Innocence + Experience: Live in Paris
U2's Paris concert film after the 2015 attacks.
Innocence + Experience: Live in Paris is a 2016 concert film by Irish rock band U2, recorded on 7 December 2015 at AccorHotels Arena in Paris. It aired on HBO the same day as the show, marking the band's return to the city less than a month after the 13 November 2015 attacks. During the concert, U2 paid tribute to the victims and were joined onstage by Eagles of Death Metal.
Quick Facts
- Artist
- U2
- Released
- 10 June 2016
- Recorded
- 7 December 2015
- Venue
- AccorHotels Arena (Paris, France)
- Genre
- Rock
- Length
- 151 minutes
- Label
- Island, Interscope
- Director
- Hamish Hamilton
Facts from the source article.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | People Have the Power (public address introduction) | Patti Smith, Fred "Sonic" Smith | |
| 2 | The Miracle (of Joey Ramone) | U2 (music), Bono, The Edge (lyrics) | |
| 3 | Vertigo | U2 (music), Bono, The Edge (lyrics) | |
| 4 | I Will Follow | ||
| 5 | Iris (Hold Me Close) | U2 (music), Bono, The Edge (lyrics) | |
| 6 | Cedarwood Road | U2 (music), Bono, The Edge (lyrics) | |
| 7 | Song for Someone | U2 (music), Bono, The Edge (lyrics) | |
| 8 | Sunday Bloody Sunday | ||
| 9 | Raised By Wolves | U2 (music), Bono, The Edge (lyrics) | |
| 10 | Until the End of the World | ||
| 11 | The Fly (Gavin Friday remix) (public address during intermission) | ||
| 12 | Invisible | ||
| 13 | Even Better Than the Real Thing | ||
| 14 | Mysterious Ways | ||
| 15 | Elevation | ||
| 16 | Every Breaking Wave | U2 (music), Bono, The Edge (lyrics) | |
| 17 | October | ||
| 18 | Bullet the Blue Sky | ||
| 19 | Zooropa | ||
| 20 | Where the Streets Have No Name | ||
| 21 | Pride (In the Name of Love) | ||
| 22 | With or Without You | ||
| 23 | Global Citizen (prerecorded speech by Stephen Hawking) | ||
| 24 | City of Blinding Lights | ||
| 25 | Beautiful Day | ||
| 26 | Mother and Child Reunion | Paul Simon | |
| 27 | Bad | ||
| 28 | One | ||
| 29 | People Have the Power (with Eagles of Death Metal) | Smith | |
| 30 | I Love You All the Time (solo performance by Eagles of Death Metal) | Jesse Hughes, Joshua Homme, Mark Ramos Nishita |
Bonus Material
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cedarwood Road – A Gavin Friday Narration | ||
| 2 | Out of Control (Live in Paris – 6 December 2015) | ||
| 3 | The Future Better Hurry Up (commercial for Innocence + Experience Tour) | ||
| 4 | The Electric Co. (Live in Paris – 11 November 2015) | ||
| 5 | i + e – Behind the Scenes with the Director | ||
| 6 | Bad" / "People Have the Power (With Patti Smith, Live in Paris – 6 December 2015) | U2, Smith | |
| 7 | The Wanderer (Intermission video) | ||
| 8 | The Troubles (featuring Lykke Li) | ||
| 9 | Music Videos" / "Ordinary Love" / "Invisible" / "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)" / "Every Breaking Wave" – A Film by Aoife Mcardle / "Song for Someone" (Directed by Vincent Haycock) / "Song for Someone" (Behind the Scenes) / "Song for Someone" (Directed by Matt Mahurin) |
Track listing from the source article.
Background
The broadcast was originally scheduled for 14 November 2015 to showcase a U2 performance from earlier that day at AccorHotels Arena. After the terrorist attacks in Paris on 13 November forced the postponement of the band's final two Paris concerts, the show was rescheduled to 6 and 7 December, making them the final European leg dates. Tour producer Arthur Fogel noted that only 3,000 of the 34,000 tickets sold were refunded. The rescheduling created logistical challenges because the tour was meant to end in Dublin over a week earlier, and crew and equipment had been set to disperse. Arena security was increased for the rescheduled shows.
Concert overview and production
During the performance of "City of Blinding Lights", U2 displayed the names of the attack victims on the video screen, a tribute created by Willie Williams and the tour's video team. Guitarist the Edge stated the group aimed to balance paying tribute "in an artful way that doesn't feel exploitive or jingoistic or anything trite". At the show's end, Eagles of Death Metal joined U2 onstage, returning to Paris for the first time since their Bataclan concert where 89 people died. Bono introduced them by saying, "They were robbed of their stage, so we would like to offer them ours." The two bands performed a cover of Patti Smith's "People Have the Power", after which U2 left the stage and Eagles of Death Metal closed with "I Love You All the Time". The Edge singled out the moment when U2 handed their instruments to Eagles of Death Metal as his favourite of the evening. Audio for the broadcast was handled by Music Mix Mobile (M3), with co-mixer John Harris and the band's mixer Carl Glanville. Harris travelled with U2 for two months, recording 20 shows in six countries to prepare. For the Paris concert, he used Waves Audio digital processing solutions, including H-Reverb Hybrid Reverb, to create an acoustic space compensating for the arena's acoustics. A total of 126 audio inputs were recorded, covering 12 bass channels and three separate drum sets.
Release
The concert was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital download on 10 June 2016. Deluxe editions include bonus video material, while a super deluxe bundle contains a USB light bulb, a 64-page hardcover book, stencil set, dog tags, badges, and a downloadable copy. Packaging was designed by AMP Visual with band consultant Gavin Friday; the cover features a lightbulb prop from the tour, photographed and given a "tough punk-like graphic" treatment. The design pays homage to Andy Warhol's artwork for The Velvet Underground & Nico, and the two-DVD edition includes a peel-off sticker of the light bulb. On 15 March 2021, U2 announced "The Virtual Road" concert broadcast series with YouTube, streaming four past concert films remastered for 48 hours each. Innocence + Experience: Live in Paris streamed on 10 April, with a pre-recorded performance by Feu! Chatterton as an opening act. A four-track EP of songs from the concert was released to streaming services and digital stores to coincide with the event.
Reception
The Monday night HBO broadcast drew 140,000 viewers and a 0.06 rating in the 18–49 demographic, per Nielsen data. Jeff Miers of The Buffalo News gave a favourable review, noting the band "rose to the occasion" with songs and statements that seemed "eerily prescient". He found the Songs of Innocence tracks weaker but praised the concert's spirit of "defiant optimism, compassion and passion". Mike Mettler of Sound & Vision said U2's "live-stage mastery is on generous full display" and called the Blu-ray experience "something to behold". In January 2017, the Digital Entertainment Group awarded Innocence + Experience "Best Concert Video on Blu-Ray".
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