http://lasvegasmagazine.com/2014/02/14/dancing-machines/
Cover
Dancing Machines
From Soul Train to the Hall of Fame with The JacksonsinRockTellz & CockTails
By Matt Kelemen
Photograph by Robert John Kley
Planet Hollywood Resort 9:30 p.m. Feb. 20-23 & 27-28, $60-$155 VIP plus tax and fee. 800.745.3000
The only problem for Jackie Jackson and his brothers in developing a show that looks back at their history through songs and storytelling is there are so many songs and so much story. Rehearsals with Marlon, Tito and Jermaine are a breeze compared to narrowing down the set list and recollections for Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino’s RockTellz & CockTails Presents The Jacksons. “We’re still working on that. That’s the hardest part to do,” Jackie Jackson said in a late January interview. “We have so many stories and so many songs, and sometimes people want to hear the music and some people want to hear the storytelling as well. We just have to figure out how to make them both happy—tell enough stories but don’t go overboard with stories, and also give them the music they want to hear.”
To that end, The Jacksons plan to mix up the music and mythology during their 40 shows at the PH Showroom, which kick off Feb. 20. “It’s not going to be the same thing every night,” said the eldest Jackson brother. “The set list is really hard, too, because we have so many songs, and so many fans want to hear those songs, and it’s only a 90-minute show. I wish we could be on for three hours, or even four hours, and we have to fit it all into a 90-minute show plus do storytelling. But it’s going to be good.”
Jackson, a Las Vegas resident for the past five years, has a history with the city that goes back to the days when his whole family performed at the old MGM Grand (now Bally’s). Judging from his reaction to the gingerly approached subject of whether he’s still the same dancing machine he was when he towered over Michael and Marlon during the early Jackson 5 days, Jackie and his brothers have every intention of knocking fans out with the show’s choreography as well as their own musical chops. The songs will be drawn from their entire history, with nods to Jermaine and Michael’s solo hits. Still fresh from their last reunion tour, The Jacksons can easily draw on any era from their career, and Jackie says whenever they get back together it’s like they’ve never been apart.
There is one major void, of course. It’s hard to think of “high energy” without thinking of Michael, but his presence will surely be felt by fans while hearing stories of the birth of the Jackson 5, Berry Gordy and Motown, Gladys Knight and Smokey Robinson and Diana Ross, and the road from Soul Train to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For The Jacksons, it’s more than a reunion for the fans. “Once you get onstage with your brothers, it all just comes back,” he said. “We still all love each other. It comes back. That’s where we were all born, on the stage. It feels great to be back on the stage again.”
Behind the scenes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymQ3rL-h2gc
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