U2's London #3 setlist, 29/10
Today U2 performed their third show of six in London. This is the first time the band have performed more than two shows in London on a single tour since their run of four shows in August 2001 on the Elevation Tour's second leg.
Reports from the soundcheck indicate that U2 have rehearsed New Year's Day, so far only played once this tour, and Gloria. This was a harbinger of some - but not all - surprises to come.
Early in the set, Gloria made it out of soundcheck and returned to the stage after missing six shows. This is the first time Gloria has been performed anywhere in England since 3 August 1987 in Birmingham, over 28 years ago. Its most recent performance in the British capital was a couple of months before that Birmingham show on 13 June 1987.
New Year's Day also made it out of the soundcheck to register its second performance of the tour. This means it missed eleven shows, for an absence of one month and one day. It was preceded on the E stage by Elevation, which returned after a much shorter absence of one show.
The biggest surprises, however, were kept for the encore. Bad returned to the set after missing two shows, marking only its sixth performance of the European leg. This is the first time this tour it has been played on the third night in a city; it was normally done on second nights in North America and on fourth nights in Europe, though has made occasional appearances on the first night and once on a fifth night. Tonight ended with Bono leading the crowd in singing a snippet of Patti Smith's Gloria - he sang the portion of Patti Smith's song that lifts from Van Morrison's song of the same name, and the manner in which he sung it (as Patti came on stage) indicates he was referencing her version rather than Van's.
The snippet was a harbinger of how the show would close: Patti Smith joined the band to cover her song People Have The Power. This song has been pre-show music at almost every show this tour and Bono has snippeted it 23 times in the past, but this is the first time U2 have performed it in full. Patti last performed with U2 for the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame's 25th anniversary concert on 30 October 2009 to cover Because The Night with the band and Bruce Springsteen. She has also previously joined U2 on stage at full tour concerts - on 21 and 22 November 2005 (after playing her own support set) she participated in covers of Instant Karma, with the second night ending in confusion. There was no such confusion tonight, with the band and Patti giving a tight and energetic performance.
There was one final change - the outro music. For most of the tour, Same Love by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis has been played over the PA after the band leave stage, but tonight it was something else: Waterloo Sunset by The Kinks.
The full setlist was:
- The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)
- Gloria / Van Morrison's Gloria (snippet)
- Vertigo
- I Will Follow
- Iris (Hold Me Close)
- Cedarwood Road
- Song For Someone
- Sunday Bloody Sunday
- Raised By Wolves / Psalm 23 (snippet)
- Until the End of the World / Love and Peace or Else (snippet) / Words (snippet) (Intermission - The Fly)
- Invisible
- Even Better Than The Real Thing Fish Out of Water Mix
- Mysterious Ways / Burning Down The House (snippet)
- Elevation
- New Year's Day
- Every Breaking Wave
- October
- Bullet the Blue Sky / Ode To Joy (snippet) / 19 (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) / Bad / Get on Your Boots (snippet) / Van Morrison's Gloria (snippet)
- People Have The Power (with Patti Smith)
encore(s):
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