Las Vegas Christmas show brings TV special to life

We may have been raised on different continents, but we all grew up watching the same TV.

So when a Las Vegas act goes out of its way to give us a holiday show, those of us who think it’s not Christmas until someone dances on the piano can be all the more grateful.

If you look at it from the hard-dollar perspective of, say, Bob Cratchit’s boss, you can see why it’s a big risk for Human Nature to knock themselves out for a limited run (through Dec. 24) during a stretch when tourism is low and locals are busy shopping or chasing their own families.

But the Australian vocal quartet stayed in town for the first time in five years on the Strip, going the extra mile to give us “Christmas, Motown and More” at The Venetian. And we’re not merely forgiving a few rough edges, or too many songs from the year-round show.

We actually expect and even demand a little ham and cheese, which belong here like sweaters and fake snow.

The Australians bring us a TV variety special come to life, much like fellow Christmas die-hard Terry Fator’s slightly more retro “Cowboy Christmas” across the street at The Mirage.

If Human Nature can seem a little slick and overrehearsed the rest of the year, the Christmas songs bring back the challenge. And the slightly stilted patter is charmingly similar to TV-special cue cards.

If one of the singers, Mike, keeps wishing it would snow, well you know where that is headed, but just try to stifle a big “Awww” anyway.

We better see some photos of the singers as wee lads under the tree. Here, we also get the two brothers in the quartet, Mike and Andrew Tierney, singing “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”

Every special needs guest stars, and here it’s Robin Meade, the HLN “Morning Express” host with the party-gal laugh. Turns out she sings too, and has recorded “Sleigh Ride” with the guys.

Meade’s “Run Rudolph Run” and her “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” duet with Toby Allen are the perfect contrast to the fraternal harmonies of the rest. Still, you wonder what would happen if the party waiting to break free of those news anchor shackles was unleashed in the same venue’s female stand-up series, “Lipshtick.”

Hey, all that’s missing here would be if someone were to turn the four guys into animated figures that look like a stop-motion special from the ’60s. Oh look, they do that too.

Beyond all that we expect from a Christmas show, Human Nature gives us all that we’ve come to expect from them.

The holiday songs translate with the energy that comes from a room putting us right on top of the strapping harmonies, Motown-styled footwork and the seven-piece band.

We’re not just walkin’ in a “Winter Wonderland,” we’re struttin’. And Phil Burton’s “Please Come Home for Christmas” carries the urgency of his Four Tops covers.

Christmas music junkies are always waiting for new arrangements. The quartet make “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” listenable again, thanks partly to Allen’s deep bass. They also pull something new out of “White Christmas” as we watch that animation. And it wouldn’t be a Christmas show without a cappella turns on “Silent Night” and the opening “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

Opening night sound problems undermined the contributions of the four-piece Bella Strings, and interfered with some of the vocal harmonies as well.

Still, you know the show will gel like a cup of strong cider as it counts down to Christmas. Even if you don’t remember Andy Williams or Michael Buble teaching you the dance moves to “Stop! In the Name of Love,” this is a special worth an annual repeat.

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.