U2 had a star-studded turnout for the opening night of their new Las Vegas residency.
On Friday, Sept. 29, the band made their debut at the Venetian Resort venue for their “U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere” shows.
Their performance also marked the official opening of Sphere, which has already made headlines for its exterior lighting up the Vegas skyline with everything from advertisements to a 3D rendering of an eyeball.
U2's line-up consisted of members Bono, The Edge and Adam Clayton and marked the debut of Bram van den Berg substituting in on drums while Larry Mullen Jr. recovered from back surgery, according to Rolling Stone.
According to a press release, U2’s performance gave fans a “fully immersive experience” with “top of the line technology.”
Throughout their performance, which highlighted the band’s 1991 album “Achtung Baby” and their “Zoo TV” tour, fans were treated to a visual experience that leveraged the full range of the Sphere’s LED screen while the brand performed on a turntable stage.
Here’s what to know about opening night of the band’s residency, and what’s to come with the remainder of shows.
What is Sphere?
Sphere is a new entertainment venue at the Venetian Resort in Paradise, Nevada.
The venue, with 17,000 seats, features 168,000 square feet of high definition LEDs and 167,000 speakers.
The exterior is more than 360 feet tall and is the largest spherical structure in the world, according to its website.
What celebrities were at U2's show?
Celebrities turned out for the event and showcased the intricate technology of the venue on social media.
Ava DuVernay shared a star-studded snap on her Instagram story at the concert. In the candid photo, she posed animatedly alongside Gayle King, Oprah Winfrey and Maria Shriver.
Orlando Bloom and Katy Perry were also at opening night. On his lnstagram story, the actor shared several videos, including a trippy snap showing off one of the many maximalist visuals displayed on the spherical screens at the venue.
He also shared a sweet moment with Perry as the duo sang along to the band’s tune “With Or Without You.”
On his Instagram, Flavor Flav shared a video of U2 on stage performing their hit “Elevation” and commended the band for their performance, writing, “Legendary night with Legendz on the stage and in the audience.”
Andre Agassi shared a video from inside of the venue on Instagram, capturing the vast scale of the structure. In the caption, he celebrated the venue’s debut, writing in part, “To stand out in the city of lights is an epic win for us all in LAS VEGAS.”
Josh Duhamel snapped a photo from outside of the venue. On his Instagram story, the dome-shaped venue was lit up in hues of purple, blue and red, displaying the name of U2's show.
Skylar Astin also captured the wide array of visuals from inside the venue. On his Instagram story, the “Pitch Perfect” star snapped a video of a wall of technicolor letters and numbers. Captioning it, he wrote, “The @spherevegas is a musical multiverse of madness!!”
Also among the celebrity attendees were Paul McCartney, Matt Damon, Jimmy Kimmel, Bryan Cranston, Connie Britton, Neil Patrick Harris, Luke Wilson, LeBron James and more.
Everything to know about their new song
Among their classic hits, U2 also debuted a brand new song for fans called “Atomic City.”
According to a press release, the song pays homage to “the magnetic spirit of '70s post-punk” with nods to Blondie, whose work with Giorgio Moroder served as an influence to U2.
The song’s name is also a nod to a nickname for Las Vegas from the 1950s when there was an influx of tourism due to the city’s close proximity to the Nevada Test Site.
What are the other concert dates?
U2’s “U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere” is slated to run for 25 nights between Sept. 29 and Dec. 16. While several of the October dates are sold out, according to the venue’s official website, tickets for the remaining dates range from $400 to $1495.
The full list of date includes:
- Sept. 29
- Sept. 30
- Oct. 5
- Oct. 7
- Oct. 8
- Oct. 11
- Oct. 13
- Oct. 14
- Oct. 18
- Oct. 20
- Oct. 21
- Oct. 25
- Oct. 27
- Oct. 28
- Nov. 1
- Nov. 3
- Nov. 4
- Dec. 1
- Dec. 2
- Dec. 6
- Dec. 8
- Dec. 9
- Dec. 13
- Dec. 15
- Dec. 16