Review by Ralph Greco, Jr.
Select Photos by Glen Willis and Raiding The Rock Vault
The marriage of rock and Las Vegas has been a rocky one at best.
There was Elvis Presley’s reign that saw him slowly morph into the chubby
white jumpsuit-wearing tarnished deity. There’s Elton john’s semi-
residency at the Cesar Palace shrine originally built for Celine Dion for
supposedly paying-off her husband/manager’s gambling debts, and a current
stop for acts to hit a House of Blues location or a bigger arena during a
tour. Residencies have come and gone for Def Leppard and Motley Crue, but
for 2013, the Raiding The Rock Vault extravaganza is blasting
off at the Las Vegas Hotel & Casino.
The line-up of Raiding The Rock Vault is sure
to make any rock fan salivate. The show features John Payne, singer and bassist
of John Payne’s Asia (not to be confused with the original Asia), who
had a hand in the writing and concept of the show, along with Rock and Roll
Hall Of Famer from Heart (as well as current guitarist for Paul Rodgers and
Bad Company) Howard Leese (Editor’s note: Howard Leese will be on
leave from the show after June 15, through July, and select dates in August
and September when he will be on the road with Bad Company). Tracii
Guns of L.A. Guns is also on guitar, both lead and rhythm.
There’s a bunch of singers like Paul Shortino from Rough Cutt and King
Kobra, Oni Logan from Lynch Mob, and Robin McAuley of MSG and Survivor. Keyboardist
Michael T. Ross, who’s played with Lita Ford, Missing Persons and a
host of others is there, as well as Andrew Freeman of Offspring singing and
playing rhythm guitar. Jay Schellen, who’s played with Asia, Hurricane
and Badfinger, is on drums.
The show covers nearly two hours of classic rock — songs from the 60s,
70s and 80s. The show opens with “My Generation,” encapsulating
a rather loose framework that leads to the ‘opening’ of the rock
vault. I saw this narrative technique used when I caught We Will Rock
You, and we all know Rock Of Ages and Mamma
Mia use well-known tunes to actually weave a story on stage.
AWhile Raid’s opening might not work all that perfectly,
there are some fun moments that break up the blistering playing, linked ‘sketches’
more or less of a four-person group of friends (and one main character especially)
growing up through the decades. These scenes were an effective way to introduce
new decades and finally see us through to some tight bring-the-house- down
medleys of Bon Jovi, Brian Adams and Journey, to name but a few of bands featured
from the MTV era, with its very own Rock Vault MTV-like set-up).
The musicianship though is what you should hit this show for.
Highlights for me: Tracii Guns offering up a double neck spot-on solo on Led
Zeppelin’s “Stairway To Heaven.” Also, there was Andrew
Freeman rolling through most of the high parts of Def Leppard, Journey, etc.
and working the crowd with a charisma you just couldn’t ignore.
Robin McAuley kicked it out of the park on all his vocals, with
a true, solid read on “We Are The Champions” that sent chills
through my nerves. Seeing Howard Leese playing more lead guitar than I ever
had the privilege to hear him play before was the icing on the cake.
At the heart of Raiding The Rock Vault is the very best
cover band you will ever see mixed with a few corny yet forgivable and legitimate
theatre-like moments and a slight sprinkle of Vegas sheen. I have to say sound,
lighting and even costume changes were top-shelf. If you make it to Las Vegas,
you need to check out Raiding The Rock Vault.
For tickets and additional information, go to http://www.raidingtherockvault.com/
