Another Time, Another U2 Request

I’m late to the party on the #U2Request hashtag, but for good reason. When it first started showing up on Twitter, the tour hadn’t even been announced yet and we had more pressing things to worry about (like Bono’s broken bones) – so I thought, why bother? But now that he’s walking around Dublin like the superman he is and we all have our tickets in hand, there’s no reason to hold back – we’re all requesting, and we’re looking good doing it. As you may have noticed, there’s a movement among users of the #U2Request hashtag to get the band to play “Acrobat” this time around. The idea, I guess, is to make it the “Ultraviolet” of this tour – that song that was never a commercial hit (because it wasn’t a single), and then it shows up in the setlist after 20 years and kicks our collective ass. “Ultraviolet” was a staple of Zoo Tv, of course, so it’s not like it was a live debut – but “Acrobat” has never been played live, thus adding to the excitement of this fun little fan campaign. But what would it even sound like – or does that really matter? We’d love it no matter what, because we love Bono and we love U2 and we love this tour and we love each other and we’ve waited so long…okay fine, it would be awesome. Other songs this would work with? Let’s brainstorm:

“Trash Trampoline and the Party Girl” – This is a long time fan favorite, an oldie for sure, and it hasn’t been played live since…wait a minute, since 360? Okay, I seriously didn’t realize that. Thanks for bursting my bubble, @AtU2. Whatever. I want it in.

“One Tree Hill” – I know this was on the last tour too, at Soldier Field and in Australia and in a bunch of places where I wasn’t at and won’t be this time either. So if they play it in LA – say, on May 26th or May 31st, hypothetically – I’ll be okay with it. Just okay. Not freaking out, screaming and shedding tears. No, of course not.

“A Sort of Homecoming” – Considering that I started crying when I was watching an old “Friday Night Lights” with my daughter recently and saw this was the title of the episode, I would probably be okay with this making its way to the setlist, too. And when I hear the original Joshua Tree tour arrangements, I get chills…mmm-hmm…please say it’s not just me!

What songs have you added/would you add to #U2Request, and why?