By far the highlight of my first trip to Las Vegas was spectating The Beatles LOVE Cirque Du Soleil. I am so happy I got to experience this show with my Mom, who is definitely the reason for my Beatles fandom. This blog is written slightly off of my memory and mostly off of the list of notes I rapidly wrote walking out of the theater; I did not want to leave any details out of this post.
As great as The Beatles are, this show was so much more than their complete song catalog. The show paid homage to the supergroup through music snippets, video clips, animated graphics, interview sound bites, set design (like the yellow submarine that popped up during Octopus’ Garden; even though, I felt like I was in the submarine during that song!) and more. Artistic presence represented in numerous mediums.
Even the actual mechanics of the stage were incredible and was consistently altering the environment of the performance stage. The choreography was so impressive too and all I can really say simply, is that LOVE was one of the greatest pieces of art I’ve ever seen. And to think the performers go through that show twice in one night! Wow! They even make LOVE a fully interactive show by incorporating performers into the seating areas and props that the audience can actually feel. Word of advice to those who go to see LOVE after reading this, make sure you cover your beer with your hand for the first portion of the show, unless you like the taste of confetti!
The way each song flowed was seamless; consistent themes and messaging that reflected the social awareness of The Beatles’ music; the writers of the visual scenes did a great job. Honestly, some of The Beatles’ songs/harmonies actually fit a circus theme perfectly and the ring master character was very cool to see.
My best single performance award goes to Lucy who twirled like a disco ball in the Sky of Diamonds. Her routine was the most jaw dropping. My favorite scene goes to Help! Those rollerbladers provided some serious adrenaline rush to the experience. Two scenes that really caught me off guard and were in my top favorites, were Octopus’ Garden and the finale, All You Need Is Love. The entire show was a spiritual sensation, but those two songs/scenes especially, brought me outside of myself for an emotional ride and aside from the beautiful messaging of the songs, the spectacle, and being with my loved ones, I really don’t know why. Albeit, as I’m leaving the theater, I hear a stranger say to their companion “I had tears at the end, too”. That was kind of special to hear; my feelings validated and knowing others were as moved by this art as I was. My honorable mention scene goes to Strawberry Fields Forever, because that is one of my actual favorite Beatles songs and I thought the smoke bubbles were an interesting aesthetic touch.
The Beatles music catalog is so gigantic, especially if you include solo works from the members, and I hope to make my way through it all one day. LOVE really showed how truly important John, George, Paul and Ringo were. Thank you, Beatles; all you really do need is love.
With that said, my closing comments: I would definitely recommend this phenomenal show; I cannot wait to watch the behind the scenes DVD that I bought; and Christian, the people need to know, how the fuck did you fall asleep when you went to see LOVE?!?!
Cheers,
-Steve
I was very tired!