U2: PopMart Live From Mexico City DVD
(Island/Interscope)
filmed: December 3, 1997
release: September 18, 2007
Having already a decade for reflecting upon, U2's PopMart--a step up stage-wise from Zoo TV--was indeed overly over-the-top and ambitious. Despite the criticism the tour and record received (U2 has "lost its way," the tour wasn't quite ready to go yet), Pop and Popmart were an experiment and something different. There was nothing that compared to an enormous LED screen and a huge glittering lemon in which the band is revealed to be inside. You had to see it to believe it. Offering a light statement about consumerism, PopMart was F-U-N and free of political meandering. In Mexico City in particular (this recording has previously been issued on VHS), a good portion of the crowd could barely see, if at all, the actual U2. The place is gigantic. Even so, they seemed to appreciate every last song (unlike the poseurs in New York, who weren't familiar with "Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me"). The setlist in Mexico (count how many times Bono says "Mexico," it's a lot) is a satisfying assortment, with the bulk coming from The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby and Pop. There are some surprises, both good and bad--the Edge singing "Sunday Bloody Sunday" solo, Bono forgetting lyrics to "Desire." The rest is brilliant and colorful, making the more "intimate" and "sincere" subsequent tour for All That You Can't Leave Behind look plain. [there is also a two-disc version with unreleased live audio and video, documentaries, a PopMart tour visuals montage, and more].-Kenyon