Eagles at The Sphere Las Vegas Worth Every Penny
Spoiler Alert: Seeing the Eagles at The Sphere Las Vegas was worth every penny and the inconvenience of modern air travel. The visuals resonated almost as deeply as the music and lyrics.
When Eagles performed in Vancouver in 2022, we made the investment thinking it would be “the last opportunity” to see them live. Their performance exceeded our expectations.
Then we heard they were doing a limited residency at The Sphere in Las Vegas. My husband floated the idea this really could be “the last opportunity” and we should buy tickets and use air miles to get there. Spending the ‘big bucks’ for a concert was never rationalized so quickly.
Determined to not miss out, we booked through the VIP Experience & Hotel Package partner – Vibee, the band selected for the Eagles Sphere residency. Our package included two nights’ accommodations at The Venetian and our seats, for Friday, October 18.
For remaining dates into April 2025, there are more options to purchase through Ticketmaster and reseller sites such as StubHub – sometimes at inflated prices and other times at discounted rates.
The Band
For over 50 years, the Eagles founded in 1971 by Don Henley and the late Glenn Frey, have captivated our imaginations of haunted hotels, desert highways, empty beaches, lost love through their brilliant lyrics and music.
Eagles paid tribute to Jimmy Buffett as the king of summer storytelling, and J.D. Souther, American songwriter, singer and actor who collaborated with the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt on such hits as “New Kid in Town”, “Heartache Tonight”, and “Best of My Love”.
The residency band is comprised of Henley, Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit, Vince Gill, and Glenn’s son Deacon Frey along with longtime touring members such as Steuart Smith and Scott Crago.
As you’d expect from a group of this legacy, the music was performed phenomenally with the band even more tight than the last time we saw them. Eagles are not usually a big spectacle band and mostly let you build your own images with their eloquent words.
This was something new, completely demonstrating trust and a deep collaboration with graphics teams representing them and The Sphere.
The Sphere
Since its completion, The Sphere has become an iconic, and at times, cheeky ambassador for what is going on in Las Vegas and specifically on site.
At 366 feet high and 516 feet wide, it spans 875,000 square feet and captivates your attention from first glimpses from your flight to views as you roam the city. It seats 18,600 people and there really isn’t a bad seat in the house depending on how you prefer to experience live music.
The science that went into building the $2.3 billion dollar venue is mind boggling and creates the magic of the intensive graphical interface paired with the sound perfected through over 167,000 individually amplified loudspeakers.
Visit Las Vegas suggests you need to “Think virtual reality without the headset.” Your baseline for a show’s experience is reset with a screen that envelops you in 270 degrees of visuals as your ears are filled with immersive sound.
The Sphere opened September 2023 with an extended residency by legendary rock band U2 and their test drive of the facility set the bar high. Said its iconic guitarist The Edge, “It’s a canvas of unparalleled scale and image resolution and a once-in-a-generation opportunity.”
The Collaboration Between Band and Venue
Rising to the opportunity and challenge, Eagles accepted an invitation to create a whole new fan experience at The Sphere. Now, in addition to the images we’ve painted ourselves in listening to their beautiful songs, we have an all-new vivid filmography to draw upon.
Even the transition from street to seat is a journey at The Sphere. In a décor reminiscent of Star Trek sets and lit up in glowing lights as dramatically as the Vegas strip, the entry, merchandise halls, escalators and elevators begin your transition.
When we entered through our dark gate into the seating, we were astounded by the scenery. The air was fresh as if we were outside and we found ourselves exploring mesmerizing details of Eagles’ history. Like Easter eggs, there were the Troubadour, The Beverly Hills Hotel, Sportsmen’s Lodge Hotel and Patio Café, El Coyote Mexican Food, Guitar Center, Tower Records, the Hollywood hills, Santa Monica 66 End of the Trail sign, Tropicana Motel, and so much more, with cars occasionally zipping by a road in front of the scene.
The stage was set with the only hiccup, a large man wearing a huge black cowboy hat, sat down in front of me. The Sphere has many rules to restrict attendees such as no backpacks allowed, women’s purses limited to a small size, it’s too bad they didn’t make guys leave such hats at home or in a locker.
Observing him, it seemed his loud identity was tied up in that hat – and no, it wasn’t Rodeo Week in Vegas. Besides I don’t think the Formula 1 Las Vegas drivers wore their helmets if they attended the show. Real cowboys I have known politely take hats off indoors.
We were in a happy zone in our own little world and didn’t want to ruin the evening with a confrontation. Luckily, in a sold-out show, the folks destined for the two seats next to us never showed so we were able to slide over. In the words of Walsh, “Life’s Been Good to Me So Far.”
Eagles launched the evening huge with “Hotel California”. We saw those headlights heading down that dark desert highway giving way ghostly images in the haunted hotel. We felt the message, strap yourself in, it’s going to be quite an adventure!
The eye candy incredibly matched the music, and everyone will have their own takeaways about what resonated the most. “The Boys of Summer”, for example, started like you were watching an old movie of a couple frolicking on the beach and because an underwater choreography of them.
For ‘Lyin’ Eyes’, those pure lyrics were stripped line by line and rained down. While you can only truly appreciate this performance by attending, this YouTube video snippet is a preview.
‘In the City’ was a jaw dropping cityscape that grew dwarfing the crowd before collapsing down to the ground, Wow, if there was any doubt this country rock band was up for the task of integrating a visual odyssey into their virtuoso musical performance, it was blasted to outer space.
Deacon Frey has matured into a musician as mesmerizing as his father and his presence along with Gill gives the band the depth fans crave.
While Henley suggested some elements within the graphics may change over the residency, the set list has remained consistent except “Please Come Home for Christmas’ was added to December dates.
Merchandise
In The Venetian, there was a recreation of The Troubadour as a place for those who went through Vibee to pick up lanyards and a wide range of merchandise was available for purchase. Tributes to the stages of the Eagles’ evolution peppered the walls to keep you entertained as you waited in line. Merchandise was in abundance, too, as you entered the venue at The Sphere.
Other Las Vegas Attractions
Of course, Las Vegas is known for its many casinos and gambling. Still, you don’t have to be a gambler to enjoy it. Live performances and musical entertainment abound with notables such as Cirque du Soleil.
We added a downtown stay the night before we checked into The Venetian so we could immerse ourselves in the fun street party of The Fremont Street Experience. In these casinos, you get a glimpse of old Vegas. On the pedestrian mall you are treated to nightly free light shows on the 16.4-million-pixel Viva Vision screen with a 600,000-watt concert-quality sound system. Plus, peppered throughout are free live concerts. And you can soar above the crowds on the SlotZilla Zip Line.
Get cultural at one of the many museums such as the Neon Museum or Titanic Artifact Exhibit. Peruse the many art galleries such as the Kush Fine Art or multi-sensory Arte Museum.
Shop until you drop at meccas such as the Forum Shops at Caesars or Container Park. Take in the Fountains of Bellagio and its Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens. The tallest observation tower in United States is found at the STRAT Hotel, Casino & Tower.
Then there’s the LINQ’s High Roller Observation Wheel – the world tallest where your travel 550 feet upwards on a 30-minute spin to reap 360-degree views of the Strip and beyond.
The dining and cocktail scene is outstanding. You can go high end to street food and everything in between. Buffets, although not the bargains of yesterday, are still a thing if you choose.
All of this, and we haven’t even ventured into the realm of the Grand Canyon, helicopter rides, and race tracks!
