ON HOT, cloudy nights, the artist and writer Brent Holmes will sometimes stand in the backyard of his house, near Las Vegas's Chinatown, and look to the east. Behind a screen of clouds, he'll see flashes of light and the desert dweller in him will feel instinctive relief: A thunderstorm is on its way, something to cool off the intense, lingering heat of the day. Holmes will take a deep inhale but then frown. No smell of an impending storm.
And then it will hit him:
"Oh. No. It's the fucking Sphere."
We were standing in the parking lot of a strip mall in Chinatown, contemplating a third dinner of dim sum, after previously eating at a Japanese izakaya and a nearby fusion restaurant. It was 10 p.m. and 102 degrees. The day had already taken us from the Rat Pack casinos and urbanist experiments of Downtown, through the traditionally Black neighborhood of the Historic Westside, to taco trucks and catfish-plate lunches, through the galleries and hidden museums of Las Vegas's art scene and beyond. But inevitably, we came around to the one thing you need to talk about if you want to talk about Las Vegas as we approach the quarter mark of the 21st century.
You spot Sphere (not, sadly, The Sphere, just Sphere) out of the window on approach to Harry Reid International Airport. You glimpse Sphere between the glimmering towers of casinos as you navigate the Strip. Sometimes, you turn a corner and Sphere is actually looking at you. With eyes. At night, on the other side of your blackout curtains, you can feel it pulsing, flashing its loop of screen savers, concert promos, and UPS ads.
Denne historien er fra November 2024-utgaven av GQ US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra November 2024-utgaven av GQ US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
From Budapest to Guadalajara With Mexico's F1 MEGASTAR
FORMULA 1 drivers like to say that there is very little race car driving involved in driving race cars these days.
GRIN
Artist Chase Hall paints his canvases with coffee, making large-scale works that examine mixed-race identity in America. Now, on the eve of the biggest show of his career, Hall is reconciling his fractured past with his blindingly bright future.
can THESE GUYS MAKE ROCK Bands COOL AGAIN ???
When FONTAINES D.C. were living in Dublin and making their first album, Dogrel, the five band members would pile into drummer Tom Coll's car and blast their freshly recorded songs through the speakers.
VAGES RISING
No place in America is more prone to reinvention-and Las Vegas is new all over again. New food, new art, new sports, new heat, and, yes, new Sphere. We sent BRETT MARTIN to take stock of the great American city of the future-and find out whether this Vegas is the best version yet.
THE SEASIN OF THE NOVA KNICKS
LIKE SO MANY College friends, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo, and Mikal Bridges were resigned to going their separate ways after school.
PAUL MESCAL ENTERS THE ARENA
The shorts get shorter. The roles get bolder. The fans grow ever more ravenous. Now Paul Mescal is trading his indie tears for blockbuster blood as the centerpiece of Ridley Scott's Gladiator II.
The Original! Reversible! Luxury Sport Watch!
Three new versions of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s legendary Reverso arrive just in time for the resurgence of this unsung icon of sport-watch history.
'90s-Inspired Sneakers Have Never Looked This Fresh
THE 1990s, a golden era for fashion and sport, left an indelible mark on global culture. It was a decade of high-flying slam dunks and superstar athletes with runway-worthy personal style.
Why Does Everyone Have Big, Fake White Teeth Now?
Veneers were once a dirty secret. Now they're the new luxury status symbol, and the famous and wealthy are flocking to Hollywood's favorite dentist in search of ever more perfect teeth.
Can Anyone Catch Lamar Jackson? - There is an awestruck, almost mythical way that folks discuss Lamar Jackson. Teammates, coaches, and fans talk about the Baltimore Ravens' incandescent 27-year-old quarterback
There is an awestruck, almost mythical way that folks discuss Lamar Jackson. Teammates, coaches, and fans talk about the Baltimore Ravens' incandescent 27-year-old quarterback like he's the football version of Paul Bunyan, if Bunyan ran the 40-yard dash in 4.3 seconds.