U2 debuted a new single, “Atomic City,” from a makeshift stage in the bed of a flatbed truck in front of the Plaza in Downtown Las Vegas, just after midnight on September 17. The band—including drummer Larry Mullen Jr., who’s largely sitting out 2023 due to longtime back injuries—enthusiastically plugged through several lip-sync performances of the song for a music video shoot. They performed one song live: a largely acoustic version of “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” whose wildly popular music video was shot on a pre-canopy Fremont Street in April 1987.

An anthemic post-punk stomp with a crunchy riff from the Edge and an “I’m freeeee” singalong hook that strongly recalls Blondie’s “Call Me,” “Atomic City” is a worthy addition to any playlist of songs about Las Vegas. Bono described the song as “a Saturday night/Sunday morning kinda thing … It’s a confession about not going to confession.”

“Atomic City” is packed tight with Vegas iconography—almost as if the band had asked ChatGPT to compose a Vegas song in its style. It has the expected nods to the lights, the gambling and the atomic bomb tests, but it also tips a hat to Strip headliners of old (“Sinatra swings, a choir sings”), to our out-of-town neighbors overhead (“All UFOs come on your way home”), and even a cheeky wink at U2’s own Vegas residency, which begins at Sphere on September 29 (“I’m front row in Las Vegas/and there’s a big one on tonight).”

The video shoot was brisk and efficient—just a few run-throughs and the acoustic take on “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” It put this video shoot in sharp contrast with the band’s first Fremont Street shoot, 36 years ago: Back then, the crowd numbered a handful of fans, a few police escorts and several bewildered casino employees. This time, the band was greeted by a small battalion of cops and a couple thousand fans, welcoming U2 back to the place that played a role in making them superstars.