The B-52's in Las Vegas

I was quite surprised last month, when my brother texted me and told me that The B-52's were playing a residency at the Venetian. "I think I'd like to go to that," he said. "You in?" This was a bit surprising, coming from him. (Let's just say he's generally more introverted than I am. Yeah, let's go with that.) I told my wife who the text was from, and read it to her. She looked just as surprised as I felt. Her response: "If he's reaching out to you to do this, then you make it happen!" So yeah, I told him, I'm in.

These days, the touring/performing unit consists of the three singers, plus their backing band. Keith Strickland opted to retire from touring a few years ago. But they've kept this version of the band together for some time now. (Drummer Sterling Campbell has been on board for over twenty years; bassist Tracy Wormworth, more than thirty.) Kate Pierson is still a force of nature, with that range ... and Fred Schneider, well, he's still "just Fred," as he once named a solo album. He sounds no different than he did from the beginning. Cindy Wilson is the weak point, as anyone who's seen the band in recent years knows. The best I can say is, she has her lower register and her higher register, but no bridge between them. This was especially evident during "Give Me Back My Man" — long a showcase number for Cindy. With half the lines in the song, her voice dropped out altogether for a measure or two, as she shifted from lower voice to higher. (Oh well, you can't accuse her of lip-syncing.)

But overall, the concert was a blast for us. My brother was stoked enough just for us to hang together for a few days, just to chat and really get up to speed with each other. We both had watched the Las Vegas episode of Somebody Feed Phil, so we had some restaurants and other things to check out. The Gritz Café and Milpà both were outstanding, and the Meow Wolf exhibit was a hoot and a half. And it was nice to travel with someone who appreciates some chill-out time, rather than someone who strives to fill the schedule with as much as possible.

In a way, it was sort of like seeing Brian Wilson a few years ago. That was a marvelous show, with a great setlist full of classics ... but all through the show, Brian was seated at the piano, center stage, seeming to drift in and out of awareness. (Since then, I've occasionally wondered whether that piano was real, or just a prop. He had two other keyboardists on stage.) Still, my wife and I agreed, we didn't feel as if we'd been taken. It felt more like we were participating in a fond farewell ... saying, "We love you, Brian; thank you for all the great music." (Then again, sometimes, you tell yourself what you have to.)

Seeing The B-52's was a little like that. Granted, no one in the band seemed to be at any loss for why they were onstage ... but I can't imagine any of them is kidding themselves, about how many years are behind them. But when I think of how much this band has meant over the years to me and to both of my siblings — when I remember seeing them on Saturday Night Live, and how they turned my musical outlook (and the rest of my outlook as well) from black & white to full panoramic color — then the show in Vegas can easily be seen as a way for us to say, "Kate, Cindy, Fred, we love you; thank you for all the great music, and for everything else."

SETLIST:
Cosmic Thing
Mesopotamia
Give Me Back My Man
Private Idaho
Lava
Dirty Back Road
52 Girls
Roam
Party Out of Bounds
Dance This Mess Around
Is That You, Mo-Deen?
Good Stuff
6060-842
Love Shack

ENCORE:
Planet Claire
Rock Lobster



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/2026 07:26PM by Delvin.

When I saw them open for Devo last year, they just seemed...tired. Unlike the Spuds, who were on fire. But at least their band was tight, they did what they could.

I think the B52s have been trying to retire for years. They must keep getting offers, and just can't turn down the moolah. Their show was by no means terrible, but glad I saw them when they were a bit younger.

From what I gather on the topic, a lot of bands keep touring long, long past the time they would've preferred to retire because they've in essence become corporations with dozens of employees whose livelihoods depend on them still performing, and they're loathe to put people who may have been working for them for decades out of work, so they grit their teeth and say "All right, let's head for Toledo, I guess..."

I'm sure there's plenty of other reasons why people keep touring when they ought to be kicking back and relaxing, ranging from ego to greed or being robbed blind by shady business folk like happened to Leonard Cohen, but I do find the "we can't let the people who depend on us for their livelihoods down" explanation believable. On the one hand, it's nice that it shows a human side of the artists, that their continued touring has an altruistic side to it. On the other hand, it kind of sucks that it means they're trapped by their own success. "Hey! We did well enough that we merited an entire corporation to form around us. But dammit, now we're responsible for all those people."



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/2026 02:01AM by breno.

Very accurate, this.

Sadly, it sometimes comes down to situations like Loretta Lynn's. Her employees were her family, and they kept her on the road past the time when she would have preferred to be retired to keep the money coming in.

Then there's cases like Willie Nelson, who can't stand to stay off the road or onstage for long periods of time, even when his family is pleading with him to retire.

Yeah, there are definitely some who keep going just because they genuinely love performing. That actually ended up happening with Leonard Cohen - he'd never really been a touring juggernaut earlier in his career, but then was forced into it by his business manager leaving him nearly penniless. Happily, he discovered at that stage in his life that he really loved performing and was genuinely grateful for the reception he got from his audience and continued touring long past the time he'd made his money back. He stayed on the road until he was physically unable to because he'd come to enjoy it and love his fans.

I saw Cohen on what ended up being his final U.S. tour, and he really did look like he was having a blast. I almost skipped it due to the cost of the ticket, but decided I might not ever get another chance. I'm glad I did. Great band, peerless catalog, a performer having the time of his life - it was worth every penny and more.

> A lot of bands keep touring long, long past the time
> they would've preferred to retire because they've in
> essence become corporations with dozens of employees
> whose livelihoods depend on them still performing ...

That's part (repeat, part) of what took Jerry Garcia to an early grave. He would've liked to have gotten his health in order, but the Grateful Dead had, as you said, become a corporation with over 100 employees. Reports talked about the toll it was taking on Garcia, who had to struggle toward the end just to get up and down the stairs to the stage, night after night.

This trip to Vegas made nine times I've seen the B-52's, starting with their 1983 show at Red Rocks, on the Whammy! Tour. My brother and I count ourselves as really fortunate to have seen them when Ricky Wilson was still alive & well.

Their Cosmic Tour brought them to Colorado more than once, as well. My brother and I caught their show at CU-Boulder, and then, a year or so later, we took my sister to see them at Red Rocks.

To us, Cosmic Thing felt like a triumph for the long-time fans as well as the band. When The B-52's came out in 1979, we fell head-over-heels for it ... but in a lot of ways, it seemed like a well-kept secret to us. A lot of our friends saw the same SNL broadcast that we did, and laughed and scoffed at the band. Ten years later, when Cosmic Thing blew up extra-large, it felt like we had been right all along.

I saw them in 2019 and they were great, but that was seven years ago. Fred was a little cranky and Cindy’s solo showcase was a little unsteady in a few spots, but otherwise they performed as well as I could hope. I wish I saw them tour behind their last album - it was a solid, underrated record with several highlights that I’d place among their best, and it would have been great to see Keith too, but at least I caught a good show.

I think I shared this before--I saw them in a medium-ish size theater in Miami after Cosmic Thing came out. But then "Love Shack" blew up, and they came back to town less than a year later playing the Miami Arena. I skipped that one because the one I attended was so perfect and fun that I didn't think it could be topped. I've resisted seeing them again ever since, partly because I'm not that big of a fan, but also because I am holding on to the memory of the first show.

Zoo - the same thing that happened to you in Miami happened to me in Orlando. With one difference. I finally saw the B-52s on the first leg of the "Cosmic Thing" when "Channel Z" was making inroads into the college charts. It was in a 3000 seater - The Bob Carr Theater. It was nice to finally see them. Then "Love Shack" blew up and the tour double dipped and hit Orlando the next year and played the Orlando Arena. An 18,000 seater. I've gotta say that the second helping tasted way better!

I wasn't expecting too much when I caught the tour last year with DEVO and Lene Lovich. I was not going there to see them at all but it really exceeded my expectations! I had not seen them between the "Cosmic Thing" tour dates and then, but I had seen Cindy Wilson on a solo tour in 2017.

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