by Jason Hewlett / October 2010
As a fellow solo performer it is my job to see what’s happening on the One-Man Show circuit in Las Vegas as soon as the latest guy shows up. Having thoroughly enjoyed my experiences of seeing the likes of Larry G. Jones (my vote for Best Singing Impressionist in Las Vegas), Gordie Brown (my vote for Best Entertainer in Las Vegas), Terry Fator (my vote for Best Singer with his Mouth Closed on Earth) and many others through the years, it was on to Greg London’s highly anticipated debut. I was not disappointed. This guy is good!

As a fellow solo performer it is my job to see what’s happening on the One-Man Show circuit in Las Vegas as soon as the latest guy shows up. Having thoroughly enjoyed my experiences of seeing the likes of Larry G. Jones (my vote for Best Singing Impressionist in Las Vegas), Gordie Brown (my vote for Best Entertainer in Las Vegas), Terry Fator (my vote for Best Singer with his Mouth Closed on Earth) and many others through the years, it was on to Greg London’s highly anticipated debut. I was not disappointed. This guy is good!

Staging & Band: The room is nice and intimate. Greg plays very well to the audience. He could carry the show just on the charisma he exudes without doing one impression, and the room lends itself to his demeanor and love for the audience. Lights are great, sound and speakers just right. Reverb was a little on the heavy side but worked on many of the songs. I loved how the band was placed, a very cool sight to see a blonde female lead guitarist (reminiscent of the great Michael Jackson who utilized the great female lead guitarists for his LIVE shows) and she Rocked by the way. Funny man on the bass was a decent sidekick but a bit on the corny joke side, although his Love Boat routine was very funny.  Drums and Keys were right on and the band kept their place, didn’t over-blow the entertainer in a small room (props to the sound guy).

Dancers and Background Singers: It’s not every day you see dancers and other singers on stage with a one-man show act, but these gals were stellar. They must have gone through 15-20 costume changes while never missing a beat, handing Greg his wigs and dressing him while keeping their smiles up, even donning full beards for ZZ Top and golf bag/guitars for the “Professional Golfers Addicted to Love” spoof.  Awesome addition to the show having the dancers. I wouldn’t mind seeing the Amy Winehouse/Britney Spears bit nixed, just seemed like too much work for little pay-off, but these ladies worked their hearts out and were excellent through and through.

Song Selection: Greg has chosen some of the great ICONS of all-time to Tribute as well as Spoof. Starting with a killer Johnny Cash while playing the black guitar was powerful, then wailing on the trumpet to Louis Armstrong, over to the piano with Ray Charles and Billy Joel’s “My Life”, the man chose great tunes, nailed the impressions, and played the instruments! Hallelujah! Crowd favorites included Don McLean’s sing-along “American Pie”, a very well done Elvis’ “A Little Less Conversation”, and an incredible Rod Stewart. The costume for Ozzy Osbourne was perfect, the routine too long without the singing – I was waiting for it and he never sang – but he did a very good mumbling Ozzy. When he revealed the Kermit the Frog under the coat it was weird to see two opposite worlds of beloved characters collide, but it got a good applause. Funny spoofs were Neil Diamond, Bee Gees & Bob Dylan. Impressions that were close but not “Vegas Perfect” were Neil Young, Macy Gray, Jim Morrison and an odd Arnold voice over Pre-Show announcement. But that’s being finicky and looking for something imperfect. In all actuality most of the artists he did were as close as anyone can get.

Touching moment: His Tribute to Sammy Davis, Jr. while listening to his old record of Sammy sing “I’ve Got To Be Me” and then singing the rest of the number, is one of the coolest routines I’ve seen since Danny Gans’ Tribute to Mr. Bojangles. Best part of the night.

Funniest moment: His lead in to Cruise Ships and how he vowed he’d never perform on one…and then you hear the ship horn. Maybe because I’ve experienced this it was for me bend over laughing time. A close second would be the very bizarre Willie Nelson scratching himself during “To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before”. I’ve never seen Willie do that, but it showed Greg’s ability to take it to the limit of weirdness, which was great.

Best Impression that no one else can do: Barry Manilow. Even though it was a funny parody, Barry has eluded impressionists for years, until now.

X-Factor: His Big Huge VOICE. Greg is a very good impressionist. He has put together a solid show. It flows well, it has a storyline (his career in a nutshell, complete with video and highlights/lowlights), and his crazy impression creations. But I can see Greg as HIMSELF more than is true for other impressionists. He tells the story of auditioning for a Record Company years ago and doing his impressions and needing to find his voice. I understand this dilemma all too well. But Greg has a voice that is incredible, he has hit songs the world over, and he didn’t perform them for us. I would have liked to have seen at least one, if not two of his songs showcased as Greg London himself. It would have worked perfectly. If you remember another huge voice in Clint Holmes (was at Harrah’s Las Vegas mid 2000′s) he used the impressions as a fun detour for a few numbers but the bulk of his show was his ability to powerfully belt great songs, including his own. I can see Greg filling this void in Las Vegas, as the amazing Singer, Man That Can Do Everything (ala Sammy Davis, Jr., Clint Holmes, Wayne Newton’s of the world) are fading fast.

Final Word: B+
Greg will soon be in a bigger room, his show will only get better, his place in Vegas will be established. He stayed to sign autographs until the last person left and took pictures whether you bought his DVD’s or not; a genuinely nice person. My vote is Best Overall Singer in Las Vegas for Greg London.

Originally published on http://jasonhewlett.wordpress.com/2010/10/18/review-of-greg-londons-icons-las-vegas-show/

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