‘Raise a little hell!’: Miranda Lambert cuts loose in Strip return

Social media is good for so many things. Video of flaming baked Alaska, for instance. But it doesn’t do nuance very well, and sucks at context.

We got context and, yep, flames Wednesday night as Miranda Returned to Bakkt Theater at Planet Hollywood. It was Miranda’s first show after she scolded fans taking flash photos in front of the stage Saturday night.

There was no tempering of the mood in Wednesday’s show, and no reference to the dust-up from Saturday. Lambert told the crowd to cut loose and enjoy “Velvet Rodeo,” a very Las Vegas country-music spectacle.

How “Tin Man” went off tonight … Beautiful song. @mirandalambert #Vegas @reviewjournal #RJNow pic.twitter.com/Yh3VmIoqqS

— John Katsilometes (@johnnykats) July 20, 2023

“Thank you for spending your hard-earned money on us tonight, we appreciate you so much!” Lambert said in her first remarks to the crowd. “By the way, you have my full permission to raise a little hell if you feel like it … You just be here and be you all the time and sing along if you know the words, all right?”

“Where my cowgirls at?” ⁦@mirandalambert⁩ fires up the crowd ⁦@BakktTheaterLV⁩ ⁦@PHVegas⁩ … #Vegas ⁦@reviewjournal⁩ pic.twitter.com/QTujrwZwcU

— John Katsilometes (@johnnykats) July 20, 2023

The crowd obliged. Standing, dancing and — as usual — recording video and taking photos throughout the show.

This is Lambert’s performance, every time out. The evening is super-charged, with pyrotechnics, lasers and strobes. Lambert comes out late in a custom-designed leather jacket that shoots sparklers from the arms.

Pyro-garment alert … @mirandalambert en fuego @BakktTheaterLV @PHVegas #Vegas @reviewjournal pic.twitter.com/jgpPVWL2vC

— John Katsilometes (@johnnykats) July 20, 2023

Fans are encouraged, and expected, to cut loose. The superstar announces it from the start. The seats aren’t equipped with seat belts.

But there are rules, among them no flash photography is allowed at Bakkt Theater. And there is common sense, which (we argue) would be not to stand in front of the performer and pose for a bunch of photos while she is singing a ballad.

You might have seen the social-media coverage from Saturday night. Lambert was singing the ballad “Tin Man” from the theater’s auxiliary stage as a group of ladies in the VIP section took at least three photos, with flash.

The ⁦@mirandalambert⁩ speech at the top … ⁦@PHVegas⁩ ⁦⁦@BakktTheaterLV⁩ @reviewjournal⁩ #Vegas pic.twitter.com/AqIIjrupui

— John Katsilometes (@johnnykats) July 20, 2023

Lambert stopped the song for a few seconds. “I’m gonna stop right here for a second… sorry,” she said in a video originally posted on the @redneckinvegas TikTok feed (which is now internationally famous). “These girls are worried about their selfie and not listening to the songs is pissing me off a little bit. I don’t like it, at all. We’re here to hear some country music tonight. I’m here singing some country dang music.”

Audience member Adela Calin, a Las Vegan who says she is a part-time social-media influencer, said she just wanted the money shot of the headliner with her party. “Miranda Lambert got on that stage, and we were like, ‘Oh, this is the time we can do our group picture,’” Calin said Tuesday morning. She added she did not know that activity led to Lambert halting the song until she turned around and Lambert was addressing her group.

And, for context, word from the venue Wednesday that the group was also shooting flashes through “Carousel,” the ballad leading to “Tin Man.” This was reportedly a multisong distraction.

This sort of behavior is a risk in a show like Lambert’s, which ramps the energy but pumps the brakes for “Carousel” and “Tin Man” in the second half of the performance. The greats know how to pace a show, control the party’s ebb and flow, and Lambert does that. But not everyone settles down. A crowd member might shout, “Sing it, girl!” during “Carousel,” which happened Wednesday.

There are remedies for cellphone interruptions. A performer can build a lyric if a turns ridiculous, “How about a favor for me/Cut the flash on the selfie.” Lambert could enforce a Yondr-pouch policy, simply eliminate the problem at the source. But this hasn’t been done at Bakkt Theater, where Miranda is performing 10 more dates, this Friday and Saturday and eight shows Nov. 30-Dec. 10.

Of course, social media helps generate interest in the show, fill seats and create lasting content on multiple platforms. My own phone is alive with “Velvet Rodeo” pics and clips. This show was not set up to be an insular experience, but to be shared.

On Wednesday, a woman three rows in front of me was about to take video of “Tin Man” as the song started. Her phone light flashed. I wanted to call out, “Not now!” but her companion put his hand over the light until she turned it off. A little later, several in the crowd held their phones overhead to light the theater. That is how you do it.

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.