Shows on the Innocence + Experience Tour consisted of two acts separated by a brief intermission—a first for U2 concerts The first act began with U2 performing "
The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)", followed by a mix of the group's earliest tracks (such as "
Gloria", "
The Electric Co.", and "Out of Control") and then "
Vertigo" and "
I Will Follow". These songs were played underneath a single dangling light bulb, which was inspired by the decor of Bono's childhood bedroom and was intended as a metaphor for the intimacy and innocence of the band's early years. The Edge says this portion of the show represented "U2 stripped back in the innocence moment of the band, referring to those early years where we formed and influenced by the music of the late 1970 and early 1980s,
post-punk and punk music." For "Cedarwood Road", written about the Dublin street on which Bono grew up, the singer ascended into the video cage and performed amidst animation of his childhood street, giving the appearance of him walking down it. The visuals transitioned to an interior depiction of Bono's childhood home for "
Song for Someone", which was written as a love song for his wife
Ali. The visuals featured Bono's son portraying a childhood version of the singer trying to write a song. For the final song of the first act, "
Until the End of the World", the Edge performed inside the video screen, while Bono, through his video projection on the screen, attempted to interact with his bandmate. During the song's conclusion, the video screen displayed a light bulb smashing to release a tsunami that washed away the "innocence" of Cedarwood Road, Either "
Elevation" or "
Desire" were usually played next, although U2 sometimes rotated songs in their place at different concerts, such as "
Ordinary Love" and "Volcano". Following
B.B. King's death in May 2015, the band played "
Angel of Harlem" and "
When Love Comes to Town" to honour the singer-songwriter with whom they worked for
Rattle and Hum. An acoustic version of "
Every Breaking Wave" was played from the e-stage, with just the Edge on piano and Bono's vocals. During the European leg, Bono and the Edge played "
October" after "Every Breaking Wave". For "
Bullet the Blue Sky", the singer thematically re-interpreted the song, modifying the mid-song spoken passage to be a criticism of the modern-day Bono and his excesses by his younger self. Towards the end of the song during North American performances, he said, "
Hands up, I'm an American" and "
I can't breathe, I'm an American", addressing the civil unrest in US communities caused by police violence against African-Americans. Performances of "
Pride (In the Name of Love)" were preluded by an extended snippet of "
The Hands That Built America". "
With or Without You" was played late in the second act, with the group often shuffling its position in the setlist. During the encore in North America, U2 played "
City of Blinding Lights", "
Beautiful Day", and occasionally "
Bad". From show to show, U2 alternated between "
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", "
One", and more rarely, "
40", as the closing song. The opening show marked U2's first tour concert at which they did not play "One" since its live debut in 1992 on the
Zoo TV Tour.
Guest appearances Several guests joined U2 on-stage during their shows in New York City. On 22 July 2015,
The Tonight Show host
Jimmy Fallon performed "Desire" with the group; Fallon previously performed the song on his show with his
house band,
the Roots, in an imitation of Bono after U2 canceled a week-long residency on the show in November 2014 due to Bono's injury. After Fallon's Innocence + Experience performance with U2, the Roots accompanied them for "Angel of Harlem", much as they did when U2 played the song on
The Tonight Show in May 2015. On 26 July 2015,
Lady Gaga joined the band to play piano and sing for "
Ordinary Love". During an off-day on 29 July, the Edge and Clayton made a surprise appearance at the 20th anniversary party for the band's fansite @u2, and they joined a U2 tribute act in performing "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "Out of Control". On 30 July,
Paul Simon joined U2 to play his song "
Mother and Child Reunion", which they had been snippeting regularly on tour. On 31 July, the final date of the North American leg of the tour,
Bruce Springsteen accompanied the band for performances of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and "
Stand By Me". . For U2's 5 September show in
Turin,
Zucchero guest starred for a performance of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For".
Noel Gallagher did the same for the band's 26 October show in London, while also helping them cover
the Beatles' "
All You Need Is Love". Patti Smith joined U2 on two occasions to cover her song "People Have the Power"—in London on 29 October 2015, and in Paris on 6 December 2015 for the first of the band's rescheduled dates in the city. For the tour's closing show on 7 December in Paris, U2 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 on 13 November 2015, where the deadliest of
that day's attacks in Paris occurred, killing 89 people. The two bands performed a cover of "People Have the Power" before Eagles of Death Metal concluded the show with their song "I Love You All the Time". The band had been inviting fans on-stage to perform with them throughout their career, and they made this a regular occurrence on the Innocence + Experience Tour. Guest fan performers included a U2 tribute act and an
Elvis impersonator. Prior to the tour, Bono said, "What was at the heart of punk rock for us was the desire to communicate on an equal basis with your audience, meaning there's no division between you and the people that come to see you." ==Concert broadcast==