“This isn’t a diss, but it could be anyone”: Why Phil Collen isn’t convinced by a Def Leppard Sphere residency
With a spherical roof packed with 1.2 million programmable LED puck lights, the Las Vegas Sphere is one of the most innovative live venues on Earth, capable of bringing the most ambitious of artistic visions to life.
But while many artists have been keen to bring their stage show to the Sphere – including Eagles, Metallica, U2 and Dead & Company – others have dismissed the idea out of fear the visuals would take away from their performance as a band.
READ MORE: Metallica Sphere residency CONFIRMED
Paul Stanley recently revealed why Kiss refused to play at the venue, saying: “You’re not going there to see a band – you’re going to see screens,” adding, “The truth of it is, the Sphere minimises a band.”
And Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson has shared similar scepticism, saying last year: “We just do a lot of stuff: we run around, we go around, and at the Sphere, what’s the point? What’s the point? In fact, what’s the point of even being there, if you’re a band?”
And now, Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen has spoken to SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation with Eddie Trunk about his views on the Sphere, revealing that he’s attended shows there as a fan, but isn’t sure about Def Leppard’s place on the stage.
“This isn’t a diss or anything,” he says [via Blabbermouth], “but it seems that it’s the Sphere featuring whatever band it is. It could be anyone. And that’s what we’d be a bit scared of. I mean, I’d love to play there – it’d be awesome, it’s incredible, and it’d be a great experience – but I think that people focus on just the production as opposed to the band.
“So we’ll see. I don’t know. I mean, I could be wrong. But, yeah, I’d love to play there, absolutely. We definitely would. So we’ll see.”
Collen confesses he hasn’t seen a rock band at the Sphere, and has only attended the venue to watch The Wizard of Oz.
“It’s fascinating. It’s amazing,” he says. “I just wondered [what it would be like to see a band there], ‘cause I wasn’t quite sure. I haven’t seen a band in there, and that’s always a concern that you’d come out there and it’d be like, ‘Yeah, the Sphere was great. Oh, yeah and I saw U2 or the Eagles there as well,’ type of thing.
“Or it doesn’t matter, whether the whole experience kind of overshadows one or the other. It depends. But, yeah, I guess we’ll find out.”
Metallica will become the first large metal band to play at the Sphere when they arrive for four no-repeat weekends on their Life Burns Faster residency. Learn more at Metallica.com.
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