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Ten Vegas Show Reviews, Jan. 2015

Discussion in 'Shows & Entertainment' started by bignig135, Jan 29, 2015.

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  1. bignig135

    bignig135 Low-Roller

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    My wife and I spent 2 weeks in Vegas from 14th - 28th Jan., visiting from Scotland, we come to Vegas for the shows and slot machines mainly, most of the show tickets were bought from Tix4 tonite, except for the 2 big- name shows at Caesars, Elton and Rod, in those cases we were in the cheapest seats, in the 2nd. Mezzanine.

    RAIDING THE ROCK VAULT (Tropicana) Fri. 16th
    A fantastic show for any rock fan, the band comprises ex-members of Whitesnake, Bon Jovi, Heart, Asia, Survivor and many more, all the 4 vocalists and 6 other band members seem to love performing live and the crowd gets really involved! Doug Aldrich of Whitesnake is a recent addition to the line up and was greatly appreciated in particular by all the rock chicks in the audience! Many of the greatest rock songs of all time are included and thus is a must-see. A smaller theatre than where they played at the Westgate(LVH) last year but all the better for the atmosphere. $44 each all in from T4T.

    GORDIE BROWN ( Golden Nugget) Sat. 17th
    A hugely talented impressionist and decent singer too! Probably safe to recommend this show to over 40's as there are a lot of older stars he impersonates, although he does occasionally throw in younger stars such as Eminem, Usher and Robin Thicke as well! There are moments of hilarious brilliance but also sketches that just don't work, namely his Bee Gees section but overall this is fantastic value at only $18 per ticket for the cheap seats. He sometimes mumbles and rushes through material and at the end, when he invites the famous old impressionist Rich Little on stage and asks for a critique, Rich says wryly " Subtitles? " I overheard 2 young men after the show, one said he was pleasantly surprised, the other hated it!

    DIRK ARTHUR (Riviera) Sun. 19th
    We chose this as a magic show because as cat- lovers we were attracted by the prospect of seeing his exotic big cats and any decent illusions would be a bonus! Not a particularly ,ong show, maybe an hour and ten minutes but reasonably priced and he packs in a lot of tricks into his set. Some of the tricks are easy to work out and a bit dated but there are more than enough to keep you guessing and make it a worthwhile night out, only a small theatre and not very busy though.

    ELTON JOHN ( Colosseum, Caesars Palace) Tues. 20th
    We saw Elton a couple of years ago at an outdoor gig in Falkirk, Scotland, which was a very enjoyable straightforward greatest hits romp, with Elton in fine form and really interacting with the crowd, but this was an entirely different experience! First of all, he strode regally on stage wearing an ornate cape encrusted with so many jewels Liberace would have blushed and two attendants removed it for him! He then launched into some of his earliest hits before chatting about his fellow Caesars residents, Celine Dion ( She's a skinny bitch! " ) and Rod Stewart " He has false teeth you know!" His piano playing was breathtaking and he threw in a few songs we didn't recognise but still enjoyed, one called Indian Sunset and a song dedicated to John Lennon, as well as one he wrote for a special 9/11 memorial concert. Near the end, the first few rows were allowed on stage to join him for Saturday Nights All Right.... and some were even permitted to drum along to the rhythm on his million dollar piano! A brilliant evening.

    TOURNAMENT OF KINGS (Excalibur) Thurs. 22nd

    A totally different experience, a medieval banquet with no cutlery provided whilst watching jousting, sword fighting, dancing and other medieval entertainment! The food consists of tomato soup ina small bowl, a small whole chicken with broccoli, jacket potatoes and dinner bread and an apple pastry to finish. Soft drinks are free but you have to pay for any alcohol. Probably best to go witha group if you can and a few drinks would help too as there is a lot of audience participation and to get the most from it, you really need to join in enthusiastically! Definitely worth going to once in your life.

    STEVE CONNOLLY, SPIRIT OF THE KING ( 4 QUEENS) Fri. 23rd.
    Initially, we were disappointed by the very small venue and by the fact that once he appeared on stage, it became obvious he would be on his own, performing to backing tracks only. Also, he seemed to be over exaggerating his Elvis moves to almost a ridiculous level and our hearts sank. However, as his personality emerged, it soon became obvious that he has a great self deprecating sense of humour, and he was very engaging with the audience, soon having the small crowd on his side, making us all laugh and sing along. There are other, far more pretentious Elvis tributes in town, who are only on stage an hour, with a fraction of his personality, so this is worth visiting for your Elvis fix, a bargain at only around $16 each!

    AUSTRALIAN BEE GEES ( Excalibur) Sat. 24th.
    You forget not only how many hits the Bee Gees had, as well as the songs they wrote for other artists and this was a little bit of a slow- burner which turned very lively by the end as the crowd rose up to dance. " Barry" and " Maurice" were excellent, while " Robin" wasn't always in tune, but their harmonies were right on the money. If you look in the magazines, you can find deals which include a dinner buffet at the Excalibur, the buffet has had a much needed renovation and is much nicer now.

    LEGENDS ( Flamingo) Sun. 25th.
    We have seen this show many times before, and felt it went downhill after it left the Imperial Palace ( as was) and they shortened the show to 75 mins. instead of 90. Reading recent reviews on Tripadvisor, we were discouraged by the many low and vicious reviews, particularly the constant criticism of " Britney", but we decided to take a chance and it was great! One particular reviewer gave it 1 star and stated his highlight was falling asleep and being berated y Britney! First on was Michael Jackson, who wasn't much of a lookalike but a good singer and great dancer who received a good reception. Barbra Streisand isn't our type of music, but was a dead ringer and had a fabulous voice, only a short set from her. Bobby Darin sings swing, which again isn't our favourite genre, but he was the surprise hit of the night, an incredible voice and a deserved ovation from the moderate crowd. Britney was next and we thought she has been unfairly judged, she looks like her, sings like her and was very upbeat for someone who has been mauled by so many, really talented. We have so many talented Elvises in this show that on first sight tonights Elvis was a disappointment - not overly convincing look or even voice but what he lacked in those departments, he more than made up for with his adlibs and energy!! All in all very good entertainment although you do still notice its a shorter show than it once was.

    VEGAS- THE SHOW ( Planet Hollywood) Mon. 26th.
    In our opinion, a far better old- style Vegas variety show than Jubilee, but much less expensive! There is a lot of singing, dancing and showgirls, with 3 variety acts mixedup in between, namely a male hula hoop artist who has to be seen to be believed, a man with performing parrots and 2 strongmen who hold a plank on their shoulders while a young woman who performs amazing acrobatics. The only slightly offputting aspect is that while it is good to hear hits by many of the artists who have appeared in Vegas over the decades, most of the singers look nothing ar all like who they are meant to be! This show has the right mix of comedy, sexy dancers, great singers and nostalgia.

    ROD STEWART ( Colosseum, Caesars Palace) Tue. 27th

    We were delighted to catch Rod on our final evening, having seen him last summer at an outdoor concert in Falkirk, Scotland in dront of 18,000 people and that was an emotional and wonderful evening. Rod came on and proudly announced this was his 95th show at " Caesars Salad!" He mentioned thatdue to the terrible snowstorms on the East Coast that it wasn't a full house tonight but not far off and thanked us for coming. Laterin the show he announcedthat there is every chance of a Faces reunion happening soon. His daughter, Ruby joined him on stage for a couple of numbers and she has a powerful voice. When he started kicking footballs into the crowd, we thought it would be impossible for usto have any chance of catching one, but he did manage to launch one into the rear most section at one point, infortunately not near us. Towards the end, his voice was struggling a little, but he is 70 now. He didn't perform Sailing surprisingly but got a very good reaction from the audience throughout.
     
  2. smerrian

    smerrian View from Bally's

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    Thanks for taking the time to put up the reviews. Very good to read them prior to making a trip to LV. The shows all sound wonderful.
     
  3. westie

    westie VIP Whale

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    Excellent reviews - we appreciate your taking the time out to write them.
     
  4. DBear

    DBear VIP Bear

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    Nice write ups! You certainly got around this trip!
     
  5. Jordan

    Jordan Caveman

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    Awesome reviews..thanks!
     
  6. VegasDiva

    VegasDiva VIP Whale

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    LOL I was at Elton the same night as YOU!!
    I also saw to other shows you saw , Raiding the Rock Vault and The Australian BeeGees :) I'll be doing a write up , too!
     
  7. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    Thanks,

    This is the type of review I like, a first-hand review by a non-connected person who has just seen the shows! :)
     
  8. Flowers

    Flowers VIP Whale

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    I have seen many of the same shows and I concur with your reviews. I saw Vegas the Show years ago and thought it was great though it made me sad and longed for some of the old casinos, e.g., Stardust, that are no longer with us. I'm thinking about seeing the show again.
     
  9. SoCalDude

    SoCalDude Low-Roller

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    Indian Sunset is from Elton's Madman Across the Water album. The "hit" off that album was Tiny Dancer so it often gets overlooked but it's a fantastic album. One of Elton's best.

    Thanks for the reviews.
     
  10. The Stig

    The Stig VIP Whale

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    Thanks for the reviews I like going to shows as well and have seen some at Caesars Elton John, Rod Stewart and Shania Twain, out of the shows you have seen the Bee Gees and Gordie Brown would interest me and might check them out on my trip this month as I have nothing planned show wise apart from possibly Terry Fator, also I was surprised Rod Stewart didn't sing sailing as well.
     
  11. Godolphin

    Godolphin Tourist

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    Very helpful reviews, thank you.
     
  12. GottaLuvCruising

    GottaLuvCruising High-Roller

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    Thanks for the reviews! Shows are my top Las Vegas priority so I appreciate reading your perspective. Eight of your 10 are actually ones I haven't seen!
     
  13. RaidingtheRockVault

    RaidingtheRockVault Newbie

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    Thank you so much for your kind words

     
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