By Chuck Darrow
One metric of calculating the success of Atlantic City’s casino industry is the year-to-year revenue totals. This column doesn’t concern itself with such mundane matters, but we will use that chronological measuring stick to point out that this autumn’s entertainment schedule represents something of an upgrade compared to the talent roster in the fourth quarter of 2023.
While there are no current super-duper-stars on the performance menu, there is a nice variety of noteworthy entertainers heading our way as the 2024 calendar sheds its remaining pages. Below is a look at some of them. Please note that tickets to all of the shows listed herein are available at ticketmaster.com.
John Mulaney; Oct. 11; Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa
On his previous solo AyCee visit (at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City in June, 2022; he played there last year with Pete Davidson and Jon Stewart), the popular funnyman conjured an entire performance based exclusively on his sometimes harrowing tale of his drug addiction and recovery from same. It will be interesting to see how he follows such an intensely personal presentation.
Diana Ross; Oct. 19; Hard Rock
Do we even need to articulate the reasons this is a must-see? If so, here are three:
Ross is inarguably one of pop music’s most important artists of the past 60 years.
Her previous local turn–at Ocean Casino Resort in September, 2022– was an absolute stunner.
And at age 80, there’s no telling whether she’ll return to town.
Don’t miss her!
Duran Duran; Oct. 26; Borgata
The British unit was a major contributor to the soundtrack of the early 1980s with such MTV-propelled hits as “Rio,” “Hungry Like the Wolf” and “Girls on Film,” and they have been enjoying a renaissance of sorts the past few years.
Johnny Mathis; Caesars Atlantic City; Oct. 28
Of course, Ross is a kid compared to the incomparable velvet-voiced crooner whose introduction to the world came in 1957 (meaning he has performed in eight different decades!) Like Ross, the soon-to-be-89-year-old Mathis is a national treasure who shouldn’t be missed.
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue; Nov. 15; Borgata
Trombone Shorty (real name: Troy Andrews) is a millennial native of New Orleans who has gained commercial success and critical acclaimed by throwing into his musical blender everything from rock to funk to jazz–both modern and traditional New Orleans-style—and conjuring a unique, high energy brew that is at once cerebral and elemental. This date should be quite the party.
Justin Hayward; Nov. 29; Borgata
Hayward, who spent more than 50 years as lead singer/guitarist/composer for The Moody Blues (he wrote such signature tracks as “Nights in White Satin,” “Question” and “Tuesday Afternoon”) will no doubt recreate those and many other Moodys’ tunes, as well as songs from his solo career.
The Musical Box; Dec. 7; Caesars
For our money, this Montreal-based quintet, which focuses on the music of Genesis when it was a “prog-rock” band fronted by Peter Gabriel (before they became a chart-topping pop act with drummer Phil Colllins as lead singer), is the greatest tribute band of all. And its salute to the group’s 1973-’74 “Selling England By the Pound”—which they’ll be doing to celebrate the LP’s 50th anniversary—is an astonishingly accurate recreation of that show—right down to the between-song patter.
BEAT; Dec. 7; Tropicana Atlantic City
And speaking of getting into the weeds of prog, the sub-genre of rock marked by experimentation, sophisticated arrangements, virtuosic instrumental work and extended pieces that are the antithesis of short, to-the-point and hook-laden pop tunes, this one’s a real curve ball for a casino:
Although BEAT’s lineup is comprised of guitarists Adrian Belew (David Bowie, Frank Zappa, Talking Heads) and Steve Vai (David Lee Roth, Alice Cooper, Motorhead), bassist Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel, Stevie Nicks, Pink Floyd) and drummer Danny Carey (Tool). this show is dedicated exclusively to three 1980s albums—“Discipline,” “Beat” and “Three to A Perfect Pair”– released by prog-rock progenitors, King Crimson.
Tom Jones; Sept. 15; Hard Rock
Terrific. Magnificent. Spectacular. Wonderful.
Any (and all) of these adjectives apply to Tom Jones’ Sunday night performance at Hard Rock before a sold-out Etess Arena crowd.
The 84(!)-year-old Welsh belter may no longer have the pelvis-thrusting moves he did decades ago, or be as concerned with glitz (gone were the flashy tuxedos and tight bolero pants of days gone by; he wore a simple, untucked royal-blue print shirt and black pants), but the set was still a memorable one for any number of reasons.
First and foremost, Jones’ chesty baritone was perfectly intact Sunday night. Granted, he smartly shied away from material that would have tested his somewhat limited vocal range, but there was no song on which he stumbled, even a little bit.
And even though he began the set with two somewhat melancholy numbers–“I’m Growing Old” and Bob Dylan’s “Not Dark Yet”– that unflinchingly addressed his advanced age, Jones proved to be quite genial and upbeat during the bulk of the program.
Perhaps the coolest aspect of the show was Jones’ song selection. To be sure, he covered all of his signatures (more on them below), but most of the set list focused on the work of top-flight composers from Dylan (who’s “One More Cup of Coffee” was a standout) to Leonard Cohen (“Tower of Song”) to Cat Stevens (“Popstar”) to Randy Newman (“You Can Leave Your Hat On”).
And when it came to hits like “It’s Not Unusual,” “Delilah” and “Green, Green Grass of Home,” they were delivered by his crackerjack, five-piece-band with sharp, rootsy-leaning arrangements that effectively removed the shlock of the original recordings.
Here’s hoping Jones is able to head back to Atlantic City—a regular stop for him since the dawn of the legal-gambling era. But if, sadly, this was his final visit, he certainly said farewell with a bang.
Chuck Darrow has spent more than 40 years writing about Atlantic City casinos.
