Today in Las Vegas Magazine

BIG COUNTRY

Oh boy and gosh darn. Where do I even begin? I’m no country music fan but I found myself surprisingly entertained during Country Superstars Tribute, currently playing at Fitzgeralds. I guess there are a lot of country music fans out there, because I caught the show on a Wednesday night (post New Year’s Eve festivities) and the place was packed, and I mean almost bursting. For Las Vegas, that’s more than pretty good, that’s great. Other shows would kill for this kind of crowd.

Maybe it’s the downtown vibe, but the audience here was a little more casual,
perhaps a little more “down to earth,” but again, never have I witnessed this kind of audience participation before, in any show on the Strip. Producer Leonard Quenneville (who also doubles as Kix Brooks) adds, “We think country is coming back. There’s definitely a resurgence in country music and our show is all-ages.” Another big surprise – it seemed like there were a lot more men than women in the audience that night… and believe you me, they were singing along like there was no tomorrow.

My exposure to country music leans more to the pop-side with the songs of artists like Shania Twain and LeAnn Rimes, so it was no surprise that of the almost 30 songs performed that night (it was an extended show that evening) I only knew three – two from Willie Nelson and one from Charlie Daniels.

Created by Leonard Quenneville and Ron Keel, who’s also the musical director, Country Superstars Tribute opened in June 22, 2007. The night I went, they were celebrating their 406th performance. Quenneville shares that the performers are rotated throughout the week, with each night featuring four performers, two of which are mainstays Brooks & Dunn and Charlie Daniels.

When you see the show, you’ll understand why they’re “headliners.” Ron Keel as Ronnie Dunn is fantastic, who’s got the look down pat. Whether he really sounds like Dunn is not my call to make, but the audience seemed to think so. To my virgin ears, he just sang well. Towards the latter part of the show, the duo does “Rock My World” and we hear a little segment from Leonard Quenneville (aka Kix Brooks) who says, “Luckily for me, the character that I play has a very similar personality to mine and I get to play the outgoing sidekick.”

Johnny Potash, who plays Charlie Daniels, wowed the audience, while he was fiddlin’ around. And yes, he really does play the fiddle, and not just pretending. Potash has actually worked with the real Charlie Daniels. This is one show aspect that probably contributes to its success – everything is live (no lip-synching) and there are no tracks or pre-recorded music used. The performers were backed by a five-man band comprising Johnny Douglas on guitar, Tommy Wayne on pedal steel guitar (subbing for Harvey Sharp), Mat Chambers on drums, Mark Kotaska on bass and Mike Dome on keyboards (subbing for Joe Spraker). By no means just relegated as a back-up band, each of the musicians are given some solo time to showcase their talents, each of them notable but props have to be given to Johnny Douglas, who played the guitar like it was nobody’s business.

It would be hard to pinpoint an audience favorite in terms of the rest of the performers, as each one was applauded just as much. Though Roy Hammock as Willie Nelson was just like seeing and hearing the real thing. You’ll have to do a double-take. Dave Hoover’s version of Tim McGraw was also well received, especially his rendition of “I Like it, I Love It,” which can almost be the show’s mantra.

Corrie Sachs captures the “perkiness” of Reba McEntire, especially in her renditions of “Take it Back,” “Little Rock” and “Why Haven’t I Heard From You.” Eric York’s Garth Brooks was a little more “hyper” than the original, but he also got the crowd going with “Wrapped Up in You,” and “Friends in Low Places.”

The only other performer I missed was that of Kenny Chesney as played by Brian Pop, who was unavailable that evening as he was doing double-duty as a Staff Sergeant stationed at Nellis Air Force Base.

In the end, I found that you don’t need to be a card- carrying, twang-speaking, hat-and-boot-wearin’ country music fan to enjoy the show. I certainly wasn’t, but there were more than a couple of times that I found myself bopping to the music and singing along with the rest. To paraphrase Garth Brooks, I may not love it, but I liked it.

-Rachel M. Sugay

Country Superstars Tribute
Showroom, Fitzgeralds. Show times are 7 p.m., nightly. Tickets are $49.95. Call 702-388-2400.