June 29, 2008
Gordie Brown – A Las Vegas Evening With A Lifetime Of Celebs
by Erika Bayer-Polak
If you are looking for a lively fast-paced show filled with music, comedy and impersonations, Gordie Brown is a sure bet for an enjoyable evening. And even though his show is at 10 p.m., he keeps his act rather clean by late show standards. Unless you are an austere puritan, walking away from this show offended is impossible.
Brown manages to seamlessly morph his solid voice to correspond to a wide variety of performers, from Chris Isaak to Roy Orbison, from Willie Nelson to Tracy Chapman, from M.C. Hammer to 4 Non Blondes. Brown also seems to make a point in impersonating performers who had their heydays in the 1950s to performers who are presently at the top of their game. Covering such an assortment of acts is certainly a sure way to appease all generations in the audience.
While most impersonators sing the songs of other performers and leave it at that, Brown takes this a step further and crafts his own humorous lyrics. At times the lyrics mimic the performer’s notable tendencies, such as Joe Cocker’s famous wrenching movements, and at other times they spoof everyday or societal issues, such as Viagra or PMS. And when Brown’s delivery of his parodies benefits from him picking up a guitar and playing, he does.
Rather than purely focusing on singers, Brown also impersonates and pokes fun of several actors including a hilarious version of Christopher Walken auditioning for a prominent film role, and of course, the president. Brown’s version of President Bush can make even the staunchest Republican cackle, especially seeing that his portrayal is detached from any truly political stance.
Brown’s versatility shines through during the performance. Anyone who can flash a smile that no one would deny is a Tom Cruise look alike, and immediately transition to a faultless John Wayne bow-legged stagger deserves some acclaim. And seeing that the V Theater at Planet Hollywood can be described as an informal and friendly showroom by many standards, this only aids in Brown’s delivery and his penchant for interacting with his audience. The Gordie Brown show is definitely a worthy endeavor if you are looking for an evening of great laughs.
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by Mara M. Mannella
As the audience laughs at (and with!) Rita as she shares chapters of parenthood and everyday life in Las Vegas one thing becomes apparent as you look around the theater. Pokes and pointed fingers of spouses, family members and friends are everywhere as the audience sees some of themselves in these situations! The seats filled with families, couples, tourists and locals prove this show has mass appeal.
Housed in an intimate theatre, there really isn’t a bad seat in the venue, unless stage-shy attendees are seated just off the stage. This “danger zone” provides Brady, as well as his improv partner Jonathan Mangum, a proficient performer in his own right, the pick of the litter when summoning audience members to the stage to take part in an act, whether they like it or not. Be warned, if he calls you up to the stage, you may find it difficult to decline, especially when egged on by your fellow (often drunken) tourists. If you’d rather avoid the risk of center stage humiliation, select a seat a little further back, where you may safely and anonymously shout out improv suggestions while avoiding a possible coerced participation.
Each skit branches off from a central theme, one which demonstrates that nothing is sacred, not even religion. In an office setting are brainstorming workers (angels) and their almighty boss (God) trying to figure out what to do with humans down below. An example of their ingenuity as creators: “Why don’t we make the men smart like the women? Same reason we don’t make animals talk.” Demoralizing, insulting, and belittling? Perhaps. But a much needed laugh in the face of an often ugly world.
It’s plain good ol’ Las Vegas tradition to capture the awe of viewers with dynamic props, extravagant effects, unconventional talent, and unparalleled showmanship (though often an overkill). One man, however, opens doors to the hearts, emotions, and spirits of people using entertainment weapons that far surpass the need for a stage crew: His mind and the minds of those he encounters.
But Gerry himself is only a freak in how thoroughly and meticulously he refined his gift. Intuition alone wouldn’t cut it. He studied the mind to no end along with Psychology, Hypnosis, and Linguistics (just to name a few); watched how people communicate with one another; observed body language, eye movement, and tone of voice; he even worked in a psychiatric hospital and learned facts about how the brain worked. And lucky for Las Vegas, he’s sharing the whole psychological sha-bang.
Blindfolded, very, very blindfolded, Gerry also demonstrates that he can tell what a material item is without touching it. Randomly, 3 purse items are picked from the audience and The Mentalist can tell exactly what they are, personal items as bizarre as guitar picks or travel bibles. His method for this is of a basic principal- the whole audience if focused on the item, feeding him the information he needs. Go ahead and try to be a skeptic now.
How long has Carrot Top been around and how famous is he? I don’t have a clue about the answer to those questions, and his web site certainly didn’t help me find out information. Carrot Top may be a publicity hound, but what does that have to do with his show? Nothing I guess. I enjoyed watching this show and I was surprised.
There is an old saying, “a joke a minute.” But Carrot Top has a joke more like every ten seconds, and if doesn’t work he makes fun of himself and his audience, which makes him even funnier. There is some pretty silly stuff that he does on stage, and the sheer silliness is funny. He even has stagehands to help him with props, and when the stagehands are seen moving off stage with an obvious visual ploy that doesn’t look like it was supposed to happen, he would make fun of the stagehand moving off stage not supposed to being seen. But he was seen, and Carrot Top pointing it out was funny, and I suspect it happened before once, and they just kept it in the show.
My favorite jokes involved Las Vegas hotels. One was about the curtains that never quite close allowing a ridiculous amount of light in the room, and causing eyeball sunburn. I understood that joke, as I am always fighting curtains in Las Vegas rooms to shut out all that light that is trying to keep me awake. Ok, I’ll admit it; you had to be there. And then there was him lying on the floor bathed in green light and his joke was this is what it is like sleeping in the MGM Grand when the stupid curtains don’t close. And then he made fun of MGM Grand, and then realized that MGM Grand now owns the Luxor. So this humor is a little disjointed, but it is still funny.
Our not-so-young-anymore readers will remember David Brenner as the innovative comedian who made a record 158 guest appearances on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show. Our “just turned 21″ readers are probably going “someone hosted the Tonight Show before Jay Leno?”
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