During a recent appearance on SiriusXM’s Phish Radio show, Drew Carey criticized U2’s live performance.
US game show host talked about seeing U2 and then Phish at the new Las Vegas venue:
“It blew my mind how great it was. I told all my friends and The Price Is Right audience how great it was… I went the next two weekends in a row. Then, three songs into Thursday night with Phish at the Sphere, I honestly was kinda mad. I wanted to call U2 and get my money back. It made them look like a bar band.”
Carey further said U2’s show was good, but he thinks Phish used the venue better:
“Nothing against U2, it was a great show. I think Phish took full advantage of the audio and the video in that place and what could possibly be done. Now my mind is spinning about things I want to see at the Sphere.”
U2’s Ticket Prices Were High For Some
U2 also received criticism for their ticket prices from the Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson. In a March interview with Mexico’s ATMósferas Magazine, the singer told the following about charging fans for the shows:
“Well, two things. One, it depends what the show is and kind of who the audience are. I mean, I’m not gonna go around and say specific artists because most of the artists that are charging, like, 1,200 dollars a ticket — like in Las Vegas, if you wanna go and see the U2 show, I think it was 1,200 dollars per seat in the sphere. I’ve got no interest in paying 1,200 dollars to go and see U2 in the sphere — none. A hundred bucks, maybe. But for me, what’s important is to try and keep, on the one hand, the right type of tickets at the right price.”
U2’s residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas wrapped up earlier last month with a final show on March 2. The band performed for fans from over 100 countries during 40 sold-out shows. As Billboard Boxscore reported, the first 17 shows made $109.8 million and sold 281,000 tickets. It became the quickest money-making residency in Boxscore history.