SPOILERS: U2eiTOUR Rehearsal Day Six Report: April 14, 2018

Original Story by Aaron J. Sams (2018-04-14)

WARNING: As the tour rehearsals progress we will be posting spoilers about songs on the site itself. We will try to give advance warning about these in this fashion. THIS STORY CONTAINS SPOILERS. If you continue reading below you will find spoilers about songs that were heard at the venue, as well as an almost complete run through of the set list in running order. We would ask that you remember some fans do not want spoilers before the start of the tour, and use caution when posting about this story on your social media feeds.

U2 are rehearsing for the upcoming eXPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE Tour in Laval, Quebec, just outside of Montreal. Rehearsals began April 9, 2017 at Place Bell, a small arena. The arena is a newer one, opened in 2017. Today marked the sixth day since U2 arrived in Laval and started working on things.

Today the band ran through nearly 40 songs in total, although some of these were repeats. It is the most complete rehearsal yet, so we have to warn you yet again that there are spoilers in this piece, bigger than those that have come before.

To date our summaries can be found here:

The band arrived at the venue this afternoon. Unlike other days, Bono took the time out to meet with the fans that had been waiting in the afternoon, signed a few autographs, and took a few selfies. To this point none of the band had stopped to greet the fans who are waiting in the area.

The weather in Laval is very cold just around the freezing mark, and tomorrow a big ice storm is expected in the area. We expect that even if there is a rehearsal we may not be able to report on it due to expected weather conditions.

If you continue beyond here we will be spoiling song titles. Some fans don’t want to know what is happening until opening night, so we ask you to please respect that and refrain from posting song titles without a spoiler warning.

The image below was shared with us of the arena early in the morning of April 14, when the lighting rigs were just starting to go into place. The stage is not yet visible at this point but for those who want to see what sized venue they are performing in, this will give you an idea.

First a note, on the second day of rehearsals, there were a few songs which we were unable to hear with enough clarity to determine what they are. Some sites are reporting that “Staring at the Sun” was played on April 12, 2018, but there was NO rehearsal that day. We feel that if it was indeed played, it was likely part of the songs heard on April 10, 2018. We did not hear it ourselves, nor can we confirm with any source that it was played that night. But if it was played, it likely came from that day. We do believe it was played, as you will see below, it has been played again tonight.

Tonight the band has worked uninterrupted on a number of songs taking just short breaks between songs, instead of the longer breaks they took during earlier nights.

We’ve heard the following songs:

“Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” (1st time in Canadian Rehearsals)

“Elevation”

“The Showman (Little More Better)”

“Desire”

“Vertigo”

(short break)

“Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me”

“Elevation (Influx Mix)”

“Elevation (Influx Mix)”

“The Showman (Little More Better)”

“Desire”

“Vertigo”

(short break)

“Acrobat”

“Until the End of the World” (incomplete)

“Until the End of the World”

(short break)

“The Blackout” (first time in Canadian Rehearsals)

(long break)

After the band returned from this long break they started a long rehearsal, which may have been a run through of a running order for the show. That run through started with two songs that were possibly pre-recorded, a non-U2 song (the possible intro music), and then “Love is All We Have Left”. This long rehearsal went as follows:

Non-U2 Song (Likely recorded Intro Music)

“Love is All We Have Left” (Likely recorded)

“The Blackout”

“Lights of Home”

“Beautiful Day” (First time in Canadian Rehearsals)

“I Will Follow” (First time in Canadian Rehearsals, with “Walking on the Moon” Snippet)

“The Ocean” (First time in Canadian Rehearsals)

“Cedarwood Road”

“Song for Someone”

“Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses”

“Acrobat”

“Until the End of the World” (With snippet of “Sympathy for the Devil”)

“Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me”

“Elevation” (Influx Mix opening again)

“Desire”

“Vertigo”

“The Showman (Little More Better)”

“You’re The Best Thing About Me” (First time in Canadian Rehearsals)

“Staring at the Sun” (Acoustic)

“Pride (In the Name of Love)”

“Get Out of Your Own Way”

“American Soul”

“City of Blinding Lights”

“One” (First time in Canadian Rehearsals)

“Love is Bigger Than Anything in its Way” (First time in Canadian Rehearsals)

“13 (There is a Light)” (First time in Canadian Rehearsals)

“Song for Someone”

At 24 songs without counting the duplicate “Song for Someone” that is likely a full set list, making this the first full run down of the set in Canada. But in Rolling Stone magazine they had said they may play longer than their usual set, and the building closed down around this time on previous nights. The band did stay later than this and catering was delivered to the venue, but no further practice was heard.

The first version of “Elevation” was done in the normal way they’ve done it over the last few tours. The second, third and fourth attempts at “Elevation” introduced a new introduction to the song. Listeners reported that it sounded like the start of the “Influx Mix” of the song, and then it reverted to the more usual version of the song when it kicked in.

The first version of “Until the End of the World” was cut off shortly after it started, and it was started again from the beginning for a full run through. “The Ocean” was complete. Initially we reported that “An Cat Dubh” had been played, and then we reported it was “An Cat Dubh” and “The Ocean” thinking “The Ocean” had been missed. But it appears upon further clarification that “An Cat Dubh” was never played and it was indeed “The Ocean” that was misidentified as “An Cat Dubh”. We apologize for any confusion.

“Elevation,” “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me,” “The Ocean,” “Beautiful Day,” “I Will Follow,” “The Blackout,” “One,” “You’re The Best Thing About Me,” “Love is Bigger Than Anything in its Way” and “13 (There is a Light)” are newly identified tonight as part of the rehearsals, but as we mentioned we may not have identified all of the songs played on the second night. “Desire” isn’t unplugged, and the harmonica can be heard as well. And the musical transition between “American Soul” and “City of Blinding Lights” could be heard again this evening. It is also the first time we’ve heard the yet unknown intro song, followed by a recording of “Love is All We Have Left” complete with vocal effects, that U2 will likely use to take the stage.

So far during rehearsals in Canada we have been able to identify the following older songs: “I Will Follow,” “The Ocean,” “Pride (In the Name of Love),” “Desire,” “The Fly,” “Until the End of the World,” “Acrobat,” “Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses,” “One,” “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me,” “Staring at the Sun,” “Elevation,” “Vertigo,” “City of Blinding Lights,” “Cedarwood Road” and “Song for Someone”. This is in addition to songs off the new album: “Lights of Home,” “The Showman,” “Get Out of Your Own Way,” “American Soul,” “You’re The Best Thing About Me,” “13 (There is a Light)” and “The Blackout”.

U2 aren’t the only ones using the building again this evening. This time instead of sharing space with youth hockey teams, they are sharing the building with a television production of the upcoming Jack Ryan series starring John Krasinski. The television series is filming in the side arenas, and are not using the space U2’s stage is in.

The weather in Canada is miserable at the moment and a big ice storm is expected to move into the area overnight. Sending well wishes for all that are in the area.

Bono arriving for rehearsals. Did a small meeting with fans on his way in. The band will practice later today. #U2eiTOUR (We hope to have further updates this evening.) Photo by TalieU2 pic.twitter.com/xiRxp3MNbr — u2songs.com (u2songs) April 14, 2018

Many thanks to Talie, Karin, Annouche, Jean-Paul, Antoine, Jason, Olivier, Nathalie, Jason, and Pierre and a few contributors who wished to remain unnamed for sending information to us over the last few days. Earlier reports on the progress of rehearsals are linked below:

Earlier stories:

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