When addressing U2’s most recent intentions, EDGE is generally restrained and resistant to exaggeration. The U2 guitarist is speaking in unusually lavish terms, however, because of the band’s commitment to open Sphere in Las Vegas this September.
In terms of what a concert could be like, “My hope is that it’ll be kind of a quantum leap,” he tells Rolling Stone.
The band will begin their residency at Achtung Baby Live at Sphere Las Vegas on September 29, and they will perform there again on October 5, 10 and 8.
According to reports, Strip Sphere, located next to the Venetian resort, has been under development for the past five years at a cost of over $2 billion. The Sphere, “the world’s largest circular stricture,” is 516 feet wide, 366 feet tall, and has 17,600 seats.
Two years ago, U2 first learned about Sphere. The Age declared, “We’re always on the lookout for cutting edge technologies in the world of music and audio.” “Upon learning about this, we began questioning other members of our team. We learned that very tentative approaches had already been made to include us in a possible launch.
Given their avant-garde live musical experiences at Zoo TV and PopMart in the 1990s, and their recent U2 360 Degree Tour and Songs of Innocence/Experience tours, the band seemed a logical choice for Sphere. As these venues were not built for sound, Edge claims the acoustics are far from ideal. “Overcoming the color that venue gives to audio is just a constant battle.
However, Sphere was developed to create immersive audio and visual experiences for live performances and personal movies. Edge predicts that the acoustics of the building will not interfere with how audio is delivered to the audience. “For us, it’s just an incredible playpen.”
