Last Night in Mexico

U2′s third and final Vertigo tour date in Mexico last night was filmed but will not be broadcasted like the rest of the Latin shows. The shows in Brazil, Chile, and Argentina will be aired on national television.

Last night’s audience was really loud and participative, again bringing thousands of balloons to delight the band. Bono sported a new jacket, similar to the one he wore during the Elevation tour with the American flag lining, but with the Mexican flag instead. The band offered a great performance, but Bono did not speak to the audience as much as the night before. He chose to dance with the same girl for both “Mysterious Ways” and “With or Without You.”

During “Beautiful Day,” Bono changed the lyrics to:

See the world in red and green
Mexico City in a waking dream
From Guadalajara to Monterrey,
Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco Bay
A new world is in motion

An after-show party was organized for the band, but they did not attend. Immediately after the show, U2 retired to their hotel.

Setlist:

City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
Elevation
Until the End of the World
New Year’s Day
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
Beautiful Day / Cielito Lindo
Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of (semi-acoustic)
Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own
Love and Peace or Else
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet the Blue Sky / Johnny Comes Marching Home / The Hands That Built America
Miss Sarajevo
Pride
Where the Streets Have No Name
One
Zoo Station
The Fly
Mysterious Ways
With or Without You
Fast Cars
Original of the Species
40

Toronto 4: The week ends with disco balls

Gee, we don’t know what more to say about Toronto 4 than what our editor-in-chief had to say. Yes, U2 played “Discotheque.” (Audio/video to come soon now available.) We think we liked Willie’s light show for the song more than we liked the musical performance. (Oops, did we say that aloud?) Pretty, colorful disco balls displayed across the curtain lights as Bono sang a snippet of Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s “Relax.” Très eighties!

Once again, Daniel Lanois performed “One” with U2 for their final Vertigo show in Toronto. We suspect that the band might like him or something.

Later in the show, Bono proved our suspicions about Lanois correct by giving special thanks to the Canadian producer for his musical guidance through the years.

Hmm, what else is there to say about Toronto 4? U2 brought an American on stage: Mr. Eddie Vedder from a lil band called Pearl Jam to sing “Old Man River.” (See video link below.)

It would have been more entertaining to hear Vedder add his vocals to a U2 song, but we won’t complain.

- Eddie Vedder – Old Man River
- Discotheque – part 1
- Discotheque – part 2
Postage stamp sized video, audio ok

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U2 treat Toronto to a Pop-selection

Boom. Cha. While we await full reports from our troops on the ground, we’re going to tease you with this short and simple statement: They played Discotheque!

Set: City of Blinding Lights / Vertigo / Elevation / Electric Co. / The Ocean / Beautiful Day / Miracle Drug / Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own / Love and Peace or Else / Sunday Bloody Sunday / Bullet the Blue Sky / Miss Sarajevo / Pride / Where the Streets Have No Name / One / Discotheque / The Fly / With or Without You / All Because of You / Fast Cars / Yahweh / 40

Daniel Lanois plays guitar on One, Eddie Vedder joins them near the end for a few bars of Ol’ man river. The ‘Pop Muzik’ intro starts the encore and the screen shows PopMart imagery.

2 Down, 2 To Go in T.O.

The belly dancer makes a return in Toronto as does Daniel Lanois’ joining in on ‘Bad’ – not sure what the connection is there. The ‘new’ songs (Fast Cars, In a Little While) that were played at the first Toronto concert are dropped and it looks like a return to the standard Vertigo setlist.

Will U2 be in an experimental mood for the 3rd concert – or wait until the 4th show to relax and let loose?

Thanks to flickr user andreakw for the photo

• Slideshow at Universal Music Canada’s web site

Lights, camera, third leg!

“If we fuck up, just blame Larry. He doesn’t show up for rehearsals…No one’s heard this one. Well, maybe three people.”
–Bono, introducing “Fast Cars”

U2 gave fans a treat at the opening of third leg of the Vertigo tour in Toronto by performing a swanky, hip-swaying rendition of “Fast Cars,” a song they have never performed lived. The Toronto audience also received another Vertigo tour first with the addition of “In a Little While,” which has not been heard since the Elevation tour in 2001. After muddling through the song, Bono apologetically explained, “We haven’t played this one in…[laughs] a little while.” Also new to the tour was “Old Man River” tagged to “One.” (Promo Bono would call it an extended snippet.)

“We normally start in Toronto and move west. We moved up to Toronto,” said Bono, who asked the audience not to forget about rock ‘n roll while the city endures the international film festival and its many celebs.

In the audience were U2 producer Daniel Lanois; actors Cuba Gooding Jr., Orlando Bloom, and Kate Blanchett; film makers Neil Jordan and Atom Egoyan; Barenaked Ladies’ singer Stephen Page; media personality George Stroumboulopoulos; and Canadian singer and activist Chantal Kreviazuk.

(Photos: U2log.com)

• Globe and Mail review
• Photos at umusic.ca
• Toronto Sun review