Customer Reviews

U2: Popmart Live from Mexico City

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I never sat down to watch a concert DVD of U2. This one blew me away. I've always half followed U2, though have never been a die-hard. Phases I guess. But having really liked their "Pop" album at one point I decided to see this DVD and man! these guys put on a killer show! They really vascilate between soft and loud. Bono's got the audience in the palm of his hand and they are loving it. Besides many of the cool cuts off Pop, so many classics were jumping out there as well and when you least expect it. But it's just amazing how many "classic" songs U2 really have in their repertoire. I guess the thing that impressed me most, besides an incredible light and sound show and the songs themselves was the way they delivered some of them in different garb. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is sung softly the whole way through with just the Edge and an acoustic guitar. And really so many songs just kept this edgy yet pleasant tension on low boil so that when they did let loose, they really let loose! These guys know how to build a vibe and put on a show. No mistake about it.

Great DVD, I already have it on VHS, but because of the DVD audio and video I highly recomend you get it, specially if you happend to be at any concert during that tour.
SO BUY IT NOW!!!!!!

Come on, if you love U2 like we all do, you've got to get this one, it shows the guys in a whole new light, ENJOY!

I was able to see U2 for the first time at PopMart in Salt Lake, Utah and it was AWESOME!!!!!! You are really an anal person if you can't get past the giant lemon, and U2 will never be able to please people like you. The lemon, it was the coolest!!! I got chills when they came out of the lemon at intermission. Obviously you lemon haters have never seen a lame Rolling Stones show with a giant snake-like contraption for their prop. I haven't heard anyone crying that they destroyed their careers because of that. So why the uproar over this album and tour, I don't get it. If you are a true U2 fan this album was great in its own right. The lighting the stage the lemon, etc. did not detract from the songs at all in concert. Bullet the blue sky was one of the best songs they did that night and it comes from 1987. This concert is great and is worth having in your dvd library, if you are a true U2 fan.

This is really a mega show. Prefect sound and edition. If you don't have the opportunity to see U2 live this DVD take you there.

Ok, at the time, U2's Popmart episode looked a little gimmicky if not like a mis-step in their march toward rock canonization. But strangely, at least at first, looking back on it now, it looks more like genius than it could have back then. In the arc of their rock legacy, the experiment now looks like just the right dose of sarcasm blended with a hint of 'give em what they want if that's what we will get accused of anyway' to fit in between the old/middle era and their current image. It's almost as if by embracing this joke when they did, they gained the credibility to step up to the next level in the music/society hierarchy they now exist in.

So, with no concerns about how this whole charade comes off now, the music itself shines just as well as on some of the other recent tours and DVDs. Of course, the tunes indigenous to the Pop album are what they are, but the treatment of the some of the older favorites melds the sounds reasonably easily where it makes sense, while the others fit in fine in the arrangements that largely have been carried on even through the recent tour.

The imagery unique to this tour is as fun to look at now, even from someone who really didn't pay attention 10 years ago, as it must have been for the huge Mexico City crowd at this particular concert.

The audio quality is fantastic, with a nice balance of the four performers' instruments and voices with the crowd. This disc puts the crowd singing on a higher volume level than some of the other U2 discs, which gives it an accurate live feeling, as well as helping to make sense of the somewhat off-beat vocals U2 concert fans expect of Bono these days-- at times, he clearly struggles with the crowd as he attempts to deliver the vocals in a style different from the records.

The video quality is not good, but you should know it was recorded on standard video anyway, so don't expect miracles. It is in 4:3 format as well.

THIS DVD IS LIKE YOU ARE THERE
-THERE IN THE LAST ROW OF THE STADIUM

As the a name says, this is concert video of the U2 in Mexico City during the tour to support the CD "Pop". It is a little over 2 hours and there are no extras besides the sound options.

THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS DVD IS THAT IT AUTOMATICALLY PLAYS WHEN YOU PUT IN YOUR DVD PLAYER. You don't have to fish through menus to get the concert started. And it begins right at the start of the concert. Although there is intro music and the band is shown walking to the stage, it is still enjoyable. There is none of the pre-concert crap to get through like some videos have.

This DVD is much like the CD "Pop". "Pop" had a muted, distant feel to it. It was not as sharp and bright as earlier U2 albums. This concert and video is much the same way. So, it is a little hard to really get into and feel as if you are there. It more like being in the back row.

The stage show is very bright with vivid colors, but that does not come through in the video. It is as if the bright lights washed out the video.

Most of the camera shots are from far away. Even the close ups have a feel that they were taken from afar (like a megazoom was used).

The sound quality is mediocre. This is the worst sounding U2 live I have ever heard. Some have raved about the remixing of the sound to 5.1 for the DVD. Well, you do get some interesting sound effects, but I don't think the sound quality is very good. The sound quality is actually better if you listen to the DVD in stereo than in 5.1.

The sound and video really don't seem to go together. They are not out of sync, that just don't seem to match. It doesn't pull you into the concert.

This was the last U2 concert tour with over the top theatrics. Generally, I enjoy a good stage show, with lights and props. But, I think that some of the things here were just silly and pointless. like the job orb they all pop out of.

What about the music and the performance? Just like any U2 concert, the music and performance are great. There are some great versions of songs. The only real problem is that there are the 7 songs that have been played to death and played at almost every U2 concert since the songs first came out. Fortunately, with Sunday, Bloody, Sunday, and Desire, the songs are a played a bit different and aren't that tedious.

In general, it is an OK concert DVD, but the high quality that you would expect out of U2.

1. Mofo
2. I Will Follow
3. Gone
4. Even Better Than The Real Thing
5. Last Night On Earth
6. Until The End Of The World
7. New Years Day
8. Pride (In The Name Of Love!)
9. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
10. All I Want Is You
11. Desire
12. Staring At The Sun
13. Sunday Bloody Sunday
14. Bullet The Blue Sky
15. Please
16. Where The Streets Have No Name
Encore:
17. Discotheque
18. If You Wear That Velvet Dress
19. With Or Without You
Encore:
20. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
21. Mysterious Ways
22. One
23. Wake Up Dead Man

I never was that big a fan of Pop or POPMart, but even down to Bono says that PopMart was their finest hour, and there HAS to be a reason for this to be said. I just never got into the body suit worn by Bono, I never got into the performance of the songs from Pop, considering it's not my favorite U2 cd out there...

...BUT, U2 do make up for it with the performances of some of the older songs. "I Will Follow," "Pride," "Sunday Bloody Sunday," even though it was acoustic, "Bullet The Blue Sky," and "Where The Streets Have No Name." Also "One" and "With or Without You" in the encores, all of those stand out and help me raise the star rating to three.

I've just never been a fan of Pop or PopMart as a whole, unfortunately.

even thou i got the vhs tape for this concert u2 popmart tour from mexico city 1997 i have to say its a great concert love the lights and song selection im sure the dvd will be the same or even better i have to say its a great concert one to have.

Un concierto absolutamente extraordinario. Un marco de publico fantastico y una puesta en escena soberbia.

Cuenta con los clasicos de siempre y una versiones de Gone simplemente memorable.

Cualquier amante de la buena música y los conciertos, debe tenerlo en su colección.