U2 opened Sphere Las Vegas with ‘Achtung Baby’ & eye-popping visuals (pics, video, setlist)

On Friday night, U2 played the first concert at Las Vegas’ $1 billion immersive venue Sphere, kicking off a 25 show run. ‘U2:UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere‘ is designed to show off everything Sphere can do in the form of a U2 concert and by all accounts — and videos from the show — it was a dazzling spectacle.

U2 are playing Achtung Baby in full, though the first and second sides are broken up with an acoustic set where the stage — which like the interior of Sphere is an LED screen — is made to look like a turntable which was designed by Brian Eno. Many of the Achtung Baby songs hadn’t been played since the ’90s. Atter the album, the band came back for a set song from throughout their catalog, including new single “Atomic City,” and ending with “Where the Streets Have No Names,” “With or Without You” and “Beautiful Day.”

Holding around 20,000 people, Sphere is enormous and from far away the band seemed dwarfed by the impressive visuals shown on the Sphere’s interior, including the ceiling, which were created by Es Devlin, John Gerrard, Marco Brambilla, and Industrial Light & Magic.

Some highlights: Bono dedicated “All I Want is You” to drummer Larry Mullen Jr who is sitting out these shows — Bram van den Berg is filling in behind the kit — as he is recovering from surgery; a fan was invited on stage as a rope descended from the ceiling, and Bono invited her to swing on it as they played Tryin’ to Throw Your Arms Around the World.”

There were a lot of famous people for Sphere’s opening night, including Paul McCartney who Bono shouted out: “Just know that we love you and we’ve stolen a lot of your songs.” Also in the house: Adam Scott, Andre Agassi, Ava DuVernay, Bryan Cranston, Chelsea Clinton, Dakota Fanning, Darren Aronofsky, Diplo, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Elizabeth Banks, Flava Flav, Gayle King, Jane Seymour, Jason Bateman, Jeff Bezos, Jimmy Iovine, Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Hamm, Katy Perry, Lars Ulrich, Lebron James, Luke Wilson, Oprah, Orlando Bloom, Oscar De La Hoya, Mario Lopez, Matt Damon, Michael Rapino, Neil Patrick Harris, and more.

You can check out photos from the first ‘U2:UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere’ show, as well as fan-shot video and the setlist. There are 24 shows still to go, running through December.

Opening Night of U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 29: (Exclusive Coverage) Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Bram van den Berg of U2 perform during opening night of U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere on September 29, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation)

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation

Photo: Rich Fury for Live Nation

Photo: Stufish Entertainment Architects

Image11_SamJones_091521_U2VEGAS1_2561_alt

Photo: Stufish Entertainment Architects

SETLIST: U2 @ SPHERE 9/29/2023
ACHTUNG BABY PART 1
Zoo Station
The Fly
Even Better Than the Real Thing
Mysterious Wayws
One
Until the End of the World
Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
Tryin’ to Throw Your Arms Around the World

TURNTABLE SET
All I Want Is You
Desire
Angel of Harlem
Love Rescue Me

ACHTUNG BABY PART 2
So Cruel
Acrobat
Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
Love Is Blindness

ENCORE
Elevation
My Way
Atomic City
Vertigo
Where the Streets Have No Name
With or Without You
Beautiful Day