Classic Las Vegas act finds no room on the Strip
A vintage-Vegas live show is not conducive to the modern-Vegas business model.
The hard-rocking, retro trio Reckless In Vegas is done after this weekend. Band founder Michael Shapiro is retiring the act after a performance at 8 p.m. Saturday at Access Showroom at Aliante.
Shapiro is calling it after a truncated run at Sahara Theater closed last year because he couldn’t persuade the hotel to finance the band’s marketing. He’s drawing a line in the sand (if not Sands), refusing to pay $15K a month in marketing, on top of producing, writing, performing and serving as the band’s primary ambassador.
“I simply could not reconcile a small, $250,000 production show marketing a billion-dollar property,” Shapiro says, referring to his split with Sahara. “It should certainly be the other way around, especially at that point in the game when we had carried all of it and proven ourselves.”
Reckless in Vegas debuted a decade ago at Mob Bar at Downtown Grand. Reckless has proven a wonderfully inventive and original rock act, blending such classic ’60s Vegas favorites as “Luck Be a Lady,” “The Beat Goes On” and “It’s Not Unusual” with hard-rock arrangements. This is a show where Billie Joe Armstrong is a hit on a Vegas stage, whether he likes it or not.
In its decadelong life span, the show has performed at such Las Vegas venues as Myron’s, Italian American Club Showroom, Cleopatra Barge at Caesars Palace, Sunset Station’s Club Madrid, Rocks Lounge at Red Rock Resort, Chrome at Santa Fe Station and Marilyn’s at Eastside Cannery, Suncoast Showroom and Bourbon Street Lounge at The Orleans and Notoriety Live.
Shapiro is obviously exhausted from trying to enforce the band’s distinctive concept. He’s taken on production responsibility, bringing in showgirls, guest vocalists, vintage video and even a bar onstage. That presentation has not been enough to convince resort entertainment directors to take on the show, full time.
But Reckless in Vegas still crushes it on the corporate front, where the message, “Think the Rat Pack meets Green Day,” charges up conventioneers, keeps the chops sharp and pays the bills.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.