Beatles fans find Vegas appeal
June 29, 2007 | 10:49
am
Earlier this week was the celebration for the one year anniversary
of LOVE. The event brought to the Mirage: Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr as well
as the widows of both John Lennon and George Harrison. Even Larry King
showed up at the Mirage to conduct a joint interview with these all-star owners
of Apple Corps. Now, the media are gone and the hoopla passed. Yet, Mirage is
getting one final side benefit for its dedication to the band that is an icon to
all Boomers. Starting Sunday at the Mirage will be the three day convention "The Fest For
Beatles Fans" expecting up to 6,500 atttendees. This is the first time 
this
convention has come to Vegas in its 33 year history.
this
convention has come to Vegas in its 33 year history. Among the star attractions, for hardcore Beatles fans, will be
an appearance by the only unknown former Beatle: Pete Best. Best, the drummer
for the band from before the Beatles were stars, will be performing with his
band on Sunday night. Also, appearing at the convention will be some of the
members of Wings who did not have the last name McCartney. Certainly, this convention won't bring all the paparazzi and media that were here earlier this
week. But for music fans who want to really reflect and enjoy the music of the
Beatles this is a welcome event. But what is so interesting about this
convention is in one way how typical it is of the sort of events that happen all of
the time in Las Vegas. Conventions and tourism are the bread and butter work of
Las Vegas, of course. Yet, in another way, there is a reason it took more than
three decades to bring a convention of Beatles fans to Las Vegas for the first time. There was a
time, not so long ago, when the idea of a Beatles convention in Vegas would have
seemed ludicrous. Vegas still suffered from the Curse of Fat Elvis: a reputation
as a sleazy land for cheesy entertainers, past their prime, to financially warm
themselves on the last dying embers of their fame. The Beatles, on the other
hand, had fans who saw in the group's music the opposite of Vegas. The
Beatles represented an aspiration to the aesthetic for popular music not to
mention universal love and anti-corporate values or whatever the 60's was
about. Even before the psychedelic era, Vegas was not Beatles territory. When
the Beatles came to Vegas to play a concert in 1964 no casino wanted to book
them. They played off Strip.
Nowadays, of course, the Curse of Fat Elvis has lifted. Paul McCartney
tours through Vegas occasionally for concerts as does Ringo and Friends. The nature of Vegas
hasn't changed at all; but the Boomers who once saw this town as their
parents' idea of fun, now run Vegas, and have remade everything in their image. Just take a quick look around the Strip. At Wynn, Monty
Python, a troupe ringed with Beatles connections and friendships, has a show,
Spamalot. John Lennon's onetime collaborator and friend, Elton John has a show
at Caesars. And, that is just the immediate circle. Now, to top it all off, the
actual Beatles signed off on an exclusive show at Mirage in Las Vegas and not
halfheartedly at all. In fact, it is safe to say, that LOVE (from show to
soundtrack) has united the historically warring Beatles factions as never
before. Even Yoko Ono came here on Tuesday to buddy-up to Paul McCartney
to promote LOVE, again, just as they both did for the opening a year ago.
Everyone involved in LOVE is behaving like good Vegas investors cashing regular checks
on a big winner of a show on the Strip. Even old Beatles seem to grasp
that Vegas uses celebrity appearances like theirs to hawk the tourism
and convention business. That is now an endeavor that is worthy of Paul
McCartney's and Yoko Ono's time. (That alone should give you some idea of how much
money LOVE must be making for them.) I guess the Beatles were always right about
that all you need is LOVE stuff.
But for Vegas, in a deeper sense, the real payoff in this catering to Boomers so directly is in hundreds of conventions like this one of hardcore Beatles fans (who have a Strip full of entertainment now to enjoy). The truth is that many of the tourists who arrive in Vegas these days are like this convention: the very people who a few decades ago would never dream that Vegas could be their idea of a perfect place to go.
But for Vegas, in a deeper sense, the real payoff in this catering to Boomers so directly is in hundreds of conventions like this one of hardcore Beatles fans (who have a Strip full of entertainment now to enjoy). The truth is that many of the tourists who arrive in Vegas these days are like this convention: the very people who a few decades ago would never dream that Vegas could be their idea of a perfect place to go.
(Photo courtesy of Cirque Apple Creation Partnership by Rob
Shanaha)
