December 1, 2023 - Las Vegas, Nevada, USA - Sphere at The Venetian Resort

Photograph: Ross Stewart

Opening Act(s): Pauli "The PSM" Lovejoy

Setlist:

1. Zoo Station
2. Drive My Car - The Fly
3. Even Better Than the Real Thing
4. Mysterious Ways - My Sweet Lord - Young Americans
5. One - Purple Rain - Love Me Tender
6. Until the End of the World - Paint It Black
7. Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
8. Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World
9. All I Want Is You
10. A Rainy Night in Soho
11. Desire - Love Me Do
12. Two Hearts Beat as One - Rescue
13. Sunday Bloody Sunday
14. Acrobat
15. So Cruel
16. Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
17. Love Is Blindness - Viva Las Vegas
Encore(s):
18. Elevation - My Way
19. Atomic City
20. Vertigo
21. Where the Streets Have No Name
22. With or Without You
23. Beautiful Day - Gloria - Glorify

Remarks:

U2 perform the eighteenth of forty shows at the Sphere at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas. Attendance is 18,600; a sellout. Tickets range from $140 to $500 (for presale ticket prices) but many sell at resale prices of $400 to $1,450. The opening music act is Pauli "The PSM" Lovejoy, who is the official Atomic MC / DJ host of the UV Dance Party opening each U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere concert.

Once again in "flirtatious form" as Bono announces at the beginning of "Mysterious Ways", a touching moment occurs later in the setlist when Bono sings "A Rainy Night in Soho" in reaction to The Pogues' Shane MacGowan's recent passing. Towards the end of the impromptu performance, Bono calls out for Terry Lawless and his spirit to "to sing with us for Shane MacGowan." Moments later, Bono improvises the following lyrics: "MacGowan's song is never over. Though we may never find out what it means. There's a light I hold before me. You're the measure of my dreams, the measure of my dreams."

During band introductions, Bono calls Bram van den Berg "a PHD student of Larry Mullen Junior." For Adam Clayton, Bono introduces U2's bass player as "our wildcard turned royal flush... Lord Adam Charles Clayton on the bass! The first manager of U2. The first man who believed we could go all the way, thank you sir." For The Edge's introduction, Bono says: "In a town of magicians, a true alchemist, turning our shite into gold on a daily basis, and turning his guitars into anything he wants to turn them into... this is The Edge!" Bono finally introduces himself: "And on vocals... if you're not talking about him, he ain't listenin'. Mouth almighty, a giant in his own time: Bono!"

For tonight's rotating songs in the middle of the set, the band perform "Two Hearts Beat as One" for only the second time at the Sphere. A brief snippet of "Rescue" by Echo & the Bunnymen is sung as well, with Bono joking at the end: "Sorry about that Will," (referring to Echo's Will Sergeant who is watching from the crowd), "we couldn't do the weddings and the funerals. The bar mitzvahs are too much for us." Next, in the intro to an acoustic rendition of "Sunday Bloody Sunday", Bono sends a prayer for all the peacemakers: "Let's pray there's more of 'em out there somewhere." Many stars are in attendance tonight including: Thom Yorke (from Radiohead), James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich (from Metallica), Eddie Vedder (from Pearl Jam), Justin Timberlake (from NSYNC), and last but not least Lady Gaga.