3 Irishmen and a Dutchman Walk Into A Sphere - General Discussion Thread Part III

[Headache in a Suitcase]

2027 it is.


I know this fanbase has been old for a while, but being here in Vegas at the Venetian/Sphere…

My god these people are old.

We all become what we used to mock, I guess.*

Spoiler

* I’m still mocking them.

Bruh - night of the living dead out there.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I obviously only did GA so can't be sure what seats are like, but the GA experience is phenomenal. It sounds great, you can see everything on the screen without issue, and, ya know, you can see the band.

Now I need to get on this damn plane so that I can go to friggin sleep

 

[clerks]

I obviously only did GA so can't be sure what seats are like, but the GA experience is phenomenal. It sounds great, you can see everything on the screen without issue, and, ya know, you can see the band.

Now I need to get on this damn plane so that I can go to friggin sleep

I’m excited. Also since I’m 45 I’ll feel like 18 again in that crowd.

 

[bobbvis]

Having watched loads of videos of the show,it would criminal if discotheque is not played. The sphere is perfect for the visuals of that song.

Can we please not discuss setlist choice here. This is the spoiler free area.

 

[super fly guy]

Can we please not discuss setlist choice here. This is the spoiler free area.

Oops. My bad.

 

[DeVaul]

I’m excited. Also since I’m 45 I’ll feel like 18 again in that crowd.

This was also my experience at Springsteen. The only youth there were the children of the olds.

 

[clerks]

To be clear I'm 45 but feel like 85...

 

[rosephile]

Guy behind me referred to my sister as “your daughter” so it could be worse

 

[Irvine511]

This was also my experience at Springsteen. The only youth there were the children of the olds.

Can confirm. I was the only person who stood (and sobbed during “Backstreets”) in my rafters section. Which made me the asshole.

 

[clerks]

Guy behind me referred to my sister as “your daughter” so it could be worse

Jesus Christ men are dumb.

 

[lazarus]

Judging by review headlines — and the only notable exception seems to be the New York Times — it’s been a complete success.

Jon Carmanica is a total hater. I’ve listened to countless episodes of his Popcast podcast because he gets good guests on, but he claims to be a Taylor Swift fans yet does so much handwringing about the last 3 albums.

I’d take his opinion with a big grain of salt. Too bad Jon Pareles didn’t write the review instead, I think he’s still with The NY Times as well.

The first pages of the tourbook include a message from Larry.

https://x.com/atu2comsherry/status/1708218954542686463?s=46

Maybe I’m blind but I didn’t see a tour program at any of the merch stands I went to, or in the Zoo Station gift shop.

And I did wind up buying a shirt, ultimately. I got

Spoiler

the one with the Trabants/turntables. I wish it didn’t say “U2:UV on the front cuz it’s also big on the back, but I just like the coloring. Fit is nice too.

I can't remember this much mainstream coverage and positive reviews for anything they've done in a very, very long time. Even reviews from a couple of critics who aren't their biggest fans have been praising the performance, the songs, everything about it. Its even being discussed positively on totally random forums, again, by people who aren't fans of the band.

I can totally see why they've done it - they're the natural choice to understand how to get the best from the venue I think.

This isn't meant as a negative dig, but they'd be absolutely insane not to keep the momentum going into next year - whether its an extension to the residency or a new album and tour announcement.

I’m sure they’ll find some way to fuck this up. And if Larry can’t even finish the album until after surgery…who knows when this will even be ready.

What I’m intrigued by is how they follow this spectacle on a normal arena/stadium tour. I know Willie Williams has said they are always working on future concepts, and there are certainly elements of the Eras tour they can look to for how to expand programmability of stages and all that, but it’s going to be hard to top this Sphere show.

 

[Gonna Run 2 U]

There are still the “why u2” “sphere looks great but should have chose xyz to open it” “still can’t get the album off my phone” haters out in full force. Just gotta love it!

 

[prbiker15]

It’s a permanent stain that everyone has to live with. They should be counting their blessings that they have a pretty loyal fan base that still listens to them and goes out to see them. Who the hell sells more than 400,000 tickets over 25 shows in Las Vegas?

 

[super fly guy]

It’s a permanent stain that everyone has to live with. They should be counting their blessings that they have a pretty loyal fan base that still listens to them and goes out to see them. Who the hell sells more than 400,000 tickets over 25 shows in Las Vegas?

Nobody,well maybe Taylor swift. But that would be shite.

 

[Gonna Run 2 U]

Nobody,well maybe Taylor swift. But that would be shite.

Judging by internet trolls Tool, Coldplay, Metallica and of course The Foo Fighters should have been ahead of U2. I think it’s great, hate on hater trolls!

 

[martha]

Help an oldster out:

Parking at Sphere. What the hell should I do?

 

[dstalksalot]

When I saw Beatles Love, we parked for Free at Fashion show mall....about a 20 minute walk to the Sphere. Check into it. There are a few other places like Treasure Island that also do free parking, but mostly, it costs $$.

 

[martha]

Thank you. I don't mind paying if I have to. I have a worry about being towed if I break rules.


ETA: The Fashion Show Mall website makes it seem like their parking policies are generous.

 

[DeVaul]

Slickdea

Who the hell sells more than 400,000 tickets over 25 shows in Las Vegas?

This is going to be Dolan’s challenge moving forward. Not many acts that can properly leverage the tech have the international drawing power to sustain multiple weeks of sold out shows.

 

[clerks]

U2 apple thing got bad PR and was a joke a lot -- but I never met anyone in real life who was actually angry about it --- they just pretended to be online.

Either way, I bet they still gained more fans from that than lost them for sure.

It's the most overblown thing ever.

Irony is that I had it set up so i didn't get it until I had to manually download it hours later...

All they had to do was give it away for FREE and put a link on the apple page or email to phone and just gave that permission button, but that should have been Apple people saying in Pc land "do you want to install" is sacred...

 

[Hewson]

And I did wind up buying a shirt, ultimately. I got

Spoiler

the one with the Trabants/turntables. I wish it didn’t say “U2:UV on the front cuz it’s also big on the back, but I just like the coloring. Fit is nice too.

.

Which men's room did you leave it in?

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

[emoji24]

 

[lazarus]

Nobody,well maybe Taylor swift. But that would be shite.

Not based on the Eras Tour show I saw. The only act I've seen that rivals U2 in terms of production value and imaginative visuals/set pieces.

 

[lazarus]

Judging by internet trolls Tool, Coldplay, Metallica and of course The Foo Fighters should have been ahead of U2. I think it’s great, hate on hater trolls!

I don't know if there are bigger morons in existence than people who like Coldplay but not U2.

It's like being a big fan of Sunny D but hating orange juice.

 

[lazarus]

Help an oldster out:

Parking at Sphere. What the hell should I do?

When I saw Beatles Love, we parked for Free at Fashion show mall....about a 20 minute walk to the Sphere. Check into it. There are a few other places like Treasure Island that also do free parking, but mostly, it costs $$.

Headache recommended Treasure Island and it worked out perfectly. The entrance to the self-park is right next to the freeway exit, there's one attendant who is basically just waving everyone through--they don't give you a ticket or anything, so there's no worry about being there for 5-6 hours.

Just because we're paranoid we took a walk through the casino first before leaving the property and my friend put $5 into a slot machine, but they're not monitoring every person and then trying to figure out who left their car there but didn't hang out long enough inside.

The Venetian is essentially right across the street from Treasure Island, took us less than 10 minutes to get there, and then you can wander through that place to get to the Zoo Station exhibit.

We were parked there from approx. 4pm to 12:30. Easy breezy.

 

[lazarus]

Which men's room did you leave it in?

Now that is a deep cut!

The only thing I left in the men's room was some dignity, with a desperate stranger who let me follow him into one of the stalls.

Wait, that was supposed to stay in Vegas, wasn't it?

 

[DaveC]

for what it's worth, i went to a baseball game this afternoon with a friend of mine who is a huge metal fan, and absolutely *despises* U2 and never hesitates to let me know how lame/stupid/uncool/cringy/etc the band and bono are and how lame/stupid/uncool/cringy/etc it is that i ever liked them.

twice while we were hanging out today, totally unprompted, he asked me if i had seen any videos of the vegas sphere, and nerded out about how amazing it all looked and sounded in youtube videos. when i reminded him it was a U2 concert, he just shrugged a bit and said "yea i know", and kept on talking about how amazing the visuals looked and yada yada yada how cool it would be to see a concert there.

so maybe some of the haters are starting to come around a bit, who knows.

 

[martha]

Headache recommended Treasure Island and it worked out perfectly. The entrance to the self-park is right next to the freeway exit, there's one attendant who is basically just waving everyone through--they don't give you a ticket or anything, so there's no worry about being there for 5-6 hours.

Just because we're paranoid we took a walk through the casino first before leaving the property and my friend put $5 into a slot machine, but they're not monitoring every person and then trying to figure out who left their car there but didn't hang out long enough inside.

The Venetian is essentially right across the street from Treasure Island, took us less than 10 minutes to get there, and then you can wander through that place to get to the Zoo Station exhibit.

We were parked there from approx. 4pm to 12:30. Easy breezy.

Thank you!

 

[HeartlandGirl]

Hi, Martha!

My boyfriend, who is a bona fide U2 hater, keeps seeing Sphere updates on Twitter. Now he wants to go to the shows with me. So the band must be doing something right.

 

[DeVaul]

Yep. I know someone who’d I never consider a huge U2 fan but more of a general concert fan and he made an effort to be there opening weekend.