I almost feel guilty admitting this, but the past two years, my only vacations were at the Sphere in Las Vegas, seeing U2 and Dead and Company.
While the music was great, the thing that really got to me most was seeing a new art form, a 3D surround projection unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The visuals were great art, a demonstration of so many artful ambitions, a way to create a new world right there during what are otherwise often concerts with sub-par graphics.
But the Sphere…they now call it Sphere, dropping the the, but that sounds so lame to me. Clearly they are marketing the fact that they want to build more of the $2.3 billion-dollar domes, and well, they should.
The concerts I saw there were unforgettable, as good as the trips around the world I might have gone on. For years impressarios tried to bring visual elements to concerts, from 1960s light shows to giant screens. But everything paled compared to what I saw in Las Vegas. It was never boring because it took all of many senses to take it all in (the seats even move haptically with drum beats) and things fall out of the sky.
My highlight was bringing five kids to a show, which they chose over going to Hawaii and they loved it too.
So, when I heard that a Santa Cruzan was instrumental in the designs I saw, I had to learn more, and I sent our magical techno genius, to get behind the scenes. Some of it was so technical that he had to translate it for me, but he made it work for everyone.
And as it turns out, Santa Cruz is at the cutting edge of another technology. I don’t think there’s another town of our size that has been on the forefront of so many movements.
Now, when can I afford to see the Wizard of Oz at the Sphere and is it worth it? I’m tempted.
Other hot stories here:
Singer/songwriter Richard Thompson, like Bob Dylan, never wants to get off the road. He keeps producing albums and tours and is never disappointing. What else can you say about someone who put out a 2003 album (one of more than 40) called 1000 Years of Popular Music with songs from 1068 to 2001?
Trivia: do we have more churches, schools, dispensaries or breweries? There’s another brew and grub place in Aptos, The Other Brother Beer Co. Let us know what you think. I’ve been to the one in Seaside and look forward to checking this one out.
There’s more: A celebrity photographer, Jay Blakesberg, is going to be hanging out downtown Santa Cruz and you can meet him. And we’ve got tips for how to stop procrastinating getting in shape.
Great issue here. Thanks for reading.
Brad Kava | Editor
PHOTO CONTEST
RELAXING VIEW This photo put me in a good mood. Shall we say it had an overall net positive effect on me. This is up at the UCSC Farm & Garden, one of my favorite places to get away from it all, without leaving the farm. Photograph by Ross Levoy
GOOD IDEA
In response to California’s ongoing housing affordability crisis, Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D- Inglewood) has introduced a comprehensive package of legislation aimed at reducing costs, increasing transparency and protecting renters from exploitative practices. The three-bill package targets systemic barriers that make it harder for Californians to secure and maintain safe, affordable housing.
AB 1963 tackles the high and repetitive costs of rental application fees by requiring landlords to accept reusable Portable Tenant Screening Reports (PTSRs). Specifically, the bill also caps the cost of rental screening reports, requires upfront disclosure of all application requirements and allows rental screening reports to be reused for up to 45 days. It also protects renters from high-interest, short-term lending schemes marketed as “Rent Now, Pay Later.” These financial products often trap tenants in cycles of debt through hidden fees and escalating interest rates.
GOOD WORK
U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Jim Banks (R-Ind.) announced that the Senate unanimously passed their bipartisan legislation to help combat the fentanyl crisis. Tyler’s Law would direct the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide hospitals with guidance on incorporating fentanyl testing into routine emergency room drug screenings.
The legislation is named after Tyler Shamash, a Los Angeles teenager who died from fentanyl poisoning after he was admitted to the emergency room, where fentanyl was not included in the standard toxicology screen. Following Tyler’s tragic passing, California became the first state to pass Tyler’s Law in 2022.
