Human Nature now Three Wise Men in Vegas Christmas show

Human Nature has gone four on the floor throughout its 30-plus year history. That changes when the Aussie vocal act returns to the stage in December.

Human Nature is set to perform a production dubbed “Christmas, Motown and More” at South Point Showroom from Dec. 17-19. The act is now brothers Andrew and Michael Tierney with Toby Allen. Phil Burton is staying in his home near Sydney for the foreseeable future.

That quartet has been the whole of Human Nature since the band was founded as the 4 Trax in 1989. It has not performed a ticketed show other than as the core quartet. But come December, the three wise men (bring your own myrrh) are setting up at South Point.

“We are moving forward with a show that is for all the Las Vegas locals who have supported us over the years,” Andrew Tierney said Saturday afternoon. “These are the people who I run into at Vons and say, ‘We love you, when are you going to come back?’”

Tierney was on the phone, having just left Vons, during the chat.

Human Nature has started rehearsing with the three members. “It’s felt fine, the three-part harmonies sound good,” Tierney said. “It will be a show with singing, a band and choreography.”

Tickets for the three shows are onsale Oct. 12.

Tierney said of Burton’s decision to remain in the band’s homeland, “We wish Phil all the best, this is his decision and we respect it.”

Burton and his family left Las Vegas for Australia in August 2020.

The three South Point shows are all that HN has lined up in Las Vegas. The act resumes a lengthy tour of Australia from March through July. That series was truncated for the country’s latest COVID outbreak.

Produced by Adam Steck’s SPI Entertainment, Human Nature would likely look to fall 2022 at the earliest for any return to residency. Steck operates Thunderland Showroom at Excalibur and The Strat Theater. But he says the environment is fickle, especially in Australia, where outbreaks have shut down several live entertainment shows.

“The plan is to bring them back in a similar capacity as they were at The Venetian,” Steck said. “We want them in residency again. They very much want to do it. It’s a matter of the right place at the right time.”

Steck found a receptive partner in South Point Entertainment Director Michael Libonati, who has booked several top acts with Vegas appeal, among them Frankie Moreno (onstage again Friday) and the Righteous Brothers (Oct. 26-28).

Human Nature’s stage show will borrow from its Motown set list and the Christmas album it released in 2013, with four new songs added two years later.

As if prophetically, the last time the band performed as an ensemble in Las Vegas was Burton’s birthday on March 13, 2020. That performance wound up as the sendoff from Sands Showroom at The Venetian (since renamed Summit Showroom).

Human Nature opened as an underdog act in May 2009, at Imperial Palace Showroom (today’s Mat Franco Theater at Linq Hotel). The show moved to The Venetian in 2013.

In July, the band announced it was leaving the hotel.

Presented and endorsed by Motown legend Smokey Robinson, Human Nature has logged more than 2,000 performances on the Strip.

“When we arrived, we found an unlikely showroom at Imperial Palace and nobody thought we’d last nearly as long as we did,” Tierney said. “We’re confident we can have a future in Las Vegas.”

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 Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.