On Friday evening (September 29, 2023), U2 celebrated the start of their “UV Warning Baby Live at Sphere” show in Las Vegas. Also on drums: Bram van den Berg, who replaces the injured Larry Mullen, Jr., who has to recover from an operation.
Apparently the Dutch replacement – assuming the band’s live sound was recorded correctly, as documented in the video below – botched the first few bars of the concert. The show begins with “Acht Baby” opener “Zoo Station” and The Edge’s distorted guitar, followed by a staccato clap from Larry on drums and a bratty grind from Adam Clayton on bass. In “Sphere,” however, van den Berg seems to immediately hit the skins after Bono finishes his Irish a capella singing (with which he opened the “Zoo TV” gigs in 1992). That would be quite a mishap – and quite embarrassing.
In the past, it wasn’t always easy for U2 to perform “Zoo Station” properly. At the live premiere of the piece on the “Innocence + Experience” tour in 2015, Larry missed his turn on the B stage (see second video).
U2 in the “Sphere”:
U2 2015 in Berlin:
We previously reported:
On September 29, 2023 the time had come: U2 celebrated the premiere of their Las Vegas concert series “U2: UV Warning Baby Live at Sphere”. Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and replacement drummer Bram van den Berg had some delicacies in store for their fans.
The most spectacular premiere right away: U2 performed their album “Aehrung Baby” in its entirety for the first time. Divided into two blocks, fans were able to enjoy all the songs from the studio album released in 1991.
The band hadn’t played some of the album’s songs for many decades: “Tryin’ To Throw Your Arms Around The World”, for example, was heard at a U2 concert for the first time since 1993, and “So Cruel” was last played in 1992. Fans had to wait for “Love Is Blindness” since 2006, and U2 last had “Mysterious Ways” on a set list in 2017.
Lots of special snippets
A few snippets and interpolations also made the evening special: “One” was enriched with “Purple Rain” and “Love Me Tender”, “Acrobat” was combined with “Hall of Mirrors” and “So Long, Farewell” – and because you is in Las Vegas, Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” (as a snippet in “Elevation”() couldn’t be missed. There were also a few delicacies in the last encore: “Beautiful Day” was reinforced by snippets from “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and “Blackbird”.
Dedications
The band dedicated “All I Want Is You” to their drummer Larry Mullen Jr., who is unable to attend the Las Vegas shows for health reasons. “Desire” was dedicated to Paul McCartney, while “Love Rescue Me” saw the band remember the recently deceased Jimmy Buffett.
This is the setlist from September 29, 2023:
“Attention Baby” part 1
1 – Zoo Station (A Cappella Into)
2 – The Fly
3 – Even Better Than the Real Thing
4 – Mysterious Ways
5 – One (with Rain/Love Me Tender snippets)
6 – Until the End of the World
7 – Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
8 – Tryin’ to Throw Your Arms Around the World
“Rattle and Hum” interlude
9 – All I Want Is You (dedicated to Larry Mullen, Jr.)
10 – Desire/Love Me Do (dedicated to Paul McCartney)
11 – Angel of Harlem (with Into the Mystic/Dancing in the Moonlight snippets)
12 – Love Rescue Me
“Attention Baby” part 2
13 – So Cruel
14 – Acrobat
15 – Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
16 – Love Is Blindness
Encore
17 – Elevation/My Way
18 – Atomic City
19 – Vertigo
20 – Where the Streets Have No Name
21 – With or Without You
22 – Beautiful Day (with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)/Blackbird snippets)