Subscribe
Follow Us
U2 sent their fans home happy at their fortieth and final Sphere show. After playing a fairly regular set, Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Bram van den Berg played “40.”
“How long to sing this song?”
Fans likely assumed the set was over after “Beautiful Day.” They began chanting “How long to sing this song?” the chorus of “40,” as the band waved goodbye to the crowd.
“It's been 40 days and 40 nights in the desert,” Bono said, teasing the real encore. “What's a fellow of the Messianic complex going to do?”
He then talked about writing “40” in 40 minutes, as the War recording sessions were coming to a close.
U2 went into a rendition of their classic concert closer, “40.” The Edge and Clayton swapped instruments, the former played the bass, and the latter the guitar.
Unfortunately, Larry Mullen Jr. did not join his bandmates on stage for this performance despite rumors he would. Bram van den Berg remained on stage and was the last to leave with The Edge. The “All the Creatures” visuals from the end of “With or Without You” and “Beautiful Day” remained on the screen. However, like the turntable stage during the acoustic set, it changed colors from purple to green.
U2 knew how to end their Sphere residency on a high note. Up to this point, the encore had remained the same for all 39 nights. “40” had not been played since 2016 when the band played a show at the Dreamforce festival. It was previously played 17 times on the band's “Innocence + Experience” tour in 2015.
“40” was U2's signature concert ender in the '80s. In the '90s, the band would begin playing it less frequently, and it's now a treat when it is. The only time it was a concert staple in the past two decades was in 2005 on the “Vertigo” tour.
