Edge with 2 AxeFX's onstage at Apple now

Of course, I'm sure they'd rather play live if they can, but I don't think they can play without backing tracks at this point.. There's too much stuff going on in their last 25 years production besides guitar and bass.. When I spoke to terry lawless (the guy that has been playing keyboards under the stage since 2001) he said he only plays the piano and organ parts, everything else is in the sequence
 
Yeah Streets without the organ wouldn't be the same, lol. The first guitar he had on backing track is Bullet The Blue Sky fact fans.
 
Andrew Male said:
Yeah Streets without the organ wouldn't be the same, lol. The first guitar he had on backing track is Bullet The Blue Sky fact fans.
Click to expand...

yep, and the very first keyboard sequences were bad and the unforgettable fire in the unforgettable fire tour
 
edo said:
The fake performance you're referring to is the one on the red carpet at Cannes
Click to expand...
Yes that's the one.

edo said:
Btw, I don't see the point in being "offended" by a "fake performance", that's part of the showbiz, has always been and will always be
Click to expand...
It's an unfortunate part of showbiz that I do not like. Things change. It has not "always been". Remember when live on the radio was in fact live and when single take recordings were the norm? That era was highly impressive to me and I wish we could return to it to some degree. The pressure for acts not to make mistakes live is enormous but I'd rather see/hear people live than mime-performances. They may as well stand on stage and press play on an mp3 player.

What really gets me is the attempt to pass it off as if they are really performing. That's were the being "offended" comes in. It's sad when the day after the super bowl someone asks me, "Did you see that awesome performance by the Red Hot Chili Peppers?" and my response is "you mean the playback they danced to?" and the other guy is like "what?". Live means live! Be risky, and do it. Challenge yourself and your crew. Earn some respect or be shamed like Milli Vanilli.

PS in the Apple U2 case, I think it was just backing with live playing and it wasn't really hidden. Still not ideal, but not that bad. I do think they should try more stuff without backing tracks. They seem to have this idea that we want the live set to sound exactly like their album which is not true. Good live performances will be more successful than the verbatim ones precisely because they are different and will be sought after.
 
  • Like
Reactions: edo
edo said:
Oh, well, if its aired live you only get one shot... If you watch the performance of invisible on the rooftop of fallon that's even worse.. He keeps messing up the snare hits (that's just 2 patterns), he plays it the other way around 2 or 3 times.. But still, then 99 people out of 100 will believe its live.. A cymbal mis hit is not that much of a big deal.
Also, in the past 2-3 records larry has been recording kick, drums and cymbals separately, so it's not a matter of "remembering the parts"... And he probably thinks that the camera is on bono 90% of the time, so his chances to get spotted cheating are very few! :)
Click to expand...

So based on your comments about the JF show I went and watched it on YouTube and while they are using a drum machine / track in the background it is clear that Larry's drums are live. For instance when Fallon introduces U2 the drum machine starts as Bono walks out and then Mullen's drums match what he is playing when he comes in over the backing track. Same when the Rutgers drummers come in - you can hear them playing and what they play matches what you hear. While you might hear cymbals playing in the drum machine / backing track when he does hit a cymbal you hear it. There are a lot of U2 IEM tracks where you can hear additional backing tracks but to say only Bono is singing live and the rest of the band is totally prerecord is not how I see or heard the JF Invisible track.He makes no attempt to hide it or as you say "cheat" either - there are a numer of sections he does not play at all and it is just the backing track and then he plays on top of that and does not seem at all concerned at making it look like it is all just him. Playing with the Roots also seemed to be 100% live in the JF studio.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Swan1 said:
So based on your comments about the JF show I went and watched it on YouTube and while they are using a drum machine / track in the background it is clear that Larry's drums are live. For instance when Fallon introduces U2 the drum machine starts as Bono walks out and then Mullen's drums match what he is playing when he comes in over the backing track. Same when the Rutgers drummers come in - you can hear them playing and what they play matches what you hear. While you might hear cymbals playing in the drum machine / backing track when he does hit a cymbal you hear it. There are a lot of U2 IEM tracks where you can hear additional backing tracks but to say only Bono is singing live and the rest of the band is totally prerecord is not how I see or heard the JF Invisible track.He makes no attempt to hide it or as you say "cheat" either - there are a numer of sections he does not play at all and it is just the backing track and then he plays on top of that and does not seem at all concerned at making it look like it is all just him. Playing with the Roots also seemed to be 100% live in the JF studio.
Click to expand...

First of all i've never talked about "cheating"! Actually, i think i'm the only one in this topic supporting them about the full playback in special occasions!
Anyways, let's do this: watch at 0.26 and 0.38 and tell me if the snare drum hits match what you hear. If you still think they do, then one of us is either blind or deaf!! :D



and check out the bass at 1.25 (where adam stops and bass keeps playing), the floor tom at 3.55 (that you hear but larry doesnt hit) and the cymbal at 3.59 (that larry hits and you dont hear) here

 
Your exact quote said: "And he probably thinks that the camera is on bono 90% of the time, so his chances to get spotted cheating are very few!" So not sure how you can not say that you didn't say he was cheating! As for the other times you point, as they are playing OVER backing tracks you will hear stuff that you won't see. So you will hear additional bass lines that Adam is not playing just as you will hear a drum track while Larry is not playing - not because they are cheating ( again, your word) but because they prefer to keep the band on stage at the 4 of them and either stick other musicians under the stage or use sequencers and backing tracks.
 
Backing tracks are fantastic tools. Playing with them doesn't equate to "cheating" in the least- it's simply an enhancement to the performance. I for one DO want the best aural experience possible when watching a live show, and acts that use BTs are much more enjoyable IMO.
 
don't get me wrong, U2 is my favourite band since 92, and I'm saying that I'm the only one who doesn't feel offended if they "cheat". I've played over prerecorded backing tracks for 15 years or so, and usually (and that is true for U2 too) you put in the backing tracks reinforcements (ie rhythm guitars and backing vocals) and instruments that are not in the live band (ie keyboards, persuasions, loops etc). Said that, if you watched these 2 videos (especially invisible) and still think it's live, that is your opinion, and I respect that, but I disagree. No offense by any mean
 
jazz musicians use charts and never have to memorize anything. vocalists read lyrics on stage.

is that cheating?
 
  • Like
Reactions: edo
I am not offended that they 'cheat'. I just think they BLOW. I was a FERVENT fan of U2 for years. Starting with Zooropa, quality starting slipping and ego started eclipsing talent. Once Edge had a yacht an Arab Sheikh would envy and Bono began to believe he was a savior on a first name basis with Jesus, they started losing it.

When 'get your boots' came out I was like OMG: if these guys weren't famous already, they'd be laughed offstage for this derivative, sad crap. Even the official video looks like a U2 parody... I went into U2 mourning when that one came out.

What happened? Success ruined them. They started resting on their laurels and believing their own hype and their entourage of sycophants.

Or maybe it's this: they are musically a very limited band. Edge is one of the more interesting, but also idiosyncratic and limited players out there, and the rhythm section has always been... OK. I think they've just run out of ideas. I mean, even their fantastic song Stay (so close) is sort of mysterious ways backwards...

And now, using Joey Ramon'e name in vain... I mean, trying to capture his raw energy with a shout out... it reeks of sheer desperation to me.
 
funny_polymath said:
I mean, even their fantastic song Stay (so close) is sort of mysterious ways backwards...
Click to expand...

OK I waded through all the clichéd negativity about being rich, ego, etc etc to get to this point and you completely lost me, Stay is NOTHING like Mysterious Ways, different melody, sound, chords, I mean what ARE you talking about? It's like saying I Wanna Hold Your Hand is the same as Tomorrow Never Knows.

They're 54 years old. Of course some of their stuff is better than others. I dig the new album, Edge's most inventive guitar work for some time.
 
I don't know how this conversation digressed from live vs playback to old/good vs new/bad, but I agree that u2's music in the past 15 years had entered the world of pain (from beautiful day to magnificent), this album kind of saved them from my point of view as they've at least tried to do something different (taking for granted that most bands run out of creativity after the 3rd or 4th album) like they did with ab after tjt and zooropa and pop (which are in my top 5).
Everything else comes down to personal taste, no matter how rich the band are, you can't be or think or make music like a 25year old at 54.
 
It's rock and roll. Rock and roll isn't that important. Apple was smart enough or dumb enough to pay U2 to do this. U2 was smart enough to take the money.
 
Last edited:
funny_polymath said:
And now, using Joey Ramon'e name in vain... I mean, trying to capture his raw energy with a shout out... it reeks of sheer desperation to me.
Click to expand...


Sure U2 are in decline, they are old men and the U2 hit machine ran out of gas a while back... but Joey Ramone is not a saint, and you use his name in vain. He was a great musician, but that is it. Bono and Joey were friends... and Joey was listening to U2's music right before he died. I would say Bono has some case to use his name in song if he wants to.

Joey Ramone Laid To Rest - MTV

The Ramones are a 70's band, most kids dont even know who they are. If U2 was desperate they would get Usher or Niki Manaj to sing on their album...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom