Live Performances
Although it was never released as a single, "Bullet the Blue Sky" was played at nearly every live concert from its first performance at the opening night of the Joshua Tree Tour on 2 April 1987 through the Vertigo Tour. Its live performances have traditionally been paired with "Running to Stand Still"; this took place on the Joshua Tree Tour, Lovetown Tour, Zoo TV Tour, and the first 46 concerts of the Vertigo Tour. On the PopMart Tour, "Bullet" instead led into "Please"; Elevation Tour performances were followed by "With or Without You" or a cover of "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye, and on the Vertigo Tour, "Miss Sarajevo" replaced "Running to Stand Still" for the last 85 concerts.
During the Joshua Tree Tour, Bono would frequently grab a large spotlight and shine into peoples' faces in the audience, performances during which he also made numerous political references to figures such as Ronald Reagan and Jerry Falwell. He also used the spotlight on the Elevation Tour.
U2's following album, Rattle and Hum, featured one such performance of this song, with a pre-recorded intro of Jimi Hendrix's version of "The Star-Spangled Banner". "Bullet" then took on new meanings throughout the subsequent years. On the Zoo TV Tour, it was about Nazism; on the Elevation Tour, it became an indictment against handgun violence, illustrated by references to John Lennon's assassination and an ironic intro video clip featuring Charlton Heston, who was at that time the president of the National Rifle Association. On the Vertigo Tour, it was about religious violence and the final lyrics were replaced by a snippet of "The Hands That Built America".
The Edge has always used his black Fender Stratocaster to play this song (with the exception of the PopMart Tour, during which he used a Gibson Les Paul). Since the Zoo TV Tour in the early 1990s, Edge has played a faster, more intricate blues-inspired solo after the second chorus instead of the distorted solo found on the album version near the end of the song.
Live performances of the song appear on the concert films Zoo TV: Live from Sydney, PopMart: Live from Mexico City, Elevation 2001: Live from Boston, U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle, Ireland, Vertigo 2005: Live from Chicago and Live from Paris.
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Famous quotes containing the words live and/or performances:
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