Las Vegas Mixtape v54: Happiness Pills, Vintage House of Love, and Rocking Brunch

Track #1 (of 5): “Happy Together Tour” @Reynolds Hall/The Smith Center

Behold Reynolds Hall, where you’ll feel smart and cultured by just sitting there. (Image: Vegas 411) 

When the world gets a little too heavy, I like to lose myself in the joyous vocal harmonies and buoyant melodies of ‘60s pop. That’s the signature sound of the artists appearing on the annual “Happy Together” multi-act tour, and seeing them recently at the regal Reynolds Hall—the design of which was inspired by NYC’s Carnegie Hall including the four stacked balconies—instantly put me in a New York state of mind. Throughout the two-hour plus show, I tapped into warm memories of sitting in the back seat of my parents’ car with the AM radio on in the Bronx and feeling safe from the heaviness of that time. 

 Artists didn't only write protest songs in the '60—there were the Cowsills who sang about “The Rain, The Park & Other Things.” (Image: Vegas 411)  

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Openers the Cowsills, the long-running family act who inspired the creation of The Partridge Family, were vocally startling, with original members Bob, Paul, and Susan confidently hitting the notes of their classic hits "The Rain, The Park & Other Things” and “Hair.” Even if three of the bands on the bill—the Troggs, Vogues, and Fortunes—didn’t contain one original member in their line-ups, I focused on the quality of their presentation as well as their commitment to keep the music’s beautiful innocence alive. I was in pop ecstasy when the Vogues showered the audience with the cascading harmonies of their to-hell-with-the-working-day classic “Five O’Clock World.”

Gary Puckett has a “Young Girl,” plus his younger self, in his sights. (Image: Vegas 411) 

Gary Puckett was especially strong voiced tonight on his Union Gap hits; the 83-year-old young-looking singer made you think you could possibly live forever. He recalled onstage that Priscilla Presley once told him that his trademark song “Young Girl,” many years after becoming a #2 smash, was truly special for both she and Elvis. Walking out of the venue, I couldn’t help but think that “Young Girl” would never be a hit these days, with lyrics like “Young girl, get out of my mind/My love for you is way out of line/Better run, girl/You're much too young, girl.”  Those were different times.