9.2 /10 1 Votes
Released 10 June 2016 Length 151 minutes Initial release 7 December 2015 Initial DVD release 10 June 2016 | 4.6/5 iTunes - Apple Genre Rock Label Island, Interscope Director Hamish Hamilton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Recorded 7 December 2015, AccorHotels Arena, Paris, France Editors Guy Harding, Tim Qualtrough Cast Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr Similar Elevation 2001: Live from Bost, Vertigo 2005: Live from Chic, U2 Go Home: Live from Slan, PopMart: Live from Mexico City, From the Sky Down | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Innocence + Experience: Live in Paris (stylised as iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE: Live in Paris) is a 2016 concert film by Irish rock band U2. It was shot on 7 December 2015 at AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France, during the final date of the band's Innocence + Experience Tour. The concert aired on American television network HBO the same day as the show, and was later released worldwide on home video on DVD, Blu-ray, and via digital download on 10 June 2016.
Contents
The video depicts U2's return to Paris less than a month after the 13 November 2015 attacks in the city. The band had played two of four scheduled shows in the city when the attacks occurred, forcing the postponement of the final two shows and the originally planned HBO broadcast until December. During the 7 December show, U2 paid tribute to the victims of the attacks and were joined on-stage by Eagles of Death Metal, whose concert at the Bataclan was the site of the deadliest of the attacks.
Background
Innocence + Experience: Live in Paris was originally scheduled to air on American television network HBO on 14 November 2015 to showcase a performance from U2 on their Innocence + Experience Tour at AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France from earlier that day. However, the broadcast was delayed after the terrorist attacks in Paris the day prior forced the postponement of the band's final two Paris concerts, scheduled for 14 and 15 November. The shows were rescheduled for 6 and 7 December, making them the final dates of the European leg of the tour. According to tour producer Arthur Fogel, "minimal" refunds were requested (3,000 of the 34,000 tickets sold). The rescheduling posed logistical challenges for the band, as the tour was supposed to end in Dublin more than a week prior to the new Paris dates, and crew members and equipment had been set to disperse. Arena security was bolstered for the rescheduled shows. Writing about U2's plan to return to a Paris still on high alert, Don Kaplan of the Daily News said, "The Dublin band, born in the crucible of violence that gripped Ireland in the 1970s and '80s, has long collaborated with other musicians, artists, celebrities, and politicians to address issues concerning poverty, disease, and social injustice. That they've now opted to challenge terrorism and fear should surprise absolutely no one."
U2 paid tribute to the victims of the attacks by displaying their names on the video screen during their performance of "City of Blinding Lights". The display was created by Willie Williams and the tour's video team. Guitarist the Edge said the group tried to balance paying tribute "in an artful way that doesn't feel exploitive or jingoistic or anything trite". At the end of the show, the group were joined on-stage by Eagles of Death Metal, who were returning to the city for the first time since their show at the Bataclan where the deadliest of the attacks in Paris occurred, killing 89 people. Bono introduced the group 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 song "People Have the Power" before U2 left the stage and Eagles of Death Metal concluded the show with their song "I Love You All the Time". The Edge singled out the moment in which the members of U2 handed their instruments to Eagles of Death Metal as his favourite of the evening.
Release
The concert was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and via digital download on 10 June 2016.
The packaging for the home release was designed by AMP Visual in conjunction with long-time band consultant Gavin Friday. The cover image depicts a lightbulb, a prop that was used at the beginning of shows on the Innocence + Experience Tour to represent U2's early, innocent days. The light bulb photographed was taken from a desk lamp and was given a "tough punk-like graphic" treatment. The packaging design is an homage to Andy Warhol's artwork for The Velvet Underground & Nico; additionally, the two-DVD edition of Innocence + Experience: Live in Paris features a peel-off sticker of the light bulb, similar to the banana sticker that peels off the cover of The Velvet Underground & Nico.
Track listing
Track list per U2.com official website.
All lyrics written by Bono; all music composed by U2, except where noted.
Personnel
