U2 were just in the area last summer when they brought their unforgettable The Joshua Tree 30th Anniversary Tour to New Jersey for two nights at MetLife Stadium. As if they weren’t busy enough, the legendary Irish rockers released their 14th studio album Songs of Experience, a companion piece to their 2014 album Songs Of Innocence. The boys have kept plenty busy ever since, touring hard in support of the new album as a part of the eXPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE Tour.
The tour brought them to the New York area for a set of three shows at Madison Square Garden, as well as a show at Prudential Center on Friday, June 29. It was fitting to see them play in New Jersey again after witnessing their rather heroic showing at The Meadowlands last year. It was business as usual, with no opener taking up valuable time, Bono emerged within their giant cage screen that dubs as both a display for their colorful storytelling visuals and as a ramp for the band to use as an extension of their stage. While most arena shows feel cold and cause fans to often feel distant from the band that they paid good hard-earned money to see, U2 have set up the show that there is no bad seat in the house. They bring the show to you, whether it is the main stage, the b-stage, or even the mini-stages that hang from both the screen and on the outskirts of the middle portion of the crowd, allowing The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. to make a big room feel that much more intimate and inviting.
One third of the setlist was dedicated to the material from Songs of Experience, strategically placed together and within various classics from their career (“I Will Follow, “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” “Staring at the Sun,” and “Pride (In The Name Of Love)” for starters) to help convey the story and message that they have brought with them on this tour, about family, history, and issues of both the past and present. This included a timely tribute to the tragedy that unfolded at the Capital Gazette, killing five journalists, a profession that Bono told the crowd was more important now than ever. There were also some more lighthearted and geographical comments, cheekily referring to New Jersey at “Bruce’s Universe,” and that they were just “fireflies in it.”
While the setlist may have lacked so many of their certified classics from The Joshua Tree, it was clear why they strayed from going down that path, instead opting to fill in the setlist with more overlooked oldies like “Staring at the Sun,” “Acrobat,” and The Ocean.” No matter how you spin it, this was another big-time performance from the arena band of our time and they delivered another unforgettable performance that left all in attendance in awe.
Find a full photo gallery from their Prudential Center show posted below, along with the setlist.
U2 Setlist:
1. Love Is All We Have Left
2. The Blackout
3. Lights of Home
4. I Will Follow
5. All Because of You
6. Beautiful Day
7. The Ocean
8. Iris (Hold Me Close)
9. Cedarwood Road
10. Sunday Bloody Sunday
11. Until the End of the World
12. Elevation
13. Vertigo
14. Desire
15. Acrobat
16. You’re the Best Thing About Me
17. Staring at the Sun
18. Pride (In the Name of Love)
19. Get Out of Your Own Way
20. American Soul
21. City of Blinding Lights
Encore:
22. One
23. Love Is Bigger Than Anything in Its Way
24. 13 (There Is a Light)
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