U2 to Perform First Concerts at MSG Sphere in Las Vegas

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Bono’s pullout game is weak.

Leo and Leona can confirm

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

i came across this image... which certainly seems to confirm that the entire lower section of seating consists of retractable risers.

that doesn't mean the entire lower level will be GA, like at a regular arena - but it does mean it's possible for it to be.

i suppose the correct answer to how many of those seats will be taken out is "how many need to be taken out to get to the max capacity of 20,000"

typically pulling all of the seats out will get you a higher capacity because you can squeeze more people into GA then can fit in seats... but the original MSG Is also notorious for leaving the back row of risers in, decreasing the floor capacity and allowing them to charge more for those back seats. (although they did take them all out on i/e e/i because the stage set up required it)

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

James Dolan late Tuesday pushed out two of the top executives in charge of running his over-budget music venue slated to open in Las Vegas this fall, The Post has learned.

The Knicks and Rangers owner plans to personally oversee the completion of the $2.2 billion MSG Sphere, a source told The Post.

Dolan paid for a pricey Super Bowl ad during Sunday’s game promoting the new venue and its first act, U2. The high-tech MSG Sphere, which has been saddled cost overruns, is now slated to open in September.

To get to the finish line, Dolan dumped MSG Sphere President Lucas Watson and MSG Sphere Senior Manager of Business Operations Jenna Wolfenson, according to an internal memo reviewed by The Post.

Dolan said he is streamlining the organization so it can do a more efficient job with brand strategy and partnerships by leveraging its expertise across its family of companies, the memo said.

In an unrelated story, U2 have just traded Larry Mullen Jr., Eli Hewson and four conditional first round draft picks for the rights to Carmelo Anthony.

 

[DeVaul]

i came across this image... which certainly seems to confirm that the entire lower section of seating consists of retractable risers.

that doesn't mean the entire lower level will be GA, like at a regular arena - but it does mean it's possible for it to be.



i suppose the correct answer to how many of those seats will be taken out is "how many need to be taken out to get to the max capacity of 20,000"



typically pulling all of the seats out will get you a higher capacity because you can squeeze more people into GA then can fit in seats... but the original MSG Is also notorious for leaving the back row of risers in, decreasing the floor capacity and allowing them to charge more for those back seats. (although they did take them all out on i/e e/i because the stage set up required it)

Since the venue is the production - with no need for extra staging - and “VIP risers” are a thing [VIP even took up side floor space on I&e], I’d bet on some floor risers.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

indeed. that's why they like to leave that back section in at MSG.

alas - i have to imagine they built some sort of fancy shmancy VIP section into this place.

that being said - i do expect some sort of screen-less stage unique to this show. maybe the stage will be designed to look like larry's scowling face.

 

[Hewson]

In an unrelated story, U2 have just traded Larry Mullen Jr., Eli Hewson and four conditional first round draft picks for the rights to Carmelo Anthony.

Sonofa...I have Inhaler tix for March 18. Not looking forward to the vocal stylings of 'Melo.

 

[DaveC]

exclusive first post-trade pics:

 

[DeVaul]

that being said - i do expect some sort of screen-less stage unique to this show. Maybe the stage will be designed to look like larry's scowling face.

U2: UV gotta be fookin kidding me

 

[phommel]

Why didn't anyone in the U2 family come up with the idea of ​​using a hologram of Larry?

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Why didn't anyone in the U2 family come up with the idea of ​​using a hologram of Larry?

it was under consideration

 

[Hewson]

This is not the drummer you're looking for.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

i think i need to photoshop the faced of adam, edge and bono onto the other three

 

[DeVaul]

i think i need to photoshop the faced of adam, edge and bono onto the other three

This is the way

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

i think i need to photoshop the faced of adam, edge and bono onto the other three

yea. this was the way.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

This is the way

the way it is.

 

[DaveC]

it's like that

 

[DeVaul]

yea. This was the way.



View attachment 13561

 

[Dragonfave]

https://nypost.com/2023/02/15/u2-ge...las-vegas-as-cash-concerns-mount-sources/amp/

James Dolan’s Madison Square Garden has lined up U2 to launch his MSG Sphere arena in Las Vegas — but some insiders fret the deal could help fuel an “unforgettable fire” that’s consuming the company’s cash.

According to sources close to the situation, the billionaire Knicks owner has quietly agreed to pay the legendary rock group $10 million to produce a splashy show to open the MSG Sphere — a 17,500-seat, ball-shaped arena that aspires to become the world’s ultimate concert venue.

That’s on top of the guaranteed proceeds U2 will reap from the gigs, collecting more than 90% of earnings from ticket sales for roughly 12 shows — with the first slated for around Sept. 29 and the rest spread over a few months, according to sources briefed on the talks.

The generous package for U2 is stoking anxiety about the MSG Sphere — which got its first major plug in an over-the-top Super Bowl ad this weekend that depicted the still-under-construction arena as a spaceship descending into the Nevada desert, with Bono and his bandmates gawking at it along with a crowd of fans.

“Without getting into specifics, we are very confident in the investment we made with U2 as the opening performer for the Sphere,” a Madison Square Garden Entertainment spokesperson told The Post.

On a conference call last week, MSG Entertainment EVP and CFO David Byrnes admitted that the high-tech venue — whose construction tab has nearly doubled during the past three years to $2.2 billion — still hasn’t found any corporate sponsors. That’s not good, as the whole idea is that cash from sponsors will offset losses from deals given to A-list acts like U2 to produce their pricey shows, according to sources close to the situation.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

well - i have zero doubt that the building will get a corporate sponsor for naming rights. Chase Center got $300 million.

but the idea that U2 is getting 90% of the ticket revenue actually bodes well for keeping costs down.

jim dolan also pays phil jackson more than $10 million to not coach the knicks - so there's that.

 

[dan_smee]

NY Post publishing opinions as news and people think the info in it is true? Interesting…

 

[DeVaul]

well - i have zero doubt that the building will get a corporate sponsor for naming rights.

You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.

 

[Hewson]

well - i have zero doubt that the building will get a corporate sponsor for naming rights. Chase Center got $300 million.
.

The Hewson Headache Sphere has a nice ring to it.

 

[LyricalDrug]

Kudos to U2:UV (or whoever made the extended-cut Super Bowl ad) for editing out the offensive part in the updated release. Surreal how they shot the video a while back and then it aligned a little too perfectly with reality!

 

[phommel]

yea. this was the way.

View attachment 13561

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

“What are we going to do?” asked everyone. All at once. Cancel the show? Or play it without Adam? People were already en route to the venue; the camera crew was set up. Stuart Morgan wasn’t only a fine bass guitar tech; he was a talented bass player. Only Adam knew the bass parts for our songs better than Stuart. Maybe he could stand in for the whole show.

Maybe Adam would show up halfway through. Quite a lot of “maybes.”

Larry: “If we put the ZOO TV uniform on him, nobody will know.”
Edge: “That’s not gonna work on TV, Larry.”
Larry: “I was making a joke.”
Me: “Will he make it for tomorrow night?”
“I think so,” says our tour manager, Dennis Sheehan. “I’ve seen worse.”

Well, we figured, because it’s a television event, maybe we could make it work. Two nights to make one concert film. “We’ll choose the best bits of Adam from tomorrow. If he makes it tomorrow.”

When we walked out that night, in front of forty-five thousand Australians, it felt as if our superpower was gone. We had never been onstage without being the four of us, not since Larry broke his foot in a motorcycle accident in 1978 and the good-looking, leather-jacket-wearing Eric Briggs filled in for him. I’ve been onstage a lot on my own. I’ve been onstage with Edge. It’s a different feeling without the four. We got through. We recovered. Adam has been in recovery ever since.

Larry left school in 1978 after passing his Intermediate Certificate exams. Larry said he was offered an opportunity to complete his Leaving Certificate exams, but chose not to as the economy was not doing very well at the time and jobs were difficult to find. While the band was still trying to score a record deal in 1978, Larry worked at Seiscom Delta in the purchasing department for a year. Had he stayed at Seiscom, his career path would have been computer programming for Seiscom's geology department.

In the early days of U2, Larry had to miss some gigs and photo shoots because of the job at Seiscom. For the photo sessions he could not make, friend-of-the-band Derek "Guggi" Rowen stepped in as he resembled Larry to a degree. For the gigs, Larry arranged a stand-in named Eugene from a north Dublin rock band called Stryder. When Larry became injured on the job, running over his toe with his motorbike, Eric Briggs filled in for him on the drums. Bono says in U2 by U2 that there was a period of time where the other three band members almost kicked Larry out of the band because they were not sure how serious he was. Ironically, during the band's first recording session, a CBS record executive suggested that Larry needed to be fired because of his inability to keep tempo.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[cseggleton]

Kudos to U2:UV (or whoever made the extended-cut Super Bowl ad) for editing out the offensive part in the updated release. Surreal how they shot the video a while back and then it aligned a little too perfectly with reality!

Offensive? Oh the faux outrage...gimme a break.

 

[LyricalDrug]

Offensive? Oh the faux outrage...gimme a break.

Maybe “ill-timed” is the better phrase? 40,000 deaths is a lot. Has nothing to do with outrage; it’s just interesting.

 

[ascender_RS]

Maybe “ill-timed” is the better phrase? 40,000 deaths is a lot. Has nothing to do with outrage; it’s just interesting.

I can't have been the only one who saw the opening section and thought maybe they should have changed it slightly after what's happened in Turkey & Syria.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

nothing says ZooTV like "maybe we should wait a bit before calling attention to this out of sensitivity"

 

[DeVaul]

OopsTV