Poll : 21 March - 03 April 2012

Analysis

Thanks for all the votes and the feedback; here are some representative observations:

• My favourite shows are the ones with either a live band, or a rock & roll soundtrack. Legends In Concert and Love are my two favorite shows in Las Vegas. I see them on every trip. I also liked Human Nature, Viva Elvis, and Vegas: The Show to name a few. The energy of a live band can’t be beat. Anything with a live band or some good classic rock always goes to the top of my list.
  
  
• We would really like to see some good jazz performances in Vegas. Maybe they're already there, but I'll be darned if I've had any luck tracking them down. Perhaps LVA could add Jazz as an element to its entertainment listings? [Ed: We don't list "jazz" as a separate genre, but if you check our "Event" listings, we list the bigger jazz acts performing, plus follow "Today's News" for info about one-offs and smaller venues. The new Mob Bar downtown regularly hosts live jazz, for example, plus check out the schedule for the Cabaret Jazz Club at the new Smith Center for the Performing Arts downtown.]
  
  
• In response to the question for March 21, 2012. I really, really miss the show that was at the Stardust for years, "Enter the Night." It was a great show and they were always adding or subtracting acts every time I saw it. More of these shows would greatly be appreciated not only by me but by thousands of others that didn't get the opportunity to see a variety show.
  
  
• I have lived the show experience from the early 70s to today. Many positives and negatives, but the one major change today I don't like is that if I want to see a decent show I have to buy the ticket (or so it seems) 60 or 90 days in advance. I can remember asking my date: What show would you like to see tonight? And then that afternoon I'd buy the tickets. LV used to be about spur of the moment. Now everything, in particular good restaurants, requires a reservation far in advance.
  
  
• I have to say that I have never regretted that $90 I spent to see Siegfried and Roy back in the day; but it was a stretch at the time, for sure.
  
  
• I have seen several of the Cirque productions, and they were wonderful. But it’s hard for me to pay the kind of money they ask for O, for example. Takes a lot out of the budget of a low roller.
  
  
• I have seen many, many shows using coupons from the LVA coupon book. Just a few are: Charo, Amazing Jonathan, Vinnie Favorito, Cage aux Folles. We have all enjoyed Mac King in the afternoon, and roared at that prior afternoon show at the Flamingo…which was raunchy and clever and old school [Ed: Bottoms Up?]. (Oh, and did I mention Vinnie Favorito? Laugh riot!) We had some really memorable moments when the lounge-act scene was popular … Keely Smith’s comeback, Four Freshmen and Four Lads for the price of a beer at the Four Queens; Coasters behind the bar at the Riviera ... I could go on and on. "Vegas" means "shows" to me, but it’s awfully hard for me to find the money to see more than one show in the week I am usually there, with prices this high. I certainly feel that performers have a right to make a living; I just don’t think they have a right to make the whole living off of me, alone. (I know it’s not them; it’s the owners. But you get my drift.) Thanks for letting me rant and rave a bit… [Ed: You're welcome :-)]
  
  
• Love to see shows like "The Lon Bronson Band." 2-drink minimum, no cover, quality entertainment! Cirque du Soleil and other high-cost shows do nothing for me.
  
  
• Broadway shows…..Something like Mama Mia! or West Side Story, or Rent, or Oklahoma! or productions like those. [Ed: Mama Mia! was here for several years, but Las Vegas experimented with doing down the Broadway path and pretty much got its butt kicked -- Hairspray, The Producers, Avenue Q, and Monty Python et al were all expensive flops.]
  
  
• I would like to see more entertainers in the Showrooms at smaller casinos. I always enjoyed going to the Las Vegas Hilton and to The Orleans for their shows - not so crowded and easier parking, etc. I miss the Stardust. The really big casinos with the huge showrooms are just too much trouble. The Stratosphere has a really good show right now with Frankie Moreno and I have already been several times - never walked into the Stratosphere before, but he got me there. [Ed: And don't forget there's a twofer for that, and many other shows, in the 2012 MRB.]
  
  
• I'd love to see more classic stuff like Joan Jett, The Bangles, Rick Derringer, Edgar Winter, Pat Travers, John Waite, etc., '80s and '90s bands and musicians from classic bands that have gone solo, along with some up and comers, for reasonable prices in smaller venues, similar to the Railhead at Boulder Station. [Ed: Ever check out the Fremont Street Experience schedule? You'll find lots of what you're looking for downtown, for free, including this year's rock series. Eastside Cannery is a good bet, too, plus the summer concert season at Mandalay Bay Beach.]