Columnist Spencer Patterson: Queen’s legacy at risk in musical production

Spencer Patterson

Friday, June 25, 2004 | 10:07 a.m.

At a Wednesday news conference, Queen drummer Roger Taylor said he hoped "We Will Rock You" -- the show set to open at Paris Las Vegas in August -- wouldn't draw comparisons to a certain smash musical up the Strip.

"We'd like to avoid comparisons with 'Mamma Mia!' " Taylor said, referring to the ABBA-based production at Mandalay Bay.

Sorry Roger, but the connection is inevitable. Both musicals weave together a gaggle of greatest hits -- ABBA's for "Mamma Mia!" and Queen's for "We Will Rock You" -- with newly created storylines.

In ABBA's case, such a concept seems relatively harmless. Though immensely popular, the Swedish quartet never struck me as a particularly serious endeavor, so conjoining their tunes retroactively shouldn't offend anyone.

Theatrical as Queen might have been, though, the Brits were in every sense a real rock band prior to vocalist Freddie Mercury's death in 1991. And each song written by Mercury, Taylor, guitarist Brian May and bassist John Deacon told a story of its own.

Writer Ben Elton's "We Will Rock You" story -- about a futuristic society in which music is outlawed -- might be well scripted, and possibly interesting (though it sounds an awful lot like Rush's "2112" to me).

But ultimately, linking together Queen songs such as "Radio Ga Ga," "Flash," "Another One Bites the Dust" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" with one plot line implies that, somehow, the individual tracks really have something to do with one another.

Which they don't.

In other words, you can't create "Tommy" or "The Wall" after the fact. Rock operas don't work that way.

Of course, audiences will probably eat it up, even the anachronistic references to the Internet in the Mercury-penned "Killer Queen" and "Play the Game" previewed on the promo CD housing the London-based version of the show.

May, who was also on hand for Wednesday's press conference, theorized that Mercury would have been "utterly thrilled" with the musical, because he was such a "dramatic person."

Just because I might not like "We Will Rock You" doesn't mean anyone else shouldn't. I'm generally not a fan of production shows, which lack the spontaneity that makes live music so compelling.

Starting on Aug. 16 you can judge for yourself. Tickets through October are on sale now at the Paris Las Vegas box office and by phone at 946-4567.

Shows run daily except Thursday, with two productions on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Prices range from $80.50 through $113.50.

Music notes

Pulling the plug: Citing slow ticket sales, organizers have canceled all dates on this summer's "Lollapalooza 2004" tour.

This likely won't affect many Southern Nevadans, since Las Vegas was not scheduled to be a stop for the proposed traveling two-day festival, but local music fans planning road trips to Southern California next month will need to make alternate arrangements.

The news comes as quite a shock, considering the strength of this year's lineup. Among the performers who had signed on: Morrissey, Sonic Youth, PJ Harvey, Modest Mouse, the Pixies, the String Cheese Incident, Wilco, the Flaming Lips, Basement Jaxx and the Polyphonic Spree.

Local Sonic Youth fans can rest easy, however. According to the band's official Web site, a July 23 House of Blues gig -- intended to be an off-night from Lollapalooza -- is still on.

Change of venue: The Pixies' Sept. 28 Las Vegas show, originally scheduled for the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts, has been moved to UNLV's Cox Pavilion. No word yet on an on-sale date for tickets.

Quick hits

A look at a few of the shows scheduled to hit Southern Nevada in the next week:

In a somewhat unusual pairing of smooth jazz and blues, the David Sanborn Band and the Robert Cray Band share an 8 p.m. bill tonight at Sunset Station's Sunset Outdoor Amphitheater. Tickets are $22.95-$45.

Rapper KRS-One, widely considered one of the most skilled MCs in hip-hop history, performs at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Boston Bar & Grill (1030 E. Flamingo Road). Tickets to the 21-and-over event are $20.

The Doors of the 21st Century arrive in town for the second straight year on Saturday, albeit with considerably less fanfare this time.

The band, which includes original Doors Ray Manzarek and Robbie Krieger and Cult frontman Ian Astbury, plays Sunset Station's Sunset Outdoor Amphitheater at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30-$75.

In January 2003, expectations ran high when the group -- which then included former Police drummer Stewart Copeland -- played the Palms' Rain at the Desert nightclub.

Alterna-rock veterans No Doubt celebrate 17 years together with a sold-out greatest-hits show at Rain at the Palms at 7 p.m. Sunday. The band's tour will likely be its last for the near future, as vocalist Gwen Stefani prepares to release her debut solo album.

On sale

Glenn Frey plays The Club at the Cannery on Sept. 5. Tickets are $50-$165 and were to go on sale today at 8 a.m. at the Cannery's box office, by phone at 617-5550 and at www.showtickets.com.

Ozomatli, Kinky and Pastilina Mosh team for a Sept. 4 show at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay. Tickets are $22.50 and were to go on sale today at 1 p.m. at the House of Blues box office, at TicketMaster outlets, by phone at 474-4000 and at www.ticketmaster.com.

Fear Factory performs at the House of Blues on Aug. 22 with opening acts Mastadon and Sworn Enemy. Tickets are $20 and were to go on sale today at 11 a.m. through the House of Blues box office and TicketMaster.