Sweet home Las Vegas: Rock legends have owned the Strip
The concept of residencies on the Strip had to start somewhere, sometime. Lee Loughnane says it started at the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts in July 1976. “We were the first band to decide to play the Aladdin, when no rock ’n’ roll bands at that point really wanted to play Las Vegas, so they stayed away from it,” says Loughnane, the trumpet great and co-founder of Chicago. “But when we went in and were successful, everybody started going there. That was the beginning, but we don’t get that kind of credit.”
Consider it credit, long past due. Chicago is still filling houses on the Strip, returning to the Venetian Theatre for nine shows from Friday through Feb. 23. The group has played live, somewhere, every year for the past 59.
Loughnane is one-third of Chicago’s founding horn section with dynamic trombonist (yes, they exist) Jimmy Pankow and sax master Walt Parazaider. Along with Robert Lamm, Ray Herrmann, Neil Donell and Walfredo Reyes Jr., they are the core of today’s Chicago.
Not incidentally, Reyes owns ample local connections. The drummer from Las Vegas performed in the city’s lounges as a teenager and joined Chicago 14 years ago. His brother, Daniel de los Reyes, is a percussionist for the Zac Brown Band.
Despite Loughnane’s note of an overlooked impact on rock residencies in Las Vegas, Chicago has been well rewarded.
The band’s original lineup was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame a decade ago. Their debut album, “Chicago Transit Authority,” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014. Lamm and Pankow were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2017.
That duo penned such classics as “25 or 6 to 4,” “Saturday in the Park,” “Feelin’ Stronger Every Day,” and “Make Me Smile.” All are played in the Venetian shows.
“You can’t get rid of us now,” Loughnane says. “The Aladdin was our first time there, but we’ve played Sahara and Caesars Palace for a number of years. We know Las Vegas.”
Asked about his favorite moment in a Chicago show, he sounds like a fan who loves it all.
“There isn’t really one specific spot that I could pinpoint, because there’s so much going on before and during and after every song that it just envelops my being,” the 79-year-old musician says. “We go through the performance, enjoying each part of it. There isn’t one song where I go, ‘Oh, my God. We gotta play that again?’ We have mixed many of our live performances and made a couple of albums, and I never get tired of hearing our stuff.”
Many horn players start with a different instrument. Not Loughnane, who continues to pursue perfection.
“Trumpet is not an easy instrument to keep up playing well,” he says. “You’ve got to keep at it all the time. I didn’t start on the trombone, like some of the other guys, or French horn. And everybody I can think of who picked up the trumpet has excelled beyond me (laughs). I’m still trying to get this thing.”
Walk with Wahlberg
A-lister, filmmaker and Las Vegas resident Mark Wahlberg is opening up a chance to be in an upcoming movie. This offer is part of the vaunted live auction at Saturday’s Keep Memory Alive Power of Love Gala at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The winning bidder will be awarded a walk-on role and observe a major film production.
The specific film, production timing and location are to be determined. The listed value is “priceless,” and if nothing else, it verifies that Wahlberg is continuing to make films while living in Las Vegas.
Pearl of a booking
The Gipsy Kings, featuring Nicolas Reyes, return to The Pearl at the Palms on Aug. 14. Reyes Heritage is the featured guest (tickets on sale at axs.com).
Reyes co-founded the band in the late 1970s and has been its leader since. In the past three decades, the Gipsy Kings have dominated the world music charts and sold more than 14 million albums internationally. Their platinum compilation “The Best of the Gipsy Kings” charted for more than a year upon its release. Their ninth studio album, “Savor Flamenco,” was awarded a Grammy for Best World Music Album in 2013.
Additional Gipsy Kings fun fact: Their rendition of “Hotel California” was featured in “The Big Lebowski.” This is the iconic scene in which John Turturro, as Jesus, appears in slow motion, wearing his snug purple jumpsuit and rolling a strike. The song is played on the bowling alley’s PA system, and we later learn that The Dude hates the Eagles. But Sphere ticket buyers do not.
Tease this …
Regarding the above point, we anticipate April dates for the Eagles at Sphere. Hang in there for an announcement.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
