Folks On Fremont Street Enjoy Surprise Performance By U2
You never know who you’re going to run into when you’re partying at the Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas. Undoubtedly, people were happily surprised to see a flatbed truck…
U2 performs in a surprise concert on Fremont Street. From left to right: “The Edge” on guitar, Bono on lead vocals singing into microphone, and Adam Clay playing bass.
Ethan Miller / Staff via Getty ImagesYou never know who you’re going to run into when you’re partying at the Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas. Undoubtedly, people were happily surprised to see a flatbed truck roll up with some familiar faces getting ready to perform. Believe it or not, it was Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. That’s right, a U2 surprise performance Saturday night on Fremont Street.
U2 Surprise Performance Debuts New Song About Las Vegas
Of course, by now you know about U2’s upcoming residency at Sphere Las Vegas. “U2:UV” starts with sold out shows September 29th and 30th. With this in mind, one of the world’s greatest concert bands decided to debut a new song for their new city of “residency.”
In light of this fact, U2’s surprise performance on Fremont Street in front of the Carousel Bar doubled as a music video shoot. First, Bono and the boys performed an a capella version of “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” It’s important to remember that the music video for that 1987 song from The Joshua Tree album was filmed on Fremont Street in Las Vegas.
Then, with music video cameras rolling, U2 debuted their new song “Atomic City.” For one thing, the song is about Las Vegas. For the most part, all those glittering neon lights on Fremont Street are the perfect backdrop for a music video performance. If you’d like to watch a smart phone video of this surprise concert on YouTube, click here.
Las Vegas Extras Paid To Attend The Music Video Shoot
All in all, this was not an impromptu performance. With all things considered, you really can’t shoot a professional looking music video with smart phones. You need lots of video equipment to get the look you want. In fact, according to a report by Chris Willman on Variety.com, 250 extras were on scene for the video shoot. Imagine getting $150 bucks to watch one of the world's great rock bands run through their new song "Atomic City" four times!
In case you’re not aware, “Atomic City” was once the nickname for Las Vegas. Basically, that was back in the days when scientists and the military were conducting atomic testing in the nearby deserts. Nevertheless, we do live in an amazing city that brings the biggest entertainment acts to town. And sometimes, they even ride in on a flatbed trailer.
Larry Martino is the long-time afternoon drive personality on 96.3 KKLZ. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of Larry Martino and not necessarily those of Beasley Media Group, LLC.
