(Las Vegas) It was like a typical U2 outdoor show: two helicopters hovered above the starry sky, shining their spotlights on the Las Vegas desert and singer Bono, who knelt on the ground to sing Vertigo.
The problem was that there were no helicopters and no desert. The entire scene was actually projected floor to ceiling onto the interior walls of the new MSG Sphere in Las Vegas.
The moment was one of many awe-inspiring moments at the launch of U2’s UV Achtung Baby residency at the state-of-the-art, globe-shaped venue, which opened Friday evening.
The legendary rock band, winner of 22 Grammy awards, performed for two hours in this huge spherical hall with crystal clear sound in front of 18,000 people.
Throughout the evening, a multitude of visuals were presented on the giant screen that covers the entire interior of the sphere, including kaleidoscope images, a burning flag, and the Las Vegas skyline.
“What a sophisticated room,” said Bono, accompanied on stage by guitarists The Edge and Adam Clayton as well as drummer Bram van den Berg.
After being impressed by the giant version of himself that was projected on the screen, Bono paid tribute to the late Elvis Presley, who was an entertainment staple in Las Vegas.
“Look at all this. Elvis certainly did not leave this building, he continued. It’s an Elvis chapel. It’s an Elvis cathedral. »
U2 made its presence felt in the 2.3 billion US sphere, which measures 111 meters high and 157 meters wide.
Thanks to the stunning visual effects, the band’s 25-concert residency opened in style on Friday, as the quartet belted out their many hits, including Mysterious Ways, Zoo Station, All I Want is You and Desire, in addition to their newest track, Atomic City.
On many occasions, the band members looked so big on screen that it felt like Bono was singing intimately to one part of the audience, while The Edge reserved his guitar chords for the other.
Many stars also met for the first concert in this unique room.
Oprah, LeBron James, Matt Damon, Andre Agassi, Ava DuVernay, Josh Duhamel, Jason Bateman, Jon Hamm, Bryan Crankston, Aaron Paul, Oscar de la Hoya, Henrik Lundqvist, Flava Flav, Diplo, Dakota Fanning, Orlando Bloom and Mario Lopez were all in the room, to name just a few.
After finishing The Beatles’ Love Me Do, Bono also took the time to say hello to Paul McCartney, who was also in attendance.
The singer also highlighted the efforts of the owner of the Sphere, James Dolan, who was the visionary of this room which has thousands of high quality speakers and 260 million video pixels.
“I think the Sphere may have come about because of Jim Dolan trying to solve the problem of the Beatles when they were playing at Shea Stadium,” he mentioned.
“We couldn’t hear anything! Now, in the Sphere, can you hear me? »
James Dolan is president of Madison Square Garden in New York. He also owns the Knicks in basketball and the Rangers in hockey.
At the very end of the concert, a bright light shone from the ceiling and the huge screen began to fill with images of birds, insects and reptiles above a lake.
The group closed its first Sphere concert with Beautiful Day, which won three Grammy awards in 2001.
