But all I can say is that if I have half the energy and look half as good as she does when I’m her age it’ll be a minor miracle. How she can still put on a show of such enormously entertaining, over-the-top spectacle like the one she is doing now at Caesars Palace after four decades of over-the-top spectacles is a major miracle.

Looking fit and fabulous, full of her imperiously cheeky attitude, and sounding better than she ever has, Cher commands the massive stage at the Colosseum in a way that few others would be able to. Granted, she brings along enough costumes, sets, and dancers to stage her own Broadway show but that’s all a part of the ethos of a Cher concert.

The extravaganza starts with a video montage of her life all set to a throbbing dance beat and then suddenly there she is, hovering over the audience on a flying platform that is adorned with golden lights, floating down the stage while singing “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” Her costume is a nod to the Vegas showgirl, complete with a gigantic glittery headdress of sorts and lots of skin, naturally.

That’s the just the first of roughly a dozen costumes (there may have been more, I lost count), each one a Bob Mackie original, that recount the almost endless reinventions of her career.

There are the mod-60s boots for “The Beat Goes On” (sung as a “duet” with a video version of Sonny); the outrageous feathered headdress for “Hal f Breed” and a fortune teller get-up for “Dark Lady;” a silky disco era pantsuit for “Take Me Home;” her classic almost not there leather ensemble for “If I Could Turn Back Time;” and the glittery dance floor Diva costume for “Believe.” In between there’s everything from a “Mad Max” style ensemble for a cover of Pat Benatar’s “Love is a Battlefield” to a relatively simple jeans and blouse outfit for a cover of Marc Cohen’s “Walking in Memphis.”

The costumes are endlessly entertaining, jaw dropping wonders but if I have to find something to whine about it’s that the time required for her to make the dozen or so changes means there is a lot of time when she’s not on stage. There are plenty of distractions – from Cirque style aerialists and strength performers to dancers to lots of video from “Sonny and Cher” to “Moonstruck” but when she disappears for five minutes to change into a costume that she will wear for one four minute song, something about that math just doesn’t quite add up.

But that’s just a quibble really, because while she is on stage she owns it. As mentioned, she looks fantastic but more importantly she sounds fantastic as well. Despite what has been said about her live concerts, most of what she was singing here was definitely live – no lip-synching. And on songs like the torchy “Way of Love” or the heartfelt “After All” she proves that she’s more than just a studio invention like so many of today’s singers.

Cher will be doing 200 shows over the next three years at prices that range from $95 for the nosebleed seats to $250 for most of the main floor. Spectacle doesn’t come cheap, you know.

Cher
Caesars Palace
3570 Las Vegas Blvd. S
866-510-2437
website
Price:

The problem he faced way back then was that you spend all day at a card table and you get hungry but things like, you know, mutton isn’t easy to eat while drawing to an inside straight.

Yes, I know poker wasn’t the game he was playing, but it’s a Vegas review so just go with me here.

Anyway, so dear old John came up with the idea to put meat between two slices of bread and invented a thing that was named after one of his other titles – the Fourth Earl of Sandwich.

Today his descendent, the 11th Earl of Sandwich (seriously) has lent his family’s name to an endeavor of sandwich shops, one of which is now open and packing in the crowds at Planet Hollywood.

The menu is mostly sandwiches, unsurprisingly. There’s the Original 1762 with roast beef, creamy horseradish, and cheddar, the Earl’s Club with turkey, applewood smoked bacon, and Swiss, and the Full Montagu with beef, turkey, two kinds of cheese, and more. Turkey, BLT, tuna melt, and ham sandwiches are also available as are some more creative concoctions like the Hawaiian BBQ with grilled chicken, ham, Hawaiian barbecue sauce, and pineapple or the Caribbean jerk chicken with roasted hot banana peppers.

We sampled several of the sandwiches including the aforementioned tuna melt and Full Montagu along with the Ultimate Grilled Cheese (Swiss, Brie, and Bleu with bacon and tomato) and the Beef ‘n Bleu (roast beef and bleu cheese). All were served toasty warm on their own artisan baked breads and all were delicious.

If the sandwich thing isn’t doing it for you, they also have a series of salads and wraps (Caesar, Cobb, Caprese, and more) plus soups and sides.

They also have a series of baked on the premises desserts including massive cupcakes and brownies, which if you catch them at the right time will be warm from the oven and gooey and delicious and will get all over your computer keyboard but you won’t care. I’m guessing.

One complaint I have heard about this place is that the sandwiches and contents of same are not of the scope that hungry American stomachs have grown used to. In other words, some people whine that the sandwiches are too small. I say “Fie!” (it’s something an Earl may have said) – these are human sized portions as opposed to the waistline expanding portions served at other sandwich shops. If you really can’t stand it, order two – they’re cheap.

And by cheap, I mean cheap. All of the sandwiches, salads, and wraps are under $6, sides are a buck, and soup $2. So while the whining about high food prices in Las Vegas is totally justified, there are options to paying $12 for a hamburger.

One other note is that while they manage to keep things moving pretty well, the lines at this place are long almost all the time (or at least were every time I walked by). Limited seating means you may be eating your sandwich at a blackjack table, but that’s how dear old John probably would’ve preferred it.

The Earl of Sandwich
Planet Hollywood
3667 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
702-463-0259
website
Hours: