Customer Reviews

U2 - Vertigo 2005 - Live From Chicago

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I don't know what people are talking about. I really don't. This DVD is of exceptional calibre. I have heard that Chicago wasn't the greatest of shows on Vertigo tour. With this DVD, I find it hard to believe. The setlist is frankly a dream come true, Bono and Co. manage to pull it off very well. Sure, it was early in the tour and perhaps all the songs weren't quite perfectly set up in the band's minds, but it was still an exceptional representation.

I attended the Toronto, Canada September 12 2005 show myself, and that was spectacular. It could not compare to the DVD. I feel that's inherently the problem. The DVD will never compare to the real thing in person. Maybe that's why people are rating it so poorly.

I also would like to address something else; many have complained that the band sounds flat, Bono has voice problems and there are screw ups in the songs etc.... Personally, I think that's what makes U2 so interesting. They aren't perfect and they admit to it readily. They make mistakes they joke about them, they have fun with them. Bono jokes about having a frog in his throat and I couldn't help but smile. I'm Irish myself, and we enjoy seeing ourselves screw up a bit. I think that is one of the great moments on stage during the show.

I can understand why people are criticizing Hamish's production of the concert. I agree it does jump around a bit and that can be fairly annoying to some people for sure. I however enjoyed it. U2 is a visual and sonic feast. This tour has had so much going on during the songs. Animation in the background, etc.... You have to jump around to see all of it.

As for the second DVD if you have the deluxe edition. I will agree, it is for completists for the most part, but hey, for me they were the same price so I bought it regardless. ;)

All in all, a great dvd for U2 fans, a great documentation of the Vertigo Tour, and who can't love the slot machine and "Mamma Mamma Mamma?" :D

I'm very happy with the deal with Screaming CD. The deluxe dvd U2 arrived fast and in excellent condition and the price was right. Thank you very much.

If you've never seen U2 in concert you are missing out, they are AMAZING. I saw this concert live and it's was also fantastic, emotionally takes you to places far beyond the songs on the album.

I actually only somewhat like the songs on the album, but in concert they become emotionally charged and great to listen to, especially within context and with Bono's commentaries and stories.

The production on the video, the camera angles, and the sound are first rate, perfect.

Whether you were at the concert or not, if you are a fan it's worth it.

Excellent video and sound quality. Great selection of songs. Very well shot with great shots of the band and the enthusiastic audience. The stage and effects are very impressive. A memorable performance.

I expected this to look a lot like the Elevation DVD, but the darker and more colorful lighting make this feel quite different. The setlist alterations from the Elevation DVD inevitably change the atmosphere. A few "Boy" album songs make a welcome return after an absense since the early eighties and the four-song "Achtung Baby" set is great to see. Also, many songs performed on Elevation are executed quite differently here.

This DVD carries Elevation's same stylistic approach further, and, in doing so, has exacerbated its cinematic faults, too. In some cases, the even more hurried camera editing to please hipsters with low attention spans is troubling, if not downright annoying. In 1988, director Phil Joanou's work on "Rattle and Hum" showed how camera moves and editing could be dynamic and graceful without losing a sense of the band's stage presence. However, on this DVD, director Hamish Hamilton loses such naturalness by switching camera perspectives every few seconds with dizzying effect. For example, instead of simply letting the band's delivery and physicality suffice for entertainment, an otherwise nice performance of the fast-paced "The Fly" is ruined by a quick juggling of images. Still, Mr. Hamilton has chosen a welcome use of footage from above the performers' heads, so you can see Larry playing on his drum kit and The Edge switching pedals in all their skilled musical glory.

Yet, what really hurts this DVD -- in addtion to the, at best, decent film directing -- are the performances. While some are quite nicely carried out musically, Bono's vocals stop short from reaching their full potential. Fans have already had to accept the singer's tragic loss of his falsetto range due to smoking and the effect that has had on his performing vocally-challenging songs from the '90s. Yet even the newly released "City of Blinding Lights" and especially "Miracle Drug" aren't given the power and emotional urgency they have on the studio album and at least deserve for a DVD-worthy concert performance. Although a few performances are fairly good, given Bono's new limitations, the overall concert is not quite representative of how great U2 can be live. Therefore, if this is not how great the band can be, then why would anyone want to watch it multiple times.

Many fans on www.atu2.com forums have commented that, in the first leg of the tour from which this DVD is taken, U2 did not fulfill the potential it showed when it returned on the third leg with much more practice under its belt; some who even went to the concerts filmed here were much more captivated (which is not to say they were dissatisfied in the first place) when the band returned months later. Similar comments were made about the first leg of U2's Elevation Tour in 2001 being quite lacklustre compared to later shows when the band returned to North America and helped cheer up post-9/11 audiences. Yet, even for that tour, U2 chose to record evidence of Bono's less than elastic vocal range, and the band was said to exhibit a restraint in the face of self-consciousness from being recorded. In this 2005 release, the same problem seems to repeat itself. It's not that the band isn't doing all it can to give a good show -- and it's quite good -- it's just that there's no reason for such an early release when a later one might have been, by many fan accounts, better. Unfortunately, this won't happen since no third leg shows are being filmed for commerical release.

However, U2 did film its outdoors concert in Milan this summer, and it was supposed to have been quite good. I expect the associated DVD release next year to be superior, since the Slane DVD from the 2001 second leg in Europe was so much better than Elevation; in it, Bono's voice just seems more alive and more powerful, and the band's chemistry with the crowd is considerably more fun.

The Extras:
There is little reason to buy this 2-disc version if it's going to cost you more, unless you're a completist. The 30-minute tour documentary is essentially about the embarrassing praise of fans, which no one needs to see -- not even fellow fans like myself.

The alternative video of "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" by Phil Joanou just seems like the original but with one take of Bono singing and walking. You can hear Bono singing over the recorded version, which just makes this irritating.

The major selling point of this second disc is the real disappointment, however. The surveillance edits of four songs are like something Radiohead would put out to self-conscoiusly not seem commercial. There's no art here. It's just a lot of black and white, grainy, fuzzy images of The Edge's legs or Bono's face as footage of awkward camera angles is assembled from performances of songs found on the first disc anyway; the sound is fine, but the video leaves much to be desired.

I only bought this edition because of the comparatively nicer packaging, and because it was actually the same price as the single-disc version at "Sam the Record Man" in Toronto at the bargain price of $19.99.

This brings me to one last complaint: the packaging. There seems to be a new trend this year with DVDs being packaged so they overlap one another. I can't stand this, since, in order to listen to Disc 2, you have to take Disc 1 out first. It just seems a cheap way to save on plastic. The Elevation DVD had much nicer packaging.

I have seen the show 8 times on this tour and having the DVD brings back such great memories. From the opening straings of Wake Up by the Arcade Fire, right through to the 40 close, I love every second of this DVD.

Chicago probably wasn't one of the better shows on the tour based on what I have heard. The editing is a bit choppy, and Hamish Hamilton's direction style is an aquired taste. I would have liked more crowd noise/reaction, and longer shots on the band members faces. I mean, as cool as it is, I can only watch Edge's hands on the guitar for so long.

However, this concert/tour is just so amazing, these are really nitpicky complaints. City of Blinding Lights, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Streets, One...wow, all just amazing! If this is the closest you can get to a U2 concert this year, be sure to get this DVD.

It is not the best U2 show, but it is worth its price. There are some really good performances on this disc. Epescially the Boy and Achtung numbers. I think the negative opinions on this one are a result of the directing. At times it throws the show off.

I expected this to look a lot like the Elevation DVD, but the darker and more colorful lighting make this feel quite different. The setlist alterations from the Elevation DVD inevitably change the atmosphere. A few "Boy" album songs make a welcome return after an absense since the early eighties and the four-song "Achtung Baby" set is great to see. Also, many songs performed on Elevation are executed quite differently here.

This DVD carries Elevation's same stylistic approach further, and, in doing so, has exacerbated its cinematic faults, too. In some cases, the even more hurried camera editing to please hipsters with low attention spans is troubling, if not downright annoying. In 1988, director Phil Joanou's work on "Rattle and Hum" showed how camera moves and editing could be dynamic and graceful without losing a sense of the band's stage presence. However, on this DVD, director Hamish Hamilton loses such naturalness by switching camera perspectives every few seconds with dizzying effect. For example, instead of simply letting the band's delivery and physicality suffice for entertainment, an otherwise nice performance of the fast-paced "The Fly" is ruined by a quick juggling of images. Still, Mr. Hamilton has chosen a welcome use of footage from above the performers' heads, so you can see Larry playing on his drum kit and The Edge switching pedals in all their skilled musical glory.

Yet, what really hurts this DVD -- in addtion to the, at best, decent film directing -- are the performances. While some are quite nicely carried out musically, Bono's vocals stop short from reaching their full potential. Fans have already had to accept the singer's tragic loss of his falsetto range due to smoking and the effect that has had on his performing vocally-challenging songs from the '90s. Yet even the newly released "City of Blinding Lights" and especially "Miracle Drug" aren't given the power and emotional urgency they have on the studio album and at least deserve for a DVD-worthy concert performance. Although a few performances are fairly good, given Bono's new limitations, the overall concert is not quite representative of how great U2 can be live. Therefore, if this is not how great the band can be, then why would anyone want to watch it multiple times.

Many fans on www.atu2.com forums have commented that, in the first leg of the tour from which this DVD is taken, U2 did not fulfill the potential it showed when it returned on the third leg with much more practice under its belt; some who even went to the concerts filmed here were much more captivated (which is not to say they were dissatisfied in the first place) when the band returned months later. Similar comments were made about the first leg of U2's Elevation Tour in 2001 being quite lacklustre compared to later shows when the band returned to North America and helped cheer up post-9/11 audiences. Yet, even for that tour, U2 chose to record evidence of Bono's less than elastic vocal range, and the band was said to exhibit a restraint in the face of self-consciousness from being recorded. In this 2005 release, the same problem seems to repeat itself. It's not that the band isn't doing all it can to give a good show -- and it's quite good -- it's just that there's no reason for such an early release when a later one might have been, by many fan accounts, better. Unfortunately, this won't happen since no third leg shows are being filmed for commerical release.

However, U2 did film its outdoors concert in Milan this summer, and it was supposed to have been quite good. I expect the associated DVD release next year to be superior, since the Slane DVD from the 2001 second leg in Europe was so much better than Elevation; in it, Bono's voice just seems more alive and more powerful, and the band's chemistry with the crowd is considerably more fun.

i thoght this dvd was da bomb.i would incourge u to watch it cause it is awsome.if u ever watch it u will probaly saying the next day IT WAS DA BOMB like i said so..........GO WATCH IT OR BUY IT!