It appeared to be a typical U2 outdoor concert scene: Two helicopters swiftly cut through the starlit sky, casting powerful spotlights over the vast expanse of the Las Vegas desert. In the midst of the radiant beams, frontman Bono took a humble knee to the ground, passionately delivering the band's 2004 hit "Vertigo."
This scene may seem customary, but the visuals were created by floor-to-ceiling graphics inside the immersive Sphere. It was one of the several impressive moments during U2’s "UV Achtung Baby" residency launch show at the high-tech, globe-shaped venue, which opened for the first time Friday night.
The legendary rock band, which has won 22 Grammys, performed for two hours inside the massive, state-of-the-art spherical venue with crystal-clear audio. Throughout the night, there was a plethora of attractive visuals – including kaleidoscope images, a burning flag and the Las Vegas skyline, taking the more than 18,000 attendees on U2’s epic musical journey.
"What a fancy pad," said Bono, who was accompanied onstage by guitarists The Edge and Adam Clayton along with drummer Bram van den Berg. He then stared at the high-resolution LED screen that projected a larger version of himself along with a few praying hands and bells.
Bono then paid homage to the late Elvis Presley, who was a Las Vegas entertainment staple. The band has rocked in the city as far back as 1987 when they filmed the music video for "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" on the Strip during a tour in 1987.
"Look at all this stuff. ... Elvis has definitely not left this building," he continued. "It’s an Elvis chapel. It’s an Elvis cathedral. Tonight, the entry into this cathedral is a password: flirtation."
U2 made its presence felt at the $2.3 billion Sphere, which stands 366 feet (111 meters) high and 516 feet (157 meters) wide. With superb visual effects, the band’s 25-show residency opened with a splash performing a slew of hits including "Mysterious Ways," "Zoo Station," "All I Want is You," "Desire" and new single "Atomic City."
On many occasions, the U2 band members were so large on screen that it felt like Bono intimately sang to the audience on one side while The Edge strummed his guitar to others on a different side.
The crowd included many entertainers and athletes: Oprah, LeBron James, Matt Damon, Andre Agassi, Ava DuVernay, Josh Duhamel, Jason Bateman, Jon Hamm, Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Oscar de la Hoya, Henrik Lundqvist, Flava Flav, Diplo, Dakota Fanning, Orlando Bloom and Mario Lopez.
After wrapping up The Beatles’ jam "Love Me Do," Bono recognized Paul McCartney. He acknowledged Sphere owner James Dolan’s efforts for spearheading a venue that’s pushing forward the live concert audio landscape with 160,000 high-quality speakers and 260 million video pixels.
The Sphere is the brainchild of Dolan, the executive chair of Madison Square Garden and owner of the New York Knicks and Rangers. He sketched the first drawing of the venue on notebook paper.
In September, Turkish new media artist Refik Anadol became the first artist to have his work displayed on the massive Sphere. Anadol’s artificial intelligence (AI) data sculpture "Machine Hallucinations: Sphere" covered the exterior of the structure.