I had purchased tickets to see U2 at the Sphere over the summer, thinking that this could be a neat experience seeing one of my all time favorite bands. This would be my third time seeing U2 and I figured the astronomical price tag compared to earlier shows was worth it due to this cool new venue that was still being built. “Cool new venue” has to be the understatement of the century. We saw the show here on Thursday, October 5, 2023.

Overview

Everything about the Sphere is futuristic in a “Tron” sort of way – lots of blueish hues and snippets of U2’s music playing in the lobby and “bridge” area remixed to barely sound like their songs – just more like sound nuggets of familiar chords. The lobby area is massive and extends almost as high up at the sphere itself, with the biggest and scariest escalators I’ve ever seen taking people up and down to the different levels. I took the elevator!

Inside the concert venue, you get a real sense of the scale of the place. We were seated in the 300 level about a third of the way from the middle towards the right side. The stage did look pretty tiny from there, and the seats all swoop down towards it at an extremely high angle. The pre-show walls looked like a Soviet-era concrete bunker mixed with the Pantheon, complete with an oculus at the tippy top. The illusion of the concrete had me fooled for sure. It felt cold and a bit stifling despite the massiveness of the venue.

The experience of the sphere during the concert, though, was wholly unique, and you feel a sense that something truly special is happening there, and you’re one of the first 50,000 people to get to experience it. It’s hard to put into words the feelings that you get while you’re in this incredible venue, but I’ll do my best here to give you an idea, as well as share some tips.

Getting to the Sphere

We were staying at the Vdara Hotel which is somewhat towards the middle of the strip, so we booked dinner at the Venetian that evening and decided to walk to and from the Sphere. There are rideshare and taxi drop offs, but I would highly recommend walking, at least to get home, as you will be competing with 18,000 other people for ubers and taxis after the concert.

We had dinner at Matteos’ which is right on restaurant row in the Venetian – probably the most convenient area to eat as it is the closest to the walkway to the Convention Center and the rest of the walkway to the Sphere. Keep in mind, though, that the restaurants before the show down here, and probably in the rest of the Venetian are going to be absolutely jammed full of people, so make your reservations far in advance and give yourself plenty of time. The folks at Matteo’s, while a bit frenetic, were on top of the situation and we had plenty of time to eat and get to the Sphere with a 5:45 reservation (for which we checked in at 5:30 just in case).

The walk starting at restaurant row to the Sphere is about seven minutes at a normal pace of walking. You have to walk through the convention center space, and then there is a walkway specifically for the Sphere. It is very well marked and there are a ton of people helping you to find your way. There are moving walkways which may move you along a bit more quickly, but they were not working on our walk in. We did use them on the way out, though. There is also a bar in the Venetian Conference Center area if you want to get a U2 themed drink like an “Achtung Old Fashioned” if you need a bit of booze for your walk.

We arrived to the waiting area for security and ticket taking around 7:20 for the 8pm show. It took 13 minutes to wait in a large throng of people in order to scan in our tickets and walk through the security metal detectors.

You will get about 35 emails in the days leading up to your show telling you that the doors open at 6:30 and to arrive early, as well as instructions regarding their bag policy, which is quite strict. I would say you don’t need to get there at 6:30 unless you are super interested in purchasing merch, as those lines when we arrived closer to 7:30 looked long and painful. Additionally, U2 has been starting their shows – the last three of four shows, at 8:30, so I wouldn’t stress too much about getting there super early.

Around the Sphere

The lobby of the Sphere is super futuristic, and you feel like you’ve been transported forward in time, or into a sci-fi movie like Tron or Blade Runner. They did a really great job of making you feel like maybe you aren’t even on this planet!

As I mentioned, there are massive escalators to take you to the different levels of the concert space. I would estimate that they are about 5 stories high, and so I opted to take the elevator. There are a few elevators around the lobby, and some of them don’t go to all levels, so be sure to look at the list outside the elevator before you get on!

There are at least three bars on each level that I could see, and they are all massive and almost over-staffed. If you are waiting more than 5 minutes for a drink here, you are doing something wrong – go find another bar as there are plenty. The bars are also futuristic, and I just loved the vibe which was totally immersive.

There are merch stands on most, if not all of the floors of the Sphere as well, but the lines at each of these were super long so I opted out of buying anything from the concert. Again, if you want merch, you will either need to show up super early to get in line, or miss some of the concert to get it. I believe the stands remain open after the show too, so if you can get out of your section quickly, you may want to try that.

There are massive restrooms also, and I never waited in line for a stall. The bathrooms were new and super clean. The sound from the show was not pumped into the lobby or the restroom, though, which I thought was strange. It’s always better to know what’s happening on stage if you have to make a pit stop.

The Concert

Gosh, there have been a lot of reviews written about these shows already. Adjectives like “superb” and “the best” and “mind-blowing” have been bandied about various news outlets whose lucky AV and Arts writers were able to see the show on the company dime. And, like any show that is super built-up to be amazing, I had my doubts. How on Earth could this place be THAT different or amazing as people say? After experiencing the show last Thursday, I’m here to tell you that all of those superlative adjectives used to recount the concert are totally inadequate to describe the feeling that you get when you’re here.

Remember that stifling concrete bunker I was talking about earlier? I mean, it looks TOTALLY REAL. And then, when the band members start coming on to the stage, and the opening sound effects start for “Zoo Station,” you can see the concrete start to crumble at the seams, and tiny beams of light start cutting through. The concrete starts to fall away and split apart into U2’s signature digital TV screen background audiovisuals, and the vision of the light and crumbling concrete and the sounds from “Zoo Station” playing along with it was such an overwhelming feeling that I was laughing and crying at the same time. Literal tears were streaming down my face, it was the most extraordinary audiovisual experience I have ever had.

And that was just the first minute of the show. I don’t think a single person got up from their seats for at least the first hour of the show. Not one.

Following this epic opening of the concert, the audio visuals continued to amaze. From matrix-y numbers and letters climbing up the walls of the sphere then shifting into a box closing in on you, to the most realistic capture of the surrounding Strip that was so perfect that you could’ve actually believed that you’re outside. There were points in the concert that had zero a/v which was actually a nice break, and made you appreciate the space even more. All of the effects were just incredible, and there were multiple points throughout the 2+ hours that my mouth was agape staring at the screen in front of me.

There’s not a bad seat in the house, though being in the middle of the 300 level, the band were tiny ants below. If you’re on the floor, or even in the 100 level, I’m not sure if you get the full affect of the epic screen surrounding you. I would say the best seats are probably at the 200 level – not too high to not be able to see the band, but not so low that miss out on the insane visuals.

Recommendation

Just go there. It’s not an exaggeration to say that this is the most incredible and unique venue to see anything in. Come for a concert, or come for the Darren Aronofsky directed “Postcard from Earth,” which is a 50 minute show in 18K resolution featuring beautiful images and scenes from all seven continents. There are several shows a day and tickets start at $90, which is a steal compared to the hundreds and thousands folks are paying for the U2 show. Just go there, and prepare yourself to have your mind blown.