It was the spring of 1995 while working as an on air personality at WWKZ 103.5 in Tupelo, MS that I first the angelic voices of British boy band Take That. Back For Good, the second single off their album Nobody Else raced to #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and into the hearts of countless teenage girls throughout the states. One would think that a Top 10 debut in America would easily mean continued success here, but sadly, like the likes of All Saints and Aqua, that just was not the case. I, however, became a fan for life after hearing Back For Good, Sure, Hate It and the rest of Nobody Else. The original lineup of the group only produced three albums before disbanding. It’s happened time and time again in the world of boy bands, where success comes quick only to find that some members are ready to spread their wings and fly on their own. Take That was no exception when Gary, Howard, Jason and Mark were left to fend for themselves when the JC Chasez of the group, Robbie Williams, left in the middle of a world tour to go solo.
Sir Robbie Williams’ solo career took off like a meteor in the UK in 1997 with the release of Life thru a Lens followed by 1998s I’ve Been Expecting You. Neither album was released in the states and it wasn’t until 1999 when the song Millennium broke the Billboard Hot 100 that America even got a chance to taste Robbie’s talent. Angels followed and can easily be thought of as his biggest song to play here. The controversial video to Rock D.J. in 2000 put the singer and song in heavy rotation on radio and video stations but for some reason he just could not build off its success. As someone who has been a massive fan of his for nearly 25 years, I have repeatedly told stories of how popular he was everywhere but in America. Think of Justin Timberlake’s early solo success and how he was everywhere and on everything during that time and that’s what Robbie was like throughout the rest of the world.
I have tried and tried to make plans to go to Europe every time he announces a tour only to not be able to make it happen for whatever reason the last 15-20 years. Late last year, I woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom as I always do because that’s what old people do. As I sat on my throne perusing through my emails, I find one from Robbie’s email group. I open it thinking there’s a new album or merch, which would have normally made me happy, but that wasn’t the case that morning. Robbie Williams was coming to America and better than that, he was coming to Vegas for residency. I nearly fell off of my porcelain seat with excitement. The first of dates sold out so quick I was unable to get tickets. A month later, a new set of dates were announced for June of 2019 and your boy got tickets! The boyhood dream is coming true, I’m going to see Robbie Williams.
January came and passed as did February and March. April and May were all that was in front of me before the countdown really began. Flight and hotel were booked and the McCash’s were Vegas bound, baby! I made my wife listen to soooooo much of his music leading up to the show that she probably never wants to hear his voice again.
Nah, she’s got great taste in music too so I’m not worried.
It’s now June 19, show day, and I’m beyond excited. Those who know me know that I am a massive Prince fan. I saw Prince 38 times in concert and to put things in to context it goes Prince 1, Robbie 2. This is a huge day in my concert going career as I’m knocking the biggest notch off my concert bucket list. I’m racking my brain about what the setlist will look like that I’m doing everything in my power not to look at setlist.fm to sneak a peek at it. I eventually gave in and looked. I have to be honest here and say I was disappointed. I was really hoping to hear Rude Box, Monsoon, Hot Fudge and others. I saw that I was getting a number of bigger hits and a ton of standards. In 2001, Robbie released Swing When You’re Winning, a collection of classics made famous by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. and the like. He was 2000s Rod Stewart before Rod Stewart was.
We had a quick dinner at Gordon Ramsey’s Fish & Chips before heading over to the Encore Theater in the 100-plus degree heat. I thought I may actually die of heat stroke before seeing Robbie live and that would’ve been just my luck. Upon arrival, we get in the queue and make our way down the lobby of the venue where they have displays of important memorabilia from Robbie’s career including his first chocolate orange from Terry’s and his first pacifier. The displays were very tongue in cheek. We are greeted later in line by two gentlemen dressed in tuxedos and painted like Robbie in the video for Let Me Entertain You. Everyone in line was eager to get a picture with them. We are so close to getting in that I can’t stand it. I’m so damn giddy at this point. Next to the entrance in to the main lobby sits the merchandise table which I’m about to drop a small fortune on. Thank god for the 3-team MLB parlay I hit earlier in the day because it sure as hell took the sting out of the damage I did. Out of nowhere, I hear a man screaming “I have a delivery for a Robbie Williams, has anyone seen a Mr. Robbie Williams?” I turn to find a man dressed like an usher from the theater in the ‘50s. He makes his way through the crowd and into the main lobby looking for the same man we all are. The wife and I make our way upstairs only to cross paths with the delivery man as he holds a large tray of candy he desperately wants to deliver to the star of the show. He had what appeared to be a 10-pound gummy bear along with various chocolate bars and sweets. If you’re a fan of Robbie’s and have kept up with him over the years then you know this is a play off his hit Candy from 2012. If you are not up to date on him, well now you are or at least on Candy.
We arrive to our seats and it finally hits me that after all these years I am finally about to see the most charismatic singer in the world perform. Like most casino venues in Vegas the Encore at the Wynn Hotel is not very large. It seats close to 2,000 so we are in for a very intimate performance. Everybody is in their seats and in the immortal words of Sting, not that one but the WWE Hall of Famer Sting, it’s showtime folks.
The show kicks off with the National Anthem of Robbie playing over the sound system as the lyrics bounce off the curtain. Everyone pledged their allegiance to Robbie that night. A brief entrance video plays images of Robbie and Las Vegas with Party Like A Russian playing behind it. The curtain drops to the floor and we find the man of the hour being lowered from the rafters as he debuts his new song Live in Las Vegas. Even though no one knew the lyrics to it, it didn’t stop anyone from cheering and dancing along. His stage is pretty minimal compared to what you would see on his stadium tours. There is a ramp in the middle of the stage that he used throughout the show for exits and entrances. Three large LED boards blanket the back of the stage and are a great addition to the show’s visual aspect. His band and backup singers, who were all on top of their game, were split up on the sides of the ramp. Just so I don’t forget, Robbie Williams is in the same building as me and I can’t believe it.
Once the opening song ended, we get our introduction to Sir Robbie. “Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Robbie Fucking Williams. This is my band. This is my ass and tonight your ass is mine.” We get a brief run of hits with Let Me Entertain You which has opened many of his tours in the past. Entertain You is a huge crowd favorite that gets everyone off their feet jumping and signing along. This is followed up by a medley of smaller hits in She’s The One, Feel and the aforementioned Candy. After the medley, it’s time to talk a stroll down Memory Lane.
This section of the show kicks off with Land of 1000 Dances and the Cab Calloway classic Minnie the Moocher. Dean Martin’s Ain’t That Kick in the Head segues in to what might be the most confusing part of the night. Robbie has put out two albums of him covering old standards and had great success with them but nowhere did I think I would hear him do a rendition of Coldplay’s Creep let alone Shaggy’s It Wasn’t Me, but here we are.
The standards portion of the show gets back on track with crowd favorite Mr. Bojangles. We are nearly half way through the show at this point and no one has yet to sit down. One lucky audience member is about to take a seat though. Robbie banters with the audience and says he wants to sing a song to a special lady in the crowd. He pulls a very lucky gal up to have a seat on the couch that was brought on stage and serenades her with the classic Something Stupid that he recorded with Nicole Kidman, yes that Nicole Kidman. A ton of playful flirting goes on through the number and before you know it that lucky lady is given a kiss goodbye from Robbie and is returned to the crowd to be the most hated one woman in the building. The swinging continues as Robbie brings his dad out to help him with Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline and That’s Life made famous by the Chairman of the Board Frank Sinatra. A very lively take on Shake Señora most famously known from the movie Beetlejuice is next and then bandmate Mark Brown closes the swing portion of the show with a dazzling performance of Copacabana.
Robbie returns to the stage to give us a solo take on his song Swing Both Ways that he recorded with Rufus Wainwright. Sentimental favorite Love My Life that he dedicates to all of the ‘mommies and daddies’ in the building follows with Robbie telling a cute story about being at the park with one of his kids and having to deal with photo-seeking adults who invaded his privacy. After that we’re off to the races with hit after hit beginning with the Kylie Minogue debt Kids. I’m not sure of the name of the backup singer who sang Kylie’s part but I can confirm that she absolutely killed it. We next get the other song most Americans know and that’s Rock D.J. The crowd is rocking at a feverish pace as the mood changes with the brooding Feel. Robbie stopped the show in its tracks after having some technical difficulties with the microphone that lowered from the ceiling. A good laugh was had and we were treated with Feel part two. Robbie said that Feel is his biggest hit but I find it hard to believe that the next song isn’t his biggest. It’s surely his biggest in the states.
Robbie lets us know that a secret drawing was held backstage and he was going to bring the winner up on stage. He calls out the seat number and up walks this couple to the stage to collect their prize. Little did the young lady know at that moment that her life was about to change forever. Robbie trades small talk with the couple and then hands the microphone over to the young man so he can profess his love and adoration to her and ask her to marry him. What I believe to be his biggest hit ever, Angels, is next. Robbie dedicates it to the couple as he sings it to them as they watch from the center of the stage.
Twenty songs in and there’s time for one more classic. Robbie sends everyone home happy and singing along to the Frank Sinatra hit My Way. The last two hours went by in the blink of an eye and I wanted so much more. I still have to plan my Robbie Williams trip to Europe to catch one of his stadium tours. I waited over 20 years to see him in person and I will not wait that long again and neither should you. Robbie’s residency in Vegas was a massive success as every show sold out in minutes. People came from all over the world to see him and I truly hope he comes back real soon.
By the way, she said yes.
This post was submitted by our dear close personal friend Steven McCash. Follow Steven on Twitter: @MC_Cash75.
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