RAIDING THE ROCK VAULT has been going strong in Vegas for 10 years and 1,500 shows! Having won eight Best of Las Vegas awards, the show, uniting talented musicians to recreate the greatest rock and roll songs of all time, shows no signs of letting down with its latest home being the Duomo inside the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino.
Rock shows aren’t uncommon in Sin City, but I’ve had the pleasure of frequenting RAIDING THE ROCK VAULT at several venues that have hosted the show over the past decade; I’ve posted several pieces that go into more detail about the show’s structure (which has changed over the years) and its past locations. I’d most recently seen the show in its current home at the Duomo in June.
RAIDING THE ROCK VAULT features a revolving door all-star band of musicians; they can change nightly depending upon said musicians’ other commitments. The band I saw on stage for the show on Friday, August 2022, included the likes of Keith St. John, Z Maddox, Michael T. Ross, Todd Kerns, Blas Elias, Rowan Robertson, and Georgia Napolitano (not all-inclusive). In addition to the musical performers, the show utilizes two dancers who change costumes depending upon what’s currently being performed.
The basic structure of RAIDING THE ROCK VAULT in its current incarnation is that the show is narrated by a “Spirit of Music” who offers facts and trivia, both by video screens and spoken-word narration, leading the audience on a journey through the story of classic rock, with tracks that run from roughly 1965-1987. Earlier incarnations of the show featured acting/skit sequences and a loose “of the period” storyline of sorts, though this has largely been dropped in favor of the current incarnation of the show that emphasizes the music above all other things, something I don’t think the audience minds too much. And believe me, the audience I attended this show with was on their feet and enthused from start to finish.
Since its incarnation, first appearing on Vegas stages in 2013, RAIDING THE ROCK VAULT’s setlist has been fairly common, with the largest changes coming from adding songs to suit the growing number of female vocalists appearing on stage. For fans of classic rock, the show certainly isn’t a hard sell, packed with what promotional pieces dub the “Greatest Setlist Ever.” Indeed, the show features songs from many of classic rock radio’s greatest, including The Who, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, ZZ Top, Aerosmith, Pink Floyd, Boston, and many others. I won’t go through and nitpick or describe the set in detail; it should be somewhat of a surprise for the listener!
In addition to the video screen offering trivia and info on the bands, many of the artists on stage, as well as the dancers, change costumes to suit what the material requires. As a lifelong fan, I appreciate the effort everyone involved with the production puts in to make these performances a reality. It speaks for itself and shouldn’t disappoint the fans who’ve heard these songs on the radio their whole lives. While the show has largely relocated to smaller venues over the years, it’s been well “adapted” to whatever the space requires.
I’ll always go see RAIDING THE ROCK VAULT as long as it’s playing in Las Vegas, no matter how many years that may be. For classic rock fans, there’s no better place in Vegas to rock out to the greatest rock hits of all time, even a decade and 1,500 shows later. If you live in or will be visiting the Vegas Valley, it’s well worth your time to attend.
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