Jump to content

Innocence + Experience Tour

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Y2kcrazyjoker4 (talk | contribs) at 19:14, 30 November 2016 (convert templates). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Innocence + Experience Tour
World tour by U2
Promotional poster for the tour
LocationNorth America, Europe
Associated albumSongs of Innocence
Start date14 May 2015 (2015-05-14)
End date7 December 2015 (2015-12-07)
Legs2
No. of shows76 total
  • 36 in North America
  • 40 in Europe
Box office$152.2 million
U2 concert chronology

The Innocence + Experience Tour (styled as iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE Tour) was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Staged in support of the band's 2014 album Songs of Innocence, the tour visited arenas throughout 2015. It was U2's first time playing arenas since 2005–2006 on their Vertigo Tour. Comprising two legs and 76 concerts, the Innocence + Experience Tour opened on 14 May 2015 in Vancouver, Canada; the tour visited North America from May through July, and Europe from September through December. Shows were predominantly booked in pairs for each market.

Concerts were structured around a loose narrative of "innocence" passing into "experience", with a fixed set of songs for the first half of each show and a varying second half, separated by an intermission—a first for U2 concerts. The stage spanned the length of the venue floor and was divided into three sections: a rectangular segment representing "innocence"; a smaller circular B-stage representing "experience"; and a connecting walkway to represent the transition between the two themes. A 96-foot-long (29 m) double-sided video screen was suspended above and parallel to the walkway; the structure featured an interior catwalk between the video screens, allowing the band members to perform amidst the video projections. For the tour, U2's sound system was moved to the venue ceilings and arranged in an oval array in hopes of improving acoustics by evenly distributing sound throughout the arena.

The Innocence + Experience Tour was well received by critics. According to Billboard, the North American leg of the tour grossed US$76.2 million from 36 sold-out concerts. In total, the tour grossed US$152.2 million from 1.29 million attendees. The final date of the tour, one of two Paris shows rescheduled due to the 13 November 2015 attacks in the city, was filmed for the video Innocence + Experience: Live in Paris and broadcast on the American television network HBO.

Background

U2's previous tour, the U2 360° Tour, visited stadiums in Europe, North America, Asia, Oceania, Africa and South America from 2009 to 2011 and comprised 110 shows.[1][2][3] The concerts featured the band playing "in the round" on a circular stage, allowing the audience to surround them on all sides.[4] To accommodate the stage configuration, a large four-legged structure nicknamed "The Claw" was built above the stage, with the sound system and a cylindrical, expanding video screen on top of it. At 164 feet (50 m) tall, it was the largest stage ever constructed.[5] U2 360° concluded in July 2011 as the highest-grossing concert tour (grossing $736 million) and the highest-attended concert tour (selling over 7.2 million tickets).[6]

On 9 September 2014, after a five-and-a-half-year gap between records, U2 announced their thirteenth studio album, Songs of Innocence, at an Apple product launch event, and released it digitally the same day to all iTunes Store customers at no cost.[7] The release made the album available to over 500 million iTunes customers in what Apple CEO Tim Cook called "the largest album release of all time."[8] Songs of Innocence revisits the group members' youth in Ireland in the 1970s, touching on childhood memories, loves, and losses, while paying tribute to their musical inspirations; lead vocalist Bono described it as "the most personal album we've written."[9] It received mixed reviews, and some critics and consumers were critical of the digital release strategy; the album was automatically added to users' iTunes accounts without their consent, which for many, triggered an unprompted download to their devices.[10][11][12]

Conception

As early as opening night of the U2 360° Tour in June 2009, Bono told his friend/band consultant Gavin Friday that their next tour would have to be more intimate.[13] During U2 360°, Bono and long-time tour designer Willie Williams first discussed ideas for a new tour. One of Bono's suggestions was to begin future shows with the band performing underneath a single light bulb, in contrast to the massive stage structure underneath which they played during the 360° Tour.[14]

Williams was aware that U2's long-time stage designer Mark Fisher was battling an illness and did not have long to live.[15] As a result, Williams reached out to stage designer Es Devlin in February 2013 and invited her to the band's creative team; the two previously collaborated in 2009 for the American theatre leg of Lady Gaga's Monster Ball Tour and in 2012 for Complicite's production of The Master and Margarita.[16] Williams also invited Ric Lipson, Fisher's colleague at the design firm Stufish Entertainment Architects, based on positive experiences with him on past projects.[15]

The first production meeting between U2 and their creative team for the Innocence + Experience Tour was held in March 2013.[14] Although Songs of Innocence was still in progress at the time and did not yet have a title, the autobiographical narrative that would characterise the album was already a driving idea for their tour.[14][17] The band wanted to tell the story of their adolescence in Dublin in the 1970s and how they were "trying to figure out how they fit into the often violent and disrupted world outside" their homes.[14] The manifesto for the tour was summarized by two phrases: "I can't change the world, but I can change the world in me", and "I can the change the world, but I can't change the world in me." The first is a lyric from the band's 1981 song "Rejoice" and represents the mindset of a teenage Bono feeling powerless to make a difference in a world plagued by the Troubles, who instead views personal psychological changes as a possibility; the second phrase represents the modern-day realization that the same person could make a difference in the world through philanthropic efforts but still struggle with the complexities of internal change. Devlin said, "The space between these two statements is the territory of the album and of the show."[16] The band intended to stage shows in pairs and alternate the setlist between "innocence" and "experience" motifs night to night.[14] Williams said, "The artfulness in this tour is in the ideas, not the hardware".[17]

Williams found it beneficial to collaborate with two separate firms, Devlin's company and Stufish, on the stage design because of the "completely different ways" in which they worked.[15] Devlin's team created physical models, while Lipson's team made animations and collaborated with Tait on construction drawings.[16] Fisher was unable to physically attend any meetings after the first one, but did occasionally videoconference with the creative team via Skype. In the final meeting he attended before his death in June 2013,[18] when Bono asked the team to think of an object that could symbolise U2 and be incorporated into the stage design, Fisher suggested a cross; the idea would be implemented into some of the stage's lighting fixtures.[19]

Many of the band's original ideas were too costly to realise, such as an flying rooms, an exploding house, and a giant burning light bulb.[17] Williams and other staff had also wanted to remove the backline bunkers concealing crew and equipment on stage, but eventually conceded to keep them for aesthetic reasons. Unable to shrink the bunkers any further due to the amount of resources needed to produce U2's concerts, Williams took a thematic approach to the problem by selecting a main stage that would harken back to band's "innocent" years; it is the same main stage that was used on their 1987 Joshua Tree Tour.[20] The Innocence + Experience Tour was originally intended to start in early 2014 but was delayed until the following year, leading to an extended design period of 2 years.[14]

Set design and show production

The centerpiece of the set was a 96-foot-long "video cage" that was suspended over the walkway connecting the main stage and B-stage.

The stage spanned the length of the venue floor and was divided into three sections: a rectangular segment that illuminated as an "I" to represent "innocence"; a smaller circular B-stage that illuminated as an "e" to represent "experience"; and a connecting walkway to represent the transition between the two themes.[21] A long, rectangular "video cage" was suspended above and parallel to the walkway.[22][23] The structure, provided by SACO Technologies in conjunction with PRG Nocturne, featured LED video screens on the two largest faces measuring 96 feet (29 m) wide by 22.5 feet (6.9 m) tall, each one comprising 240 SACO V-Thru semi-transparent video panels.[24] An interior catwalk between the video screens allowed the band members to perform amidst the video projections.[22][23] The video screen rig was originally supposed to be 24 feet longer to match the length of the catwalk, but combined with the already-enormous weight of the other equipment, it would have made touring impractical.[19]

Due to the amount of space covered by the staging area and the band members often being spread out, a traditional public address system front-loaded on one end of the arena was deemed inadequate. U2's long-time sound designer Joe O'Herlihy worked with Clair Global to rethink how to create an arena sound system.[15] As a result, U2's sound system was moved to the venue ceilings and arranged in an oval array of 12 speaker clusters.[21][25] The band hoped the change would improve acoustics by evenly distributing sound throughout the arena.[21] O'Herlihy said, "It allows us to project the music without it being enormously loud."[25] Williams said that a positive side effect of the speakers' relocation was the reduction of visual clutter on the stage.[15]

The amount of potential performance areas on-stage, as well as the size of the video cage, dictated the lighting system. Three trusses were suspended over the main stage housing just 16 lighting fixtures, with additional trusses lengthwise following the edge of the arena floor. The most heavily used fixtures were PRG Best Boys and Bad Boys, providing both wash and spot lighting; wishing to minimize the amount of fixtures used, Williams chose them because of their output and throw distance. Due to the lack of a traditional "front of house" for the stage design, Williams was concerned how to handle spotlights, but he settled on using a ring of truss Bad Boy spotlights with the brightest bulbs that could be used without melting. The lighting of the main stage was meant to evoke a punk rock club from the late 1970s and early 1980s, a time and place that provided the thematic setting for the beginning of the Innocence + Experience shows.[20]

The concerts were digitally recorded by 28 HD cameras, both human operated and robotic, collecting about 500 gigabytes of audio/video per hour—roughly a terabyte (TB) per show.[26][27] To handle their data storage needs, U2 used several products from EMC Corporation, the first time the company had a musical client.[26] To archive uncompressed footage and access it on-demand during the shows' production, the tour staff used an EMC VNXe3200 portable flash storage unit worth about US$25,000; it was configured with 22.9 TB of storage but was expandable up to 450 TB.[28] After each show, tour staff used an EMC Data Domain 2500 system to back up footage; with storage up to 6.6 petabytes and an hourly throughput of 13.4 TB, the Data Domain system could complete a nightly backup before the crew disassembled the stage.[27] On previous tours, U2 relied on USB flash drives for storage.[26] Video imagery is loaded on the set's video screens with two d3 Technologies d3 4×4 media servers.[29] Due to the need to load video on the fly, all storage was locally networked, as a cloud storage configuration would have increased latency.[28] EMC's solution satisfied certain requirements dictated by the band, such as: mobility through a flight case form factor; expandable storage; and the capability to handle the large data loads from many cameras.[28]

Several other personnel were involved in the production of the tour. Sparky Risk and Alex Murphy serving as lighting directors. Jake Berry reprised his role as U2's long-time production manager for the tour. Also on staff are video director Stefaan "Smasher" Desmedt and video content producer Ben Nicholson. The set was built by Tait, and lighting was provided by PRG.[30]

Planning, itinerary, and ticketing

After months of speculation about a tour, the band announced the Innocence + Experience Tour on 3 December 2014. Initially, 44 shows were scheduled in 19 cities across North America and Europe beginning in May 2015,[1] with plans for shows in their native Dublin announced but not finalized at the time.[31] Dates were predominantly booked in pairs for each market.[32] Pre-sale tickets for the tour were offered to U2 fan club members on 4 December 2014 before going on sale to the general public on 8 December. In contrast to the U2 360° Tour, on the Innocence + Experience Tour, U2 played arenas, their first time since their Vertigo Tour from 2005–2006.[1] Initial dates for the tour sold out, prompting Live Nation to extend the tour with additional dates.[33] A sponsorship deal with cloud computing company Salesforce.com, reportedly worth $12 million, was announced in March 2015.[34][35] The group spent a month rehearsing at Rogers Arena in Vancouver prior to the tour's opening show there. During this period, they decided to abandon their plans to alternate between "innocence" and "experience" setlists from show to show, fearing that concertgoers would be disappointed by the omission of certain songs on a given night.[21] On 9 September 2015, the band announced a six-date extension to the tour's European leg, scheduling two shows in Belfast and four shows in Dublin; to fit the small venues available in Ireland, the group was forced to reconfigure the show's production.[36] The band donated €2 million from Irish ticket sales to Music Generation, a local music education programme for children.[37] In total, 76 shows were scheduled for the tour.[38]

Complications

On 16 November 2014, Bono was injured in a "high energy bicycle accident" in Central Park in New York City. After he underwent "multiple X-rays and CAT scans" and five hours of surgery at New York–Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center's Emergency Department, it was determined that he suffered fractures of the shoulder blade, humerus, orbit, and pinky finger.[39] Bono said he was uncertain that he would ever be able to play guitar again.[40] The injury forced the band to cancel a headlining appearance at KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas,[41] as well as a week-long residency as the musical guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.[42]

Days before the 14 May 2015 tour opener in Vancouver, drummer Larry Mullen, Jr.'s father died in Ireland, putting the status of the show in doubt. Mullen flew home for the funeral and returned to Vancouver in time for the concert.[43][44] On opening night, during the band's performance of the final song "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", guitarist the Edge fell off the stage catwalk while playing guitar and proceeding to the exit.[45] He narrowly escaped injury, only scraping his arm.[46]

Dennis Sheehan, the group's tour manager since 1982, died in Los Angeles on 27 May 2015 while on tour with the band. He was 68 years old. Bono said, "We've lost a family member, we're still taking it in. He wasn't just a legend in the music business, he was a legend in our band. He is irreplaceable."[47]

The group's 20 September 2015 show in Stockholm was postponed until later that week after an arena security breach that required police to evacuate the building and search for a suspect.[48] Less than two months later, attacks in Paris on 13 November forced the postponement of two of U2's shows in the city scheduled for 14 and 15 November;[49] the shows were rescheduled for 6 and 7 December,[50] making them the final dates of the European leg of the tour.[51] According to tour producer Arthur Fogel, "minimal" refunds were requested (3,000 of the 34,000 tickets sold). The rescheduling posed logistical challenges for the band, as the tour was supposed to end in Dublin more than a week prior to the new Paris dates, and crew members and equipment had been set to disperse. Arena security was bolstered for the rescheduled shows.[52] Writing about U2's plan to return to a Paris still on high alert, Don Kaplan of the Daily News said, "The Dublin band, born in the crucible of violence that gripped Ireland in the 1970s and '80s, has long collaborated with other musicians, artists, celebrities, and politicians to address issues concerning poverty, disease, and social injustice. That they've now opted to challenge terrorism and fear should surprise absolutely no one."[53]

Show overview

U2 opens shows on the tour performing under a single dangling light bulb, a metaphor for the band's innocence.

Shows on the Innocence + Experience Tour consist of two acts separated by a brief intermission—a first for U2 concerts[21]–with an encore at the end. The first act begins with U2 performing "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)", followed by a mix of the group's earliest tracks (such as "Gloria", "The Electric Co.", and "Out of Control") and then "Vertigo" and "I Will Follow. These songs are played underneath a single dangling light bulb, which was inspired by the decor of Bono's childhood bedroom and is intended as a metaphor for the intimacy and innocence of the band's early years.[54][55] After four songs, the band more explicitly explores its adolescence, beginning with "Iris (Hold Me Close)", which Bono wrote about his mother who died when he was 14 years old. The set's video screen shows old home video footage of her intercut with visuals of stars, matching the song's lyrics that liken her influence on Bono over the years to the light of long-dead star.[56][57]

During "Cedarwood Road", Bono performs inside the video screen and appears to be walking down his childhood street.

For "Cedarwood Road", written about the Dublin street on which Bono grew up, the singer climbs into the video cage and performs amidst animation of his childhood street, giving the impression of him walking down it. The visuals transition to an interior depiction of Bono's childhood home for "Song for Someone", which was written as a love song for his wife Ali. The visuals feature Bono's son portraying a childhood version of the singer trying to write a song.[44] Afterwards, two songs revisiting the Troubles are performed. For "Sunday Bloody Sunday", all four members of the band perform on the dividing walkway, with drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. playing only a single snare drum. The song is followed by "Raised by Wolves", which was written about the Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 1974; during performances, the video screen shows pictures of the 33 victims.[58] For the final song of the first act, "Until the End of the World", the Edge performs inside the video screen, while Bono, through his video projection on the screen, attempts to interact with his bandmate.[17] The song concludes with pages from Ulysses, Lord of the Flies, the Psalms, and Alice in Wonderland falling from the ceiling like confetti.[19]

Portions of the shows are filmed by a fan with a mobile phone for streaming via Meerkat.

After the intermission, the second act begins with a performance of "Invisible" as a recreation of the Berlin Wall on the video screen dissolves to reveal U2 inside.[17] The group remains inside the screen to perform half of "Even Better Than the Real Thing" before emerging to finish the song on-stage. For the next sequence, beginning with "Mysterious Ways", the band performs on the B-stage and the show is filmed by a fan on-stage with a mobile phone for live streaming online through the mobile app Meerkat. These performances are also projected onto the set's video screens. The live streams were first used during U2's Phoenix and Los Angeles shows.[59] Either "Elevation" or "Desire" is usually played next, although U2 sometimes rotates songs in their place at different concerts, such as "Ordinary Love" and "Volcano".

Following B.B. King's death in May 2015, the band played "Angel of Harlem" and "When Love Comes To Town" to honour the singer-songwriter with whom they worked for Rattle and Hum. An acoustic version of "Every Breaking Wave" is played from the e-stage, with just the Edge on piano and Bono's vocals. During the European leg, Bono and the Edge played "October" after "Every Breaking Wave". For "Bullet the Blue Sky", the singer thematically re-interprets the song, modifying the mid-song spoken passage to be a criticism of the modern-day Bono and his excesses by his younger self.[60][61] Towards the end of the song during North American performances, he said, "Hands up, I'm an American" and "I can't breathe, I'm an American", addressing the civil unrest in US communities caused by police violence against African-Americans.[61] During the European leg, Bono replaced this segment with pleas for resolution to the Syrian refugee crisis, along with a snippet of "Zooropa" re-contextualised by the crisis seguing into "Where the Streets Have No Name".[62] Performances of "Pride (In the Name of Love)" were preluded by an extended snippet of "The Hands That Built America". "With or Without You" is played late in the second act, with the group often shuffling its position in the setlist.

During the encore in North America, U2 played "Beautiful Day", "City of Blinding Lights", and "Where The Streets Have No Name", occasionally mixing in "Bad". From show to show, U2 has alternated between "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", "One", and more rarely, "40", as the closing song. The opening show marked U2's first tour concert at which they did not play "One" since its live debut in 1992 on the Zoo TV Tour.[63]

Guest appearances

Several guests joined U2 on-stage during their shows in New York City. On 22 July 2015, The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon performed "Desire" with the group; Fallon previously performed the song on his show with his house band, the Roots, in an imitation of Bono after U2 canceled a week-long residency on the show in November 2014. After Fallon's Innocence + Experience performance with U2, the Roots accompanied U2 in "Angel of Harlem", much as they did when U2 played the song on The Tonight Show in May 2015.[64] On 26 July 2015, Lady Gaga joined the band to play piano and sing for "Ordinary Love".[65] During an off-day on 29 July, the Edge and bassist Adam Clayton made a surprise appearance at the 20th anniversary party for the band's fansite @u2, performing "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "Out of Control" with a U2 tribute act.[66] On 30 July, Paul Simon joined U2 to play his song "Mother and Child Reunion", which they had regularly been snippeting on tour.[67] On 31 July, the final date of the North American leg of the tour, Bruce Springsteen accompanied the band in performances of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and "Stand By Me".[68]

For U2's 5 September show in Turin, Zucchero guest starred for a performance of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For".[69] Noel Gallagher did the same for the band's 26 October show in London, while also helping them cover the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love".[70] Patti Smith joined U2 on two occasions to cover her song "People Have the Power"—in London on 29 October 2015,[71] and in Paris on 6 December 2015 for the first of the band's rescheduled dates in the city.[72] For the tour's closing show on 7 December in Paris, U2 were joined on-stage by Eagles of Death Metal, who were returning to the city for the first time since their show at the Bataclan on 13 November 2015, where the deadliest of that day's attacks in Paris occurred, killing 89 people. The two bands performed a cover of "People Have the Power" before Eagles of Death Metal concluded the show with their song "I Love You All the Time".[73]

Concert broadcast and documentary

In November 2015, two films about the tour were scheduled to air on American television network HBO, but both were postponed. The first was a concert film entitled Innocence + Experience: Live in Paris, originally planned for airing on 14 November to showcase a performance at AccorHotels Arena in Paris from earlier that day.[74] However, the terrorist attacks in Paris the day prior forced U2's performance and the broadcast to be postponed until 7 December.[49][50] The concert was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and via digital download on 10 June 2016.[75] The second film, a behind-the-scenes tour documentary featuring interviews with the band and tour personnel,[76] was originally scheduled to air on 7 November, a week prior to the original concert broadcast date, but it was also postponed.[77] The documentary will be directed by Davis Guggenheim, who previously worked with the Edge for the documentary It Might Get Loud (2008) and with U2 for From the Sky Down (2011).[78]

Reception

Critical response

U2 takes a curtain call during a performance in Glasgow on 7 November 2015

The Innocence + Experience Tour was well received by critics. Greg Kot of Chicago Tribune praised the show, writing, "Visuals, sound and sequencing synced up to tell a story, but it was a story built on emotionally involving songs presented with a minimum of fuss." Kot, who was critical of Songs of Innocence, thought the album's songs were redeemed by their live performances, saying, "it's tempting to ask for a do-over of [U2's] latest album... after witnessing this show. Despite the album's flat, slick surfaces, the Irish quartet made its latest material the centerpiece of its current tour."[79] Jim DeRogatis of WBEZ echoed Kot's sentiments, writing, "U2 has got its mojo back." Despite doubts about U2 after their previous tour and the release of Songs of Innocence, the band's opening four songs of a Chicago show "convinced [him] that U2 is as ferocious, focused, and no-nonsense committed as it's ever been". Like Kot, DeRogatis agreed that "the new songs were much harder-hitting and far more emotional than in the bland, over-produced versions on record".[80] Dorian Lynskey of Q said, "Just as Zoo TV and 360° reinvented stadium rock, this tour offered a glimpse into the future of arena shows."[17]

At the 2016 Pollstar Awards, U2 won honors for Most Creative Stage Production.[81] For the 3rd iHeartRadio Music Awards, the band received a nomination in the "Best Tour" category.[82]

Commercial performance

According to Billboard, the North American leg's 36 shows grossed $76,166,563 from 650,582 tickets sold; all shows were sold-out.[83] The two shows in Toronto alone grossed $4.4 million from 38,364 tickets sold,[84] while the eight shows in New York grossed $19,474,285 from 149,942 tickets sold.[83] In total, the tour grossed $152.2 million from 1,286,416 tickets sold, making them the fourth-highest-grossing artist of 2015.[85]

Set list

According to setlist.fm, this is the average setlist for the duration of the tour.[86]

Tour dates

List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, tickets sold, amount of available tickets, and gross revenue
Date City Country Venue Attendance Gross
Leg 1: North America[87][88][83]
14 May 2015 Vancouver Canada Rogers Arena 36,442 / 36,442 $3,810,775
15 May 2015
18 May 2015 San Jose United States SAP Center 35,398 / 35,398 $4,385,885
19 May 2015
22 May 2015 Phoenix Talking Stick Resort Arena 34,626 / 34,626 $3,992,985
23 May 2015
26 May 2015 Inglewood The Forum 83,505 / 83,505 $9,886,540
27 May 2015
30 May 2015
31 May 2015
3 June 2015
6 June 2015 Denver Pepsi Center 28,141 / 28,141 $3,114,935
7 June 2015
12 June 2015 Montreal Canada Bell Centre 80,911 / 80,911 $7,236,524
13 June 2015
16 June 2015
17 June 2015
24 June 2015 Chicago United States United Center 95,070 / 95,070 $11,347,305
25 June 2015
28 June 2015
29 June 2015
2 July 2015
6 July 2015 Toronto Canada Air Canada Centre 38,364 / 38,364 $4,447,473
7 July 2015
10 July 2015 Boston United States TD Garden 68,183 / 68,183 $8,469,855
11 July 2015
14 July 2015
15 July 2015
18 July 2015 New York City Madison Square Garden 149,942 / 149,942 $19,474,285
19 July 2015
22 July 2015
23 July 2015
26 July 2015
27 July 2015
30 July 2015
31 July 2015
Leg 2: Europe[87][89]
4 September 2015 Turin Italy Pala Alpitour 29,555 / 29,555 $3,324,727
5 September 2015
8 September 2015 Amsterdam Netherlands Ziggo Dome 68,463 / 68,463 $7,674,824
9 September 2015
12 September 2015
13 September 2015
16 September 2015 Stockholm Sweden Ericsson Globe 62,716 / 62,716 $6,850,151
17 September 2015
21 September 2015
22 September 2015
24 September 2015 Berlin Germany Mercedes-Benz Arena 57,798 / 57,798 $6,385,317
25 September 2015
28 September 2015
29 September 2015
5 October 2015 Barcelona Spain Palau Sant Jordi 71,295 / 71,295 $8,482,056
6 October 2015
9 October 2015
10 October 2015
13 October 2015 Antwerp Belgium Sportpaleis 45,059 / 45,059 $4,760,263
14 October 2015
17 October 2015 Cologne Germany Lanxess Arena 35,243 / 35,243 $4,166,553
18 October 2015
25 October 2015 London England The O2 Arena 104,913 / 104,913 $15,804,021
26 October 2015
29 October 2015
30 October 2015
2 November 2015
3 November 2015
6 November 2015 Glasgow Scotland The SSE Hydro 25,222 / 25,222 $3,167,828
7 November 2015
10 November 2015 Paris France AccorHotels Arena 69,864 / 69,864[a] $7,760,999[a]
11 November 2015
18 November 2015 Belfast Northern Ireland SSE Arena 18,922 / 18,922 $2,576,203
19 November 2015
23 November 2015 Dublin Ireland 3Arena 46,784 / 46,784 $5,108,722
24 November 2015
27 November 2015
28 November 2015
6 December 2015 Paris France AccorHotels Arena [a] [a]
7 December 2015
Total 1,286,416 / 1,286,416 $152,228,227

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d The score data for the shows held at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris on 10–11 November and 6–7 December is available only as a four-show total, not from separate two-show visits.

References

  1. ^ a b c Waddell, Ray (3 December 2014). "U2 Announces 'Innocence + Experience' Tour". Billboard. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  2. ^ Waddell, Ray (6 March 2009). "U2 to 'Kiss the Future' on Global Stadium Tour". Billboard. Archived from the original on 23 October 2009. Retrieved 6 March 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ Cross, Alan (25 May 2010). "The Full Story of Bono's Back and the Fate of the 360 Tour". ExploreMusic. Archived from the original on 25 May 2010. Retrieved 25 May 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ "Exclusive: Paul McGuinness on U2's World Tour". Hot Press. 4 March 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2009. (subscription required)
  5. ^ Hiatt, Brian (23 March 2009). "Inside U2's Plans to Rock Stadiums Around the Globe". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 23 October 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Waddell, Ray (29 July 2011). "U2 Set to Wrap Biggest Concert Tour Ever". Billboard. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  7. ^ Ingraham, Nathan (9 September 2014). "U2 releases its new album for free today exclusively on iTunes". The Verge. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  8. ^ Sisario, Ben (9 September 2014). "U2 Appears at Apple Event, and 'Songs of Innocence' Appears Free on iTunes". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  9. ^ "New U2 album given away for free to iTunes users". BBC News. 9 September 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  10. ^ Hawksley, Rupert (10 September 2014). "Why is the new U2 album in your iTunes library?". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  11. ^ Roose, Kevin (11 September 2014). "Everyone Is Mad at Apple for Forcing Them to Download a U2 Album". New York. New York Media. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  12. ^ Peterson, Kim (12 September 2014). "Apple's free U2 "gift" angers many customers". CBS MoneyWatch. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  13. ^ Lynskey, Dorian (October 2015). "Where the Magic Happens". Q (351): 30–39.
  14. ^ a b c d e f Sandberg, Marian (3 June 2015). "Willie Williams On U2's Innocence + Experience, Part 1". Live Design. Penton. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  15. ^ a b c d e Sandberg, Marian (10 June 2015). "Willie Williams On U2's Innocence + Experience, Part 2". Live Design. Penton. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  16. ^ a b c Sandberg, Marian (18 June 2015). "Es Devlin On U2's Innocence + Experience, Part 1". Live Design. Penton. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  17. ^ a b c d e f Lynskey, Dorian (January 2016). "The Greatest Show On Earth". Q (354): 7–8.
  18. ^ Blistein, Jon (27 June 2013). "Mark Fisher, Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd Stage Designer, Dead at 66". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  19. ^ a b c Sandberg, Marian (22 June 2015). "Willie Williams On U2's Innocence + Experience, Part 4". Live Design. Penton. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  20. ^ a b Sandberg, Marian (16 June 2015). "Willie Williams On U2's Innocence + Experience, Part 3". Live Design. Penton. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  21. ^ a b c d e Pareles, Jon (3 May 2015). "U2's Flight to Now (Turbulence Included)". The New York Times (New York ed.). p. AR1.
  22. ^ a b Greene, Andy (15 May 2015). "U2 Reinvent the Arena Show at Triumphant 'Innocence' Tour Opener". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  23. ^ a b Kornelis, Chris (15 May 2015). "At U2′s Tour Opener in Vancouver, Bono Sucks His Thumb, the Edge Falls off the Edge". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  24. ^ "SACO delivers innovative see-through LED video screens for the U2 iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE tour 2015". Montreal: CNW Group. PR Newswire. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  25. ^ a b Kot, Greg (23 June 2015). "Sitting on a couch with U2: Talking about concerts, life and T-shirts". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Publishing. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  26. ^ a b c Sportelli, Natalie (24 July 2015). "The Secret Behind U2's Stunningly Visual Innocence + Experience Tour". Forbes. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  27. ^ a b Heichler, Elizabeth (17 July 2015). "U2 tours with all-flash array to rock the latest video effects". Computerworld. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  28. ^ a b c Dignan, Larry (23 July 2015). "U2 gets flash storage array as data, video needs balloon". ZDNet. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  29. ^ Sandberg, Marian (29 June 2015). "Es Devlin On U2's Innocence + Experience, Part 2". Live Design. Penton. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  30. ^ Sandberg, Marian (22 May 2015). "U2 iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE Tour Images". Live Design. Penton. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  31. ^ "U2 Announce The iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE Tour 2015" (Press release). PR Newswire. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  32. ^ Waddell, Ray (8 December 2014). "Inside U2's Ambitious Upcoming Tour Strategy". Billboard. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  33. ^ Waddell, Ray (9 December 2014). "U2 Extends 'Innocence' Tour After Quick Sellouts". Billboard. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  34. ^ "Taylor Swift, U2, Foo Fighters and More 2015 Tours Breaking Billion-Dollar Sponsorship Records". Billboard.com. Prometheus Global Media. 22 May 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  35. ^ "U2 iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE Tour 2015 Powered by Salesforce" (Press release). Salesforce.com. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  36. ^ "U2 to play homecoming gigs in Belfast and Dublin". BBC News. 9 September 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  37. ^ McGreevy, Ronan (9 September 2015). "Music Generation director 'overawed' by €2m U2 donation". The Irish Times. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  38. ^ Hade, Emma Jane; McHugh, Michael (18 November 2015). "U2 calls for a 'Europe of mercy' at first concert since Paris attacks". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  39. ^ Newman, Jason (19 November 2014). "Bono Treated With Metal Plates, 'Intensive Therapy' After Bike Injury". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  40. ^ Jonze, Tim (2 January 2015). "Bono says he may never play guitar again after cycling accident". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  41. ^ Larsen, Peter (4 December 2014). "U2 is out, No Doubt is in for the second night of KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas". OCRegister.com. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  42. ^ Raab, Lauren (16 November 2014). "With Bono's arm hurt, U2 won't be on Fallon's 'Tonight Show' this week". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  43. ^ Earls, John (14 May 2015). "First show of U2's world tour to go ahead despite the death of Larry Mullen Jr's father". NME. Time Inc. UK. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  44. ^ a b Lederman, Marsha (15 May 2015). "After almost 40 years, U2 still brings the magic to tour opener in Vancouver". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  45. ^ Newton, Steve (15 May 2015). "U2 review – The Edge floored in tech-heavy spectacular". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  46. ^ "U2 guitarist The Edge falls off the edge of stage during concert". The Sydney Morning Herald. Associated Press. 16 May 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  47. ^ Grow, Kory (27 May 2015). "U2 Tour Manager Dennis Sheehan Dead at 68". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  48. ^ Hendicott, James (20 September 2015). "U2 concert in Stockholm evacuated due to security breach". NME. Time Inc. UK. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  49. ^ a b Butler, Bethonie (13 November 2015). "U2 postpones its Paris concert that was to air live on HBO Saturday night". The Washington Post. Nash Holdings LLC. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  50. ^ a b "U2 reschedules Paris concerts, HBO will air Dec. 7 show". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. 23 November 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  51. ^ "U2 Reschedules Paris Concerts Postponed Because of Attacks". Time. 23 November 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  52. ^ Waddell, Ray (8 December 2015). "U2's Rescheduled Paris Shows 'A Challenge' That Ended With a 'Great Experience' Says Live Nation Exec". Billboard. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  53. ^ Kaplan, Don (23 November 2015). "U2, HBO bravely reschedule Paris concert, despite global terror threats". Daily News. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  54. ^ Greene, Andy (21 May 2015). "Inside U2's 'Innocence' Spectacle: A Backstage Q&A With Bono and Edge". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  55. ^ Wood, Mikael (25 May 2015). "Interview: U2 aims for intimacy, presence in latest tour". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Publishing. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  56. ^ Farber, Jim (19 July 2015). "U2 at Madison Square Garden: The rock legends are resurrected on 'Innocence + Experience' tour". Daily News. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  57. ^ Marchand, Francois (15 May 2015). "Review: U2 kicks off Innocence + Experience tour with bombastic conceptual show in Vancouver". The Vancouver Sun. Postmedia Network. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  58. ^ Boyd, Brian (6 September 2015). "U2 to tour Ireland at end of November, Bono confirms". The Irish Times. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  59. ^ Swartz, Jon (16 June 2015). "U2, Meerkat team up on streaming for tour". USA Today. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  60. ^ Ives, Brian (20 July 2015). "U2 Challenge, Thrill Audiences at Madison Square Garden". Radio.com. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  61. ^ a b Zoladz, Lindsay (23 July 2015). "Live Review: U2 Embrace the Underdog Role at Madison Square Garden". Vulture. New York Media LLC. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  62. ^ Greene, Andy (5 September 2015). "Watch U2 Play 'Zooropa' for Syrian Refugees at European Tour Launch". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  63. ^ Greene, Andy (16 May 2015). "U2 Honor B.B. King, Mock the Edge's Fall At Second Show". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  64. ^ Greene, Andy (23 July 2015). "Watch U2 Enlist Jimmy Fallon, the Roots for Surprise MSG Appearance". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  65. ^ Unterberger, Andrew (27 July 2015). "Lady Gaga Joins U2 for 'Ordinary Love' Performance in New York". Spin. SpinMedia. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  66. ^ Earls, John (31 July 2015). "Edge and Adam Clayton gatecrash U2 fansite's 20th anniversary party – watch". NME. Time Inc. UK. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  67. ^ Geslani, Michelle (31 July 2015). "Paul Simon joined U2 for a live cover of his own 'Mother and Child Reunion' – watch". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  68. ^ Boehm, Mike (1 August 2015). "U2's special guests in NYC: Springsteen on stage, Clintons in the crowd". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Publishing. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  69. ^ "Zucchero Ospite A Sorpresa Degli U2" (in Italian). Radio Italia. 6 September 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  70. ^ Jones, Damian (27 October 2015). "Noel Gallagher joins U2 onstage for Beatles cover at London's O2 Arena - watch". NME. Time Inc. UK. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  71. ^ Britton, Luke Morgan (30 October 2015). "U2 perform live with Patti Smith at London gig". NME. Time Inc. UK. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  72. ^ Leeds, Sarene (7 December 2015). "Patti Smith Joins U2 Onstage for First of Rescheduled Paris Concerts". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  73. ^ Moyer, Justin Wm. (8 December 2015). "Eagles of Death Metal join U2 onstage for triumphant return after Paris attacks". The Washington Post. Nash Holdings LLC. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  74. ^ Grow, Kory (30 July 2015). "U2 to Air 'Innocence' Show, Behind-the-Scenes Doc on HBO". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  75. ^ Gordon, Jeremy (13 May 2016). "U2 Announce iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE - Live In Paris Concert Film". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  76. ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (30 July 2015). "U2 Concert Tour Special, Documentary Coming to HBO This Fall". Variety. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  77. ^ Lawrence, Sherry (28 October 2015). "HBO: U2 Documentary Still In Development". @U2. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  78. ^ Puente, Maria (30 July 2015). "U2 + HBO = 2 fall specials". USA Today. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  79. ^ Kot, Greg (25 June 2015). "U2 review: Big ideas, no-frills songs at United Center". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Publishing. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  80. ^ DeRogatis, Jim (24 June 2015). "U2's Innocence + Experience tour reminds you why you used to love this band". WBEZ.org. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  81. ^ "Pollstar Award Winners". Pollstar. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  82. ^ Lynch, Joe (9 February 2016). "iHeartRadio Music Awards Announce 2016 Nominees, Performers & New Categories". Billboard. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  83. ^ a b c Waddell, Ray (4 August 2015). "U2 Closes N. American Leg of Innocence + Experience With 150,000 New York Fans". Billboard. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  84. ^ Bob Allen (17 July 2015). "Shania Twain's Farewell Tour Launches With Sell-Out Shows". Billboard. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  85. ^ "2015 Pollstar Year End Top 20 Worldwide Tours" (PDF). Pollstar. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  86. ^ "U2 Average Setlists of tour: iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE Tour". setlist.fm. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  87. ^ a b Daniel Kreps (3 December 2014). "U2 Detail 'Innocence + Experience' World Tour". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  88. ^ North America boxscore:
  89. ^ Europe box score: