Concerts: U2 #2 & 3 & Zoo TV Experience

The last two days were also U2 days. On Saturday, made my way straight to the food court, chose the Pan Asian place again. Tried the kung pao chicken this time - a bit too spicy for me, but really nice.

I was right - this is a much better way to approach the Sphere. You can take back roads from there - fans were already gathering as I made my way. Coming in this way, you get much closer to the actual entrance you need for the seats. I arrived 10 minutes before the doors opened, and joined the queue - had much admiration all evening, BTW, for my t-shirt, which I got in Barcelona at a U2 stand, and which I've never seen elsewhere. 

Well, being there so early, I decided to go shop for merchandise, finally. Headed up to my level first - I was all the way at the top for this one, the rear of Level 4. As it happened, the one thing they don't have there is merchandise! Down I went again to Level 3, where I joined a ridiculously long line. 20 minutes later, I got to the counter, made my choices - they have a seriously good range of t-shirts this year, so I chose two, and a rather fetching hat - and.. my card, which I'd topped up specially, was declined. I tried another - declined. Blast - they don't take cash, you know. So, she suggested I needed to tell the bank I was travelling - rubbish, they don't require you to do that any more, and these cards have worked before, for lesser- and greater - amounts..

She suggested I go down to Level 2, where I could get a prepaid card, which I could load with cash. Down I went - the usher hadn't a clue, and asked her manager. Who directed me back down to Level 1, and the bridge to the Venetian. Where I could get the card at a long, white desk. Down I went - but the desk was on the other side of security! I asked someone else - she suggested I go ask one of the ushers not involved with security, she didn't have a clue. Thought there were ATMs or something, though. So then I grabbed one of those ushers, who said yes, there were ATMs, where you could put in cash and get a prepaid card - I followed her around until we found one. Hallelujah!

Except.. you wouldn't believe it. The ATM requires a US phone number, and a US zip code. Won't take alternatives! I spied another usher, asked her for a suggestion - she kindly volunteered her own details, and lo, I got my card at last. I tell you though, what a palaver - very non-user-friendly. Next time they send me a survey, I'll be rather scathing. I also noticed, in the T&Cs, that you have to pay $4.95 for each month you don't use the card!! Now, I'm never using the thing after I leave here - they don't have any way of tracking me down, but I hope they don't go after the kind usher who volunteered her details.. when I'm done with it, I'll have to try and cancel it.

By now, it was really too late to queue again - I bought an overpriced bottle of water (with one of the previously declined cards) and took my seat. With the railings, it's not so bad, but I did have a couple of wobbles.. it's very steep:

It's kind of like a cathedral, looking at the Sphere from this elevated position. Interestingly, you also get to see the speakers - they're in the ceiling. Part of the opening (dance) set that night was a tribute to Sinead O' Connor:

Have to say, the crowd was a lot livelier than on Thursday - I'm betting on that being because we were more centrally located. During the set, strobe lighting runs around the edge of the upper seating areas. I'd noticed it on Thursday, but it really hits you when you're in the middle! Slightly disorientating, actually - more so, even, than having to climb down the stairs to my seat! (I should have mentioned - strobe lighting is a primary feature of this show, do not approach if that's a problem.)

So, the show basically follows the same format every night - during Trying to Throw Your Arms Around the World, Bono generally pulls a woman from the audience to do a turn on stage with him. On Saturday, she was from Venezuela. After the first part of Achtung Baby, there's an accoustic set to "take a break", because, as Bono says, this album has been described as having a dark side, and a bleak side! He always takes time out to chat to the stand-in drummer - on Saturday, he asked him what inspired him to start drumming! He paused.. then played the drum riff from Pride.. to which Bono responded, "Is that your drummer way of asking to play Pride?" which they then did. Bono was to say, last night, that he thought they'd messed that up - I beg to differ. Sure, he seemed unsure of the lyrics on Saturday - didn't matter, the crowd took over! (as usual).

Some of the graphics were definitely more impressive from a central location:

The acoustic set also looked better:

Overall, a markedly better atmosphere on Saturday - but then, there always seems to be, at Saturday U2 concerts! Bono is more playful, and this Saturday, he really didn't seem to want to leave the stage. As the nice lady beside me remarked, as we got ready to leave. Fancy, she's about my age, and got into them at the same age.. she (and her long-suffering mum) drove just 1,000 miles to see them, mind. But hey. :-) Always good to meet another U2 fan!

Outside afterwards, I bit the bullet and joined the merch queue. An hour later, I got to the top of it - and bought the black t-shirt, and the hat, I wanted, with my hard-won prepaid debit card. They didn't have the white one in my size, but at least I was now sorted for these. And got some great graphics on the Sphere as I made my way back..

Went home a shorter way, via Koval Lane - unfortunately, I went down the right-hand side, when turned out to be almost completely torn up by roadworks! Vowed not to do that again.. However, I did find the back door to the hotel! Closer for getting to and from the Sphere - very handy to know. I'd have had more trouble, if a family hadn't been coming in at the same time, the same way..

Yesterday, I tried to blog, but the internet was giving trouble all day! I followed much the same schedule - wary of Koval Lane, I discovered the parallel Audrie Street. Much easier to walk on, but turns into a dead-end - I had to retrace my steps, until I found a path near the monorail station, then cut across the car park, and came out almost exactly at the food court! I ate at the same place, but went back to the orange chicken, which I prefer. They sometimes have teriyaki, but it always seems to be sold out when I get there! Then.. well, it was still early.. so I decided to head off in search of the Zoo TV experience, at the Venetian!

More backstreets - which this time had an exit! I found myself coming back onto the Strip eventually, for the first time in a while. Now, the directions on the Zoo TV Experience website are actually pretty good - it's in the Waterfall Atrium, beside the Love sculpture (which I'd passed on Thursday night). Couldn't remember where that was, though.. but they also said it was on the ground floor of the Grand Canal Shoppes. So I headed for said Shoppes! En route, a couple of guys in front of me saw my new U2 t-shirt - which I was wearing yesterday - and asked, so I reviewed the show for them. Turned out they were going last night too!

It took me some time to find the Experience, but I had time, and just meandered through their reconstruction of said Grand Canal. Which, I have to say, is most attractive! Hell, you can even hire a gondola, complete with singing gondolier - they do have an actual waterway running through the thing:

I came across the Experience VIP entrance first - carried on, and behold! There was the Love Sculpture, just on the floor below. So I went down, headed to under where the VIP entrance was, and came to the general entrance. Admission is free, and in I went:

First thing you encounter, on the right, is a scrolling gallery - four screens show the year (from 1982 to 2019), and a selection of Anton Corbijn photos of U2 from that year!

Most impressive - and it's worth staying for the whole thing, which loops. Someone near me gasped at the sight of the band in drag, as they were photographed at the time of the release of Achtung Baby!

There's a handy track listing from the album on the wall, if you needed reminding:

Now, it's a cool exhibition, with plenty of photo ops. What bothered me was that absolutely no context Is provided for anything - a brief explanation wouldn't have gone amiss! For example - a couple of Trabants are provided, which people can sit and be photographed in. But there's no explanation of why! They were the cars driven by East Germans, of course, and the album was recorded in Berlin, partly because of the recent fall of the Wall. U2 made them a feature, being photographed in a variety of them, and even hanging a couple of them from the stage during the Zoo TV Tour. But you know, not everyone knows that.. a woman beside me wondered what they were about, and the man with her mused that perhaps the band used them for transport..? I nearly explained, then didn't. No mention either of the TVs on the wall, also hearkening back to a feature of the tour, which focused on people's obsession with the medium (also used in one of the visual messages for The Fly - "Watch more TV"..)

There was a queue beside the one for the shop - so I joined it, without knowing what it was for. Just turned out to be a photo booth!

A rather cool thing is a stage set-up, where you can pose, and have a photo, or even a video, taken and sent to you! Perhaps playing the drums..

You can pick it up over here:

So - that's about it! The best thing really is the Anton Corbijn gallery - unless you're keen to have a photo taken. It wasn't long before I headed to the shop:

where I had to queue again. And then there was nothing in it I wanted! Sorted for t-shirts thanks, and didn't want a mug - or a hat - or a set of bobble-head dolls. I left empty-handed, and figured I could head straight to the Sphere now - and why not go straight from there, as the hotel has the only direct access, across an elevated bridge! Took a while to retrace my steps though, and find the way:

It is signposted, mind, and I found my way. And I have to say, this is definitely the best way to get there - they separate the GA (standing) queue from the seated one (which they don't if you approach on the outside), so it's all a lot quicker - and you get to plod through the opulent hotel corridors, complete with staff members holding signs saying "Sphere this way"!

The only disadvantage is you miss the display on the outside of the Sphere - which I'd already seen. Once inside, early again, I queued for - and got - a white t-shirt, and used up some more of the credit on my card on overpriced water and overpriced - but very welcome - M&Ms! I was on the lowest seated level for this concert, and it turned out to be the easiest and quickest to get to.. terrible overhang though. Very bad design, in a venue whose main feature is its huge screen, most of which you can't see from most of the bottom level; yes, we did miss a lot of the screen during the show, and while a lot of what we missed were just closeups of the band - which we were pretty close to anyway - it did occur to me that they really should have installed some kind of screens on the underside of the overhang, to show people what they were missing:

Again, a terrific show of standing from the crowd in this section - I tell you, it's great being in the centre, regardless of the level. And it's always lovely being close to the stage - plus, again, a better view of some of the visuals:

Now, last night's concert was a bit darker. He didn't seem to find anyone he wanted to pull on stage for Trying to Throw Your Arms Around the World.. and in the acoustic section, they'd already decided to do Pride again. Which he dedicated to the victims of the Hamas attack on the Tribe of Nova music festival. "Feckers", he said, pointing out how this was supposed to be a festival of peace and love and music. "Our kind of people - music people." He followed this with an emotional rendition of MLK.

I'll say this - with most of the screen blocked from view, it was easier to focus on the stage, and what was happening there. And that was a nice feeling. Arguably the best concert of the year so far, for me. But then, as I thought to myself, it's an ongoing story - landmark concert for me too, this being my 80th!

Noticed a cool decoration on the way out:

And I suppose it's because I got away earlier last night - being out quickly, from the bottom level, and not having to queue for anything - that I caught the display from the last song, Beautiful Day, on the outside of the Sphere - showing all the species native to Nevada:

Came back via (the other side of) Koval Lane. Internet still not working, last night - I was lucky to get it today! after a bit.

Soon, headed to the Sphere Experience! It's a dedicated, two-hour show, to show off what the sphere can do, basically - AI robots in the atrium, and a dedicated film! Tickets from Ticketmaster, again.

This evening, I'm going to a Motown tribute show, All Motown, at the Alexis Park Resort Hotel (trying to stay pretty close to my hotel). Got my ticket from TicketKite. Probably have to leave it till after to eat - I doubt I'll have time between.

Have to be up bright and early tomorrow - I'm headed on a tour of the Grand Canyon, with Christianson Tours. They'll pick me up - I just got messaged to say it'll be just around the back of my hotel, so it's handy I found the back door! And it turns out to be an all-day thing - I never realised the Grand Canyon was so far from Vegas! At least the early start means I should miss the morning rant from a woman in the connecting room next to mine - there's no soundproofing on that connecting door, and she never stops yelling and swearing..

Wednesday, my fourth and last (for this year) U2 concert. Then I fly back on Thursday, arriving Friday morning, for another weekend in Ireland before flying back to London next Monday. Uhh.. it's exhausting just thinking about it..