Members of ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ had the complete opposite of a great day at a U2 concert.
Ahead of the 2024 Super Bowl in Las Vegas on Sunday, the band took in one of U2’s shows during their stay at James Dolan’s newborn MSG Sphere. Video filming took place behind the concert at the oval-shaped venue, which is said to offer an out-of-this-world experience.
“The Sphere is amazing,” said producer Ty Schmidt, and McAfee agreed, calling the Orb venue “phenomenal” and “The Sphere is a show.”
Before getting into the band’s explanation, Schmidt prefaced his take, hoping not to offend the audience.
“Listen, I don’t want to offend anyone. That’s not what we’re trying to do. We’re two days away from the Super Bowl and we’re just two days away from making people angry or upset.” I have no intention of doing so,” Schmidt said.
“But I have to be honest. Going into last night’s show, I thought I was a U2 fan, because you get caught up in all the pomp and circumstance, and… I thought that was really cool, but then I realized, I’m not a U2 person. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that U2 sucks.”
Schmidt said he consulted Mike Foss, the ESPN executive who oversees their programming and is apparently a third-generation U2 fan, and he agreed that the band’s performance this week was a “disappointment.”
McAfee later revealed that U2 did not perform any of their hits.
“The setlist wasn’t songs we knew, and it was two hours straight,” he said.
Schmidt was even more emphatic, saying he didn’t know “a word” of any of the band’s approximately 25 songs.
They continued to talk about how great Sphere was, and McAfee added, “I’m excited to see the band there again.”
The next two scheduled residencies at Sphere are Fish and Dead and Company (John Mayer, who plays Jerry Garcia, and members of the Grateful Dead).
