Even better than the real thing

Black-beanie clad guitarist? Check. Stage moves and passionate enthusiasm to spare? Check. Style right down to the rose-colored sunglasses? Check. Yes, witnessing a Vegas U2 show is like the real deal—minus the elaborate, personally designed stage set-up, that is.

While Vegas U2 may have the hindrance of being based in the city of sin, they do get to branch out on occasion, including their upcoming Rollin’ on the River performance.

When they bring their show to Reno, U2 fans can expect to get a sample of all the eras of U2, with a main focus on the popular tracks.

“Our set list is varied depending on the energy of the crowd,” explains Pavel Sfera, aka Vegas U2’s Bono. “We try to sing for a wider variety of audiences. If you do the B-side stuff, you lose a lot of them—even the diehard fans like the popular tunes. We like to do ‘With or Without You,’ and ‘The Streets Have No Name.’”

And those diehard fans generally respond well. They record videos of concerts on their cell phones, sing along, and they’ve even been known to turn on the waterworks. Once you catch a glimpse of Sfera, it’s hard to blame them. He not only sounds like the iconic frontman, but he also bears an uncanny resemblance. So much so that he has a side job, outside of performing with Vegas U2, as a Bono impersonator. He’s up for hire at everything from weddings, to birthdays and conventions.

“For the last 32 years of my life, I have been hearing the Bono look-alike thing,” says Sfera, who attributes going into the cover band business to this.

Although he has based both his careers around impersonating the famous Irish musician, he says he remains grounded and doesn’t get sucked into the faux image, although he has seen it happen to others in his field of work.

“I love Bono, but it’s just a job, and I have to separate myself,” Sfera says. “I think it may be easy for people to become too involved in their characters, but most [impersonators] don’t. … Most are comfortable with their independent identity—but it’s still a little bizarre to see people who can’t. They don’t last very long in this industry.”

Helping Sfera keep his head on straight is the fact that he hasn’t always just been known for his cover talent. A musician since 1989, he released his own piano compositions and spent years studying opera prior to getting involved in the tribute band business.

Another hobby that keeps him grounded, while paralleling again with Bono, is Sfera’s volunteer work. He says it’s just a coincidence that the man he mirrors also holds this close to his heart.

“I do a lot of charity work, but I was doing a lot of it way before any of [the cover band stuff] happened. I spent a summer in Romania with orphans. That’s a big part of my life. My charity has no boundaries, and it’s not based on what I do musically.”

Although Bono would surely approve of Sfera’s generous heart, would he approve of the job he does impersonating him? While Sfera admits he’s never actually met the star, he has seen U2 perform multiple times and feels Vegas U2’s modest set does the best it can mimicking the monstrous live shows.

“We have to subscribe for what the shows are providing,” says Sfera. “For example, it’s always a battle with lighting and sound guys. But we try to get U2 video footage for the show to incorporate some visual while we play, and we incorporate soundtracks. All the instruments are live; we’re professional musicians. And I’ll go out into the audience and give them the mic—but sometimes I shouldn’t,” he says with a laugh. “I give them the microphone, and they don’t know the words, but it’s all a good time.”

As to whether Vegas U2 is even better than the real thing? Well, there’s only room for one true Bono in this world, but Sfera and his crew still make for a pretty sweet thing.