U2 show stage out of this world

David Renzi

Monday, April 21, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

YOU can see it out there in the distance, a 100-foot golden arch that could easily fool travelers on Boulder Highway into stopping by for a Happy Meal.

No, it isn't the world's tallest McDonald's sign rising above Sam Boyd Stadium. It's the centerpiece of the rock band U2's largest stage set to date, one that surpasses in breadth and scope even its ambitious "Zoo TV" tour in 1992, the band's show designer says.

Willie Williams would know. It was he who helped solidify the band's concepts for "Zoo TV" and "PopMart," its 14-month world tour that begins Friday in Las Vegas.

"It's funny," Williams says. "Even when we were on the 'Zoo TV' tour, people were saying, 'Now what are you going to do?' This is so far beyond 'Zoo TV.' Any notion of being worried about not topping what we did last time went out the window."

That's saying something when you consider all the bells and whistles that came with "Zoo TV," including: five 110-foot radio masts with aircraft warning lights; 11 Trabant cars (the "People's Car of East Germany") with flashing lights inside and out; four mega-video screens; four Vidi-Walls; and 36 video monitors that were used to flash images of the concert, politicians, apocalyptic visions and satiric slogans in quick succession.

Construction began March 28 on the primary stage (there are three total), which is 181 feet wide and 71 feet deep. It houses the arch and the world's largest light-emitting diodes (LED) screen, which is 55 by 170, as well as six video screens.

The LED screen is comprised of vertical strips containing more than 150,000 pixels and more than a million light-emitting diodes. Williams says this particular one is a breakthrough in screens because it emits blue LED.

"Red and green LED have been around for years. Blue LED arrived only last year. It's going to be the future, I think."

The pixels become more concentrated near the center of the screen, resulting in a TV-quality image.

"It's like a big TV screen," tour publicist Brian O'Neal says.

The screen is 10 times larger than the "Zoo TV" video screen, but fits into a quarter as many trucks when it's broken down.

"I think the most succinct example is that the video walls on 'Zoo TV' were five feet deep. The screen we have on 'PopMart' is two inches deep," Williams says. "In five years the technology has gone to another planet."

The screen will show animated and abstract material from Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, among others, and the Bliss screensaver program created by artist-musician-programmer Greg Jalbert.

Other design touches include a 40-foot-high "mirror-ball lemon" (self-propelling), a 12-foot-wide stuffed olive (internally illuminated) on a 100-foot toothpick and the arch, which contains three rows of lights running along its inside and outside edge.

A battery of orange speakers encircling the arch are rigged with lights as well, and "glow like a flying saucer," O'Neal says.

The show needs 75 trucks to carry about 500 tons of equipment, 16 buses and a 50-seat airplane to transport the 250 touring personnel. An additional 200 employees have been hired locally.

"It is tying in marvelously well with Las Vegas," Williams says of the design concepts. "Starting here is fantastic. The wildest things we can dream up seem normal here."

Williams has been working on the show for about 15 months. The "PopMart" concept materialized about six months ago.

He describes "PopMart" as an entertainment outlet.

"It's the place where our audience can come and satisfy their every entertainment need in a communal live environment," says Williams, adding that the band (Bono, Larry Mullen, Adam Clayton, The Edge) met with him for the first time in November 1995 to discuss the project.

"Actually, as with all things U2, we started off with about 12 ideas. We researched all of them. We had three or four main contenders as to which way the show could possibly go. About six months ago, we chose the 'PopMart' route."

Williams says each band member is cognizant of trends, and adds that their respective interests are reflected in the "PopMart" concept.

"Each contributed in a different way. The Edge, he's the cyber-dude. He's got the technology and he's a nethead, and he's really into that. Whereas Adam, he really understands the club culture. Bono is all of the above. Larry is the pragmatist. He's a great anchor for reminding us why we're here. It's about playing the songs."

Check out the Las Vegas SUN's special package on PopMart at http://www.lasvegassun.com/sun/dossier/events/U2/index.html.