Back in 2015, in PH Live (then known as The AXIS at Planet Hollywood), while attending a concert by the GRAMMY- and Oscar-winning Indian composer and recording artist, A.R. Rahman, my friend Gigi looked at me and marveled at how many concerts I seemed to attend, which were performed in languages I didn’t speak. And while I’d never really given it much thought, she was entirely correct.
Later, after having been met-and-greeted by Rahman, I explained to her that one of the great things about Las Vegas was that—thanks to the different international marketing departments working with AEG Presents or Live Nation in order to book the entertainers who most appeal to their particular demographic—the opportunity often arose where I was invited to attend concerts by some of the biggest artists in the world, and that as far as concert-going was concerned, great music is great music, a terrific performance is a terrific performance, and I love to be entertained.
Thus, whether it’s been Rahman (Hindi and Tamil), Coco Lee (Chinese), Chayanne (Spanish), or Googoosh (Farsi, Azerbaijani, Turkish, Armenian, and Arabic), I have gone, and not simply enjoyed myself, but been so completely caught up with the artist’s musicality and the quality of the performance that my comprehension of the language of the lyrics (or lack thereof) has proven moot. Give me a great beat, and I’m tapping my feet, bobbing my head, grooving in my seat, and having a gay old time. To wit, that Googoosh concert (on December 24, 2006, in the MGM Grand Garden Arena) remains one of the most mind-blowing shows I’ve ever witnessed.
So, it was with this attitude that I went to the opening night of Marc Anthony’s new VEGAS…MY WAY residency in the BleauLive Theater at Fontainebleau Las Vegas, despite not being o familiar with his oeuvre, and I’m so glad I did.
Not only was the energy in the room incredible, bathing the audience in palpable waves of joy, but Anthony might be one of today’s most dynamic live performers.
In addition to a 14-piece band full of horns and drums, as well as the sort of pyrotechnics one expects to see at a heavy metal concert, there was a very cool multimedia aspect to the show that was done quite seamlessly and allowed for Anthony—known for his many musical collaborations with some of the world’s biggest Latin music artists—to perform his part in some of his most popular duets, while the other artists “appeared” via music video; and was done with the Colombian Urbano/reggaetón artist, Maluma (“Felices los 4”); Puerto Rican rapper, Wisin (“Que me Quiera Más”); Colombian Latin-pop group, Piso 21 (“Volver”); Cuban-American rapper, Pitbull (“Rain Over Me”), Cuban reggaeton duo, Gente de Zona (“La Gozadera”), Puerto Rican rapper, Daddy Yankee (“De Vuelta Pa’ La Vuelta”), and Puerto Rican singer/songwriter/salsera, La India (“Vivir Lo Nuestro”).
My favorite performative aspect of Anthony’s is the way he will hold a single note for a very (very) long time—in which the band pauses, and Anthony, with his head tilted back, and eyes closed, pulls back from the mic, and lets the audience have it, delivering a strong, clean note that just seems to keep going until he lets the vibrato build toward the end, at which point the members of the audience invariably lose their respective minds—which he does multiple times, each more impressively than the last. It’s nothing short of salsero showmanship of the highest level and should be celebrated as such!
So, if you’re looking for a concert that will not only entertain the heck out of you but will leave you with a feeling of jubilant elation, then run—don’t walk—to the Fontainebleau, and see Mark Anthony’s VEGAS…MY WAY residency, de inmediato!
The opening night setlist for MARC ANTHONY: VEGAS…MY WAY—on Friday, February 13, in the BleauLive Theater at Fontainebleau Las Vegas—was:
MARC ANTHONY: VEGAS…MY WAY
BleauLive Theater | Fontainebleau Las Vegas
February 14, 15, 20, 21; July 24, 25, 29, 31; and August 01
Click HERE for info and tickets
Get into it!
#FBLV
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