Jimmy Buffett and The Coral Reefer Band, MGM Garden Theater, Las Vegas, Nevada, October 15, 2011

Jimmy Buffett and The Coral Reefer Band

MGM Garden Theater, Las Vegas, Nevada

October 15, 2011

This was no ordinary concert.  It wasn’t even an event or a “happening”.  It was a total multi-sensory, “you’ve got to see it to believe it” experience!  The evening started early.   We decided to stop by Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville restaurant for dinner before the concert.  Apparently about 20,000 other people had the same idea.  In celebration of the opening of the new “Margaritaville Casino,” the adjacent street was closed and there was a giant block party.  People had been partying there for quite some time.  There was a band, concession stands, bars and an amazing array of Parrot Heads in every imaginable costume.  I felt pretty underdressed in a mere tropical print shirt and shorts, but we tried our best to “blend.”  The centerpiece of this celebration of all things Buffet was “Lucky Rita” an enormous margarita, mixed over the preceding several days.  The purpose (successful) of concocting “Lucky Rita” was to set the Guinness Book of World Records record for the world’s largest margarita.

http://www.margaritaville.com/videos.html?ma_id=5&mc_id=517 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNG_rSfA9KM  

This “frozen concoction of which I speak” started with 2125 gallons of Margaritaville Gold Tequila and 708 gallons of Triple Sec.  They were selling margaritas for $38 per souvenir blender full.  We opted for a couple of Land Shark beers. 

             We realized that we would never get into the restaurant with enough time to get to the show, so we began our walk up the Strip, stopping in the Paris Hotel and Casino for dinner.  They had a wonderful “Recession Special” with an all-inclusive dinner (including a glass of wine) for $25.95 each.  It was a very good meal and by far the best deal we found in Las Vegas.

            Then it was on the MGM Grand Garden Theater.  We joined a procession of very intoxicated people as we meandered through the casino, most of the crowd regaled in Parrot Head or Cheeseburger hats, flowered leis, shark costumes and tropical attire.  This was a sight to behold.  This procession drew curious looks from the casino patrons, who were, at least momentarily, distracted from pulling levers on slot machines, tossing dice and drawing cards. 

            The crowd was happily drunk.  We didn’t really find anyone obnoxious, belligerent or unruly (well, at least not until the concert was over.)  The crowd was almost as much fun to watch as Jimmy Buffet.  There were all ages present, most in some sort of costume.  By the end of the show, a lot these folks were having a hard time navigating the stairs. 

            It was the second time we had seen Jimmy Buffett, the first time since 1981.  Jimmy looks more like Joe Biden now than the curly-haired troubadour of the 1970s and 80s, but he can still put on a terrific show.  He is the consummate entertainer, peppering the time between songs with banter and quips.  The set list included many of the same songs as the 1981 show and the crowd very happily sang along with all of the lyrics.  Highlights were “Brown Eyed Girl”, “Margaritaville” and “A Pirate Looks at Forty.”  Two recent songs which were recorded as collaborations with country artists also brought the fans to their feet: “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” (recorded with Alan Jackson) and “Knee Deep” (recorded with The Zac Brown Band.)  The show finale began with the theme from “Jaws” and the whole crowd started the “Fins to the Left, Fins to the Right” dance.  The encore began with a rousing rendition of “Viva Las Vegas”, continued with a very good version of Stephen Stills’ “Southern Cross” and an acoustic solo performance by Jimmy of “Tin Cup Chalice.”  A very satisfied crowd shuffled and stumbled out to the strip or, in our case, to the monorail train having been part of something special.

    SET LIST

The Wino And I Know

Brown Eyed Girl

It’s Midnight And I’m Not Famous Yet

Pencil Thin Mustache

Off To See The Lizard

It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere

Life Is Just A Tire Swing

Son Of A Son Of A Sailor

Come Monday

Why Don’t We Get Drunk And Screw

Volcano

Cheeseburger in Paradise

One Particular Harbour

Use Me

Bama Breeze

Jolly Mon Song

Knee Deep

Margaritaville

School Boy Heart

A Pirate Looks At Forty

The City

Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes

Fins

            ENCORE

Viva Las Vegas

Southern Cross

Tin Cup Chalice

"The Beatles Love" by Cirque du Soleil at The Mirage, Las Vegas, Nevada

“The Beatles Love” by Cirque du Soleil

The Mirage Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada

My wife Ellen and I attended the late show on Friday, October 14, 2011.  “The Beatles Love” is celebrating its fifth anniversary and apparently continues to draw huge audiences.  I had many reasons for NOT wanting to see it.  The Beatles were a big part of growing up for me.  “Beatlemania” and the British Invasion of the early Sixties occurred while I was in middle school.  The “Abbey Road” album was released during my senior year in high school.  I had an English teacher in eleventh grade that for about a week played “Revolution #9” from the “White Album” (the whole album side of seemingly random noise) during class and we were to write about what we heard.  You get the picture: The Beatles were a big deal for me then.  As I’ve grown older and learned to play a bit of music myself, I have gained a whole new respect for the inventive, creative and unique band that The Beatles were.  I had seen Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr (along with Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison) on Larry King Live when the show first opened and to a certain extent bought their explanations as to why they licensed their music for this production.  I heard Paul say that he and Ringo heard the music as if it was brand new – this newly remastered and re-ordered music.  I purchased the soundtrack CD and only listened to it once or twice.  I thought it was weird hearing the songs kind of mish-mashed together and figured this show was just another big payday for what had become The Beatles franchise.  Was I ever wrong!

Hearing this music through the sound system at                         The Mirage is worth the (staggering) price of admission alone.  There is volume without ear-splitting pain.  There is subtlety and tonal qualities I had never appreciated before.  And those harmonies!!!  Way before Graham Nash, Stephen Stills and David Crosby or The Eagles ever considered their first collaboration The Beatles were blending their voices in searing, soothing, exciting and unique harmony.  In the recent HBO movie about George Harrison, George Martin, the original producer for the group, described his dilemma when he first heard The Beatles.  “Who is the lead singer?”  He thought to himself.  He finally decided they didn’t have a lead singer (as had been the custom in pop music up until that time) they were a group and the group dynamic was the “lead singer.”

The re-mix or “mash-up” of the music itself is a wonder.  George Martin and his son Giles used original multi-track recordings, unreleased demos and concert audio to cobble together the soundtrack to “The Beatles Love.”  A segment of music may contain vocals from one song as well as a back beat, orchestral arrangement and instrumental bits from others.  The listener appreciates a certain thrill when he can identify the origins of the particular sounds: “That’s the guitar lick from ‘Revolution!’, ‘That’s the harmony from ‘Strawberry Fields!’.”

The theatrical interpretation by the 60 member Cirque du Soleil cast was nothing short of amazing.  The combination of classical and modern dance, acrobatics, speed skating, clowning and acting brought the music even more alive.  The visual effects were stunning as well.  There were video clips, streamers, a giant cloud like billowing tent which covered much of the audience, confetti, strobe lights and costumes of all description.  These interpretations of the music also highlighted the political nature of The Beatles later music, an aspect often neglected or glossed over in other retrospectives of the band. 

The absolute highlight of the show for me was the ballet performance of a single female dancer in a white dress during “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”  She reads a letter throughout the dance.  Is the letter from a soldier?  Has her fiancé or husband been killed in war?  Who knows, but the combination of the wailing guitar and the sorrowful dance was awe inspiring.

  The audience ranged in age from twenty-somethings to folks even older than us.  It’s hard to imagine, but he majority of this music is close to fifty years old.  This show seems to be bringing some of the magic that was The Beatles to another generation and recruiting another legion of folks who appreciate the music.   All in all, “The Beatles Love” was fascinating and thrilling entertainment which I am glad we made the decision to experience while in Las Vegas.