Postive Vibes New U2 Album Arrives

"People who can't stand U2's earnest, heal-the-world side may want to turn elsewhere right now. The word "love," unironic and high-minded, recurs all over "Songs of Experience," the band's long-gestating sequel to its 2014 album, "Songs of Innocence." Where "Songs of Innocence" was full of youthful biographical specifics, both euphoric and grim, from the group's lead singer and main lyricist, Bono, "Songs of Experience" has an adult's broader, more general perspective. It favors lessons and archetypes, not stories…"
Jon Pareles, NEW YORK TIMES, 'U2 Releases 'Songs of Experience. Cynicism Not Included.'

"Songs of Experience will likely go down as a late-career classic. Unlike its predecessors, it carries some memorable, stadium-ready tunes, initially signposted by You're The Best Thing About me - their best comeback single since 2000's Beautiful Day…. U2 have dug deep, yet they remain both postmodern and unpredictable. Able to assume many sounds and voices; to invoke their early-80's innocence but also none-more-experienced, masters of every inch of their game…. from here, U2 can rebuild with confidence."
Andrew Perry, Q MAGAZINE, Bringing It All Back Home ****

"Textbook anthem Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way… is plainly a parent-to-child letter of reassurance; an important unburdening for someone recently spooked, and another key component in U2's strongest album this century."
James McNair, MOJO, 'The Letters of Paul' ****
 
 "As the title makes plain, Songs of Experience is not the work of young men. It showcases U2 at their most mature and assured, playing songs of passion and purpose, shot through and enlivened with a piercing bolt of desperation. "The Showman gives you front row to his heart / Making a spectacle of falling apart," Bono sings with defiant humor on The Showman, and it is this spectacle that makes Experience so compelling. A little battered by time and bloodied by events, U2 remain defiantly unbowed, as determined as ever to make mass market music that really matters."
Neil McCormick, DAILY TELEGRAPH, 'U2's Songs of Experience is full of desperation and meaty hooks in equal measure' ****

"Behind those tinted shades…there is still a superb blue-eyed soul singer. And next to him, The Edge is several guitarists in one: if he's not murmuring in your ear, he's roaring like Jimmy Page or taking a step back to join Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton, the most resolute of rhythm sections. After 41 years, U2's secret is their unity, just about the greatest strength a band can have. They're like an old friend now - you take them warts and all, you ride out their midlife crisis, and after spending time with them, you feel uplifted."
Tim De Lisle, MAIL ON SUNDAY, Album of the Week, '…the melodic, punchy tunes soon get under your skin.' ****

"Like its 2014 predecessor, U2's "Songs of Experience" is the product of a difficult and drawn-out recording process. Much more so than "Songs of Innocence," however, U2 has made an exciting, stage-ready album that doesn't blush or blink in its use of the band's signature sounds — The Edge's chiming guitar, Adam Clayton's trebly, adhesive bass, Larry Mullen Jr.'s sharp and responsive drums and Bono's heart-on-his-vocal-cords singing…"
Pablo Gordini, ASSOCIATED PRESS, 'U2's 'Songs of Experience' is a thrilling listen'
  
"...The penultimate track is 'Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way' another multi-layered beauty of a ballad. Sounds like a choir doing harmonies to Bono's soaring vocals and yet another strong grower.  This is truly a cracker of an album on first, second and third listens. Living with it for an extended spell will determine whether it hits the heights of a Joshua Tree, an Achtung Baby or the cruelly underrated Pop."
Eric Lalor, JOE.ie, 'Songs of Experience by U2 ranks alongside the band's greatest work.'

Published / U2.com/ Press Clips/

Open Letter to U2, U2 Management, and Live Nation

New York, New York

Open Letter to U2, U2 Management, and Live Nation:

U2 fans around the world have been expressing their concerns over the ticket process and the fan site membership for years. This year, however, is a bit different.  U2 fans that have a membership forced to renew membership ahead of the expiration date to gain access to Ticketmaster Verified process.

The process was designed to curb ticket sales to ticket brokers. However, this was a failure. Fans expressed their concerns; social media sites saw an increase in feedback and comments. U2 fan sites all jumped on board in a collective message to voice concerns.  I have always looked at issues as an opportunity to provide insight and a suggested solution.  Having been around the block a couple of times, I do have some suggestions and comments.

1st Ticket brokers: It's a love-hate relationship. Yes, I said love-hate.  Fans hate the idea that their favorite band is solid out technically ( brokers have the tickets) However the first place fans go when they can't get a ticket is to the secondary market.   Now, management does not care how the ticket gets sold. Remember the broker has to buy the ticket.  So how could we solve for this?

Try this out:  Brokers get to submit to the system that they are brokers and interested in buying up all the unsold tickets after ten days of 1st sale announcement. Giving fans ten days to get their tickets.  All members would get an automatic warning notice that ticket sales broker window is about to open. 

Partnership ticket sales cannot start at the same time as U2 membership sales start. Yes, I understand that this may be a challenge because of sponsorship relationships. However, maybe the sponsor gets allocated some memberships to give out to their credit card holders, and thus they become members.

Ticket allocation, it seems that the allowances may need to be adjusted to take into account of the U2 membership pool. Adjustments can be made almost daily in between membership purchases. Pruning the ticket pool would allow for U2 memberships to get early and also enable TM to maximise the sale of tickets.

Data is available to see what members buy so you can not tell me you don't know the difference between a four-ticket purchase every tour and a 50 ticket purchase. You know, Maybe its time to hire some bright minds to go through your data and sort out the analytics

Membership:  1st in equals 1st out: If you have a purchased a membership that does not expire for a few months to buy tickets your automatically pushed into the first group; also your early renewal months will be added on to your new membership.

Better communication: Not saying you have to cuddle up to the fans however what I am saying is that we need a better string of communication.

By now all U2 fans around the world have expressed their displeasure and concerns. U2 has an opportunity to address this concern with a frank and open conversation.  Again because of the data you know your fans. Develop a fan board ( a small group that is representative of the more massive base)  that can be the voice of fans and work with management, the band, and bridge the gap that continues to grow.

Leadership is defined not by what you say its determined by what you do.  Now is an excellent opportunity to provide strong leadership and address the fans  

Heck, I don't have all the answers however I do know that if we work together, we can solve anything. This is what has always made U2 fans great.  The possibility!

Invite management to allow us to have an open conversation and see where we can be of help.

Experience Leave Fans Disappointed

New York City:  You can never please all your fans all of the time. However, U2 has done a stellar job of keeping their fans on board with their musical swings.

Not this time. U2 fans from around the world have been checking in with disappointment from "verify" ticket master process to the few singles released.  

It's too early to say if this album will sail or flop what we can say is that U2 fans have been expressing their feelings on many social media sites that have the balls to allow fans to express their thoughts, and not bow down to the label.  

U2 will release their new album "Songs of Experience" on December 1 and will embark on a worldwide tour in the new year.

But 7,000 lucky fans won't have to wait until 2018 to see them play live. The Dublin band have been announced to perform in London on Saturday evening.

Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton will receive the global icon award at the MTV Europe Music Awards.

To coincide with the prize, U2 will play in Trafalgar Square in London on Saturday evening for free.

SONGS OF EXPERIENCE

New York City:

New song, new album, new tour... and the launch of the Verified Fan initiative to keep tickets out of the hands of scalpers and bots. There’s a lot of breaking U2 news today - read on for the complete lowdown. #U2eiTour #U2SongsofExperience

Songs of Experience, the band’s hotly anticipated 14th studio album, will arrive on December 1st on CD, vinyl, digital download and across streaming platforms. Pre-order and see the complete standard and deluxe album tracklistings below.

In May the band are back out on the road, taking the new songs across North America on the eXPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE Tour. Here are the dates.

Today the band also revealed the artwork for Songs of Experience, shot by Dutch photographer, film director and longtime collaborator Anton Corbijn, of band-members' teenage children Eli Hewson and Sian Evans.

Recorded in Dublin, New York and Los Angeles, Songs of Experience was completed earlier this year with its subject matter influenced by Irish poet, novelist and Trinity College, Dublin Professor Emeritus Brendan Kennelly’s advice to Bono to 'write as if you’re dead'. The result is a collection of songs in the form of intimate letters to places and people close to the singer’s heart: family, friends, fans, himself.

Songs of Experience is the companion release to 2014’s Songs Of Innocence - the two titles drawing inspiration from a collection of poems, Songs of Innocence and Experience, by the 18th century English mystic and poet William Blake - and was produced by Jacknife Lee and Ryan Tedder, with Steve Lillywhite, Andy Barlow and Jolyon Thomas.

Pre-order Songs of Experience from today and receive three instant grat songs: the previously unreleased new song ‘Get Out of Your Own Way', first single ‘You’re the Best Thing About Me’ and the album version of 'The Blackout', previously released as a performance video in August. All three songs are available now to stream across all platforms.

Pre-order the deluxe version of the album and you also receive the Kygo remix of 'You're The Best Thing About Me'.

O Canada

Toronto Canada was greeting to a celebration with U2's 22 songs set list that included tributes to Leonard Cohen, 150th anniversary of Canada and Pride Toronto weekend. A change in lyrics with“Bullet The Blue Sky” ended with “They run into the arms of North America.” Instead, Bono celebrated Canada’s openness: “Oh Canada, when others build walls, you open doors! When others divide into tribes, you make a beautiful mosaic.”

Bono dedicated “One Tree Hill” to Leonard Cohen. Bono recollected being at Cohen’s 79th birthday party. He asked Cohen how he’d celebrate his 80th, and Cohen told Bono he’d like to have one cigarette. Earlier in the set, Bono sang Cohen’s “Suzanne” during “Bad,” ending with a flurry of “Hallelujah’s.”

Setlist:

1.     Sunday Bloody Sunday
2.     New Year's Day
3.     Bad / Suzanne (snippet) / Hallelujah (snippet)
4.     Pride (In The Name Of Love)
5.     Where The Streets Have No Name
6.     I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
7.     With Or Without You
8.     Bullet The Blue Sky / Black Dog (snippet) / America (West Side Story) (snippet)
9.     Running To Stand Still
10.     Red Hill Mining Town
11.     In God's Country
12.     Trip Through Your Wires
13.     One Tree Hill
14.     Exit / Wise Blood (snippet) / Eeny Meeny Miny Moe (snippet)
15.     Mothers Of The Disappeared

    Encore(s):

1.     Miss Sarajevo
2.     Beautiful Day / O Canada (snippet)
3.     Elevation
4.     Vertigo / It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It) (snippet)
5.     Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
6.     One / Hear Us Coming (snippet)
7.     I Will Follow

*Snippets provided by U2gigs

U2 Summer Night In Tampa

Howling the women and children
Who run into the arms
Of America.  

U2 rolled into Tampa has one of the hottest summer concert tickets, and then the sky darkened as to say hold on mother nature has a few words for you.  A rainbow appeared over the stadium as to say tonight will be magical, spiritual and will take you back to that place in time.  Many wondered why dust off Joshua Tree for a tour; was it because of the new album still in the works and not ready for release, was it to stay relevant as core U2 fans had heard many times before. Or was it simply the perfect time to remind us to take care of each other? 

The night opened the center stage with "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and ended with "Vertigo"  The set list was a roller coaster of visuals and emotions that had fans dancing and with a flip of a switch standing still and staring at the screen filled with images of women, children, hope, and possibility. "Red Hill Mining Town" featured the Salvation Army Band in perfect timing with the performance. Bono had a few words for the politics of America as well as praise. "Thank you for giving us safety for many many many years - this was a promised land for the Irish for years." - Bono  

U2 Welcome to Our House

TAMPA, Fla. As U2 fans from around the world continue to converge on Tampa Bay, one thing is for sure. Tampa knows how to handle the big shows. U2 has performed in Tampa before, a few times in fact, nor is this Tampa's first time handling major events.

Most of the core U2 fans that have attended other shows have experiences about the entry process to the entire GA Golden Book to know how to get up close and personal with their favorite band member. In 2009 U2 packed more than 70,000 dedicated fans into the new Tampa stadium at the time making it the largest concert event ever.

So what can you expect? Well, security will be tight, very tight. Fans leave your selfie stick, and pretty much everything else at home.  Bring that credit card you used to buy your ticket and be sure that all of your group is together.  Smile, enjoy the process because if you do not enjoy the process; well the rest of the evening will SUCK. Yea we said SUCK. It could rain, and yes the band will perform.  They have experience in the rain.

What else do you need to know?

Use only a clear bag. No large bags, umbrellas. Remember we have told you this on every North American stadium show. Its an NFL rule not the venue, not the promoter or the band. If don't bring it to a game don't bring it to this concert.

Pay attention to drop off points for ride sharing in this town professional car services have the prime spots which mean you can expect to see tons of town cars, limos, party buses and your's looks like ours so pay attention.

One thing we can for sure tell you. Your about to have the experience of a lifetime. U2 has perfected the stadium show. Just relax and enjoy it.

For us this is bittersweet, this is home for our owner and his family, and while he and his wife will be attending the show, he is fully expecting our team to be even more on point. So wait to see some live video on social media and heck he might even throw a few shout outs back to us. ( one can hope )

Millennials dont give a shit about U2

Zach Schlein who writes for Miami New times just slammed the mic on the ground when it comes to U2.  All of the concerns of U2's relevance made abundantly clear from this writer perspective.

U2 has been working on their new album for some time, and yes we have all heard about the band's desire to be relevant. Zach provides a clear picture of millennial wants and music tastes. Zach writes" They love avocados and the dog Snapchat filter. They reject the concept of napkins and are reluctant to buy homes, possibly because their budgets are only big enough to account for avocados. They love sharing about politics on social media, whether it be expressing their profound distaste for the commander-in-chief or posting poorly drawn frogs."  The article goes on and on about the errors of the band in the view of today's music fans.  Questions how much longer must this go on.  Most dedicated U2 fans are well over 40 and pretty much consider millennial pikers or punters when it comes to musical understanding Zach does have some insights to what millennial music fans want today.  Now it takes balls to put it out on the table for all to read. For that, sure makes for an interesting article. Save the hate comments and bashing this is not the first writer to throw some shade at the boys from Dublin and frankly, Zach is not the last.  You can read all Zach's comments on Miami New Times