VEGAS hits the high notes

[CSCfan]

VEGAS hits the high notes

 

Music stars become the Strip's hottest tickets.

 

By Jon Bream, Star Tribune

Last update: March 23, 2007 – 4:13 PM

 

Siegfried and Roy don't perform here anymore. Blue Man Group is a faceless franchise that you can now see at an arena near you. And, let's be honest, Carrot Top is not exactly top shelf.

Las Vegas has needed new headliners more desperately than Kenny Rogers needs a new cosmetic surgeon. And in the past year, the pooh-bahs of the Strip have finally found an answer: They've built a better Rat Pack by booking some of the biggest names in popular music for long-term residencies.

 

Celine Dion does about 150 shows annually, Elton John tickles his red piano 75 nights a year and Prince parties every Friday and Saturday. Toni Braxton serenades and sashays every evening, and Barry Manilow, like a Next Gen Wayne Newton, peddles schmaltz five nights a week.

 

OK, this egocentric collection may not be like the original Rat Pack, whose members often shared a stage, some Scotch and a broad (their term, not mine). But where else can you find so many blockbuster music names on the same night?

 

"Las Vegas probably has a better array of [musical] talent on any night than any market -- including New York and L.A.," said Gary Bongiovanni, editor of the concert journal Pollstar.

 

For instance, this weekend in Vegas, you can see the Dave Matthews Band with the Fray, Stevie Nicks, Blue Oyster Cult, Gino Vannelli, Fourplay, Rodney Carrington, Al Stewart, Ty Herndon, a blues triple bill of Hubert Sumlin, Pinetop Perkins and Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and the most unforgettable hair band of all time, A Flock of Seagulls -- as well as Prince, Braxton and Manilow.

 

"The shows are the whole reason to come here. I don't gamble," said Gina Deragisch, 55, of Redding, Calif., who has seen Celine, Elton and Toni.

 

"It's great to have all these big stars," said Jon Thomas, 35, of Chicago, who recently added Prince to his Vegas list of Elton and Bruce Willis. "You can come back every few months and there's always someone new to see."

 

Residencies lead resurgence

 

This desert town of 1 million isn't a top-25 market by population, but it's a must-play for every act from the Rolling Stones to Keith Urban to Akon. That's because Vegas has become the No. 1 adult entertainment destination in North America, where, Bongiovanni says, visitors don't hesitate to pay top-of-the-line prices comparable to New York and Los Angeles to see the stars.

 

"Money has a distorted value in Vegas from the public's standpoint," he said. "You're less likely to argue the price difference between an $80 and a $100 ticket."

 

In other words, this oasis means fatter paychecks for the stars.

 

But it's the residencies that are revolutionizing Vegas as a music city. The Strip used to be the last stop -- the last hurrah -- in a singer's career. However, the neon desert has gone from a graveyard to a shrewd and profitable business move for middle-aged marquee stars.

 

The credit goes to Dion, the French-Canadian queen of middle-of-the-road pop, and her manager/husband, Rene Angelil. They came up with the idea of settling in Sin City to let fans come to them instead of them going to fans worldwide.

 

In 2003, Caesars Palace built a $95 million, 4,000-seat theater, the Colosseum, for Dion. Her concert, complete with a humongous 3D video wall, is so elaborate that it would be impossible to take it on the road. That's OK with her, because the world has been beating a path to her one-of-a-kind stage.

 

"Nobody thought it would work, and Celine and Rene proved everybody wrong," said John Meglen, president and co-CEO of AEG Live/Concerts West, which has produced her engagement. "When we finish on Dec. 15, we'll be at about 750 shows for five years. The gross for Celine will exceed half-a-billion dollars."

 

Even Mick Jagger, who can account for every penny the Stones accumulate, will confirm that in the past four years, Dion has raked in more from ticket sales than any other musical attraction.

 

Less stress for stars

 

The Madonnas, Bon Jovis and Tim McGraws can haul in more money jetting from arena to arena, playing to 15,000 fans a night. But they don't have the advantages Dion and other Vegas resident stars enjoy -- spending time with their families, eliminating travel expenses for a large crew, and avoiding the stress of moving from city to city and starting anew every day with interviews and stage construction. Not to mention sleeping in their own beds every night.

 

In short, being a resident act is more efficient.

"I love it here," said Braxton's husband, Keri Lewis, who used to be in the Twin Cities R&B band Mint Condition. "I don't want to leave."

 

Since moving to Vegas last summer, Braxton and Lewis found "great schools" for their two children, one of whom is autistic, and a comfortable house not too far from the Flamingo, where she performs. (They retain homes in Atlanta and Los Angeles.)

 

"She eats dinner at home, jumps in the car, goes to the Flamingo and she's home four hours later," Lewis said.

 

Although Braxton entertains only 700 people a night, a fraction of the number that would see her on tour on any given night, Lewis said that in the long run, a Vegas residency is more lucrative than touring.

 

"We did our homework," he said with a smile. And the Flamingo has responded by twice extending Braxton's fast-selling run.

 

Flamingo president Don Marrandino thinks there are other baby-boomer acts ripe for a small-room Vegas residency, including Michael Bolton, Huey Lewis and Kansas, to name a few.

 

But AEG's Meglen has his sights set on bigger names to play bigger rooms. Although there has been no official announcement, Bette Midler is on tap to take over for Dion. Cher, Madonna, David Bowie, Neil Diamond and even Prince would be candidates for Vegas theater runs, Meglen says, if they decide to forgo more lucrative arena tours.

 

Some of them could end up at Echelon, a casino scheduled to open in 2010. The new kid on the Strip will have a 4,000-seat theater and another with 1,500 seats.

 

This month, the plush Pearl theater opened in the Palms, a casino that caters to the MTV crowd. None of the 2,500 seats is farther than 120 feet from the stage. With an adjacent studio available for live recordings, this sparkling new gem could quickly become the Vegas room of choice for touring bands.

 

Evanescence rocked the Pearl last weekend, and Gwen Stefani is the luxurious choice for the official grand opening on April 21, followed by Fall Out Boy on April 29.

 

Music royalty

 

Even though they broke up in 1970, the Beatles have continued to mean big business. Combine their cherished music with the Strip's most prolific franchise, Cirque du Soleil, and you've got "Love," the town's hottest ticket of the moment.

 

While the actual Fab Four performed only once in Vegas in 1964, other legendary music names are associated with this desert oasis, including Liberace and Rat Packers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. But no one looms larger than Elvis Presley, who made his celebrated post-Army, post-Hollywood concert comeback in Vegas in 1968.

 

Now there are rumors of a Second Coming -- not of the King of Rock but of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. He has already moved to Vegas.

 

"I've met with Michael a few times, and he's talking to many people, looking at all of his opportunities," Meglen said. "I think Michael would be a tremendous artist to do a resident show in Las Vegas -- or even in Macau."

 

Bets, anyone?

[celinefanonline]

cool!!

but not sure about michael to do a resident show in LV...

 

and i believe LV will miss Celine for sure

[xo1hrt4celineox]

The credit goes to Dion, the French-Canadian queen of middle-of-the-road pop, and her manager/husband, Rene Angelil. They came up with the idea of settling in Sin City to let fans come to them instead of them going to fans worldwide.

 

I'm really glad that this part is in the article, it's sooo true! Thanks for posting this, it's an interesting read and they're right! Vegas is such a fun place to visit, thanks Celine!!

[celinefanonline]

and i believe that Celine & Rene has change the way people think of LV..!

[stevo]

"....The gross for Celine will exceed half-a-billion dollars." Wowser

[Cheerfuljane]

Thanks for the article Mathias

 

My favourite part : "Nobody thought it would work, and Celine and Rene proved everybody wrong,"

[lauracd]

Thanks for the scan!

Celine is just great!

[anewdayhascome]

not madonna!

[krazy_kool_dude]

it makes you laugh now when reading back on the opening night reviews. For example:

 

http://www.mirror.co.uk/catchall/tm_method...-name_page.html

 

 

 

GO CELINE!

[Fanny!]

Great article, thanks for sharing!

[Mozinha]

I remember after the opening night I read an article saying the show would fade after 4 months and close. I was terrified because I was only going to see it in 2005 and I was afraid it would close before I could go.

 

Now see what she's done, you loosers!

 

No matter what people complain about this Vegas show, it's been wonderful. It was another highlight of her fantastic carreer. It took her carreer to a new level. No one had done it before.

[Bellamy]

I remember after the opening night I read an article saying the show would fade after 4 months and close. I was terrified because I was only going to see it in 2005 and I was afraid it would close before I could go.

 

Now see what she's done, you loosers!

 

No matter what people complain about this Vegas show, it's been wonderful. It was another highlight of her fantastic carreer. It took her carreer to a new level. No one had done it before.

I was not afraid at all back at that time, cause I totally believe the power of Celine.

[Elaine]

Thanks for the article Mathias

 

My favourite part : "Nobody thought it would work, and Celine and Rene proved everybody wrong,"

 

My favorite too!! And also the part that noone has sold more tickets in the past 4 years than Céline...

 

And Bellamy, "It is the power of Céline that brings us here!" (or there, depending on the point of view!)

[blue.grave]

Celine is the only reason I would go to Vegas over and over again.

[karatedude317]

"....The gross for Celine will exceed half-a-billion dollars." Wowser

 

 

Wowser is right bro, that's more money than anyone of us will ever see in a LIFETIME!

 

Celine deserves every penny, she's done everything right and has earned it, nobody else in this business earns that as much as Celine.

[Andrei Dion]

GREAT ;D

[WendyB]

I remember after the opening night I read an article saying the show would fade after 4 months and close. I was terrified because I was only going to see it in 2005 and I was afraid it would close before I could go.

I was worried too after reading so many bad articles. We went in September 2003 thinking it would be our only chance - and couldn't believe it was the same show everyone else was panning. They must have different eyes (and ears) to me!

[Mozinha]

I remember after the opening night I read an article saying the show would fade after 4 months and close. I was terrified because I was only going to see it in 2005 and I was afraid it would close before I could go.

 

Now see what she's done, you loosers!

 

No matter what people complain about this Vegas show, it's been wonderful. It was another highlight of her fantastic carreer. It took her carreer to a new level. No one had done it before.

I was not afraid at all back at that time, cause I totally believe the power of Celine.

I always believe in the power of Celine. But Las Vegas was just the unknown sin city to me. And this show was a one of a kind. I had no idea what was going to happen.

[Pureceline]

Thnx Mathias, great article!

Ooh i want to go back

[nico robin]

Thanks for the article Mathias

 

My favourite part : "Nobody thought it would work, and Celine and Rene proved everybody wrong,"

Go Celine!!!

she's the best . i wanna go there!!!

[Johana]

thx for the scan