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| - I went to the Opening Weekend for Tenors of Rock, a new show at Harrah's Las Vegas. The Tenors of Rock were finalists for England's The X Factor. While they cover some of the rock classics, the Beatles, Rolling Stones to Queen and Bon Jovi. The selection of tunes they covered was unique. Some you would expect, some you wouldn't. I am NOT a music critic, but I can give you my take on their opening show.
The Tenors are 5 young men from London. Founded by Gareth Richards, the group includes his best friend Jimmy Denning (complete in kilt!), brother Dai Richards, Jonathan Williams and Tommy Sherlock. They covered the rock classics in their own style, blending voices in harmony, then highlighting each of the group's members. Each member could handle solos without any problem. This was not 5 guys just covering rock classics. They arranged the songs to fully benefit from the harmony and the individual strengths of each voice.
What I found refreshing was their interaction with the audience. On several numbers, the group either showed up during a black out or walked off the stage and into the audience. The people around us were confused at first. After one of the first black outs the band starts playing, then the boys started singing... but no one was on stage (we were 3 rows from the stage). Voices continued, people started looking around and noticed that the boys had spread themselves about the room; in the aisles, in the back, even on a table!! Slowly they made their way back to the stage. They and their dancers went into the audience several times. One of the numbers Gareth was near us. He was shaking hands with people, interacting when not singing. After the initial shock of seeing the members appear in the audience, people liked it and looked forward to it. I heard several positive comments from others about it.The boys are backed by a 4 piece live band. Experienced rockers they helped add to the experience. The show included live dancers to add to the appeal (and give us guys something to appreciate!). Girls were good dancers, not a necessary component of the show but worked in well, especially a "lap dance challenge" involving the band, the girls and audience members!
I have lived in Vegas for over 30 years. I have seen other shows during their openings. Some still had major issues weeks into the production. We saw the very first Saturday showing of the Tenors of Rock, only the 4th show they had performed. Although it was not perfect, the flaws were minor and are things that will definitely improve with performance. If they continue coming into the audience (which I suggest they do) the tech crew is going to have to add follow spots to cover them returning to the stage. They are lit in the audience but several times they make their way to the stage singing and unlit. There are a few tweaking of volumes that will also improve as the group, the band, the dancers and technician all get used to the environment. These are things I feel the normal audience member would not even notice.
As I stated I have seen shows weeks into production that had more flaws. Nothing that I saw was detrimental to the show and will only get better with time. Everyone around me loved the show. Everyone I asked said they would love to see it again!
When in Las Vegas I suggest you put the Tenors of Rock on your must see list. The show is energetic, different and just a whole lot of fun! I can't wait for friends to come visit. This is one show I will go WITH them to see!!
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