U2 Perform Zoo Station at Sphere in Las Vegas
Chapters: Achtung Baby Live • Concert Videos • General Admission • Zoo Station at the Venetian • The V-U2 Experience • Sphere Experience and Postcard from Earth • Vegas Legends • Venetian and Tao Beach • Vegas, Baby! • Epilogue: Sun Studio
Zoo Station at Sphere on 29 September U2023.
This is how it all began. The very first song at the very first show ever at Sphere.
When I first went to my seat, there was construction gear in one of the rows I passed by. I alerted the Sphere staff and they cleared it out while I checked out the lobby spaces and merch booths.
No idea what this is.
When I returned, the usher warned me that everybody should sit down, particularly during the third song (Even Better Than the Real Thing), because it's so steep and the rows are so high and narrow. Couple that with the visuals, I was warned, and you might get dizzy. They were right; particularly during EBTTRT, I was catching some vertigo. (How's that for a U2 reference grounded in reality?)
What's all the more impressive is the effect wasn't limited to the upper levels. Even on the floor, right off the stage, the visual motion during EBTTRT was so disorienting, looking directly across the stage made it look like the stage was moving up and down. The stage, though, was flat on the floor. The effects were dizzying (and dazzling) even up close.
Upon entering the Sphere, the appearance is of concrete slabs. People were surprised to see the exposed concrete, which was in stark contrast to the exterior's array of lights that — from a distance — created a high-res image that fooled the eye.
Also, as a mood-setter, they were playing Vangelis' Blade Runner score, which included some dialogue. The first words I heard upon entering were from Harrison Ford, as he was talking to his computer, zooming in on the photo of Zhora.
There was so much detail in all of this. The concrete looks fairly fresh at first. But, as the showtime nears, the concrete starts to age. It gets dirty. Up above, doves fly in through the top "opening" and perch in some of the cubby holes. Then, when the lights go out and the show begins, the sounds of helicopters fill the Sphere and up in through that top opening helicopters can be seen hovering above the Sphere.
Of course, those details weren't appreciated on the first night. Oh no. There was way too much to take in. It took multiple visits to appreciate everything Willie Williams and U2 had designed. Helping make some of the magic happen — particularly with Where the Streets Have No Name — was Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). Yes. The company that melted faces and made heads explode in Raiders of the Lost Ark contributed to the blowing of minds at Sphere.
I've said it so many times now, but it has to be said here, too. Achtung Baby was the album that changed my life and ZOO-TV was the tour that changed my life. These Sphere shows, then, carried a tremendous amount of personal significance for me. I relished every single moment.
Until Sphere, the opening of ZOO-TV stood in my mind as the single greatest band entrance ever staged. But the opening of Sphere with Zoo Station is effin', effin' earth shattering. Those concrete slabs start to jostle loose by the power of the music. Dirt and debris fall out and give way to the gigantic display of Sphere.
Listen to Bram van den Berg on the drums. He's filling in for Larry, who's recuperating from back surgery. Bram nails it. The beat is so... Hot.
How on Earth could this have been done any better? Absolutely a brilliant concept flawlessly executed.
Zoo Station at Sphere on 27 October U2023.
From up in the nosebleeds to down close.
The stage design is ingenious. Bono refers to it as Brian Eno's turntable. Bono's microphone stand in the center is the LP spindle spinning around as the album plays. The four standing stage lights — particularly during So Cruel — can be imposing robot-like creatures.
Fully a year after the run of 40 shows, I'm still amazed by the stage and bewildered by all the brilliance on display in U2:UV - Achtung Baby Live at Sphere.
I Go There With You...
U2
Mattopia Jones covers the world's loudest folk band:
5 continents • 19 countries
39 cities • 11 tours • 48 venues
77 shows • 1 Sphere
3 special appearances
6 boys dreaming out loud
0 restraining orders
Bono: Author, Actor, Factivist
The Stories of Surrender one-man theatrical stage show was conceived as a promotional book tour for Bono’s phenomenal “MEmoir” and the tour expanded into an extended series of shows on Broadway.
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