Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

SOS sends a message

What: The Society of Seven with Lani Misalucha

Where: Flamingo Showroom

When: 3 p.m., Wednesdays through Sundays

Tickets: $49.95; 733-3333

Rating (out of 5 stars): **** 1/2

Las Vegas' premier show band has weathered a lot of storms.

The winds of fate have blown the Society of Seven from casino to casino over the past five years - Hilton, Golden Nugget, Aladdin, Bally's and finally to the Flamingo.

But the hurricane blow was the death of lead vocalist Gary Bautista, who suffered a massive stroke in April during a show in Los Angeles. The 54-year-old Bautista had been with the band for 22 years.

Although his bandmates are still getting over his death, SOS is once again sailing smoothly with an energized new production that debuted in August.

Bautista could imitate hundreds of singers and was an irreplaceable part of the band. But 32-year-old singer Mark Escueta has a wide vocal range and excellent comic timing. Although he is not yet in Bautista's league, the former member of the dance band San Fernando takes on a good share of the production, dancing, singing and cutting up with the cast.

His imitations of Michael Jackson and Barry Gibb are superb, he does an excellent take off on Stevie Wonder, and he isn't bad when he sings Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up" in his own voice.

He quickly has fit in with a troupe that began performing 10 years before he was born. But Escueta, a native of the Philippines, is still a junior partner in this corporation.

Two of its founders, Tony Ruivivar (host, guitarist) and Bert Sagum (percussionist, dancer and comedian), have been with the group since it began performing in Hong Kong in the early '60s. SOS also includes longtime members Hoku Low on bass, Roy Guerzo on keyboards and Wayne Wakai, who plays several instruments. Vince Mendoza has replaced Randy Abellar on drums.

Two years ago SOS added an eighth member - Lani Misalucha, one of the Philippines' most popular singers. In addition to doing imitations, Misalucha has a spine-tingling operatic voice that adds a new dimension to the group.

There was no thought of abandoning the show after Bautista died.

Three days after a memorial service in Las Vegas, SOS performed in Texas with a temporary replacement and began a national tour that continued until they landed the engagement at the Flamingo.

"There have been many deaths over the years," said Ruivivar, whose brother, Danny, died at 24. "So everybody knows the show must go on."

The production has undergone major changes since Bautista's death. Ruivivar estimated that about 60 percent of the show is different, taking greater advantage of each of the members' vocal and instrumental talents. The new production is faster paced.

Most of the 90-minute show is played for laughs, with a rapid series of impressions of such artists as Little Richard, Celine Dion and Dionne Warwick. The closing includes Broadway show stoppers from "Man of La Mancha," "Chicago" and "West Side Story." The finale is a rousing medley of "God Bless the USA" and "God Bless America."

The revamped production does Bautista's memory proud.

"His spirit is still with us," Ruivivar said.

Escueta claims he has felt Bautista tapping him on the shoulder several times - "especially in the middle of a song."

"Gary was like that," Ruivivar said. "Always clowning."

archive

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy