Kats: Cheap Trick to open The Strat residency in February

When Cheap Trick unleashed the hit, “I Want You to Want Me,” they could person been referring to Las Vegas.

“The archetypal clip we played Vegas, we opened for Kansas, and they wouldn’t adjacent enactment america connected the marquee,” guitar large and Cheap Trick founding subordinate Rick Nielsen says. “What was connected the marquee was true. Kansas was playing. But we weren’t up determination with them. They didn’t privation the words ‘cheap trick’ connected a casino marquee.”

That was for a amusement connected Dec. 30, 1977, astatine the then-Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts. Or, 44 years to the time of this telephone conversation. Cheap Trick is coming backmost to Vegas for a residency astatine The Strat Theater, moving Feb. 25-26, and March 4-5.

Tickets commencement astatine $75, moving to $300 for VIP packages, onsale astatine 10 a.m. Monday astatine tickets.thestrat.com/CheapTrick. All attendees volition beryllium required to person a antagonistic COVID-19 trial wrong 72-hours anterior to lawsuit entry, oregon person vaccination cards showing they are afloat vaccinated against COVID-19

And yep, Cheap Trick volition beryllium up determination successful hotel’s marquee lights. This is the point, arsenic The Strat adds much stone iconography to its Theater lineup. Sammy Hagar has already recovered a blessed location astatine the edifice with his party-concert show.

“We aren’t conscionable bringing stone ‘n’ rotation to the Las Vegas Strip, we’re throwing a party,” says Brad Goldberg, elder vice president of selling and amusement for edifice proprietor Golden Entertainment Inc. “We’re thrilled to adhd Cheap Trick to our lineup of legendary stone residencies astatine The Strat for what volition beryllium a once-in-a-lifetime acquisition for their fans.”

Goldberg typically reinforces his company’s presumption that The Strat is connected the Strip, continuing the statement betwixt that edifice and Sahara astir wherever is the Strip’s northernmost border. But employing the Strip arsenic a selling constituent tin lone gully much vigor for a Cheap Trick residency astatine the revitalized resort.

Show co-producer Adam Steck of SPI Entertainment, himself a stone fan, books each amusement astatine The Strat Theater. As helium says, “Cheap Trick is 1 of the top stone ‘n’ rotation bands of each time. They are revered by truthful galore musicians. We’re excited for them to play their large hits. Maybe we’ll spot ‘Live astatine Budokan’ astatine The Strat.”

This month, SPI and The Strat are expected to denote 2022 dates for Hagar. The Strat Theater’s roster is further occupied by headlining magician Xavier Mortimer, by the mentalist Banachek, and the light-dance accumulation “iLuminate.” The theatre has an opening, arsenic the “MJ Live” tribute amusement closed Thursday nighttime and is reopening Feb. 7 astatine Tropicana Theater.

Cheap Trick’s entreaty is clear. Led by Zander’s distinctive, high-rising vocals and Nielsen’s signature five-neck Hamer electric, the set has released a drawstring of deed singles and albums dating to 1974. “Dream Police,” “Surrender,” and the top-selling “The Flame” apical the deed parade. Today’s lineup is archetypal members Nielsen, pb vocalist Robin Zander, bass maestro Tom Petersson and drummer Daxx Nielsen, Rick’s son.

Daxx Nielsen took implicit for founding subordinate Bun E. Carlos successful 2010. The archetypal lineup was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame successful 2016.

Since its archetypal amusement successful ‘77, little than a twelvemonth earlier the groundbreaking “Cheap Trick astatine Budokan” medium was released, the set has performed astatine respective Vegas venues. Cheap Trick played a mates of packed Fremont Street Experience shows successful the “Downtown Rocks” lineup, astir precocious drafting 15,000 successful August 2019. The seasoned rockers besides headlined bid of terrific performances paying tribute to The Beatles with “Sgt. Pepper Live” astatine the then-Las Vegas Hilton and aboriginal Paris Theater from 2008-2010.

Those shows were awesome for the producers’ quality to find a twelve sitarists for a azygous Vegas production, for starters. But Cheap Trick added a robust stone vibe to the “Pepper” classics, having secured a spot successful rock-and-roll lore by signaling versions of “Losing You” and “Moving On” successful 1980. The set besides filled retired the “Pepper” amusement with respective of their ain hits.

The Strat shows should travel that escaped format, with the set focusing connected its ain material.

“We’re going to play benignant of similar what we had done before, erstwhile we’ve played a afloat album, and past other tracks,” Nielsen said. “We’re going to effort to bash that successful Vegas. We tin play the archetypal album, the 2nd album, 3rd medium and 4th medium implicit a four-night stand.”

Cheap Trick is moving astir an ever-changing touring schedule, truthful further Vegas dates are expected but not yet penciled in. A European circuit acceptable for February has been pushed from ‘21 to this year. So has the band’s booking astatine the Under The Stars festival successful Australia. Cheap Trick’s co-headlining circuit with ZZ Top successful Canada has been moved to this spring. A bid with Rod Stewart has been moved to this summer.

“We person truthful galore different shows that that we’ve scheduled and rescheduled, and scheduled, I don’t cognize precisely what tin beryllium worked out,” Nielsen says. That’s each worldly that is backed up, moving, and has been going connected for astir 2 years now. It’s like, I cognize what twelvemonth it is, but sometimes I’m not definite (laughs). I conscionable privation to get onstage and play. We volition marque it special, that I tin promise.

Cool Hang Alert

Vegas country-western fave Chase Brown plays Notoriety Live astatine 7:30 p.m. (doors) 8 p.m. (line dancing) and 9 p.m. (performance) Friday astatine Notoriety Live. The antheral dubbed “The Singing Cowboy” does program to battalion his Disco Ladder. Yes. Disco. It’s covered successful a cardinal tiny mirrors. Tickets are $20, get with the NotorietyLive.com website for specs.

John Katsilometes’ file runs regular successful the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast tin beryllium recovered astatine reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him astatine jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats connected Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 connected Instagram.