U2 Kicks off Las Vegas Residency at The Sphere

More video of U2's concert for elderly white people.

r2 That thread doesn't even mention U2 in the title. For the sake of accuracy and convenience, let's support threads with descriptive titles.

I was a bit surprised when I heard that U2 was doing a residency in Vegas. I would’ve thought they were still “too big” of an act (i.e., could still sell out stadiums on tour) to do something like that.

r4 A lot of time has passed since U2's peak. They haven't released relevant music in quite some time.

r5 What is 'relevant'? Taylor Swift? Justin Beiber? Sukihana?

Vegas is no longer for second tier acts, and U2 is huge with aging white people with money. I'm sure more comfortable to stay in one place than to tour, and they probably make more money with the residency as well.

R6, one could easily the that Taylor Swift’s music is indeed relevant.

Residency makes perfect sense for U2.

I think they're all building generational wealth for their kids and grandchildren, at this point.

The Edge lost his fight to build this huge compound in Malibu.

How long is this residency, and how much are average seats for these shows? Seriously, how much more money does Bono need, he's already nearly a billionaire. And these guys are only in their early 60s - ostensibly they've got another 20 years of live shows left in them.

I wonder if this new venue, with an act like U2 endorsing it, will open up LV for the real 'first tier' rock acts to do strings of shows there: the Stones, McCartney, Billy Joel, Eagles etc. Those acts have so far avoided the whole Vegas deal, even though the money offered has probably been enormous. This is hip/cool enough to lure them in, and their wealthy aging fans.

Katy Perry and Adele have raked in tens of millions from their recent residencies. Perry allegedly made $150 million+ from 4 months of work.

Pretty awful. Only one plus for the continuous touring of the walking dead Rolling Stones—they’ve never demeaned themselves in a Las Vegas residency. If they do, they are permanently listed under The Beatles.

Folding chairs?

Here's a clip of Even Better Than the Real Thing. They sound old and tired, and the visuals don't match the music. It's like digital color vomit. At least it's a distraction from the music... or does it make the whole thing worse?

JMO: I don't see how this is so much worse than what the Rolling Stones are doing. In fact, given a choice, I'd rather park my ass in Las Vegas and play at the same venue every night.

Looks good to me

R9, all of U2's members are a bunch of avaricious, dishonest bastards who have shamelessly exploited terrible tragedies in the Third World in order to stroke their oversized egos and make millions. They don't need to build generational wealth, as they have plenty of it for several generations. They are just greedy - people should remember that when Ireland passed a law that increased the taxes of the wealthy by a negligible amount, so that the Irish government could send more aid funds to poor countries, all of U2's members moved their publishing company and assets to the Netherlands, so they wouldn't have to pay any additional tax. In short, these people would sell their own mother if it allowed them to make a profit and increase their presence in the media.

I agree with R10's excellent assessment, but I do find it surprising that anyone would want to pay a fortune to attend a concert in a claustrophobic venue, in which a bunch of old rockers of severely limited talent croak their old hits while an LED kaleidoscope whirls all around them. It sounds like The Sphere's investors have had the same idea as the owners of the ABBA Voyage Arena in London.

Just saw Depeche Mode and David Gahan still sounds magnificent.

Such a superior band.

An evening straight out of Dante's Inferno!

I thought the Sphere's visuals were cool until that ADD abomination.

Good to hear, R17. I love Depeche Mode.

Their profits will be donated to charities, right? That’s the only reason they take this gig.