page_title: The Joshua Tree Tours 2017 and 2019
section_title: Concert synopsis
hierarchical_section_title: The Joshua Tree Tours 2017 and 2019 / Concert synopsis
caption_attribution_description: English: Bono portraying the "Shadow Man" during a performance of "Exit" during U2's Joshua Tree Tour 2017 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, CA on May 17, 2017
context_page_description: The Joshua Tree Tour 2017 and The Joshua Tree Tour 2019 were two worldwide concert tours by rock band U2 commemorating the 30th anniversary of their 1987 album The Joshua Tree. The 2017 tour visited stadiums over four legs: North America from May to July and in September, Europe from July to August, and Latin America in October. The 2019 tour visited Oceania and Asia in November and December, marking the band's first ever concerts in South Korea, Singapore, the Philippines, and India. The band played the whole Joshua Tree album during the concerts, which included their first live performances of the song "Red Hill Mining Town". It was the first time the group toured in promotion of an album from their back catalogue, rather than a new release. As part of the tour, U2 headlined the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, in June 2017.
  U2 originally wanted to play a set of one-off shows in the US and Europe to commemorate the 30th anniversary of The Joshua Tree, but ultimately decided to stage a full concert tour instead.
context_section_description: During the pre-show, the video screen displayed various poems. The band chose specific poetry "that expresses the experience of the country" in which they were performing so the audience members could reflect on it before the concerts. Selected works included: "The Border: A Double Sonnet" by Alberto Ríos; "Kaddish for Leonard Cohen" and "Ain't You Scared of the Sacred" by George Elliott Clarke; "I Hear America Singing" by Walt Whitman; "Ghazal for White Hen Pantry" by Jamila Woods; "One Today" by Richard Blanco; "Filipineza" by Bino Realuyo; and works by Pedro Pietri, Lucille Clifton, and Langston Hughes. One of two tracks was played as introduction music to accompany U2 taking the stage: either the Waterboys' song "The Whole of the Moon" or the Pogues' song "A Rainy Night in Soho".
  U2 began the concerts on the B-stage by playing some of their earliest hits, including "Sunday Bloody Sunday", "New Year's Day", and "Pride (In the Name of Love)". The third verse of "New Year's Day" was performed for the first time. Bono said this act of the show comprised "songs that got [the band] to The Joshua Tree". No video reinforcement was used during this segment, as the group wanted their fans to concentrate on the music. Bono said he was forced to "make the singing be the connective tissue", adding, "It's nice being ants for a few songs since you've just got to focus on the music since there's nowhere else to look." Williams described this part of the show as "U2 opening for U2", much like how they performed at music festivals with a lower billing earlier in their career.
  For The Joshua Tree segment of the concerts, the band performed on the main stage against a backdrop of visuals on the video screen. Many of the songs were accompanied by short films depicting desert landscapes that were created by Corbijn. The photographer said his objective was "putting The Joshua Tree into America now". The album's opening song "Where the Streets Have No Name" was accompanied by a slow tracking shot of a desert highway featuring migrants walking. For "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", a forest of trees was depicted; many of the trees were burnt, which to Corbijn represented a "burnt American dream". During "With or Without You", images of Zabriskie Point were displayed. For "Bullet the Blue Sky", the visuals showed men and women of various ages and ethnicities putting on army helmets while standing in front of a shed painted with the American flag. During the song's performance, Bono shone a handheld spotlight on the Edge, evoking the cover image of the band's 1988 album, Rattle and Hum. For "Red Hill Mining Town", the Salvation Army brass band was depicted on screen, with their pre-recorded brass section accompanying the band's performance. "Trip Through Your Wires" was accompanied by visuals of the Edge's wife, choreographer Morleigh Steinberg, dressed as a cowgirl while an American flag was painted on a wooden shack. The video that played during "One Tree Hill" featured images of a blood red-coloured moon that faded into footage of Native Americans. It was directed by Corbijn and filmed in Lancaster, California, over a 14-hour film shoot. For concerts in Auckland on the 2019 tour, the band used "One Tree Hill" to pay tribute to the late New Zealander Greg Carroll, for whom the song was written; Carroll's likeness appeared on the screen at the end of these performances.
  Prior to "Exit", a clip from the 1950s Western TV series Trackdown was shown; in the clip, a con man named Trump visits a town and promises he can build a wall around them to protect them from a supposed apocalypse. The band were pleased when Bono discovered it, as they wanted to make a reference to US President Donald Trump during the show without belabouring their point. The clip was followed by an image of hands tattooed "LOVE" and "HATE", inspired by the fanatic preacher/killer character in the film The Night of the Hunter. During the performance of "Exit", Bono wore a black suit and preacher hat and adopted the persona of the "Shadow Man". Taking influence fro
caption: Bono portraying a character called the "Shadow Man" during a performance of "Exit"
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