theatre review: LOVE
currently playing at the mirage resort and casino, las vegas
to say that i am still haunted by cirque du soleil's latest spectacle that is based on the incomparable catalog of music by the greatest band ever, the beatles, just wouldn't quite do it justice.
i have been haunted by it since i first listened to the soundtrack shortly after christmas.
there is something deeply magical and lovely about the beatles' music. it goes beyond any "pop music" paradigm or "kitschy" mindset. for those who truly get and love the fab four, it is simply a universe of never ending surprises and beauty. a tapestry of sound and imagery that was woven perfectly over the span of a mere 10 years. there are also many more colorful and useless analogies i could make here, but you get the point.
honestly, who else other than the surreal pride of quebec...cirque du soleil, could even think about tackling such a subject? well, cirque is known for it's unbelievable (literally) imagery and characters. so, why NOT merge the two?
why not indeed?
the marriage is one that i will not soon forget. i was so moved by the production that it literally did not even HIT me until days later. the flawless remaster of a solid number of classic beatle tunes (produced from master tapes by the foursome's long-time producer and collaborator, george martin, and his son, giles) is an accomplishment if only for one reason; that it takes the familiar and known and creates something completely new. songs are mashed together and lifted and placed into each other to dizzying new results. if you are at all a beatles fan and think you have heard it all, buy this soundtrack. you won't be dissappointed.
the live version of the show had some outtakes from various abbey road studio sessions recounted by 30 ft tall silhouettes of the men themselves. just hearing them mess with each other in between takes...truly this could have been the highlight of it for me.
but as in all of cirque's shows, the highlight was the imagery. beloved characters like sgt. pepper (above), elanor rigby (below), dr robert, lucy in the skies and the walrus all lead the audience on this journey through the oft-psychadelic, and in every sense of the word, magical, mystery tour through the progression of not only the band but the world surrounding them.
i'm not afraid to admit that i wept openly (ok, maybe just teared up a little) on several occasions. the opening montage leading from the gorgeous vocals of "because" into the hammering drums of "get back" just about did me in and it was only 6 minutes into the show. but the one that truly got me was their interpretation of george harrison's iconic "something." i can't describe in words how or why it moved me so much...but it did.
i've rambled on enough. i will just leave with this. i thought that KA was the most amazing thing that cirque du soleil has ever done. it might still be, but i cannot see any circumstance or scenario where they will ever do anything that comes as close to my heart as LOVE.
to say that i am still haunted by cirque du soleil's latest spectacle that is based on the incomparable catalog of music by the greatest band ever, the beatles, just wouldn't quite do it justice.
i have been haunted by it since i first listened to the soundtrack shortly after christmas.
there is something deeply magical and lovely about the beatles' music. it goes beyond any "pop music" paradigm or "kitschy" mindset. for those who truly get and love the fab four, it is simply a universe of never ending surprises and beauty. a tapestry of sound and imagery that was woven perfectly over the span of a mere 10 years. there are also many more colorful and useless analogies i could make here, but you get the point.
honestly, who else other than the surreal pride of quebec...cirque du soleil, could even think about tackling such a subject? well, cirque is known for it's unbelievable (literally) imagery and characters. so, why NOT merge the two?
why not indeed?
the marriage is one that i will not soon forget. i was so moved by the production that it literally did not even HIT me until days later. the flawless remaster of a solid number of classic beatle tunes (produced from master tapes by the foursome's long-time producer and collaborator, george martin, and his son, giles) is an accomplishment if only for one reason; that it takes the familiar and known and creates something completely new. songs are mashed together and lifted and placed into each other to dizzying new results. if you are at all a beatles fan and think you have heard it all, buy this soundtrack. you won't be dissappointed.
the live version of the show had some outtakes from various abbey road studio sessions recounted by 30 ft tall silhouettes of the men themselves. just hearing them mess with each other in between takes...truly this could have been the highlight of it for me.
but as in all of cirque's shows, the highlight was the imagery. beloved characters like sgt. pepper (above), elanor rigby (below), dr robert, lucy in the skies and the walrus all lead the audience on this journey through the oft-psychadelic, and in every sense of the word, magical, mystery tour through the progression of not only the band but the world surrounding them.
i'm not afraid to admit that i wept openly (ok, maybe just teared up a little) on several occasions. the opening montage leading from the gorgeous vocals of "because" into the hammering drums of "get back" just about did me in and it was only 6 minutes into the show. but the one that truly got me was their interpretation of george harrison's iconic "something." i can't describe in words how or why it moved me so much...but it did.
i've rambled on enough. i will just leave with this. i thought that KA was the most amazing thing that cirque du soleil has ever done. it might still be, but i cannot see any circumstance or scenario where they will ever do anything that comes as close to my heart as LOVE.
posted by cade at 3:20 PM
10 Comments:
Wow!! You do have a way with words...makes me want to see it.
Ky
so is it any good?
i heard an interview thing on NPR about the new mixed up "love" album thing. so this show has that attraction.
but CS freaks the shit out of me. but the way you describe it i might be interested.
too bad i will never fly again and so getting to LV to see it is not at all possible.
sorry man, but you and i both know that hoobastank is the greatest band ever!
So when's Cirq gonna do a show based on these guys, huh?
cirque presents: "TRAIN!"
"drops of jupiter" would be astounding.
I love Cirque Du Soleil. I saw "O" in Vegas and I was astounded, and Dralion on tour as well. I still watch the ones they show sometimes on Bravo, but on TV is NOT the same.Haunting. That's the way I would put it.
I also love that Simpsons episode where they go to see a production of it right before a hurricane, and Homer is yelling at them to nourish his inner child.
Leanne and I just saw an episode of "Really Big Things" on Discovery this weekend and it was all about the Cirque show "KA" which is also the name of the theater in Las Vegas they built, and it's amazing!
The stage can tip/rotate/go vertical, and acrobats can fall up to 70 feet into a sub-stage basement...
We were actually just looking into going on our anniversary later this year...
Needless, to say, I'm jealous of your cirque experience.
art-
i've seen KA twice. it is every bit as amazing as you can imagine. i literally could NOT believe the set. it was impossible.
though it's better not knowing about it going in. ;)
Having seen Love ('witnessed' is a better term) in the seat next to cade, I must concur. And while I'm not as big a Beatles fan as he is, I'm still a big fan.
My tears welled up a little later in the production (maybe 10 minutes after cade's), during Strawberry Fields Forever. The beauty of what I experienced in sight and sound just hit me.
However, my twin favorites were just after that number: Tomorrow Never Knows/Within You Without You,and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. In the former, George & Giles Martin overlaid two Beatles songs I tend to skip past when listening to those albums, and now that I own this soundtrack the mixture of the two songs is one of my favorite tracks. Couple that with one of the simplest (yet wildest) special effects I've ever seen live, and I was floored. Just in time for Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds to induce the closest thing I've ever seen to an hallucination.
In all, I don't have enough thumbs to point upward. Yes, I liked it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_soul
Ka is an actual word. :)
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