Blowing Smoke Up Bono’s…
This strikes me as very strange. If you’ve watched any videos — or, heck, seen the actual concerts from the current leg of the U2 360 Tour, there’s a ton of smoke on stage when U2 performs “Ultraviolet” during the encore. A ton.
That’s all fine and good, but what’s odd is that there are two guys who are almost literally blowing the smoke up Bono’s arse while being right on the stage with him. Like this:
(screenshot is from this U2gigs.com video)
U2 has used smoke machines during concerts for years, but you know, usually they’re kinda hidden a bit and out of the way so you can still focus on the song/performance, not the effects.
So why on earth are they making it so blatantly obvious now? Couldn’t those guys even stand down at ground level?
Anyone else find this a little odd? Maybe it’s just me….
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I noticed this but only saw it for the last couple of shows. I also saw how Bono had the steering wheel mic, and also had a regular mic. It appeared really obvious they were filming him — for another concert video perhaps?
Don’t know which concert this screenshot is from, but it could be from vienna.
There was too much wind at this show, the smoke would have gone elsewhere, but not on or to Bono.
To make this LED-Suit visually really work, they have to cover him with smoke, otherwise you don’t have the effect they want to have.
So these two guys had a lot to do to cover him with smoke, which wouldn’t work if they’d stayed at ground level.
That’s all - and not more..
Hey Didi - this is from the Istanbul show, but I’ve seen the same kind of scenes at several other shows. Seems very odd to have them so close.
I thought the look/effect was just fine last year at the shows I saw, and they didn’t have the smoke machine guys up on the stage.
…they switched to green bulbs.
Buh duh duh kitsch.
In Torino I saw only a man, and at ground level… but now they are exaggerating a bit.
And it can be quite a nuisance for people standing in the pit, as well.
I saw it in Vienna and I thought it was because of the wind. I don’t have any other explanation. U2 can certainly afford a proper smoke machine and if one is broken, they can certainly affford to have it fixed. The two guys coming up on stage, blowing smoke at Bono look really awkward and kind of “cheap”. I really don’t know what’s going on there, especially since smoke production seemed to work just fine last year.
Those guys are always there, sometimes we notice them sometimes we don’t. because the stage is open from all sides, you cant really place smoke machines on stage, because of the wind, the set designers cannot predict where the smoke will go. the solution, manual operators, is not graceful, but it usually works to great effect because the smoke that envelopes the stage usually hides them as well, and they tend to stay in the pit around the perimeter anyway, just like camera operators.
I noticed this in Istanbul, where this video is from. There was a fierce wind going on, so they to shift to get any smoke near Bono and even then it never really worked.
This does seem strange. I don’t remember seeing the smoke guys right on the stage last year; they used to just be on the ground.
If your at the show do you really notice?! It’s a U2 concert!!! It’s supposed to be about the MUSIC!
They’ve been there at every show. It’s just that no one was HD filming last year as prolifically so it wasn’t really noticeable. As far back as 360 Arlington they have been there. If you’re on the front rail then they are really noticeable. The smoke at 360 Norman was a challenge as the wind was so gusty it kept blowing the smoke all stage left. Was still an awesome, intimate feeling show though.