FEATURE:
Even Better Than the Real Thing
IN THIS PHOTO: U2 performing in the Sphere, Las Vegas/PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation
Bringing the Cinematic and Immersive Into Live Music
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IT may seem slightly tasteless…
PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation
to some smaller artists who are relying on grassroots venues at a time when so many are threatened. It is said that costs are too high and so many are closing and unable to remain. I am about to talk about a hugely expensive live venue in Las Vegas that are currently hosting U2. It is tragic for the industry, as these are venues that artists coming through rely on. There will be a big problem in the future if there are very few grassroots venues open. It is a worrying state of affairs when we think of how essential these venues are. Ones that are not receiving adequate funding from the Government. On the other end of the spectrum – perhaps as far down the other side as you can get! – are legendary and world-famous artists who are in the position to sell out stadium and the world’s biggest venues. If course, they started in the independent venues which are now under threat. This, rather clumsily, leads me to U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere residency. Held at the Sphere at the Venetian Resort, Las Vegas, they are one of quite a few wonderful and iconic acts who are taking Vegas by storm. So far, the likes of Britney Spears and Adele have played there. Kylie Minogue is preparing for her residency there very soon. Even if Las Vegas is inaccessible to us all and mainly U.S.-based fans can go and see artists there, this rather maligned part of America is getting a bit of a makeover. More renowned for its casinos and slight tackiness, the live music side of Las Vegas is attracting a lot of people there. Whilst Las Vegas is still far from perfect, the fact it is becoming this centre for hosting residencies and performances from legendary artists means we need to cast our eyes there!
U2’s raw-yet-extravagant premiere performance at the Sphere was reviewed by The Guardian. If the Irish band were charmingly ramshackle and raw, that was blended and balanced by a stratospheric and almost cosmic visual display. You can see the photos at the top of this feature to get a sense of the wonder and cinematic that was being projected whilst the band were performing some of their classics. Maybe a million miles away from the basic and simpler venues and performances you get in this country, all of this made me think about how we need something like the Sphere venue in the U.K. Prior to getting to that, here is part of the review of U2:UV’s opening night in Las Vegas:
“U2 have never been a band noted for their love of shy understatement, but even by their standards, their arrival in Las Vegas represents a hitherto-unimagined degree of grandiosity.
They unveil not just an entire venue – the 18,000 seat Sphere, its exterior completely covered in LED screens that turn it different colours, flash up QR codes and occasionally transform it into a giant emoji face, leering over the Las Vegas strip – but also a vast overhead walkway that links it to the Venetian Resort (hotels are tireless in their efforts to stop patrons going outside, an activity that carries with it the danger you might spend your money somewhere else). The interior of the concert hall is completely covered in LED screens, too. They stretch out far above the band and over the audience’s heads, the better to provide a sequence of genuinely astonishing visual effects.
Some big, rather arty names have been involved in the visuals, among them Es Devlin and Brian Eno, and there’s a moment early on when the screens flash up a preponderance of aphorisms that recall Jenny Holzer’s text-based installations – WORK IS THE BLACKMAIL OF SURVIVAL, TASTE IS THE ENEMY OF ART, ENJOY THE SURFACE – but ultimately, it’s all about spectacle, which it provides in jaw-dropping spades. During The Fly, the visuals appear to descend from the roof of the auditorium, creating a fake ceiling made of pulsing numbers. During Even Better Than the Real Thing, they give the disorientating impression that the stage and the standing audience around it are slowly moving upwards: an amazing bit of visual sleight of hand that leaves you slightly queasy. “What a fancy pad,” offers Bono, casting his eyes around the venue. “Look at all this … stuff.”
Of course, there are dangers inherent in all this stuff. On the most prosaic level, there’s the section in the show when what appears to be a giant rope made of knotted sheets ascends to the roof and transforms itself into a swing. Bono selects a fan from the front row in an echo of U2’s fabled Live Aid performance, seats them in the swing and pushes them out over the audience: with the best will in the world, this seems less like stagecraft than an injury lawsuit waiting to happen. But there’s also the risk that U2 themselves will be not just literally be dwarfed by the visuals, which they obviously are, but overshadowed by them, the music merely an accompaniment to a vastly expensive and impressive light show”.
Although there are differences in the U.K. and U.S. regarding live music and the availability of venues, we do have some massive arenas here. There seems to be more available capital in the U.S. to support the live music scenes. We do not have anything like Las Vegas’s venues and glitz here. I hope that the U.K. government invests as much money as it can into grassroots venues. As many as possible need to be preserved and protected – ensuring that very few close in the coming years. Also, there either needs to be consideration to our larger venues. Of course they need to be supported so that they can host larger acts and, in the process, earn money for the economy. I have been to venues like London’s 02 though, to me, there are not many in this country that has that multi-dimensional and visual splendour aspect as something like Las Vegas’s Sphere. Whether it was a bespoke venues built somewhere like Birmingham, Cardiff or Newcastle, imagine bringing a cinematic and epic slice of Las Vegas to the U.K. For one, it might afford us the chance to see residencies be a regular thing. Huge artists playing in the U.K. at a converted or new venues. More importantly, it would be a rare and unique chance to witness music being backed with the most breathtaking visuals. Artists now can create terrific light shows and build wonderful sets for big gigs. Rather than have people pay a load of money to be so far away from the stage that the brilliance and spectacular nature of a set is lost, how about something that is immersive and accessible to all?! Of course, there is the ongoing and angering issue of ticket sites and artists charging exorbitant amounts for tickets.
Together with the cost of travel, many people also have to shell out hundreds to see one gig! It is eye-watering and unethical. I know it is more the venues and ticket sellers who hike the prices and set them to begin with but, as most of these huge artists earn a staggering amount on tour, they can afford to slash prices and ensure that as many people as possible are not gauged and priced-out. If this thorny problem could be resolved, then I think we could then see even more people attending live music. I guess even cinema has not mastered and experimented with viewing films much like one would view a display ta a Planetarium. Rather than people looking at the screen and it being in front of them, I wonder whether cinema will change its aspect and lens and be more immersive in that sense. Being surrounded by the picture rather than it being more centralised. Bringing some of the grandeur and wonder you get from the big screen to music would take it to a new level! I love this idea of live music being entwined with visuals. A more sensory experience where you still get to see and feel the artist playing, you would also get this extra stimulation from the screens around you. Maybe having the sound projected from different points of the venue would mean everyone was getting the same experience. From those right near the stage to those right at the very back, everyone would be witness to an unforgettable experience. Of course, it would be expensive to project and accomplish something like this. It does go back to funding and how many venues are struggling. Would it be ethical and appropriate to inject that much money into one venue that could go to hundreds?! With there being this desperate need for those in power to free up funding for grassroots venues, there is a curiosity of how U.S. venues on a different level could make their way to the U.K. – even if it is in a few years’ time. This transformation, elevation and revolution would completely transform…
HOW we experience live music.