Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
McCartney, Tyler belt out ‘Helter Skelter’
THE time is now for a Maccasmith residency on the Strip. Paul McCartney and Steven Tyler collaborated in a most unexpected fashion Friday night at T-Mobile Arena. Deep into the encore of McCartney’s three-hour tour de force, McCartney called out, “We have a special guest! Steven Tyler!”
The crowd, which stood for almost the entire show, went crazy. McCartney’s airtight backing band thundered into “Helter Skelter,” and the two legends shouted through the lyrics.
By the end of the night, the hashtag #Maccasmith appeared on the official social media pages of both rock stars.
Tyler’s appearance was what his Las Vegas manager, Larry Rudolph, aptly described as a “no-brainer” and symbiotic in its planning. McCartney’s manager, Scott Rodger, is Rudolph’s business partner in Maverick Management music management company.
Tyler is also a fervent Beatles fan, known to crank the band’s music backstage before shows. He was also at the Beatles’ famous Shea Stadium concert in New York in 1965. Oh, and Aerosmith is in town on the latest swing in its “Deuces are Wild” residency at Park Theater. The band has added “Come Together” to the set list.
McCartney and Tyler had a blast singing “Helter Skelter,” “The White Album” staple, which has been unleashed in McCartney’s live shows for the past several years. The song played out like a runaway freight train, with the singers seeming unclear on who would sing which verse. But nobody, onstage or in the crowd, cared.
After the two hugged and Tyler strode from the stage, McCartney said, “The kid is good, isn’t he?” Sir Paul
knows. The man can rock it.
Newton’s hip
Wayne Newton’s hip-replacement surgery is set for Tuesday. The procedure on his right hip has been scheduled for months, and follows his back surgery in May. Mr. Las Vegas will be something of a bionic showman when he is back onstage at Cleopatra’s Barge at Caesars Palace on July 15.
What works in Vegas
The dinner show “Marriage Can Be Murder” at the D Las Vegas celebrated its 20th anniversary this month. This is the production in which then-Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman co-starred for a show in 2009. He was hit, and was also a hit, as the show’s murder victim.
The production’s husbandand-wife team Eric Post and Jayne Ann Savoie Post are great in the show’s lead roles, and you might find yourself seated next to one of the actors, a mayor, or both.
On the topic of hizzoner
A major hang is being planned for Goodman’s 80th birthday at Fremont Street Experience on July 18. Frankie Scinta is emceeing the event. Expect other entertainers and Bombay Sapphire martinis, with proceeds being donated to the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health’s Keep Memory Alive foundation. Goodman, whose actual birthday is July 26, will also be flanked by the requisite showgirls. It’s going to be a scene.
Clinic architecture
On the topic of the Ruvo Center, the building designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry has been named the Coolest Building in Nevada by the online travel pub The Discoverer. The website canvassed the entire country and named a single structure in each, with the Cleveland Clinic in Symphony Park being recognized amid some (we note obviously) impressive competition.
Showbiz credits!
Longtime Las Vegas producer Blair Farrington put together the live entertainment for the Sahara re-branding announcement at SLS Las Vegas on Thursday night. The grooving was inspired, the costumes brilliant. You know you’re in good hands if you see Farrington walking the scene while wearing a headset.
And, a fist-bump, high-five and FizzyWater toast to Leah Moyer and Andre Kasten as choreographers for the new sway-pole act introduced in “Absinthe” this month. We got to know them during the run-up to Cirque’s charity production “One Night For One Drop.” The new act is crazy-great, a great investment by the Gazillionaire.