Sphere And Loathing In Las Vegas

Last weekend I woke up before dawn and drove to the airport. It was early enough that there wasn't anyone else in line at the Southwest desk when I checked-in my luggage, and only about 10 people in line at security. I was there to catch one of the first flights out, which went to St. Louis. From there I got a connecting flight that dropped me into Sin City itself, Las Vegas.

I was there for a concert, which was a gift from my kind and thoughtful brother. So after landing in Vegas, I found my luggage and got a ride to the hotel to meet up with him and my Brother-In-Law. We had a few hours to spare before the concert started, so we walked along the Strip. Which was crazy, and crowded. Las Vegas was full of people that weekend. There were several concerts going on, along with a NFL game. There was also the 2023 National Finals Rodeo, which explained why I saw lots of people in fancy cowboy boots and hats at the airport.

We walked by the Paris Las Vegas casino and hotel, which has a half-scale replica of the Eiffel Tower.



From there we walked over to the Venetian Casino, which has recreations of various landmarks from Venice (like the Rialto Bridge, Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Campanile). This was the view from one of the exterior walkways, as late afternoon sunlight streamed through the columns.





After that we walked back to our hotel for a bit, as sunset hit the city and dusk settled in. This was the view from our hotel, which included the High Roller ferris wheel.



We went back out and got dinner before the concert, and went by the Venetian Hotel again.



And now it was finally time for the concert. The show was at the Sphere, the brand-new concert venue that cost over $2 billion and contains the world's largest LED screen. The interior of the Sphere is like one giant TV screen, and it really is amazing to see in person. U2 was chosen to be the first band to play in the Sphere, and they used their residency here to commemorate the 30th anniversary of their album Achtung Baby. I've been a fan of U2 ever since I saw them in concert in 1997 in Memphis, so I was excited for the show. It definitely lived up to the hype.



The videos on the 160,000-square-foot screen were mind-blowing, yet always worked well with the songs. It wasn't overpowering or over-stimulating, so it seemed like the designers who developed all of the visuals seemed to know what they were doing.





It was one of the best concerts I've ever attended. And it made it worth waking up at 4:00 AM and flying across the country. But the concert wasn't the only purpose for the trip. The next day would be a drive over to California for a visit to a nearby National Park. More on that soon...