Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 8/16/24 – Thursday, Aug 15th Bruno Mars concert at the Intuit Dome was a sold-out show. That’s an 18,000-capacity stadium. Those attending needed to download the Intuit Dome App to create an account and get a “Game Face ID” allowing them to walk directly into the arena without displaying a ticket. That sounds like a good idea, but it didn’t work. With thousands of fans in a giant bottleneck at the ONE main entrance, it was a mob of people. There were NO lines. No wheelchair or handicap entrances. People were just trying to move forward. Once the stadium decided to stop using the “Game Face ID”, and go back to Ticketmaster, we were allowed access to the ticket barcode (which before that was not visible). Soon everyone was trying to log in to their Ticketmaster accounts with spotty internet. There were a handful of people now at the entrance scanning barcodes to get people inside.
Peggy Phillips (Photo: THT)
I must say, all the fans were cooperating and no one I noticed got out of hand, which I was thankful for because we were completely trapped in this crowd. I arrived early, so I was in my seat when the 8 PM show was supposed to start. The stadium was very empty (see photo). It took them a couple of hours to get the fans into the stadium. I brought my water and pistachios, so I avoided the fiasco at the bars and food booth. They too were all connected to the same Intuit Dome app. Bruno Mars ended up starting at 9:40, an hour and 40 minutes late.
Bruno Mars made it all worth it with an incredible show that included a surprise cameo by Lady Gaga. The two superstars performed their new hit “Die with a Smile.” Bruno and his band were energetic, dancing full-out with a 2-hour powerful show! All the songs were performed with ease and confidence. Bruno’s voice was top-notch. He looked relaxed and put on a fantastic show making us all forget about the difficult process of getting inside. The room sounded great! It was crisp and less of the boomy sound you usually encounter in an arena.
Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga (Photo: THT)
I completely hated the LED screens!! They re-shaped the performers to make them look like fat little people (see photo). I’m sure sports fans will complain about this too. And the delay on their voices made it impossible for me to look at them on the screen. I was happy to be located next to the stage where I could see the performers up close and not look at the screens. Bottom line – I’d do it all again! A great show! I’ll be back in September to see Usher. I hope they’ve worked out the kinks by then!
