Written by Dave Clements

It’s time to break into your piggy bank and go to Las Vegas.
And you need to be there any of the following dates. March 7, 8, 14 and 15 or April 4, 5, 11 and 12.

You ask why?
The answer is to go to The Sphere and see the Eagles perform at the craziest, most fantastic music venue in this universe.

I have been going to concerts in all kind of venues around our beautiful country including Red Rocks, outside Denver, however there is absolutely no concert experience like The Sphere in Las Vegas. I really do not own the words to describe the experience we had this past Saturday night at this venue. The Sphere had to be trucked in from a different solar system…. that is all there is too it!!

To see it from the outside is other worldly. (Check out my photos).

Last Saturday morning very early I was out with my camera to start enjoying The Sphere Experience.
Even before 6 am when the graphics ‘wake up’ on the outside of this structure the view was incredible. As good as it is before 6 am it only got better after six.

Honestly I couldn’t stop photographing the building (if you could call it that!), it was that special.

Let me fast forward 12 hours later when we were back at The Sphere totally pumped to see the actual concert. There were twelve of us who travelled together from Texas to see the show and although I have not spoken with them in depth about how they enjoyed the evening I’d put a good size Las Vegas wager that they enjoyed it as much as we did.

Should you go, and I hope you have figured out that I highly recommend it, here are a few things I will share with you to help enhance your experience: First wear comfortable shoes as there is a lot of walking even though they have elevators and escalators inside the building. You can get a cab or ‘ride share’ from the strip for under $20 per person. I would suggest you get in your seat 30 minutes in advance of show time. The venue holds 17k people so expect many others on your same time schedule which will slow things down a bit. Our show started perfectly on time…precisely at 8:30 pm. I love that level of punctuality.

The rows of seats are  narrow therefore suggest you get everything you want to drink, and or a pit stop, on the way in to minimize trying to get past others after the show begins. Not to mention that you do not want to miss one minute of the Eagle’s performance! Let me mention that in my opinion you need to be high and centered in the theatre to maximize the experience…don’t worry that you are not close to the stage…..you will see plenty from way above!

That’s not saying there is a bad seat in the house…likely there isn’t but the 12 of us who came from Houston were high and centered just a few rows from the top and it was fabulous (or something better than fabulous!)
The show lasted two hours and it seemed more like 30 minutes than 120!

The current lineup of the band included Texan Don Henley, of course, along with Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit, Vince Gill and Glen’s son Deacon Frey. Plus there is a supporting cast on drums, guitars and keyboards that are world class musicians.
You could hardly see any of them on the stage from where we were sitting yet they were all ‘up close and personal’ on the MASSIVE screen that was everywhere in front of you.
As to not take away from your experience I won’t comment much on what was displayed on the screen during the course of the concert but what I will say is that it was extraordinary and beyond entertaining.  I have included some photos of the graphics that we saw during the performance but only to entice you to go to the show. I trust that they will not negatively impact your enjoyment should you attend one of the remaining eight shows.

Let me move on to talk about the sound. How about hearing the guys through 164,000 speakers. Yes the sound was over the top!!!

There was 20 songs during the show if I counted correctly and the performance started with Hotel California. From there they played One of These Nights, Lyin’ Eyes and Take It to the Limit (as an aside they took it way past the limit).

Seven Bridges Road, written by Steve Young, Jubal Lee’s dad, was a favorite of mine. The guys harmonize beautifully on that song and can’t say enough about how they sounded.

There were four songs in the encore with Desperado and Heartache Tonight being number 19 & 20 of the night. (I do wish they would have played Those Shoes, but it just isn’t a perfect world.)

There was a lot of Don Henley both at his old job on drums as well as out front with the other guys playing guitar. He was so good any place on stage and so glad I have been able to see him perform on multiple occasions. Don, before moving on, you had the classiest comment of the evening by dedicated Boys of Summer to JD Souther and Jimmy Buffett. We lost two really good ones with those two and it is so sad that both left way too soon. JD and Jimmy we hope you are resting in peace.
There is no one like Joe Walsh who was crazy good and of course stole the show. Life’s Been Good and Rocky Mountain Way, during the encore, were great. The guy can light up a crowd like not many others. (… and Joe , should you read this review, please say hello to your brother-in-law Ringo the next time you see him!)
Vince Gill was fabulous and there is no doubt he can hold his own as an Eagle whether he actually is one or not. Same with Deacon Fry…I loved his performance. Vocally he was stout and I can only add that his dad would have been proud!
Timothy B. was the least visible on stage…maybe because of him being the bass player or perhaps he was under the weather. All I know is he didn’t get much big screen time nor was he highlighted during the evening. More of Timothy B. would have been a plus from my perspective.
I could write a ton more about the show but reluctant to do so just in case you decide to go (assuming tickets are available).
It is an evening you will never forget and I think you will find a way to thank me for encouraging you to go!
Please let me know if you’ve already been or going! I would love to know how close our experience was to yours.

PS The tickets are expensive, but a bargain at twice the price and you might not be a big Eagles fan however if you defer going at this time I suggest you keep an eye on who is upcoming at The Sphere and go there at least once …it is that good. It redefines a concert experience and your experience might be ‘once in a lifetime’.

PS2 While in LV go see ‘The Sphere Experience…Postcards From Earth’

PS3 I would like to thank Don, Timothy, Joe, Vince, JD Jimmy, Ringo, and Deacon’s dad for all being in our book series Raising A Hand. You can pick books up at www.raisingahand.com . They benefit the severely disabled children with Rett syndrome. Until next time help keep live music alive!