‘Raiding’ keeps on rocking through changes
Tband in “Raiding the Rock Vault” has long resisted performing its first encore. That resistance lasted 1,000 shows.
But after a raging 90-minute set Saturday night at Hard Rock Hotel’s Vinyl music club guitarist Howard Leese said, “We’re going to do something now we have never done — play an encore.”
That led to a race through “Hold the Line” by Toto, “Hot Blooded” by Foreigner and “You Shook Me All Night Long” by AC/DC, the latter dedicated to the late guitarist Malcolm Young.
“Rock Vault” launched in March 2013 at the then-las Vegas Hilton. It is still as robust as ever, and I feel the show will continue at Hard Rock at least through the end ofthesummerof2018.the vault’s survival is a study in the sheer willpower of the production, beginning with producer “Sir” Harry Cowell andthe core singers and musicians Leese (of Heart, and also the resident Rock and Roll Hall of Famer), Paul Shortino (Quiet Riot), Andrew Freeman (The Offspring), Robin Mcauley (Survivor), Hugh Mcdonald (Bon Jovi), Jay Schellen (Asia and Yes), Michael T. Ross (Lita Ford and Missing Persons). Cian Coey (of Meat Loaf’s band) and Sarah Hester Ross of “Rent” and Tracii Guns’ band (she and Freeman happen to be married) swapped female vocal leads in the 1,000th performance.
Dancers Christine Vanover and Sarah Jessica Rhodes, too, have become indispensable in the production.
Many other rockers have rolled through the cast in its grand run in Vegas — Doug Aldrich and Rowan Robertson of Dio; Dave Amato of REO Speedwagon (both onstage Saturday); Jason Boyleston of Paul Rodgers’ band; Christian Brady of Hellyeah; Blas Elias of Slaughter; and Mark Boals of Yngwie Malmsteen, Ted Nugent and Dokken. Singers in the lineup during the show’s run have included some amazing artists — Carol-lyn Liddle, Stephanie Calvert, Lily Arce.
Despite the frequent alterations in the rotating lineup, the ditching of its original script (which centered on the discovery of all this music in aburiedvault),thelawsuit filed by original cast member John Payne (the two sides settled in 2015), and multiple venue changes, the show has never flagged musically. The band just smokes, and the show regularly tops Tripadvisor rankings as the city’s best production show and has received multiple Best of Las Vegas awards in the Review-journal.
Before Saturday’s performance, Cowell took the stage to thank three officials from the show’s days at the Hilton and LVH — former GM Ron Johnson, longtime Entertainment Director Rick White and Vice President Cami Christensen — who helped keep the show’s pulse alive when rumors raced around the resort that it would close.
When Westgate Resorts snapped up LVH, Rock Vault moved to Tropicana for a time before closing there in August 2016, resurfacing at Vinyl in March. The Hard Rock Hotel brass, particularly hotel Chief Operating Officer Jody Lake and Vice President of Entertainment Chas Smith, has found the right combination for the Vault at Vinyl.
We’d call for an encore, but we’ll save that for another day.
Space action
The stage play “The Last Five Years” is being staged at 8 p.m. Monday at The Space. It’s a project born in Vegas and loaded with Vegas talent. The vocal lineup is made up of such top-notch singers as Timyra Joi, Cheryl Daro, Savannah Smith, Chelsea Phillips-read, Lauren Ashlea Fraser, Caitlin Ary, Travis Cloer, David Terry, Jeff Leibow, Paul Johnson, Eric Jordan Young and Mark Shunock, who also directs. Chris Lash is directing the expert lineup of musicians Jake Langley, Abo Gumroyan, Sage West, Anthony Rodriguez and Joshua Lawson.
The production debuted in 2008 at College of Southern Nevada, and was showcased at Judy Bayley Theatre at UNLV in November 2014. The story centers on a New York couple, Cathy and Jamie, who were married after a quick, passionate courtship. The relationship frays under the characters’ divergent careers (she is an actress, he a novelist), with Cathy telling the story of the five-year relationship backward and Jamie telling it from the start.
Get the jazz
The UNLV Jazz Ensemble’s Fall Jazz Festival runs 7:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at UNLV’S Black Box Theatre. Lining up the performances:
Monday is UNLV’S Latin
Jazz Ensemble, directed by
Uli Geissendoerfer ;andthe Jazz Vocal Ensemble, directed by Janet Tyler. Tuesday is
Jazz Ensemble I, conducted by Dave Loeb and Nathan Tanouye; and Jazz Ensemble II, conducted by Adam Schroeder, performing with guest jazz saxophonist Bob Sheppard. Wednesday, it’s UNLV Contemporary Jazz Ensemble, directed by Julian Tanaka; the Jazz Guitar Ensemble, directed by Jake Langley; and the Jazz Ensemble III, conducted by Michael Spicer. Tickets are $10, a mere pittance, at the UNLV Performing Arts Center box office.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@ reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @ Johnnykats1 on Instagram. As of 9 p.m. Sunday:
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3. Traffic backed up for 13 miles on southbound I-15 near Primm
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