War Tour - Shows and Reception

Shows and Reception

In both UK and US publicity for the tour, the group emphasised that it opposed "wallpaper music" from artists who spent more time on their hairdos than anything else. In the US, advertisements for the tour read "U2 Declare War" and talked about "The War on Boring Music", especially in the context of breaking up conservative radio formats. National identification also played a role; Bono said to US audiences variants of: "We're not just another English fashion band passing through. We're an Irish band and we're here to stay."

War's music, its music videos, and the War Tour separated U2 from the mass of New Wave or college rock acts and into mainstream rock visibility. Shows were typically 90 minutes long. Bono was emotional and very theatrical during shows; during songs he would climb lighting rigs, plunge into the audience, or walk out onto side balconies. As the tour progressed, band members and others became concerned that Bono's antics – while making for good press copy and having an electric effect on some fans – were detracting from the music and might end in a disaster (an assessment Bono later agreed with). "New Year's Day" became a hit single, and in concert performances full of vitality, The Edge would rapidly switch back and forth between piano and electric guitar. Older songs such as "Gloria" and "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" were kept in the set list. "40"'s show-closing, thoughtful presence – wherein The Edge and bassist Adam Clayton swapped instruments, then three band members left one by one leaving only drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. – grew into an audience participation ritual that would continue even after the band had left the stage. At one show at Dublin's Phoenix Park Racecourse, the fans' singing of the refrain How long, to sing this song went on for 15 minutes after the concert's end.

Initial British critical reaction to the first leg of the War Tour was favourable but with some reservations. The group was already well known there, and while War debuted at the top of the UK albums chart, it had encountered some early backlash, with NME saying "the great personal fury" of U2's early work had been replaced by "literal but sincere sloganeering". Sounds magazine said a Birmingham show had pacing and thematic problems due to "newer numbers clumsily breaking the mood that had earlier been created" but praised many other elements of the show, saying that "their skill at breaking down barriers between band and audience has never been better."

U2's exciting concerts earned critical praise during the American leg, where the band had not been as well-known previously. The New York Times' John Rockwell wrote that: "This is a great live band. Bono is a riveting public personality, leaping and crawling all over the stage and above it into the scaffolding." The Boston Globe wrote that the group's performance "reached a rare, wondrous zone – where rock 'n' roll transcended the ordinary and took the audience on a lift that was equal parts spiritual and sensual." It said that Bono's vocals "sound like pleas and prayers, the lyrics failure and hope" and described The Edge's guitar playing as embodying "clear, ringing lines that were both atmospheric and jarring." The Oregonian wrote that it was "the best concert of 1983 so far: solid music played rhythmically and well, a positive stage attitude that recognised audience input, excellent sound and lights." The Village Voice wrote that U2 in concert evoked an "undeniable righteousness" about which "U2 was thrilled their audience was thrilled". Contemporary Christian Music magazine said that the show avoided typical juvenile stage patter clichés and that from a Christian perspective, "It is true that U2 doesn't preach, but that does not mean a message is not communicated." Many of the War Tour shows sold out on the American leg. The tour helped War stay in or near the US albums chart Top 20 for the duration of the American leg, which represented by far their best commercial performance so far in the United States.