U2 performs at the Sphere

A couple of weeks ago, my good friend down in LA called saying, “We got U2 tickets at the Las Vegas Sphere and one of our friends can't make it. Wanna go?” Duh!

It's been an interesting week as I had to take a late flight to Las Vegas. The next night we meet up and we're off to the Sphere, the 8th Wonder of the World. It's the most incredible concert experience you'll ever have. The exterior of the Sphere is a constant change of millions of LED lights doing a new graphic light show every 15 to 30 seconds throughout the day and night. On the interior of the Sphere, only 1/3 of the walls are not seating and available for video background. Wow! At times we felt vertigo as the screen was falling and we thought the seats were rising. During a lightning storm on the screen, our seats shook and the lightning noise was deafening. It's definitely a bucket list concert.

U2 is a rock band from Dublin, Ireland, that's been together since 1976. That's 48 years and going strong. The band is made up of lead guitarist Edge (David Evans), bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. with lead vocalist Bono (Paul Hewson). The thing about U2 is they keep releasing hit record after hit record for decades. Not easy to do. What was the last decade that the Rolling Stones or Elton John had a hit record?

U2 released their debut album “Boy” in 1980 and had their first of two hits with “I Will Follow” and “Out of Control.” Their second album, “October” was released in 1981 and had one hit single, “Gloria.” U2 released “War” and 1983 with the hit singles, “New Year's Day”; “Sunday Bloody Sunday”; “Two Hearts Beat As One”; and “40,” which became their staple encore song to close their concerts. Four hits on one album made U2 a serious band.

Then came their record, “The Unforgettable Fire” in 1984, their first collaboration with producer Brian Eno. This record skyrocketed U2 to superstars with hits such as “A Sort of Homecoming”; “Pride (In the Name of Love)”, a tribute to Martin Luther King; “Wire”; “The Unforgettable Fire”; and “Bad”.

The “Live Aid” Ethiopian famine relief concert was the brainchild of rocker Bob Geldof of the Boomtown Rats.

It was held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London, England and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia with 162,000 concertgoers in attendance in July 1985. It was a who's who of rock `n roll and pop performing at both sites. However, one band stole the show. Type in YouTube “Live Aid U2 Bad”. The rest was history.

They released “Joshua Tree” in 1987 and became even bigger rock superstars with the hits “Where the Streets Have No Name”; “I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For”; “With or Without You”; “Bullet the Blue Sky”; “Running to Stand Still” and “In God's Country.” In 1988, U2 released “Rattle and Hum” with the hits “Desire”; “Angel of Harlem”; “When Love Comes to Town” with B.B. King; and “All I Want Is You.”

U2 kept evolving over the years. In 1991, they released “Achtung Baby” with the hits “Even Better Than the Real Thing”; “Mysterious Ways”; “One”; “The Fly”; “Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses” and “Until the End of the World”. In 1993 they released “Zooropa” with the hits “Zooropa”; and “Numb”. U2 released “Pop” in 1997, however that record didn't have the critical success of their previous albums. In 2000, U2 released “All That You Can't leave Behind” with the hits “Beautiful Day”; “Elevation”; and “Walk On”. U2 released “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” in 2004 with the hits “Vertigo” and “City of Blinding Lights.” Five years later in 2009 U2 released their 12th studio album “No Line On the Horizon” which didn't produce any major hits for the band, however they did a worldwide tour from 2009-2011 that grossed $736 million in tickets sales with over 7.3 million fans attending their concerts.

In 2014, U2 released “Songs of Innocence”, then in 2017 “Songs of Experience” and finally in 2023 “Songs of Surrender”. No original hits from these records, however it allowed U2 to continue their world tour until Las Vegas Sphere came calling in 2023. U2 got their very own Las Vegas residency with 40 shows between September 2023 through March 2024. U2 released their new single “Atomic City” from a live performance in downtown Las Vegas.

Matthew Owen resides in Eureka and believes the First Amendment allows for free speech. He can be reached at mowen707@gmail.com.