07.02.2024
USA, Las Vegas, The Sphere
2024-02-07 - Las Vegas - Taper: j.mart (24/48)
exc. Aud.

01. Intro (Lemon Remix + Eno Choral Mix) [5:34]
02. Zoo Station [4:30]
03. The Fly [5:45]
04. Even Better Than the Real Thing [5:01]
05. Mysterious Ways [5:24]
06. One [4:42]
07. Love Me Tender [1:33]
08. Until the End of the World [5:45]
09. Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses [5:57]
10. Tryin’ to Throw Your Arms Around the World [7:09]
11. All I Want Is You [7:29]
12. band intros / Desire [6:22]
13. Party Girl / happy birthday Chris Rock [4:52]
14. Don't Dream It's Over (Crowded House cover) [3:40]
15. Acrobat [4:40]
16. So Cruel [5:21]
17. Ultraviolet (Light My Way) [5:15]
18. Love Is Blindness / Viva Las Vegas (Elvis - PA) [7:49]
19. Elevation (intro) [1:04]
20. Elevation / My Way (Frank Sinatra cover) [4:24]
21. Atomic City [3:51]
22. Vertigo [5:07]
23. Where the Streets Have No Name [6:32]
24. With or Without You [7:08]
25. Beautiful Day / outro [6:57]

Total Running Time: [2:12:05]

Taper: j.mart
Source: DPA SMK4061 > DPA d:vice MMA-A (+6dB, no HPF) > Apogee Metarecorder (CAF 24/4 > iPhone 13 Pro)
Mastering: Adobe Audition > Izotope Ozone 10 (EQ, exciter, MB compressor, maximizer, WAV 24/4 > TLH (FLAC )

Notes: 
Achtung Baby was probably the album that got me into music. The AB/Zooropa due are some of the most inspired rock albums ever, and listening to ZooTV tapes in my teens was a big catalyst on why I got into taping shows. I'm blessed to have had the chance to see the band play it live from A to Z, and the fact that it was at the Sphere made it all the more special - it looks as amazing as you've been told it is, inside and outside.

As far as the performance and set goes, the band is still great to watch live (only saw them once in 2010). I don't think the attempt at intimacy with the Turntable segment exactly works in this setting, it's far too quiet and I don't think you can't have it both ways in a venue like this. My other complaint was the overall sound mix of the show, at least from where I was seated (303 - towards the middle of the venue). Overall, I found the mix too quiet, a good 8dB quieter than the last few arena shows I've been too, and that invited people to talk and make noise on the quieter parts of the show. I found the bass and drums to be very lacking in the mix - I know Larry isn't playing in the band right now, but I don't understand why they opted to keep the drummer completely buried in the mix. I don't think this is the best tape to come out of this residency, as I've heard two other recordings that are far superior to this one IMO. It's still decent recording, but as I said, the mix being so quiet in my location made for screaming people to be more prominent that I would've liked. I tried to address this via spectral cleaning, but you can't really get the "cream out of the coffee".

#Please pass the info file along as you distribute the show# -j.mart 2024/02/15

U2Torrents.com: Torrent 10975 (by Bishop)