U2's Turin #1 setlist, 04/09
After a few days of rehearsals, U2 began the second leg of the Innocence + Experience Tour today in Turin, Italy. This is the first full tour arena show U2 have played in Europe since 28 August 2001, Glasgow, a whopping fourteen years and seven days ago.
U2Start have reported the content of the band's rehearsals for the last couple of days. Yesterday they only did a brief rehearsal, running through October, Bullet The Blue Sky with Zooropa outro, Pride, and Where The Streets Have No Name. Today had a lengthier run-through before showtime. The band played Where The Streets Have No Name, Elevation, Bullet The Blue Sky with Zooropa outro, One, The Crystal Ballroom, and The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone).
At tonight's show, the biggest change to the order from the North American set occurred late in the main set. Bullet The Blue Sky led into a tour debut, a reworked version of Zooropa to address the current refugee crisis in Europe. It was a spare version with Bono singing over backing synths and Edge's guitar. Bono began with the "and I have no compass" lyrics, ran all the way through to "dream out loud", and then some of the samples from the intro of the studio version were played as Bono yelled "what do you want?" before seguing into Where The Streets Have No Name, itself relocated from the encore to the main set. We are counting this as a full performance of Zooropa as it was as long or longer than the 1993 live versions and featured much of the song's lyrics, unlike the first leg snippet of Hands in the same position that was much shorter and featured only one actual line from the song.
The theme of the current refugee crisis in Europe permeated the later stages of the show. Zooropa referenced it directly, with Bono urging Europe to show mercy and have an open heart. During Pride, he modified one line to "a boy washed up on an empty beach" in reference to the heartwrenching pictures of deceased toddler Alan Kurdi. During the encore before One he told the crowd that "I don't know the answer to the refugee crisis ... but we must work together to find an answer". That speech led into Mother And Child Reunion, which was now used as a lead-in to One rather than Streets.
A number of songs tonight made their first ever appearances in Europe or were played for the first time in Europe after lengthy absences. Iris and Raised By Wolves were performed in Europe for the first time. Zooropa has never before been played in continental Europe; it was played three times in the United Kingdom in August 1993, the last of which being on 12 August 1993. October was played for just the third time this tour; it had not been played anywhere in Europe since 8 August 1987. Even Better Than The Real Thing made its first appearance at a regular European gig since 26 September 1997; its only subsequent performances anywhere in Europe were at a promotional club gig in Paris on 19 October 2000 and then at Glastonbury on 24 June 2011.
Apart from the addition of Zooropa, every song played tonight featured on the North American leg. All songs were played at the final show on 31 July except for The Electric Co. and Elevation, which were last played on 30 July, and October, last played on 19 July.
The full setlist was:
- The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)
- The Electric Co. / Send in the Clowns (snippet) / I Can See For Miles (snippet) / Two Hearts Beat as One (snippet)
- Vertigo / God Save The Queen (Sex Pistols) (snippet)
- I Will Follow
- Iris (Hold Me Close)
- Cedarwood Road
- Song For Someone
- Sunday Bloody Sunday / When Johnny Comes Marching Home (snippet)
- Raised By Wolves / Psalm 23 (snippet)
- Until the End of the World / Words (snippet) (Intermission - The Fly)
- Invisible
- Even Better Than The Real Thing Fish Out of Water Mix
- Mysterious Ways
- Elevation
- Ordinary Love
- Every Breaking Wave
- October
- Bullet the Blue Sky / Ode To Joy (snippet)
- Zooropa
- Where the Streets Have No Name / California (There Is No End To Love) (snippet)
- Pride (In the Name of Love)
- With or Without You
- City of Blinding Lights
- Beautiful Day / I Remember You (snippet)
- Mother And Child Reunion (snippet) / One / Invisible (snippet)
encore(s):
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