U2 Perform Peace on Earth at Sphere in Las Vegas
Chapters: Achtung Baby Live • Concert Videos • General Admission • Zoo Station at the Venetian • The V-U2 Experience • Sphere Experience and Postcard from Earth • Vegas Legends • Venetian and Tao Beach • Vegas, Baby!
A talk about the challenges of peace and religion at Sphere on 18 February U2024
This talk cuts deep - all the way down to U2 fans who apparently don’t comprehend the lyrics or what this band - this band that changed my life and continues to egg me on to do more and be better - represents. They're interested (apparently) in only the appearances of being seen in the crowd. That sidebar is a long story that I'm still trying to document
Even Bono had to shout down cheers for Palestine during this performance at Sphere. "Shut up!" he said before presenting the other side of the story, the Israeli side. Rumors Pres. Obama was in attendance swirled around that show, hence, it’s posited, the extra political tinge to Bono’s performance that night. But, I haven't seen it confirmed - and it’s unlikely - Obama was at Sphere. (Although it would’ve made for a great date night with Jennifer Aniston.)
I've watched this clip quite a few times now. I really appreciate not only what Bono says, but how he says it. He acknowledges the difficulty of the subject matter and he acknowledges the solution is being worked out in part by people who may or may not be liked. And, yeah, I appreciate his "Shut up!" It was needed. And the impact of it was much more dramatic in terms of the audience reaction than my iPhone could capture. Especially from the vantage point of being right off the stage and up close.
Peace on Earth at Sphere on 18 February U2024
It's been 20 years or so since the band performed Peace on Earth live. Bono switches up the names at the end of the song, bringing the lyrics into current events with Israel and Palestine.
This was part of their acoustic set, when they stripped away the gloss and basked in the beauty of the music and the incredible Sphere sound system. It's also how they managed to slip different songs into the setlist from time to time, without all the technical baggage of Sphere's extravagant capabilities. Bono's reference to waking up the baby at the end of the clip leads the band back to Achtung Baby; as I've often stated, it's the album that changed my life. And with the follow-up to Peace on Earth, Acrobat, the band returned to the Sphere spectacle that is now part of rock legend.
I Go There With You...
U2
Mattopia Jones covers the world's loudest folk band:
5 continents • 19 countries
39 cities • 11 tours • 48 venues
77 shows • 1 Sphere
3 special appearances
6 boys dreaming out loud
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Bono: Author, Actor, Factivist
The Stories of Surrender one-man theatrical stage show was conceived as a promotional book tour for Bono’s phenomenal “MEmoir” and the tour expanded into an extended series of shows on Broadway.
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