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Steve Miller Band and JOAN JETT double bill concert at the Laughlin Amphitheater
from: laughlinentertainer.com
In an effort to shine a little more light on Laughlin, the Laughlin Tourism Commission in conjunction with many of the Laughlin casinos present periodic outdoor concerts in the new Laughlin Amphitheater, located on Casino Drive between the Golden Nugget and River Palms hotel/casinos. The concerts feature national recording artists from a variety of genres. In March, Reba McEntire played the Amphitheater and on October 19, Toby Keith comes to town (see page 46 for times/tickets).
This Saturday, May 18 (8:30 p.m.), a double-bill concert featuring JOAN JETT and the Steve Miller Band takes place in the Laughlin Amphitheater. Tickets are $40/$50/$60/$80 and $100.
For tickets to any of the outdoor concerts, see ticketforce.com or call 877-840-0457. You can also go to the Box Office at the Laughlin Tourism Commission Office, 1585 S. Casino Drive, Mondays-Thursdays (8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.) for tickets or to pick up "will call" tickets. The box office will be moved to the Laughlin Amphitheater on the day of the concert (opens at 10 a.m.).
Many of the Laughlin hotel/casinos offer room/show packages for these concerts. See the casino contact numbers on page 2; or in the "More than just a room key box" on page 32 of this publication.
Here's a closer look at JOAN JETT and Steve Miller.
JOAN JETT
"I love rock 'n roll...put another dime in the jukebox, baby,
I love rock n' roll ...so come and take your time and dance with me...ow...."
If you were a young girl in the '80s, singing into your hairbrush to "I Hate Myself For Loving You," you wanted to be JOAN JETT. She was the rebel, the bad ass--the woman who took no guff. It was a natural for young girls to identify with Jett. When she was a young girl herself (all of 15 years of age), she started her first band, The RUNAWAYS.
Later, when she formed The BLACKHEARTS, she was turned down by every record company on the planet at the time. Ever the one to do things her way, Jett said to herself 'if they won't let me play with their ball, I'll go get a ball of my own', so she started her own indie label. Once again she proved she had the talent and the determination to carve her own path, leaving industry suits to collectively scratch their heads and try to explain to their higher-ups why they missed the boat on making millions of dollars on this emerging super star.
Jett became the first woman to start her own rock label, BLACKHEART RECORDS, which is a fine thing. But what is even finer is that it was a success. She released hits that created eight platinum and gold albums and nine Top 40 singles, including the classics "Bad Reputation," "I Love Rock 'N' Roll," "I Hate Myself For Loving You," and "Crimson and Clover."
She continues as the head of BLACKHEART RECORDS where she has overseen albums by Bikini Kill, Circus Lupus, as well as the Germs' LA punk masterpiece, GI.
So how did a young girl from L.A. get into Euro glam rock?
Well, it was all due to Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco on Sunset Boulevard. That was the only spot in L.A. that played glam rock genre at the time. This genre was big in Europe and the UK but not in the States--and it had profound influence on Jett. It helped her decide to head to England in 1979 to pursue a solo career, which in turn led to her hooking up with songwriter and producer KENNY LAGUNA who helped her start BLACKHEART RECORDS.
Over the years, Jett's music has become a permanent force in mainstream culture--Faith Hill sang "I Hate Myself For Loving You," as the recently dumped theme for NBC's Sunday Night Football; her music has been part of TV shows including Easy A, Kick Ass, The RUNAWAYS, Shrek, Baby Mama and many more.
Jett's story was told in the 2010 film "The RUNAWAYS", based on (lead singer of The RUNAWAYS) Cherie Currie's book Neon Angel. Jett served as an executive producer on the film.
Jett and the BLACKHEARTS continuously tour across the globe with one of those stops in Laughlin on Saturday, May 18.
STEVE MILLER
"I want to fly like an eagle to the sea, fly like an eagle, let my spirit carry me. I want to fly like an eagle, 'til I'm free...."
You know you're bound to become a professional musician when as a child you have Les Paul teaching you guitar chords and T-Bone Walker showing you how to play single-line solos. You sure as hell aren't gonna play clarinet in the high school band after that.
Steve Miller was fortunate to have those elevated connections as starters on a career that soared to its own fame.
As a young musician with his own band, he was drawn to R&B where he helped influence a high school friend of his named Boz Scaggs to join in on the musical fun.
Later, Miller was drawn to the Chicago blues scene, playing in nightclubs with the likes of Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters. The names of the famous are dripping off Miller's resume. Les Paul, T-Bone Walker, Muddy Waters, Boz Scaggs....if ever a lad had his stars align just right, Miller is your guy.
Miller formed his Goldberg Miller Blues Band which took over for the pioneering Paul Butterfield Blues Band at a famous nightclub in Chicago called Big John's. The exposure he garnered there led to a record contract with Epic Records and even appearances on the musical hot spot on TV at the time, "Hullabaloo" (he was on the same show as the Supremes and the Four Tops).
But things weren't clicking in either New York (where his Epic deal landed him) nor in his old Chicago haunts. So he packed up and headed to San Francisco, where he formed The Steve Miller Band.
That fall of 1966, San Francisco was a burbling cauldron of music, social change and all kinds of creative madness. The Steve Miller band appeared on bills at concerts with the Grateful Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Quicksilver Messenger Service and all the acid-rock bands.
He soon signed with Capitol Records where his second album, Sailor, featured his soon to become "classic" hit "Livin' In the U.S.A."
All this recording took place in London, and staying true to his connecting with big names, Miller soon found himself working on a song with Paul McCartney, "My Dark Hour."
After sustaining a neck injury, Miller took time away from music, eventually working his way back to California where he recorded, The Joker. His previous releases never really met with mainstream success but "The Joker" changed all that. It was a breakthrough smash that shot all the way to No. 1. He chased the chart success with another year of endless concerts and spent the next year and a half writing, recording and polishing the pieces that would compose his next two albums.
"Take the Money and Run," the first single from the new songs, hit the charts in May 1976, the first of six consecutive smashes--"Rock Ôn Me," "Fly Like an Eagle," "Jet Airliner," "Jungle Love," "Swingtown"--that would keep the Steve Miller Band in the Top Ten beyond the next two years.
At the height of the classic rock movement, the Steve Miller Band was one of the defining figures. His 1978 album, Greatest Hits 1974-78, became one of the best-selling releases of all-time, selling millions every year through the end of the century.
Miller scored another No. 1 hit in 1982 with "Abracadabra."
In 2010, Miller released Bingo!, nominated as Blues-Rock Album of the Year by the Blues Foundation. Miller followed this hit album with Let Your Hair Down, from Space Cowboy/Roadrunner/Loud & Proud Records in 2011. Both of these albums feature the final recordings of harmonica virtuoso Norton Buffalo, who died of cancer shortly after coming off tour with the Steve Miller Band in October 2009.
On a side note: A recent addition to the Steve Miller Band may be familiar to longtime Laughlin visitors and locals. He is veteran R&B showman Sonny Charles who, along with the late Sweet Louie, performed at various venues in town with The Checkmates, creators of the '60s hit, "Black Pearl".
Getting there...
There is no car parking at the Laughlin Amphitheater so you may want to utilize any of the following to get to and from the concert.
¥there will be shuttles running from the Colorado Belle, Edgewater, Tropicana, Aquarius and the Riverside Resort.
¥There will be water taxis on the Colorado River running to and from the nearby docks.
¥ Through traffic on Casino Drive from the Golden Nugget to River Palms will be diverted to the south bound lanes (5 p.m.-midnight). The northbound lanes will be utilized for shuttle drop-off and pick-up. It is advised to use Thomas Edison Drive as an alternative to Casino Drive.
¥Silver Rider routes will not be affected.
¥The Pioneer will have paid parking for $10 (redeemable for $10 off a meal in a casino restaurant). The Golden Nugget will have paid parking ($10 in west lot and valet; $5 in garage; comes with complimentary beverage coupon). River Palms will have paid parking ($10 west lot; redeemable for $10 off the buffet).
If you can walk the Riverwalk from one of the outlying casino parking lots, do so and stroll to the show. There will be multiple no-host bars and food outlets at the Laughlin Amphitheater so you can make something of a tailgate party o
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