Irish rockers U2 took a vehement anti-scalping stand on their new tour — and their management feels it has worked. “I’m satisfied. It’s better than it’s ever been,” U2 manager Paul McGuinness said earlier this week. “It’s been worth putting all the energy into it.”
U2 has befuddled scalpers by selling most tickets through telephone charge only, using a bare minimum of box offices and, in the case of Tuesday’s Boston Garden show, no box office at all.
At a recent show in Hampton, Va., McGuinness sent several band employees out into the audience to poll fans in the first 20 rows — normally a hotbed for scalped tickets. “We asked if anyone had a scalping story — and we couldn’t find one person who did,” said McGuinness. “We were very pleased.”
U2 is expected to return for a stadium tour this summer and is holding dates at Foxboro Stadium for Aug. 21-23. Asked if similar ticket policies would apply to the stadium tour, McGuinness said, “No final decision has been made. We need to go through each market first — and then we’ll see.”
U2 SET LIST: This was the order of U2 songs at their Nassau Coliseum show on Monday: “Zoo Station,” “The Fly,” “Even Better Than the Real Thing,” “Mysterious Ways,” “One,” “Until the End of the World,” “Tryin’ to Throw Your Arms Around the World,” “Angel of Harlem,” “Satellite of Love” (a Lou Reed song), “Bad,” “Bullet the Blue Sky,” “Running to Stand Still,” “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “Pride (In the Name of Love),” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” The encores were “Desire,” “Ultraviolet (Light My Way),” “With or Without You” and “Love is Blindness.” The set list has stayed consistent on the tour, except “The Fly” has moved around on several nights.
U2 DISC JOCKEY HAS GARDEN THOUGHTS: U2’s traveling disc jockey, B.P. Fallon, who programs tunes before their shows, played a lot of classic rock before their Nassau Coliseum set, but said he may switch to Irish music for their St. Patrick’s Day show at the Garden. “I may have to,” he laughed.
PIXIES TAKE IT IN STRIDE: The Boston-bred Pixies, who are opening U2’s tour, are playing down the pressure. “It’s just like a normal tour for us,” said guitarist David Santiago, backstage on Monday. “But we did flub two songs at a Florida show — and it’s amazing how a sour note can carry in an arena.” The Pixies have had little interaction with U2 so far. “I bumped into Bono in the hallway once,” said Santiago.
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