I’ve had a few friends attend previous U2 at the Sphere shows. Every time I’ve asked for videos and photos. Every time the response was “sure, here you go, but it doesn’t come close to demonstrating.” Every time I’ve asked how it was. Every time the response was “it’s hard to put it into words”. And every time I’ve scoffed at those responses. And they were absolutely correct. The videos don’t even begin to do it justice. And trying to put it into words? Forgettaboutit. But I’ll try.
Was it your best concert ever? Frequently in bar conversations we’ll discuss “your top four musicians”, “desert island albums”, or “top concerts ever”. So it makes sense to ask how U2 at the Sphere would rank in the terms of concerts I’ve been to. And it doesn’t. It isn’t one of my top concerts. Only because it wasn’t a concert. It was so much more. Sure, it had a large component as a concert. But it was a four dimension multi-sensory psychedelic experience wrapped in a community of 17k people that felt like a hundred. No way to compare it to anything else.
Each song had it’s own mini-movie video display. Most were incredibly elaborate but some were mostly just the band. And the videos were totally immersive even up to the Even Better Than the Real Thing video made me feel like the room was moving. That was a tribute to Elvis (of course, we’re in Vegas). The technology of the screen made if feel like it was flat at some points. There were times it looked like the ceiling was falling on you. Sunrise illuminated the entire room. Videos of a desert scene from dawn to dusk, of insects, of the Vegas strip being deconstructed, of the earth flooding. Some were quite psychedelic. For the most part the videos accentuated the band but there were times when the videos dominated the band. I found myself sitting down to just look up and watch the video rather than the band a couple of times.
You can look at the setlist online:
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/u2/2024/sphere-at-the-venetian-resort-las-vegas-nv-4bad732e.html
They played Achtung Baby in its entirety, though not in order. They opened with the biggest songs from it, then took a mini acoustic turn and did some Rattle and Hum and the Crowded House cover of “Don’t Dream It’s Over” dedicated to Yulia Novaltny using pre-recorded Neil Finn vocals. They then finished up Achtung Baby left the stage and returned with some “greatest hits” like Streets Have No Name, With or Without You, and Vertigo…. Every show at the Sphere ended with Beautiful Day. Except this one. Talking to U2 fans in advance of this show there was great hope “40” would be the final song. It had been their walk off song for many shows and seemed to be fitting for here. The energy was amazing as the crowd realized “40” was coming. The Edge and Adam Clayton always switch instruments for it and when Beautiful Day ended and they swapped bass and guitar the place went nuts. And as great as the start of the song was, the magic was the end as each member of the band left the stage individually (The Edge last) as the crowd continued to sing “How long to sing this song?”. And it seemed to last five minutes in hope for their return, which didn’t happen but was fitting. Though even after the singing dissipated no one moved until the PA began playing. We were all hoping for just a little “This song is not a rebel song…”.
The knock on it was it had to be so well choreographed to match up with the screen. Bono even referenced this when introduction the Neil Finn audio. He said something akin to “in the U2 at the Sphere show it’s difficult to go off script but we’ll try”. There’s something about a concert to think the artist may just go outside the lines at anytime. Maybe they string out their guitar solo, maybe they add a song, or maybe they just react to something in the crowd. But the chance that could happen wasn’t here. I understand it but that makes all of the shows at the Sphere pretty identical. Except this one. We got “40”.
The sound in the Sphere was great. U2 sounded good, if not a little old, but that’s okay. I never realized how much backup The Edge sang and he did a fine job. Bono stretched it at times. He’s not known as a great voice and it sounded like that. But if anything it was good to hear the warts in his voice rather than audio tune that many singers use today. The replacement drummer, Brad, didn’t miss a beat. If you didn’t know, you wouldn’t know it wasn’t Larry. Regardless, U2 still owns the stage.
Who can do the Sphere next? That was our bar talk that night. It needs to be someone that could sell out a few dates; you couldn’t put the effort into the programming for a single show. And it needs to be someone with a visual component. Pink Floyd would have been perfect. Springsteen could definitely sell out many shows, but when I see him I want it to just be him in a dark smoky room. Bruce doesn’t need a screen. So who could sell out 17k multiple nights and use the screen to enhance. Sir Paul for sure could pull it off. Taylor and Beyonce. Radiohead (I won’t go) would probably work. But there aren’t many. The next two acts announced are Phish and The Dead and Company. That surprises me as jam bands don’t like to follow scripts. Of course the psychedelic nature of the screen contributes but I don’t see them playing to a click track to match the music with the video.
It was such a cool night. U2 was into it and made us feel that they wanted to end their run on a high note. The crowd was collectively engaged; almost like a sporting event where you’re high-fiving strangers I found myself frequently turning to strangers saying “did you just see that shit”? Dave Grohl was there. Jill Biden was there. And I’m sure many other VIPs. What a great experience; not a concert. You just can’t put it into words.
