Las Vegas Sphere Outsoars the Eagles on Opening Night

Posted on: September 22, 2024, 11:18h. 

Last updated on: October 1, 2024, 08:18h.

Corey Levitan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas, Restaurants, Las Vegas Myths.

“Welcome to … whatever this is,” Don Henley greeted the crowd on Friday as his Eagles became the fourth superstar rock band to headline a residency at the Las Vegas Sphere in which they co-starred with the Las Vegas Sphere.

Vince Gill, Timothy B. Schmit, Don Henley and Deacon Fry perform “Heartache Tonight,” with which they closed their opening night at the Las Vegas Sphere on Sept. 20. (Image: X/@olivarius8208)

Indeed, the visuals on Friday’s opening night consistently outdazzled the performances from the 52-year-old Los Angeles outfit.

“How many of you have been here before?” Henley continued as about a third of the crowd  responded. “The rest of you, I hope you brought some Dramamine, because it’s gonna get crazy.”

That was no exaggeration. The Sphere’s giant wraparound screen provided a lightning zip south along the Las Vegas Strip during “Life in the Fast Lane,” flew drone-like up and down an impossibly tall tenement apartment complex in “In the City,” and projected live video of all six singers across a starry night sky during the ethereal “Seven Bridges Road.”

The Sphere is overtaken by stunning computer-generated visuals of a tenement apartment during the Joe Walsh song, “In the City.” (Image: Chloe Weir/The Eagles)

Henley actually joked about being upstaged.

“So this is the Sphere, some 21st century iteration of entertainment venue,” the 77-year-old singer/drummer said. “We’re just the house band.”

A new video for “Hotel California,” actually the first the Eagles ever made for it, captures the conflicting emotions of hedonism, abandonment and imprisonment suggested by the lyrics. (Image: X/@CHARLOTTEMAN3)

But being upstaged wasn’t a bad thing at all. In fact, the Sphere is what an Eagles concert has always needed. Even when they were in their early 20s, all the band ever did on stage was stand still and sing.

Now, their fans have stunning visuals to watch when that gets a little boring.

How Do They Sound?

Though the Eagles were outmatched by the Sphere’s visuals, their sound was perfection.

Henley joked about the Sphere’s tens of thousands of speakers letting the crowd hear “all our mistakes,” but none were audible. The band’s six-part harmonies were flawlessly executed as they wove in and out of 19 songs that continue resonating across the generations.

Both country crooner Vince Gill and Deacon Frey substituted for Deacon’s father, Glenn, who co-founded the band with Henley in 1971 and died in 2016 — apparently because the hole was too big to fill with just one person. And, as expected, Henley said a few words about J.D. Souther, who died last week.

“J.D., as some of you may know, played a pivotal role in the Eagles,” Henley said during the four-song encore. “He wasn’t in the band, but he certainly co-wrote some of our biggest hits, including ‘The Best of My Love,’ ‘New Kid in Town’ and this next song, ‘Heartache Tonight.’”

Surprisingly, the band opened the show with “Hotel California,” for which it commissioned a video with animations capturing the conflicting emotions of hedonism, abandonment and imprisonment suggested by the lyrics.

Their biggest song felt like it should have been an encore. But with the “when will they play it?” question out of the way, the band seemed unburdened — and the crowd freer to go to the bathroom with no FOMO.

Eagles Sphere Set

  1. Hotel California
  2. One of These Nights
  3. Lyin’ Eyes
  4. Take It to the Limit
  5. Witchy Woman
  6. Peaceful Easy Feeling
  7. Tequila Sunrise
  8. In the City
  9. I Can’t Tell You Why
  10. Seven Bridges Road
  11. Those Shoes
  12. Life’s Been Good
  13. Already Gone
  14. The Boys of Summer
  15. Life in the Fast Lane

Encore

  1. Take It Easy
  2. Rocky Mountain Way
  3. Desperado
  4. Heartache Tonight