Hot Las Vegas Shows and Entertainment

by Leah Bailly | Mar 26 2008

Everyone is an entertainment expert in Las Vegas. From exciting rock shows to secret celebrity sightings, every local is dialed to the burgeoning hipster scene here in Sin City. Like most cities, Vegas locals greet their weekly magazines with greedy anticipation. They check billboards maniacally. They like to think of Vegas as the second Los Angeles: the dirty little sister. A town where Paris Hilton and Kevin Federline can throw their badass birthday bashes and spectators are always invited. 

But for a town with such extravagant flesh-hungry taste, it is the old-timers that are surprisingly the biggest tickets in town. Locals love watching the constant stream of old Motown gigs and washed-up soft-rock crooners grace the casino stages. From Barry Manilow to Bette Midler, it is the middle (almost end) of the road that sells out in Sin City. After all, Vegas is where farewell tours come to die, where wannabe film stars of the 1980s, plastic surgery victims and the lousy leftovers resurface for their final grand finales. 

The King

It must have started with Elvis. It was deep into 1969 when the International Hotel's famed Kirk Kerkorian signed the King for $125,000 a week. Elvis had gained a little weight and was beat from the barbiturates and touring, but it was in Vegas where he made his comeback. That white sequined suit, that bouffant hair! Elvis' first month brought the International a record $2 million in casino winnings. On show night, the Roulette wheels and poker tables sang his tune. Elvis was joined by 50 musicians, two gospel choirs and scores of bell-bottomed outfits. It was middle-class, middle American heaven! Moms and aunts from all over the Midwest flocked to his gala performances, and it lasted. Eight years and over 800 shows later, Elvis broke every Vegas entertainment record. 

Now, nearly four decades after Elvis, Las Vegas is still the American mecca for mainstream acts. The past few years has seen the return of such easy listening performers as Toni Braxton and Celine Dion. Featuring effects by Dragoon, flawless dancers and soft rock anthems, moms and aunts from all over America were thrilled to pay to see (sort of) mega stars at the (possible) end of their careers. Manilow continues at the Hilton and Tom Jones returns to the MGM. This year, it appears that Vegas will sink to new lows in entertainment booking to draw the mainstream crowd. 

The Queens

Do you believe in life after love? Perhaps the most spectacular and grotesque of them all, Cher is 2008's big ticket spectacle. Performing four nights a week from May to September at Caesars Palace, the 61-year-old will supposedly conclude her 44-year career here in Vegas! In case the 2005 farewell tour wasn’t enough for most big fans, Cher will appear on a shifting stage, apparently sporting the most intricate costumes ever seen on the Strip… A drag queen’s jubilee! 

And now that Dion's skipped town, the bawdy Midler will be battling for biggest ticket sales alongside Cher. Also at Caesars Palace, alternating with Elton John's Red Piano show (can you hear the tinkling ballads now?), Midler promises show tunes, dance numbers and that old vaudeville humor we love to love. Sure, they're elderly, they've ironed out their wrinkles and plucked their grays, but who's to say these old folks aren't the new royalty of the entertainment industry. Who wouldn't want a steady retirement gig, a massive theater and a helicopter ride to and from work every day?

Bring In the Clowns

Thankfully for Las Vegas, the Strip does not depend on solo performers for 2008's big bill. Famed French Canadian troupe Cirque du Soleil will launch a new show at the Luxor late this summer, starring the (dubious) Criss Angel.

Although little has been revealed about the new production (including the name), fans can look forward to Angel's Houdini-esque magic teamed with the luxurious Cirque effects. Best for Vegas, of course, is the influx of talented artists that accompany the resident shows. The Cirque performers are young and versatile, the type who occasionally launch their own underground theater pieces in special midnight venues.

And for the rest of us, with the old come the classics. Big Broadway shows are still massively popular on the Strip, including spring 2008 ticket Jersey Boys at the newly opened Palazzo. On the tail of a string of positive New York reviews, the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons will highlight some of America's hottest song-and-dance actors and Tony Award-winning music. A true Vegas story (akin to our Patron Saint's original Jersey boy, Frank Sinatra) the blue-collar musical is full of catchy tunes and memorably seedy characters. A perfect Sin City fit.

Back to the Future

And Vegas entertainment won't be all oldies this 2008 season. There will be comedians (David Spade), boxing matches (Battle of the Planet) and the usual touring pop stars (Avril Lavigne) sweeping the big casinos. In smaller venues, Vegas will see such decent bands as the Trews or Death Cab for Cutie. The Las Vegas Philharmonic will play a Led Zeppelin tribute at Planet Hollywood. But in true classic Sin City style, the real gems will be touring performers such as Gladys Knight and Etta James, the kind of working girls you can't help but celebrate well into their old age. 

Las Vegas entertainment really is about the old-time stars. Since its conception, Sin City has seen such late career silver-lined performers as Elvis, Tom Jones, Sinatra and Barbra Streisand. Sure, when they hit Vegas, they seemed washed up, but in retrospect, those Vegas shows were legendary. Those aunties and moms who lined the Sands' Copa Room for a Rat Pack show now cherish that night like a dream, and anyone who witnessed Elvis in his ballroom at the International was privy to a precious moment in music history. Las Vegas loves that old magic. The star at the end of his career. When a king is human again.

Vegas is a helluva long way for some. Why not hit the craps tables in your own living room?  Play craps now!