Pat O'Brien Lights up Caboose Lounge at Ramada Express

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Release date: October 16, 2006  /  Print This      

Pat O’Brien is a chameleon of sorts. During any one of his shows in the Caboose Lounge at Ramada Express Hotel Casino, you’re bound to hear the Irish favorite belting out renditions of popular songs by Tom Jones, Johnny Cash, Frank Sinatra, and even Willie Nelson. For O’Brien, when you’re a one man show, it’s essential you deliver variety.

“I do impressions, I do voices, and I play everything—country, blues, rock ‘n’ roll, Elvis, Irish tunes,” O’Brien said. “Even a little opera to keep the Italians happy.”

His ability to mimic the voices of popular music stars has won him a sea of local fans. In fact, his first two week contract in the Caboose Lounge was quickly turned into four weeks. Now he performs in Laughlin five months out of the year—bringing the feeling of an Irish Pub to the Ramada Express.

“It just keeps getting bigger and bigger,” O’Brien remarks. “It gets better every time.”

His unique show can be seen Tuesday through Saturday from 4:30-8:30 p.m. in the Caboose Lounge, where there is never a cover or minimum. His fall run continues through December 2.

O’Brien’s distinctive musical style is developed hand-in-hand with technology. His guitar is hooked up to a computer.

“It’s called a midi system,” he explains. “I have been using it for 20 years. I can play notes on my guitar and it comes out sounding like the keys of a piano, or a saxophone, or accordion. I can also pre-program instrumental sequences and my own voice and then play along with them. The possibilities are endless.”

The diverse mix of musical genres in O’Brien’s show is a direct reflection of his musical background. Born in Ireland, O’Brien studied music in Manchester, England and performed in “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Over the years, he’s been a member of a soul and blues band, a 23-piece big band, and a horn- and jazz-infused rock band.

His venture into solo performing began accidentally. While touring in Newfoundland as a member of Dublin Corporation, the music club housing the band’s equipment accidentally caught fire. All of the band’s instruments were destroyed. Looking back on it, O’Brien can laugh.

“All we had left were our tuxedos,” he says with a smile. “I’ll never forget that.”

After the band lost everything in the fire, O’Brien bought a guitar and started performing in coffee bars. It’s now been over thirty years and he has done long performance runs in Chicago and Toronto. Currently, he splits his time between Ireland and Laughlin.

O’Brien has now visited Ramada Express for the past five years, adding new elements to his performances each year. This time, he’s including more acoustic guitar in his shows, and the audience is enjoying it.

O’Brien knows, though, that it’s all about keeping the dancers happy.

“There are a lot who love to dance. There are some great dancers here,” he remarks.

When asked why he continues to return to Laughlin, O’Brien didn’t hesitate: “Because I’m enjoying every minute of it!”

For complete information about Ramada Express Hotel Casino, log onto www.ramadaexpress.com.

Ramada Express Hotel Casino is part of Aztar Corporation, a publicly traded company, which also operates Tropicana Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, Tropicana Casino & Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Casino Aztar in Caruthersville, Missouri, and Casino Aztar in Evansville, Indiana.