Denise Truscello
Frankie Moreno and his band play the Amp at Craig Ranch Regional Park in North Las Vegas.
Thursday, May 28, 2020 | 2 a.m.
When Las Vegas-based entertainer Frankie Moreno returned to the stage on May 14, things felt a bit strange.
There were several factors at play. The perpetually touring singer and musician hadn’t performed live since a March 5 gig at the South Point. He had been vacationing in Hawaii on a proper break before his latest album “Hawaiian Honey” was released on April 1. Obviously, he wasn’t planning on making it an extended hiatus.
“I left on March 6 and then started seeing all this stuff on the news about [coronavirus]. I was booked up, supposed to go to San Francisco and Pennsylvania and I had dates in Europe,” Moreno says. “I had a very busy schedule and then I started seeing this unfold and thought, oh wow, this could be two weeks without work, this is crazy.”
Frankie Moreno performs at the Craig Ranch Regional Park Amphitheater.
Two weeks turned into 10 before Moreno reunited with his band and signed up for a six-week virtual residency at the Amp, the Craig Ranch Regional Park Amphitheater in North Las Vegas. He resumes with the third show tonight at 8 p.m. which you can watch for free on Facebook Live by following the City of North Las Vegas Facebook page.
The main reason that first performance was so different is simple: There was no audience. The amphitheater cancelled all its planned concerts and festivals for April and May. While there were some people in the park, they couldn’t have experienced the show as a typical concert because the audio system is set up specifically for the livestream.
“There’s no stage volume. We’re wearing in-ear monitors,” explains Moreno, who has headlined at various casino venues and at the Smith Center in recent years in between touring stints. “If someone was watching, they would hear the natural drums and the trumpets but they would not hear me sing.”
Moreno believes these shows, sponsored by the city of North Las Vegas, Gibson Guitars and Epiphone Guitars, are the first full productions to assemble a full band in a large-scale venue during the COVID-19 crisis. He’s adjusting to the odd performance experience — “I never use in-ears so I hate it but I’m getting used to it. I don’t like it because I can’t hear people talking, but there’s no audience so it’s not really affecting me” — but the virtual show sounds fantastic.
Rounding out the dynamic band are his brother and co-writer Tony Moreno on bass, Don Meoli on drums, Alec Zeilon on guitar, Jim D’Arrigo and Diego Morales on saxophone, Pete Bresciani on trumpet and Crystal Robinson, Ashley Kellogg and Markevius Faulkner on vocals.
With thousands of views for each of the first two shows, the virtual residency is reaching a vast audience around the world, and Moreno has been taking advantage to continue a project he started soon after the quarantine era began. The always prolific artist has been releasing a new single every week and donating the proceeds to the COVID-19 relief fund. Now he’s performing the new track during the show and releasing it immediately afterward, boosting the sales and the charitable giving and pushing the singles into the top ten of the U.S. iTunes Charts.
“I was getting calls all the time to play with the band or do something on Zoom or one of those [platforms] but … for me the whole point of music is to create a vibe,” Moreno says. “The Hawaiian record was the first time I wasn’t able to tour to promote a record but it was also the first digital hit we had. So that sparked the idea of putting out the singles, going on Facebook Live to talk about it and help raise a ton of money for this cause.”
The Phase 2 directives released by the Governor’s Office this week allow for many more businesses to reopen, but events with live performances and performers are still not allowed to host spectators. Still, the potential of a new live and livestream hybrid show has Moreno thinking about a new model that could boost Vegas entertainment options when circumstances become less restricted. He’s involved with discussions with the venue and local officials about allowing future audience members to “plug in” their own headphones and listen to the livestream audio while they watch the performance live and in person at a spectacular open-air venue that would normally accommodate thousands.
“I think there’s a lot to learn from this. This is brand new. We have a regular paid gig and we’re the only ones,” he says. “Is this going to be the answer for everybody? I don’t know. But it sounds like a great idea that I’m into, and it could be a great way for us to start getting back into performances.”
You can find more information about the Amp residency and the new music at Moreno’s Facebook page.
