Josh Groban among artists who should have regular Las Vegas gig
Josh, what’s your hurry? You haven’t been here in four years. Sit down. Take your shoes off. Stay awhile.
It isn’t that we don’t appreciate Josh Groban for making the MGM Grand Garden an arena stop on the summer leg of his “Straight to You” tour. It’s just that Saturday’s concert by the operatic singer, whose CDs enjoy a permanent ride in every soccer mom’s SUV, raises questions of why he isn’t here more often.
Specifically, when is Groban going to cave in to the temptation of the recurring headliner “residency”? You know, the multiple-shows-per-year deal that Celine Dion, Barry Manilow and Garth Brooks have used to reboot star power on the Strip. The boomer stars jumped right in, from Elton John to Carlos Santana.
But the nightclubs are stealing away the younger customers. Casinos are looking to the sub-boomer generation of headliner, if admittedly for the circular motive — as Live Nation executive Bob Cayne points out — of driving business into the nightclubs, which don’t really get hopping until about 11 p.m. anyway.
A lot of the stars know they are needed here but expect the casinos to open the counting room. Wynn Las Vegas executive Steve Wynn noted awhile back: “Most entertainers are looking for someone to subsidize (ticket prices). They want to give their fans a deal, but they want a big paycheck.”
Still, Groban seems to understand where his future lies. He’s even learning how to work a room, old-Vegas style, if that’s how you choose to interpret a widely circulated interview with journalist Alan Sculley. On his last big tour, Groban said he fell into “the trap of performing at an audience rather than with them.”
He sought to remedy that with a series of solo piano dates in smaller venues. Saturday’s tour incorporates some of his newfound looseness with “a lot of open gaps” and interaction.
If not Groban, who will make the jump from occasional concert headliner to multishow Vegas star? Here’s our short list, ranked roughly in order of likelihood and focusing on individuals, because bands are a different kind of list (not that the Hard Rock wouldn’t love to have Coldplay or Metallica anchor its schedule).
1. Michael Buble — This one’s such a no-brainer, you have to suspect Buble stays an arm’s length from Vegas simply because everyone thinks he’s so Vegas already. The crooner will buckle down one of these days, when a smaller-theater guarantee can match the paycheck of arena concerts.
2. Beyonce — She also fill arenas too easily and is too young (29) to settle down. But the multitalented superstar already staked out $1,000-per-ticket ground at Wynn Las Vegas in 2009, scaling down some of the arena theatrics for an “unplugged” approach (preserved on video as “I Am … Yours”).
3. Kenny Chesney — He fills stadiums, but the country version of Jimmy Buffett also has a demonstrated fondness for the Hard Rock Hotel. The country explosion is guaranteed to land more of its crossover stars a larger presence on the Strip, whether it’s Chesney, Brad Paisley or …
4. Carrie Underwood — We’re still not sure why AEG Live made a futures bet on the uncertain vocal skills of Shania Twain in late 2012, when America’s new sweetheart is in grand voice right now. Look at it this way: If a star is impersonated in a Las Vegas tribute show, we’re probably ready for the real deal.
5. Alicia Keys — Casinos should be saying “I Ain’t Got You” to the compelling piano songstress. Beyonce is a no-brainer, but hotel executives might need a bit of convincing that Keys has the widest, across-the-board range of appeal needed for multiple bookings.
5. Cee Lo Green — This one’s a wild card, but the cat seems to be here every month anyway for some kind of appearance. If casino operators need encouragement that he is universal enough, look to his judge duties on the TV talent contest “The Voice.” And while you’re there, look at fellow judges Blake Shelton and Christina Aguilera.
6. Justin Timberlake — He’s got other fish to fry, but he does throw his annual Shriners Hospitals benefits on the Strip, and we can bribe him with good golf. And since George Clooney can’t sing, who better to become the Sinatra-like guy’s guy, hep-cat ambassador of cool for the Strip?
7. Taylor Swift — At 21, she’s way too young to be thinking about settling down. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the Celine Dion-style working-mom arrangement.
Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.