Greensboro, NC -- The U2 360 Tour has officially kicked off in Barcelona, Spain. Unlike the past couple of tours, U2 beginning the tour in Europe, unlike the Vertigo (San Diego), Elevation (Miami), and Popmart (Las Vegas) tours. Thanks to the time zone difference, we're able to obtain the set list at this evening hour since they were probably playing around 3:30 p.m. local time. Here's the list:
Breathe
No Line on the Horizon
Get On Your Boots
Magnificent
Beautiful Day
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Angel of Harlem
In A Little While
Unknown Caller
Unforgettable Fire
City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Pride (In The Name of Love)
MLK
Walk On
Where The Streets Have No Name
One
-------
Ultraviolet
With Or Without You
Moment of Surrender
Let's breakdown the album selection:
Boy: 0
October: 0
War: 1
Unforgettable Fire: 3
Joshua Tree: 3
Rattle & Hum: 1
Achtung Baby: 2
Zooropa: 0
Pop: 0
All That You Can't Leave Behind: 3
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb: 2
No Line on the Horizon: 7
I'm not sure how much weight you can put into the first set list of a tour. However, what can be derived from here is your skeleton list; those core songs that will be played every night. The core songs usually compose 75% of the list, leaving 25%, or 5-6 songs switched in and out depending on the night. I am surprised that 2/3 of the new album was played, but maybe that's about right compared to other bands with new material. The 2000's (last three albums) dominated the set list. Boy, October, Zooropa, and Pop were all shut out tonight, but we can't rule out that we won't hear "I Will Follow" this summer.
As far as surprises go, the one rarity in the list was "Ultraviolet," with the very catchy chorus of "Baby, baby, baby, light my way" from Achtung Baby. All of the usual suspects were present... "Where The Streets Have No Name," "Pride," "Sunday Bloody Sunday," and "One." "New Year's Day" was the one usual tour song that was expunged. Anyways, let's see if the list changes slightly or dramatically on Thursday night. There are, of course, other important factors of the show, such as how did the band sound? One cannot take into account the commenters and fans' remarks on the web site because they have amateur ears. I'd like to hear a musical expert's take on the show. It couldn't be any worse than the disaster in Las Vegas for the opening of the Popmart tour. Rock on!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Crazy Week in the News
Greensboro, NC -- Everybody had to know that when the news of Farrah Fawcett's passing this morning was released to the public, the third (and usually the biggest) victim was only a matter time. The frail and puny Michael Jackson passed away this afternoon after a reported cardiac arrest to his heart. Growing up, I wasn't very much into his music and music videos. "Michael" reached the peak of stardom in the 80's, well before I started listening to music in the early 90's. By that time, MJ was entangled in a messy lawsuit that I didn't quite understand at the time. However, looking past his utterly bizarre behavior since that time, it must be recognized that MJ was one of the three pillars, or icons of the history of the music industry worldwide. Elvis, John Lennon, and Michael Jackson are considered to be the three biggest music stars that the world has ever known. For that, we can ask ourselves, "where were you when you learned that Michael Jackson had passed away?"
For the readers: If you were in charge of designing the "Mount Rushmore of Music," who would be etched in stone?
Back in the nativeland, an ode to the victims of the terrible Metro crash on Monday. I used to take that "red line" route home from school growing up. Thank goodness that avid "BB reader" Arny left work "on-time" on Monday.
For the readers: If you were in charge of designing the "Mount Rushmore of Music," who would be etched in stone?
Back in the nativeland, an ode to the victims of the terrible Metro crash on Monday. I used to take that "red line" route home from school growing up. Thank goodness that avid "BB reader" Arny left work "on-time" on Monday.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Now Tweeting
Winston-Salem, NC -- Good news... you can now follow B's Bistro on Twitter on the following site: http://twitter.com/bpattridge. We'll be posting live statuses and news in real time. The information will be streaming to you quicker. However, the blog posts will continue to roll in.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Good News for Winston-Salem Baseball
Winston-Salem, NC -- Last night, the Winston-Salem board approved unanimously (7-0) to continue with the construction of the downtown ballpark in Winston-Salem. Since I drive by the ballpark on my route to work everyday, I can attest that the park hasn't been touched since January.
One key note in the article from the Winston-Salem Journal that needs to be pointed out is that the team will need to sell 350,000 tickets in order to pay back the $12M loan. That averages to about 4,000 tickets per game. I'm not sure how that goal can be attained. I know that the Dash are playing in an old ballpark now and averaging close to 500/game. How do they expect to average 4,000/game over the span of 20 years? Unlike Greensboro, Winston-Salem, to my knowledge, does not have the fan support. The city does not have the regular fan support in attendance. The city consistenly brings teams (minor league hockey), festivals (Hot Ribs, Cool Music), and events into downtown, but the residents do not show up consistently or in large numbers. Winston-Salem is more of a "blue collar" town than Greensboro, so I'm not sure if the Dash and the city can count on their residents showing up in large clusters to games on a consistent basis, even if it's a new park.
One key note in the article from the Winston-Salem Journal that needs to be pointed out is that the team will need to sell 350,000 tickets in order to pay back the $12M loan. That averages to about 4,000 tickets per game. I'm not sure how that goal can be attained. I know that the Dash are playing in an old ballpark now and averaging close to 500/game. How do they expect to average 4,000/game over the span of 20 years? Unlike Greensboro, Winston-Salem, to my knowledge, does not have the fan support. The city does not have the regular fan support in attendance. The city consistenly brings teams (minor league hockey), festivals (Hot Ribs, Cool Music), and events into downtown, but the residents do not show up consistently or in large numbers. Winston-Salem is more of a "blue collar" town than Greensboro, so I'm not sure if the Dash and the city can count on their residents showing up in large clusters to games on a consistent basis, even if it's a new park.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Baltimore is still baseball's home park
Greensboro, NC -- After attending absolutely zero ballparks this season, I made up for my park absence in haste last week. Starting with my hometown's beautiful edifice in downtown Greensboro, I stood in left field watching the Grasshoppers take on the Hickory Crawdads in a long, three and half hour marathon. On top of that, I was completely boxed out by Sean in our only attempt to pluck a game ball; a towering home run that splattered into the damp, muddy hill. A trip down I-85 on the following Sunday led me to the home of the Kannapolis Intimidators (nicknamed for hometown hero Dale "The Intimidator" Earnhardt). The park was a bit quirky with the press box and "luxury" suites residing on the first base (right) side of the park. A tasty bbq platter at nearby Porky's capped a fun day (and weekend) in the sun.
After an hour and a half trip westward down I-40 in the middle of the week, we encountered some good luck in Hickory. At about 6:30 p.m., heavy rains dominated the forecast, which forced us into grabbing a meal and beverage at the Ol' Hickory Tap Room. By the conclusion of our meal, the rain had cleared, the stadium was empty, and we soaked up the wet seats lining the visiting team's dugout in earnest. Out of all the minor league towns that I've been to, Hickory may be the smallest.
After heading back to Maryland this past weekend to return Sean to his domicile, I checked the schedule this weekend and noticed that the Braves were playing the Orioles at "The Yard." Going back to Camden Yards was thrilling. It's a comfortable place, whereby it was a place that I visited frequently growing up as a kid in the hot summers. After touring through numerous minor league parks and major league parks, there's no better ballpark in America. It's cozy, it has the best urban backround, the brick meshes with the city, the green painted steel matches the lush grass on the field. There's no other park that can match up to this asymmetrical field. If there is, I'd bet Camden is better.
After an hour and a half trip westward down I-40 in the middle of the week, we encountered some good luck in Hickory. At about 6:30 p.m., heavy rains dominated the forecast, which forced us into grabbing a meal and beverage at the Ol' Hickory Tap Room. By the conclusion of our meal, the rain had cleared, the stadium was empty, and we soaked up the wet seats lining the visiting team's dugout in earnest. Out of all the minor league towns that I've been to, Hickory may be the smallest.
After heading back to Maryland this past weekend to return Sean to his domicile, I checked the schedule this weekend and noticed that the Braves were playing the Orioles at "The Yard." Going back to Camden Yards was thrilling. It's a comfortable place, whereby it was a place that I visited frequently growing up as a kid in the hot summers. After touring through numerous minor league parks and major league parks, there's no better ballpark in America. It's cozy, it has the best urban backround, the brick meshes with the city, the green painted steel matches the lush grass on the field. There's no other park that can match up to this asymmetrical field. If there is, I'd bet Camden is better.
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