A very Vegas variety show celebrates 25th anniversary — PHOTOS
It is just after 2 p.m. at Michael Gaughan’s South Point Showroom on the south Strip. But the atmosphere is another time and place, maybe the early 1970s, maybe the Starlite Theater at the late Desert Inn.
The showman, who knows that place, is counted in and welcomed with a blanket of applause. Dennis Bono opens with “Call Me,” a swing version of a classic Chris Montez tune, as sung by Frank Sinatra. The crowd knows this one. They will also know, and sway along with, “Nobody Does It Better,” the final number, from the James Bond movie.
The backing band is led by pianist Joey Singer, for more than two decades Debbie Reynolds’ music director and a guy who can play anything. Bob Sachs (who has backed Wayne Newton, Frank Sinatra Jr., and Bob Anderson) on stand-up bass; guitar virtuoso Jake Langley and Mark Barrett (the beat of the Lon Bronson Band) are installed as the live backing band.
Corrie Sachs, lovingly referred to as “Our Little Diva,” is Bono’s sidekick and also Sachs’ wife. Known across the country for her Reba McEntire tribute, Sachs sings and smiles and chides Bono from one of the tall chairs on stage.
It’s a classic, proven presentation that reliably fills the showroom for guests who pay a nominal $10 admission. Bono has been leading this mid-afternoon party for 25 years now, hitting that anniversary Thursday afternoon (Feb. 6).
He’s bringing out some guests with fame dating back decades. Remember “The Tony Orlando and Dawn” prime-time show? This crowd does. Mr. Orlando himself is a guest on Bono’s anniversary fete, returning to the spot where he played his final Vegas show last year.
Bill Medley and Bucky Heard of the Righteous Brothers, impressionist legend Rich Little; Vegas favorites Clint Holmes, Chris Phillips of Zowie Bowie and Frankie Scinta; lounge legend Sonny Charles of The Checkmates; terrific performers Anne Martinez (“Bat Out of Hell”) and Lorena Peril (lead of “Fantasy” at Luxor); comic-singer-songwriter Dennis Blair; standard-bearing vocalist Dave Damiani; and Lorraine Hunt-Bono (a member of Vegas entertainment royalty who was the first and also final singer ever at Landmark, and hit the plunger to implode the place) are ALL in the lineup.
Bono’s show has sustained an audience of Las Vegas entertainment fans of a certain age, and about 11 million who tune in to his Sunday radio broadcasts on KUNV 91.5-FM (11 a.m.), KXNT 840 AM (3 p.m.) and KJUL (91.5-FM) across iTunes, CRNtalk.com, or Soundcloud.com; and on the CRN1 app at noon on Saturdays, and 12 a.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Sundays.
Bono’s tenure in Vegas is measured by his references. “The Desert Inn was a classic place, people dressed like high rollers, the people in the showroom started with Sinatra. I was in the small theater, the Starlight Theater. It was an old-school, beautiful room.”
Bono opened for Don Rickles for four years at D.I. He was the first singer ever at the lounge at The Venetian. His radio show was actually supposed to premiere at another classic hotel-casino, the Stardust, in 1999. But the management team that brought him in left, so he moved to the just-opened Club Madrid at Sunset Station on Feb. 5, 2000.
Five years later, he relocated to another locals’-friendly hotel, Sam’s Town. Then, 15 years ago, to South Point, under the stewardship of Michael Gaughan. A year ago, the hotel owner showed up with a 24th-anniversary cake. His explanation, “It was for the 14th and I had the ‘1’ switched to a ‘2.’ Enjoy it.”
Bono lives for that shtick. So does his crowd, still comfortable in the golden age of Vegas showroom headlining entertainment.
“People ask what my style is,” Bono says. “It’s the standards, and how I treat them. That’s my only style, and it still works.”
Cool Hang Alert
On the topic of classically driven singers, visiting vocalist Anthony Nunziata plays Italian American Club Showroom at 6:30 p.m. (dinner) 8 p.m. (show) Friday. It’s “Bocelli & Beyond,” Uli Geissendoerfer on keys, with Nunziata singing classic love songs and Italian arias along with a few originals. Go to iacvegas.com for intel, and a reminder: Wait for your table number to be called before hitting the buffet.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
