Watch U2 Play Achtung Baby Deep Cuts For The First Time In 30 Years At Las Vegas Sphere

Rich Fury

Watch U2 Play Achtung Baby Deep Cuts For The First Time In 30 Years At Las Vegas Sphere

Rich Fury

U2 kicked off their residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Friday night, becoming the first band to perform at the venue. The performance (called U2:UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere) was dedicated to their 1991 album Achtung Baby, which they played in full, mixed up and interrupted by an acoustic set halfway through and rounded out by an encore with some of their big hits, plus the recently-released single “Atomic City.”

The full Achtung Baby experience means that some songs were played for the first time in over 30 years: “So Cruel” (first time since 1992) and “Tryin’ To Throw Your Arms Around The World” (first time since 1993). “Love Is Blindness” was done for the first time since 2006.

The acoustic part of the set — which consisted of all songs from Rattle And Hum — had some dedications: “All I Want Is You” was done as a tribute to Larry Mullen, Jr., their drummer who is not performing at the Sphere shows because he’s recovering from surgery. (Bram van den Berg is filling in.) They dedicated “Desire” to Paul McCartney (who was in the audience) and did a bit of “Love Me Do.” And the late Jimmy Buffett was shouted out before Bono and the Edge did “Love Rescue Me.”

Watch video from the night below.

SETLIST:
“Zoo Station”
“The Fly”
“Even Better Than The Real Thing”
“Mysterious Ways”
“One”
“Until The End Of The World”
“Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses”
“Tryin’ To Throw Your Arms Around The World”
“All I Want Is You” (acoustic)
“Desire” (acoustic)
“Angel Of Harlem” (acoustic)
“Love Rescue Me” (acoustic)
“So Cruel”
“Acrobat”
“Ultraviolet (Light My Way)”
“Love Is Blindness”
“Elevation”
“Atomic City”
“Vertigo”
“Where The Streets Have No Name”
“With Or Without You”
“Beautiful Day”

And for fun, here’s a list of some of the celebrities in attendance (via a press release):

Adam Scott, Andre Agassi, Ava DuVernay, Bobby Shriver, Bryan Cranston, Chelsea Clinton, Chris Blackwell, Connie Britton, Dakota Fanning, Darren Aronofsky, Diplo, Dr. Dre, Elizabeth Banks, Flava Flav, Gayle King, Guy Oseary, Henrik Lundqvist, Jane Buffet, Jane Seymour, Jason Bateman, Jeff Bezos, Jimmy Iovine, Jimmy Kimmel, John Starks, Jon Hamm, Josh Duhamel, Katy Perry, Lars Ulrich, Lebron James, Luke Wilson, Oprah, Orlando Bloom, Oscar De La Hoya, Mario Lopez, Maria Sharapova, Martin Garrix, Matt Damon, Michael Rapino, Neil Patrick Harris, Paul McCartney, Paul McGuinness, Sheryl Sandberg, Skylar Astin, Snoop Dogg, Tom Schanley, Zane Lowe, and more

U2 have another Sphere performance tonight; their residency runs through December.

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