Wait…they played Vegas? Entertainers you never knew performed there

Posted: January 7, 2025, 03:14 pm.

Last updated: 7 January 2025, 04:33 PM.

Many musicians and comedians left their mark on pop culture without the help of Las Vegas. Others performed here in their early years, but some of their acts were not remembered as well by the audiences who caught them as they were as opening acts.

Of the entertainers mentioned below, how many do you know who had a Vegas past?

Wait…Bob Marley and The Wailers?

The Ice Palace was an utter disgrace of a concert venue with terrible acoustics. An ice rink built by future Imperial Palace founder Ralf Engelstad to showcase the Ice Capades and semi-pro hockey team, it was converted into an occasional rock hall by placing plywood over the ice, then using several cold cuts as a fire. The children were buried inside. Code is allowed.

For touring concerts with large followings, which – for various reasons including their youth appeal and drug associations – were unwanted by casino showrooms or the city's largest venue, the 8,000-seat Las Vegas Convention Center, this had to be done.

That Reggae's Crowned Prince — the subject of an immersive experience opening at Mandalay Bay later this year — performed on any Las Vegas stage is a fact known to most Marley scholars and the 3K-4K youth who followed Ice. Saw what happened in the palace. 21 October 1973.

This was a complete surprise for him. It was a Sly and the Family Stone show, period. The two opening acts of hit funk bands (the other was the Atlee Yeager Band) were not named on advertisements, marquees or $6 tickets.

The late rock author Timothy White recounts the events of that night in his 2000 book, “Bob Marley: Catch a Fire”…

“When Bob and the boys came out and got into the 'Concrete Jungle', the jaws of those well-groomed Nevada teenagers dropped down to the bleachers, the drum and bass rode every drop, while the chicka-chicka rhythm The guitars fed the slinky-toy tempo, slipping down to the upstrokes, and this skinny black Medusa came up to the mic and screamed about how on the modern slavedrivers of the world The tables are being turned – they are going to take revenge on Jah!”

According to White, “After this date, the Wailers were kicked off the tour.” “He made a huge impact on the crowd for the warm-up act.

“‘Don’t dig it up by slyness,’” said the manager of the family stone.

Wait…Richard Pryor?

The groundbreaking comic made his Vegas debut on August 16, 1966 at the Flamingo as the opening act for '50s rock star Bobby Darin.

However, at the time, Pryor wasn't groundbreaking…or even very memorable. He performed extremely sanitized, Cosby-esque routines for white audiences about adjusting to life as a Midwesterner in New York City and other difficult topics.

But it was a date in Vegas in September 1967 that the late comedian recalled as the most transformative of his career. By then a headliner, he stopped in the middle of his act, looked out at the crowd – including Dean Martin himself – and had an epiphany.

“What am I doing here?” he shouted before storming off the stage and ending the show early. At that moment, he resolved to start humiliating people with his Real Embrace life, a move that would inspire Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle to follow his lead.

He wrote in his autobiography, “For the first time in my life I became aware of a man called Richard Pryor.” “I understood myself… I knew what I stood for… knew what I had to do… I had to go back and tell the truth.”

Pryor never performed in Las Vegas again.

Wait… Nirvana?

On August 16, 1990, the grassroots Seattle sensation, who built his reputation on authenticity and rejection of mainstream entertainment, performed in the middle of enemy territory.

Nirvana hadn't released the game-changing album “Nevermind” yet, so they weren't Nirvana yet. In fact, they couldn't even top Calamity Jayne's Nashville on Fremont Street. The honor equally went to mainstream-contrary alt-rockers Sonic Youth.

Nirvana performed songs from their only album, 1989's independently released “Bleach”, for about 30 minutes to about 300 people who had never heard them before.

No photographs were taken of them – and why would Lee have been?

Also on the bill was fellow Seattleite Melvin, which was a necessity because Melvin drummer Dale Crover was also playing with Nirvana at the time. (Reportedly, Crover issued an order to singer Kurt Cobain to stop hitting his drums to end every set because he could no longer afford to replace them.)

The show opened with a little-known band from San Diego that was two years away from signing their first record deal: Stone Temple Pilots.

Nirvana was scheduled to return to Vegas to headline the 1994 Lollapalooza, but Cobain committed suicide before the tour began.

Wait… Woody Allen?

Before Oscar-winning movies or infamous allegations, Allen was known as a standup comic with a very funny moose story.

The former Allan Konigsberg debuted in Las Vegas on the Circus Maximus stage on November 23, 1966, during a two-week stint opened by singer Petula Clark. Caesars Palace signed a contract with Allen a year before it opened.

Allen introduced himself to the crowd by joking: “This is the first time I'm appearing live.”

He returned to Caesars and Vegas only once – in October 1967 to headline the Xavier Cugat Band, whose lead singer (and wife) had already earned her place in Vegas history.

That's right, Woody Allen and all four shared a bill.

Wait…Led Zeppelin?

The biggest hard rock act of all time had a one-night Vegas stand at the Ice Palace that was largely forgotten. The date was August 7, 1969, a few months before the release of “Led Zeppelin II”, and like Bob Marley, they would never return to Las Vegas.

two days ago, las vegas sun Announced that Clark County has extended its 10 p.m. curfew to midnight “for all youth under the age of 18 and attending the Lead (sic) Zeppelin rock-and-roll concert.”

Carlos Santana recalled in his autobiography, “It was scary because you could feel what the people who lived there thought of people with long hair.”

Santana also made his Las Vegas debut at the Ice Palace, when his band opened two shows for the Grateful Dead (who were also making their Las Vegas debut) on March 29, 1969.

“They wouldn't even let hippies near the casinos at that time,” Santana recalled.

The highlight of Led Zep's set was when Robert Plant sang “Dazed and Confused” over the ungodly noise of his blaring bandmates without a microphone – and somehow still could be heard. (Conflicting reports include either his microphone failing or the malfunctioning sound system producing too much feedback.)

Led Zeppelin were actually scheduled to return to Las Vegas on April 19, 1970, this time at the Convention Center, but that show was canceled when Plant collapsed on stage at the Arizona Coliseum the night before.

Wait…Steve Martin?

Okay, this is a bit of a cheat. Many people realize that the wild and crazy man played Vegas in 1978, 1991 and again in the 2000s with Martin Short.

What most people don't realize is that one of the smartest comedians of all time got his start in Las Vegas with one of his silliest acts ever.

It was mostly a magic show that Martin performed at the International Hotel from June 12–25, 1970, with uncomfortable jokes interspersed between tricks.

He Bombed. And to make matters worse, he was onstage for Elvis Presley, opening for Ann-Margret, which meant her “good friend” was in the building.

elvis Saw him making a bomb.

According to Martin, King graciously introduced himself backstage, saying, “Son, you've got a crazy sense of humor” before asking if the struggling comedian wanted to see his gun collection.

Elvis showed him several firearms backstage, and Martin pretended to be as impressed by them as Elvis expected he would be.