They’re with the band, we think

Some fans of the Beach Boys thought they'd never live to see the day: The surviving members reunited on the Grammys, and now set for a live reunion-tour stop May 27 at Red Rock Resort.

Others may think they've already seen the day. Labor Day, actually, at Mandalay Beach. The Beach Boys are a good test of how carefully we pay attention as music fans, and a reminder of just how much music comes our way.

During all the years the iconic pop band battled in court, the splintered factions never stopped working. In fact, Las Vegas has hosted three groups of Beach Boys.

Mike Love's official group was at Mandalay Bay a couple of weeks after Al Jardine's Endless Summer Band worked the Riviera. They've often dodged solo-billed Brian Wilson concerts as all three crisscrossed the country. Until they patched things up, Love worked hard to convince ticket buyers his band was the Beach Boys, period.

But after the Grammys, "people just get that this is a huge deal," says Judy Alberti, who oversees entertainment for Station Casinos. She has little fear of apathy diluting sales in a 10,300-seat amphitheatre. "It's like the Eagles getting back together."

Oh yeah, those guys. Good point. Don Henley working the Hard Rock last October didn't put a big dent in Eagles sales a month later. Nor did Vince Neil moonlighting at The Cannery take any thunder out of Motley Crue's Hard Rock Hotel stint this month.

Crosby, Stills & Nash are back at the Hard Rock April 20. Each name steps up the venue size. Crosby & Nash? Mandalay Bay theater last summer. Add Stills? Hard Rock. Add Young? MGM Grand arena.

Las Vegas sees more of this stuff because it's really two markets in one. Bands play for locals and tourists. Styx was at the Hard Rock Hotel in September, and returned just a week ago to Green Valley Ranch Resort, where easier parking and cheaper beers give more incentive to locals.

Styx has warring factions, too. Their former frontman Dennis DeYoung played The Cannery in October. Kathy Spehar, who booked him, says Styx having been in town two weeks earlier was less a problem than a Journey/Foreigner/Night Ranger bill the very same day as DeYoung.

DeYoung probably sides with original Foreigner singer Lou Gramm, who has termed the ongoing group "false advertising." But he's the one who had to do a free show on Fremont Street.

Bet he and DeYoung can't wait for their own reunions.

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