No Il Volo concert!

I had bought tickets in December to the Il Volo concert which was at the Pearl concert theatre at the Palms hotel in Casino. It was for Sunday night.

They individually participated in a talent show on Rai 1 called “Ti lascio una canzone,” which translates into “I’ll leave you with a song.” During this program they were noticed by Michele Torpedine  (a well-known Italian manager who has managed the careers of successes like Andrea Bocelli, Zucchero, Giorgia, and Biago Antonacci).  Torpedine decided to take the singers under his wing and embark on an international artistic journey relying on the boys’ vocal talents singularly as well as a trio.  From this point, an extraordinary journey began that would make them the first Italian artists in history to sign a contract with a major American music label.  Their self-titled debut album, “Il Volo,” received Platinum certification and made it to the Top Ten in the Billboard charts.

We saw them for the first time at the Dominican Republic club that we belong to. There was a free concert outdoors, which was a dvd of one of there earlier concerts. It is a 3 Tenors like group, and sounded awesome. We saw them twice in Denver, but they had never been in Vegas until they scheduled their show, which was to be their last American city on their concert tour.

They had two shows in CA prior to this last shpw, and the show in Santa Clara was cancelled on Wednesday last week due to the Corona virus outbreak that happened world wide. The trio were anxious to get back to their hike country or Italy, since that country was especially hard hit, and is facing many deaths and quarantine due to the virus.

They had another concert scheduled for Friday night in Fresno, and that was cancelled too, and I knew that they would cancel the one here in Vegas too. It was a shame, as they don’t come to America that often to play, so I guess we’ll just have to watch their DVD.

George Strait at T-Mobile Arena

George Strait at T-Mobile arena last night. It’s about the 8th time seeing him in concert, and this was probably ranked 8th out of them. He was good, but when you have had over 70 #1 hits, its hard to get in all of your favorites. He’s still got it though!

Ambrosia at the Golden Nugget

Saw the band Ambrosia at the Golden Nugget, a band right out of the South Bay. I had always thought they went to Torrance High School (as I had been taught) but apparently they were just from the South Bay, one going to San Pedro High, another to Narbonne. They were 2 years older than my brother Steve.

It was a good concert, they really had only 4 songs that were “notable”. That’s how much I feel, being their biggest hit.

Chris Isaak at the Encore Theatre

We went to the Chris Isaak concert last night at the Wynn Casino, Encore theatre. It was a surprise Hannakuh present for Janis

It is a great place To see a show. We were in the last row of the orchestra level. There was no open ing act. We have seen Chris Isaak three times, once in Pueblo Co, and again in Denver.

I kept looking to see if he was playing in Las Vegas since moving here 3 years ago, and this was the first opportunity. He has had the same band members for 34 years. They are so good.

Seat view

Since it was a Christmas show, he had a Santa, and sang about 5 songs, 2 of which he had written.

Ho ho ho

It took him three songs to go into the audience, as he does every show, where he runs up into the 2nd level. He seemed to be out of breath a bit more, but the Encore is a huge theatre.

The Nutcracker ballet

For one of Janis presents we went to the Smith Center to watch the Nevada Ballet presents the Nutcracker.a. I’ve Sean it about 3 times live, and this was a different version than I’ve ever seen.

Tony Bennett at the Venetian Concert Hall

Saw Tony Bennett at the Venetian Hotel. They have free Valet parking which is always a plus (MGM take notice!!) and we had 5th row seats! His daugher Antonia came out for the opening act, and she was so/so, sang 4 songs and then left.

The band was 4 musicians, a drummer, guitarist, pianist, and a bass player, quite good in their own right.

Tony is 93 years old now. He didn’t forget any words, but introduced his piano player, Tim Ray, 4 times!

He also played I left my heart in San Francisco 2x. He sang it, then said “what a great audience, etc., etc., and then sang it again. But for 93 years old, the audience definitely let it slide.

The Concert venue was incredible!

The Buckinghams at the Golden Nugget.

Another 52 Friday’s show at the Golden Nugget Casino downtown. This was the Buckinghams, a 60’s rock group who had about 5 hits. Susan, Kind of a Drag, Mercy, Merck, Mercy, among others.

I hadn’t heard that they being from Chicago were famous for basically getting the group Chicago started. They brought them out to LA and got them signed to a record deal.

They played a lot of other groups songs, as they started as a cover band. They played with a trio horn section, Sax, Trombone and Trumpet, so they played a few songs from Chicago, Grass Roots, Gary Puckett, etc.

A very good show that lasted a lot longer than most 60s era bands, and for being in their 70s they sounded good,

This is from youtube, but shows their music and showmanship.

Beatle Show at the Saxe Theater - Planet Hollywood

Saw the Beatleshow at the Saxe Theater - Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino inside of Miracle Mile Shops. This theatre is tiny, so every seat is a great seat. The actual venue is about 3 stories up so TAKE THE ELEVATOR!

We saw this show 2 year ago, and the same people are back. John Lennon is spot on as John Lennon, Paul is too. The only thing that could be better is when Paul McCartney plays at T-mobile later this year, he stops by and pops in for one of the numbers. That would be something to see.

Sundance Head at Stoney's

We went to a concert tonight at Stoney’s Saloon, a country bar in Town Square. We’ve never been in there, so was looking forward to it.

Sundance Head was on the Voice and Blake Shelton was his coach. He ended up winning the Voice, and has a kind of Travis Tritt type of voice.

The venue is HUGE. We used to go to Grizzly Rose in Denver and it is similar but 3x the size. Much nicer in that you have room to move around. The dance floor is very large. They have 3 separate areas to hang out and still being able to hear the music.

Unfortunately, the music sound system has a lot to be desired. It was very hard to hear him as it was very muffled. Granted he has a gravely voice, but we’ll have to come back to see if it was just him or he sound system.

I was amazed at the dancing. They start a song, and then the do a line dance. The song ends, another song starts, and they do a different line dance. I’m thinking ‘how do they know which song goes with which dance?’ It seemed like there was about 5-6 different dances that they were doing. I know I don’t have any rhythm but I wished I had learned to line dance when I used to go to Denim and Diamonds back in CA when I was in my 20’s instead of just picking up girls.

We left early as the music was very hard to hear and we bought a beer and a diet coke and it was $9.00 so not the type of place to hang out all night at. I’d go back though to hear another band to see if it was just Sundance or the sound system in particular.

Sundance Head

Billy Ray Cyrus at the Orleans

Went to see Billy Ray Cyrus at the Orleans. I had seen him at the Orleans around 1993 with Irene and Jennifer, who was about 9. The stage is set up with a high front, and after the show he came back out and sat down and talked with the audience and signed autographs and just hung out for about 30 minutes. First time I’d ever seen that and thought it was very cool.

His opening act was a newcomer Derek Jones, and he sang about 4 songs and sounded really good. We were sitting 3rd row and the sound system was really good, and he sang well. He asked if we were excited to see Billy Ray Cyrus, and then BRC came onstage and just started playing. Derek Jones stayed out and played guitar for 2 songs and then left.

After the show, I told Janis, and she thought so too, that we were watching A Star is Born.. Billy Ray Cyrus hasn’t really done much in a LONG time (in my opinion) other than birthing Miley Cyrus, and it felt like A Star is Born, as he seemed intoxicated. He didn’t stagger around the stage, but he kind of shuffled his feet and was unsure of his step it seemed.

His voice is gone. He now sings about 3 octaves lower, and sounds awful. To me, it just reminded me of a has been. We saw George Strait last winter, and heck he’s 60 and still sounds the same. Billy Ray needs to go out to pasture I think.

We walked out and didn’t see if he sat on the stage or not, and didn’t hear Achy Breaky Heart. Some times, you’ll just have to hold onto a memory.

Good thing the tickets were free. I did like the Lady Gaga that he was showcasing though!

Donny and Marie at the Flamingo Hotel

Janiis’ Hannakuh present was tickets to Donny and Marie and their residency (and 11 year run at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino), is finished in November. Marie has also signed on to be a co-host on the Talk TV show,starting in August, so we needed to hurry and see the show before it ran out.

A very nice show, the viewing was horrible. We had 2nd row balcony seats, and the ticket site did not say the tickets were NO VIEW seat, or that the seats were bar stools. Luckily, there were seats in row 1 (actual seats), so we quickly moved down there and had a great view of the show.

They each played for 30 minutes and then 30 thirty minutes together. A lot of the banter than they had on their television series.

Jon Chandler

Jon Chandler’s a friend and neighbor from Commerce City, CO. hERE’S 2 OF my favorite songs of his.

Gary Puckett and the Union Gap

Saw a great 60’s band, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap. Young Girl, Lady Willpower, Over You, Woman, Woman, are just a few of their hits.

South Point showroom has a nice showroom, and is a good place for a concert, except the seating is Vegas with the table seating that is perpendicular to the stage.

Gary Puckett still can sing.

George Strait at the T-Mobile Arene

We saw George Strait at T-Mobile Arena My 3rd time seeing King George,and he didn’t disappoint! He still sounds the same, puts on a great show. The stage was in the round, and took 2 songs at each of the 4 corners, so the whole audience could see him instead of having to look at the big screen.

We had great seats for him, and was basically sitting in row 2 right behind the goaltender if the arena was set up for hockey. Nice that they weren’t floor seats, as everyone was standing up the whole time. Didn’t have anyone in front of us so had a great seat. Recognized most of the Ace in the Hole band as he’s had most of the same players for 30 years.

He is still

King George!

May 12, 2018 - C H E R

Saw Cher at Park MGM for Janis’ birthday. Was a great show. For a 71 year old person, she was incredible.

The Park MGM is a great venue for a show. Even if you have the last seats in the place, the big screens are SO huge and SO clear, it doesn’t really matter.

Dancing with the Stars Tour

Went to the Orlean’s showroom to see the Dancing with the Stars show. A good venue and the show was pretty good. Would have been nice to be elevated to see the whole stage/footwork.

Billy Currington concert @ Sunset Station

Went to Sunset Station for a Billy Currington concert tonite. Outdoor concert, luckily it didn’t rain, since it has rained the last few days. It was a good concert, we’ve seen him before, in an open air concert up in Greeley on the 4th of July about 9 years ago, in the POURING rain.

It was the grand opening of the outdoor arena, and it is a good venue. We had seats, not a GA type venue which is good.

America Concert - Primm, NV

Went to see the band America at the Star of David arena in Primm (Stateline) Nevada. A nice arena, and America was comprised of 3 players. 2 of them are in this version. A very good concert. Phil came with us as he’s out for a while, and we didn’t want to leave him home alone.

America at Primm, NV

The Rascal's at the Golden Nugget

Saw The Rascal’s at the Golden Nugget showroom. A great 60’s band and the leader, Felix Cavalere still has it.