LIFE CHANGER!

[@alexbone98]

People forget how massive U2 were during this period. They were the biggest band in the world, by far. They were on the cutting edge of style and social commentary during a time in the world when everyone was consciously present. I know they get ripped now for being soft but from 1984-2005 they were the top of the pyramid.

[@ckrohm]

Just a pity of what they become.They were heros before they went commercial and before moved their tax parts to the Netherlands like Starbucks.

[@washerdryer3466]

@@ckrohm Their tax? You spend your time obsessing about the taxation mechanics of musicians? Ok dude. 🤣🤣

[@bminturn]

It's also about an IRA car bombing. U2 was brilliant at mixing the personal and political, even though they've taken a lot of shit for doing just that over the years.

[@chrisfairbarn9908]

They still are the biggest band in the world. See: Las Vegas residency. Watch the ticket prices.

[@robertbrenneman5367]

Amen.

[@brettc190]

Bono was playing the Mr. Macphisto charater. There were 2 parts of the shows. The second part they are in full uniform and Bono comes out as Mr. Macphisto.

[@raymondmassie4898]

Don’t forget his Fly persona as well. Zoo TV is the best concert ever staged in my opinion

[@pietersbart]

The Edge is at times underestimated for his guitar play usually because he is not a flashy fast solo screaming guitar kind of player. His strength is more creating amazing atmospheric sounds, however in this song his solo is incredible and it should convince any critic :-) You can feel the pain he felt in this solo coming from his divorce. Bono’s singing is always great of course!

[@MrJonnyblade]

It's amazing how the violent shredders are classed as amazing guitarists because of the showing off, but they're not actually playing anything they're just making a noise, filling in gaps. It's called shredding for a reason. It's also amazing how the greatest guitarists must be "Rock guitarists", there's probably a million classical learned guitarists around the world that are better than most rockstars, and they could play literally anything they wanted to, in any style.

[@gordieparenteau6555]

This is probably the darkest song on the entire record, and they saved it for last. It was written as The Edge was going through a really nasty divorce from his first wife. When Edge recorded the solo, he put everything he had into it, playing so hard that the strings snapped one by one as he played. That's the take that's on the album.

[@MesaTheoryKid42]

And then he married the dancer from Mysterious Ways in this concert

[@IAmKrow]

It's quite a dramatic, furious solo indeed.

[@JustSean413]

Epic just fffffin Epic from a time when U2 truly were on another level.

[@ПетрПетров-о9ь3ь]

One of the best guitar solos ever

[@davidmole8299]

Behind Prince yeah

[@ПетрПетров-о9ь3ь]

@@davidmole8299 , nope

[@zenithoclock1048]

I saw U2 three times on this tour, I don't normally see bands more than once on the same tour but it was so incredible and there was so much to take in I had to go again and again. Throughout the show Bono plays a number of different characters, the first one (that he uses for the first five tracks up and including Mysterious Ways, is a character called The Fly, who wears wrap-around glasses and dresses like Jim Morrison (an intentional choice on Bono's part). For the next section he reverted to himself which went up-to and included the acoustic section on Stage 2 (in among the audience). The next character was Military Man, a Vietnam War vet who has a serious drug problem, this character only lasted two songs, Bullet the Blue Sky and Running to Stand Still, then Bono reverts back to himself until the end of the main set. For the encores Bono has two characters, for the first three legs of the Tour this was Mirrorball Man, a vamped up showman in a silver mirrorball suit and cowboy hat. This character spoke with a southern US accent and was obsessed with money. For the 4th and 5th legs of the Tour Bono created a character called MacPhisto, named after Mephistopheles from the Faust legend (about a man who sold his soul to the Devil for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures), this is the character you see in this video, hence the makeup. MacPhisto spoke with a British upper class accent which you can hear momentarily throughout this track.

[@cletusbeauregard1972]

Those '90s U2 tours (ZOO TV/Zooropa 92-93 and Popmart 97-98) were the most insane spectacles ever mounted. Glad I got to see them both. Also, this concert video starts off the streak of concert videos where Bono gets hit with a drink thrown at him from the crowd. Sydney, Mexico City, Slane Castle in Dublin, and Chicago. I've never seen the 2001 Boston concert video, so I don't know if he got drenched in that one.

[@CordeauxG]

What makes the ZooTV Live in Sydney concert even more interesting is knowing the band was at complete breaking point by this stage. They'd been touring for two years and were exhausted, the concert was so expensive to take on tour it almost bankrupted them, two nights prior to this show Adam (the bass player) went on a bender and ended up in hospital, and the week prior in Adelaide Bono and The Edge got in a fight and threw punches. Despite all of this, the Sydney gig is one of the best shows of U2 ever recorded , they were on fire that night.

[@christianreynolds9252]

Mr. MacPhisto is one of Bono's alter-egos. MachPhisto, portrayed as the Devil, is a washed up rock star, trying to give himself a dignified end in Vegas. He is The Fly, after the evil of The Fly (his megalomania, self obsession, lust for power) has turned into a want of money and legacy.

[@MicroRhin0]

I went to the Zoo TV tour on Houston. If I remember correctly, he came out first as “The Fly”. An amalgamation of Jim Morrison, Elvis Presley, and Lou Reed.

[@Balfour.]

MacPhisto was a character introduced on the European leg of ZooTV. In America, Bono played a sort of televangelist conman during this segment of the show.

[@pwph8361]

The bass on this track used to vibrate my car windows so much i couldn't see where i was driving 😁. Top 5 concerts I ever saw, for sure.... maybe in the top 3 😁💖🎵🎶

[@raymondmassie4898]

Top 1 of all time for me

[@ELUSIVEJIM]

MacPhisto is a stage character created by Bono for the Zoo TV tour as it wound through Europe in 1993. The name refers to Mephisto (sometimes written as Mephistopheles), a demon in German literature, who works for Lucifer. On every tour date when Love Is Blindness was played a member of the public would be chosen to slow dance with Bono. Normally three songs would be played when the band changed into these outfits. Lemon is another track played at the end but only the last few dates of the tour. Worth a listen live.

[@melissaheneghan5939]

So happy your reacting to this! The gold suit & make up makes sense if you roll back through the gig .It’s Bonos alter ego Mr Macphisto including devil horns.He usually makes a phone call from stage whether it’s calling the president of the USA or a taxi or pizza,fun to watch! Check out Lemon from the same concert 😉😈

[@Music-world-20986]

Fan fact: The Edge broke few guitar strings while recording the final guitar solo for this SONG

[@YobboBear]

I was in front row of that concert. I went to school with that girl. She was just pulled up from the crowd. Bono let her drink some of his wine, however she was underage at the time and the footage was cut from the video. Hi J!

[@trr9230]

Was the show as good as the vhs/dvd suggest?

[@MrJonnyblade]

Bono plays a character called Mr MacPhistoe, a failed Rock Star who sold his soul to the devil. He mocked the media regarding his Golden Suit and boots. He said "I know you like your rock stars to be glamourous, so I bought these" lifting his feet up to show his boots, A very funny swipe at modern music that is more interested in how a performer looks than whether they can perform or not.

[@isadorealire5722]

To me (being 23 when the ZooTV was touring the planet) U2 changed the landscape for live shows. Other bands looked at the show and shook their heads wondering what do we do if we try and keep up with that. Also, the band paid for the whole thing themselves. No sponsor monies involved.

[@raymondmassie4898]

Total game changer

[@manuellopezmatas9083]

You've got to listen Stay, Faraway So Close!, it's my favourite U2 song and in The Zoo TV Tour sounds increíble.

[@markjames194]

We were in the crowd that night. And the girl from the crowd, my friend met her in a pub just after. She was stoked.

[@trr9230]

How was it? I've been playing the vhs and dvd over and over since I discovered the band in 1994(a year too late to see ZooTV🤬). Without ever having seen it live, it's my favorite tour ever.

[@franciscogarrido870]

To me one of the greatest songs ever made, both my brothers were at this concert. I was only 7 I couldn’t go. 30 years on I still have this video on repeat

[@indie1179]

This period of U2 performance style was to counter the grunge era - instead of being minimal, they went overboard deliberately, as much of their early work & touring was by necessity essentially basic. At the last concert of the Joshua Tree tour (see the film documentary Rattle & Hum), Bono told the crowd that the band needed to ‘dream it all up again’. They’ve never sought to be stagnant. The Zoo TV tour was massive in production scope, & they didn’t have the capacity to have a lead-in band to warm up the crowd (The Edge would often do it solo). Bono knew that the onus would be on him in many regards to carry the show, so he developed a character, Mr McPhisto (gold coat, face paint) where he could incorporate some performance art. The rest of the band (at least for the 2nd part - they were really long concerts!) wore the uniform that you saw on the Edge in blue. The concert style was so unique & in contrast to the norm of the period. You should watch Mr McPhisto’s speech & then the performance of ‘Lemon’ if you want to get a true insight into the concert.

[@TheFly212]

Yeah, bono used to get chicks from the crowd and dance with them and hold them. During this song, With or Without You, Desire. It's just Bono things. Well, young Bono. He's much more reserved now.

[@thoso1973]

One of the finest live performances ever (the whole concert). Their Zoo Station tour was my first U2 gig. Btw if you want to watch an incredible song and video, you really need to check out Heilung's Anoana from their new album. You've reacted to the band before, but this one is probably Heilung at their absolute peak.

[@pauldavies2178]

I missed this tour but had the concert on VHS and watched it over and over. I was around 15 or 16 at the time and absolutely wished I had been able to see it live. Still goes down as one of the greatest live performances for me. It really did have everything.

[@thoso1973]

@@pauldavies2178 Yeah I was completely mesmerized by the concert playing out like one long narrative; like a concept album. I saw them a second tim in 2005 in Copenhagen, where they just happened to include songs from Achtung Baby and Zooropa; the exact same songs they played in Gentofte 12 years prior. Total deja-vu experience.

[@janetbuick9644]

Hi Guys! Just letting you know how much I love watching your videos. ESPECIALLY; the INXS and U2 reactions. (My favourite Bands of ALL TIME) .. AND you are SUPER funny and make me laugh when I watch your videos.

[@danreed5171]

Tons more of U2.................... so glad ur doing the greatest band EVER.. TRY 'Magnificent'

[@zootube75]

I was at the Melbourne Zoo TV show, and it forever changed my life, great reaction video guys!

[@bminturn]

"In a parked car, in a crowded street / You see your love made complete" and "A little death without mourning / No call and no warning" are references to a Provisional IRA car bombing of a pub. The IRA would normally call in a warning before setting off a bomb, but they didn't do it this time. So it's a song about terrorism and a bad relationship - all in one. The song is pretty deep. And dark.

[@Music-world-20986]

10:09 I love her smile. Soooooooo cute

[@joealtamuro]

Notice that besides the costume as MacPhisto, Bono is actually singing differently in character with a different accent.

[@anthonymotta8264]

You have to react to U2 Until the End of the World its alot more of a heavier rock song and it has an epic guitar solo as well

[@caroleugis5155]

Last time I saw that suit was at Graceland in the Influence display in 2013

[@SaiAbitathaDUCIC]

Correction : This was NOT the final song of the concert.

[@andyau307]

That wasn't the final song. "I can't help falling in love" was the final song.

[@indie1179]

I’m pretty sure they ended this performance with a rendition of Elvis’ ‘I can’t help falling in love with you’. Could be wrong, but I recall Bono after leaving the stage after a while saying ‘Elvis has left the building’.

[@WanderingCanadian1]

Big U2 fan here. Forgot how epic the guitar work is on this tune, don't put this one on that much. Not sure why, but that's going to change now!

[@danreed5171]

BONO brings out a chick or 2 EVERYSHOW

[@justincredible.]

Bono does this very often, just take a girl from the crowd.

[@arthernandez7719]

I believe this is his daughter(?)

[@Balfour.]

@@arthernandez7719 this show is from 1993, Bono's children were still kids.

[@justincredible.]

@@arthernandez7719 Nope, just a girl form the crowd

[@pjericson68]

Now you know where Coldplay got there sound.

[@justincredible.]

Bono is MacPhisto there, he already took off the horns before this.

[@indie1179]

It’s someone from the crowd - not uncommon. Also not uncommon would be the Edge or Bono pulling random musicians from the crowd to play with them or perform. Once they pulled an entire girl band from the crowd & let them take their instruments & perform one of U2’s early songs while the entire band sat & listened (Edge & Larry & Adam sometimes getting up to help the girls if they were struggling with the instruments. Plenty of videos online)

[@davidmole8299]

So book was saved by the band and the edge was comforted by bono

[@davidmole8299]

Bono..not book..apologies

[@fyahnation3277]

Hall of fame

[@chrisfairbarn9908]

"it's all down here from here y'all."

[@tonyperez3920]

Dolly is such a sweetheart. Don't care for this song. When you look up U2 in the dictionary the definition is "full of themselves"

[@robbiecarroll5491]

Another try hard get on board the U2 haters,. Mate get back to listening to one direction it's more your taste since you have zero. Don't worry responding I don't think you could muster a comeback

[@XENONEOMORPH1979]

U2 is the most overrated band in the 21 century.

[@AustinCDennis]

You're entitles to your shite opinion.

[@XENONEOMORPH1979]

@@AustinCDennis thank you and so are your ears for listening to the band what a great mutual understanding, I am sure you would not like the music i listen too so enjoy it what they should have done by contract was to play music to their talents and not what the industry wants you to play.

[@AustinCDennis]

@@XENONEOMORPH1979 what?

[@MrJonnyblade]

@@XENONEOMORPH1979 Maybe they just enjoy the experimentation, They could have sat on their laurels and just took Sunday Bloody Sunday, Where the Streets Have No Name and News Years Day etc around the world, but thankfully they are always willing to try something different, like true artists do. And considering they own a sizeable portion of Island Records who they are contracted to, I doubt anybody tells them what to do I find it quite ridiculous that some people say "U2 Sold Out". Who to exactly, they are least known "Massive" band ever. No TV Commercials, No Reality TV Shows displaying their entire family for the media, no X factor style shite. I also don't understand "Only playing what the industry wants you to play" As opposed to todays stars, who arrive in a studio and are told "Here's a music box, here's some words, sing them. And then we'll fuck about with it until it sounds okay"

[@SaiAbitathaDUCIC]

Not really. They have made some great songs even in the recent years.

[@bornflippy1]

MacPhisto alter ego for Bono.