RAIDING THE ROCK VAULT

THE NEW TROPICANA, LAS VEGAS NV

Tuesday 28th April 2015

RAIDING THE ROCK VAULT IS BY FAR THE BEST NIGHT OUT IN VEGAS IN 2015...

I’ve always been wary of musicals even if their soundtracks are threaded with gold; there is just something about them that makes me uneasy. It’s a bit like the issue I have with certain voices or the bagpipes where all I hear is the accent or the drone behind the notes.  I think the problem is when people just break into song as if it’s the most natural thing in the world…

Raiding The Rock Vault I’m glad to say blows all that away for me, it’s more like a living narrative on Classic Rock, and seen through the eyes of a long-standing ‘Roadie’ it traces the history of the music we love from the sixties to the eighties. As far as narrative devices go it does what you’d hope – adding to the richness of the music by giving context and flow, whilst most importantly letting the music do the talking.

The best thing about Rock Vault though has to be the performers – it’s one thing to put on a musical but you need more than a covers band to make the magic. Rock Vault has assembled a cast that all know exactly what it is like to spend time on the biggest of stages with performers from a host of bands from the household names of Bon Jovi, Heart, Bad Company, Asia and Whitesnake to the likes of eighties rockers Rough Cutt, Hurricane and MSG.

When you add to that a glorious set-list that includes classics by The Doors, Hendrix, The Who, Free, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple just to kick things off, you know you are in for a great night. And as impressed as you are by the musicianship it’s the vocalists that really shine, each lending their own unique character to the classic songs with McAuley and Shortino effortlessly taking the classics and newcomer Boals impressing too.

Without giving the set-list away  the eighties section is probably the slickest of all with songs Bryan Adams, Def Leppard, AC/DC, Van Halen, Journey, and some cool medleys to boot. But the best thing about Rock Vault is that it doesn’t let up, there’s no breaks, no lulls and even if the actors arrive on stage to push the story on and inject a bit of humour you know that the music is just seconds away.

Raiding The Rock Vault is the best musical you will see on The Strip, well scripted and always moving with a real heart of Rock; performed by a cast who have lived and breathed these songs over the years and made their own careers in music. It’s the one decision you make in Vegas you’ll definitely never regret!

The Band when we saw them was…

Howard Leese (Heart - The Paul Rodgers Band/Bad Company) - Guitar
Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake – Burning Rain) – Guitar
Hugh MacDonald (Bon Jovi) - Bass
Jay Schellen (Hurricane - Asia) - Drums
Michael T. Ross (Lita Ford - Missing Persons) - Keyboards

and on Vocals…
Paul Shortino (Rough Cutt - Quiet Riot)
Robin McAuley (McAuley Schenker Group - Survivor)
Andrew Freeman (The Offspring - Lynch Mob)
Mark Boals (Dokken - Yngwie Malmsteen)
Carol-Lyn Liddle (Masters of Rock)
Stephanie Calvert (Starship)

Check out our interview with Paul Shortino HERE

by the Rockpit