LAS VEGAS, NV – What happens when you combine a $2.3 Billion high tech sphere and one of the greatest bands of all time? You get U2 UV: Achtung Baby Live At the Sphere. A truly jaw dropping experience that will make you forget everything going on around you and just stand in awe at the sight.
The MSG Sphere has become the latest addition to the long list of attractions in the bright and flashy city of Las Vegas. The $2.3 Billion project began construction in 2019 and was planned to open in 2021 but due to the pandemic in 2020, it was delayed.
The Sphere has a capacity of 18,600 seats with an additional 2,000 being added on the lower floor. It features a groundbreaking 16K resolution interior screen that covers 160,000 square feet. And the exterior is completely covered by a 580,000 square foot screen that can be seen from miles away. The Sphere also features spatial audio which allows for the direction of audio to be changed and manipulated in different ways such as sending it through the floor. The cutting edge audio systems are accompanied by 4D features such as scent and wind.
U2 created a name for themselves by telling stories through their concerts. The original “Zoo TV” tour in 1992 is considered one of the most influential tours because it featured the new found film projection and screen technology of the time, while also creating change and bringing awareness to world events.
The group even brought back the original, iconic saying from the Zoo TV tour, “Watch More TV”. U2 UV has created the same mesmerizing concert as they did years ago, by harnessing the newest technology to tell an amazing story.
Achtung Baby is the Irish rock band’s seventh studio album to be released and was a change from U2s typical alternative rock genre. The album features hits such as Mysterious Ways, One, and The Fly.
Experiencing U2 UV is something impossible to put into words. Growing up listening to U2 classics such as Sunday Bloody Sunday, I Will Follow, With or Without you, Vertigo, and Pride (In the Name of Love) seeing U2 live was something that would have blown me away even outside The Sphere but it brought it to life in a way never seen before.
Watching front man Bono (Paul Hewson) walk along the stage with a rope tied to the ceiling where a balloon had been placed on the screen above. As he sang, the stage, made entirely of screens, became a walking path and he paced with the balloon following the entire song.
Aside from playing the Achtung Baby album, they played songs such as All I want is you, Desire, Angel of Harlem (including a part from Bob Dylans “Like a Rolling Stone”) and, Love is Blindness. In addition to playing a snippet of Bob Dylan, they also played Elvis Presley’s Viva Las Vegas during Love Is Blindness.
As U2 closed out its set, Bono and crew left. Soon after, the iconic deep distorted wave-like tones of Elevation began playing. An encore that left me and the rest of my family frozen.
The encore featured the single Atomic City, U2s most recent release. Now this is where I was truly dumbfounded. As the song began, a live feed of Las Vegas was shown, which featured people walking, cars driving, and planes taking off from nearby airports as if we were looking through an enormous glass window. Before we knew it, we were watching the city be dismantled, as streets and buildings were torn up and lights turned off, leaving a desolate picture of what Las Vegas looked like before the oasis of casinos, arenas, and hotels existed. It was a truly mind boggling sight that no other building in the world besides the Sphere could create.
“Unos, dos, tres, catorce!” Bono yelled as Vertigo, one of U2s most energetic and electric songs, began pounding through the speakers. They followed with “Where the Streets have No Name“ from The Joshua Tree, the band’s most successful album.
As With or Without you wrapped up, the screen filled with animals that have become endangered or extinct, a nod towards U2s effort against animal extinction and endangerment.
Bono left us off with one last note “It’s truly been a Beautiful Day” as The Edge, the lead guitarist, played one of the band’s most iconic riffs. As the song hit the refrain, the animals slowly began filling with color. Sunlight started to poke through the thousands of animals that covered the screen, illuminating the entire building in an amazing white light. As the song reached its peak, the building exploded with tens of thousands of people singing. A truly beautiful moment and the perfect way to end the night.
