U2, Muse

The ugly truth behind this most recent tour from U2—named the 360-Degree tour, as it's an in-the-round type set-up—is that the band, despite having played some three dozen shows already on this jaunt, has yet to make a profit. Ticket sales aren't the culprit—rather it's the massive stage setup, which Bono excitedly compares to a spaceship, and its $750,000-per-show overheard that's to blame.

Of course, that's just one of the many compelling draws here. Another: How, exactly, Bono's spaceship will work (assuming it even fits) inside Jerry Jones' international space docking station, which already boasts its own quite impressive 60-yard-long HD display. Will one distract from the other? Will one get in the way of the other? We won't really know until Monday night.

But if there's one thing that's looking pretty likely, though, it's that this could be the show where U2 starts making money back on its investment. Remember: The new Cowboys Stadium can seat more than 100,000 audience members, and last week, concert promoter Live Nation announced that, just as it had for the Cowboys' home opener, the stadium would be making "party pass" tickets available to those looking to just get inside the place.

It's all pretty head-spinning stuff, no doubt. Good thing, though; consider this all just a decoy to the fact that U2's newest album, No Line on the Horizon, is a pretty lackluster effort, aiming for, but never hitting on, the band's classic sounds of yesteryear. Another welcome distraction, meanwhile, comes in the opening act, Muse, also on the road in support of a new album.