Backwoods Blog .168 – Backwoods Blog

LAS VEGAS (PART TWO)

Backwoods Blog;

in the woods and on the road…

The Las Vegas Sphere

Part Two: Trip to Vegas

The Sphere in Las Vegas is the next step in entertainment/technology experience. I don’t get too excited about much of anything these days, but one thing I’ve always had an interest in is the latest sound visual media. I remember taking the bus to New York City back in March of 1998 for the opening of Everest at the Sony IMAX theater in Times Square, which was the world’s largest screen at the time. It was my “virtual trip” to the top of Mt. Everest, cheaper and safer than actually doing it. I even wore my telemark ski boots the entire trip just to add a little “real” to it. In comparison, the Sphere screen is 18 times larger than the largest IMAX screen. Standing at over 360 feet tall, the Sphere is the largest spherical structure in the world with 580,000 sq. ft. of fully programmable LED exterior skin creating a huge digital billboard or display screen. The inside screen is 240 feet tall with 160,00 sq. ft. of 16K x 16K resolution LED display wrapping the interior like the inside of a cosmic egg. While the Grateful Dead were famous for their 1974 “Wall of Sound” system (which was recreated and included as a graphic in the show), the Sphere’s beamforming audio system which includes over 2,000 speakers and 167,000 speaker drivers, amplifiers, and processing channels could be referred to as the “Sphere of Sound.” While the sound was large, it wasn’t overly loud and the mix was smooth almost like you had a pair of expensive headphones on. The Sphere also has 4D physical effects capability including wind, scent and haptic (although the only smell I noticed during the concert was marijuana). During the Drums and Space section of the concert our seats vibrated and shook a bit, creating quite the effect. I wasn’t expecting that! We had the cheapest seats in the house ($145) which were located in the top tier-fourth level balcony dead center and we thought they were great seats. Of course you couldn’t really see the band, but the full visual effect of the screen more than made up for it. The crowd itself was a large part of the concert experience with lots of oohhs and aahhs reacting to images on the screen, dancing and singing along with all the familiar tunes. Seating capacity in the Sphere is 20,000 included standing room on the floor in front of the stage (that’s a lot of Dead Heads in one space). You can view footage of the Sphere concerts on YouTube to get a feel for what the system can do, but you really have to be in the Sphere to experience the Sphere. Overall, it was an immersive entertainment experience like none I’d ever had – worth the price of the ticket and a trip to Vegas.

Another part of the experience that made it feel like a Dead Head convention was the Dead Forever Exhibit Hall; two floors of interactive displays, exhibits, merchandising and loads of Dead stuff located at the Venetian Resort, which was right next to the Sphere. It even included a pop-up bar, mini theater, and an art exhibit by Dead drummer Mickey Hart showcasing what he calls “vibrational expressionism.” The SiriusXM Radio “Grateful Dead Channel” also broadcasted from the exhibit hall featuring Big Steve Parish, who was the Grateful Dead stage manager and roadie for 25 years. Fans could also stop by Confessions of a Deadhead, a specially designed recording booth to record their favorite band memories which would air on the Grateful Dead Channel. Everyone has their story of how they first discovered The Dead or how many shows they have been to. I ran into one lady named Beverly whose first show was Syracuse, New York in 1973 and she graciously agreed to pose for a picture standing in front of a Grateful Dead collage. She still had the groove! Even Volkswagen got into the Dead zone with an exhibit featuring a vintage VW hippie bus from the sixties and their latest 2024 all-electric custom Grateful Dead edition van. Linda and I never did see any of the band members or get an autograph during the event, but we did get our photo taken with one of the Grateful Dead bears. Yay! The next day as we were flying out of Vegas on a red-eye flight, the neon colored strip flickered below us bright into the desert night and the Sphere glowed like a cosmic bubble…

* Yesterday it was 120 degrees in Las Vegas (a new record temperature) and I saw a photo in the San Francisco Chronicle of people cooling off under the mist machines of Vegas. (see last post #167).

Back from the desert,

Dave

July 11, 2024