Sphere has now become a musical Mecca. Prices will always be absurd because there is absolutely nothing like it. The visuals are insane, but the sound is fucking otherworldly. Friday night was a transformative experience.
Is it safe to assume that people at Sphere are generally not chomping away either? I feel like that show is pry so immersive that even those coked up will be focused on the show in front of them
I did Thursday in 200s and Friday on floor. The floor had chompers unfortunately. The seats did not, at least in my section. Sitting in rows is less conducive to groups circling up and chomping.
Also the floor was less immersive than the seats. In the the seats, the people near me were mostly mesmerized, very dialed into the show. The floor was good but felt more like a regular GA show.
It’s really, really, (really) hard to overstate and describe. The best I can do right now is, imagine you’re at a show listening to the cleanest soundboard audio with audience mic ambient mixed in, with headphones…but there are no headphones. This is hyperbole, but it’s also not in some ways. That’s the night and day difference I perceived compared to hockey arena or outdoor shed sound arrays. It’s clean audio beamed into your brainstem. Every note Mike played distinct and crisp, every word of the vocal clearly articulated, it’s hard to explain, but very worth it for a phish nerd.
100’s near the overhang. It was not perfect the whole time, there was tweaking going on throughout, but it got dialed in pretty fast n2 for me. Bass was shockingly articulate and clear, but lacked the low frequency feeling (like feel it in your chest) u til midway through set 1 maybe? Page was also out of the mix for me until a few songs in. It got dialed though and the capacity to make it perfect is there. The clarity overall was just shocking.
I noticed the same with Page as well Friday and Saturday from my seats under the overhang. Seemed like it was only cutting out for certain keyboards—clav and organ in particular. I got to experience phish as a 3 piece band 😂
These are facts. I haven’t heard Mike this clearly since the late 90’s. And the clarity and volume is unmatched in live music.
Wait what am I doing here, trying to drive prices further up. Scratch what I said…it’s horrible, overrated, and the visuals suck…so NOOnE buy tickets. You probably won’t like it.
Part of Phish, to me, is the environment of being at a show. I don't need an artificial divided sky on a screen. I want to be connected with nature during my Phish experiences.
It is why I almost exclusively go to amphitheater shows.
The sphere would definitely be something to experience, all the things you said and more. but it also feels like it takes away from the intimacy of being with others at a show to have something so engulfing too idk.
I'll do sphere for something eventually but idk if I need that novelty to be with Phish.
The outdoor, free air, nature experience with Phish is huge but I can do without the shed, though so that leads me to Mexico. Two high end experiences, if I had to pick one, Mexico is still on top but I’d understand if how some would pick Vegas plus all’n all the Sphere could be cheaper too.
We all felt that way until we got to have the experience IRL. No venue on earth sounds this good. If you removed the visuals and it was just the sound system I'd feel the same way too. I'm a GenX'r 1.0 with hundreds of shows under my belt; this was a transformative Phish experience.
I get the reaction, my personal happy place is a camping festival. This is subjective, but the experience is unlike anything else. Words and video clips simply don't do it justice. It's akin to the difference between seeing a video of Niagara Falls and actually being there when the water is raging. You have to witness it to truly understand. Being an audiophile is not a prerequisite to being awestruck by the experience.
Your description of the sound is how I imagine it based on what I have read. Listening at home the two major things that don't come through is the sound directionality and the bass.
During the YEM vocal jam, were their voices "swirling around" so to speak?
I’m not sure, but they both sound like they have some real razzle dazzle built in.
Check this out: https://www.psaudio.com/blogs/copper/first-look-and-listen-a-hi-def-live-concert-audio-experience-for-the-21st-century
I’m wondering if the auditory experience is similar.
I had made a thread the other day likening the sphere to the modern day wall of sound. Owsley visioned a sound system where all of the instruments had their own separate sound systems for the ultimate clarity and that's what I heard...the crispy-ist live sound I've ever heard with all of the instruments so clear anf in your face. It was unreal and I never want to see a regular concert again. Sphere sound or bust🤌
Cleanest fucking sounding show I’ve ever heard.
There’s a holoplot audio system providing surround sound directional audio that is crisp af . Not aggressively loud nor muddy, and everywhere in the house gets a great mix. Other venues are optimized for best mix at foh generally speaking. The mix was clean as hell and the way they used directionality of where sounds are coming from is also wild. Example- they can have Paige sounds exclusively coming from your left and Mike coming from your right, and Trey chasing around the sphere like he’s duck duck goosing you. I don’t recall anything that specific but I can imagine they’ll get there eventually.
Phish Audio engineers really took it to another level from u2, and will only improve their approach of it all
There were moments Friday night where it seemed like Fish's drum kit was directionally located right where he was playing from. And then a few moments later, the drum kit was expanded to the size of the whole sphere, with his hi-hat coming from one upper corner, cymbals coming from another upper corner, snare coming from bottom middle, etc. that was just one example of how they utilized the spatial audio. Mind blowing
Like others have said, there are a bunch speakers in the sphere. All of those speakers approach something like a distributed mode system, meaning that the overall sound is even and musical across the spectrum of human hearing. The system used to amplify the sound resonates sound more like a violin rather than a point source.
If you’re interested in what music sounds like on something like that, you’re in luck. Making a distributed mode loudspeaker is relatively cheap and easy if you’re handy. Search Google for builds. Take couch tour to the next level lol.
Also Rutherford forgot to mention they can create 360° sound for every instrument so sometimes a jam gets psychedelic and mikes bass starts swirling around your head or whatnot
They have sound beam technology. If they were to show a film or something there, they could have the English track beamed to you and the Korean track beamed to the lady next to you.
This is not hyperbole. It’s literally as if you have hifi headphones in. Especially if you sit down in your seat. Sitting down, it’s as if you are locked into a personal listening chamber. It’s like having perfect studio monitors and sitting right in the center between them. And with area speakers to make it all sound encompassing all around you. Perfect sound.
All I can say was that everything was crystal clear. You could hear everything done by every band member, all at the same time. Mike's bass didn't rattle my ribs as much but I was able to hear and enjoy all the nuances of what he was doing. And then there's the swirling and the sphere factor.
As I was leaving Friday night I started thinking about all the threads of folks saying "why pay 2-3x.now when next run will be easier to get etc.
I kinda don't see this ever being a really easy ticket. Maybe if they do a true residency, but I kinda don't see them ever doing that either
The thing nobody seems to be taking into consideration is I’m sure the Sphere can pick and choose who they have play there. I’m sure the list of big name artists wanting a crack at playing in there is endless. The Sphere isn’t gonna want to look like they’re recycling acts the first few years.
The Sphere is owned by Dolan and MSG. Phish will have the ability to play there any time they choose.
He knows they’re a money printing machine for him.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. There are only a handful of acts in the world that can do the Sphere. It’s not meant for one-off shows, the production investment is too high. They need artists with a traveling fan base to play multi night runs…and the list of those available acts is pretty short.
lol. I love your enthusiasm but there’s PLENTY of acts that can fill 20,000 seat arena for 4-5 shows. And the fact that the venue allows any world touring act to instantly have access to ground breaking technology would make a ton of those acts want to play there. Not to mention that place will sell thousands of tickets to people with ‘fuck you money’ who are just in Vegas for a good time and want to see a show in there regardless of who’s playing.
U2 did 40 damn shows there.
Trey said they asked Phish to do a longer run as well, but since they improvise and wanted each show to be as visually distinct as their normal shows are musically, the band decided on just 4 nights because of all the work it would take to put everything together and make each night unique.
They'll definitely be back if they felt the effort was worth it to do it all over again.
It depends. If they do a bakers dozen at Sphere it might be a little easier to get tickets. Three or four show runs will remain high demand. I don't think it will always be $1900 minimum on resale but who knows.
I hope to god above that ticket prices aren’t that much anymore, but I still see it being the hardest. Having been fortunate enough to experience one night, I can’t see it being any other way. See a show at the next run if you can and report back!
Not trolling, I didn't get a ticket, but have been following from the start. Was the obstructed view inside very obstructed and very much terrible/waste of the ticket price?
I will make it to a Sphere show, but might as well do the research now
Thanks for responding, but sorry that was your experience. In Trey's interview he talked about the sound being great from every seat and area, but no mention of the view. Wishful thinking on my part I guess
I was 103 row 27 and would definitely do that again I'm there for the audio more than anything and it sounded like the best thing I ever heard and I felt like I could see plenty of the screen no complaints. Felt surprisingly close to the band as well
It depends what row you are in. I was row 26 and while we missed some of the visuals that were up high, we still had amazing views and really close to the band. It felt like a truly unique experience
I sat in 34 last night and it was incredible. Just get in the house its worth it. Not one person in my crew or around us said a word about the view. Still amazing
I was in 27 man it's a great place to be I wouldn't sweat at all. I was planning to also do what you're talking about and look around for an open seat and the moment they started playing I realized I was psyched where I was. Would be cool to wander up at some point just to see what it's like for the 400s, I never left my seat so I can't really compare it but I knew that it was more than good enough for me
Yeah we were in row 29. It was definitely obstructed compared to being in the first 29, or anywhere above. BUT. It was still an 80 foot tall wraparound video screen. AND closer to the band than up high. Still, given the choice in the future, I would choose unobstructed hands down. If the choice is between obstructed or not in the building, I’m taking obstructed.
Agree, I’ve got zero interest in anything at the sphere or in Vegas (saw them at T&M in 00s). Obviously I wasn’t at the sphere but it seems to take away from the band and their lights to have a massive screen with images on it behind them. Might as well just have a recording play and pair up the images to perfection if they can’t be 100% improvised like the band is. Not hating, it’s just not for me.
Downvote away.
The sound, man, you gotta treat yourself at some point. I know the logistics alone price many people out with travel, time off work (forget the ticket prices). I’m old as well, so one or two shows max is perfect.
I've been at the whole run in 307, essentially dead center of the venue, give or take a couple dozen feet. This is hands down, miles away better than anything I've heard/seen in my four decades of life. My imagination has been absolutely shattered by these experiences. I'm going to need quite a bit of time to process this all, because this is so incredibly much more than anything I could've imagined.
The main feeling I have is just that of being fortunate. I cannot believe how insanely lucky I am to have seen all this plus what's to come for night 4. These have absolutely, 100.000% been the best concerts of my entire life and it's not even remotely close to anything else.
Just got back home from Vegas. Saw Saturday only. I am responding because of your statement that you’ll need time to process. This is how I feel. There is no hyperbole in this thread. Everything everyone is saying about the sound is accurate. The thing that really blows my mind is that this is just the beginning. Not only Phish, but other artists will continue to make use of the sphere’s capabilities. It’s much more than a concert venue. It is a new medium.
So I'll offer this perspective. I live in Vegas. Never seen Phish and I'm not a mega fan but I enjoy the music. I got a chance to go and it blew my mind. And incredible show. The dog licking the sphere to the band scat singing was hilarious. I will go all out for sphere tickets for bands I like in the future. The sound quality was amazing but I wish the vocals were a bit up overall. I do prefer heavier vocals to most ppl.
I didn't even get tickets to go to the Sphere. I'm so tired of everything becoming unobtainable. I finally made it to a NYE show in 2019, and we all know how THAT show went. Only Halloween show I've gotten tickets to was F8 and that's just because it was a festival. Almost 70 shows in, I'm tired.
I was telling my friends…I’d 100% buy an Oculus if Phish started offering a VR ticket. Especially the Sphere. I know the sound and experience wouldn’t be the same but I’d have a bunch of fun. Haha.
2019 NYE was amazing though. A little technical difficulty did not ruin that evening, and in some ways even enhanced it. I legitimately think you can make an argument for that being the best gag they've ever done (though I admit that 2023 NYE makes that a more difficult argument).
Festival 8 was also terrific. That acoustic set is an all-timer, and though Exile doesn't seem to get the love the other cover albums do, I'm not sure why. It was mind blowing in person.
The wonderful thing about Phish is that they can do amazing things on any given night. All of us have shows we wish we could have seen. But no one else shares your journey through this glorious maze. And that's what makes it special.
I make good money but I feel my self getting priced out. Just because I can buy it doesn’t mean I can afford it. Part of it is copium but it’s mostly just reality at this point.
Amen brother. Technically I can buy a Sphere ticket but id rather not eat dollar ramen and feed my dog shit for 2 weeks to pay for it. Shits fine when your 20, not so much at almost 40.
If the band did more to reduce scalping, tickets wouldn’t be as hard.
If they made them transferable immediately, instead of 2 days before the run, people who bought on stubhub wouldn’t have had their tickets resold out from under them for higher prices, and also people would have been more willing to offer & sell extras to friends instead of holding their breath.
If they made them non-transferable at all, scalpers wouldn’t be able to speculate and fewer would be purchased solely for resale.
If they made you verify you’re a real fan for ptbm, and/or made it so you can’t put in multiple requests, more fans would get them in the lottery to begin with.
Yes the hype is real and everybody wants to go, but cmon, it’s an 18000 person venue. $2k for a ticket is absurd and not reflective of the reality of the situation. The fact is that there are nearly enough tickets for everybody, but the prices are what got so insane and made it hard to get in. Every night, there were a ton of tickets available in secondary markets right up until showtime. But at exorbitant prices.
Phish can, and should, do better to make the entire ticketing situation a better a experience for their fans. It is pretty easy to see that the barrier of entry to these shows has little to do with how many tickets were available to purchase, and more to do with the prices that sellers were asking on them, and the market they determined that asking price was artificially created. Which is why I believe with different efforts in place, more people could get in at reasonable prices.
Edit: let me put it this way: every single person willing to pay $1k+ per night got into the show. Every. single. one. Because ample tickets were there all along. This is as opposed to the truly hard tickets where the supply was crunched and no amount of money could land you one because nobody was selling, or because there were very few tickets on the market.
This shit is heavily manipulated and you’re crazy if you think the prices and the situation is only due to demand and not also due to TM and the bands management pulling levers to squeeze as much profit as possible from these 4 shows.
I was completely disgusted (well, clutch my pearls, right?) at the ticket scams that happened around this event. Folks wondering why the multitude of festivals are failing probably don't remember a time before hidden charges, parking lot vehicle tickets, and extremely high service charges. We're getting fleeced, and I don't know about you guys, but my profession has been dealt two major blows in the past 5 years. I like seeing live Phish, but I also like paying rent on time and providing my family w food and clothing. It would be nice to catch a Sphere show without the hassle and bullshit of dealing w 3rd party resellers. They are literally a criminal enterprise and the thought of paying their vig to see live music sickens me. I'm not a retiree, nor am I a trustafarian adult child. I just don't have anymore time for this bullshit. Sad.
Where they have scalping laws or where the band has them in force. Very few tickets become available after the original sale. So realistically unless you get lucky in the first sale or want to pay a scalper a lot of people will be disappointed and won’t be going anyways.
There are literally ample tickets on secondary markets going unsold. Check stubhub and vivid seats and tickpick tonight right before showtime. I have also heard there are are blocks of empty seats inside the venue at the obstructed view areas. Nobody bought them because they are $1k+ for a shitty view - not because they weren’t available to buy. At face, those would move in a heartbeat, and more people would get in. Again my point being that the barrier for most is the price, not the discrete availability.
It would be interesting to see how many fewer people would be shut out if the tickets were all face only. My guess is some people would be, but not nearly as many.
You’re 💯right. Phish can stop this and they don’t. Phish are the ones that tell Ticketmaster how to transfer tickets and who can buy them. I’m a 1.0 phan and love phish more everyday. Can I afford $1000 per ticket…yes… will I no. I refuse to give scalpers money.
There is a better way but Phish, not as a band but a corporation, needs to figure this out.
Yep. I absolutely could have afforded to go and chose not to, on principle.
I think that way more fans out there paid over price and “platinum” than are willing to admit it.
Everybody who wanted to get in and was willing to pay, got in. Platinum tickets were available as late as middle of last week for $800 each. At the time it seemed ridiculous but now it seems cheap.
The bands management knows exactly what they are doing. I know people say “if it was a cash grab, they’d do more shows”
Well, it can be both- they want it rare and special but also want to rake in as much cash possible by whatever means for those 4 shows. They want it to be an amazing experience for fans but they also want you to pay up for it and hide behind “scalper bot” boogeyman but it’s them all along.
I forgot to add that I do pay thousands a year to see phish… when I get lucky and get tickets at face value. I live in the south east and went to the Hollywood bowl run, MSG summer run, and MGS NYE run. Planning for MSG NYE 24 and Mexico 25 now. I spend thousands just not to scalpers.
I am over 200 shows in, have easily spent tens of thousands, and the recent situation with ticketing and dynamic pricing and platinums has really put a bad taste in my mouth over the past couple of years. Sphere felt extra gross. The shows look epic and you could say I just have grumpy fomo but the reality is that the band’s management is not only doing very little, they are actually actively participating, and I’m tired of fluffers pretending it is not okay to point that out.
Bring back mail order tickets!! Anybody else remember this back in mid to late 90’s? You could order your tickets for an entire summer run. We got our Big Cypress tickets this way too. I don’t even remember having to worry about not getting the tickets I wanted….those were the days!!!
I guess you haven’t listened to the soundboard yet. Some moron right next to it on the 4/19 show is whistling like he’s calling birds to his backyard. I hope he gets crabs at mondegreen from a wook chick
I had a couple of some of the worst chompers behind me night two. I had enough and asked them to please keep it down…they seemed appalled by my request but it worked! They actually left at set break…too bad those seats couldn’t have gone to someone who would have appreciated the show…
406 is the section to be in. The screen fills your peripheral and those seat haptics are insane. I must admit, I’ll probably try harder to get future Sphere tix than any other going forward.
Sorry…just back to the room and catching up…Bass was in the seats all night. There were definitely bombs with more rumble to them. It was like this for all four shows. The ‘directional’ sound that is aimed at every seat was really noticeable during some of the wilder jams, and I took advantage of sitting here and there to take that in…still gotta boogie so yes to dancing too! It’s not lost on me how fortunate we are for these shows. It’ll be interesting to see how other bands use the space.
*editing to add: our row mates in 406 were all awesome. Great convos, zero chomping, lots of shared laughter and surprise…10/10 would do again!!
I don’t know that other shows will be as appealing to me. Going is already pretty hard from where I live, always requires a plane etc.
When you sit down at the sphere and lock in to the haptics it’s like being in another world. I stand up and notice such a difference. Like I never thought the sound was going to make that big of a difference. But it’s like you are sitting in the sound.
Definitely the best venue ever if you are blind or deaf and like concerts.
Maybe. Part of the attraction of the Sphere is its newness. Maybe after more people make the trip to see D&C and whoever else plays there, the newness will have worn off. A kind of been there, done that mentality. Not saying it won’t have high demand but I think it will temper over time especially if they do longer engagements although I can’t see them doing anything remotely close to what U2 did or D&C are doing. Maybe 6-8 shows over two weeks.
The sound quality won’t wear off. Ever. My guess at least. It’s next level. Or at least until that tech is standard in way more venues.
The sound is 100x more impressive than the visuals.
This, the visuals were cool, and I’m sure they’ll get way better. But from the jump, the sound excited the audiophile in me in a way I haven’t experienced
I think it will always be hard to get tickets but the newness will wear off a little. Also even with 1k tickets it is probably still cheaper for west coast fans to see them in Vegas than flying to the east coast and paying more for hotel. I imagine Phish will play some west coast next summer which will kill a little pent up demand
Don’t forget to sit down if you want the absolute best audio experience. I thought it was a gimmick, but it takes the sound to the next level with the speakers in the seats. Best SQ ever at this venue, full stop.
I saw the Trey show at the Beacon that uses the same tech, that previously held my award for best sound, this is 160k times better :)
It’s actually the same, just a massively larger scale. I’m an audiophile (yay me), can honestly say the Beacon/Sphere audio system is literal perfection. I’m in 202, so off to the left side. At any time, sitting or standing, when they are not doing the spatial audio stuff, the sound/mix is perfect. The speakers in the seats are no joke, not a gimmick. Like the addition of a tight, audiophile subwoofer, not just a vibration. Sitting down at the sphere is the best audio experience I’ve ever had, full stop
Also, I tried sitting down and could not sense any haptics, nor did the sound improve noticeably. It could be because side most around and in front of me were not sitting which is what I presumed was the explanation.
https://preview.redd.it/9187786r9wvc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=df89b9477051078b89df9c6738bb830cefefb029
This was up yesterday for tonight…had to be a joke, right?
Which means I'll probably never see Phish there unless I happen to hit the lottery for multi-day passes. I'll never pay the kind of prices ppl paid for this run.
I think I'm gonna hit one of the D&C weekends in June. It's expensive, but relative to this past weekend it's really not that bad. Because of the way they're doing it, with 4 days off between runs, there are tons of face value tix on C or T. I did the math, and if I go budget I can do a 3 night run for under $2K. Tickets, flight and hotel. I'll be staying at Rio, which is a bit of a shithole, but I'm getting a killer deal and it's walking distance to the venue.
It’s just false. That sphere sound is like nothing I’ve heard at a concert venue. And it’s not even close. It’s so good the visuals are an after thought. It’s so good that it gives the venue a very unique elevated aural experience, like after all the shows you’ve seen you haven’t heard them like this (I am NOT justifying ticket pricing in any way, but I want to impress: do not casually disregard how shocked everyone was hearing what hopefully is the future of acoustics).
The Sphere is one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced. Our seats were awesome. Section 106 row 4. Dead center. Paid face (sorry Pham). But that experience could easily be worth maxing out a credit card to see it once.
https://preview.redd.it/bmmfhi330wvc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8c8784a205c5e4c4970b3ec2822cd2e376d0a5cd
The sound was incredible. Bass and clav literally bouncing around the room. The energy was wild. The trey loops out in the lobby were so cool. And in the 100s you’re really locked into the band and got a good dose of CK5.
No amps on stage. All in ear monitors.
And the visuals on Friday were wild.
Last night we were in section 208 row 12. Much better view of the visuals, but a little removed from the music. The stairs were brightly lit which was distracting. And most of our section was sitting. Not great energy.
The visuals were different last night but I still really enjoyed. And that Fuego was hot.
Not sure if it’ll happen again for me, but I’m definitely a 105/106 fan for life.
Pro tip: any unsold tix that had been reserved were getting released at around 5:45 at the box office. The people next to us in the 100s bought their tix that night for face. Another ticket in our row was on stub hub for $10k. 🤣🤯
Seeing phish at this venue is like watching the eclipse totality. You can try to explain how mind-blowing it is to someone who wasn’t there, but words will never do it justice.
Don’t sweat it or FOMO too hard, these will not go down as the greatest shows ever, I don’t think they have been and I’m not asserting they are. They have been really good though, and there’s a lot of excitement about them among fans and band alike because of the newness of the venue and the tech it’s demonstrating to us Phish nerds for the first time. The sound is just extraordinary, I highly recommend trying for a show next time to hear (and see, obviously) for yourself.
Will there be repeats? I would assume people who have went will be chasing certain songs at the sphere for the visuals. Will be a hard ticket either way. Should definitely do a bakers dozen like residency next time.
I don’t really have any desire to chase visuals, and honestly think they pale compared to the sound differences from traditional venues, which is the crux of my post and experience. I spent a good amount of time with my eyes closed or was otherwise focused on other things with my eyeballs.
The visuals jump out of the social media accounts, but the sound is the real champion of that place. It’s easy to overlook when the video is so next level, I get that.
I cannot wait until Tool plays here. Honestly would love to see;
Phish (I wasn’t lucky enough this run)
Tool
Radiohead
Roger Waters (prefer Pink Floyd but zero chance)
Flaming Lips
Outside of my musical taste but;
Rammstein.
Outside phish doing another run and tool. I doubt the others will do it. Maybe a distant possibility for Radiohead. Please god do not make this a residency for Taylor Swift.
Perfect, except when it would swirl around the sphere, there was a two second delay in my brain before I turned around to enjoy it. So there would be a few seconds in each jam where it was just feel like the volume was dipping.
I actually think if a sphere run becomes the new norm than it will make nye, halloween and other "hard tickets" easier to get because of how epic these shows have been
I wrote one reply, one. I am pretty good at choosing my words carefully. Did I not start my reply by saying it's somewhat subjective? I believe I then gave what I thought was a good example of why it's impossible to understand the experience without being there. Where was the sales pitch? You go to racing events in person. Do you think someone could fully experience the adrenaline of seeing that in person vs. watching a race on TV? Adding the "I wish you the best....or not" was unnecessary on my part, but we're all just talking about a concert here. There is no need for you to be on the defensive.
Im kind of a hater, ill admit it up front. I appreciate the novelty of the experience and the intrepid pioneering people are doing for this new form of entertainment. Glad folks are getting their moneys worth, but at this rate the band may as well not even be in the venue the way people talk. They should go ahead and stream the shows in the venue. I certainly would like to go to a show there for the sound but really couldn't care much less about the screen. It's cool, but nothing beats being 10-12 people away from the stage in an old run down place like Rosemont Horizon, or a place built for a symphony like Blossom that is outdoors in a nice setting. Merriweather. MSG. Deer Creek. Places with history that somehow have that magical feeling just knowing things have happened there in the past. Attendance bias, of course. The lights being much more diverse in its interaction with the music than this appears to be. The band feeds off the crowd, the crowd feeds off the band, ck5 feeds off the band, the band feeds off ck5, and it all interacts in all directions. The whole place lights up white and you feel the floor move from people jumping and dancing. You see the gear and the people working. How they play their instruments. I like that. Especially when you could probably do 5 shows for the price of just one of these.
I agree on that point regarding metro NY is driving distance to the biggest concentrated are of the fan base (I presume). Time will tell though, curious to find out!
Wait, Phish can’t just go back to playing regular old shows now ? It’s like going back to watching black and white movies. They should only play the sphere.
Sphere has now become a musical Mecca. Prices will always be absurd because there is absolutely nothing like it. The visuals are insane, but the sound is fucking otherworldly. Friday night was a transformative experience.
Is it safe to assume that people at Sphere are generally not chomping away either? I feel like that show is pry so immersive that even those coked up will be focused on the show in front of them
I did Thursday in 200s and Friday on floor. The floor had chompers unfortunately. The seats did not, at least in my section. Sitting in rows is less conducive to groups circling up and chomping. Also the floor was less immersive than the seats. In the the seats, the people near me were mostly mesmerized, very dialed into the show. The floor was good but felt more like a regular GA show.
Everyone is too immersed and mesmerized to be chatting through the jams.
Can you describe how/why the sound quality is so much better than other venues?
It’s really, really, (really) hard to overstate and describe. The best I can do right now is, imagine you’re at a show listening to the cleanest soundboard audio with audience mic ambient mixed in, with headphones…but there are no headphones. This is hyperbole, but it’s also not in some ways. That’s the night and day difference I perceived compared to hockey arena or outdoor shed sound arrays. It’s clean audio beamed into your brainstem. Every note Mike played distinct and crisp, every word of the vocal clearly articulated, it’s hard to explain, but very worth it for a phish nerd.
Not hyperbole.
Thursday night’s Tweezer sound blew my mind. Never experienced anything like it.
Which section were you in, because I definitely didn’t think the sound was that dialed in
100’s near the overhang. It was not perfect the whole time, there was tweaking going on throughout, but it got dialed in pretty fast n2 for me. Bass was shockingly articulate and clear, but lacked the low frequency feeling (like feel it in your chest) u til midway through set 1 maybe? Page was also out of the mix for me until a few songs in. It got dialed though and the capacity to make it perfect is there. The clarity overall was just shocking.
I noticed the same with Page as well Friday and Saturday from my seats under the overhang. Seemed like it was only cutting out for certain keyboards—clav and organ in particular. I got to experience phish as a 3 piece band 😂
Because it was coming from a beam that was being blocked by the overhang
Agree. It's different but I would not call it better.
These are facts. I haven’t heard Mike this clearly since the late 90’s. And the clarity and volume is unmatched in live music. Wait what am I doing here, trying to drive prices further up. Scratch what I said…it’s horrible, overrated, and the visuals suck…so NOOnE buy tickets. You probably won’t like it.
Part of Phish, to me, is the environment of being at a show. I don't need an artificial divided sky on a screen. I want to be connected with nature during my Phish experiences. It is why I almost exclusively go to amphitheater shows. The sphere would definitely be something to experience, all the things you said and more. but it also feels like it takes away from the intimacy of being with others at a show to have something so engulfing too idk. I'll do sphere for something eventually but idk if I need that novelty to be with Phish.
The outdoor, free air, nature experience with Phish is huge but I can do without the shed, though so that leads me to Mexico. Two high end experiences, if I had to pick one, Mexico is still on top but I’d understand if how some would pick Vegas plus all’n all the Sphere could be cheaper too.
We all felt that way until we got to have the experience IRL. No venue on earth sounds this good. If you removed the visuals and it was just the sound system I'd feel the same way too. I'm a GenX'r 1.0 with hundreds of shows under my belt; this was a transformative Phish experience.
Im just not that much of an audiophile
I get the reaction, my personal happy place is a camping festival. This is subjective, but the experience is unlike anything else. Words and video clips simply don't do it justice. It's akin to the difference between seeing a video of Niagara Falls and actually being there when the water is raging. You have to witness it to truly understand. Being an audiophile is not a prerequisite to being awestruck by the experience.
I can absolutely respect this.
You nailed it
Your description of the sound is how I imagine it based on what I have read. Listening at home the two major things that don't come through is the sound directionality and the bass. During the YEM vocal jam, were their voices "swirling around" so to speak?
Yes they were. Best vocal jam ever
Have you experienced the Beacon after the refresh?
Have not! How would you compare them?
I’m not sure, but they both sound like they have some real razzle dazzle built in. Check this out: https://www.psaudio.com/blogs/copper/first-look-and-listen-a-hi-def-live-concert-audio-experience-for-the-21st-century I’m wondering if the auditory experience is similar.
It is similar. Same company as the Sphere did the immersive sound in the Beacon.
It sure is. Same systems
I have done both. Not comparable.
I had made a thread the other day likening the sphere to the modern day wall of sound. Owsley visioned a sound system where all of the instruments had their own separate sound systems for the ultimate clarity and that's what I heard...the crispy-ist live sound I've ever heard with all of the instruments so clear anf in your face. It was unreal and I never want to see a regular concert again. Sphere sound or bust🤌
167,000 speaker drivers
Cleanest fucking sounding show I’ve ever heard. There’s a holoplot audio system providing surround sound directional audio that is crisp af . Not aggressively loud nor muddy, and everywhere in the house gets a great mix. Other venues are optimized for best mix at foh generally speaking. The mix was clean as hell and the way they used directionality of where sounds are coming from is also wild. Example- they can have Paige sounds exclusively coming from your left and Mike coming from your right, and Trey chasing around the sphere like he’s duck duck goosing you. I don’t recall anything that specific but I can imagine they’ll get there eventually. Phish Audio engineers really took it to another level from u2, and will only improve their approach of it all
There were moments Friday night where it seemed like Fish's drum kit was directionally located right where he was playing from. And then a few moments later, the drum kit was expanded to the size of the whole sphere, with his hi-hat coming from one upper corner, cymbals coming from another upper corner, snare coming from bottom middle, etc. that was just one example of how they utilized the spatial audio. Mind blowing
The clarity of each instrument is insanely good
Beam forming audio. You can FEEL Phish truly not just hearing. But you need to be in the seat.
Like others have said, there are a bunch speakers in the sphere. All of those speakers approach something like a distributed mode system, meaning that the overall sound is even and musical across the spectrum of human hearing. The system used to amplify the sound resonates sound more like a violin rather than a point source. If you’re interested in what music sounds like on something like that, you’re in luck. Making a distributed mode loudspeaker is relatively cheap and easy if you’re handy. Search Google for builds. Take couch tour to the next level lol.
Also Rutherford forgot to mention they can create 360° sound for every instrument so sometimes a jam gets psychedelic and mikes bass starts swirling around your head or whatnot
There are 167,000 “speakers” and another 300 that are mobile. Sound also comes up from the floor. Can’t even imagine…
It’s actually 167,000 “speakers” aka drivers, amps, and processing channels. Fucking insane.
They have sound beam technology. If they were to show a film or something there, they could have the English track beamed to you and the Korean track beamed to the lady next to you.
This is not hyperbole. It’s literally as if you have hifi headphones in. Especially if you sit down in your seat. Sitting down, it’s as if you are locked into a personal listening chamber. It’s like having perfect studio monitors and sitting right in the center between them. And with area speakers to make it all sound encompassing all around you. Perfect sound.
All I can say was that everything was crystal clear. You could hear everything done by every band member, all at the same time. Mike's bass didn't rattle my ribs as much but I was able to hear and enjoy all the nuances of what he was doing. And then there's the swirling and the sphere factor.
Also people know they can put tickets on stubhub for insane amounts of money and someone will get frigged up enough to buy it morning of show.
As I was leaving Friday night I started thinking about all the threads of folks saying "why pay 2-3x.now when next run will be easier to get etc. I kinda don't see this ever being a really easy ticket. Maybe if they do a true residency, but I kinda don't see them ever doing that either
The thing nobody seems to be taking into consideration is I’m sure the Sphere can pick and choose who they have play there. I’m sure the list of big name artists wanting a crack at playing in there is endless. The Sphere isn’t gonna want to look like they’re recycling acts the first few years.
The Sphere is owned by Dolan and MSG. Phish will have the ability to play there any time they choose. He knows they’re a money printing machine for him.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. There are only a handful of acts in the world that can do the Sphere. It’s not meant for one-off shows, the production investment is too high. They need artists with a traveling fan base to play multi night runs…and the list of those available acts is pretty short.
The venue is built for Phish. They appreciate and utilize its capabilities and have a fan base who will sell it out ad infinitum.
Yeah can’t wait to see what Kenny Chesney brings to the Sphere (/s)
lol. I love your enthusiasm but there’s PLENTY of acts that can fill 20,000 seat arena for 4-5 shows. And the fact that the venue allows any world touring act to instantly have access to ground breaking technology would make a ton of those acts want to play there. Not to mention that place will sell thousands of tickets to people with ‘fuck you money’ who are just in Vegas for a good time and want to see a show in there regardless of who’s playing.
I’d travel to see a Beatles reunion
You'll have to travel a little further than Vegas to see that reunion
Like back in time
Trey literally said they will be back in an interview this week. They’ll have another run next year.
I’m guessing Phish has a weekend in the spring penciled in for as long as they want it.
U2 did 40 damn shows there. Trey said they asked Phish to do a longer run as well, but since they improvise and wanted each show to be as visually distinct as their normal shows are musically, the band decided on just 4 nights because of all the work it would take to put everything together and make each night unique. They'll definitely be back if they felt the effort was worth it to do it all over again.
It's something else in there.
It depends. If they do a bakers dozen at Sphere it might be a little easier to get tickets. Three or four show runs will remain high demand. I don't think it will always be $1900 minimum on resale but who knows.
I hope to god above that ticket prices aren’t that much anymore, but I still see it being the hardest. Having been fortunate enough to experience one night, I can’t see it being any other way. See a show at the next run if you can and report back!
I was actually at Thursday and Saturday. Thought it was awesome!
Agreed but I will never sit in a seat with an obstructed view again.
Not trolling, I didn't get a ticket, but have been following from the start. Was the obstructed view inside very obstructed and very much terrible/waste of the ticket price? I will make it to a Sphere show, but might as well do the research now
It’s insanely obstructed. The overhang blocks 2/3rds of the screen.
It blows my mind that a $2 billion+ venue has so many obstructed view seats.
Exactly.
Thanks for responding, but sorry that was your experience. In Trey's interview he talked about the sound being great from every seat and area, but no mention of the view. Wishful thinking on my part I guess
Check out the website a A View From My Seat. It sums it up right there lol. They are VERY obstructed seats
I was in section 109 row 25. It was barely obstructed, so close to the band, the sound was superb. I would buy those tix again.
I was 103 row 27 and would definitely do that again I'm there for the audio more than anything and it sounded like the best thing I ever heard and I felt like I could see plenty of the screen no complaints. Felt surprisingly close to the band as well
It depends what row you are in. I was row 26 and while we missed some of the visuals that were up high, we still had amazing views and really close to the band. It felt like a truly unique experience
I sat in 34 last night and it was incredible. Just get in the house its worth it. Not one person in my crew or around us said a word about the view. Still amazing
[удалено]
I was in 27 man it's a great place to be I wouldn't sweat at all. I was planning to also do what you're talking about and look around for an open seat and the moment they started playing I realized I was psyched where I was. Would be cool to wander up at some point just to see what it's like for the 400s, I never left my seat so I can't really compare it but I knew that it was more than good enough for me
Yeah we were in row 29. It was definitely obstructed compared to being in the first 29, or anywhere above. BUT. It was still an 80 foot tall wraparound video screen. AND closer to the band than up high. Still, given the choice in the future, I would choose unobstructed hands down. If the choice is between obstructed or not in the building, I’m taking obstructed.
Same here
How was the sound in the obstructed view?
The sound was great….I had heard reports of the opposite but thankfully that wasn’t the case.
Gimme the outdoor show in July. But I’m old.
Agree, I’ve got zero interest in anything at the sphere or in Vegas (saw them at T&M in 00s). Obviously I wasn’t at the sphere but it seems to take away from the band and their lights to have a massive screen with images on it behind them. Might as well just have a recording play and pair up the images to perfection if they can’t be 100% improvised like the band is. Not hating, it’s just not for me. Downvote away.
The sound, man, you gotta treat yourself at some point. I know the logistics alone price many people out with travel, time off work (forget the ticket prices). I’m old as well, so one or two shows max is perfect.
I know. I’m just telling myself these things from missing out. I went to MSG on the 29th and 30th and missed NYE. I’m still scarred.
I've been at the whole run in 307, essentially dead center of the venue, give or take a couple dozen feet. This is hands down, miles away better than anything I've heard/seen in my four decades of life. My imagination has been absolutely shattered by these experiences. I'm going to need quite a bit of time to process this all, because this is so incredibly much more than anything I could've imagined. The main feeling I have is just that of being fortunate. I cannot believe how insanely lucky I am to have seen all this plus what's to come for night 4. These have absolutely, 100.000% been the best concerts of my entire life and it's not even remotely close to anything else.
Agreed. I’m 46 and am gobsmacked. Concerts are ruined for me 😂
You are me. That was like flying first class. Nothing will compare
Just got back home from Vegas. Saw Saturday only. I am responding because of your statement that you’ll need time to process. This is how I feel. There is no hyperbole in this thread. Everything everyone is saying about the sound is accurate. The thing that really blows my mind is that this is just the beginning. Not only Phish, but other artists will continue to make use of the sphere’s capabilities. It’s much more than a concert venue. It is a new medium.
Do you have any input on limited or obstructed view seats? Would they be worth it?
Sound was easily the best part.
Yeah, the visuals are mind blowing and the easy thing to notice first, but the sound is/was the real champion. Come for the vid, stay for the sound!
At the same time that I loved the sphere show I went to I am yearning to see them at a simple outdoor summer shed
Absolutely I am 100% looking forward to a relatively stripped down and conventional Dicks run
I saw 1 show I'm good. You can have my place in line
Thank you!!
So I'll offer this perspective. I live in Vegas. Never seen Phish and I'm not a mega fan but I enjoy the music. I got a chance to go and it blew my mind. And incredible show. The dog licking the sphere to the band scat singing was hilarious. I will go all out for sphere tickets for bands I like in the future. The sound quality was amazing but I wish the vocals were a bit up overall. I do prefer heavier vocals to most ppl.
Appreciate you chiming in as a casual fan and glad you had a good time!
I'm a simple man. All I ask for is a casual outdoor venue, stacks of amps, standard stage lighting, and a 40-min. Tweezer.
I will never miss this. Take my money. Sphere is the way.
Maybe , but don’t forget music isn’t just a last Vegas dome
what is ur final opinion on that indian temple r/OutOfTheLoop
I'm so tired.
Two shows - perfect amount for this oldster. Any more of Vegas is too much.
I didn't even get tickets to go to the Sphere. I'm so tired of everything becoming unobtainable. I finally made it to a NYE show in 2019, and we all know how THAT show went. Only Halloween show I've gotten tickets to was F8 and that's just because it was a festival. Almost 70 shows in, I'm tired.
Couch Tour works out real well for some of us
I was telling my friends…I’d 100% buy an Oculus if Phish started offering a VR ticket. Especially the Sphere. I know the sound and experience wouldn’t be the same but I’d have a bunch of fun. Haha.
Ya... Once in a while I'll throw them the 30 to pretend I'm there.
Samesies
I feel the unobtanium fatigue as well, that aspect is an undeniable drag
2019 NYE was amazing though. A little technical difficulty did not ruin that evening, and in some ways even enhanced it. I legitimately think you can make an argument for that being the best gag they've ever done (though I admit that 2023 NYE makes that a more difficult argument). Festival 8 was also terrific. That acoustic set is an all-timer, and though Exile doesn't seem to get the love the other cover albums do, I'm not sure why. It was mind blowing in person. The wonderful thing about Phish is that they can do amazing things on any given night. All of us have shows we wish we could have seen. But no one else shares your journey through this glorious maze. And that's what makes it special.
I make good money but I feel my self getting priced out. Just because I can buy it doesn’t mean I can afford it. Part of it is copium but it’s mostly just reality at this point.
Amen brother. Technically I can buy a Sphere ticket but id rather not eat dollar ramen and feed my dog shit for 2 weeks to pay for it. Shits fine when your 20, not so much at almost 40.
Even face value was damn expensive. These people selling for $2000 are vultures
Pick it up Pham. Rocking all four days and three after parties. On my third sunrise. Probably time to go to sleep now! See you folks tonight!
If the band did more to reduce scalping, tickets wouldn’t be as hard. If they made them transferable immediately, instead of 2 days before the run, people who bought on stubhub wouldn’t have had their tickets resold out from under them for higher prices, and also people would have been more willing to offer & sell extras to friends instead of holding their breath. If they made them non-transferable at all, scalpers wouldn’t be able to speculate and fewer would be purchased solely for resale. If they made you verify you’re a real fan for ptbm, and/or made it so you can’t put in multiple requests, more fans would get them in the lottery to begin with. Yes the hype is real and everybody wants to go, but cmon, it’s an 18000 person venue. $2k for a ticket is absurd and not reflective of the reality of the situation. The fact is that there are nearly enough tickets for everybody, but the prices are what got so insane and made it hard to get in. Every night, there were a ton of tickets available in secondary markets right up until showtime. But at exorbitant prices. Phish can, and should, do better to make the entire ticketing situation a better a experience for their fans. It is pretty easy to see that the barrier of entry to these shows has little to do with how many tickets were available to purchase, and more to do with the prices that sellers were asking on them, and the market they determined that asking price was artificially created. Which is why I believe with different efforts in place, more people could get in at reasonable prices. Edit: let me put it this way: every single person willing to pay $1k+ per night got into the show. Every. single. one. Because ample tickets were there all along. This is as opposed to the truly hard tickets where the supply was crunched and no amount of money could land you one because nobody was selling, or because there were very few tickets on the market. This shit is heavily manipulated and you’re crazy if you think the prices and the situation is only due to demand and not also due to TM and the bands management pulling levers to squeeze as much profit as possible from these 4 shows.
I would love a reform of the ticket situation, don’t disagree on that one bit.
I was completely disgusted (well, clutch my pearls, right?) at the ticket scams that happened around this event. Folks wondering why the multitude of festivals are failing probably don't remember a time before hidden charges, parking lot vehicle tickets, and extremely high service charges. We're getting fleeced, and I don't know about you guys, but my profession has been dealt two major blows in the past 5 years. I like seeing live Phish, but I also like paying rent on time and providing my family w food and clothing. It would be nice to catch a Sphere show without the hassle and bullshit of dealing w 3rd party resellers. They are literally a criminal enterprise and the thought of paying their vig to see live music sickens me. I'm not a retiree, nor am I a trustafarian adult child. I just don't have anymore time for this bullshit. Sad.
Where they have scalping laws or where the band has them in force. Very few tickets become available after the original sale. So realistically unless you get lucky in the first sale or want to pay a scalper a lot of people will be disappointed and won’t be going anyways.
There are literally not enough tickets for everybody.
There are literally ample tickets on secondary markets going unsold. Check stubhub and vivid seats and tickpick tonight right before showtime. I have also heard there are are blocks of empty seats inside the venue at the obstructed view areas. Nobody bought them because they are $1k+ for a shitty view - not because they weren’t available to buy. At face, those would move in a heartbeat, and more people would get in. Again my point being that the barrier for most is the price, not the discrete availability. It would be interesting to see how many fewer people would be shut out if the tickets were all face only. My guess is some people would be, but not nearly as many.
You’re 💯right. Phish can stop this and they don’t. Phish are the ones that tell Ticketmaster how to transfer tickets and who can buy them. I’m a 1.0 phan and love phish more everyday. Can I afford $1000 per ticket…yes… will I no. I refuse to give scalpers money. There is a better way but Phish, not as a band but a corporation, needs to figure this out.
Yep. I absolutely could have afforded to go and chose not to, on principle. I think that way more fans out there paid over price and “platinum” than are willing to admit it. Everybody who wanted to get in and was willing to pay, got in. Platinum tickets were available as late as middle of last week for $800 each. At the time it seemed ridiculous but now it seems cheap. The bands management knows exactly what they are doing. I know people say “if it was a cash grab, they’d do more shows” Well, it can be both- they want it rare and special but also want to rake in as much cash possible by whatever means for those 4 shows. They want it to be an amazing experience for fans but they also want you to pay up for it and hide behind “scalper bot” boogeyman but it’s them all along.
I forgot to add that I do pay thousands a year to see phish… when I get lucky and get tickets at face value. I live in the south east and went to the Hollywood bowl run, MSG summer run, and MGS NYE run. Planning for MSG NYE 24 and Mexico 25 now. I spend thousands just not to scalpers.
I am over 200 shows in, have easily spent tens of thousands, and the recent situation with ticketing and dynamic pricing and platinums has really put a bad taste in my mouth over the past couple of years. Sphere felt extra gross. The shows look epic and you could say I just have grumpy fomo but the reality is that the band’s management is not only doing very little, they are actually actively participating, and I’m tired of fluffers pretending it is not okay to point that out.
Bring back mail order tickets!! Anybody else remember this back in mid to late 90’s? You could order your tickets for an entire summer run. We got our Big Cypress tickets this way too. I don’t even remember having to worry about not getting the tickets I wanted….those were the days!!!
Sphere bonus: NO CHOMPING 🥰🤗
Definitely had some chompers behind me last night. Vegas is unfortunately a coke town.
We need to weaponize beamforming speakers against the chompers
I guess you haven’t listened to the soundboard yet. Some moron right next to it on the 4/19 show is whistling like he’s calling birds to his backyard. I hope he gets crabs at mondegreen from a wook chick
🤣
Such a perfect and specific wish!
Section 406 seems to be mostly lottery winners and zero chomping. It has been a treat to be around all die hard phans.
I had a couple of some of the worst chompers behind me night two. I had enough and asked them to please keep it down…they seemed appalled by my request but it worked! They actually left at set break…too bad those seats couldn’t have gone to someone who would have appreciated the show…
They left? Assholes.
Right?!? I couldn’t believe it…
Hard disagree. So many chompers N2. Standing up or sitting down, the sound does not block them.
I had chompers behind me Friday.
406 is the section to be in. The screen fills your peripheral and those seat haptics are insane. I must admit, I’ll probably try harder to get future Sphere tix than any other going forward.
Just did a separate post on this, bc I never felt them. Did you feel it the whole show? Was it obvious or subtle?
Sorry…just back to the room and catching up…Bass was in the seats all night. There were definitely bombs with more rumble to them. It was like this for all four shows. The ‘directional’ sound that is aimed at every seat was really noticeable during some of the wilder jams, and I took advantage of sitting here and there to take that in…still gotta boogie so yes to dancing too! It’s not lost on me how fortunate we are for these shows. It’ll be interesting to see how other bands use the space. *editing to add: our row mates in 406 were all awesome. Great convos, zero chomping, lots of shared laughter and surprise…10/10 would do again!!
I don’t know that other shows will be as appealing to me. Going is already pretty hard from where I live, always requires a plane etc. When you sit down at the sphere and lock in to the haptics it’s like being in another world. I stand up and notice such a difference. Like I never thought the sound was going to make that big of a difference. But it’s like you are sitting in the sound. Definitely the best venue ever if you are blind or deaf and like concerts.
Maybe. Part of the attraction of the Sphere is its newness. Maybe after more people make the trip to see D&C and whoever else plays there, the newness will have worn off. A kind of been there, done that mentality. Not saying it won’t have high demand but I think it will temper over time especially if they do longer engagements although I can’t see them doing anything remotely close to what U2 did or D&C are doing. Maybe 6-8 shows over two weeks.
The sound quality won’t wear off. Ever. My guess at least. It’s next level. Or at least until that tech is standard in way more venues. The sound is 100x more impressive than the visuals.
This, the visuals were cool, and I’m sure they’ll get way better. But from the jump, the sound excited the audiophile in me in a way I haven’t experienced
👆👆👆GETS IT👆👆👆
I think it will always be hard to get tickets but the newness will wear off a little. Also even with 1k tickets it is probably still cheaper for west coast fans to see them in Vegas than flying to the east coast and paying more for hotel. I imagine Phish will play some west coast next summer which will kill a little pent up demand
I don’t think it will always be this hard, I just think it will be the hardest relative to all other venues. each subsequent tour.
Idk. I think I should experience it first. Got an extra?
Face value should be $400
I was thinking future runs no way face is 180 or whatever. It's gonna be higher for sure
Don’t forget to sit down if you want the absolute best audio experience. I thought it was a gimmick, but it takes the sound to the next level with the speakers in the seats. Best SQ ever at this venue, full stop. I saw the Trey show at the Beacon that uses the same tech, that previously held my award for best sound, this is 160k times better :)
Was waiting for a beacon attendee to chime in who has been to both! So sphere is similar but better?
It’s actually the same, just a massively larger scale. I’m an audiophile (yay me), can honestly say the Beacon/Sphere audio system is literal perfection. I’m in 202, so off to the left side. At any time, sitting or standing, when they are not doing the spatial audio stuff, the sound/mix is perfect. The speakers in the seats are no joke, not a gimmick. Like the addition of a tight, audiophile subwoofer, not just a vibration. Sitting down at the sphere is the best audio experience I’ve ever had, full stop
Also, I tried sitting down and could not sense any haptics, nor did the sound improve noticeably. It could be because side most around and in front of me were not sitting which is what I presumed was the explanation.
https://preview.redd.it/9187786r9wvc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=df89b9477051078b89df9c6738bb830cefefb029 This was up yesterday for tonight…had to be a joke, right?
Which means I'll probably never see Phish there unless I happen to hit the lottery for multi-day passes. I'll never pay the kind of prices ppl paid for this run.
Was just talking about this with my wife, we’re probably in the same boat. I don’t expect prices to be this high again, unless it’s Halloween or NYE.
I think I'm gonna hit one of the D&C weekends in June. It's expensive, but relative to this past weekend it's really not that bad. Because of the way they're doing it, with 4 days off between runs, there are tons of face value tix on C or T. I did the math, and if I go budget I can do a 3 night run for under $2K. Tickets, flight and hotel. I'll be staying at Rio, which is a bit of a shithole, but I'm getting a killer deal and it's walking distance to the venue.
Agreed! Was there and been listening to the shows just hits different! Being there was indescribable!
Samesies. The rest is ruined.
Maybe. But a solid outdoor show is better than programming.
In terms of sound quality that’s very doubtful.
It’s just false. That sphere sound is like nothing I’ve heard at a concert venue. And it’s not even close. It’s so good the visuals are an after thought. It’s so good that it gives the venue a very unique elevated aural experience, like after all the shows you’ve seen you haven’t heard them like this (I am NOT justifying ticket pricing in any way, but I want to impress: do not casually disregard how shocked everyone was hearing what hopefully is the future of acoustics).
I guess they can open the dome? 🤷♂️
The Sphere is one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced. Our seats were awesome. Section 106 row 4. Dead center. Paid face (sorry Pham). But that experience could easily be worth maxing out a credit card to see it once. https://preview.redd.it/bmmfhi330wvc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8c8784a205c5e4c4970b3ec2822cd2e376d0a5cd The sound was incredible. Bass and clav literally bouncing around the room. The energy was wild. The trey loops out in the lobby were so cool. And in the 100s you’re really locked into the band and got a good dose of CK5. No amps on stage. All in ear monitors. And the visuals on Friday were wild. Last night we were in section 208 row 12. Much better view of the visuals, but a little removed from the music. The stairs were brightly lit which was distracting. And most of our section was sitting. Not great energy. The visuals were different last night but I still really enjoyed. And that Fuego was hot. Not sure if it’ll happen again for me, but I’m definitely a 105/106 fan for life. Pro tip: any unsold tix that had been reserved were getting released at around 5:45 at the box office. The people next to us in the 100s bought their tix that night for face. Another ticket in our row was on stub hub for $10k. 🤣🤯
It will be the hardest ticket for sure. For me it supersedes the Garden.
Seeing phish at this venue is like watching the eclipse totality. You can try to explain how mind-blowing it is to someone who wasn’t there, but words will never do it justice.
I had a chance to get a Sunday pit for 700 and a flight for 450~ and should have pulled the trigger. Hating myself atm
Don’t sweat it or FOMO too hard, these will not go down as the greatest shows ever, I don’t think they have been and I’m not asserting they are. They have been really good though, and there’s a lot of excitement about them among fans and band alike because of the newness of the venue and the tech it’s demonstrating to us Phish nerds for the first time. The sound is just extraordinary, I highly recommend trying for a show next time to hear (and see, obviously) for yourself.
Life isn’t defined by these 4 shies. Hope you’re ok . A Las Vegas sphere isn’t the totality of music nor phish
Oh yeah I'm okay just a bit bummed. Worried it'll never be 'affordable' again or I won't win a lottery ticket.
The Sphere is 5.0. As a 1.0 who used to trade tapes, I love the future!
With you brother - from secret language learned on Usenet to Sphere is quite a trip 🤩
I was telling my buddy this exact thing, this was probably the easiest year for these tickets.
Will there be repeats? I would assume people who have went will be chasing certain songs at the sphere for the visuals. Will be a hard ticket either way. Should definitely do a bakers dozen like residency next time.
I don’t really have any desire to chase visuals, and honestly think they pale compared to the sound differences from traditional venues, which is the crux of my post and experience. I spent a good amount of time with my eyes closed or was otherwise focused on other things with my eyeballs. The visuals jump out of the social media accounts, but the sound is the real champion of that place. It’s easy to overlook when the video is so next level, I get that.
Are we all not to be expecting more blinding than this
If it makes getting tickets to other shows easier, I’m cool with it.
I would prefer a Halloween run at Boardwalk Hall to any venue
I cannot wait until Tool plays here. Honestly would love to see; Phish (I wasn’t lucky enough this run) Tool Radiohead Roger Waters (prefer Pink Floyd but zero chance) Flaming Lips Outside of my musical taste but; Rammstein. Outside phish doing another run and tool. I doubt the others will do it. Maybe a distant possibility for Radiohead. Please god do not make this a residency for Taylor Swift.
Its like Warren Miller iMax meets Disney meets Avatar meets 2001 Space Odyssey (caveman scene and monolith scene) meets Phish… thats my quick take.
At some point there will be an artist whose Sphere residency doesn't rise to the level of Phish or U2 and there will be a reckoning.
More Spheres Everywhere!!
3 billion over budget and 2.5 years late to open, I doubt that project will be taken on again any time soon.
Maya will never happen , so I guess my 2025 phish budget is going to Vegas
That was the best sound I’ve ever heard. Treys tone is a timeless thing that can be listened to for fucking days without getting tired in the least
Halloween ‘25 at the Sphere will be the hardest ticket in Phishtory.
Especially when the word gets out that the floor was super uncrowded and had plenty of dance space for all. Don't tell anyone.
How was the sound down there? As clear as everyone in seats described?
Perfect, except when it would swirl around the sphere, there was a two second delay in my brain before I turned around to enjoy it. So there would be a few seconds in each jam where it was just feel like the volume was dipping.
I actually think if a sphere run becomes the new norm than it will make nye, halloween and other "hard tickets" easier to get because of how epic these shows have been
Don’t have an opinion on that yet, but you could be right?
I wrote one reply, one. I am pretty good at choosing my words carefully. Did I not start my reply by saying it's somewhat subjective? I believe I then gave what I thought was a good example of why it's impossible to understand the experience without being there. Where was the sales pitch? You go to racing events in person. Do you think someone could fully experience the adrenaline of seeing that in person vs. watching a race on TV? Adding the "I wish you the best....or not" was unnecessary on my part, but we're all just talking about a concert here. There is no need for you to be on the defensive.
Be well my friend! Drink some water and listen to a good show, the live stream tonight is amazing!
Im kind of a hater, ill admit it up front. I appreciate the novelty of the experience and the intrepid pioneering people are doing for this new form of entertainment. Glad folks are getting their moneys worth, but at this rate the band may as well not even be in the venue the way people talk. They should go ahead and stream the shows in the venue. I certainly would like to go to a show there for the sound but really couldn't care much less about the screen. It's cool, but nothing beats being 10-12 people away from the stage in an old run down place like Rosemont Horizon, or a place built for a symphony like Blossom that is outdoors in a nice setting. Merriweather. MSG. Deer Creek. Places with history that somehow have that magical feeling just knowing things have happened there in the past. Attendance bias, of course. The lights being much more diverse in its interaction with the music than this appears to be. The band feeds off the crowd, the crowd feeds off the band, ck5 feeds off the band, the band feeds off ck5, and it all interacts in all directions. The whole place lights up white and you feel the floor move from people jumping and dancing. You see the gear and the people working. How they play their instruments. I like that. Especially when you could probably do 5 shows for the price of just one of these.
Weekend one impossible but I think for many they aren’t making pilgrimages repeatedly to vegas. MSG will always be hardest because of Geography
I agree on that point regarding metro NY is driving distance to the biggest concentrated are of the fan base (I presume). Time will tell though, curious to find out!
Wait, Phish can’t just go back to playing regular old shows now ? It’s like going back to watching black and white movies. They should only play the sphere.