U2 Zoo TV

In the mid-’80s, U2 were lauded for how their music—and their outspoken lead singer, Bono—brought social and political concerns to pop’s mainstream. But by the end of the decade and the start of the ’90s, the group had developed a bit of a reputation for taking themselves too seriously, and that their pared-down concert stage had become a pulpit for their high-minded idealism. The group responded with the Zoo TV Tour—a video screen-heavy multimedia spectacle informed by 24-hour news channels, morning-zoo radio shows, shopping from home and an all-around media and information overload that blurred the lines between entertainment and reality. The album the show supported (1991’s Achtung Baby) would help redefine the band as savvy pop provocateurs, but the tour itself would change the global concert-going experience from there on out, inspiring countless stadium-size acts to level up their stage productions. Presented here are five tracks from the two Dublin dates of the tour, which spanned 157 dates throughout 1992 and 1993. They capture the band in all their tight-but-loose confidence: The Edge’s dive-bomber guitars that open “Zoo Station”, Bono’s improvisatory vocal shifts on “Mysterious Ways”, the ease with which the singer soars on “Stay (Faraway, So Close!)”. It’s not just a key document of the band in their hometown at the height of their ’90s-era powers, but it also underscores the creative link between Achtung Baby and 1993’s Zooropa, which they recorded during tour breaks.