RAIDING THE ROCK VAULT has been playing in Las Vegas for a decade now, across many venues. It’s no surprise that the show remains popular, with plenty of professional musicians gathering to pay tribute to these iconic songs. So far, the show has played at the LVH/Westgate, Tropicana, the now-defunct Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, and at present, the Duomo inside the Rio Hotel and Casino. The Rio shows will be ending in early April, with the show migrating to the Hard Rock Cafe on the Las Vegas Strip, becoming the show’s new home.
During the show’s last month or so, audiences got a surprise announcement of the best kind – Famed vocalist Robin McAuley would be returning to the show for a single night; March 11, 2023. I’d already seen the show at the Duomo a handful of times prior to this, but didn’t want to pass up an opportunity to see one of the rock world’s greatest vocalists in a small venue! McAuley had been a regular figure in the show’s early years in venues, but in recent years hadn’t been present due to his other music and touring commitments, including his work with Michael Schenker.
Ever since arriving at the Duomo, the show has had a largely revolving-door lineup, which is necessary due to all the commitments of the individual performers. Musicians present for the night I attended in addition to McAuley included Todd Kerns (Slash’s band, Sin City Sinners), Rowan Robertson (Dio, Bang Tango), Michael T. Ross (Hardline, Lita Ford Band), Georgia Napolitano (Trans-Siberian Orchestra), Dan Grennes (Billy Joe Armstrong Band), Keith St. John (Montrose, Kingdom Come), and Z Maddox (Rock of Ages). Earlier versions of the show had kits with actors and the like; more recent versions of the show have excised this to focus on the musical performances, although narrated video/audio footage does appear between some songs, talking about the history of rock and roll and these widely varied periods of music. The show does still utilize two costumed dancers, however.
When it comes to selecting a setlist of classic rock’s greatest hits, that’s no easy task given how many iconic bands and songs there are. The show’s tracklist consists of many rock hits released between (approximately) 1965 and 1987, with a combination of full-length songs and medleys. Excising the earlier acted skits and the like has made more room for musical performances, and a major change made after the first year of performances was the inclusion of female vocalists and songs suited to them; certainly a welcomed shift.
Artists you’ll hear music by in ROCK VAULT include The Who, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, Whitesnake, Bon Jovi, Queen, Whitesnake, Fleetwood Mac, Van Halen, and countless others. I’m sure the most die-hard of classic rock fans may nitpick the tracklist, but I think to most fans of rock music, this setlist will be more than satisfactory. Probably the biggest omission is The Beatles (odd since they get mentioned in the narration, though I’d guess this likely stems from legal issues and/or potential conflicts with THE BEATLES LOVE show which also plays in Las Vegas). This particular night reincorporated Toto’s “Hold the Line” into the setlist, which I hadn’t heard since the show’s early days, and even included something else I’d never seen before – an encore! For this, we got KISS’ seminal classic “Rock and Roll All Nite.”
It seems like no matter what happens in this town, RAIDING THE ROCK VAULT always has a home, and rightfully so. For any rock and roll fan, hearing these songs done live by some of the best musicians in the industry is always welcomed, and it will be interesting to see how the show fares after its move to the Hard Rock Cafe on the Las Vegas Strip next month. In either event, I’ll be there when the time comes!
