On Friday (September 29th) U2 celebrated the start of their residency in Las Vegas. While the Irish rock band took the stage at the MSG Sphere in Las Vegas for the first time, they dedicated the song “All I Want Is You” to their drummer Larry Mullen, Jr., who will not be taking part in the shows due to some injuries.
At the beginning of September, the band commented on the loss of their band member. Mullen, Jr. appears to have sustained some injuries to his elbows, knees and neck and is still recovering from necessary surgery. “The whole band and certainly the audience will be very sad and miss Larry,” said U2 bassist Adam Clayton to the British newspaper “Daily Star” about their decision. The drummer himself also said that he would “prefer to take some time to heal”. Even if he probably didn’t stick to it completely.
In an interview with Apple Music, Bono said that Larry Mullen Jr. contributed to the recording of their current single “Atomic City” and gave it his all, even though he was still recovering from surgery. “It’s really difficult for him,” says the frontman in an interview. “He didn’t know if he could play for an hour or 15 minutes. And he just played until he dropped… That took a lot out of Larry.”
In addition to paying tribute to their absent band member, who is represented by Dutch drummer Bram van den Berg, the band played their entire 1991 album “Aehrung Baby” as well as the aforementioned new song “Atomic City”. U2 also performed an acoustic set that included songs like “Rattle and Hum.” While they dedicated the song “Desire” to Paul McCartney, they paid tribute to the late Jimmy Buffet with “Love Rescue Me.” The group closed out opening night with an encore of “Elevation,” “Atomic City,” “Vertigo,” “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “With or Without You” and “Beautiful Day.”
It was the first of a total of 25 live shows in Las Vegas’ most innovative concert location. The venue can hold 17,600 people, meaning U2 will have played to over 300,000 people by the end of their residency in December. On September 28th, the fan experience “Zoo Station: A U2:UV Experience” opened at the luxury hotel The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas, which is intended to give fans a better understanding of the album “Aehrung Baby” in advance.