CeeLo shakes up Delilah in pop-up performance
There are certain “tells” at Delilah at the Wynn.
When entertainment director and master musician Ryan Cross takes the stage and plugs in his bass, something is happening.
And when CeeLo Green rolls in with (by our count) an entourage of nine, and he’s dressed like a disco ball, something is also happening.
The “Crazy” composer and Vegas frequenter took over the club on Sunday night during Delilah’s regular jazz night. This was an unbilled set that lasted about an hour.
The superstar donned shades and a shimmering sleeveless outfit that brought to mind his “Loberace” show some 10 years ago at Planet Hollywood.
Green took over for the night’s headliner, Skye Dee Miles, about 10:30 p.m., with Cross providing the introduction to the thrilled crowd. Green then performed an inventive, energetic set. mixing snippets of Michael Jackson’s, “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,” Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long,” Stevie Wonder’s “Sir Duke” and Sammy Davis Jr.’s “I Gotta Be Me.”
Green unloaded his own compositions, too, jacking up the groovers with “It’s All Right,” “”Don’t Cha”” and “(Forget) You.” Before that last song, he called out, “I know what you want to hear!”
Green is a fan of the city and familiar with the Vegas stage. A decade ago he fronted “Loberace,” his Liberace-fashioned stage show, at what is now Criss Angel Theater at P.H. He went on to perform at Cleopatra’s Barge at Caesars Palace in July 2017, and last year in “Boombox,” at the Westgate, which ran for a handful of shows in September before pulling out for under-performing ticket sales.
That ’90s revival production is currently, we surmise, between openings.
Also, Green’s “Man In The Mirror” show at Flamingo Showroom was announced in November 2019, then halved its original 16-show schedule to eight before COVID KO’d the whole project.
But Green soared in his Delilah appearance, shaking up the joint and lowering the boom as only he can. Like his disco suit, it was the right fit.
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.
