U2 Can PERFORM! | Lyrical ANALYSIS of "Love Is Blindness (Live ZooTV)"

[@ELUSIVEJIM]

Stunning Album and stunning tour. Big Tv screen’s at a concert was either never done before or very small. When the show started in 1992 it was like something completely out of the future. Had not seen or heard anything like it before. The Joshua Tree tour in the late 80’s was amazing but this was futuristic. Each song was unbelievable and Bono and the band were just perfect. IMO the best tour and songs ever. Love is Blindness was unbelievable at the end. Girls were sobbing and crying. It was a complete emotional journey. U2 are amazing. U2 live back then were a different level.

[@publicaccount1589]

Jimmy Page called Edge a 'sonic architect' which I think describes him perfectly.

[@lauraallen55]

That's very high praise coming from Jimmy Page indeed. Yes, sonic architect or sonic soundscapes, or as I've always thought of Edge as creating melodies with a guitar all fitting! In the beginning only Larry had any real experience with his instrument, but they all worked hard to learn and always strove to be better.

[@JamesKovacic]

Best live performance of this song. The Edge plays an extended solo not found on the original studio recording that gives it more darkness and intensity. Bono wrote the lyrics about Edge’s divorce and how it affected not only him but the whole band as they all grew up together as close friends

[@Corle0ne]

AFAIK the song connected to Edge's divorce was Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses (with potential connections to more events than that). Love is Blindness is mostly thought to cover the theme of fanaticism/extremism and terrorism. I hear it now, but late teenage me thought it was about unfaithfulness and the shame that comes with it.

[@lonkylaine]

Not really an extented solo actually. At the fade out on the album you can hear him continue the solo in the last 5 seconds and the take was simply cut out. He surely already played in the studio what he's playing live.

[@JamesKovacic]

@@lonkylaine The first solo that he plays wasn’t on the record

[@bodies2magenta]

U2's *Love is Blindness* is easily one of the best, beautifully emotionally desperate songs ever created - by any musical act; just happened to be U2. 🙂

[@lauraallen55]

It really is a gorgeous song.

[@bodies2magenta]

@@lauraallen55 Undeniably, many a youthful breakups did I listen to this amazing track, not entirely realizing the monumental efforts in life and love as an adult - yet "Love is Blindness" remains embedded within my psyche to this very moment, and will stay there until the end of my life. That is perfectly fine with me, the nostalgia and general greatness of this song is a blessing, yet another permanent reminder of why U2 is one most groundbreaking bands in recent history. Thank you for your response, take care of yourself, have an awesome week!

[@lauraallen55]

@@bodies2magenta That is beautifully said. The song means a lot to me too and is one of my favorites by them (I have many but it's up there)! Thank you so much. I hope you have an awesome weeks too.

[@indie1179]

Love is Blindness was written by Edge as his 1st marriage was ending… he & his wife had been together since teenagers & had 3 daughters. Love is Blindness is by Elvis.

[@Balfour.]

Ending a gigantic, majestic, megalomaniac rock stadium show on a quiet, subdued note has always been one of my favorite U2 ruses throughout their career.

[@lauraallen55]

When I saw them for Elevation tour, they ended with Walk On, but just before that it was One with Hear Us Coming. It was amazing as you say how they end such grand productions.

[@JessY-ft6io]

Since you enjoyed hearing his falsetto, from the same concert watch them perform the song Lemon. The song is really different and catchy live from this concert.

[@lauraallen55]

I love Lemon. It's an interesting kind of song to be about his mom.

[@DesireeStamat]

Lemon is the best example of Bono's Falsetto head to his richer baritone chest blends...it's a good mix of it all. I love it!

[@Corle0ne]

I can also add that you will get a decent amount of Bono's amazing falsetto on Achtung Baby, Zooropa and Pop. Some songs like EBTTRT sees the use of falsetto towards the end ("take med higher...") on all the live shows spanning the 90s (it possibly continued into the early-to-mid 2000s, I just can't remember anymore). Contrary to popular belief, I think the Pop album and the Popmart tour is easily the best work they have ever put out!

[@melissaheneghan5939]

This is my favourite performance from this show. The girl is just a fan from the crowd lucky girl, she’ll never forget that. He always gets fans up on stage!

[@joealtamuro]

Bono created this character called MacPhisto for the European leg of the ZooTV tour. He does him with a different accent , more of an English accent, in which he speaks and sings as this character. MacPhisto is supposed to be The Fly (from beginning of show) when he’s fat and playing Vegas (speaking of which “Can’t Help Falling In Love” was a big song for Elvis in the early 60s from the movie “Blue Hawaii.” Love is Blindness is part of what I call the “trilogy “ at the end of Baby. Like you mentioned, the tempo slows with each song and the mood and tone get darker as the songs progress. You mentioned his Falsetto- Bono started using it for Achtung Baby and throughout the 90s. I think he stopped or used it less after that decade due to vocal issues he started having. If you want to hear Bono’s amazing range, listen to his live version of “Miss Sarajevo “ in Milan. This was after his Dad and Pavarotti had passed away. His voice was on another level even though you could hear some hoarseness.

[@ohfour-seven6228]

Thanks for mentioning The Edge, his guitar is always majestic. Love love love U2, they epitomize awesome.

[@u2freak1974]

Hey Anton 😊The girl on stage is a lucky fan 😊And the song Bono snipped in the end is "Can't Help Falling in Love" original by Elvis😊

[@jaquettajones]

STAY (Faraway So Close) is MUST U2 Reaction - Stunning Song with an Equally Stunning (official) Video

[@lauraallen55]

Great choice!

[@Chaosnegi12]

Imo it is the best U2 song.

[@lauraallen55]

@@Chaosnegi12 It's one of the best imo. I love most of their songs and like the rest, and have never been able to choose a favorite. I probably have about a dozen favorites, and usually depends on/changes with what I'm listening to lol

[@jaquettajones]

ONE TREE HILL comes a Close 2nd!

[@gordieparenteau6555]

When The Edge was recording the solo for the album, he played so hard that all the strings started snapping one by one. That is the take that's on that record. The Edge put everything he had into it.

[@lauraallen55]

He snapped all the strings from being in a mood about his divorce and had a kind of catharsis after - at least it's what I read.

[@SteveSandersonArt]

Can't help falling in love was a huge Elvis song.... I saw this tour in the UK, it was U2 at the height of their powers. It was breathtaking. I think these 2 songs were the end of a 2 hour plus concert...the encore so to speak. I seems to remember him walking off after can't help falling in love.... kind of a goodbye song. You can see the full concert here; kzbin.info/www/bejne/d6SUg2Nue9-Zoac

[@lauraallen55]

I am so jealous you saw ZooTV. I would kill to have lol! They did a lot of Achtung Baby songs on that tour, and in most cases, that version was the very best live version. I know this one, Lemon, Mysterious Ways, and so many more are so good. If I could choose for Anton to do one thing as far as listening to an album or watching a live performance is concerned it would be hands down to listen to AB album or ZooTV performance.

[@cosmicmatt8]

Thank you for posting this video, Anton! It's been decades since I've seen it! Further, this song along with the whole album is a masterpiece along with the videos attached and Berlin holds a special place where lots of said visual timecapsules were filmed!

[@lauraallen55]

I want to request all the Zoo / Achtung Baby songs 😍

[@MBeano]

This reaction / analysis is spot on! Everything you mentioned from theatricality, moodiness, transitions etc. Also hitting on thee multiple subject matter (band or love relationship) of the lyric. MUCH of Achtung Baby is about turmoil in relationships - love, band, GOD, etc. The band In particular is speaking of Intimate love and of the band at the time, as its main subject (while the meaning, mood and tone are all the same)

[@lauraallen55]

You really nailed it about what this song and the whole album is about. It's my favorite U2 album by far. AB had 5 singles and One is on it too along with this one, and so many. Gah! That album is moody and dark and turmoil and love and everything you said! Even the lyrics in Ultraviolet about the quiet in a house where no one can sleep, and in Acrobat: I must be an acrobat to act like this and talk like that. Them being on the brink of falling apart as a band really brought out the creativity which was already there but it put it on steriods.

[@thetoiletinspector6878]

If you reacted to the whole Zootv concert from Sydney, you'll be blown away from start to finish. If this came out today, I would be as amazed now as I was back then.

[@lauraallen55]

Everyone keeps suggesting he see the whole Sydney ZooTV show, and there's an excellent reason for that. I've seen it many times and never get tired of it. Not one singles moment of wanting to look away.

[@timaustin77x]

I was at the Sydney concert. I was just 15 or 16 years old and I camped out for two days. We got right in front of Bono. Such a great memory

[@thetoiletinspector6878]

@timaustin77x The first live U2 concert I went was Vertigo here in NZ. I camped outside the record shop from Friday night till Monday morning for tickets. I wish I had got to see Zootv, I was only 10 at the time and wasn't into music.

[@timsterrockstar]

Out of all the DVDS i had in the 90s this concert had the most plays. Even recorded it on cassete tape and played it in my car. Saw this tour concert in Madison Wisconsin live in 92 and is still one of my favorite tours by them.

[@jackjackson3769]

Love this performance 👏, amazing 👏 Bono loves his hugs.. It so emotional...very mysterious vibe

[@daniblues]

I sign under every word you said. U2 at their very prime (which was almost unbelievevable). The album and the tour of my life. Never gonna happen again.

[@grahammcfarlane1719]

Loved watching your reaction m8. You really need to watch the full concert. Absolutely stunning gig🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧

[@lauraallen55]

I'm glad I got this one in before I stopped requesting songs! Everyone keeps telling him to see the whole thing. Maybe he will :)

[@natmanprime4295]

"was that his wife? daughter?" lol god bless ya and your innocent b-ball cap

[@TopseyKretts]

..nah,thats not his daughter..its a random girl from out of the crowd..Bono has done this multipul times,and yes,thats Larry on drums,adam clayton on bass,the edge on guitar,hes welsh born ya know..and bono..great band!..thanks for posting Anton..love ya channel..

[@lauraallen55]

He was probably thinking of the song that I had at first requested which was Mysterious Ways when his 10 year old daughter was dancing on stage with him. That's an awesome one, but I just had to put up LIB instead.

[@melissaheneghan5939]

What I love about U2 is it’s just those 4 guys no extra session players creating the most incredible sound & the showmanship is second to none. My absolute favourite performance of theirs just incredible

[@JOELY79]

You've got to experience this whole concert I think it's amazing from start to finish

[@lauraallen55]

About 20 people have told him that just on this reaction lol! but, it's true. Maybe the most incredible visual + sound experience I've ever had, and that's just from the video. I can't even imagine having been to one of them. Cirque du Soleil is the only thing i can think of that comes even close as far as a really superb performance (of course that's acrobats but the attention to every detail and the skill and talent level are similar).

[@nellyweini8188]

The girl on stage wasn’t his daughter :) Bono pulled many fans on stage during concerts. They’re just so amazing live and their shows are breathtaking at each tour. They try to top it off at each tour and they’re also very involved in the setups, because they’re goal is that each member in the audience has the perfect sound experience. Bono is dressed up at Mister MacPhisto. You should look up the reason for this costume. At their last tour he came back as Mister MacPhisto. There is this live performance with Mister MacPhisto on the phone and after he sings Ultraviolet. I’m sure Laura can help you find the right video. It will show you how big of a showman Bono really is. He is just so amazing!

[@nellyweini8188]

Also there is a beautiful acapela version from only Edge singing and playing his guitar. Watch it just in private, it’s amazing. Edge has a gorgeous voice too

[@lauraallen55]

​@@nellyweini8188 I had the same exact thought you did - that he would love that version and actually sent it to him awhile back. Not sure if he caught it or not. He gets a lot of messages. Yes, Edge does have a beautiful voice, agreed! Maybe I'll resend it. 😃

[@lauraallen55]

I know that at the beginning of Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car he's being recorded in a dressing room looking at himself in the mirror while he sings, then it follows him out on stage to sing it. Then right after the song ends, he discusses Salman Rushdie for a minute and then mock calls Texas (calling George Bush Sr.?) for a taxi on a gold phone. This leads into Lemon. Is that the part you mean? He has the devil horns on at that point lol. Maybe in another city of the tour he sings Ultraviolet after, but for Sydney it's in between Crashed Car and Lemon. Can you imagine everything that went into him coming up with the character and all the banter he does in character? The banter and snippets of songs changes with the venue apparently. I found this: www.u2songs.com/news/the_return_of_an_old_friend_mr._macphisto after finding one of the vids here of the whole Sydney concert to confirm that bit happened where it did. I got so caught up in it I watched all of both songs and didn't want to stop lol. It's so compelling to watch. Being 100% sincere that I think Anton would love it if he watched the 2 hour show. I just remembered that Edge sings lead on part of Lemon too there. His voice is so beautiful. They do get very involved in the setups and do want each person to have the best experience possible. They've always been that way. In a very early show of theirs before they hit it big, they were playing somewhere and there were tables in between the stage and the audience. They asked for the tables to be removed and it was refused. They moved closer to the tables and even stood out on the tables to perform. lol!

[@nianfiedler5291]

He would try to call George Bush every night on the US tour 😂

[@lauraallen55]

@@nianfiedler5291 Bwahahaha! He's such a fascinating guy.

[@ronanmcmacken8070]

Didn't the Edge write this song? About his diviorce? His guitar is like the sound of pain. Amazing

[@raulvillasenor9360]

Is a magical and epic performance .....love U2

[@jens2049]

Since I discovered your channel I always manage to find my way back to your music reactions and they are one of my favourites on the platform. I actually feel a connection with you and I think that's all I want to get out of these videos.

[@maikluhan]

The best tour ever of the best band in their best moment. I was there in Madrid 1993. With The Ramones before the U2 Show. No words....

[@justincredible.]

heard this song a million times, still give me goosebumps and puts a tear in my eye.

[@AlisonRISD]

I had this (ZooTV live in Sydney) concert on VHS and watched quite a bit when I was a kid. The good ole days.

[@MBeano]

Based on your comments, you HAVE to listen to Achtung Baby and Joshua Tree albums in their entirety. The exact words you have used and overall approach and preference to transitions, setting the right tone flow and experience is part of what U2 is about. They are masters at this. Sometimes the transitions are jarring and sometimes they are fluid. They are always purposeful and with intent (although intent may sometimes come after happy accident). They are not only masters of this on albums, But in concert. You really should watch ZooTV Live from Sydney, from start to finish based on all your comments. "Bullet The Blue Sky" > "Running to Stand Still" > "Where The Streets Have No Name"... It is theatrical, immersive, but also bombastic and audacious. (I would add "Dirty Day" to the begging of that stretch as well) Another phenominal transition is from Sland Castle "All I Want Is You" > "Where The Streets Have No Name" kzbin.info/www/bejne/fGTIY5lql9-oo7s

[@nianfiedler5291]

Dirty day 🤤 Yes, this stretch is beyond any run of live songs they've done IMO

[@MBeano]

@@nianfiedler5291 Its a toss up for me... The Experience Tour was done so artfully and execution was excellent. The staging got to the point of perfection in terms of immersion.

[@MBeano]

the middle stretch was just soooooo good, and the show as a whole had such great fluidity pacing and storytelling

[@lauraallen55]

Trust me when I tell you I have been promoting him listening to AB for ages lol! I had to drive a distance yesterday and listened to it thinking about whether he would truly like it or not. He would love it I think. He loved the 3 he's hears so far: One, Mysterious Ways and this one. I think Until The End Of The World, Whose Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, The Fly wold be songs from it he would especially like. Maybe Ultraviolet too. There isn't a song to be skipped on there though! You're spot on that they're masters of transitions studio and live. I think some of their early producers really taught them some things. So coupled with their natural talents made for some incredible performances. Hard agree he should watch Zoo Sydney in its entirety. Especially based on some of his comments about the band and their playing and Bono's singing. He doesn't listen to punk (that I know of) and wasn't aware U2 were heavily influenced by punk but picked up recently on Larry's drum beat pattern being so like that used in a lot of punk.

[@lauraallen55]

@@nianfiedler5291 The only song Larry ever sang for them right?

[@ronyrontana9735]

If I remember correctly, this was the end of the show. It's the Zoo-tv live in Sydney. They release a dvd/tape (depends on the tour/yr) for every tour sense the original Joshua Tree tour.

[@aarongrooms3558]

Suggestion- set aside 2 hours some evening and watch U2 Zoo Tv live from Sydney from start to finish. You will not be disappointed.

[@philshapley]

Look at a performance of that track from their Sphere residency. It went to another level, and the visual effect in the sphere wrapped the night and nature around them

[@Corle0ne]

14:42 a great example of the transitions you're thinking of can be seen during the absolute peak of the Popmart show with the song Please leading into WTSHNN. It is absolutely chilling in the most beautiful of ways. I also feel like Love is Blindness and Please have a lot in common both in tonality and mood and they're both towards the end of their respective records.

[@Cornerboy73]

I always thought it was both bold yet also sensible for them to end the ZOO TV concerts like this. Those shows were ahead of their time and really heralded modern concert-going experiences. This was right before the Age of Information dawned; nobody had smartphones and very few people had computers. Most people were learning what 'the internet' and stuff like emails, etc were. Then along comes ZooTV with 30+ trucks worth of TV studio gear, satellites and mega-walls of video screens. Crowds were blasted with salvo after salvo of bleeding edge (for the era) high-tech wizardry so by the time it was all over, they were spent. This sort of darkly surreal ending somehow just worked. Oh, and btw, that was just a lucky gal he danced with and the last song was by one of Bono's favorites, Elvis Presley. They sometimes like to cover other artists in live shows - Lou Reed actually joined them here on screen for "Satellite of Love". This whole show was killer; I recommend Running to Stand Still if you wanted to hear another stellar vocal from Bono. You really can't go wrong with this whole Australian gig though. By this point, the guys only had Japan left in their 2+ year world tour so they had refined the whole performance down to an artform.

[@lauraallen55]

It's difficult to explain how absolutely stunning ZooTV was for the time isn't it? Never mind for the time, even now.Good job, and zero exaggeration. Running To Stand Still is a great vocal yes! I also love his vocal on Whose Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses because everything in his range is used, all the little things that reside in his voice come out. There are a lot of songs that the emotion just blows me over. There's a version of Stay that goes into another song that's just incredible too. I'm gonna stop my descent into a rabbit hole of what's got a good vocal or performance from him/them before it's too late lol!

[@lauraallen55]

When Lou joined for Satellite of Love Bono (and the others) must have been ecstatic. He started Bad at Live Aid by singing the title line from the song. Everyone in the band are big Lou Reed fans.

[@nianfiedler5291]

@@lauraallen55 And Lou Reed was a huge fan of theirs. As was Bowie, said that they were the only rock band doing anything interesting, and his Earthling album was highly influenced by U2 at the time. As was Radiohead’s The Bends and OK Computer.

[@lauraallen55]

@@nianfiedler5291 Oh yes, he was! I didn't know that about Radiohead or Bowie! They were influenced by and loved him too. I heard he stayed over at Bono and Ali's place once, and were told if he appears in their room at night not to worry as he sleep walks, and to just tell him to go back to bed and he usually does. 😂 Ali told Bono that he looks like an angel anchored to the ground.

[@MBeano]

Bowie is one of the reasons U2 chose Berlin to “Dream it all up again”

[@raymondmassie4898]

Zoo TV was an experience that I doubt if had ever been done before or since. A totally immersive experience. Saw it in Glasgow and blew me away. Saw them at Murryfield just after Princess Diana died and the way they played ‘One’ - there wasn’t a dry eye in the house

[@emarjamaa2276]

Saw them on this tour. Amazing. His was in his Mephistopheles character here. I don't think there is a bad song on Achtung Baby. My personal favorite is Ultraviolet for the poetry of the lyrics. Also, there is a great documentary called It Might Get Loud that has The Edge, Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin and Jack White talking about their influences and how they get their sounds.

[@lauraallen55]

I've been meaning to watch that because Edge has such a unique and creative sound. Would be interesting to hear how Jimmy Page and Jack White were influenced to make their particular sounds too, especially Jimmy (for me). He did his 'Mr. MacPhisto' and The Fly characters and a couple others on Zoo didn't he? Nope, no bad songs on AB agreed! The lyrics to Ultraviolet (and One and so many others here) are so clever. He has such a ways with words. But your love is like a secret That's been passed around There is a silence that comes to a house Where no one can sleep There are so many meanings one finds to some simple short phrases. I read something about the rest of the band being amused at the idea of Bono singing 'baby, baby, baby' but it fits the song, so what can you say!

[@nellyweini8188]

@@lauraallen55 “ultraviolet “ and “love is blindness “ go for me together out of personal reasons. I lost my husband in 2016 and was with him when his breathing machine was turned off. I listened to a playlist from U2 and at the middle of Ultraviolet Jens opened his eyes and looked at me one last time. At “love is blindness “ his heart stopped beating. This experience changed my life forever, especially my spirituality. U2 helped me so much in my life, I’m so grateful to have that special bond to their music in my life.

[@lauraallen55]

@@nellyweini8188 Bless your heart.

[@lauraallen55]

@blueboy189 That is the name of the character yes! I read a cool article on their website about it. It was based on a character in a CS Lewis story and on Mephistopheles.

[@paulocaleia203]

U2 - Mysterious Ways (Live) | Elevation Tour: from Slane Castle, Ireland, 2001

[@lauraallen55]

The Elevation tour was so good! I've also heard - and seen that the Slane Castle version of all the songs that have been uploaded here are fantastic too!

[@lauraallen55]

So you discussed how this song and Edge especially was much darker in tone than usual here and it got me curious what chords were played in the song. Following along this song on chordify says the song was done all in flats, no sharps. A, B, E, F, G flats throughout with a lot of E, B, F minors. I'll have to check but I would put money on it that most if not all songs on the album have a lot of the same (darker tone and a lot of flats and minor keys and chords).

[@ericfreeman273]

No one could come close 2 Ur awesome analysis on this Banger, Anton. 💯👋🍾🤛

[@lauraallen55]

He does a fantastic job, agreed!

[@ericfreeman273]

@@lauraallen55 right on 💯👋🤛

[@daninator_dan]

Can't Help Falling in Love by Elvis

[@djblack21]

The encore at the later ZooTV concerts (after Zooropa was realeased) was outstanding.

[@benmason9755]

Noty only was tyhis the close of the concedrt but this was one of the very last shows of the tour. So imagine that THIS is the boys after two hours of VERY energhetic live performance in the final days of probably THE most exhausting tour of their entire career ... talk about sticking the landing ...

[@haraldbuit4215]

Incredible solo by The Edge. Such an underrated guitarist

[@ginamarandino6451]

Anti my favorite song from them and gets me teary every time is sometimes you can't make it on your own that entire album actually is amazing! It's titled All you can't leave behind. It's a must listen!

[@lauraallen55]

He has reacted to Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own - take a look! It's a good one for sure. I love the live version (like with most of theirs) with him losing it a little bit over his dad. I think it was the concert not too long after he died.

[@crystallane9962]

E brings a fan on stage almost every performance and dances with them OR lays on the stage with them and sings.

[@matthewatkin5331]

The lyrics are a deliberate reference to car bombing & terrorism, comparing the end of love to the nonsensical loss of life. "The song has images of terrorism, bomb-building, clockworks and cold steel, parked car. In a personal sense, I have observed the phenomenon of a person planting a kind of landmine that years later they will accidentally tread on and blow their lives to pieces. You can watch people doing it, wilfully getting involved in actions they will pay a very heavy price for later. Trajectory is everything." ... 'There was some reference to the little death, which can be taken to mean a faint during orgasm but also works as an image of terrorism." Quoting the lyric "A little death without mourning / No call and no warning / Baby, a dangerous idea / That almost makes sense", he said, "There's nothing more deadly than an idea - or a person - that's almost right. You know, it took the 20th century a hundred years to get over communism. There's another dangerous idea that almost made sense."' ... 'the Edge "put everything into it, all the feeling, all the hurt, all the angst, everything went into that solo." Bono said, "his whole life came out of him when he played... when we went for the take, one string broke and he just kept playing harder and harder. Another string broke. And he has such a light touch, ordinarily, he's so gentle. All that left him for a kind of rage."'

[@lauraallen55]

Bono has always been a master crafter with words. The little death or La petite mort is a reference to post-orgasm and also refers to loss of life like in the article you quoted. Death without mourning. No call and no warning. A dangerous idea that almost makes sense. Such an amazing song in every way. The lyrics alone are incredible. The lyrics in all of the songs on Achtung Baby are insanely good. Look at just this from The Fly: Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief All kill their inspiration and sing about the grief And the bridge from Mysterious Ways. And all the lyrics from Acrobat: I must be an acrobat to act like this and talk like that. Ultraviolet: You bury your treasure where it can't be found But your love is like a secret that's been passed around. There is a silence that comes to a house where no one can sleep....Insanely good lyrics combined with a group of friends who happen to also be a band on the precipice of breaking up makes for fantastic music. Then Edge's divorce. Yes, always a gently and very nuanced touch exploded in rage for the recording of his solo.

[@massimilianoventurini8042]

Una delle piú belle performance degli U2 🇮🇹♥️

[@nianfiedler5291]

So this is gonna be long. LOL. Cause this is my second favorite U2 song, and having seen them 13 times, this is my favorite live performance of theirs. I was lucky enough to see ZooTV 3 times. The character Bono is playing is MacPhisto, a devilish character inspired by the Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis, combined with a past his prime, washed up rockstar/fat Elvis, resigned to playing small venues, but wishing for greatness. Hence the Elvis song to finish the show. Truly Edge's greatest solo, longer here live than on the album. If you have about an hour one night, pop on some headphones and listen to Achtung Baby from start to finish just laying in a dark room, and you will be changed from it. ZooTV was a live event like nothing before it, and it changed the industry forever. They were the first to do the catwalk out to a satellite stage which everyone does now, the staging was so tall the FAA made them put blinking lights at the top for low flying small aircraft, the spotlights were old Eastern German Trabant cars suspended above the stage. Not to mention the dozens of huge video screens that could play live satellite feeds from around the world. All quite a feat for the early 90's. As for the meaning of the song. You are spot on that Bono writes songs with multiple meanings and this one is no exception. While it eludes to Edge's divorce troubles, the main lyrics are about the blinding devotion of extremists and terrorists/bombings. In a parked car In a crowded street You see your love Made complete Love is clockworks And cold steel Fingers too numb to feel Squeeze the handle Blow out the candle Love is blindness A little death Without mourning No call And no warning Baby, a dangerous idea That almost makes sense Thank you so much for doing a reaction to U2 live. There's no better way to do it. Great analysis as well. Also you talked about transitions, which U2 are masters at. If you ever want to do a double reaction I would recommend All I Want Is You into Where The Streets Have no Name - Slane Castle 2001 Please into Where The Streets Have no Name - Popmart Bullet The Blue Sky (another monster Edge Solo) into Running To Stand Still - ZooTV Sydney (this same concert) October into Bullet The Blue Sky - Paris 2015

[@MBeano]

YES! Please into Streets at Popmart is Brilliant. And I LOVE the reworked extended treatment to Streets

[@lisamugscraps4196]

All I want is you into Streets gets me to a higher placer every time

[@lauraallen55]

13 times and Zoo 3 times? Lucky duck! I've seen them once (for Elevation). So dead on that they were wildly innovative. It's hard to describe how what they did with ZooTV was just so out in the stratosphere over the top unique and how they were ahead of the times with a lot of what they did. The song was originally written on piano by Bono during Rattle & Hum and was to be for Nina Simone. The lyrics do allude to themes of failed romance and acts of terrorism both. The song was finished for Edge's failed marriage. He snapped a few guitar strings during recording. "A little death without mourning / No call and no warning / Baby, a dangerous idea / That almost makes sense" Those lyrics are brilliant and in describing two differing things (love and terrorism). La petit mort (a little death) is "the brief loss or weakening of consciousness" and in modern usage refers specifically to "the sensation of post orgasm as likened to death."" The terrorism part of that passage is about terrorism in the sense that a person or idea who/that is *almost* right is very dangerous to the world in general. All the lyrics are just genius here and have very distinct but also very apt strong double meanings. LIB is one of my favorite songs by them, but I have many favorites lol! It's definitely towards the top. Edge's solo is so good. What is your favorite song of theirs? He did studio versions of all these songs because I requested them. Believe me how badly I wanted to be requesting live ones. It killed me not to lol! I wanted to get him to know the band in the manner he wanted and also in a manner that made sense. Thus, he has heard 3 from the 90s (no Pop or Zooropa yet), 4 from the 80s and 5 from the 00s. I thought ZooTV LIB would be a good segue to more 90s. My hope is that he likes U2 well enough now to go and listen on his own time. Achtung Baby would probably be the place to start or to watch ZooTV. I stayed away from songs from Pop and Zooropa because people can't just be thrown into that right off hah! I would love for him to hear Lemon, Mofo or Numb and so on though. Numb is almost Edge doing a slow kinda rapping i just realized. 😆

[@MBeano]

@@lauraallen55 ZooTV indoor was my very first concert. I saw them again when then came back and did the outside broadcast. I’ve seen them 25 times, every tour since

[@MBeano]

YES. ZooTV brought MANY FIRSTS to the concert / touring industry Satellite / B Stage Along with this came the push / innovation / money to make it happen. The communication /wireless tech was not quite there yet. However U2 had the drive ambition money and power to not just push for it back it. They risked everything and used their own money. In ear monitoring for live sync was developed Live switchboard / control of prerecorded video, audio, satellite, they had flexibility The B stage was lower, breaking down the separation between performer and audience. They consciously knew they wanted BOTH the show factor of performance in terms of grandiosity and showmanship and transporting the audience into their world, but also, wanted the break the 4th wall and have an intimate connection with the audience The individually controlled monitors were also new to the concert world The sound system also had several tech firsts

[@OriginalAcrobat]

You also need to remember they grew up in Ireland during some of the worst of the troubles. This, Sunday Bloody Sunday and Please all feel like they are sibling songs.

[@YourLoyalDeserter]

Nice to see somebody react to their Can't Help Falling In Love as well

[@lauraallen55]

I've wanted to request this version of this song for months. So glad he got to hear and see it. :)

[@gushernandez1366]

That whole album is a masterpiece.

[@PressStartOnce]

This whole entire concert was peak U2.. amazing and brilliant in the best way possible.

[@lauraallen55]

Sure is! Just watched it again a few days ago.

[@justlough8169]

The cover version by Jack White is really good too.

[@lauraallen55]

Oh man, I listened to Achtung Baby all the way through while I was driving. I know it inside out of course, but I was listening and trying to think about how it would hit you, each song. What you said here is that you like albums that feel like one long seamless experience, like how one song bleeds into the next. I feel like what I want is when the next song starts to go - That's it, that's the song that should go here, yes! so, same thing, really; an immaculate transition and one that makes perfect sense after the last one. I came to the conclusion after trying to listen to the album with your ears that yes, you will like the album very much. :)

[@smcc2126]

This gig was filmed over 2 nights. Adam didn't show up for 1st gig due to addiction issues. The band near split after this but thankfully this was a turning point for Adam and he seen the light. 😁

[@250278]

That concert is u2 at their best. Mysterious Ways and Bullet the Blue Sky/Running to Stand Still from the same concert are also a must.

[@lauraallen55]

Yes! The whole concert is a must I think. :)

[@GayJayU26]

I heard this live, at this tour, so impressive.

[@raoninery]

You mentioned kyeboards, but this song doesn't have any keyboards, the only BT is the the tambourine and the woodblock on the percussion. All that synth fx on the back is from the guitar, it's called shimmer.

[@AustinCDennis]

If you like his falsetto then check out Lemon! Practically the whole song is in falsetto.

[@lauraallen55]

I said the same thing lol! Lemon is a trip, but so good. It's another one about his mom. On the face of it you'd never know that.

[@nianfiedler5291]

Incredible song about his late mum. Dirty Day about his dad. My two faves from Zooropa.

[@lauraallen55]

@@nianfiedler5291 I love Lemon and Dirty Day but I also love Stay and Numb on Zooropa quite a bit too.

[@annheckenbach9396]

I saw U2 at the start, circa I Will Follow, and then one several years later. The first venue was at a smallish venue, the second pretty large, and much slicker. But the earlier concert stays in my mind. We were sitting right at the stage area. You speak of theatrics, however, at the start? They were intense in another way, very Irish, and their energy was raw and in a way less sophisticated. Very earthy and political about the "troubles" in Ireland. They were very different, more...slick- totally different.

[@Corle0ne]

At the end of these shows, this one too in fact, Bono would say "Elvis is still in the building" as they faded up Elvis' original version as the lights went down. You can hear it on the bootlegs if you're lucky enough to get hold of one. I'm sure they didn't get to or wouldn't afford it for the live recording and so they edited it out.

[@joelplank2675]

It’s a fuckin Elvis song and Bono is channelling old Vegas Elvis via Bowie via young Elvis at the start of the concert…. It’s art at it’s finest

[@davidcurtis2639]

One of the greatest live performances of all time

[@TheLastOfTheRockstarsU2]

It’s just a fan onstage, no one the band knew

[@lauraallen55]

One of their biggest and most loved songs by casual U2 fans is With Or Without You from the most loved album The Joshua Tree. I just looked and that reaction has 2200 views in 35 days. This one (from Achtung Baby) has almost 1400 views in 6 days.... 👀 Anton seeing this: omg is she still talking?! You know, now that you mentioned Cirque du Soleil, that is a great comparison. I would compare ZooTV to that in the sense of the level of wow factor, theatrics, abilities and talent. It's like Zoo is the Cirque du Soleil of music and Cirque is the ZooTV of acrobatics. U2 has a strong contingent of hardcore fans and they know all the different performances and a lot of them look for reactions to Achtung Baby songs, ZooTV, and certain other live performances to certain songs. Just my experience as one who is a hardcore fan and does that exact thing. 

I don’t think you know how much I struggled with which songs to request each month. My goal was for you to know them. Not just their music, but them. My ultimate goal was to lead to this song and this performance if you liked things up to this. That way you can explore what you like on your own (hint: it’s ZooTV and Achtung Baby :D).
 Seriously, over all these months I would have requested all ZooTV live performances if I was requesting what I like best. You said you’d want to have a whole night of something like with this song: moody, dark, theatrical, bluesy, dramatic. That is exactly what all of ZooTV is. Plus all the insane technological things they did- in the early 90s. It's stunning anyone did this then considering the tech alone. Some tech we have today was developed for Zoo. They spent their own money & almost went broke. 

The band members wore different costumes. They had a belly dancer on the stage on one of the catwalks for Mysterious Ways (may have been Edge’s soon-to-be second & still wife) & Bono interacted with her during the song. He interacted with one of their 'TV cameras' & mock called the President & wore devil horns and on and on, just a 2 hour unforgettable ride. There’s a song on Zoo & AB called Numb. It’s Edge talking or rapping the song. He’s speaking a litany of things not to do. Bono sings ‘I feel numb’ in falsetto for backup vocal. The video is unique- Edge sitting in a chair as unknown people’s hands & feet push against his face.
 Zoo Is like Achtung Baby. It starts with a bang - or a party & ends with a funeral is one way to say it but that's not right. The opening of Zoo is Bono in black leather with his The Fly persona & costume. it's...people say *that's* how you start a show! They don't lead you gently into it! Starts with a bang & ends with this. Couldn't have been done any more perfectly. They made a concert tour into a different world to immerse into. Finally, the main lyric. 'Love is blindness. I don't want to see'. That's saying it would be better to be blind than without love. It's always about love, for 45 years it's the underlying theme even when the lyrics are about a bunch of other things. 

Now I’m finally shutting up. I’ve always told you I don’t have a favorite U2 song, but it could be this one….
maybe…. 😉💖

[@EdinMike]

“Finally an Edge Solo !” Ohh just you wait ! 😅

[@aarongrooms3558]

Love can be so blinding that one can do unspeakable things in support of that love- i.e. setting off a car bomb in a crowded street in support of the thing you love- "parked car, in a crowded street, you see your love, made complete".

[@MikeSmith-rh5gc]

Wish that song live was released. Sooooo much greater than the studio version. Awesome song

[@GayJayU26]

Achtung Baby and there Zoo TV tour was their very best. They went out to reinvent themselves and came back with this.

[@GayJayU26]

He always gets a fan on the stage

[@matthewdavis418]

amazing song

[@lauraallen55]

Anton, you asked if it was Larry on drums. It was always Larry on drums since he was like 14 or 15 with the rest of the guys here, though he does need surgery now on back, knees, neck or something, not sure. Not one of them ever missed a performance that I'm aware of except for Adam did once due to his issues with drugs, and then he straightened up his act. Bono did sing an entire concert once lying down because he was so sick lol. Didn't want to disappoint. I just found out at one concert in the early/mid 80s he slipped on the stage and dislocated his arm and kept singing until the end like that. There's a video where you can hear Larry finishing up 40 while Bono is being escorted into a limo for the hospital. Recently saw a video where Dave Grohl was talking about how he fell or tripped during a concert in Germany and he went to get up and couldn't. Someone came and popped his ankle back into place, and Dave wanted to know if he could keep playing/singing and the person said 'if you want me to go with you and hold your ankle in place' Dave said 'let's go!' He couldn't though as his leg was broken too. Gotta love performers who are so committed to their art. U2 also had a very strict policy against groupies. Pretty wholesome people especially considering they world the were immersed in for so long.

[@DarraghC]

Theres a great acoustic version of this by the edge (alone) floating around, you should check it out.

[@OscarO82]

The song is more subdued and moody on the album. The live version is like howling with despair. There's a cool cover that Jack White did that is more rocking and more angry. I feel like adding the bit of the Elvis song at the end is sort of like a ok, this last song makes it seem like love is painful, but let's remind you really quick that love is beautiful and you can't have that kind of pain of a breakup if there wasn't something to break.

[@lauraallen55]

I love how you stated that! I always think of the addition of that Can't Help Falling In Love at the end in a similar way - as a reminder. Love is blindness saying it's like being blind and it hurts and it's painful, or the terrorism theme: that the world is a terrible place at times. So that reminder at the end is like even though there's so much pain and unhappiness, fear, what have you that's negative, it's worth it in the end because there's also love.

[@GayJayU26]

I remember looking at the crowd and slowly leaving the stadium. It was an Elvis song.

[@paulocaleia203]

musica da mim vida

[@yo_guillote]

u2 foreverrrrrr

[@luattack123]

U2 is the band of my life, I revember first time I heard them, I went to a show in my country, 1998, best day of my life, this tour has musics that some people don't know, Acthung Baby album is ] amazing, Zooropa I like 3 songs only, duno wy, but they change a lot, I srill listen his musics, but in time I lost that passion, there is some songs new ones, I listen, but not that much, and after the duo with Eddie Vedder, I was, WTH is happening......have you heard Drowning Man??

[@danreed5171]

Dude do the cut ' Refugee' off the WAR album or Unforgettable FIre album

[@imperatorandy4009]

As a long-time fan of Cher, I recommend her "Shoop Shoop song" to you! The song is just fun!😄👍

[@adiarainfoster]

It wasn't his daughter or his wife. Bono tends to pick a random lady from the audience during certain songs to hold and/or dance with while he sings :)

[@rk41gator]

You may have heard of someone called Elvis. Cover.

[@lauraallen55]

Yeah, Elvis sang it first. But others wrote it like the majority of the songs he sang. I think he might have co-written a couple though. Bono oftentimes sings bits or clipped bits from songs by others. He sang something like bits of 30 or 40 different songs over time in performances at the end of Bad. I think it was brilliant to close the song with a piece of this song. U2 loves their fans and so he expressed it with a few lines from the song. Good for them. :)

[@sabneraznik]

It’s about terrorism. Bono directly references a car bomb. Hence the power of the symbology of him dressed as the devil singing it.

[@jollymolly2521]

It would probably be a good idea for you to read about U2's ZooTV tour to understand why Bono is dressed the way he is and the theme of that entire tour. It was Bono, as the Brit's like to say, taking the piss out of himself after the seriousness and earnestness of the Joshua Tree years. He'd spent a lot of years where his activism pissed off a lot people who thought rock stars should stick to music. Never mind all the criticism U2 got for their activism in American politics during on the Joshua Tree tour. Bono pissed off a whole lotta Republicans during those years - and then turned around and got Dubya Bush on board for his Africa debt relief project and pissed off liberals for working with a Republican. Bono didn't care - he was just trying to get debt relief for poor African nations. The Mephisto and The Fly characters were Bono making fun of himself - in a very OTFT way, but he's an all-in kinda guy. The giant TVs played political videos and Bono would do things like make phone calls to the White House and other world leaders. There's a depth here that lost 20 years later if you don't know the full story and are going solely by what you see in a concert video. PS - The girl was someone from the audience. They used to get past security and run on stage and pitch themselves at Bono and he'd dance with him rather than have security remove them during the song. They'd get escorted off state after the song ended.

[@lauraallen55]

You explained it all very well! They were trying to not take themselves too seriously after Joshua Tree, yeah, in a big way with Zoo. And, it was brilliant. Yes, Bono got a lot of hate for being a big mouth. I relate to that these days. He and they are good people, and used their voices to try to do good for all of humanity. People who hate on that have some pretty big issues.

[@Josh77600]

Not his daughter. Bono is only like 33 years old in this video.

[@lauraallen55]

Yes, this was early 90s and so wonderful that anyone did what they did on a concert tour. The catwalk copied endlessly. Everything else pretty much never done since.

[@GayJayU26]

Bono calls him the scientist of the band

[@seanmclaughlin7256]

One realizes how lucky they are for Zoo TV to have been their first Rock concert! "This is a famous song?" Ya think? Performed and made famous by "the King!"

[@lauraallen55]

I expect every concert afterwards would be almost disappointing though lol! People can't always know songs that were made famous 3 decades before they were born, but yeah, great song of course made famous by Elvis. Perfect to close ZooTV with too.

[@bucca2.0]

Edge has solos in this song and bullet the blue sky. watch his solo in bullet the blue sky as well. Sick to death of peopls saying edge cant solo

[@albert0F]

Do Radiohead - Weird Fishes (From the Basement). You'll find a dreamscape of music there.

[@lauraallen55]

When you were talking about top 20 front man I did not immediately think it's Bono. I'm silly over the band as you know but my mind went to Freddie Mercury and a few others. Chris Cornell, Mick Jagger, Roger Daltrey, Kurt Cobain, and some others. But he is my favorite front man because of what else appeals to me about him and the whole band. I don't think U2 wanted to be 'gods' in the eyes of their fans at least not in the same way other bands did. They worked to make it feel more intimate with the audience, like they were all a part of the same thing in the world. That's very unique. Deus ex machina is a device used in writing to make things come out how the writer wants them to. It translates from Latin as 'God in the machine'. It's a contrivance that usually works badly for the writer. It makes characters behave in ways that aren't how the character has been developed to behave. It's what happened to Game of Thrones, and in that case, it worked very badly and tainted everything that came before, as you mentioned. It's lazy writing. You notice so many things and are so good at describing them! Like Edge and his arpeggio way of playing, I've always said he can make actual melodies with the guitar, and that's not usually how rock guitars are played.. Edge once said he thought 'rock' music to be boring or maybe without soul. I'm paraphrasing. He thought 'rock and roll' is where it's at. The 'roll' being what puts the personality and the almost seductiveness into it. The feeling. These lyrics like many other of theirs are just wow. "The thread is ripping. The knot is slipping." It's about divorce, the band breaking up and acts of terrorism all at once (like the whole song is). The thread to the fabric of society is ripping. You 'tie the knot' when you get married. The knot is slipping. So 3 very separate and distinct things described in 8 simple words. Then again, like you mentioned, this song could be and probably is about a dozen different things in Bono's head. He pours his - I guess his actual being into his lyrics and performances. It's one of the things I love about them because to see someone showing who they are so completely to the world in this way is not just interesting, but comforting on some level that even someone of that stature goes through the same kinds of doubts and worries and feelings that the rest of us do, and we can relate. What you talk about in regard to kissing and how all of these attractions and activities like that and sex are biologically driven is a very interesting topic. It's chemistry. Falling in love is chemical reactions and so on. Fascinating subject! But all species have one ultimate goal if you think about it, and that is to help ensure their species continues. Even a virus has that written into its DNA. Viruses have either DNA or RNA. You said it's hard to understand what Bono is going for with his lyrics. I don't have any insight there (yet but I'm about to start reading his book Surrender (lyric from Bad) as it has 40 chapters about 40 songs). They also had a song called 40. See he does that all the time lol! Multiple meanings for everything. Pretty enigmatic guy on one hand, but also kind of an open book too. I think because of the fact that he wants and maybe even needs to connect with people at a very intimate level, that what he's going for is for the listener to find a connection with what he's saying whatever it might be.

[@bminturn]

Zoo TV was U2's zenith. They've put out good songs since then, but that run from 1983 - 1993 was full of classics.

[@lauraallen55]

7 albums from '83 to '93 starting with War and ending with Zooropa included their absolute best period I agree, and all so different. I would add Pop but I know I'm in the minority there. Still, look how long it took Achtung Baby and Zooropa to get the love and appreciation they deserved. ;)

[@bminturn]

@@lauraallen55 Achtung Baby was album of the year on a lot of lists the year it came out.

[@lauraallen55]

@@bminturn Yes, it made it to every chart and so did 5 singles from it. What I meant was as compared to Joshua Tree and by some of their fans at the time. Joshua Tree is always held up as their shining moment, but AB has begun in recent years to overtake it in some cases as far as recognition for how good it was is concerned.

[@nianfiedler5291]

@@lauraallen55 Unfortunately, U2 got SO big that critics decided it was time to tear them down when POP came out. They were too stupid to understand it, and it still remains in my top 4 U2 albums and the one I listen to the most after being a fan for 37 years. Dark, powerful, twisting and real. It is sadly overlooked by the casual U2 listener, or the ones that like to say bad things about it, but never actually listened to it.

[@lauraallen55]

@@nianfiedler5291 You're so right. People love to tear down what they don't really understand. And, of course, look for flaws when someone gets that big instead of just enjoying. AB is my all time favorite, but Pop is up there. Pop, Zooropa, War are above Joshua Tree for. me. Unforgettable Fire is too. I was just never a huge fan of Joshua Tree. I mean there is absolutely nothing to diss about songs on that album, and I love it, but some of the others are just woooow. Like you said, Pop - such a listen all the way through. I mean Mofo alone, Discotheque, Velvet Dress. What's not to like? They were very far ahead of their time with that album alone (ntm ZooTv).

[@matthewatkin5331]

Not his daughter, just a girl from the audience. His oldest child would have been about 4 years old at the time.

[@Trilly-ot5vm]

Hallo ' Anton always amazing electric guitar but nothing is how my Phil 😍

[@whatdoyouwaant]

Regarding the lyrics... You talk about the band and intimacy.. And that's legitimate. But try to look at it as a song talking about terrorist in Northern Ireland. Showing his love through random bombing (cold steel..no call, no warning.. Baby a dangerous idea that almost makes sense) Showing his blind love through violence I read this interpretation in one u2 book, and since then in my mind it's the only valid one :)

[@lauraallen55]

It's about terrorism and about love and loss all at the same time. Love is blind is an old saying. Love Is Blindness means something different, and several things all at once. How creative to add 'ness' to a well known saying and make it mean several other different things.

[@lavitaebella3174]

The girl is not the daughter but a fan.

[@PatrickAger]

If somebody dosen`t know the Song Falling in Love he can not coment about rockmusik!!!

[@edge_bob]

Not Keyboard it's Guitar Shimmer 😮