The Eagles at the Sphere

I was shocked to hear my mom say at Thanksgiving that she would love to see the Eagles live in concert. She’s followed The Rolling Stones around the country for the past 10 years, but this is the first I’m ever hearing of her wanting to go see the Eagles. Her comment was good timing, though, as they just announced that they were extending their Vegas Residency at the iconic Sphere. I waited 20 minutes in the presale queue to get 300-level seats for slightly over $300 a piece. Happy retirement to you, Mom (sorry, Dad). We had to go up several escalators to make it to the 300/400 level. Our seats were 3-5 in section 311, which is as far right as you can go. Being the last seats in the row, I thought our view would be hindered, but I could see everything clearly, if not better than the seats on the floor. My recommendation is that if you want to see the band, get floor seats. If you want to see the visuals, go up.

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There were so many details in the moving visual to keep me occupied while we waited in anticipation for the band to come out. The massive screen was covered in their albums, scattered across California. From blinking stop lights, flags blowing in the wind, waves crashing, lights dimming, and even a car moving across the screen, you left like you were standing on a corner in Los Angeles. It was mesmerizing. Every few seconds, catching another detail that went unnoticed before.

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The band came out from a secret door in the screen and opened with the iconic “Hotel California.” The visuals for that classic were my favorite. It was like Rockin’ Roller Coaster meets the Haunted Mansion ride at Disney World. They could’ve played “Hotel California” 20 times on repeat, and I would’ve been content. It brought me back to my Guitar Hero days.

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The music recorded by the Eagles spans decades and generations. Co-founder Don Henley made a comment about playing in his 20s in the 70s and now playing in his 70s in the 20s. Over the course of the band’s 50+ years, there have been some additions. Vince Gill has been touring with the Eagles since 2017 along with Deacon Frey, the son of original band member Glenn Frey, who passed away in 2016. They were excellent additions to keep the band going. The crowd was mostly Boomers in khakis, but I was amazed at how many songs I recognized as a Gen Zer. It’s funny to me that I became familiar with some of these songs from their rerecordings by other artists in the 90s, not their originals from the 70s.

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Each band member contributed to vocals as well as instrumentals. Vince Gill took the lead on “One Of These Nights,” which is another personal favorite. His vocals fit the song perfectly. Deacon Frey led “Take It Easy”, which was written by his late father. Joe Walsh took center stage to display his outstanding guitar skills for “In the City,” which had incredible 3D effects. That was the only song for which I felt a bit of motion sickness, but I just had to redirect my eyes back down to the stage to ground myself again. Sometimes I was so in awe of the visuals that I forgot to sing. Throughout the show, they flashed close-ups of the band on the screen like a traditional Jumbotron mixed with added stellar effects.

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They continued to sing hit after hit, including “Lyin’ Eyes,” “I Can’t Tell You Why,” and “Life in the Fast Lane.” The two-hour performance had incredible landscape images as well as old photos, taking you back in time. The performance felt like a true ensemble between harmonies and shared lead vocals. They did a 4-song encore of “Take It Easy,” “Desperado,” “Rocky Mountain Way,” and “Heartache Tonight.” I can’t think of another band that has enough hits left to do a four-song encore.

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The Sphere is hands down the coolest venue I have been to in my life thus far. I highly recommend that if you are even in Las Vegas, to see a show there, even if you don’t know the artist playing there. You can catch the Eagles on their final leg of their Vegas residency this fall. You won’t want to miss it!

For more information on the Eagles

For more information on The Sphere

Photo Credit: Chloe Weir