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The mysterious spherical structure has dominated the skyline of this deserted playground for several years, and in recent months its LED screens have transformed the giant sphere into a planet, a basketball or, most distractingly, a winking eyeball that attracts visitors.
The Sphere, a $2.3 billion venture billed as the entertainment venue of the future, made its public debut this weekend with two U2 concerts.
Will The Sphere live up to the hype? Are the indoor visuals as stunning as the outdoors? Did U2, a beloved Irish band now in the latter stages of their career, do the right thing by calling an arena the size of a small planet?
Describing the experience of a Sphere concert is a difficult task, because nothing like it exists. The effect is a bit like being in a giant planetarium, a bright IMAX theater, or virtual reality without a headset.
The sphere, built by Madison Square Garden Entertainment, is considered the largest spherical structure in the world. The half-empty arena is 366 feet tall and 516 feet wide and can comfortably accommodate the entire Statue of Liberty, from pedestal to torch.
Its huge bowl-shaped theater has a ground-floor stage surrounded by what it says are the largest, highest-resolution LED screens in the world. The screen envelops the viewer and, depending on where you sit, can fill your entire field of vision.
In today’s world of multimedia entertainment, overused buzzwords like “immersion” are often used. But the Sphere’s huge screen and impeccable sound certainly deserve this title.
“It was a visually stunning experience… incredible,” said Dave Zittig, who traveled from Salt Lake City with his wife Tracy for Saturday night’s show. “They picked the right group to open. We’ve been to shows all over the world and this is the coolest place we’ve ever been.”
The first show at the venue is called “U2: UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere”. It’s a series of 25 concerts celebrating the Irish band’s landmark 1991 album Achtung Baby, running until mid-December. Most shows are sold out, although the best seats cost between $400 and $500.
The show opened Friday night to rave reviews, with a red carpet premiere featuring Paul McCartney, Oprah, Snoop Dogg, Jeff Bezos and dozens of others. The show was attended by celebrities, some of whom may be wondering how to book their own appearance at The Circle.
Postcards from Earth, directed by Darren Aronofsky, opens Friday and promises to take full advantage of the Sphere’s huge screen to take audiences on a thrilling journey across the planet. There will be more concerts in 2024, but the list of artists has not yet been announced. (Taylor Swift may already be courting.)
Visitors can access the Sphere east of the Strip through side streets and parking lots, although the easiest route is via a pedestrian walkway from the project’s partner, the Venetian Resort.
Once inside, you will see a high-ceilinged atrium containing hanging sculptural mobiles and a long escalator leading to the upper floors. But the real attraction is the theater and its LED canvas, spanning 268 million video pixels. Sounds like a lot.
The screen is impressive, dominating and sometimes overpowering the live performers. Sometimes I don’t know where to look – at the band playing live in front of me, or at the dazzling visuals happening somewhere else.
Your idea of the ideal location will depend on how close you want to see the artist. Levels 200 and 300 are at eye level with the center section of the big screen, and seats on the lowest level will be closer to the stage, but you may have to crane your neck to look up. Please note that some seats in the rear of the lowest section block your view.
The sound of the venerable band—Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and guest drummer Bram van den Berg (filling in for Larry Mullen Jr., who was recovering from surgery)—sounded as enthusiastic as ever, nimble with earth-moving rock. -moving (“Even Than the Real Thing”) to tender ballads (“Alone”) and much more.
U2 maintain a large, dedicated fan base, write majestic songs, and have a long history of pushing the boundaries of technology (especially during their Zoo TV tour), making them a natural choice for an institution as innovative as Sphere.
The band performed on a simple turntable-like stage, with the four musicians mostly playing in the round, although Bono lingered around the edges. Almost every song is accompanied by animation and live footage on a huge screen.
Bono seemed to like the sphere’s psychedelic appearance, saying: “This whole place looks like a kick-ass pedalboard.”
The ambient screen created a sense of scale and intimacy as Bono, The Edge and other band members appeared in 80-foot-tall video images projected above the stage.
Sphere’s producers promised cutting-edge sound with thousands of speakers built throughout the venue, and it didn’t disappoint. At some shows the sound was so muddy that it was impossible to hear the rhythms of the performers on stage, but Bono’s words were crisp and clear, and the band’s volume never felt labored or weak.
“I go to a lot of concerts and usually wear earplugs, but I didn’t need them this time,” said Rob Rich, who flew in from Chicago for the concert with a friend. “It’s so exciting,” he added (there’s that word again). “I’ve seen U2 eight times. This is now the standard.”
Midway through the set, the band left “Achtung Baby” and played an acoustic set of “Rattle and Hum”. The visuals were simpler and the stripped-down songs led to some of the evening’s best moments – a reminder that while bells and whistles are nice, great live music is enough on its own.
Saturday’s show was only Sphere’s second public event, and they’re still working out some bugs. The band were about half an hour late – which Bono blamed on “technical problems” – and at one point the LED screen malfunctioned, freezing the image for several minutes during several songs.
But more often than not, the visuals are impressive. At one point during The Fly’s performance, a dramatic optical illusion appeared on the screen that the ceiling of the hall was lowering towards the audience. In “Try to Fly Around the World on Your Arms,” a real rope hangs from the ceiling connected to a tall virtual balloon.
Where the Streets Have No Name features panoramic time-lapse footage of the Nevada desert as the sun moves across the sky overhead. For a few minutes it seemed like we were outside.
Being grumpy, I have some doubts about the Sphere. Tickets are not cheap. The huge internal screen almost swallowed up the group, which looked tiny when viewed from the upper floors of the hall. The crowd’s energy seemed eerily calm at times, as if people were too caught up in the visuals to really cheer for the performers.
The Sphere is an expensive gamble, and it remains to be seen whether other artists will be able to exploit its unique space as creatively. But this place is already off to a good start. If they can keep this up, we may be witnessing the future of live performance.
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Post time: Oct-09-2023
