Watch U2 Cover Crowded House 'Don't Dream It's Over' at 2024 First Sphere Show

U2 resumed their residency at the Las Vegas Sphere on Friday night after a six-week hiatus, and the mid-show acoustic set included their first live performance of the 1986 Crowded House classic “Don't Dream It's Over.” It was dedicated to the band's frontman Neil Finn and Tim Finn, his brother and long-time creative partner.

Crowded House have scored numerous chart hits in Europe, Australia and their native New Zealand over the past four decades. But “Don't Dream It's Over” is one of their few songs that made a big impression in America. It's all you hear on classic rock radio today. “There are two ways to look at this,” said Neil Finn Rolling rock in 2021. “Obviously, there's some frustration since I know I've produced a lot of what I consider to be really good quality work over the years. When there's all this interest in a song, sometimes I want to go, “Hey, look here.”

And he continued, “But I don't dwell on that. I'm really thankful that this song did what it did. It seems special… I just think it's great to have a song that has traveled so far. The other thing I'm really thankful for is that I still like the song. I think there are some people who are in the unfortunate position of having an innovative song they wrote become their most famous song. I feel a little worried about people in that sense. At least I feel proud of this song.”

U2 also played 1987's “The Sweetest Thing” on the B-side for the first time since 2017 at Friday's Sphere show. The song became a somewhat unlikely hit for them in 1998 when they released a modified version of it on their compilation. The best of 1980-1990.

The band continues the Sphere run on Saturday evening. On February 4, a segment of their show will air live at the Grammys. The band's Las Vegas residency ends on March 2, when they'll hand over the keys to the Sphere to Phish.