What Happens in Vegas: Michael Jackson Birthday Bash

Last night, I attended a real Las Vegas show, something I've done very little of during my 15 years living here. The show was Las Vegas Celebrates the Music of Michael Jackson, and it occurred on what would have been Michael Jackson's 51st birthday. Yeah, I know many are on Michael overload, but I'm really glad I went.

There are a few reasons I decided to attend. Number one, I'm a friend (and former roommate) of the man who ran Jackson's Neverland Valley Ranch amusement park for around 15 years. Secondly, one of the performers, Nick Kenkel, is a cousin-by-marriage, and he not only danced but choreographed the Peepshow segment of the show. Otherwise, I may not have gone. But having had the privilege of having worked at Neverland myself, and Jackson's impact on my generation (class of 1984), I had extra incentive.

The show was plagued by some audio-visual problems, and even a prop failure at the beginning. The sound system was super heavy on the low range, with sub woofers threatening to overwhelm the performances (particularly the bass drum). But outside of the technical problems, the show was simply fantastic.

One standout was Terry Fator (America's Got Talent) doing a great Jackson/Paul McCartney duet with a puppet, concluding with a spot-on Ben performance. There were wonderful tributes by cast members of Zumanity, The Jersey Boys, Human Nature, The Sirens of TI, Clint Holmes, Holly Madison of Peepshow and especially Erich Bergen, one of The Jersey Boys, who was the host of the show.

I'm not much of a theater guy, especially of the musical variety. But I had a great time. It was also a treat to see Kenkel's Peepshow cast dancing to his moves, and the man himself among a bevvy of beauties. Way to go, Nick! I'm so impressed.

Sadly, though I got to attend the VIP after party, most of the casts were already gone. Clearly, on a Saturday night, they had their usual shows to do. It was fun being in the company of my Neverland friend, who is something of a celebrity himself, at least among the fandom. Thanks to him, I got to see one of the producers of the show, journalist Steve Friess; as well as Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Norm Clarke. Oh, and Robin Leach, but. . .whatever.

Afterward, we attended a special screening of Moonwalker at the Brenden Theater at the Palms. The movie is something of a rarity, never having been screened in US theaters, and only available thus far on VHS videotape. The movie starts out as something of a retrospective musical documentary, and segues into a surreal storyline of sorts. It's tremendously entertaining, but completely surreal. It works in the videos for Leave Me Alone, Smooth Criminal and a cover of the Beatles song Come Together. But the storyline (once it starts) is rather meandering. It reminds me of a dream, where a person exits one scenario, and then enters a related but vastly different one. Still, it was a treat to see. A question-and-answer session followed, with Friess, Vincent Paterson (longtime choreographer and dancer) and co-star Kellie Parker.

All-in-all, it was a tremendous night out on the town, with the added benefit of having a slight "in" with the whole subject. I'm very glad I didn't pass on the opportunity. I sneaked a few cell-phone videos, but sadly all of them fail to upload to anything tolerable. Soundtracks gone, pictures fuzzy. I tried, but I failed. Serves me right for trying to be a pirate.