Eagles Las Vegas Sphere performance, September 20, 2024.
I went into the concert biased, expecting to see a legendary musical group perform.. After all, their reputation preceded them in American musical history. They appeared to effortlessly demonstrate vocal, instrumental, and personal skills on stage unmatched in the industry. It was as though they were, somehow, naturally inclined to be performers.
Wifey and I showed up early, as we were unsure where our seats would be, and it was our first visit to Sphere. We encountered dozens of black attired staff who directed us to our seats. Other staff were serving drinks/snacks, etc. I estimated there were one hundred of them. They ran us through scanners – pulling Wifey aside for closer inspection due to a phone she had pocketed (which was allowed).
We ended up being seated fifty feet from center stage in padded folding chairs – a bit disappointing after reading about Sphere’s high-tech seats with speakers/vibration units built in. That feeling faded as I realized we were hearing classic rock groups from the 70s & 80s perform – yet no speakers could be seen. The sound simply seemed to emanate from sources all around us. It was superb, with clear highs and lows. No distortion, hum, hiss, or reverberation was evident.
The stage was free standing, about eight feet high, seventy feet wide, and thirty feet deep. Noticeable was the lack of shadows cast by the stage or equipment. Light was emanating from everything except the floor and stage.
Interestingly, behind the stage was a full sized image of Hollywood Boulevard in the 70s. It contained a mashup of iconic Hollywood symbols – palm trees, beach, pier, Griffith Observatory, Formosa restaurant/bar, shops, Hollywood Bowl, et al. About an hour before showtime, the boulevard progressively came alive. Traffic lights, crossing signals, Capitol Records building flag, street lights – glowed and flashed. A 50s sedan would zoom down the street. Playbills advertising Eagles play dates, along with their cohorts (Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Morrison, Dixie Chicks, etc.). Five minutes before showtime a blimp similar to Goodyear’s, traveled above us with a countdown of seconds to showtime.
Meanwhile, nine members of the Eagles (including a handful of studio musicians) sauntered up and onto the stage from behind it. Saying the crowd went wild would be an understatement. As the din subsided, the band launched into Hotel California while a solitary motor vehicle drove down a canyon road and into a city above and behind them. During the next two hours the Eagles played all of their hit songs, with most of the audience singing along (including Wifey). As they sang and played, many of the lyrics scrolled downward around us, like musical heavenly rain.
One of my favorite visual treats was watching a forty foot tall, swimsuit attired, young man and woman swim around us, without surfacing for air. Their appearance was of such highly detailed resolution, that they seemed to be real.
At the two hour mark the band thanked the audience for attending and walked off the stage. Not a single person left the area – we all knew there would be an encore. The ovation the Eagles received when returning to the stage rivaled the one given for their arrival. They played four more songs, introduced each other to us, and departed just as stealthy as when they first appeared.
Hunter
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...Ben
