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[Life Is Beautiful 2014]

Life Is Beautiful: Cirque du Soleil and the Philharmonic create an only-in-Vegas spectacle

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Cast members of The Beatles Love by Cirque du Soleil perform with members of the Las Vegas Philharmonic during Life is Beautiful music festival in downtown Las Vegas Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014.
Photo: Steve Marcus

“Wow,” the guy next to me said, watching a quartet of lithe ladies in silver body suits rise in perfect lotus position on long white ropes, seeming to levitate into the Downtown Stage rigging at Life Is Beautiful.

2014 Life is Beautiful: Day 3

As the Las Vegas Philharmonic played “Here Comes the Sun,” and the cast of Cirque du Soleil’s Love danced and contorted in their wild, whimsical costumes, the rest of the festival disappeared completely. Forget Kanye’s massive light cube. Forget Skrillex’s spaceship. Forget the confetti being blasted like rainbow rain. This was the most Vegas set of Life Is Beautiful—and it was stunning.

It started with the Phil alone, playing Beatles classics like “Eleanor Rigby,” “Blackbird” and “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” as a crowd of fest kids looked on. In T-shirts and short skirts, clutching beers under the afternoon sun, it was hardly the typical orchestra audience, but the LIBers seemed to enjoy a break from the bombast and beats, applauding appreciatively after every song. And we knew something was coming—the empty front of the stage a promise, the techs scurrying backstage a tease.

Then, just when the anticipation seemed to reach a breaking point, a screen transported us to London 1969 and Love characters filtered into view: Eleanor Rigby hunched under the weight of the world, Dr. Robert with his steaming teapot, Sgt. Pepper toting a bundle of brass instruments behind him. The Phil launched into a medley of Beatles greatest hits behind vintage vocals from the boys themselves and the stage turned raucous, bodies flying on powerful bungee cords, dancers soaring, a blast of energy reverberating over the crowd. Together, Cirque du Soleil and the Las Vegas Philharmonic were stealing the weekend, infusing their set with a sense of wonder and enchantment that was hard to find elsewhere.

When the collaboration ended—with peace signs waving in the air on “All You Need is Love”—it felt like the audience at the early afternoon set had seen something special, an only-in-Vegas departure from standard music-fest form and one of the highlights of the entire weekend. Like last year’s Imagine Dragons/Mystere pairing, it felt deeply Vegas, a celebration of the town’s unique DNA and an acknowledgement that this isn’t just any city. Perhaps the key to making Life Is Beautiful stand out in the crowded festival market is creating more moments like this, embracing the Vegasness and making us all leave saying, “Wow.”

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