Futuristic Love: U2 Launch New Era Of ASTOUNDING Live Music Venue At Sphere Opening Concert In Las Vegas.

Futuristic Love: U2 Launch New Era Of ASTOUNDING Live Music Venue At Sphere Opening Concert In Las Vegas.

"U2 have played their track ‘So Cruel’ live for the first time since 1992 at the opening of the MSG Sphere venue this past weekend.

On Friday (September 29), the Irish rock band began their Las Vegas residency at the Las Vegas Sphere – a $2.3bn, 18,000 seater sci-fi structure that has 160,000 speakers and a giant wrap-around LED screen. They opened the new venue on the first night of their ‘U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere’ in which they played their 1991 LP in its entirety along with their hits.

Bono and Co. played the track ‘So Cruel’ for the first time in over 30 years towards the third act of their set. “Shall we wake the baby up?,” the band’s frontman asked the crowd.

He continued: “Just thinking the other day that ‘Achtung Baby’ is really our most bloody, brutal, bare-knuckled fight of an album and that’s just psychologically speaking. It hardly ever leaves the bedroom and in that sense, it is our most political album. Side Two begins now.”

Other songs that had their first live debut in a while were ‘Mysterious Ways’ which was last played in 2017, ‘Tryin’ To Throw Your Arms Around The World’ last played in 1993 and ‘Love Is Blindness’, last played in 2006.

The band’s debut residency gig, which opened on the same day that they released their first new song in two years, ‘Atomic City’, was attended by a host of famous faces including Paul McCartney and Snoop Dogg. NME writer Damian Jones also confirmed that Dr Dre and Flavor Flav were at the concert.

In a five-star review of the show, NME said: “Edge previously pointed out that U2 are taking the live concert experience “to the next level” and this opening night does a fine balancing act of doing just that while also ensuring their music remains very much at the forefront. And this is just the start of a stunning residency which will only continue to blossom with each passing night in this city of blinding lights.”

Meanwhile, U2 have spoken about drummer Larry Mullen Jr playing “up a storm” in the studio when recording their new single ‘Atomic City‘, despite being saddled with surgery recovery. Krezip drummer Bram van den Berg is filling in for Mullen Jr at the residency shows in Las Vegas.

In other U2 news, the band recently launched ‘Zoo Station’ – an immersive experience for fans designed ahead of their upcoming shows." - NME.Com