Favorite live segue

It’s something I really don’t like on an album, I really prefer when a song stands out on its own for a studio version.

But during a show, jumping from one song to another can be tricky or beautiful. It can work in terms of continuity or, on the contrary, in terms of contrast.

Over the years, U2 have offered amazing examples of such a trick. Let’s share our favorites.

I’ll start with the most obvious, which is a sequence of 4 songs : Bad / Bullet the Blue Sky / Running to stand still / Where the streets have no name (not including the snippets at the end of Bad).

Here taken from Dublin, Zoo TV, 1993 (starts at 1:07:45)

https://youtu.be/1Ej2K_-ZsR0

I will offer up I Threw A Brick into A Day Without Me, from Redrocks gig in 1983

Also, there is Please/Streets from Popmart

Great ones mentioned already.

All I Want Is You/Where The Streets Have No Name and Bad/40(snippet)/Where The Streets Have No Name (Elevation)

Sunday Bloody Sunday/Raised By Wolves/Until The End Of The World (Innocence + Experience)

Elevation/Vertigo (Joshua Tree 2017) was surprisingly effective to me due to the immediacy of the segue.

Great ones mentioned already.

All I Want Is You/Where The Streets Have No Name and Bad/40(snippet)/Where The Streets Have No Name (Elevation)

Yep. That one’s amazing.

Probably my all time favorite would be Bullet - Running to Stand Still - Streets from ZOOTV Sydney.  Just pure magic.  Watch it on the biggest screen possible,  turn it out loud,  and it helps if you've had a few prior to watching.  It just builds and builds and just when you think it couldn't blow up anymore....it does.  Each performance tops the previous one,  somehow.  Just pure magic.  I have showed that clip to people who didn't really care for the band (okay,  Bono) and their jaws dropped. 

Second favorite would likely be from POPMART,  the entire encore emerging from the giant lemon on the b-stage,  a rousing performance of Discotheque under an out of this world light show,  the haunting Velvet Dress with the lemon acting as a mirrorball,  and perhaps one of the more haunting versions of WOWY ever to grace a stadium. 

Hard to believe that POPMART was 25 years ago and ZOOTV nearly 30 - where in the hell did the time go - and just look what we've done to this world. 

Great examples !

I’ll add the ones with October :

October / Tomorrow (Glasgow 1983)

https://youtu.be/yy3OnJv7JYU

October / New Year’s Day (Dortmund 1984)

https://youtu.be/KOQ8sDd34o0

October / Bullet the Blue Sky (Paris 2015)

https://youtu.be/XIVUfSJGam4

October into New Years Day is a classic

Please into Streets was great

I seem to recall they did October into Bullet before I&E - maybe the original Joshua Tree tour?

Miami to Bullet the Blue Sky on Popmart is one of my favourites.

Easily the best for me is All I Want Is You/Streets from Slane. 

Also love Dirty Day/Bullet from ZooTV.  I imagine that one hit like a train if you weren't expecting it.

October/Bullet from I+e was pretty great as well.

I seem to recall they did October into Bullet before I&E - maybe the original Joshua Tree tour?

I don’t think I’ve heard it.

Early on during the original JT tour they played Bullet early in the set, right after Unforgettable Fire. It worked quite well in terms of contrast but it was 2 songs. No segue.

For example :

https://youtu.be/aMF152g7Gck

Easily the best for me is All I Want Is You/Streets from Slane. 

Also love Dirty Day/Bullet from ZooTV.  I imagine that one hit like a train if you weren't expecting it.

October/Bullet from I+e was pretty great as well.

Yeah although if I never hear streets again it will be too soon, the AIWIY > Streets segue worked very well

Also love Dirty Day/Bullet from ZooTV.  I imagine that one hit like a train if you weren't expecting it.

I love this one as well. Great, jarring contrast.

October into New Years Day is a classic

Please into Streets was great

Yeah, Please into Streets on PopMart was incredible. The sequel from Bad to 40 to Streets on Elevation was pretty amazing too.

I guess anything transitioning into Streets works pretty well, as least typically.