David Lee Roth Says This Joke Got Him Fired from First Vegas Residency
David Lee Roth recently wrapped his January dates for his current Las Vegas residency at the House of Blues inside the Mandalay Bay, but this isn’t Diamond Dave’s first Sin City residency. In fact, it’s his second, but hopefully, he won’t get fired from this one like the first time around in the mid-’90s.
In a recent appearance on the PodKats! podcast, Roth explained, “Las Vegas was nowhere near as colorful and modern, sexy, young [at that time.] It was family-oriented and circus-kind of an approach. Not adult at all. I think I was ahead of myself a little bit of time. In fact, I got fired for making the joke that my girls dancing — I had a couple of Mambo girls, and a couple of the Mambo girls were dancing, and I said, ‘Look at them, ladies and gentlemen — so hot, Michael Jackson would quit the Boy Scouts.’ They literally fired me for that one.”
Roth continued, “I was out in front with a guitar case in one hand and a shopping cart with my costumes and a top hat in the other. I would get memos about the F-bomb or the F-word on stage — material that today gets you hired for ‘Saturday Night Live’ in terms of content. It’s smart smut. What I deal with is sometimes blue, but it’s smart blue. Sexy smart, scary smart.”
Roth’s current Vegas show sounds like it’s very much in that same vein, with Melinda Sheckells from Billboard calling it a “gloriously enjoyable train wreck.” Fortunately, Roth and his “gloriously enjoyable train wreck” of a show will return to the House of Blues in March for six more shows taking place on the 18, 20, 21, 25, 27 and 28. In the months leading up to and after those residency dates, fans can find Roth on the road with KISS for their farewell tour. A complete list of Roth show dates can be found at DavidLeeRoth.com.
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