U2 Album: “Vertigo 05 Live from Chicago [Deluxe Edition]”

I was surprised when I first saw that the average rating for this DVD was at 3.5 stars. After reading some of the negative reviews I want to offer some alternative opinions before anyone decides not to get this DVD.

Some have described the show as a "comparatively stripped-down stage production". Vertigo was certainly not as elaborate as ZooTV or as over the top as Pop, but stripped-down it was not. The video curtains were amazing and especially effective during City of Blinding Lights and Streets. The lighting of the Vertigo ellipse was unique and the fact that U2 was able to tap into the video message boards around the United Center made the show even more visually interesting.

Some have complained about the quality of the sound. I must have gotten a different DVD than others. The sound is superb. Ironically, it is so good that you do lose a certain sense of "liveness". Thankfully, a few bad notes and scratchy vocals were left in to remind you that you are watching a live concert. One reviewer writes that Bono's voice was much better on the Boston Elevation DVD. His voice was horrible in Boston. Go back and watch the DVD again.

One reviewer commented that "Bono understandably looks heavier and wearier than in days past". I personally am glad to see that at least one rock star is willing to age. "Look honey, Bono has a gut just like me!"

I think the editing is well done. Very few jump cuts, interesting views from above, a few peeks at the Edge's gear and only a few songs marred by my least favorite shot - the view from the crowd. Sunday Bloody Sunday particularly suffers from the "snake pit" shot. I do agree with some that the audience seemed lifeless. I think that is an editing issue rather than a crowd problem. I also think the arena could have been miced better to record the many sing-alongs. Whoever wrote that the video looked like a grainy handicam needs to invest in a new DVD player.

The setlist? There are always some folks who don't get to see the songs they wanted or don't like the treatment of certain songs. Me too. I was at one of the Garden shows and wish that they had flown Mary J. Blige to Chicago to include her amazing rendition of One which we enjoyed in New York. Bono's ability to sing Pavarotti's portions of Miss Sarajevo is amazing. Not included in the Chicago shows. But I did enjoy seeing the songs from Achtung Baby that I didn't see live - Zoo Station and The Fly in particular. U2 has a huge collection of great songs. They could never fit them all into the two shows filmed for this DVD. My favorite of all - "They not only deny (the) Pop Mart Tour (their most fantastic and successful ever), but also U2 deny the whole Pop era." Um, Pop was a horrible album compared to all of the others. That tour almost bankrupted the band due to it's enormous expense and dwindling ticket sales as word got out how uniquely horrible the show was. I'm as big a U2 fan as anyone, but I almost walked out of the stadium during that one.

I won't even comment on the complaints about Bono's speeches. Anyone who has followed U2 and has seem them live before should know to expect (and I think embrace) that part of the evening.

If you are a U2 fan, or someone who is just interested in great rock shows, this DVD belongs in your collection. Enjoy.

Disappointing sums up the review. Way too much camera changing. You get very few shots of the whole band just playing. Jumps constantly from one shot to the next. I had watched it and then the wife and I watched it together. After the second song she asked "why does the camera angle have to keep changing". Wow. If she can pick up the problem it must be troublesome.

The song selection is terrific. I saw the show in Chicago in Sept and really looked forward to the DVD. Unfortunately our seats were behind the stage. This view isnt much better. Sorry Paul.

Having not seen this dvd yet, but having seen a 3& 1/2 - 4 minuet promo for the dvd, it appears the sound quality will be amazing. If you're a fan of early U2 this is a must buy simply for the inclusion of The Electric Co. and An Cat Dubh / Into The Heart. The promo contained footage of Vertigo, Beautiful Day, The Electric Co., One & Where The Streets Have No Name. The filming looks great with great visuals and almost every U2 album is represented (with the exceptions of Rattle & Hum, Zooropa & Pop). There will be 2 discs, disc one the concert & disc two bonus features. The concert setlist is as follows:

City Of Blinding Lights

Vertigo

Elevation

The Cry / The Electric Co.

An Cat Dubh / Into The Heart

Beautiful Day

New Year's Day

Miracle Drug

Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own

Love & Peace Or Else

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Bullet The Blue Sky

Running To Stand Still

Pride (In The Name Of Love)

Where The Streets Have No Name

One

Zoo Station

The Fly

Mysterious Ways

All Because Of You

Original Of The Species

Yahweh

"40"

Disc Two:

-Beyond The Tour - Documentary directed by Erica Forstadt

-Survalence Cuts - Love & Peace Or Else, An Cat Dubh / Into The Heart, The Cry / The Electric Co., Running To Stand Still - Concept direction & photography by Willie Williams

-Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own - Alternate Video directed by Phil Joanou

I expected this to look a lot like the Elevation DVD, but the darker and more colorful lighting make this feel quite different. The setlist alterations from the Elevation DVD inevitably change the atmosphere. A few "Boy" album songs make a welcome return after an absense since the early eighties and the four-song "Achtung Baby" set is great to see. Also, many songs performed on Elevation are executed quite differently here.

This DVD carries Elevation's same stylistic approach further, and, in doing so, has exacerbated its cinematic faults, too. In some cases, the even more hurried camera editing to please hipsters with low attention spans is troubling, if not downright annoying. In 1988, director Phil Joanou's work on "Rattle and Hum" showed how camera moves and editing could be dynamic and graceful without losing a sense of the band's stage presence. However, on this DVD, director Hamish Hamilton loses such naturalness by switching camera perspectives every few seconds with dizzying effect. For example, instead of simply letting the band's delivery and physicality suffice for entertainment, an otherwise nice performance of the fast-paced "The Fly" is ruined by a quick juggling of images. Still, Mr. Hamilton has chosen a welcome use of footage from above the performers' heads, so you can see Larry playing on his drum kit and The Edge switching pedals in all their skilled musical glory.

Yet, what really hurts this DVD -- in addtion to the, at best, decent film directing -- are the performances. While some are quite nicely carried out musically, Bono's vocals stop short from reaching their full potential. Fans have already had to accept the singer's tragic loss of his falsetto range due to smoking and the effect that has had on his performing vocally-challenging songs from the '90s. Yet even the newly released "City of Blinding Lights" and especially "Miracle Drug" aren't given the power and emotional urgency they have on the studio album and at least deserve for a DVD-worthy concert performance. Although a few performances are fairly good, given Bono's new limitations, the overall concert is not quite representative of how great U2 can be live. Therefore, if this is not how great the band can be, then why would anyone want to watch it multiple times.

Many fans on www.atu2.com forums have commented that, in the first leg of the tour from which this DVD is taken, U2 did not fulfill the potential it showed when it returned on the third leg with much more practice under its belt; some who even went to the concerts filmed here were much more captivated (which is not to say they were dissatisfied in the first place) when the band returned months later. Similar comments were made about the first leg of U2's Elevation Tour in 2001 being quite lacklustre compared to later shows when the band returned to North America and helped cheer up post-9/11 audiences. Yet, even for that tour, U2 chose to record evidence of Bono's less than elastic vocal range, and the band was said to exhibit a restraint in the face of self-consciousness from being recorded. In this 2005 release, the same problem seems to repeat itself. It's not that the band isn't doing all it can to give a good show -- and it's quite good -- it's just that there's no reason for such an early release when a later one might have been, by many fan accounts, better. Unfortunately, this won't happen since no third leg shows are being filmed for commerical release.

However, U2 did film its outdoors concert in Milan this summer, and it was supposed to have been quite good. I expect the associated DVD release next year to be superior, since the Slane DVD from the 2001 second leg in Europe was so much better than Elevation; in it, Bono's voice just seems more alive and more powerful, and the band's chemistry with the crowd is considerably more fun.

The Extras:

There is little reason to buy this 2-disc version if it's going to cost you more, unless you're a completist. The 30-minute tour documentary is essentially about the embarrassing praise of fans, which no one needs to see -- not even fellow fans like myself.

The alternative video of "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" by Phil Joanou just seems like the original but with one take of Bono singing and walking. You can hear Bono singing over the recorded version, which just makes this irritating.

The major selling point of this second disc is the real disappointment, however. The surveillance edits of four songs are like something Radiohead would put out to self-conscoiusly not seem commercial. There's no art here. It's just a lot of black and white, grainy, fuzzy images of The Edge's legs or Bono's face as footage of awkward camera angles is assembled from performances of songs found on the first disc anyway; the sound is fine, but the video leaves much to be desired.

I only bought this edition because of the comparatively nicer packaging, and because it was actually the same price as the single-disc version at "Sam the Record Man" in Toronto at the bargain price of $19.99.

This brings me to one last complaint: the packaging.

There seems to be a new trend this year with DVDs being packaged so they overlap one another. I can't stand this, since, in order to listen to Disc 2, you have to take Disc 1 out first. It just seems a cheap way to save on plastic. The Elevation DVD had much nicer packaging.

The mediocre score I give here is related to the production of this DVD, not the concert itself. I like that the video is widescreen enhanced, and the audio options sound great. However, I agree with other reviewers below: the directing, camerawork, and editing ruined a good concert video. The MTV-style fast cuts, blurry shots, and extreeeme close-ups prevent the viewer from settling into the concert experience. The director tries too hard to add extra energy to the performance. I would prefer to let the performers do that on their own. This is not a concert video for musicians, who would like to see how the Edge plays his riffs and solos. Rather, this video was made for folks with short attention spans. There are virtually no shots longer than a few seconds. I had hoped for something different from the Live in Boston and the Slane Castle DVDs. However, no luck with this DVD.