‘Albumpalooza’ at Downtown Grand performs albums start to finish
The 16-minute suite and three-part harmonies on “Abbey Road”? No problem.
But when they get around to “Synchronicity”? That “Mother” is a real mother.
It all comes with the Albumpalooza territory. The monthly series at the Downtown Grand re-creates classic albums from start to finish, even if they have the occasional song that typically makes people hit “skip.”
“We’re trying to keep the spirit of the album alive. People don’t really play albums anymore,” says John Menniti, the producer and booking agent who created this series, which stems from his previous “In Its Entirety” at Station Casinos.
“Abbey Road” and other Beatles hits will be free at 9 p.m. Saturday in Freedom Beat inside the Grand (future shows will move out to the pool area).
“They are really wanting to appeal to the locals, especially entertainment-wise,” says Judy Alberti, the former Station entertainment executive who now books for the Downtown Grand. “What we think we’re missing out on is a little bit more of that mature audience, that only thinks of downtown as a place where tourists or the younger generation hang out.”
Albumpalooza continues the approach of Menniti’s long-running band The Fab, which is faithful to the Beatles’ sound without costumes or wigs. While The Fab is the logical band to play “Abbey Road,” other albums pull from a range of local acts, and sometimes orchestra musicians as well.
“Because we’re not impersonating the band, we bring whatever instrumentation and however many members we have to bring, to make it sound just like the record,” Menniti says.
“When you love an album, it’s almost like your kids. You love every track through and through, no matter how experimental or outside they can be,” he adds.
Even “Mother,” the maniacal Andy Summers track on The Police’s “Synchronicity.” Menniti cites that one as the most difficult song among the two dozen albums covered in two years at Station properties.
Balancing those is the “Greatest Hits” loophole — technically an album — exercised next month, with the Eagles on April 8.
Read more from Mike Weatherford at reviewjournal.com. Contact him at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com and follow @Mikeweatherford on Twitter.
