At the first U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere show of 2024, the Irish rockers delighted fans with a never-before-heard acoustic cover of Crowded House’s 1986 international hit “Don’t Dream It’s Over.”
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“Is there one word that we just want to hold on to the most?” U2 lead singer Bono asked the Jan. 26 crowd at the Sphere in Las Vegas. “I think it might be freedom.
“Let’s hold on to that very tightly,” Bono added over the crowd’s growing cheers. “Don’t let anyone take that away from you.”
This was the perfect segue into the song’s opening lyric: “There is freedom within, there is freedom without.” It’s a refrain that became all too familiar to Americans in the spring of 1987, when the single skyrocketed to the No. 2 spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
A Heartwarming Tribute
Bono and the boys dedicated the performance to the Australian band’s frontman Neil Finn, Tim Finn — Neil’s brother and longtime collaborator — and their mother, Mary.
Neil Finn took to Crowded House’s Instagram story to express his gratitude for U2’s tribute.
“Bono has the best memory ever…I told him in 1980 that my mother Mary was born in Limerick,” he wrote. “We’re touched to get a @u2 dedication .. thanks fellas.”
Many fans shared Finn’s enthusiasm, with one user writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, “…and I’m 15 again…”
[RELATED: The 4 Times U2 Reinvented Themselves]
U2 Will Broadcast From the Sphere at Grammys
The U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere residency is winding down, with the final performance scheduled for March 2. But don’t worry if you can’t make it to Vegas by then — simply tune into the Grammys on Feb. 4.
U2 will make Grammy history with the first-ever televised performance from the Sphere, the Recording Academy announced Jan. 26 on social media.
U2’s residency was only expected to include 25 shows when it kicked off in September 2023, but high demand has prompted Bono and the boys to extend the tour twice.
U2’s residency christened the newly-opened high-tech venue, which boasts a 16,000-resolution wrap-around interior LED screen, speakers with beamforming and wave field synthesis technologies, and 4D physical effects.
(Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
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