CELINE

BY ED BRUCE edbrucevegas@yahoo.com

THIS SEVEN YEARS IN COMING...THE TIME IT TOOK FOR ME TO SEE CELINE AND WRITE THE REVIEW.

GLAD I DID.

It is now 34 minutes after the 94 minute show that I write this...I want fresh impressions in my mind.

This is year 28 that I have been covering Las Vegas shows, so there should be some credibility, history and solid impressions of what are quality shows in Las Vegas...I have seen them all and now I have seen Celine. GLAD I DID.

Loved the box office staff and their efficiency at Caesars Palace box office.

Did not love waiting in line for 15 minutes to get into a show that started 16 minutes late....onlyh 11 if you count the opening 5 minute video. I always deduct one minute from each shows score for every minute late...to include 17 for Johnny Mathis and 31 for Paul McCartney....Celine no different so she is at 89 as I write.
7:46 when Celine hit the stage !

THIS WAS NOTHING BUT FIRST CLASS IN EVERY WAY...THE ENTIRE PRODUCTION...HOW SPECIAL AS A WORKING REPORTER TO BE GREETED BY CELINE'S PRESS STAFF WITH A PRESS KIT....VERY IMPRESSIVE.

All right lets tear into this....Celine, 43, born in Quebec with 13 siblings has burst onto the music scene with her mega talent and enormus production shows all over the world....now opening the second part of her second run at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas strip.

She did 5 years here to enormus business and I never saw a show or never heard of her before that and never heard of her music....everything (all positive) said about her was proven to be true tonight. All star voice....my top female singers that I have seen here, Peggy Lee, Judy Collins and Eartha Kitt whom all fit into my age group, a generation and a half ago. Celine is the new generation, she won me over, she is warm, loving, giving and exudes the perfect stage presence...she even toured the audience to the great delight of those on the aisle and up front. The ball was in her court to prove her talent...she was more than equall to the task.

There must have been eight or nine costume changes all done with perfect bridges and continuity....the show on the mamouth Ceasars stage ran technically perfect...its about the size of an air craft carrier and they used every inch perfectly...hydraulics, floating sets, background lights, videos and falling water to the Titanic finale....I just love stuff that comes off perfectly...it was so creatively designed that it was a show in itself and to almost distract from the sound.

THE SOUND....beautiful...Celine was the great voice expected and the technical mix with the 31 piece orchestra...just flawless...and the musicians moved around...by themselves and the floating sets.

There were a number of sets...to include Celine singing a duet with herself out of the audience...a duet with Stevie Wonder on video...a great violin solo out of the audience (I remain a sucker for strings-13 here)....a too short cabaret set that Peggy Lee used....bass, piano and drums....great..... 007 music to include Live and Let die...can't beat McCartneys commpositions and he was 500 yards north at the Mirage this night for the 5th anniversary of Love...so I got royalty and Celine on the same night. I thought the stage was on fire with this background....the back sets another spectacle show themselves....there was so much going on they made me work to see it all !

I am pretty good at reading people and I get an easy early first impression here, she is a good egg...warm, with outgoing affection...a caring mother to three which was highlited in a song over video.

What did I forget....the Ceasars stage and technical abilities a show itself, I think they just showed off with all the smoke and horns and whistles and lights and curtains and sound and colors and more and more....YES !

RECOMMENDED TO THE WORLD....CELINE AT CEASARS FOR QUITE A SPELL....4300 SEATS ALL SOLD ON THIS NIGHT AND NOBODY LEFT EARLY.

Thank you Celine for your genius and bringing fun and love to the world.

You could have had an over 100 A+ if you started on time...

89 B+