And.....action!

http://www.varietytheater.com/shows.htm

Toxic Audio, playing nightly except Thursdays, at 9:00 pm at the V Theater in Planet Hollywood's Miracle Mile (a mall that used to be called Aladdin's Desert passage--The mall is worth seeing even if you don't catch the show!). Ticket prices are a little steep for those of us who have grown up taking issue with BYU asking more than $5 per person. (The cheap seats in the room go for close to $50). It's actually a good deal for a show in Vegas, where people think nothing of dropping close to $100 per seat more than one night in a row. Some tickets here go for more than $200 a seat, without scalping!

The "soft" opening was last night. I gather the way these shows work is they "open" two weeks before they have the press reception and go for reviews. It gives them a chance to work out glitches and lose that first-night case of nerves some performers have.

So we (me and all four kids) went to the "soft" opening last night.

It was awesome. Fun show, flashy, entertaining. They sounded good, had some awesome effects with the lighting, did some really funny things, and I don't want to give it all away. My favorite comedy bits were "Autumn Leaves", which is usually sung partially in English and Partially in French, and as the song opened, the stage hand brought out a poster saying, "This song is presented Entirely in English". The backup singers take issue with that, and It goes downhill from there. Unlike many renditions of the jazz standard, this one never has a chance to get boring. There was a little non-musical gag with a stuffed monkey that was hilarious, and some fake wind that created a little havoc during "Thriller" that was well-played, a bit with a "record player" that was cool if you remember that all the sounds are made by people, and a song from Sesame Street that was funny. There was serious stuff, too, including some live looping using reverb technology, and the song "Stand By Me" that has some dramatic lighting effects (which the cast didn't take full advantage of, but I'm going to mention it to them). "Stand By Me" was my favorite non-comedy piece, I think, although the ending (which was supposed to be dramatic and touching) was a little confusing.

Tim's mom wanted to know what the show is like. That's hard to say. The show is like moosebutter sophisticated, if that makes any sense. It's a cappella comedy, but without the frantic antics and with more subtle humor. It's very theatrical, but there isn't a story line running through the show any more than, say, Blue Man Group. It's a cover band, except none of the songs are strictly Covers. They're all arrangements--and good ones at that. It's like Vocal Point with girls (no, not THAT kind of girls) and a scripted show--and a sound guy with a sound board, and he's not afraid to use the effects.

It's hard to describe. But it's fun. Clean enough for kids (there's not much to complain about in there, actually. One off-color joke that my kids totally missed, and the lyrics to some of the songs originally by Elvis and the Beattles are, well, Elvis and the Beattles. At least they didn't put that song in that Elvis sings where he threatens to chase her down the hall and find her no matter where she hides; this song is more along the lines of "shut up and satisfy me, woman!" which I take issue with, but that's not Toxic Audio's fault--it's just in complete opposition to my beliefs about what women are for).

The opening of the show was stunning. When Tim goes on in his fancy disco outfit and sings the first line, it's amazing. He got screams and cheers right off the bat, and he deserved it. It was cool.

II have no idea if we'll ever have comp tickets for anyone, but you can always call and ask before you come down. I definitely recommend the show, though. Just take ear plugs if you have sensitive ears--or don't sit near the front--or both--because the theater is going for the "rock concert" feel, so the show is loud.

Now I'm going to go watch my baby, who just figured out how to stand up by himself. And he's just nine months old today.