Interview - U2 UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere - Joe O'Herlihy (Part 1)

[@stevedorsett6103]

Joe are such a humble and gracious soul . Our magician behind the lads music. The adumbledor , Gandalf of sound . Met you quite a few times. You truly are a U2 legend legend Joe O’Hearly

[@paulgerrard9227]

Joe smashed it out of the park. The acoustics were phenominal. The visuals mind blowing. The sphere is a unique place. Perfectly matched with u2 artistry. Anyone who hasnt been there wont understanf. Its like inventing water and trying to explain a colour to a blind person. Its very overwhelming as its blows every sensory part of your experience. Not deafening but like everyperson has earbuds in 3d spatial sound inside a 12k vivid ball. Sadly, they cant improve on this. Its done. Grateful for the show they cant beat

[@patton303]

Joe is one of the best live mix engineers I’ve ever heard. I’ve seen them in some of the worst sound environments in many US football stadiums and arenas and the audio is always pristine from the first downbeat. You can hear everything the boys are doing and the low end is always clean. He just uses his ears and knows wtf he’s doing.

[@exactsame]

The team behind U2 are the secret to their success

[@MarcTrevino-j8s]

Gotta Love Joe

[@VickersDoorter]

Would love to hear this system. I don't like concerts where sound levels are so high it takes days to recover, yet alone the potential for hearing loss or permanent tinnitus from just one show.

[@patton303]

If you’re an avid concert goer, you should look into custom molded earplugs with filters such as Westone. You hear everything so much more clearly but at -25db levels.

[@elcasho]

Usually because sound engineers high pitch hearing is damaged so they crank it until it sounds good for them. Ironically damaging the hearing of their audience

[@wally7856]

@@elcasho As you age you lose the upper frequencies, not decrease, but they are gone forever. When I mix I always grab someone under 20 from the audience to get their opinion of the highs as I can't hear above ~15,000 hz. I would never increase those frequencies to compensate, I can't hear them no matter how high you crank them so it's pointless. If the sound engineer is partly deaf (not loss of highs due to age but some hearing loss) then he may very well overcompensate those frequencies and hurt everybody, he should know where his hearing is at so that doesn't happen. Anyways, none of that is my point here. My point here is that the mix engineer mixes from his seat, not yours. What it sounds like 20 rows above him can vary wildly and the highs can vary wildly just from the temperature drop that happens in the evening and that can get offset again by all the heat rising from the crowd as they fill the area. Where you are and where the mix engineer is is 2 different places. Modern line arrays are pretty good at leveling out the sound to make it as even as possible in the venue but you are still going to have difference's. The sound is going to be louder near the speakers then farther away from them, that's how speakers work. If you want the best sound, find a seat as close to front of house as you can and sit next to the mix engineer. Guaranteed good sound there, (don't complain about the smell, lol).

[@keithkreeger2153]

I went…I heard…I believe:). Absolutely The Best Sound Ever (coming from a Red Rocks regular:)

[@cathalmoore8137]

OUR Hero Joe! You Rock.

[@ianhamilton396]

It was all the money in the world but not until Joe consecrated it.

[@jasonmusic9938]

wonder how they do the low frequency management

[@backacheache]

Yes, especially as they'd have to think as much about the waves coming out of the back as much as the one going out the front. Also with that many speakers and in that shape, it could put the "compression"' in compression-wave! #CrushYouLikeAtinCan

[@therealjonnybratwurst]

Let's give Meshuggah a go at breaking the Sphere.

[@buzzardluck]

You might want to have a disclaimer regarding flashing screens in the background for epileptics.

[@NeilCowie-hb4fh]

You could just turn off… not everything in the world has to have a hand hold notice attached

[@BradThomas]

Was it just me or did the sound not sound super great at the Sphere? I saw U2 live in December and all of us that went expected better sound I guess. It honestly just sounded like a normal arena sound system. We sat front row Section 400s middle.

[@radiumsoup]

The floor sound was perfection. No ear pro needed

[@philadler9171]

it was just you

[@sallydeppe8575]

No outdoor concert can compete with indoor.

[@mikelomax7405]

Also sat in section 400 but more in the middle rows and yeah, it wasn’t very impressive. No bass or kick drum. Was it comfortably loud? Yes, but I was pretty unimpressed overall with the sound. The floor apparently has better sound.

[@zanderryz]

Well hot damn..

[@modelcitizen1977]

Not really much in the way of actual details. I want to see how they're splitting the signal to the different point source arrays. That would explain more about WHY it sounds the way it does in there, which is unique to anywhere else. Arguably not for the better, depending on where you're sitting.

[@richharper8159]

‘It’s fine…’

[@jasoneverett]

Is this the original Herilhy boy? For the love of GOD, let him stay at your house!

[@chrissellshomes150]

HOw does this video have 8000 dislikes?!?! I don't get it.

[@NotDayWalker]

the bands got 4 players how hard is it to mix? idk

[@tvbarn]

I’d like to go into production but I can’t grow the beard

[@Cwatso8]

Digico.. Sliced cheese.

[@michelvanderklooster]

I also believe that the current sound system is outdated! Pink Floyd and recently Roger Waters have quadraphonic sound where RW has perfect control over this by making it sound throughout the hall. With a surround-like sound, it doesn't have to be too loud, but it does have to be clear and good so that everyone feels comfortable with it!

[@Supercar_guy905]

Outdated? This technology is new.

[@tawdrywriter]

I was going to make Espresso

[@skwerel]

Don't inhale till the tip glows

[@sircampbell1249]

Not like old day sound systems, computer kill old school sound.....

[@xaviermusic9338]

great interview, ironically sounds like shit

[@urrrccckostan]

Seems cool. Too bad it’s in that horrible city.

[@carlgemlich1657]

Usually, people who call it horrible have never been or lost their money or come in with a negative opinion. I don't think 40m annual visitors all lack taste.

[@marksmith334]

Nice but I don’t believe it’s live

[@dustin_yeg_]

I don't agree the u2 should have been the first band to open the sphere. yes, they should have played there eventually. It should have been the killers, las vegas locals. have dominated the worlds charts and arguablly more sing alongs than u2. how they haven't played there yet.. I'll never know

[@santibanks]

U2 have far more commercial success than the Killers have. Just compare the size of venues, U2 is a stadium band, playing multiple nights in the largest venues on the planet. The Killers fare not bad as they are an Arena band, but it's not a comparison. The Killers are "just" one in a dozen indie rock bands being popular. I don't even know their music which is telling. U2 however has cultural significance and influence. Sunday bloody sunday, Live Aid, Amnesty International, the linkups to Sarejevo during the Bosnian wars on the ZooTV tour, playing in Sarejevo after the war, the insanity of the Popmart tour, The Joshua Tree as a landmark record in the 80ies. While I think there certainly is merit to your point that perhaps a venue in Las Vegas should be opened by a famous band from Las Vegas, I think the catch is that the Sphere is not "just" a venue like a MSG or LA Forum is. The issue with the Sphere is that it is a particular multi-media experience. You can't just take your regular show, set up your gear there, and play like you would in other venues. Technically you can, but that's like buying a ferrari just to use it to do grocery shopping. For an opening act, you want a band that has the ability to pull it all off and showcase what The Sphere is actually about. Not many bands can do that simply because they lack the crew, ideas, and music to go along with it. U2 has always been a very visual band so I'm not surprised that they were the first to open there with a pretty long residency. U2 isn't the only band that could do it, but that level of spectacle is certainly just for a handful of artists/bands.

[@dustin_yeg_]

@@santibanks agree to disagree

[@santibanks]

@@dustin_yeg_ "world chart domination" is not a matter of taste or agreeing to disagree. It's based on facts. And the facts are that U2's Joshua Tree's record already commercially outperforms the whole discography of the Killers. Let alone the commercial success of the rest of their discography plus of the touring. The Killers might be your favourite of the two bands and that's your preference. But there are really good reasons U2 were the number 1 band opening the Sphere (and the other contestant for that slot was Phish btw)

[@dustin_yeg_]

@@santibanks you can have your opinion and thats fine. I disagree and thats okay to.

[@srenschjdt2864]

U2 and Bono Suck

[@markrushton1516]

Well that's just your opinion but they must have something as they have 45 years of success.

[@philadler9171]

wow, how mature. re visit the band when you're out of your teens. meanwhile the adults will enjoy real musicianship and artistry

[@BobGuido]

Only on Tuesdays laddy. The rest of the time they do pretty good for themselves.

[@Mark-vf8op]

One of the most overrated bands in the world….