Review of:

 

 

 
     
     
 
     
  I haven't laughed this much since…since the last time I saw Pete Barbutti. Pete has been performing in Vegas since the days when some of the wise guys in the audience laughed even though they did not get the joke, while others sitting with them did NOT laugh because they DID get the joke. Nevertheless, Pete survived "the boys" and is still around, thankfully, for his legion of fans across the U.S. and Canada.

On this night, Pete, along with his sidekick, Gus Mancuso, a consummate musician in his own right, who has also been around since "the Strip" was the old L.A. highway, were in fine form! Pete did some of his standards, including playing tunes with his cigar and playing the piano with his nose. He told some "dyed in the wool" jokes as well as some I have not heard before in a manner that a frequent viewer never tires of.

For over 50 years Pete has run the gambit, from small to big clubs, from radio to TV, including his own TV shows in Washington State, Canada and here in Las Vegas, plus many appearances on the Tonight Show, Merv Griffin and many others.

Pete has opened for a virtual "Who’s who" of headliners including Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole, but it's in the lounges throughout Vegas and the Reno—Tahoe area in hotels too numerous to mention, some of which are no longer standing, (could it be that, perhaps, Pete brought the house down?) where Pete continues to make his mark, bringing a smile to your face and a roll to your belly in the 2000s!

 

When we (VCO Publisher and Founder Marleen Marino and I) first walked into the almost intimate setting of the Royal Pavillion Showroom upstairs at the 4 Queens, I thought we were on a Caribbean cruise. Because, before we marveled at Pete and Gus' humor, we were delighted by the calypso/reggae sounds of percussionist King Errisson and his band, another that has been around since the "old millennium," recently accompanying none other than Neil Diamond himself. King Errisson and his band started off the evening with songs from his native birthplace of Nassau, Bahamas to some Neil Diamond favorites. It was only natural that the young Errisson would begin playing the bongos at a very early age and began playing in professional gigs by the time he was 13 years old. He also worked as a race horse jockey until he was 19 years old when he was offered the opportunity to perform at a night club in Boston. He returned to the Bahamas and teamed up with a limbo dancer and continued to perform on a regular basis.

  As a session musician, King has worked with a very diverse group of artists representing a wide variety of musical styles. King has been praised as the unsung hero behind Motown by Ray Singleton in her book Berry, Me, and Motown as well as by Berry Gordy in his book To Be Loved for his work with artists such as

Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Michael Jackson, the Jackson Five, and many others.  He has also worked with Herb Alpert, John Klemmer, Doc Severinsen, Ringo Starr, Blood Sweat & Tears, Jim Stafford, Swamp Dogg, Barbra Streisand, David Cassidy, Bobby Darin, Nancy Wilson, Johnny Mathis, OC Smith, Lou Rawles, Hodges James and Smith, Mickey Stevenson, Barry White and The Carpenters.  He was a featured member of the Incredible Bongo Band and has been a member of Neil Diamond's touring band since 1976.

King and his band, Ronnie Rathers on guitar, Mike Clark on keyboards and vocals, Peter Carr on drums, Derek "Baby D" Galbrieth on bass and Ed Judd (a stand-out!) on Sax, Keyboards and vocals, bring a great musical start to a wonderful evening.

Reviewed by:

Frank Marino

Thursday–Sunday 8 PM

 
 
 
 
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