Willie’s Diary – “October” and “White As Snow” discussed as setlist possibilities

WillieWilliamsIn his latest tour diary entry, Willie Williams gives us an insight into what goes on behind the scenes when discussing setlists.

This particular entry is part of the discussion before the first Dublin show on July 24.

“Having made a decision on sets for nights 1 and 2 (all bets are off for night 3 – I’m pushing for a new trio of songs, October into White As Snow into New Year’s Day but we’ll see how that goes), Bono and Edge were playing with ideas for other appropriate elements to throw into a hometown gig. ‘Dirty Old Town’? (bit obvious), ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’? (spare us), The Corrs ‘We Are So Young’? (seemed like a funny idea for five minutes). They settled on ‘The Auld Triangle’, which Bono then sang acapella in the dressing room to find a suitable key. It’s been a while since I’ve experienced Bono singing at full tilt in a small room, at a distance of approximately two feet. I’d completely forgotten the implausible volume of sound which he is capable of producing, even without the world’s largest P.A. system. I felt like I wanted to look behind him to see where the speaker was plugged in”

Willie’s Diary is available to U2.com members only here. Strangely, the entries are approximately three weeks behind real time, but fascinating all the same.

Last 4 posts by Donal Murphy

4 Responses to “Willie’s Diary – “October” and “White As Snow” discussed as setlist possibilities”

  1. T Monassa 20 August 2009 at 5:02 pm permalink

    small typo at the end: FASCINATING.

    ;)

    and, oh, when it comes to u2.com, nothing is strange! LOL

  2. thisheart 20 August 2009 at 5:58 pm permalink

    Oh to be in a small room with Bono booming away . . . I wonder if he’s always been so impacting a capella or if he’s acquired it? I admit I thought most singers relied on technology to make them sound like thunder, so I’m pleased to hear that b’s thunder is genuine.

  3. Brian 21 August 2009 at 5:22 pm permalink

    I read Willie’s comment about those three songs as tongue-in-cheek, don’t think he was serious…

  4. Donal Murphy 24 August 2009 at 4:52 am permalink

    Brian,

    Check the latest diary entry here:
    http://www.u2.com/news/title/rainy-day-in-dublin
    It looks like “White As Snow” was seriously being considered for Dublin #3