U2 - PopMart Live from Mexico City (Limited Edition) (1997) Review

U2 - PopMart Live from Mexico City (Limited Edition) (1997)
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There are so many reasons to recommend this--I can't believe it's finally on DVD!
The Pop Mart tour and album were incorrectly derided by some critics--and even the band apparently--as a failed experiment. Wrong. That album was some of their coolest music ever, and the tour, while it started rough, by the time of this show is just monster (no pun intended). This BTW was the largest video screen every constructed; after the tour it was sold off in pieces to sports stadiums and the like.
Granted, it you don't like the "ironic" U2 and songs like "Discotheque" you'll probably hate the "lemon" part which is totally Spinal Tap (although that was sort of the point). Too bad, because right after that song they do THE definitive version of "If You Wear That Velvet Dress," which far surpasses the recorded version.
The show opens with a seamless segue from "Pop Music" on the P.A. into "Mofo." "Mofo" was an interesting, if not fully realized, track from the album but here it absolutely kills in a different arrangement. Just like "Elevation" live blows away the recorded version, so it goes with "Mofo."
There's also a slightly altered version of "I Will Follow" (different guitar patch, Larry alters the drum pattern) and a great version of "Last Night on Earth." One of the better versions of "New Year's Day" appears on this disc. Interesting thing to note: all the people at the show cheer all the new tunes and apparently know the words (even to tunes like "Already Gone"). Americans tend to applaud only the singles and the well-known hits.
The sound's great, the band's tight, the crowd is absolutely bonkers. For videos I rank it up there with Live from Sydney (Zoo TV) as their best.
Sure by this point, after Zoo TV, U2 fans had pretty much had enough of the "irony" phase and thankfully they moved on. But it's a kick to see that huge video screen and the whole spectacle.
The "limited edition" of this DVD includes a second disc which includes videos, tour documentaries and addtional tracks, although the tracks on this seem taken from raw video feeds while taping the shows--not bad, but not as polished as the final versions on the concert proper.

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U2's PopMart Live from Mexico City is released on DVD for the first time on September 18th in two formats, a Special Limited Edition 2-DVD Deluxe Packaging version and a single disc, Standard version.Described as a sci-fi disco supermarket, the PopMart Tour opened in its "spiritual home", Las Vegas on April 25, 1997. All trash and kitsch, PopMart introduced a giant mirrorball lemon, a 100 foot cocktail stick - complete with olive, and the works of Lichtenstein, Warhol and Haring, to a live rock audience: a production experience never quite seen before. Filmed at the Foro Sol Autodromo in Mexico City on December 3, 1997, PopMart Live from Mexico City was directed by David Mallet and first released on video the following year. Both the video and audio have been digitally remastered and the DVD includes a brand new 5.1 surround mix in DTS and Dolby Digital of the concert. The single disc, Standard version will contain only the concert material and the Special Limited Edition 2-DVD version will feature on the 2nd bonus disc, nine previously unreleased live audio and video tracks, four documentaries, a PopMart tour visuals montage, and DVD-ROM extras.

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