love) (snippet)
  3. One
  4. 40

 

** Snippet provided by U2Gigs

Who Rescued U2's 1st US 1# Song?

Bono and GavinAccording to guitarist The Edge, the band were struggling to complete ‘With Or Without You’ and had considered abandoning the 1987 track before Bono’s childhood friend arrived at the studio.

“We were making The Joshua Tree album and were having trouble with one of the songs,” The Edge told RTE documentary Ladies and Gentlemen, Gavin Friday. “It just wasn’t coming together. I’d just received a new guitar, the Infinite Guitar, so I was in the room playing with the guitar, oblivious to the fact that the others were in the other room listening to a raw blend of ‘With Or Without You’.

“I think they just had the bass and the drums up. Gavin and Bono could hear this guitar and Gavin said, ‘What’s that? That’s it!’”

With the addition of the understated guitar part, the song was chosen to be the album’s lead single and went on to top the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and reached number four in the UK charts.

In an interview for the Arts Lives documentary, Friday, real name Fionán Hanvey, said of his relationship with U2: “I’m a cross between their mother, their father, their schoolteacher, their midwife, their communicator.”