*Phish will play Caesars Palace in Vegas five nights a week
Kevin Smith
Phish will play Caesars Palace in Vegas five nights a week for one year
for a reported $100 million. Will other rock stars follow suit?
By GEOFF BOUCHER, Times Staff Writer
___________________________________________________________
Phish says they were inspired to create an extravagant show after seeing
a performance of Cirque du Soleil's "O" at Las Vegas' Bellagio Hotel.
"It changed my life and my entire way of thinking about performances on
stage." Trey Anastasio, whisking along last week in a limousine en route
to a recording session, was not talking about the upcoming solo album or
the power trio "Oysterhead" that he formed with bassist extraordinaire, Les
Claypool and former Police drummer, Stuart Copeland. Instead, the epiphany
arrived two years ago as fellow bandmates sat in a Las Vegas casino.
And, it turns out, the moment may also reshape the life of the evolving
entertainment scene in the high-rolling desert city.
Phish, who stepped away from the public concert stage in October of 2000
to begin an indefinite hiatus, has agreed to an unprecedented pact that
will see them perform five nights a week for 40 weeks a year over three years
at Caesars Palace. The deal is worth a reported $100 million and will also
see the casino resort build a $95-million, 4,000-seat theater to house the
production. The shows, scheduled to begin next March, will mix the
band's music and an elaborate theatrical production on a vast,
22,000-square-foot stage.
Phish becomes the only contemporary rock band to make such a lengthy commitment
to any venue. For Las Vegas, it may lead to an era of rock
stars in residence, the way country singers have become house acts in Branson,
Mo. The path to this unlikely commitment and destination began when Trey
Anastasio, Mike Gordon and Jon Fishman, sat captivated in the audience
of "O" at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino. "O" is the production that channels
1.5 million gallons of water and six dozen performers into the trademark
surrealism and acrobatics of Cirque du Soleil, the French Canadian
theater company. Phish saw in the show a way to create a backdrop to match
their own often epic music.
"I knew I wanted to perform and have a visual show like this and have,
like, 60 performers on stage with us and make every song look like a visual
experience," Gordon said during a cell phone interview from the car.
"It's kind of impossible to travel with a show like this; the effects and the
décor and the whole thing makes it technically impossible. We would have
to have a base. And we found that in Las Vegas."
'til then,
kevin.
remove PSEUDO to reply.
><> ><> ><> ><>
"People who call jam band music boring can be like people who call baseball
boring. They often just don't make the effort to hear and see the inner game."
><> ><> ><> ><>
Dave Herkert
BTW, where did this article appear? If it were April Fools Day, I'd be real
skeptical....
Different sets each nite??
Gamehendge (every nite would be OK)?!?!?!?
Dave
"Kevin Smith" <kms...@aol.comPSEUDO> wrote in message
news:20020415160528...@mb-mv.aol.com...
Ulysses
Kevin Smith
friend.
no, i don't believe it
.>
>BTW, where did this article appear?
Ulysses
The "original" is even funnier...
; )
----------------------------------------------
From:
http://www.calendarlive.com/top/1,1419,L-LATimes-Music-X!ArticleDetail-52742
,00.html
Tuesday, March 5, 2002
POP MUSIC
Diva in the Desert
Celine Dion will play Caesars Palace in Vegas five nights a week for three
years for a reported $100 million. Will other pop stars follow suit?
By GEOFF BOUCHER, Times Staff Writer
"It changed my life and my entire way of thinking about performances on
stage." Celine Dion, whisking along last week in a limousine en route to the
Grammy Awards, was not talking about the recent birth of her first child or
the career rocket of the "Titanic" soundtrack in 1999. Instead, the epiphany
arrived two years ago as she sat in a Las Vegas casino.
And, it turns out, the moment may also reshape the life of the evolving
entertainment scene in the high-rolling desert city.
Dion, who stepped away from the public concert stage on New Year's Eve
1999 to begin the role of new mother, has agreed to an unprecedented pact
that will see her perform five nights a week for 40 weeks a year over three
years at Caesars Palace. The deal is worth a reported $100 million and will
also see the casino resort build a $95-million, 4,000-seat theater to house
the production. The shows, scheduled to begin next March, will mix the
singer's music and an elaborate theatrical production on a vast,
22,000-square-foot stage.
Dion becomes the only contemporary superstar at the heights of pop to
make such a lengthy commitment to any venue. For Las Vegas, it may lead to
an era of pop stars in residence, the way country singers have become house
acts in Branson, Mo.
The path to this unlikely commitment and destination began when Dion
and René Angélil, her husband and manager, sat captivated in the audience of
"O" at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino. "O" is the production that channels
1.5 million gallons of water and six dozen performers into the trademark
surrealism and acrobatics of Cirque du Soleil, the French Canadian theater
company. Fellow Canadian Dion saw in the show a way to create a backdrop to
match her own often epic music.
"I knew I wanted to perform and have a visual show like this and have,
like, 60 performers on stage with me and make every song look like a visual
experience," she said during a cell phone interview from the car. "It's kind
of impossible to travel with a show like this; the effects and the décor and
the whole thing makes it technically impossible. We would have to have a
base. And we found that in Las Vegas."
For Dion, there is some gamble in the Las Vegas enterprise: She will
not be able to tour or do extensive promotion on the road to help drive
album sales and all-important radio airplay. Artistically, there may be some
risk that even her large voice might be lost in the massive, vibrant swirl
of a Cirque du Soleil-style show.
Her husband, though, chuckles at those notions. With soft-spoken
confidence he says that Las Vegas is becoming an epicenter of live
entertainment. "Why go to the fans if they will come to you and be able to
see something truly special?"
The eye-opening deal and show plans are another signpost for Las Vegas
and its unique journey as a show-business oasis.
After building a reputation in the '50s and '60s as the glittery
clubhouse of Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, the casinos' showrooms featured
an expanded superstar roster in the '70s with fixtures such as Elvis Presley
and Tom Jones. But it also became viewed by younger, edgier artists as a
place where an extended stay meant you were a sellout or in semiretirement.
In more recent years, the bookings of music superstars gave way
somewhat to the special effects and huge cast productions that resort
leaders saw as more defining centerpieces to draw tourists. In the late
'90s, as more money, massive development and the local population surged,
the Strip became a bankable spot for more big-name pop and rock music, and
once unlikely names such as the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan began to appear
on casino marquees. These stars didn't park in one casino for weeks at a
time the way Sinatra did, but they didn't dodge the town anymore either,
says Gary Bongiovanni, editor in chief of Pollstar, a concert business trade
publication.
"In terms of contemporary music acts, it used to be you lost all your
credibility if you were over there playing lounges or showrooms,"
Bongiovanni says. "That's not the case anymore. The very hippest acts can
play there now with no stigma at all."
Bongiovanni says Dion's plan to set up shop in one spot for a multiyear
run may inspire other artists. He points to the success of the country music
scene in Branson as a template: Acts of all levels of commercial viability
can escape the overhead and rigors of traveling and enjoy a steady stream of
fans.
"It can be the best of all worlds for the artist," he said. "In a way,
Celine Dion may be pioneering that in the pop world. And what better place
than Vegas?"
Clearly, the Dion deal raises the stakes of the Vegas music scene, says
Tom Gallagher, president and CEO of Park Place Entertainment, the gaming
industry titan that runs Caesars, Bally's, the Flamingo and more than two
dozen other casino operations in five countries.
"This one," Gallagher says, "really breaks the mold for everything that
has gone on in this town in the past. And that is what we're trying to do in
entertainment over here.... Artists are looking to get off the road and do
something that's more interesting for the audience and themselves."
Gladys Knight has also just agreed to perform 50 weeks at the Flamingo
(although in a more traditional concert format), suggesting Gallagher and
his company will be looking for more long-term deals with pop world names.
The Nevada destination may need the help. Business has suffered from
the weak economy, and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 set in motion a
powerful undertow in the city's convention industry. "They have been getting
clobbered," as Bongiovanni puts it.
The deal's announcement also marks the amping up of Dion's return to
the music scene. She taped a performance Sunday night at the Kodak Theatre
in Hollywood for a CBS television special to air next month, and her first
studio album since 1997, "A New Day Has Come," will be released March 26.
Her son, René-Charles Angélil, celebrated his first birthday in
January, and the upcoming commitment to Caesars Palace will allow the singer
to perform for hundreds of thousands of fans without shuttling her toddler
between airports and hotel rooms. The family is building a new home in the
Las Vegas area. Dion, perhaps feeling confined by the media portrayals of
her during her hiatus, says a positive family situation is a pleasant side
effect but not the driving force of the endeavor.
"When we decided to go to Vegas I was not even pregnant, so don't get
me wrong here," she says. "The first idea of going to Vegas is to give my
fans a No. 1 show.... Of course, if you want to talk about the family issue,
yes it's an incredible thing. It's just wonderful that mommy can stay home
and spend the whole day with the baby and then go to Caesars for a
spectacular show."
The show will be created by Franco Dragone, the guiding hand behind the
dreamy, vibrant Cirque du Soleil productions that have been successful as
touring shows and as two standing attractions in Las Vegas, "O" and
"Mystère" at Treasure Island. After Dion visited the cast of "O" backstage
to express her delight, Dragone followed up with an admiring note. In short
order, Dragone visited the singer's home in Jupiter, Fla., and the seed was
planted for the Caesars production.
Dion's show will be 90 minutes long, but the specifics of its content
are, like Dragone's acrobats, very much up in the air.
"We're not even there yet," Dion says of a story line. "We're trying to
build every song, and the thread is not completely all together yet. We're
still working on the effects and the beautiful magic things."
Robert Tivy
Sorry for being harsh, but serioslah, come on.
- Rob
"Dave Herkert" <dndph...@spamkillmchsi.com> wrote in message
news:NuGu8.18190$4D6....@rwcrnsc52.ops.asp.att.net...
Mack
wrote:
>If you believed this for even a second, your a fool.
>Sorry for being harsh, but serioslah, come on.
>
You are not being harsh, these people are fucking morons!
It's a Celion Dion press release with her name taken out and Phish and
Trey's name inserted.
What aa bunch of fucking idiots!...YEAH YOU!!!!
LISURFER1228
boys
Dah 10
replace her name with Phish. Damn, if only Phish would end their hiatus and
Celine were to never be heard from again.