Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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"Being exposed like that in a song... that just puts an exclamation point on what the evening's all about, really." —TIM MCGRAW arena," adds McGraw. "In this theater, you really feel like you get to know the audience in a different way. And I feel like they get to know you in a different way." You get a taste of the couple's affectionate ribbing over the phone, but the banter really takes off when they sit down for an onstage chat session midway through Soul2Soul. It's not unusual for them to veer from joking about household gender dynamics to being playfully suggestive, drawing delighted laughter and whistles from the audience. "There's certainly things that we always sorta know we're gonna talk about," McGraw says. "But you never know where it's gonna go. The biggest fear is that it's gonna stall somewhere, or there's a moment that's awkward, when you say something that's not funny. But what we found out is, the more organic we are, the more we're just having fun or just sort of…" He pauses, and Hill supplies the phrase he's searching for: "Being in the moment." A fter an hour and a half of selections from the singers' expansive repertoires—some iconic, others unexpected, some sung in harmony, others solo—you'd almost expect them to end on a climactic blowout number. Instead they sit down at a lone microphone, lean in until their thighs touch and their faces are inches apart, and sing the most nakedly emotional duet they've ever recorded, "I Need You." "Being exposed like that in a song relationship-wise, especially for us and our 17 years together and our family, that just puts an exclamation mark on what the evening's all about, really," says McGraw. "There's music and there's us performing together and there's us performing each other's songs and all those sorts of things. But at the end of the day, the show, Soul2Soul, is about us and our relationship. And I think that that song sort of encapsulates all of that in one moment." In the grand tradition of male-female country duos like Johnny and June and George and Tammy, Tim and Faith know how to draw on their chemistry, their heat, and their deep-seated feelings toward each other, and their fans thrill at being let in on it. No teenager wants to sit through her parents making eyes at each other, so it's no wonder that Hill and McGraw's daughters were less than eager to join the theater audience. "Well, our oldest daughter saw one show," Hill says with a laugh, "and only because a friend of hers came. I think she left early. But our two youngest daughters, no, have actually not seen it, but they've accompanied us [to Vegas]. They loved being there and were sad when it ended last time. They're kids, so they definitely find things to occupy [themselves]. They've seen most shows that are age-appropriate for them. Of course, they love Topshop." "Yeah, anything to do with the mall and shopping they like," McGraw adds. "And they also enjoy just the behind-the-stage, you know, hanging out with the band," says Hill. "And the dressing room. It's fun for them. The 116 Venetian took really great care of us, so they were a little bit spoiled." McGraw and Hill have been making trips to Vegas for the better part of two decades, bringing their top-flight tours to town and appearing at the Billboard Music Awards and the American Country Music Awards. So even though they're usually, as she puts it, "flying in and out" for weekend engagements at Venetian, they're no strangers to what the city has to offer its foodie visitors. Cut is a favorite dining spot at the hotel, and McGraw says his mother couldn't wait to call and tell him that Buddy Valastro of Cake Boss fame was opening a new restaurant in town. It should come as no surprise that country superstars who are part of the current wave of enduring acts launching residencies in Vegas in the wake of Celine Dion's head-turning success can also appreciate the talent gathered in one place. Says Hill, "I think there's an extraordinary performing scene [here] right now. I've seen Celine's show. I missed the first one that she brought. I saw Shania's." "And I am gonna make a point to see Def Leppard's show," says McGraw. The look of their Soul2Soul set—a collaboration among husband and wife, producer Robert Deaton, and production designer Roy Bennett—is perfectly in step with the chic, contemporary Vegas aesthetic. You have to wonder whether certain elements, such as the gigantic lit dome, the circular spotlights dotting the stage, and the backdrop's golden interlocking rings, are meant to symbolize the bonding of two souls—sort of like wedding rings. That interpretation elicits chuckles from McGraw and Hill. "Yeah, that's it exactly," he says, playing along. "We didn't go that deep into it," she explains. "We just…" "We thought it looked good," he says. "We thought it looked really good," she reiterates, "and we wanted it to be incredibly modern." He continues, "We also wanted it to be really cool, like she said, cool and modern and classy, and not ever feel like it's trying too hard." She tops off the list: "We wanted it to be timeless as well." The couple may say they're simply describing the set's visual impact, but it sounds for all the world like they're also describing themselves and the give and take of their relationship. One thing's for sure: It would be difficult to do justice to what they're bringing to the stage in any three-minute music video. For tickets, visit soul2soulvenetian.com. V VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 112-117_V_Feat_CS_TimFaith_Dec13.indd 116 11/19/13 5:41 PM