Las Vegas Mixtape v3: Freewheeling In Vegas: Shows, Eateries, Movie Theaters, and a Mind-Altering Museum

Track #10: Regal Cinemas Red Rock 16 & IMAX, Summerlin

I’m guessing no one likes to be seated at concerts behind camera phone abusers who block your view and take selfies while the band is playing. Having been in this situation multiple times recently, I attended two concert films at the IMAX theatre inside Regal Cinemas at Red Rock Resort with great relief and joy. In fact, I’m entirely sold on these ultra-big screen concert screenings with up-to-the-minute audio technology.

Watching the 50th anniversary re-release of David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars: The Motion Picture” was transfixing. The historic glam-rocking London concert has been sonically and visually restored, with never-before-seen footage of guest Jeff Beck. And director D.A. Pennebaker takes you inside the master’s dressing room with scenes that show Bowie, in all his androgynous splendor, changing his wardrobe and applying make-up.

The 40th-anniversary reboot of “Stop Making Sense” by Talking Heads was equally magnificent. The film was shot over the band’s four-night run at the Pantages Theater in L.A. Director Jonathan Demme, who had six cameras running for each concert, puts the viewer right onstage with the band for this unforgettable convergence of rock, funk, and performance art. The image of David Byrne dancing in his ridiculous but cool “Big Suit,” especially on an IMAX screen, will never be forgotten. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing Beyonce’s summer tour concert tour film in theaters starting December 1.