I went to see U2 at The Sphere in Las Vegas. Wow. Just…wow. I’ve probably seen U2 live more than any other band on the planet in places as far-flung as Singapore and Moscow. They’ve always reached for the stars when it comes to staging a major production. The Joshua Tree was stunning for its time but eclipsed by Zoo TV. PopMart was flawed (IMHO) but still a great spectacle. Shows through the 2000s were more modest until the 360 Tour came along. Having seen that production four times, I couldn’t imagine how a U2 show could get any bigger, grandiose, and complex. Then came The Sphere residency. I ended up with tickets for Friday, December 1, the first show back after a one-month break following the initial string of shows. I was a little worried going in, too. Would I be watching the venue more than the band? What kind of acoustics would be present in a venue shaped like a basketball? What were the sightlines like? Do I want to see U2 perform without Larry Mullen? Turns out I was worried about nothing. Pros: This was the best live sound I have ever experienced. It was just loud enough. Super-accurate. Tight, deep bass, the kind you feel in your chest. Clear highs. Excellent definition. I had wondered why The Sphere needed 166,000 speakers (NOT a typo). Now I know. Further to above: For the first time in my history of U2, I could appreciate how much background vocals are contributed by The Edge. His harmonies and supporting vocals were crystal-clear and placed perfectly in the mix. And the pristine (and I do mean pristine) sound gave me a new appreciation for how tight a rock band U2 is, Three guys were making all the noise and the singer just sang. But wow, they’re all excellent musicians and performers. The played all of Achtung Baby (my favourite record of theirs) along with hits from other parts of their career. The screen (see below) had a mind-numbing level of resolution. Despite all the moving images, there was no smearing, no image tearing, no pixelation, and very little latency from what was happening on the turntable-shaped stage below. When three-story images of the bandmembers were projected on the screen, the high-def-ness of it all was breathtaking. Stand-in drummer Bram Van Den Berg (referred by Bono as having “a PhD in Larry Mullen”) knows why he’s there. He’s adopted every nuance of Larry’s playing, found the gear to duplicate the sound of Larry’s drums, and plays each song just like Larry would have. The man is a machine. The air in The Sphere somehow remained fresh throughout the night, even with 18,000 people inside. I could feel a light breeze from the HVAC circulating throughout the evening–and I think it was even flavoured with a tinge of coconut. The Sphere itself is amazing in terms of decor and crowd management. And the free WiFi is blistering fast. I had no trouble uploading videos the whole night Cons: Getting to and from The Sphere is a slog. The shortest way from The Strip is a long way through The Venetian. Walking to it from other directions is even further. And when they let you out at the end of the night, you might find your way walking back to the Strip the long way around. That added about 2k to the experience. The stairs inside are pretty steep. My seats were in section 302 and I swear the stairs were at least set at a 30-degree angle. As someone who is not good with heights, that was a bit freaky. Er, that’s about it. If you’re thinking of seeing U2 during their Vegas residency–it goes until the end of February–do it. It’s well worth the time and money. Do it. Four more dates have been announced for The Sphere (February 23 and 24 and March 1 and 2). That will bring the total number of performances to 40.