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Show SECTION 2mhjHcrol& FRIDAY, AUGUST 18. 2006 EDITOR eandrusheraldextra.com 344-255- 3 Jih JlUL. 3 Elyssa Andrus Ctfa Vegas Battle of the Venue John Deiner THE WASHINGTON titanspits 'Love' against 'Phantom' big-sho- w POST n Las Vegas, this is the summer of "Love," the mega-hype- d Cirque du Soleil show featuring Beatles tunes, which opened June 30 at the Mirage .resort. Across t he street at the Venetian, the highly anticipated "Phantom" a streamlined version of Broadway's "Phantom of the Opera" premiered June 24 in a custom-buil- t theater. So which gives you more thrills for your bills? We recently checked out both productions on consecutive evenings, opting for the "cheap seats" (Las Vegas style, that is) to see which one measured up to the buzz. te Only in Vegas would a show's setting be part of the entertainment value. "Phantom" is housed in a $40 million theater tucked deep within the Venetian modeled on the Paris Opera House, complete with an opulent stage and a dome. Fabric covering the walls drops during the show's opening moments to reveal a gilded gallery of faux Parisians standing in boxes on both sides of the audience. "Love" consumes Siegfried and Roy's old digs, which have been retrofitted (for more than $130 million, including the cost of the show) into a Seats crowd the d stage and soar to the ceiling (getting to the theater's nether theater-in-the-roun- cross-shape- regions requires a climb up dimly lit steps and much help from ushers clad like British bobbies, though Sherpas would also come in handy). Video screens, ropes, catwalks, lighting: Everything is exposed and, upon first view, tantalizing. ADVANTAGE: Tossup Music You'd think this would be an easy ... and it is. "Phantom" is an extravaganza that deflabs the Andrew Lloyd Webber Tony winner but keeps the tunes intact (Lloyd Webber and original director Harold Prince did the pruning themselves). They're all here, from "Angel of Music" to "Music of the Night," belted call Philo Farnsworth, TV's invisible inventor, was bom 100 years ago Frazier Moore THE ASSOCIATED . ply astounding. ADVANTAGE: "Love" See FACE-OF- B2 Journey, Def Leppard shine in USANA co-headlin- bill ing nized. How ironic! In this media-saw- y age, not only should his name be as widely known as Bell's or Edison's, but his long, lean face with the bulbous brow should be as familiar as any pop icon's. He should be the patron saint of every ' couch potato. Instead, we regard TV not PRESS Fish don't know they're living in water, nor do they stop to wonder where the water came from. Humans? Not much better, as we share a world engulfed by television. And the deeper our immersion become?, the less likely it seems we'll poke our heads above the surface and see there must have been life before someone invented TV. That invisible someone was Philo T. Farnsworth, who was fated to live and work, then die, in sad obscurity. Now, on the centennial of his birth on Aug. 19, 1906, his invention plays an increasingly with less powerful role in our lives chance than ever of him being recog- - out beautifully by Broadway-calibe- r performers to a live orchestra. Still, Andrew has nothing on John, Paul, George and Ringo. More than 130 Beatles tunes dozens of snippets and fuller versions of "I Want to Hold Your Hand," "Hey Jude," have been "Lady Madonna," etc. incorporated into "Love," gorgeously remixed and remastered by original Beatles producer Sir George Martin and his son, Giles. It's often hard to tell where one song ends and the next begins. Further, an amazing sound system, including speakers built into the seats, envelops you in music. Sim- e as a ral resource. man-mad- contraption, but a natu- Nonetheless, it was Philo Farnsworth who conducted the first sucoessful demonstration of electronic television. The setting: Farnsworth's modest San Francisco lab where, on Sept. 7, 1927, the genius transmitted the image of a horizontal line to a receiver in the next room. I: self-taug- Associated , Press ; v.heiuuccom See FARNSWORTH, B2 on itmioi to Amchh Doug Fox DAIIY HERALD Apparently, almost anyone can sing lead vocals for Journey these dayc. That conclusion is not in any way intended as a slight. It's more made in a state of awe after watching the band perform at USANA Amphitheatre on Wednesday night in a double bill with Def Leppard. There's no denying that Journey will forever be best linked to songs sung by Steve Perry, who put his readily identifiable vocal stamp on more than a dozen hits from e Steve Augeri took over the lead vocal baton soon thereafter, and has been with the band ever since. Augeri, however, was sidelined earlier this tour with a chronic throat infection, forcing Journey to either quickly find a replacement singer or scrap the profitable tour. Enter Jeff Scott Soto, who had previously worked with Journey guitarist Neal Schon in the 1978-199- side-proje- See CONCERT, B6 |
