Look who stopped by to check out  Paul Shaffer and The Shāf-Shifters show at Cleopatra's Barge at Caesars Palace last Thursday night...the one, the only David Letterman!

David Perrico is honored to once again be serving as musical director to the legendary bandleader, multi-instrumentalist, singer, composer and comedian Paul Shaffer as he brings his trademark musical style to the intimate Cleopatra's Barge at Caesars Palace for a another limited  run. Tickets on sale for the following Thurs - Sat  performances ONLY: 

Sept 6-8
Oct 11-13
Nov 29-Dec 1

Supported by Perrico & a full band known as The Shāf-Shifters, Shaffer delivers a hard-hitting set of pop, funk, and R&B classics and covers mixed with anecdotes and stories from over four decades of working with the biggest names in music, film and television.

Limited number of meet & greets available. All performances begin at 8PM. Show is approximately 90 minutes long. Only 21 and over will be admitted.

​Tickets: $49 - $149 (plus tax & fees)

​Show Time: ​8:00PM ​
Address: 3570 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109

In a town where entrée can tax the most driven of performers, award-winning “Best of Las Vegas” trumpeter and producer David Perrico of Local 369 (Las Vegas, NV) has not only succeeded, but a few years ago he expanded his shows to include the Pop Strings Orchestra, his third band that actively plays along the Strip.

The show’s set list is filled with contemporary and classic hits, arranged by Perrico and performed by a 14-piece band featuring an all-female, seven-piece acoustic string section. The highly stylized ensemble mixes Perrico’s unique arrangements of pop and club rock, Latin, jazz, and R&B. “I tend not to go with formulas; I love writing for strings. The power of the strings—they can play nonstop. Strings have such major endurance; they can read anything,” he says.

The key, Perrico says, is finding the best players. Through years of performing he has gained plenty of access. Perrico was one of the original members of Donny and Marie’s band when they set up at the Flamingo in 2008. He’s backed Natalie Cole, Gladys Knight, and Toni Braxton. His pops band is filled with all-stars who play in the headlining shows of Andrea Bocelli, Carlos Santana of Local 6 (San Francisco, CA), Rod Stewart, Martina McBride, and Céline Dion.

His other band, The Rat Pack Is Back, plays six nights at Tuscany Suites’ Copa Room and on the weekend, he’s at Caesars with the Pops Strings. It can be a grueling schedule, but Perrico thrives on it. “It’s what I’ve always wanted to do,” he says. “I never intended to do it all. It happened by accident.”

The entertainment director at Red Rock Hotel saw Rat Pack when it debuted at Tuscany. It was a side project with some originals, jazz strings, and chamber music. She had an opening for a lounge act at Red Rock on Saturday nights. Though he didn’t have lounge music, Perrico quickly came up with 12 to 13 arrangements. From there, it took off....

Humbled to have comedian JIM GAFFIGAN stop by The Barge the other night to check out Pop Strings Orchestra and tell us what a big fan he is now! Click on the video below to hear what he had to say...

We're really big fans of Jim's as well, and we loved getting to hang with him a bit after our show. You can find out where Jim is performing next on his FIXER UPPER TOUR, all about his newest special NOBLE APE (currently available on iTunes), as well as NUMEROUS other projects he's got goin' on, via his website at www.jimgaffigan.com.

​Thanks JIM!

By JOHN KATSILOMETES 
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOUNAL 
Originally published J​uly 13, 2018 - 7:51 pm

​Asking David Perrico for the highlight of performing with Paul Shaffer is something of an unfair question.

“The highlight? The whole gig is a highlight,” says Perrico, the trumpet virtuoso and acclaimed bandleader. “The experience with Paul is the highlight.”

Shaffer and the band Perrico built for Vegas, the Shaf-Shifters, are coming back to Cleopatra’s Barge at Caesars Palace. The engagement’s first shows are Sept. 6-8, followed by Oct. 11-13, Nov. 29-Dec. 1 (tickets start at $49 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday).

The Shaf-Shifters most recently performed nine dates at the Barge in late December and early January. Shaffer clearly delighted in playing the famed, moated entertainment enclave, donning a blue suit splashed with gold and green glitter and announcing he was performing “on the corner of Sin and City!”

Shaffer rolled out some old video clips (including reviving his role as Artie Fufkin on “This is Spinal Tap”) and paid tribute to James Brown with a staggering “Please Please Please.”

Shaffer was at home onstage — and his keyboard solos were something to behold — but he needed a hand in creating the right collection of musicians for this exclusively Vegas show. Perrico, who once toured with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, was a natural fit; his Pop Strings ensemble plays that very room at 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

“Paul is the consummate leader, he makes changes on the fly and you have to follow and adapt,” Perrico says. “He’s demanding, but not in a bad way. You just need to deliver.”

Perrico has signed up most of the Shaf-Shifters from last winter’s band: Vocalist Noybel Gorgoy, guitarist Jim Buck, bassist Keith Nelson, Andrew “The Fury” Friedlander on sax, Neil Maxa on trombone and Pepe Jimenez on drums. All are highly regarded, veteran Las Vegas artists...