U2 and Las Vegas go way back.
In 1987, the Irish band fully transitioned from a cultishly loved group to world conquerors with “The Joshua Tree,” and the video for one of the best loved songs from the album was the hit “I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For,” which featured the band wandering the streets of Sin City. It was both an ironic poke at the band’s earnest, spiritual image, and also could be read as a commentary that grace and humanity can be found anywhere, including Sin City.
Later, U2 would dig deep into irony on the albums “Achtung Baby” and “Pop,” which swapped out the band’s pious image for songs that interrogated the media, consumerism and the very idea of rock music. The tour for “Pop,” kicked off in Las Vegas, and the knowingly garish stage show pulled heavily from casino iconography like neon signs.
And now to close the loop, U2 has announced a residency at Las Vegas’s high-tech MSG (MSGE) Sphere this fall.
There was a time when bands like U2 would have avoided a Vegas residency, but these days it's practically a right of passage for superstar acts, be they, uh, vintage like Santana or modern day like Lady Gaga. Touring is hard, especially for people of a certain age, and at some point, the appeal of staying in one place and letting your fans come to you can’t be denied.
The residency will be the band’s first shows since 2019, and will be titled “U2:UV Achtung Baby Live At The Sphere.” Based on the title, we’re likely getting a full-album play through of “Achtung Baby,” considered by many fans the band’s best album. (But does this mean the band will play the fan-favorite “Acrobat,” which they rarely ever perform? For a certain type of U2 head, this could be enough to get them to buy a plane ticket right away.)
The MSG Sphere is equipped with a 16K screen that wraps up, around, and behind the audience, as well as Sphere Immersive Sound and 4D technologies, and the band has announced plans to once again push the envelope of how a live concert can look and feel.
The residency will see the band perform without drummer Larry Mullen Jr., who will be recuperating from surgery; his fill in will be German drummer Bram van den Berg.
“It’s going to take all we’ve got to approach the Sphere without our bandmate in the drum seat,” Bono, the Edge, and Adam Clayton said in a statement, “but Larry has joined us in welcoming Bram van den Berg who is a force in his own right.” They continue:
“The Sphere show has been in the works for a long time. We don’t want to let people down, least of all our audience… the truth is we miss them as much as they appear to miss us… our audience was always the fifth member of the band. Bottom line, U2 hasn’t played live since December 2019 and we need to get back on stage and see the faces of our fans again. And what a unique stage they’re building for us out there in the desert… We’re the right band, ACHTUNG BABY the right album, and the Sphere the right venue to take the live experience of music to the next level… That’s what U2’s been trying to do all along with our satellite stages and video installations, most memorably on the ZOO TV Tour, which ended in Tokyo 30 years ago this Fall."
The Sphere is more than just a venue, it’s a gallery and U2’s music is going to be all over the walls.
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