U2
Giants Stadium II
June 28th

Lets get one thing clear – The Joshua Tree is a fantastic album… but it’s not even close to being my favorite U2 album (hello Achtung Baby).  So when the JT tour was announced, I was going regardless, and knew I had some brushing up to do.  Probably re-listened to the album 50+ times since I secured tickets, and while I certainly liked what I heard and rediscovered, I wasn’t exactly jumping up and down in anticipation of the show.  Which is strange, cause I usually am for a U2 show – as this would be my 9th time seeing them (previously on U2TWS – 2015 / 2011 / 2009 / 2009 again)

I was 10 when the album was released, and not of concert going age.  The album is now 30 years old, and the concert experience put on to celebrate it is probably a better show than the original one was.  Obviously I cannot say that for certain, but just by looking at one of the shows from the ’87 tour, it looks like a primitive caveman staged it!!!!  U2 of today could never go back to those sparse good old days of yesteryear – their INCREDIBLE Zoo TV tour cinched that, ensuring all future tours would be a visual spectacle, each trying to top the previous, but U2 could at least go back and revisit the music, and refresh our memories of their past greatness, while dazzling our eyes with their current greatness

Surrounding the full run-through of the album, in order, U2 played a collection of greatest hits – all lovely choices, but I felt the non-JT songs (especially the modern ones in the encore) should have also had a more throwback feel.  How about a few more songs from the proceeding The Unforgettable Fire?  Or why no love for the follow-up/continuation of where Joshua left off – Rattle & Hum?  I think I could have forgone hearing ‘Vertigo’ and ‘Beautiful Day’ for an 8th time to hear me some ‘Van Diemen’s Land’!!  Well, at least the JT tour gave me one of the things I’ve always wanted to hear live – ‘In God’s Country’.  Next wish – Zoo TV 2 tour, 2021.  Make it happen lads!

While the theatrics have certainly changed, Bono, Edge, Adam and Larry are still the same 4 blokes we’ve always loved and admired, and perhaps we love them and admire them even more than we ever have.  Sure, they aren’t the Beatles, but the Beatles couldn’t stay together beyond a decade.  OK, so the Rolling Stones have never stopped rocking/touring, but they’ve also never stopped making albums more forgettable than the 2nd Vanilla Ice album.  U2 have carried and inflamed the torch of those rock gawd forefathers, and perhaps have even given us more than they ever have, and hopefully continue to do so.  New, old, newish-old – U2, you keep showing us what we’re looking for, even if we don’t know what it is we’re looking for!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BV6OEx6jt8y/

Setlist – Sunday Bloody Sunday /  New Year’s Day / Bad / Pride (In the Name of Love)

The Joshua Tree - Where the Streets Have No Name / I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For / With or Without You / Bullet the Blue Sky / Running to Stand Still / Red Hill Mining Town / In God’s Country / Trip Through Your Wires / One Tree Hill / Exit / Mothers of the Disappeared

Encore – Miss Sarajevo / Beautiful Day / Elevation / Vertigo / Ultraviolet (Light My Way) / One / The Little Things That Give You Away

Paul McCartney
MetLife Stadium
August 7th, 2016

This guy was in the Beatles.  Let me rephrase that…

THIS FCUKING GUY WAS IN THE FCUKING BEATLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You should probably go see him if you haven’t, cause he was in The Beatles.  This was my 3rd time seeing this guy who was in The Beatles, but wish it was my 3,3333,333333333th time  Dumb me  

What’s really nice of this guy from the Beatles is how this tour’s setlist is varied from the previous tour’s setlist, when I last saw the Beatles guy tour, so I’ve been SOOOO blessed to hear SOOO many Beatles songs sung live by a Beatle (and also happy not hear ‘The Long and Winding Road’ again).  And you know what, this Beatles’ post-Beatle output is pretty fcuking prolific too.  And on this tour, he even dug up some deep deep deep cuts! Like TEMPORARY SECRETARY!!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BI1GiP9jLfH/

Time is not eternal.  Paul is alive, but won’t always be.  One day ‘Paul Is Dead’ will ring true, and then none of us will be able to see and hear this Beatle perform live.  I don’t even want think about it. A world without this Beatle?? I only want to think about seeing this Beatle again.  And again.  AND AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Setlist – A Hard Day’s Night / Save Us / Can’t Buy Me Love / Letting Go / Temporary Secretary / Let Me Roll It (followed by ‘Foxy Lady’ jam) / I’ve Got a Feeling / My Valentine / Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five / Here, There and Everywhere / Maybe I’m Amazed / We Can Work It Out / In Spite of All the Danger / You Won’t See Me / Love Me Do / And I Love Her / Blackbird / Here Today / Queenie Eye / New / The Fool on the Hill / Lady Madonna / FourFiveSeconds / Eleanor Rigby / Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! / Something / Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da / Band on the Run / Back in the U.S.S.R. / Let It Be / Live and Let Die / Hey Jude

Encore – Yesterday / Hi, Hi, Hi / Birthday / Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight / The End

yeah, nice show their Paul – you Beatle you – but how come you’ve NEVER played ‘Spies Like Us’ in concert, everr???????

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27ATt3FXAUY

Guns N’ Roses
MetLife Stadium
July 24th, 2016

Still – one of my biggest regrets in life is not seeing the Guns N’ Roses/Metallica tour in ’92.  I’m sure I didn’t miss anything earth-shattering, but I juss soooooo wanted to be there.  Not sure why I couldn’t make it work – be it economics, calendar conflict, being scared of the audience memebers, what have you  

I made up for it by seeing Axl and a bunch of other dudes that weren’t GnRers when they toured in 2006.  Sure, there was no Slash or Duff, but it was MORE than good enough.  It was great enough cause Axl was Axl – at least in voice – but he did look a little (read: A LOT) aged, and metal bands juss don’t age well – physically (and probably mentally too)

Even today, Axl looks worse for wear – and wearing some REALLY dumb hats doesn’t help his cause

but unlike the Nazi from Raiders, Axl is STILL melting faces, not having his own face melted!

Well, hatchets somehow got buried, and Slash and Duff were able to mend whatever burnt fences they had with Axl – lucky us!  Sure, there aint no Izzy or Adler or even Matt Sorum, but c’mon, if we can make do with juss Axl, we can beyond make do with juss Axl and Slash and Duff!  Side note – I’ve always found Duff to be such a pretty man.  He’s beautiful.  I want to play with his hair, as he rocks my world

The trio + some other people, handed in a very quality G n R show… which pretty much resembled the show I saw a decade ago – setlist-wise – although this time they DID play ‘Don’t Cry’, but last night they DIDN’T play ‘Patience’.  Why both aren’t a part of every show – and 3+ Chinese Democracy songs are – is beyond me.  Heck, they coulda even played even longer than they did, and perhaps skipped having an opener, although now I can check Lenny Kravitz off my ‘to see’ list

So, the only question left is, where do we go now?

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIRSnaQjebm/

Setlist - It’s So Easy / Mr. Brownstone / Chinese Democracy / Welcome to the Jungle / Double Talkin’ Jive / Estranged / Live and Let Die (Wings cover) / Rocket Queen / You Could Be Mine / New Rose (The Damned cover) / This I Love / Civil War / Coma / Speak Softly Love (Love Theme From The Godfather, Andy Williams cover) / Sweet Child O’ Mine / Better / Out Ta Get Me / Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd cover) / November Rain / Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover) / Nightrain

Encore – Don’t Cry / The Seeker (The Who cover) / Paradise City

Bon Jovi
Giants Stadium II
July 25th

Jon Bon Jovi tells us to have a nice day, but he really means it, and he ensures that you will have a nice day, even if it’s night.  When you go see a Bon Jovi concert, Jon Bon and company (minus Richie Sambora, but his absence hardly mattered) give you their all, and exactly what you want – those acid-washed jean stadium anthems that have somehow survived the test of cheesy time.  Granite, we are no fans of the BJ, and while 2.5 hours of BJ rocking and rolling in his home state didn’t turn us into a convert, we were kinda shocked at how unbored we were.  Unbored!!  You did it Jon Bovi!!!  Those 8ish songs we know and don’t hate sounded great, but we coulda done without the other 17ish songs, which to us sounded like generic Bon Jovi songs with endless ‘heys’ ‘yays’ and stuff and things.  Still, it’s hard not to be impressed at how nice Jon Bon’s smile is, and the bigger ones he’s eliciting from his rabid fanbase.  hairing is caring

setlist

That’s What the Water Made Me / You Give Love a Bad Name / Raise Your Hands / Born to Be My Baby 
/ Lost Highway / Whole Lot of Leavin’ 
/ It’s My Life 
/ Because We Can 
/ What About Now / We Got It Goin’ On 
/ Keep the Faith 
/ (You Want to) Make a Memory 
/ Bed of Roses 
/ Captain Crash & the Beauty Queen From Mars 
/ We Weren’t Born to Follow 
/ Who Says You Can’t Go Home 
/ I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead 
(with ‘Start Me Up” and ‘Oh, Pretty Woman”‘ excerpts) / Bad Medicine 


encore – Runaway 
/ Wanted Dead or Alive 
/ Someday I’ll Be Saturday Night 
/ Have a Nice Day 
/ Livin’ on a Prayer 


second Encore – Always /  These Days