This band played the hottest show at CES
Wu-Tang Clan brought the party and left the false modesty behind Wednesday night at Voltaire at The Venetian.
“We are the (expletive) Black Beatles!” came the call from the stage. The crowd of 600 or so Yahoo partners and clients shouted the company name back to the stage.
The rap collective then blew through a hip-hop version of “Come Together,” the CES convention crowd calling back the song’s classic refrain.
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The iconic act was out to achieve more than a party for lanyard-wearing conventioneers. The hourlong set was to tease “Wu-Tang Clan: The Saga Continues … The Las Vegas Residency” at The Theater at Virgin Hotels. The series opens Feb. 9-10,
This was the most in-demand private concert during the annual convention. The wait list was more than double the venue capacity. The party showcased Voltaire as a dazzling corporate event space, the first time it had been set up for a convention event.
CES ended its annual Vegas conference on on Friday.
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Wu-Tang Clan arrived at about 11 p.m. for its performance. There would be no rehearsal. There’s not much to rehearse, actually, for the the iconic act founded in Staten Island, N.Y., in 1992. The original lineup consisted of RZA (the Clan’s acclaimed producer), GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, U-God, Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck, Cappadonna and the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard (ODB).
The band paid tribute to ODB during the Voltaire show, “We all represent one human race, us here in America represent one country, we only have one life, there’s only one blood!” The crowd gave No. 1 signs, and Wu-Tang Clan kicked into “Shimmy Shimmy Ya.”
Intended or not, the last word in the cut’s title is short for “Yahoo,” so mission accomplished.
Tease this …
Feeling a Dead & Company at the Sphere announcement by the end of the month. Series to run end of April/early May …
Out of the Bleau …
Hearing some entertainment industry buzz about Calvin Harris and Jay Z playing Super Bowl weekend shows at Fontainebleau. Such performances command at least a $1 million appearance fee. I’d also been tipped about Cardi B. coming into the venue for a one-off, but talks unraveled. Alt-rock band Third Eye Blind is the only headliner signed at BleauLive Theater for ‘24.
Cool Hang Alert
Returning to the topic of Virgin Hotels entertainment …
One Steakhouse is launching a live-music series, “Thursdays Live,” in its lounge 5:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Thursdays beginning Jan. 25. Sara Loera, who sings in a sultry manner, re-imagines classic rock hits. She’s in the room from opening night through Feb. 15. No cover. This is a terrific move, as the only singing from the restaurant has been “Funologist” Johnny O’Donnell uncorking Irish tavern tunes …
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 X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
