Sphere should be a cellphone bonanza
We get to channel Darren Aronofsky at The Sphere.
Cellphones will be allowed in the venue. This will should lead to a social-media bonanza of mythic proportions. Aronofsky, director of “Postcard From Earth,” turned a simple video on his phone of an elephant lumbering through the wilderness into something special. Not to say we’re qualified to direct “The Whale,” one of Aronofsky’s masterpieces. But expect some wild video emanating from the rounded fortress.
Of course, cellphone use is not a given in Strip productions. Garth Brooks pouches the phones in his “Plus One” shows at the Colosseum, a recent example. Bono actually ordered phones locked in his “Stories of Surrender” show at Beacon Theatre in New York.
But it’s open season at The Sphere. The venue offers free WiFi and charging station for 17,500 ticket-holders.
The hype around this venue is truly unprecedented. There might have been a venue I’ve been asked about more often over the years than The Sphere. But I can’t recall what that venue would have been. Maybe the Colosseum as it related to Celine Dion, because that pairing was such an uncharted adventure, 20 years ago.
The cost overruns and logistic headaches at the $2.3 billion Sphere are well-chronicled. It’s finally time for killer production from an all-time rock band and a groundbreaking theatrical production. It’s time for The Sphere to shine. We’re eager to see it, inside-out.
Cool Hang Alert
L.A.Vation, dubbed “The World’s Greatest Tribute to U2,” plays Sand Dollar Downtown at the Plaza at 9 p.m. Thursday. Tickets are $30. If this band is the world’s greatest, learn “Atomic City” and play it ahead of Friday’s release. That would be an epic move. Go to Plazatix.com for intel.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.