After the high-concept spectacles of their ’90s tours, U2 kicked off the new millennium with a show that was about as back-to-basics as one of the biggest bands in the world could get. Released 20 years after their debut Boy, 2000’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind stripped away the carefully constructed artifice of Achtung Baby, Zooropa, and Pop, returning The Edge’s trademark chiming guitars to the forefront and giving U2 their biggest hit in years with “Beautiful Day.” Despite all the increasingly elaborate stage productions, the simplicity of four friends playing music together in one place had always been U2’s core. “You have to remember, we're kids that came out of punk rock, we weren't great musicians,” The Edge told Zane Lowe in 2023. “What we learned along the way was that our limitations were actually a strength. And I think that's a good thing, because struggle means you're always going to have an intensity. You're reaching all the time beyond what you're comfortable with and capable of.” The tour’s set lists were heavy on songs from All That You Can't Leave Behind, with virtually no post-Achtung Baby material otherwise. And while Elevation’s stage design was downright minimalist compared to PopMart, the tour’s memorable post-9/11 performances were a reminder of how little they really needed in order to put on a massive show.