Adele’s last shot this year at Caesars is the fall
Updated June 18, 2022 - 9:54 pm
The show is a tricky business. Remember this while rolling in the deep with the Adele residency on the Strip.
We have previously outlined how Adele won’t play the Colosseum at Caesars Palace this summer. We believe she won’t. But there is a way for her to thread the needle to perform in the venue’s open dates in the fall.
With an educated read on the marketplace, I’d bet on that happening.
The workers at the Colosseum who are to be laid off July 10 are scheduled to be on the job again in September, with dates opening up in October through December. Adele’s new production, likely in a scaled-back format, can take those dates.
Keep in mind there has been no formal cancellation of “Weekends With Adele,” which the superstar tearfully announced Jan. 20 was indefinitely postponed because of COVID-operational issues.
Until those dates are filled at the Colosseum, we leave open the possibility that Adele will fulfill her promise to play at least the 24 dates this year at Caesars Palace. I’m not disqualifying even more shows, either, given the Colosseum’s operation schedule and open dates.
The saga of Adele’s show on the Strip is still unfolding. There’s good reason her image is still up at Caesars Palace, and not anywhere else.
Elvis chapels to ‘Elvis’
Authentic Brands Group has followed through in its offer to invite operators of Elvis-themed chapels in Las Vegas to see the new Baz Luhrmann “Elvis” biopic. That’s happening Tuesday night at AMC Town Square theaters.
ABG has also set forth on signing licensing agreements with operators of 14 Elvis chapels in Las Vegas, the majority downtown. The annual fee, as previously reported, is $500 annually. That gives Vegas chapels legal air cover to market itself as an “Officially Licensed Elvis Chapel” or something similar. They can continue to use the Elvis likeness and themes in their ceremonies.
The outcome will prove to be good for business in Las Vegas, and help Elvis keep is name alive around the world. These chapels might be kitschy, but they have promoted the Elvis image effectively for decades. Somewhere in this dialogue I thought the operators could actually claim they should be paid a fee, rather than paying themselves, given the free advertising they’ve produced for Elvis’s interests. But we’ll stop there. This melodrama is about played out.
From Carnegie to IAC
Fans of dual institutions Bob Anderson and the Italian American Club will be thrilled that Anderson is headlining the IAC Showroom June 29-30. Doors are 6 p.m., and dinner at 6:30, show at 8 p.m. (Tickets are $76; hit up iacvegas.com for details.)
We last hung with Anderson’s crew in December during in his trip to New York, where he fulfilled a dream to play the legendary Carnegie Hall in his “One More For The Road” Frank Sinatra tribute.
At IAC, Anderson will be backed by Joey Singer on piano, Bob Sachs on bass, Bob Chmel on drums and Dave Loeb on keys. All but Loeb performed with Anderson’s orchestra in New York.
Anderson’s IAC show won’t be a return to full-Sinatra. The Chairman will be in the set list, along with Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis Jr., Mel Torme, Johnny Mathis, Andy Williams, Bobby Darin and Tom Jones. Anderson will sing in his own voice, too, honed from decades of playing the showrooms and lounges at such Vegas landmarks as the Sahara, Desert Inn, Dunes and (with his Sinatra show in 2014-15) Palazzo Theater.
Anderson’s IAC shows have been known to take on some genuine old-Vegas vitality, spilling into the lounge afterward. Those days are mostly gone now, but you can find a taste at the IAC.
Horn aplenty
You know who is excited? Lady Gaga’s bandleader Brian Newman. About what? Returning “After Dark” to NoMad Library on June 30. Newman is planning his re-entry to the Strip with his burlesque star wife, Angie Pontani; Angie Swan, guitarist for David Byrne; jazz-guitar virtuoso Nir Felder; vocalist Ariana Savalas (daughter of entertainment legend Telly); famed pin-up model and dancer Sabina Kelley; Vegas lounge queen Skye Dee Miles; the ever-rocking Tommy London; and the throwback singing duo Marion Cowings and Kim Kalesti. More to be revealed (especially from Pontani). We might even have an introduction from a Vegas media type.
What Works In Vegas
Tony Rock is at the Laugh Factory at the Tropicana. Rock, who is Chris Rock’s comic younger brother, wiped out all four shows on Thursday and Friday night and was on his way to filling the balance of his schedule Saturday night. He closes Sunday. Club operator Harry Basil says Rock’s numbers are especially impressive, with clubs busy on and off the Strip and such headliners as Wayne Brady (Mirage) and Russell Peters (Encore Theater at the Wynn) also in town.
Cool Hang Alert
The Sally Olson and Ned Mills “Carpenters Legacy” residency opens Tuesday at The Mint, just a few somersaults west of the Golden Steer on West Sahara Avenue. The show is a return to the Carpenters’ 1976 U.K. tour, featuring the duo’s hits of the era. Members of the backing ensemble are Jim D’Arrigo on sax, John Plows on Drums and Mark Hall Speights on guitar. The show runs 4 p.m.-7 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, tickets start at $39.95 for GA (one drink included).
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.