Las Vegas Weekly

February 24, 2009 · 4:36 PM

Viva Mac Vegas? Paul McCartney residency not so crazy

By John Katsilometes

Paul McCartney, shown during a 2002 show at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Photo: Sam Morris

Recently I mused, while typing, about Paul McCartney possibly performing as a resident headliner in Las Vegas. I had him doing the hippy-hippy shake at The Colosseum at Caesars, because Elton John is departing, and they’ll need a third superstar to keep the place warm while Bette Midler and Cher are being fitted for new costumes. Not likely, really, with rumors of Celine Dion helping to fill the dates (post-baby break) left open by the vacating John. But I had some better musings this morning, as I was watching the “Today” show in my jammies and eating Cap’n Crunch out of the box: What about McCartney at the new Joint? Not just the April 19 show on The Joint’s opening weekend, but as that new venue’s first resident headliner?

It’s not so crazy. I say this because the other day I asked someone from Concerts West/AEG Live if my McCartney-to-Vegas idea was crazy, and the answer was something other than, “You need to be fitted for a love-me jacket.” Concerts West/AEG Live, which produces shows at The Colosseum, is important because it books the acts at the new Joint, and also booked McCartney (and The Killers) that same weekend at the Coachella Music Festival. This all means that someone of rank at Concerts West/AEG Live has spoken with someone close to McCartney (maybe even the former “Phil Ramone” himself) about what’s on his 2009 calendar. And you know what? At the moment, the only date on the McCartney 2009 performance schedule – this, from his official Web site – is the April 19 show at the new Joint. Which seats 4,000. Which would need a pretty famous rock star to consistently fill all those seats not once, but several weeks a year.

Not so crazy, nope. I remember a couple of years ago I asked a spokesman for The Colosseum about a superstar who might be stepping in for Celine when she left the big showroom. The concept was so wild, so off the grid, that I was almost embarrassed to specify whom I was asking about: Cher.

I’m just putting it out there, kids. I hope you have enjoyed the show …

Share This