Customer Reviews

U2 - 360° AT THE ROSE BOWL [2 DVD Digipack]

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was at that concert, and it was a typical U2 extravaganza. Exceptionally well done, and the energy, look and feel of the Rose Bowl audience and environment and U2's interaction with it was a part of its success. Afterwards, I really really enjoyed the Youtube broadcast of it that was available online for a couple of weeks before they yanked it.

Regarding the DVD, I am disappointed because I felt the editing didn't do justice to the entire concert environment in a way that was accessible. No shot was on the screen for much longer than 7 seconds, and most between 3 and 5 seconds. I have amazingly quick vision (I make my living drawing people and things really fast) yet I felt I never had a chance to focus on any one scene before another was quickly flashed, faded into, etc. There were few views that gave a sense of the hugeness of the concert. It was like blinking my eyes and another view. I'm pretty good at connecting the dots, and even though I was at that concert, the DVD never gave much of a feeling of the whole.

While the camera work and sound, etc., were very well done, I felt there was too much being thrown at the viewer, too fast. Frankly, I thought the Youtube live broadcast provided a better feel of the concert and visual experience of it, which was after all, a "world event".

Whether you find them legendary or musically limited, U2 for nearly 20 years has been the most trendsetting touring group from inspiring the widespread use of the intimate "b-stage" to the use of cutting-edge technology to bring theatrical presentations of music to another level. The 360° tour is U2's latest outing in support of their 2009 album No Line On The Horizon. For their previously YouTube-broadcasted live performance in Pasadena, California, the band employed director Tom Krueger after three DVD releases (Elevation Tour 2001: U2 Live from Boston, U2 Go Home - Live From Slane Castle (Limited Edition Packaging) and Vertigo 05 Live from Chicago) with Hamish Hamilton. In comparison to Hamilton's work with the band, Krueger takes on a much larger project and approaches it accordingly. Krueger gives the cinematography a purposeful touch of dark contrast of colors inside of a monstrous stage making it seem like a night out on a space station. Eschewing any of the MTV-styled editing or pointless views of fans doing whatever pops into their temporarily unsound minds, Krueger focuses only the band and the environment they've created for themselves.

Musically, the band gives consistent performances of their classics in spite of what may seem like a sloppy set list of songs from drastically different eras or styles played behind each other (the danceable "Mysterious Ways" next to spiritual "Beautiful Day," the rocking "Elevation" next to the ballad "In a Little While," or glowing "City of Blinding Lights" next to the thunderous "Vertigo"). But whether they're tackling the techno-punk of "Get on Your Boots" or the gospel of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," U2 pull off an incredibly spirited performance in which Bono's voice resonates better than some of U2's previous DVDs and his three compadres are more interactive than ever before. And even for a band that has played their material endlessly, they still are a band that can perform live versions as good as if not better than their studio versions. Songs such as "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" sound better here than any other previous live DVDs. Even the snippets of classic songs added to their own songs such as "Stand by Me" with "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" are amazingly appropriate, graceful and cozy in their new environments. Newer songs such as "Magnificent," "No Line on the Horizon" and "Unknown Caller" lend credence to the oxymoron of a "new classic" while the return of songs like "The Unforgettable Fire" and "Ultra Violet (Light My Way)" are sorely appreciated.

The manner in which the band releases this DVD is also rather inventive and customer-friendly as they have editions to appeal to the casual listener (U2 - 360° AT THE ROSE BOWL), a more interested fan (2 discs) or a die-hard (U2 - 360° AT THE ROSE BOWL [Super Deluxe Edition]). The bonus material found the special editions are worth every cent as you see a documentary of how this innovative tour is created; see a share of clips from the tour, a few music videos, alternate openings of the live show and a bonus live track ("Breathe"). In the end, this set doesn't just document U2's recent tour but demonstrates why they will go down in history as one of the greatest touring groups of all time.

I guess the most gratifying aspect of this entire DVD is that it made reevaluate No Line on the Horizon, which I dismissed as half-good. After this, I'm listening to "Moment of Surrender," "Magnificent" and "Breathe" in a whole different way.

I attended the U2 360 Tour concert at Fed Ex field last September. Trying to describe the experience to someone who wasn't there is almost impossible. The HUGE "Claw" stage setup was an amazing sight - like something out of a Godzilla movie! But if you couldn't be there, this DVD is the next best thing. Although the Rose Bowl set list is slightly different than the one I saw, watching this DVD still brought back some great memories. 95 percent of this concert is the same as what I saw in DC. It was like going back to the concert again, but this time from different ever changing seat locations. The sound quality is excellent and the presentation of the concert is top notch! So for those that missed the 360 tour, heres your chance to finally see it. And for those of you that did go, this is the ultimate 360 concert souvenir. Enjoy!

Ok, first the positives:

The sound on this DVD is amazing. Playing this on my home theater system made me feel like I was back at the concert, which in the case of U2 is always a good thing. The video is also extremely sharp and clear.

Now, the negatives:

Ugh. I really hate to criticize this DVD because U2 is my favorite band in the world that still tours and makes music. However, I was at this show and it just doesn't capture what it was like to be there. I know that is an extremely difficult thing to do for a concert video, but U2 has done that before for their concert recordings. If you want proof, look at the ZooTV recording from Australia. Now, I wasn't there for that show, but I did see the outdoor performances in Los Angeles and in Oakland. Watching the ZooTV concert, even though the setlist had changed a little by the time the show reached Australia, felt like I was reliving the shows I'd seen. I was able to turn that video on and show friends what I had been raving about for months. There was a 'this is what it was like' feel to the camera work for that concert and you were able to get an idea of the magnitude of what the ZooTV experience was like. This is SORELY lacking in the 360 DVD. Again, I realize that because the claw was so huge, the DVD only watching crowd would never fully be able to experience what it was like to be in the presence of the claw. But if the editing had just lingered on the claw from distance for more than 2-3 seconds, if there had been a few audience level shots from different points of view from the stadium that maybe lasted 10 seconds or so, then maybe, just maybe, people would have gotten a feel for what it was like to be there. Bombastically over-the-top though the claw was, and rightly or wrongly, many have said the claw detracted from the intimacy of a U2 show, it was a technological marvel to witness and should have been given its 'time in the sun' for this recording. To be completely honest, the worldwide youtube broadcast of the Rose Bowl show was a much better indicator of what it was like to be there. I guess they figured they couldn't just clean up the audio and release that on DVD, but I would much rather own that than this DVD.

Secondly, no Breathe to open the concert? Seriously? Look, always one of the the greatest moments in a U2 show is the dramatic buildup to the opening song. The salvo fired across the bow of the U2 fan that begins a U2 show is crucial. Any U2 fan worth his salt can tell you the opening song of the various U2 tours, it sets the tone for the whole show. Not including Breathe on the setlist except as, essentially, a 'deleted scene' section on disk 2 of the product is completely ridiculous. Not to mention the fact that the reason this was done was stupendously stupid to begin with, the tension created, the way the band was introduced during Breathe, plus the fact that Breathe is simply a kickass song...I don't know, it just boggles the mind.

Thirdly, I brought this up before a little, but the editing, YIKES! Watching this DVD makes me want to kill Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay, you know those guys. The idiots who brought you Armageddon, Con-Air, the Transformers movies, etc. These cinematic delinquents have nearly ruined movie going with the quick-cut editing style that seems to be the formula for big-budget action movies. This editing style makes you worried that you'll start having an epileptic seizure in the movie because the scene changes so quickly. Well, U2 360 is not as bad as some of those movies, but almost. Sometimes the cuts are so quick between Bono, the Edge, Adam and Larry that you start to think maybe they are only one person and not four. Throw the Ang San Suu Kyi masks into the mix and you seriously might think you are losing your mind.

In the end, would I recommend this 360 DVD to others? It's a hard case to make. If you are a U2 fan that wants to be complete and own the visual record of each tour available, then yes. If you didn't get to see 360 and want to get an idea of what 360 was like, i'd say rent it. As for me, I've had this since 2 days after it came out and have only watched it once and I doubt I'll watch it many more times. I'd watch ZooTV, Slane Castle, Red Rocks, heck even U2 in Chicago over watching this, and as a diehard U2 fan, that's tough to say.

The U2 extravaganza we know as 360 live at the Rose Bowl documents the bands latest and biggest production yet which will still be trotting around the world this year. I was fortunate to catch this show in LA and and the one 2 nights prior in Las Vegas at the Sam Boyd Stadium. Looking back now the Vegas show was just a dress rehearsal for LA. The setlist was identical which is unfortunate which tells me as the biggest Rock and Roll band in the world they like to "play it safe" and create the illusion that that night was special and unique. If you like your Rock shows presented to you with perfection then shows like U2, Rush and Kiss is your cup of tea. If you wanted to see a rock show where the music is center stage go see The White Stripes, Prince or The Black Crowes where setlists if there is one differs night after night. I personally take the big production shows for what they are at face value. U2 at a time did let the music dictate and be the center piece of their shows and if it worked it worked. Take example their live aid performance in 85' They were meant to play 3 songs that day "Sunday Bloody Sunday" "Bad" and "Pride" but they only got to do 2 songs Sunday and Bad. They got lost in the music and Pride wasn't performed. They didn't need all the gadgets -they had passion and its hard to get that with a rehearsed show. There are shows like Rush where it works they are probably the only exception in my opinion, with U2 seeing both forms - they do work better when they play off the fly- they are more exciting to watch as performers. Now that being said, at the vegas show I was in the front pit and in LA I was in nosebleed seats. Having experiencing the same show in 2 different outlooks. The show makes more sense in the nosebleed seats as a whole - the lights, the visuals it was more enjoyable, so with that in mind the home dvd will be great viewing. Being in the front didn't matter - the band 80 percent of the time were roaming the ramps playing to the rest of the stadium except Adam and Larry who you couldn't see at all. The front pit was created so it could have a club vibe with the band -standing room only without the pushing shoving and being crushed. personally it didn't work for me for the band was hardly visible and you couldn't see the visuals. The sound was way better in the nosebleed seats. The show was designed more for the people in the nosebleed seats. I give credit to U2 for coming up with ways to make a stadium very intimate. As far as track listing one thing i can say about U2 is that they play almost all their new material. They don't have to depend on their hits to make their shows work. They also throw in other than hits deep cuts from their old albums "In a little while" "Ultraviolet" "The Unforgettable Fire" fans like myself like to hear the new material and songs that aren't as popular. U2 is great in the balancing act of giving hard core fans and just regular radio listeners what they need.

This DVD shows once again what U2 is all about! This is an amazing report of there latest concert series shot in in a never seen before manner!
A once in a lifetime experience, not to miss even if you're not that big a fan.
This 2 boxset also features a documentary on how the "claw" whas designed and built. Very interesting, and it also shows how professional a group U2 really is.
Outstanding!!!

U2 360 is the best U2 concert video to date. The camera angles and clarity help you feel as though you are at the concert. I know this because I attended two of their concerts. The extras help explain the philosophy of building the "spaceship" in order to attempt to increase intimacy in a large, outdoor venue. Like all U2 videos/dvds, it's the music that has the most impact. After 30 years, U2 remains at the top of their game and the most important band in the world for the 3 decades. I can't wait to watch it again. The only thing I would have changed would be to put "Breathe" on the main dvd since this was the actual song that they opened with on tour. At least they included it on the extras dvd. I recommend this package for anyone who enjoys live rock music. It'll take some of the sting out of having the third leg of the tour cancelled due to Bono's back problems (get well soon, Bono!).

The boys were in a playful mood during this show it seems and what a great night to capture the heart of the 360 World Tour and the magestic claw! What a light show! Those of us die hard fans know U2 for who they are as human beings, not only the biggest band in the world. Bono's soul was spilled out again here as he gives us the audience, his all. What can you say about the the claw other than it's a totally innovative uniquely U2 idea that no other entertainer or act has ever accomplished in the industry! They are ground breakers with a mission. Thank you Bono, Edge, Adam and Larry for this performance of a lifetime! This show felt meloncholy for me as the segway from the stellar UltraViolet---With or Without You felt like a permanent farewell to the character we all know as The Fly.
I hope this isn't the U2 farewell tour without announing a farewell.
Here's hoping for more great music from this band that really has changed the world with their music and heart!
WE LOVE U2!!!!

This is one of the best U2's dvd. Not as good as slane, but as great as Zoo TV. I think these are the top 3 U2 dvds.


Audio 5/5
Image 4/5 not really HD

Unlike the Elevation and Vertigo show, the editing is not annoying, I actually liked it a lot, gets 2 thumbs up!

If you a are a casual U2 you can't loose on this dvd.
For fans we get the 2 dvd pack, which is really cool.
For die hard fans, you get the $100 set.

I am an avid U2 fan, having loved their tunes after falling in love with Mysterious Ways as an 8 or 9 year old back in 1991. My first album was Zooropa, and I was the only person in my circle-of-friends who actually liked (and still likes!) Pop. I lost touch of them after I couldn't score tix for the Elevation Tour, and found them after buying their Atomic Bomb album with a gift card given me as a Christmas gift from a former boss. I saw them on the Vertigo Tour in Atlanta with my best friend and his dad, about 10-feet from the b-side ramp. Edge playing his Until the End of the World solo and the band ending the night with Bad were my two main highlights.

Fast forward a few years, and to No Line On the Horizon. Personally, I think it is their best, most realised album since Achtung Baby (my personal favorite). So, when my mom called me to say that she scored 4 tix for us to see the opening North American show in Chicago---stating, "Who's the most kickass mom in the world!!!"---I was stoked beyond belief. And, rightfully so. In a word, the show was epic. Almost overwhelmingly so (they spontaneously ended the main set with Bad, for crying out loud!).

So here we are at this dvd, which is the closest I have to a memento from my Chicago show. Minus the absence of Bad, I think the Rose Bowl setlist is overall better. (The band later adding Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me and swapping I Will Follow and New Years Day depending on the night is even better!). On this dvd, the band performs with uncanny energy, and Bono's is more consistently strong throughout than on most of their recent dvds.

So, what are my two quibbles? The first has been voiced by many below: editing Breath out of its opening slot. It may not be the best opener, but the martial drums starting things off sent such intense shivers down my spine in Chicago that it is an utter shame that Get On Your Boots has been relegated as the opener. Second, the audience volume is turned WAYYYY too low for much of this recording. At Chicago, the audience singing along was audible for the majority of the show, particularly for Still Haven't Found, Bad, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Pride and With Or Without You (the same can be said for Atlanta on the Vertigo Tour). Even when the audience is turned up, it sounds too weak. Compare the video of Breath on the bonus disc to the main dvd. Compare the audience in the ZOOTV dvd, particularly when Bono prowls the ramp during Until the End of the World.


Overall, this dvd is epic, and despite my beefs, I recommend it! 3.5 stars!