In the week that has passed since U2 headlined Glastonbury, I've watched the performance several times over. I am a massive fan of this band and was really looking forward to their set. However, I'm also convinced they dropped the ball last friday and missed a massive opportunity to silence their (many) detractors.
They had a chance to pull off something unique, to genuinely evoke the original spirit of a pre-corporate Glastonbury and come out fighting as a bare bones, back to basics punk band - a brand new outfit who somehow ended up with a Pyramid Stage headline slot and 34 years of hits behind them.
There were flashes of that spirit at times which is what made the show good, but not enough to make it great. What prevailed for me was a sense of a band who had no idea how to play to a festival crowd, and who've become used to playing for audiences who are perhaps too ready to idolise and indulge them.
There was so much more that could've been made of their 90 minutes on stage. Without the gigantatron staging of the ever rolling 360 tour, there was the nervous energy of a band once again quite literally forced to stand together and play, but ultimately it was the songs lack of suitability for the occasion which left U2 the most confused I've ever seen them. With that in mind, I present:
U2 at Glastonbury 2011 - the alternate setlist (with no encore)
1. Vertigo
2. Beautiful Day
3. Gloria
4. I Will Follow
5. Desire
6. Elevation
7. New Years Day
8. All Because Of You
9. Out Of Control
10. Bad
11. One
12. All I Want Is You
13. Ultra Violet
14. In A Little While
15. Red Hill Mining Town
16. Where The Streets Have No Name
17. Pride (In The Name Of Love)
18. Magnificent
19. Discotheque
20. With Or Without You
21. 40
