What a wonder. They're calling it "The Obamalisk"

Bono, The Edge, and Jacknife Lee performed a stripped back rendition of 'City of Blinding Lights' on Thursday at the ceremony opening The Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. 

They took the stage after former First Lady Michelle Obama finished rousing remarks that ended, in part, "A lasting legacy … is the difference we make in one another's lives…. It's about seeing each other, and showing up for each other, and carrying each other when we're weary or faltering or losing faith. That's how you build something that endures."

Before the song Bono said, "Roots in the House! Questlove in the house. What a house. What a wonder. They're calling it "The Obamalisk" at home, just so you know….Some of us feel your country belongs to us, which is mad but true. I mean, like, all of us. And in some mythological way, you know that's true."

"Lucky me, lucky we, in the company of Jacknife Lee, 46, 42, and 43", he said, shouting out to three former presidents and their partners sitting nearby -  Bill and Hillary Clinton, George and Laura Bush, Joe and Jill Biden.

At the end of the song, Bono ad libbed from The Beatles "Michelle", singing... "Michelle, ma belle; Michelle, our belle" to a delighted Mrs. Obama.

A star-studded cast of speakers and performers included Bruce Springsteen, Christina Aguilera, Common, Eddie Vedder, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Marc Anthony, The Roots, Stevie Wonder and Tems. 

"The exhibits in this Center,' said President Obama, 'Are eant to remind us who we can be. To remind us what's possible so we can forge ahead, clear eyed and confident, and do the work that still needs to be done. 

"We can learn from the past. America's story isn't frozen in the past. It has chapters yet to be written. Not by one person or a few people, not by Barack and Michelle or anybody with a fancy title or a high office. But by all of us."

U2's City of Blinding Lights was the song that soundtracked the Obama campaigns during the 2008 and 2012 U.S. presidential elections, and performed by the band at the 2009 inaugural celebration at the Lincoln Memorial.