Las Vegas has always been a city that embodies the ultimate in spectacle and amusement. But musical entertainment in Vegas has now reached a futuristic level with the unveiling of their Sphere arena near the Venetian. Entertainment’s future has indeed arrived, and it definitely looks like a sphere.
Announced by the Madison Square Garden Company in 2018, the massive 18,600 seat auditorium has taken 4 years and a whopping $2.3 billion to build. The sound system is surround sound on steroids. (To put it in “geek speak,” it has the ultimate in spatial audio systems based on beam forming, Holospot, and wave field synthesis technologies). The Sphere’s interior wraparound LED screen is the largest and highest-resolution LED screen in the world.
Its exterior screen is nothing short of extraordinary too. Las Vegas residents have been treated thus far to the Sphere’s spectacular changing display. They’ve seen a giant basketball at the start of the 2023 NBA Summer League in July, along with the moon, the earth, and a huge eery eyeball watching the city. And of course, there’s already been advertising for You Tube’s NFL Sunday Ticket pro football package emblazoned on the Sphere. You just know there’s countless pumpkins, Christmas snow globes, and other scenes at ready for display.
On September 29, 2023, the Sphere opened with Irish rock band U2 tour U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere– a 25-show residency. After negotiating the minefield that is Ticketmaster to get tickets, I was able to attend the show in October.
And it was a top-notch show- the ultimate pairing of a great band with a ground-breaking venue.
U2 was a perfect band to introduce the Sphere to concert-goers. Their music is big and soaring enough to lend itself well to creative graphic interpretations. But as incredible and overwhelming as the visuals are, the wonderful close-ups of Bono and bandmates make the performances very personal. Bono is intimate in his talk, drawing in fans with references to Elvis, Bob Dylan, or missing bandmate Larry Mullen. Bono confesses “Not since October 1978 have we played a show without Larry Mullen,” who is recovering from surgery for drumming-related injuries. (https://www.billboard.com/lists/u2-sphere-las-vegas-concert-review-best-moments/bono-lets-us-in-on-a-secret/). The band even sang bits from Elvis’ “Love Me Tender,” the Beatle’s “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise),” and “Blackbird,” and a tribute to Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares to You.”
“With or Without You” was probably the best song of the night. It is a stirring song, made more awesome with a stunning visual of a huge ball floating in water up behind the band. The ball gradually draws nearer and reveals an opening. Multiple drawings of endangered creatures eventually swirl out of it and overwhelm the whole dome, like a psychedelic Audubon sky-scape. “Angel of Harlem,” “Love Is Blindness,” “Beautiful Day,” “Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses,” “Even Better Than the Real Thing,” “Desire,” Where the Streets Have No Name”…there was a set list of 22 songs, each memorable, enhanced by mind-boggling graphics.
As a vertigo-prone fan with previous U2 concert experience, I brought my earplugs for the Sphere concert. They were not needed. The sound system of the Sphere is definitely high tech. While the band’s music was loud per usual, it was modified somehow. I could find no visible speakers in the seats, but the acoustics are customized and individual. I could hear when Bono whispered.
Some fans have commented also that the 200-400 sections are the best levels to get the whole visual concert experience. This is a total diametric shift for concert-goers- from when the seats closest to the stage were the best seats. Since the overall visual is now an integral part of the concert, those tickets up front do not necessarily provide that full visual experience anymore.
Amazingly, finding the Sphere took a little walking and wrong turns. I did not find that the Vegas city signage has caught up with this new arena yet. It is surprising how easy it is to lose a building as large as the Sphere, but I did. I had to do a little wandering around to get The Sphere in my sight. I felt better that I was not the only lost soul- other folks’ GPS phone robots were leading them hither and yon too.
Additionally there is swag galore available for purchase at the ZooStation: A U2:UV Experience at the Venetian Resort next door. There are lots of photo ops there too- a vintage Trabant car, a scale German subway car, and other backdrops. The pop-up’s hours are Tuesday through Sunday 11am-9pm.
So entertainment’s future is here. It’s in Las Vegas, it’s sphere-shaped- and it’s awesome.
