U2 is ready to hit Las Vegas. The Irish rockers will kick off their new residency, U2: UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere, at The Venetian Resort on Friday.
The residency will be the first-ever show at the new state-of-the-art venue Sphere, which boasts a 160,000-square-foot wraparound interior LED screen with 16K resolution, along with an exterior that features 580,000 square feet of LED displays.
“Over playing a theater, most music venues are sports venues … they’re built for sport, they’re not built for music, they’re not built for art,” Bono previously told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe about the venue. “So this building was built for immersive experiences in cinema and performance … you can’t come here and see an ice hockey game.”
The Edge added, “The sound has been designed as a priority from the beginning. Best sound I’m sure we’ll ever hear.”
Unfortunately, the residency will be happening without the band’s drummer, Larry Mullen, Jr., who is sitting out the shows as he recuperates from surgery. Drummer Bram van den Berg will be filling in behind the drum kit.
Ahead of the residency debut, U2 gave fans a bonus treat with the release of new single “Atomic City.” “It’s a love song to our audience … ’where you are is where I’ll be,’” Bono says of the track, which features a nod to Blondie’s “Call Me.”
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers, including Mullen, shot the video for the song earlier this month on Fremont Street in Las Vegas, the same location where they shot the video for “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” back in 1987.
U2: UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere will consist of 25 shows, wrapping December 16. A complete list of dates can be found at U2.com.
Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.