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peppermill and kevin nealon by bill hughes; billy’s bar–b–que by mikayla whitmore
Contents 7 mail Debating the appeal of old
42 noise It’s a metal two-fer! Is
roads and bulletproof windows.
Drake’s new album worth a damn?
8 as we see it Is Las Vegas
45 The Strip Joey Fatone plays
transient and artistically vibrant? Plus, a look at where to buy that phonograph you’ve been wanting.
Dennis Dupree in Rock of Ages.
12 weekly Q&A Hollywood dance guru Marguerite Derricks.
14 Feature | family food Los Arcos’ story, starting with a single tortilla machine in 1979.
18 Feature | Peppermill junkie One man’s unhinged, enlightening, 24-hour journey.
46 comedy Kevin Nealon: entertaining and ... awkward.
49 print David Duchovny wrote a book, about a free-thinking cow.
50 food Eating Italian at Sinatra, and all things barbecue at Billy’s. Dishing with a BurGR chef.
54 calendar Three questions with Howlin Rain’s Ethan Miller.
24 nights Brit transplant/DJ Michael Woods debuts at Life.
39 A&E The Desert Winds give us “Colorations in Purple” at CSN.
40 screen Will Smith is back in Focus. Will Forte is (maybe) The Last Man on Earth.
Cover photograph By christopher devargas food styling by roni fields– moonen
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LASVEGASWEEKLY.COM
COCKTAIL CALENDAR Warmer weather is on its way, which means one thing for booze enthusiasts in Las Vegas: festival season! Springtime in the Valley is almost synonymous with wine walks, beer fests and pairing opportunities, and more than a handful have already been announced—including the annual UNLVino weekender. Find all the details at lasvegasweekly.com.
SHOWGIRL SECRETS Confessions of a Showgirl columnist Maren Wade has been busy blogging away this month, asking Las Vegans for their Facebook (stalking) support and informing the masses how to handle a diva. Find her latest musings, only online.
FINAL FLAVORS? Downtown gelato shop Art of Flavors is closing temporarily this month, a big blow for admirers of the sweet treats crafted by chef Desyree Alberganti. Find more on the closure at lasvegasweekly. com.
LET’S BE FRIENDS!
/lasvegasweekly /lasvegasweekly /lasvegasweekly
MOST READ STORIES lasvegasweekly.com 1. Smoked mirrors and bulletproof windows: Lefty Rosenthal’s crib is on the market 2. The random allure of Boulder Highway: A story in photos 3. At Westgate Las Vegas, David Siegel wants middle Americans to feel like Rockefellers 4. Where to celebrate Chinese New Year in Las Vegas 5. Lucky Foo’s adds new flavors to the neighborhood foodscape
> LEFTY’S CRIB It can all be yours.
HISTORY FOR SALE Legendary mob-affiliated sports bettor Lefty Rosenthal’s Las Vegas Country Club home is on the market, and it’s pretty cool.
Lots of people have no idea who this is ... LOL. I do. Nice pad. –Suzanne Pasquale He worked for me 14 years ago as a handicapper! –Billy Cruz Being a Vegas native, there is definitely an allure to owning that house, not only on the LVCC but it being Rosenthal’s is a big boost. I remember watching his show as a kid. And yes that house is ’70s, although I didn’t see any avocado or burnt-orange appliances. –Bhess Damn—I just bought a house. –Sarah Dodge Not up to bulletproof windows just yet. –Wayne and Cynthia Higgins Geri Rosenthal’s ghost is there, too. –Mike Conrad
UPS AND DOWNS Lake Mead National Recreational Area is proposing increases to camping and entrance fees that could take effect next year.
So the water level goes down, but the prices go up ... makes perfect sense. –Matthew Taylor
dried-up puddles. If they want more money they should start taking better care of the land. –JoyLynn McIntire Lake Mead has nothing to offer. Went out a few weeks ago and it smells so bad. I’m selling my boat and never going back out there. –Al Stikeleather Try to sell your boat now. It’s like trying to sell your house back in 2008. Good luck. –Perry Escobar Pirates Cove in Needles is where it’s at, right on the Colorado River, not too far from Lake Havasu and Laughlin. –Stacy Lawrence It seems like they’ve added a dollar for every foot of water the lake has dropped. –Milton Rivas Lake Mead is talking about cutting down all the invasive trees around Boulder Campground because they aren’t native to the area. If they do that, the campground will have no shade and it will look like all the other campgrounds on North Shore. –William Waldron Maybe if they just called them resort fees ... –Alan Belch
ROAD TRIPPING Last week’s photo essay exploring Boulder Highway re-illuminated an oft-forgotten piece of Las Vegas.
That will only detour campers to better campsites. –Eileen Banda
I’m sure there are a lot of stories to be told about that stretch of road. –Ryan Smith
It should be the opposite considering the state of the lake. Spots that used to be beaches are now
There is nothing alluring about Boulder Highway, unless you’re a tweaker. –Jennilyn Hampton
LVWeekly@GMGVegas.com Letters and posts may be edited for length and/or clarity. All submissions become property of Las Vegas Weekly.
AsWeSeeIt OPINION + POLITICS + HUMOR + STYLE
HOW MANY GOODBYES DOES IT TAKE? ∑ This month marks the departure of another friend, another long hug and rehashing of a common phrase wafting up from the farewell gang: “Everybody leaves Las Vegas.” So it seems. I’ve watched a couple dozen friends and a couple dozen more acquaintances pack up and settle somewhere else in the past five years. Entire social circles have moved away, proving to be as rooted here as tumbleweed. But a friend pointed out that all cities are tran-
sient, that the whole topic is silly because people move to and from everywhere nowadays. Vegas is not so unique, she said. (Especially when factoring in certain career circles, like journalism and academia.) A simple Google search commonly throws Washington, D.C., on top of transient-population lists, anecdotally or not. Research varies according to who’s conducting it. United Van Lines has its annual National Movers Study, which in 2014 ranked Oregon as the top destination, while New Jersey had the highest number of residents leaving (65 percent), followed by New York (64 percent) and Connecticut (57 percent). Nevada wasn’t on the top 10 list of outbound states. In fact, it was No. 6 on the list of top inbound states. But according to a 2014 Gallup Poll, not everyone here wants to stay. It characterized Nevada as a state where most residents say they would leave if they could (43 percent), placing us fourth behind Illinois,
Connecticut and Maryland. In the same poll, 20 percent said it’s extremely, very and somewhat likely that they’d leave Nevada within a year. Then there’s the inbound crowd. Applied Analysis finds Nevada second in the nation for population growth, behind oil-crazed North Dakota and ahead of Texas. Based on projections and past research, it isn’t likely all these new Nevada residents will stick around. But some will. The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2013 American Community Survey has nearly 89,000 Clark County residents saying they’d moved to Nevada within the prior year and just over 72,000 leaving Clark County within the prior year, giving us a bonus of 17,000. Representatives of the Census and Applied Analysis say they have no rankings that specifically suggests Las Vegas is one of the country’s most transient cities. We may feel unique, especially with all the goodbyes, but we are not alone. –Kristen Peterson
ART FUND, ACTIVATE! The new Siegfried and Roy Park will host public sculpture ∑ The Clark County public art fund, established in 2012, will be used for the first time this year to bring
8 LASVEGASWEEKLY.COM FEBRUARY 26-MARCH 4, 2015
TIGERS ILLUSTRATION BY MIKE SMITH
sculpture to the Siegfried and Roy Park. Doesn’t ring a bell? Maybe that’s because the park, named after the Strip’s famous tiger-taming duo, is under construction near the airport, on Maryland Parkway and Russell Road. ¶ Three semifinalists—ARVS Collaborative, Wayne Littlejohn and Miguel Rodriguez— were chosen to propose artworks March 20 at Winchester Cultural Center. The project’s budget is $261,900. “They felt that art and integration into the landscape is something other communities do, and does enhance the way the way things look,” county art specialist Michael Ogilvie says of the commission. “I think they saw the benefits outweigh the repercussions.” ¶ The public art fund collects up to 5 percent of room and ad valorem taxes, with a cap of $1.25 million each year. The park is slated to open late summer— sadly, without live tigers. –Kristy Totten
as we see it…
Seriously funny Local teens engage in the sex-ed debate on The Daily Show
> Throwback Charms Franck might have a phonograph to fit your budget.
Old-school sound
In the digital age, Las Vegas Phonograph Co. is keeping it analog By Kristy Totten
“Kids today have so many cute questions. Why do the doggies have tails? Why does the moon follow us? What’s a rusty trombone?” Jon Stewart said, opening a Daily Show segment featuring local members of the Nevada Teen Health and Safety Coalition. Correspondent Jordan Klepper interviewed the teens—who’ve been advocating for sex education in the state to be “medically accurate and inclusive”—about what they need to know to make “healthy, responsible and educated decisions about our own bodies.” They came off earnest and insightful. “Princeton Mom” and author Susan Patton, on the other hand … let’s just say her advice to young people was to rely on their parents and Google for vital information about sex. Klepper’s response was a nauseated pause and: “I’m sorry, I was just thinking about my mom teaching me about the clitoris.” The segment aired February 11, and about a week later, local students and parents reportedly shared their views on sex-ed curriculum at a meeting of Clark County School District’s Sex Education Advisory Committee. The meeting was called to discuss the results of a parent survey about what is being taught, and what should be. For now, Klepper cleared one thing up. “These kids think vomit-inducing parental chats aren’t the solution.” –Erin Ryan
Las Vegas phonograph company by L.E. BASKOW
duce sound in 1877, but it wasn’t until the early 1900s Doug Franck is diagnosing a phonograph, a 1908 that phonographs gained popularity. Though wind-up Edison Standard Model C. “It’s a spring problem,” he models eventually lost favor to electric ones, concludes after removing the lid and spinning they remain coveted among collectors. “They the hand crank. His young customer holds up a make a sound that you can’t get anywhere grease-blotched hand. “It’s well-oiled,” she says. Las Vegas else,” Franck says. “It will reproduce every “Ah, this is nothing,” he replies. “Sometimes Phonograph imperfection in the record.” Those imperfecI open one up, and it’s like opening a box of oil.” Company 2101 tions are a selling point for record players, It’s not something you say about a CD player. S. Decatur Blvd. Franck opened Las Vegas Phonograph Co. #6, 702-685-1600. with fans contending that the ever-changing sound enlivens the musical experience. on Decatur Boulevard in February, specializing WednesdayFranck says his customers are locals, East in antique wind-up phonographs, radios, cam- Saturday, 11 a.m.Coast Americans, Europeans and Chinese busieras and telephones. The antique music players, 5 p.m. nessmen. “There’s a lot of people who grew up which play cylinders or flat discs and amplify in the digital age who have decided to look back and see sound through a horn, sell for $350 to $10,500 and come what the analog age had to say, and they like it. Obviously in table-top and cabinet versions. I do—I have 40,000 records at home.” Thomas Edison discovered how to record and repro-
Supporting vibrancy
The big complaint in the local arts scene is the overall lack of support, a point driven home by a recent study. Southern Methodist University’s National Center for Arts Research A recent arts study shows we have released its first Arts Vibrancy Index determining the “hotbeds some work to do of America’s arts and culture.” While the Las Vegas metropolitan area didn’t rank in the most vibrant top 20, it actually didn’t do too poorly, placing in the 81-90 overall percentile out of 900 communities, large and small. ¶ Clark County excelled in the number of arts organizations, independent artists and arts, entertainment and culture employees. But in terms of supporting the arts—earned revenue from people participating in nonprofit arts and cultural organizations—Clark County was in the 48th percentile. The Las Vegas Valley truly bottomed out in the grant-funding category (government support), scoring a paltry 3 out of 100, also tallying sad scores of 6 in state grant dollars and 1 in federal grant numbers. –Kristen Peterson
February 26-March 4, 2015 LasVegasWeekly.com
9
as we see it…
Party foul?
vegas on my mind
Disneyland for everybody Debunking the myth of Las Vegas’ family-friendly “failure” By Steve Friess
> KID STUFF You don’t have to be old enough to gamble to enjoy Las Vegas.
cian, moved to Vegas during the Clinton era. Siegfried & Roy was the biggest draw back then. Cirque du Soleil first landed with Mystère and O. Almost all of those features remain hugely popular, and those that have vanished were taken by tragedy, not waning interest. Since then, the options for families have only multiplied. Newer resorts like Wynn, Aria and Palazzo provide ways for guests to avoid the casino altogether en route to their rooms, the better for parents who find gambling unsavory. Others, like Vdara, Trump and Signature at MGM Grand, don’t even have casinos. An entire day-show industry has sprung up targeted specifically at those looking for fun away from all that so-called “vice,” from King at Harrah’s and Nathan Burton at Flamingo to the Popovich Comedy Pet Theater at the Miracle Mile Shops and MGM Grand’s CSI: The Experience. There’s the Mob Museum, Neon Museum and Atomic Testing Museum, all worthy, educational and fun. The awesome Pinball Museum and the Ethel M chocolate factory tour aren’t far, either. Creager’s simplistic reply also
10 LasVegasWeekly.com February 26-March 4, 2015
reflected an ignorance of the beauty and diversity of the broader Vegas area. A kid visiting for a soccer match might enjoy a hike in Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire or Mount Charleston. He might think the glass-bottom Skywalk at the Grand Canyon is pretty neat. Or he might dig any number of watercraft and biking activities available in Boulder City and at Lake Mead. One summer, my Little Brother from Big Brothers Big Sisters and I snuck into 20 pools on the Strip to grade them. We were astonished by how creative and diverse the offerings were and how some lessexpensive spots like the Tropicana and Flamingo pools were the most interesting. It ended up as a cover story for the travel sections of several national newspapers. It’s derelict of Creager to believe modern Vegas is solely about the five things she listed. Often, the same clueless folks like to describe Vegas as “Disneyland for adults.” I argue that it’s also Disneyland for kids, minus the offensive ticket fees plus far better customer service all around. Oh, and also, a thing or two for parents to enjoy.
It’s hard to imagine Electric Daisy Carnival getting any more costly for the people who produce and attend it. But that might just happen once state officials begin wrangling with our problematic entertainment tax. We’ve been down this road before. During the 2013 Nevada legislative session, lawmakers sought to tidy up the state’s live entertainment tax, which adds between 5 and 10 percent to the cost of attending a performance but allows for numerous exemptions, including large-scale festivals and events like EDC, NASCAR races and Burning Man. EDC promoter Insomniac braced for any changes—and likely sent the state a message—by shelving plans for two new festivals. In the end, the LET revision died after the legislature came up with too little, too late. Two years later and not one full week into the 120-day session, legislators raised the issue again, especially in light of Gov. Brian Sandoval’s quest to find more revenue for education. With business license and property tax increases wildly unpopular in Nevada, a new LET would seem an easy way to collect from spend-happy tourists. In the case of EDC, Insomniac’s generally young customer base would probably blame the promoter, not the state, for adding as much as $35 to a $349 general admission ticket (on top of an estimated $400 in daily expenses). And the company, which did not comment for this story, might counter that its previous four Vegas festivals have generated nearly a billion dollars for the Valley (though a small percentage of that money is local and state tax revenue). Insomniac’s five-year contract at Las Vegas Motor Speedway ends with this year’s EDC, for which only VIP tickets remain. As such, lawmakers need to proceed carefully. This is one party Nevada doesn’t want to see end. –Mike Prevatt
EDC by steve marcus
Any professional travel writer worth his luggage knows Vegas. Even if you don’t like it, you study and visit it or you deny yourself basic, critical knowledge about how a gigantic swath of America vacations. That’s why it galled me a few weeks ago to read the Detroit Free Press’ Ellen Creager’s “advice” to Nervous Mom, who was taking her 16-year-old son to Las Vegas for a soccer tournament. “What can we do there together?” N.M. asked. Creager’s bizarre reply: “Eliminate the gambling, booze, nightclubs, strip shows and hookers, and what’s left? Not a whole lot. Las Vegas once tried to market itself as a family destination, but that of course failed miserably.” Whenever lazy journalists reference the alleged “family-friendly” failure of Vegas en route to making some broader point, I groan. But when a travel columnist—someone who should know the history of the major players on her beat—does it, it makes me absolutely mental. There was no failed “family-friendly” era of Vegas. There was, so far as I can tell, one significant kid-targeted attraction that closed, the MGM Grand’s Adventures Theme Park, which shuttered in 2000 after seven years. And perhaps the marketing of Las Vegas reverted to an emphasis on adult attractions, but that never ceased in the first place. Remove the MGM example and what’s left? According to Creager, there’s the Excalibur “slide pool,” the Welcome to Las Vegas sign, the Bellagio fountains, the Ferris wheel at the Linq and the Hoover Dam. Those were all of her suggestions. The fallacy of the failed “familyfriendly” era is as absurd as it is infuriating. It’s not just that there’s a ton for parents to do with their kids on the Strip now. That’s been the case as long as I’ve covered Las Vegas. The 1990s, the period that is called a failure in this regard, saw the advent of the Mandalay Bay beach and wave pool, the Stratosphere’s sky-high rides, the Adventuredome at Circus Circus, the Bellagio Conservatory, the Venetian’s gondola tours and New York-New York’s roller coaster. Both Danny Gans, the late, G-rated impressionist extraordinaire, and Mac King, the brilliant comic-magi-
EDC could balk if lawmakers up the entertainment tax
as we see it…
> TIME TO SAY GOODBYE Soak in the classic Vegas while you can, including Neil Scartozzi’s barber shop (below) at the Riv.
Au revoir, old friend
photographs by mikayla whitmore
In 1993, Kristen Peterson worked at the Riviera for two weeks. As the classic casino heads for implosion, she reflects on its impact It’s a rude awakening when you’re 9 years old living in the Midwest and the probability of becoming close friends with Farrah Fawcett-Majors is nil. Throw yourself into bad ’70s television long enough and it becomes part of you, an investment never returned, an unrequited love. Fantasy Island is just a set in Hollywood. The Love Boat never leaves shore. Charo might as well be living in another universe. Lunch sucks. Recess sucks. Everything sucks. And when you’re finally old enough to do something about it, like move West to find all those people, there’s that idea that too much time has passed and it was all fiction anyway. But then fate lands you in Vegas, specifically the Riviera, where your first entrance reveals tiered chandeliers, excessive mirror-paneling and a carpet pattern that could only be the direct kin of ’70s television. This is the place. This is real. An actual physical and historic link to the A-listers and B-listers who guested on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Love Boat and even Match Game. Charo played here. Charo. No matter what would happen
during the ’90s and early 2000s, the Riviera, the Strip’s first high-rise, built in 1955 (its nine stories surpassing the usual two-story numbers), would manage to outlive the Dunes, the Stardust and the Landmark. Like an old museum with a bad curator, it retained some of its architectural elements and nowdated French charm as it was bought and sold, but with each owner cutting corners, cutting away clues to its historic glamour and cheese. During the race to build the most outrageous, geographically themed resorts—New York, Egypt, Paris, Venice—there was still the Riviera, which actually took visitors to Las Vegas, circa the 20th century, with little convincing. It just was. The word “iconic” isn’t even necessary. In spite of all attempts at renovation—especially the tacky food court sending a foul odor through the casino floor—there was always a flavor of the Riv’s heyday, hovering in the lighting fixtures and in the photographs of celebrities who’ve performed there over the decades. They hang in the hallway leading into the showroom where I’ve now seen Charo perform. Twice.
She’s in the collection of mostly black-and-white photos, along with Elvis and Liberace posing together in swapped jackets, Joan Rivers, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Orson Welles, Dean Martin, Liza Minnelli and Diana Ross. There were others: Bob Hope and Barbra Streisand, and there was Shecky Green’s famous run. Now that the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has approved the $182 million purchase of the property and announced plans to demolish it, the fantasy that someone would come along and restore the casino enshrining Las Vegas’ history is over. There’s no room for historic preservation on the Strip, where spectacle trumps the cultural, even in a city
so culturally significant, yet culturally derided. “Put it out of its misery,” some might say of the Riv, while simultaneously wishing they’d seen the Sands or the Dunes before they were gone. In a tourism town designed to blow the minds of 40 million annual visitors with varying interests, backgrounds, income levels and tastes, there should be a little room for authentic swank with a ’70s color palette. After all, the whole point is to transport the visitor. “I wish it was like it was, but it never will be,” says Neil Scartozzi, a barber who has been cutting hair in his Celebrity Club barber shop at the Riviera for 40 years. The Riviera was the place. The Tiffany of the Strip.
February 26-March 4, 2015 LasVegasWeekly.com
11
Weekly Q&A dance and just different areas, between working in New York and being heavy in film and TV and now, my biggest dream is what we did with ShowStoppers. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for 15 years, a big dance show in Las Vegas.
a story. I got to do that a lot on Bunheads, but Little Miss Sunshine is one of my greatest. I knew that I helped the filmmakers to complete that film, and to do it with such silly choreography makes it even better.
Why was a Vegas-based dance show the dream? Las Vegas has
Early in your career you choreographed Showgirls. Did you do any research in Vegas? My
this flux of audience, people from all over the world constantly coming into the city. … Where better to do it than Las Vegas? People are coming to have a good time and to be entertained. It, to me, was always a no-brainer. And I’m an LA girl, so it’s right next door to my home. I’ve been longing for it. I’ve had the opportunity to work all over the world, but this is where I wanted to be. And [where] better to do it than to do it at Mr. Wynn’s theater?
research was done more in the strip clubs than it was [in] the big Vegas [showrooms]. I just kind of went to town with Showgirls. The show in the film is called Goddess. I think I approached Goddess in a very similar way that I did with ShowStopppers. I just interjected my style of choreography into these numbers. If you go back and you look at the big S&M number, it’s that kind of sexy style of jazz that I love to do. And in the opening number with the volcano, if you watch it, it’s got a little bit of You seem to balance more serian Alvin Ailey vibe ous choreography to it. So I wasn’t trygigs with playful ing to recreate. … I character work, like Steve Wynn’s didn’t even know what you did in Little ShowStoppers what a lap dance Miss Sunshine and Tuesday-Thursday was when I got Tropic Thunder. Is & Saturday, 7:30 Showgirls! So I took there a way to mainp.m.; Friday, 7:30 & my assistant in, and tain artistic integrity 10 p.m.; $100-$150. I made him get a when teaching Tom Encore Theater, lap dance. Cruise how to slap
702-770-9966. air booty, or do you just have fun in those What projects are moments? (Laughs) With Lityou working on right now other tle Miss Sunshine, the coolest than ShowStoppers? I just
The real deal Choreographer Marguerite Derricks makes Hollywood and Broadway dance like mad After two decades in showbusiness, choreographer extraordinaire Marguerite Derricks has done it all: Her work can be seen in more than 40 feature films from Austin Powers to Mr. & Mrs. Smith (plus dozens of TV shows and a handful of music videos). She’s choreographed for the Academy Awards telecast, and her talents earned her three consecutive Emmys for outstanding choreography—a feat only she has accomplished. Did we mention she showed Tom Cruise how to spank some air booty for Tropic Thunder? In December, the world was introduced to her latest work in Steve Wynn’s ShowStoppers, a gig she calls a “dream come true.” We caught up with the acclaimed artist to talk shop.
A lot of the Broadway tunes in ShowStoppers were immortalized onstage with dance decades ago. How did you go about refreshing the numbers?
We weren’t re-creating from the shows at all, so it really opened it up wide for us to reimagine the numbers. Specifically, in the whole Cabaret section, putting it in modern-day Las Vegas; it helped to keep it fresh, and I was able to bring in all different styles of dance in doing that. You choreograph just about every style, from ballet in ABC Family’s Bunheads to ballroom-inspired numbers on Dancing With the Stars. What do you enjoy choreographing most? So many people kind of get
pigeonholed into doing one thing that they do really well. I’ve been so lucky to do all styles of
part was when I met with the directors Jonathan [Dayton] and Val [Faris]. They didn’t know how to do this number, because they had just started watching little girl competitions and like, oh my God, how do we top that? It’s so crazy! I read the script and … it was my idea to have the little girl strip. I said, “Well, if she’s learning from her grandfather, who is a heroin addict, what would he be teaching her? The moves that he sees at a strip club.” … And this one little silly dance helped to tie up such an amazing film, bringing the family together and this little girl is doing this strip routine. She is completely unaware of these moves she’s doing, she’s just doing what grandpa taught her! That is one of my favorite things to do with choreography, is to tell a story or to drive
finished shooting my first episode of a new TV series called Blunt Talk. It’s for Starz, starring Patrick Stewart. We just did a huge Busby Berkeley sequence for the show. And Patrick Stewart is, oh my God, what a treasure. So I just finished that, and I’m right now actually trying to negotiate my first West End show. The offers have gone back and forth twice, so I’m hoping that it’ll be a go. I saw you were the choreographer on Donnie Darko, so I have to ask: Did you ever doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion?
(Laughs) Never! That—doing Sparkle Motion, Drew and I; Drew Barrymore was the producer on the film—that was it, it locked us in for life. Never, no. I’ll take that to my grave! –Mark Adams
I didn’t even know what a lap dance was when I got Showgirls! So I took my assistant in, and I made him get a lap dance. 12 LasVegasWeekly.com February 26-March 4, 2015
Through the fire
The turbulent, jubilant story of Los Arcos, one family’s dream that became big food business by tovin lapan Photographs by mona shield payne
14 LasVegasWeekly.com February 26-March 4, 2015
very New Year’s Eve, Jose Gutierrez would duck out of his post at the Dunes showroom to find his son Gustavo, who worked the front desk. For a brief moment, they’d take a break from attending to the revelry of others and imagine a day when they could celebrate, too. It was the early ’80s, and after founding Nevada’s first tortilla factory, the Gutierrez family was still working on the Strip as the business struggled to find its legs.
> local flavor Gus Gutierrez (far left) stands on the line; the Los Arcos factory in North Las Vegas only stops for two hours each day.
“Every year we said the same thing: ‘This year is going to be our year,’” Gustavo says. It would be nearly a decade before the annual toast came true. The Gutierrez clan started Los Arcos Tortillas in 1979, naming it for the famous archway that greets visitors to the Mexican city of Guadalajara, where the family is from. They went through 200 pounds of corn per day and had to hunt down customers. Now, the North Las Vegas factory churns through 20,000 pounds of corn every day. If you’ve eaten Mexican food in Las Vegas, you’ve probably had their tortillas or chips, which are the
foundation for tacos and nachos in restaurants across the Valley and in Strip properties from Mandalay Bay to the Stratosphere. “For the first 10 years I looked more like a grease monkey than an owner, because I was working on the equipment or making tortillas, making phone calls to sell the product and making delivery runs,” says Gustavo “Gus” Gutierrez, who runs the business now. When it launched in a still-small Las Vegas Valley, Los Arcos was ahead of its time, the boom of interest in Mexican food and the influx of Hispanics into Southern Nevada both
years away. It started with a single machine that pumped out tortillas one at a time. Still, with father, mother, son and daughter all working, they couldn’t keep pace. Tortillas piled up as they struggled to stack, count and bag. Not that it mattered much, because there were no customers. “My mother said: ‘If the customers aren’t coming to us, we’re going to start going to them,’” Gus recalls. The family went door to door, knocking at apartment buildings in Hispanic neighborhoods. Jose and Gus kept working on the Strip to offset the money they were pouring into the factory, but growth was slow and profits
nonexistent. At one point the bank foreclosed on their home and their cars were repossessed, because they couldn’t keep up with payments while providing life support for Los Arcos. After buying a more modern machine, they landed an account with a Mexican restaurant at Meadows Mall. Business seemed to spark from there, more and more restaurants serving their chips and tortillas. Then, in the summer of 1984, Gus got a call in the middle of the night. The factory was on fire. The fire marshal said it was instantaneous combustion caused by excessive heat in the warehouse where hibiscus flowers were stored.
February 26-March 4, 2015 LasVegasWeekly.com
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“My mother said, ‘If the customers aren’t coming to us, we’re going to start going to them.’” –Gus Gutierrez “I thought someone was playing a practical joke on me,” Gus says. “I get to the plant, and it’s gone. All of the equipment was burned out.” To make matters worse, the family lacked the proper insurance. “We needed to start over with no money,” Gus recalls. That might have been the end of Los Arcos. But with the generosity of industry friends and their own extended family, the Gutierrez’s labor of love was reincarnated. A Southern California tortilla company gave them a whole industrial line (worth about $250,000) and told them to repay when they could. Friends and family came up with another $50,000. By early 1985, they were up and running again, reincorporated as Tortillas Inc. but still selling under the Los Arcos brand. Gus took over plant operations full-time, quitting his casino job as the company finally became sustainable. His father opened a restaurant. Nevada’s Hispanic community grew 131 percent during the 1980s, then tripled during the ’90s, going from 10 percent of the state’s population to 27 percent. “The population boom and the boom in Mexican food really helped us out,” Gus says. “I mean, I hate to say it, but Taco Bell and stuff like that helped spread Mexican food.” Mexican and Tex-Mex dining was taking off, and in 1989 the Tortilla Industry Association was formed. Gus joined, serving as a board member and later president, and used the opportunity to go on a reconnaissance mission. He visited tortilla factories across the country and learned on lines from coast to coast. With the advantage of having been in the community since 1979, Tortillas Inc. became Southern Nevada’s go-to Mexican food supplier, making chips and tortillas and distributing other Mexican products to stores, restaurants and Strip resorts. The factory floor has become a whirring, stainless-steel maze of bins, conveyor belts, ovens and deep-fryers the size of Mini Coopers. Dozens of hair-net crowned workers tend the machines and package the products. Corn kernels are cooked in a vat for six to eight hours in water treated with powdered lime, a leaching agent that helps peel the hull. Next the corn is transferred to a grinder, where the kernels are rinsed, drained and ground by volcanic stones, like
16 LasVegasWeekly.com February 26-March 4, 2015
the ones used by the ancient Aztecs. Out comes masa, a corn dough mixed to the desired consistency then fed into rotating heads that shape it into discs. The raw tortillas roll down a multi-tiered conveyor belt into a comal, or tortilla oven. Then they take an 185-foot trip on an S-shaped conveyor belt for cooling. Along the way, the tortillas are monitored for PH (neutral is best for a long shelf life), and a computerized scanner at the end checks for any contaminants. The company now has 89 employees, some of whom have worked there more than two decades, and the drone of the production room ceases for all of two hours each day. To beat the heat and get fresh product out every morning, tortilla production starts at midnight and runs until 9 or 10 a.m. The fry line for chips starts at around 5 a.m. and goes until 9 p.m. Each day the factory makes approximately 160,000 tortillas and 5,000 pounds of fried products such as tostadas and chips. “It’s very customer-driven, and every chef wants to be different—they all want a different chip. A corn chip is a corn chip, right? No. We make 30 to 40 different types of chip.” There’s thick cut, thin cut, coarse flour, fine flour, bubbles, no bubbles, strips, clovers, spades and triangles. Then there are flavors—habanero, jalapeño, strawberry, chocolate, vanilla … There are different tortillas for different dishes, from burritos to chimichangas. One customer even requested special, thicker tortillas for a “monster taco” that had to be able to sit with its fillings for a designated period of time without falling apart. And the evolution never ceases. In January, new equipment arrived to automate bagging and make it more efficient. Soon Tortillas Inc. will open its own kitchen and start making chiles rellenos, salsa, beans and other products, instead of distributing Mexican imports. After 35 years, the business is still growing. Products are distributed to Arizona and Utah, and Gus is exploring the idea of opening a factory around Reno or Salt Lake City. Looking back on that brutal first decade, he releases a long sigh and says he and his father never thought they’d get this far. What did it take? “Cojones,” Gus says. “Muchos cojones.”
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Big food, crazy cocktails, undeniable warmth: 24 hours inside a Strip institution
By Brock Radke | Photographs by Bill Hughes
8:08
a.m. Like it would be on any other Friday morning, the Peppermill is packed. I dart into one of the few open seats at the counter. Jennifer, a waitress here for 17 years, brings coffee. Do I want French-vanilla cream, too? Sure. Today is special, as I’ll be spending the entirety inside this classic restaurant and its kitschy, lovely lounge. “Yeah? Bring it on!” Jennifer cheers, her unbelievable perk killing the cliché of the grumpy diner waitress.
here on the Strip. Little sister always ordering the fruit salad served in a pineapple boat with sherbet. Me, maybe a shrimp cocktail or a French dip. This was as much Vegas as an 11-year-old could handle, neon and nosh as gateway drugs.
11:32
a.m. Back in the restaurant, there’s a 30-minute wait for a table, and there are six bulky bros in the first booth, plowing through pancakes and paninis. No doubt they’re plotting a reckless weekend.
8:30
a.m. The rattle of stacked plates and singular crack of food-heavy ones hitting Formica is constant and energizing. Peggy, the general manager, is flying back and forth, and I get her attention for a quick hello. She’s a kind woman, and she thinks I’m crazy. She’s been here four decades and loves her job. She’s had offers to work elsewhere, at newer restaurants inside luxurious hotels, “but I just couldn’t do it,” she says.
8:43
a.m. My food is delicious. It’s Munch’s Breakfast—three eggs over a hash of potatoes, peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, cheese and Portuguese pork sausage. Peppermill food is big food, mighty portions with resounding flavor, which is why so many people remember these meals and keep coming back. To my left are a couple of firsttimers, guys in their late 20s who very obviously overdid it last night. They each order a Scorpion, the signature 64-ounce cocktail, a pinkorange troublemaker comprising six shots of different liquors. And they want them blended with ice cream.
8:54
a.m. The man to my right is a local. I strike up a conversation and discover he’s a prominent economist. Meanwhile, the Scorpion brothers are using butter knives to cut the crazy-long red straws in their drinks.
9:32
a.m. The 10 cooks behind the line are in constant motion. They churn out face-sized pancakes and football-
> BREAKFAST AT THE COUNTER Steak and eggs, French Toast Ambrosia, or something else?
sized omelets with astounding speed. Fresh fruit comes out, not so much a plate as a mountain of intricately sliced food. A waitress whisks it away, no problem, just a delicately balanced pile of produce among four other heavy dishes.
9:48
a.m. Bill is from Brownsville, Texas, and he’s a happy guy with white hair and a Captain Kangaroo mustache. “You can order anything here, because it’s all good,” he says. He’s been coming to the Peppermill for six years when in town for an annual convention, and he often eats here twice a day. We talk about how Peggy is doing everything, even though she’s in charge. “That’s how you keep everybody happy,” Bill says. There’s nothing like this place in Texas.
10:38
a.m. It’s time to retire to the lounge for the first time today. I crash into a sofa and pull out my laptop to take care of some morning business. It feels weird checking email here. I just assume everyone has been to the Fireside Lounge, certainly one of the most iconic bars in Las Vegas. The softly lit space is all low-slung, rose-colored sofas and marble octagon tables. Each has a tiny carafe of honey-roasted peanuts, and right now is the first time I’ve eaten one. The same redpink-purpleblue neon
tubes that line the dining room race around this mirrorball ceiling, too, set off by fake tropical plants and many TV screens playing an endless selection of truly odd music and concert videos, stuff you probably won’t see anywhere else. Of course, there’s the fire pit, a bright blue pool with a flame sprouting in the middle, the infamous spot that backdropped that great scene in Casino when De Niro is cozying up to Sharon Stone. I love this place, but it makes me wonder: Has living in Vegas for so many years completely warped my sensibilities? Am I tacky? Cheesy? How could this have become my normal? The other people are here because they’re waiting for a table for breakfast. No one else is typing.
11:00
a.m. I order a whiskey sour, because that was my first legal drink, consumed in 1997 in what is now the Oceano Bar at the Peppermill in Reno, a hotel-casino with its own Fireside Lounge. There’s a Peppermill resort in Wendover, too. Among its six properties, the company also operates the Rainbow Club in Henderson, which I immediately want to visit once I realize the connection. I’ve been going to a Peppermill for half my life—all-night study sessions cramming for college exams at the coffee shop in Reno, and before that, family faux-vacations at the long-gone Peppermill resort in Mesquite, and weekend brunches
12:09
p.m. JoAnn, assistant manager, says the Peppermill stays this busy Thursday through Monday, with even busier weekend mornings. She started as a breakfast waitress in the ’80s. “Sometimes I have people come in and say they remember me from back then, and remind me I used to wear that outfit,” she says, referring to the electric blue, skirtand-suspenders jumper. She rolls her eyes. “Don’t even go there!” When it opened on December 26, 1972, the Peppermill had orange shag carpet and fake leather booths, and waitresses wore orange and white uniforms with the same short skirts. A 1986 makeover—the only one—added the silk plants and faux cherry blossoms, glowing mauveness and updated outfits. The lounge waitresses, however, still wear low-cut, floor-length black gowns. As a kid eating sandwiches here, the only thing more fascinating than the pretty lady refilling my Coke was the other pretty lady in black floating through the room with a tray of colorful cocktails. Mesmerizing is probably the right word.
12:50
p.m. No matter what time or day, this restaurant always offers the most amazing mix of people. Right now, there’s a group of teenage girls wearing matching green soccer warm-ups; a tattooed, rockabilly couple that could be straight from a retro photo shoot; the biggest handlebar mustache and cowboy hat combo ever, and a pair of middle-aged ladies on their annual girlsonly reunion trip. And that’s just one row of booths.
February 26-March 4, 2015 LasVegasWeekly.com
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Post-club diners arrive in three-piece suits, grownup prom dresses and lots of smudged makeup. Their orders are laughably insane.
1:10
> DAY AND NIGHT From eggs Benedict to a Blue Hawaiian in the Fireside Lounge, it’s easy to spend a lot of time at the Peppermill.
p.m. I grab a seat at the counter for lunch next to an older gentleman spooning crème brûlée and waiting for a takeout order he’ll deliver to his group of conventioneers next door at the Riviera. Peggy reels off his order: “Another pastrami wheat onion rings pickle! Another BLT wheat fries!” Waitress Kathy helps bring over the food and chats him up, saying she’s also from New York. Peggy interjects: “She’s been here with me for at least a decade, but she still says she’s from New York. Sooner or later she has to stop saying that.” Kathy immediately breaks into song: “Sooner or later, love is gonna get ya ... I got a song for everything.” I believe her.
1:39
p.m. I’m working my way through the Conquest, a wonderfully messy roast beef sandwich. The guy who cooked it, Rob, hovers over me midbite. “That one’s good. It’s like the kitchen sink.” He’s a whirlwind on the flat-top grill, tossing thick slabs of French toast through the air, strategically ladling butter here and there, spatula-slicing sandwiches and managing those huge pancakes. In writing about restaurants and chefs over the years, I’ve learned how important economy of movement is in the kitchen, working fast and clean. Fine-dining chefs aren’t the only ones with such skills.
2:03
p.m. Assistant chef Dre is giving me a back-of-house tour while a delivery takes place, and I’m trying to stay out of the way. These massive food drops happen at least three times a week, refilling six walk-in refrigerators and multiple dry-storage areas. The kitchen, prep and storage spaces aren’t small, but the restaurant does so much volume it seems like everything is emptied and refilled constantly.
Dre has been in Vegas for 15 years. His first restaurant job was at Wendy’s. He started here as a parttime cook and worked his way up, common practice at the Peppermill. “What I didn’t know as a cook was how much everything matters. Every little detail. Not being wasteful. Getting along with the crew.” Most of the kitchen staff has been around for 10 years or longer. When I come out of their space, I discover a tiny, hidden, makeshift break room. “This is a fast restaurant,” waitress Angela says, “and we have to eat fast, too.”
3:38
p.m. It’s as quiet as it’s going to get. No one’s at the restaurant counter, but the dining room is still more than half full. I’m sitting in the lobby, and a hostess in a tropical flower-print shirt is looking at me like I’m nuts, probably wondering if I’m ever going to leave.
4:00
p.m. The early shift is over, and some of the crew members are sitting at the bar having a beer or smoke or dropping a few dollars into the slots. I’m drinking an icy Bud Light with Rob, the journeyman cook from Detroit, San Diego and other places. He likes the fast pace in the Peppermill kitchen, probably because he’s fast, too. “The Conquest is one of the hardest sandwiches to make, because the bacon is over there but the mushrooms are over there ... it’s complicated.” He’s only been here two years but can see staying a while. Vegas is fun. “Get done on Saturday, go down the Strip or to Fremont Street, get home on Monday, do laundry, come back, start again on Tuesday.”
5:15
p.m. The inside lights I love so much are always
on, but the outside ones just came on.
5:49
p.m. The early-bird dinner rush is on, and judging from the number of hunting vests and camo caps in the dining room, these folks are from the gun show at the Riv. Tables are covered mostly with burgers and fries, but one imposing man is attacking a waffle piled high with whipped cream and glittery sprinkles.
6:39
p.m. The fire pit, which seats about 10, is full of women. Two have been there at least two hours, deeply embroiled in life conversations, mixed drinks and fried appetizers. I want to find out who they are and where they’re from, but I know better. I’ve done that, the discussion by the fire. This place kind of coaxes it out of you, or maybe it’s the drinks.
7:14
p.m. Somehow, their conversation has evolved to the point where one lady has her shoes off and her socked feet up on the ledge by the fire. The warm comforts of the lounge are making it so very difficult to step out for fresh-air breaks.
7:38
p.m. The small bar in this mighty establishment is powered by two bartenders and only two or three cocktail waitresses serving the lounge and delivering drinks to the restaurant. Right now, Ruth is behind the stick, an 8-year Peppermill veteran. Considering how many voluptuous cocktails she has to make, things can get a bit frenzied back here. A stylish foursome takes a booth. They’re noticeably younger than the crowd in the restaurant, looking better suited for a night at the Cosmopolitan or SLS. But their first round of the night will be Mai Tais and Appletinis, not pricier craft cocktails at a cool casino bar. They’re headed to Wynn for dinner and clubbing, but they’re going retro to get their Vegas going.
7:58
p.m. Finally, a Luther Vandross video.
8:02
p.m. That lady still has her feet up ...
8:07
p.m. Two chainsmoking, White Russian-swilling gals at the bar have been joined by two devilish fellows they almost certainly met earlier tonight. The new arrivals announce themselves thusly: “You might recognize us from Nursing
11:05
feet up now.
p.m. The group smashed onto one sofa with me has become the biggest, loudest group in the lounge. If I didn’t know these people, I would observe and perhaps question them.
9:49
11:55
Home Orgies 4.” It is AVN weekend, after all.
8:42
p.m. The other lady at the fire pit has her
p.m. My strategy to make it through this marathon was built on frequent visits through the day and night, but things fell apart. My lunch date no-showed, and my happy-hour date is running late. One of today’s discoveries is this: The peak of Las Vegas loneliness is sitting in a booth alone in the Fireside Lounge when the photographer who takes romantic souvenir shots of couples comes around, looks at you and then silently walks away. But reinforcements finally arrive.
10:42
p.m. I cannot drink the Blue Hawaiian right now. It’s so sweet. I want it, but I’ve waited too long. I’ve fallen behind any reasonable Peppermill pace. I should be slightly sloshed, sociable and snacky. I’m not. I flee the lounge for a fresh-air break and then—Bill from Brownsville! He’s back, at the counter eating soup. I throw my hands on his shoulders like we’re old friends and startle him. But he quickly remembers me. He’s surprised I haven’t given up yet.
p.m. It’s clubsandwich time, so a few of us head to the restaurant. The lounge lighting has affected my sight. Does the girl a few booths down have pink hair, or is it just a crazy reflection in the window? I knew things would get weird, and apparently 16 hours is the mark. Be gentle, Peppermill.
1:15
a.m. I had two bites of sandwich. As they filed out of the building, my friends passed by our table, grabbing handfuls of fries. In the lounge, an entirely new group has replaced us. In every nook, people are sagging into their seats and smiling. Two older Cuban men are having a heated conversation at the bar, the type where you can’t tell if they’re happy or angry, and their much younger female companion is picking at a mountain of nachos.
1:39
a.m. A sleepy couple sit in a corner booth
February 26-March 4, 2015 LasVegasWeekly.com
21
> BUSY BREAKFAST Mornings are big every day at the Peppermill.
in the dining room, both wearing shorts and T-shirts, both methodically devouring identical, gigantic ice cream sundaes. It’s surreal.
1:49
a.m. Back in the bar, Becky and Bill are cranking out cocktails as Ruth finishes her shift. I ask if the romance of the Fireside Lounge causes inappropriate behavior, if they ever have to kick out amorous couples. “Not really kick them out, more just go over there with an ice bucket,” Ruth says. It dawns on me, as I await chicken wings, that though I’ve been here so many times with so many different people, the only date I’ve ever brought is my lovely wife. I will have to make note of this in an effort to score some points with her. I guess I just did.
2:27
a.m. On the big screen in front of me and my wings, Gloria Estefan is riding across the stage on a giant alligator. Becky, who’s been here 15 years, is in a weekly cycle of three swingshifts and two graveyards. She likes the latter, because a lot of industry people come in. Amazingly, she’s already prepping for the morning rush, making sure Bloody Mary stuff is stocked.
3:18
a.m. I was so curious what the lounge crowd would look like at this hour, but it’s slow—all the action’s in the restaurant. An energetic group of post-club
diners has arrived, three-piece suits, grown-up prom dresses and lots of smudged makeup. Their orders are laughably insane. One quintet does turkey sausage with eggs, the Garden Omelet, the nachos, the crab cakes, fish and chips and a $35 bottle of Chandon. The diminutive, spikyhaired leader raises his arms in victory as the food arrives.
4:05
a.m. I’m a zombie. Destiny, the waitress who served my club sandwich, is concerned. “You’re back again? You okay?” A new waitress, Alma, offers me a menu when I sit down at the counter. “Not yet,” I say, and she looks me over, a weirdo scan. A cocktail server comes out of the lounge and checks on me, too. Alma’s been here two years, always on the graveyard. “When I first started, you should have seen it. People get crazy. But it’s Vegas.” She seems capable of tolerating almost anything, but I might be the craziest person in the building now. Me from 20 hours ago would have interviewed weirdo me, the only man at the counter, ordering nothing to eat and sipping on a Pepsi. The Smeagol of the Peppermill.
4:48
a.m. Can I do the lounge? I can’t do the lounge. There’s a spot near the fire and I want it so bad but ... that might be lights out. Time for some fresh air.
22 LasVegasWeekly.com February 26-March 4, 2015
6:11
a.m. I’m doing the lounge, and I’m kinda delirious. I’m sitting on the sofa nearest the fire pit, and my laptop is broadcasting the episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee where Jerry Seinfeld and George Wallace go to the Peppermill. You should watch it. But I’m not watching it. I’m getting revenge on the Blue Hawaiian, sweet ferocious revenge, and plotting whether I want French toast or a waffle.
6:38
a.m. The sun is not quite up. Everyone in the dining room looks like they just woke up. They don’t see me lurking through the cherry blossoms like a ghost. I sit at a table I haven’t been seated at and wait for French toast I haven’t ordered.
6:45
a.m. Alma checks on me as she finishes her shift. I wonder if these supernice people will be happy to see me finally leave. “Do you do this a lot?” she asks. What, stay awake for 24 hours? No. Who does that? “I do. I have kids.” I don’t. “You’re lucky.”
7:21
a.m. Rihanna is on in the lounge. Two giant men who work security at a Wynn nightclub are sitting at the bar discussing religion, specifically whether either of them has any. At the fire pit, two glamorous women are scrunched tightly into the corner,
texting swiftly, tossing back long, fake hair, taking tiny bites of a quesadilla. I’m sitting by the fire, too, so cozy and sleepy and happy that I don’t know why I would ever leave this spot, and Zua is taking care of all of us. I’m not even sure Zua is real. She says she’s been in Vegas all her life but only started working at the Peppermill three months ago. She sits on the steps between me and the strippers, I mean, dancers, and she must be real—a puff of wild, curly hair, kind eyes behind thickframed glasses, red lipstick. It’s her name that gets me. I make her write it in my notebook: Zuayaremy. For real?
7:48
a.m. Rob the cook is back for his last shift of the week, and he’s a little shocked to see me. My objective was simply to be here for 24 hours, watch what happens, observe and record, but I ended up doing what I always do at the Peppermill, what everyone does here. I relaxed and enjoyed myself, had some food and drinks and forgot about real life. It’s what Las Vegas is for.
8:08
a.m. Breakfast is ramping up. The hostesses have been warned that a party of 13 is incoming. I see the same waitresses from yesterday carrying the same plates of eggs and pancakes and hash browns and bacon. It looks so good, I almost want to stay and order some.
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NIGHTS
> PARTY TIME Shelco Garcia (left) and Teenwolf take over Artifice.
HOT SPOTS HIGH ROLLERS WEEKEND KICK-OFF PARTY AT BEAUTY BAR American scooter enthusiasts and
their brethren from across the pond congregate Downtown to (literally) roll deep for an annual U.K./U.S. scooter rally this weekend. The Yankees and Brits ditch their wheels Thursday, bar-crawling on foot to fully take in the DTLV sights, concluding with a rager at Beauty Bar featuring DJs and live acts. February 26, 9:30 p.m., free. HOUSE PARTY AT ARTIFICE The event title is misleading—Artifice being an urban lounge and not an actual house—but it’s the carefree spirit of a house party that local producer/DJ duo Shelco Garcia and Teenwolf are looking to re-create. “We’re going to be playing everything and anything we want,” the duo announced on Facebook, and if you’ve heard its multi-genre musical range, you know it basically already does. Local act The Bombmakers support. February 26, 9 p.m., free. TONY ARZADON AT LIGHT Chicago native Tony Arzadon has been a fixture in Las Vegas for years, going back to Tabu, joining (and re-joining) the roster at Wet Republic, landing Millions of subscribers a stint with Wynn’s nightlife entito Pentatonix’s YouTube ties and now holding court at Light. page (way more than His accessible style of house and imaginable along their jaunt Beyoncé’s). big-room beats oughta suit the fickle through Downtown Las Vegas. Friday night crowd just fine—and per The party doesn’t end at the finhis social media updates, he’s coming with ish line, though, as runners receive some new tunes. February 27, doors at 10 p.m., comp entry at the top-of-the-Palms $40+ men, $20+ women. debauch-fest Saturday afternoon. Did we mention Chumlee from Pawn Stars is DJing? February 28, doors at 1 p.m., $10, local ladies and Color Run PENTATONIX AT MARQUEE Didn’t score tickparticipants free. ets to the Grammy-winning a cappella quintet’s sold-out concert at the Cosmopolitan’s Chelsea? Marquee offers fans of The Sing-Off’s 2011 SPIN 4 A CURE AT HARD HAT LOUNGE Cancer champions a second chance to hear the group’s sucks, as anyone can tell you. In fact, Groove entrancing melodies with an off-kilter booking Factory LV would like to tell you more, as it’s Saturday night. Also supplying sound: Local vet working with national group Beats Drop Cancer— DJ M!KEATTACK. February 28, doors at 10 p.m., an advocacy group for the electronic dance music $40+ men, $20+ women. community—on this Saturday night dance-off. The fun part: Local talent will be spinning everything from house and drum ’n’ bass to trance and OFFICIAL COLOR RUN AFTERPARTY AT speed garage. The conscious part: Booths will be GHOSTBAR Fremont Street will look a lot difset up to educate revelers further on the cause ferent Saturday morning after participants in (and medicinal marijuana, too) and all proceeds the annual 5K get bombed with every color
7.6
Nightlife News & Notes Daylife season is right around the corner, with several party pools opening before winter—a relative term in Las Vegas—concludes. March 6 marks the opening of Rehab, Drai’s Beach Club, Encore Beach Club and Marquee Dayclub. On March 12, Tao Beach welcomes locals and snowbirds alike. Palms Pool and the previously mentioned Wet Republic and Foxtail Pool Club open for business March 13, though the latter just announced that resident Steve Angello will helm the April 25 grand opening party.
24 LASVEGASWEEKLY.COM FEBRUARY 26-MARCH 4, 2015
DAVID GUETTA AT XS This is the first of many, many opportunities to see the Frenchman at XS in the next three months—dude’s only taking one week off from Vegas in the next 12—as this weekend marks the launch of his Listen Tour … which is basically his Las Vegas tour plus a handful of appearances in Miami and California. Watch: XS will make a third of its annual bottle revenue on Guetta’s string of dates alone. February 28, doors at 10 p.m., $75+ men, $20+ women. GET YOUR BALLS WET AT REVOLVER Get your head out of the gutter—we’re talking beer pong, bros! The Santa Fe Station saloon hosts the tourney throughout March, with weekly prelims leading up to the March 29 Final Four event. Start practicing that arch—and smack-talking—because the Beirut champions take home a cool $1,000. Sundays through March, doors at 8 p.m., $25 entry for tourney.
Speaking of Drai’s, Victor and his crew are expanding northward—as in Canada. They’ve been hired to open another nightclub/dayclub outpost, also called Drai’s, at the Trump International Hotel & Tower Vancouver. Matinee Las Vegas Festival has dominated gay nightlife on Memorial Day Weekend since 2011, hosting its largely shirtless parties at various clubs, pools and hotel properties. But the circuit party is upping its game for its fifth edition: Its Saturday night event is called WaterPark, and its host venue is Cowabunga Bay in Henderson. For more info on the May 22-25 party spree, visit matineevegas.com. Southeastern restaurant/bar Lucky
Foo’s experimented with a deep house version of its Nightshift supper clubstyle party on February 23. Managing partner/owner Mike Fuller, who also DJ’d the event (along with headliner and Light resident Stellar), says it will continue on a monthly basis for now. Nightshift primarily takes place Fridays and Saturdays, adding non-DJ/live entertainment to the mix. Downtown New Wave party Rewind turns 1 on Feb. 27, with an Oingo Boingo tribute from DJs Style and Grendel and a live performance from David J, playing a set almost wholly devoted to his former band Love and Rockets (and, if you’re lucky, including a nugget or two from his other band, Bauhaus). –Mike Prevatt
SHELCO AND TEENWOLF BY CHRISTOPHER DEVARGAS; DRAI’S BEACH CLUB BY CLAIRE HART
CLUB HOPPING
benefit Beats Drop Cancer. February 28, 7 p.m., donations taken at the door.
NIGHTS
> LOCAL IS THE NEW BLACK Michael Woods could be your new neighbor.
Night moves
Producer/DJ Michael Woods pairs his relocation to the Valley with a new Life residency By Deanna Rilling at other Vegas clubs? I think because they’ve If Las Vegas is the American capital of been associated with those guys, people are now electronic dance music, it’s about time DJs pushing [for] a slightly different edge. When complement their local contracts with actual you go to Life, you’re not going to get the sort of residences here. British-born Michael Woods mainstream, Top 40 tracks—and that’s exactly is your newest DJ neighbor, and he’s recently where I want to be. nabbed a new office—the booth at Life. He fills What is the aesthetic and vibe of your us in on his latest move, and the Tequila Nites Tequila Nites party? Obviously, it’s very party he devised for it. much based around tequila [laughs]. The What prompted the move from idea is in my set to get everyone to do a Hakkasan to Life and Foxtail Pool Michael shot together … we did it at the first show Club? I’m always looking for new chal- Woods and it worked out really well actually. lenges and opportunities. [Life] seemed February 28, You’ve also got an accompanying to be in the same place where I am musi- doors at 10:30 cally right now; I like to consider myself p.m., $30+ men, “Tequila Nites” track you’re releasing on Armin van Buuren’s Armada left-of-normal … The thing is, I don’t $20+ women. Music. Yes, this is a track that I made want to be considered too mainstream, Life, SLS, 702just to play in my sets for new mateand the thing about Life is they’re bring- 761-7617. rial and it went down [well] every single ing a different kind of talent, like Pete time I played it. It came at just the right time, Tong and Richie Hawtin. really, because we were looking for a track to You mention Hawtin, but Life pulled the promote the residency and it’s something very plug on Underground Sundays, which feamuch in line with what I was talking about tured artists like him. Does that make you before, and not being too mainstream. So it’s a nervous about the club’s musical format or mixture between progressive and techno. will you still have a bit more freedom than
26 LasVegasWeekly.com February 26-March 4, 2015
LAX 2.0 A look at what’s changed at the longtime Luxor nightclub The venue on the southeast side of Luxor’s casino boasts quite a legacy. One of the first casino nightclubs in Las Vegas, it opened as Club Ra on New Year’s Eve 1997. Almost 10 years later, and then under the care of Angel Management Group (now Hakkasan Group), it was completely reimagined as LAX. Last year, Hakkasan handed the reins back over to Luxor, which decided to renovate and overhaul the club but keep the name, forgoing any multimillion-dollar rebranding campaign. Here’s what’s different: Bigger dancefloor: One of the biggest criticisms of AMG’s LAX was the narrow dance space squeezed between two floor-level VIP areas, where crowded groovers could easily fall over the velvet ropes and into some big spender’s lap. Luxor has mercifully widened the dancefloor by 9 feet. A slicker, less churchy club: Local design firm Urbane Design did away with LAX’s swanky cathedral look— and right angles, apparently, as Frank Gehry-lite curves mark a less-rigid interior. The scarlet motif is also gone; much of the new LAX is awash in silver and gold trim. Programming: “It’s very different,” says Sujoy Brahma, vice president of food & beverage for Luxor. “LAX was a hip-hop club before, but while we’ll have some hip-hop, you’re not going to hear the dirty hip-hop.” Top 40 will rule the weekends, while Throwback Thursdays— also the de facto locals’ night—will champion sounds from the 1980s through the 2000s, all performed by non-exclusive, Vegas-based (and mostly female) DJs. Themed nights and on-the-rise guest performers will occasionally surface; on February 19, a Mardi Gras party featured newcomer Betty Who. “These artists are known in other markets,” Brahma says. “They want to play Las Vegas, but the marquee clubs won’t touch them.” Farewell, Savile Row: The exclusive and adjacent hangout is now LAX Lounge, which serves as a cush pre-party area for VIPs until the public is allowed access at 12:30 a.m. The DJ booth remains, but the front room has been opened up, and the rear, circular room now boasts a life-size bird swing for dancers. Less emphasis on VIP: LAX has lowered its booth count from 51 to 38, though its seven upper-level lofts and separate dance space are solely the domain of bottle service customers. This overlaps with the club’s new clientele focus: Luxor and Excalibur guests. “We have 9,000 guest rooms,” Brahma says. “That’s who we want. It’s a non-pretentious club. We’re not competing with Hakkasan, Marquee and Hyde.” –Mike Prevatt
LAX Thursday-Saturday, doors at 10:30 p.m., $30 men, $20 women (prices subject to change on guest-performer nights), 702-262-4529 or luxor.com/nightlife/lax.
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LAS VEGAS WEEKLY CLUB GRID
VENUE
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
1 OAK
Closed
DJs Karma, Kid Conrad, Shift; doors at 10:30 pm; $40+ men, $30+ women
Doors at 10:30 pm; $40+ men, $30+ women
ALIBI
DJs, 10 pm; lounge open 24 hours
DJ Eddie McDonald
DJ Eddie McDonald
ARTIFICE
DJs Shelco Garcia & Teenwolf, Bombmakers; 9 pm; free; doors at 5 pm
ARTISAN
Lounge open 24 hours
THE BANK
Glitz & Glamour Champagne Thursday: champagne for women until 1 am; doors 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Blackout
10 pm; lounge open 24 hours
Doors at 5 pm
Sound
BEAUTY BAR
The Suppressors; doors at 9 pm; free
Latin Ladies Night
BLUE MARTINI
BODY ENGLISH
DJs Justin Hoffman, Eddie McDonald, Frank Richards, others; 10 pm; $10; women, locals free; open 24 hours
#FollowMe Fridays DJs Loczi, Natasunami; doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Love Vendetta
Black Beans & Hippie Liver, Jam Stain; doors at 9 pm; free
Friday Night Live
Live music, 9 pm; halfprice happy hour, 4-8 pm; $10 men, women free after 11 pm; doors at 4 pm
Live music, 9 pm; DJ Jace 1; happy hour, 4-8 pm; $10 men, $5 women after 11 pm; doors at 4 pm
Throwback Thursday
Rock Candy Fridays
DJ Hope; doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
DJ Roger Gangi
SATURDAY DJ E-Rock
10 pm; lounge open 24 hours
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
Closed
Closed
DJ Turbulence; doors at 10:30 pm; $40+ men, $30+ women, locals free
Closed
Lounge open 24 hours
Lounge open 24 hours
Lounge open 24 hours
Lounge open 24 hours
Doors at 5 pm
Doors at 5 pm
Doors at 5 pm
Double D Karaoke
Lounge open 24 hours
Lounge open 24 hours
Lounge open 24 hours
Closed
Closed
One of a Kind
Bad Faerie Ball
House Party
High Rollers Weekend Kickoff
SPONSORED BY: drai’s nightclub
Listings are accurate as of press time. For more info, contact venues directly.
DJ Dee Jay Silver; doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
DJ Earwaxxx
BOND
10 pm, free; doors at 10 am
10 pm, free; doors at 10 am
CHATEAU
Closed
DJ ShadowRed, doors at 10:30 pm, $30+ men, $20+ women, local women free
DJ Bayam
Lounge Orphans, fashion show, body art, other performers; 8 pm, $10-$15; doors at 5 pm
DJ M!KEATTACK
DJ Joey Mazzola; 10 pm; $10, women and locals free; lounge open 24 hours
DJ Five
DJ G-Squared; doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Rockabilly vs. 80s DJs Maybelline, Hektor Rawkerz; doors at 9 pm; free
EDM Saturdays
DJs, 10 pm; live music, 9 pm; happy hour, 4-8 pm; $10 men, $5 women after 11 pm; doors at 4 pm
Industry Sundays DJ Spider; doors at 9 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Church: Bass Worship
Gone Jahman Crew vs. Dumbsteppaz, GZUZ, others; doors at 9 pm; free
Sunday Sessions
Nickel Beer Night
Doors at 9 pm; free
Lit
10 pm, free; doors at 5 pm
Lounge open 24 hours
Closed
Payola Presley record release; DJs Biz:E, Beast Fremont; doors at 9 pm; $5
Karate Karaoke Doors at 9 pm; free
Ladies Night Out
DJ ROB & The Star One All Stars Band live, 6 pm; happy hour 4-8 pm, doors at 4 pm
DJs Exile, Tommy Lin; half-off drinks for industry; happy hour, 4-8 pm; doors at 4 pm
$4 Blue Moons; happy hour w/half-price drinks, 4-8 pm; doors at 4 pm
Half-off drinks for women; live music, 9 pm; happy hour, 4-8 pm; doors at 4 pm
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
After
Anthony Attalla, others, 2 am, $20, $10 women, locals; Dee Jay Silver, doors 10:30 pm, $20-$30
DJ Earwaxxx
10 pm, free; doors at 10 am
DJ Miss Joy
DJ CyberKid
DJ John Cha
10 pm, free; doors at 10 am
10 pm, free; doors at 10 am
10 pm, free; doors at 10 am
Closed
Closed
Closed
DJ ShadowRed; doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women, locals free
DJ ShadowRed
DJ Bayam; doors at 10:30 pm, $30+ men, $20+ women, local women free
DJ Paradice
10 pm, free; doors at 10 am
DJ Koko
NIGHTS | club grid
Listings are accurate as of press time. For more info, contact venues directly.
VENUE
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Downtown Cocktail Room
Downtown Soul
Friday Night Social
Soulsupplement
DJ Lenny Alfonzo, others; 9 pm; happy hour, 4-8 pm; doors at 4 pm; free
DRAI’S AFTERHOURS
Doors at midnight; $30 men, $20 women
DRAI’S NIGHTCLUB
Doors at 10 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Doors at 10 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
FIZZ
FOUNDATION ROOM
Afterhours
HAKKASAN
INSERT COIN(S)
WEDNESDAY
Closed
Happy hour, 4-8 pm; doors at 4 pm; free
DJs Roy Evans, Laguerre, Disconnect; 10 pm; happy hour, 4-8 pm; doors at 4 pm; free
Closed
Doors at 10 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Closed
Cymatic Sessions
Afterhours
Country Club
Adventure Club Doors at 10 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
DJ RossOne; doors at 10 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Closed
Closed
Closed
Two-hour Bottomless Bubbles, 5-7 pm and 7-9 pm, $36; live music, 7-10 pm; doors at 5 pm
Two-hour Bottomless Bubbles, 5-7 pm and 7-9 pm, $36; live music, 7-10 pm; doors at 5 pm
Two-hour Bottomless Bubbles, 5-7 pm and 7-9 pm, $36; live music, 7-10 pm; doors at 5 pm
Two-hour Bottomless Bubbles, 5-7 pm and 7-9 pm, $36; doors at 5 pm
Two-hour Bottomless Bubbles, 5-7 pm and 7-9 pm, $36; doors at 5 pm
Two-hour Bottomless Bubbles, 5-7 pm and 7-9 pm, $36; doors at 5 pm
Two-hour Bottomless Bubbles, 5-7 pm and 7-9 pm, $36; doors at 5 pm
80s Station
Bubbles For Beauties
Bubbles For Beauties
DJ Eric Forbes
DJs, 10 pm; $30
DJ Kay TheRiot
DJ SINcere
DJ b-Radical
DJ Seany MAC
live; DJ Soxxi; 10 pm; free
Doors at 8 pm; $20 men, $10 women, locals free before midnight
WolfCreek, 9 pm; $1 drafts/ wells for women, 7-10 pm; doors at 11 am
Oliver Heldens
Doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Dan Fester live, 9 pm; doors at 5 pm
Future Funk
DJs MamaBear, CryKit; doors at 8 pm; free
Doors at midnight; $30 men, $20 women
Happy hour, 4-8 pm; doors at 4 pm; free
Borgeous
DJ Shift
Live Thursdays
HYDE
Afterhours
TUESDAY
Doors at midnight; $30 men, $20 women
Ladies Night
GILLEY’S
Afterhours
MONDAY
Doors at midnight; $30 men, $20 women
DJ Benny Black
GHOSTBAR
DJ Carlos Sanchez, 9 pm; happy hour, 4-8 pm; doors at 4 pm; free
DJs Spoon, Bruno Browning, others; 9 pm; happy hour, 4-8 pm; doors at 4 pm; free
SUNDAY
Sundrai’s
DJs Sam I Am, Marc Mac; free champagne/vodka for women; 9:30 pm; $30
DJs MeloD, others; free champagne/vodka for women; 10 pm; $30
DJ Exodus
DJ set; doors at 1 pm, $10, local women free. Night: Mark Stylz, others; doors at 8 pm; $20-$25
Doors at 8 pm; $20 men, $10 women
Country Nation
Bikini Bull Riding
Tiesto
Rev Run & Ruckus
DJ MICS; doors at 8 pm; $25 men, $20 women
Country Nation
live, 10 pm; drink specials, 7-10 pm; doors at 11 am; $10-$20 after 10 pm
Dada Life
DJs Fergie, Crooked; doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
DJ Five
GBDC: Chumlee
live, 10 pm; drink specials, 7-10 pm; doors at 11 am; $10-$20 after 10 pm
DJs MOTi, Jesse Marco; doors at 10:30 pm; $75+ men, $40+ women
Doors at 8 pm; $20 men, $10 women
$200 prize; 2-for-1 drink specials, 7-10 pm; doors at 11 am
Locals Night
Line dance lessons, 7 pm; drink specials; doors at 11 am
10 pm, $30+ men, $20+ women; doors at 5 pm, free
Game Over Fridays
Saturday Night Live
DJs 88, SpeakerFoxxx; doors at 8 pm; $10, $5 locals
10 pm; $30
DJ Seany MAC
Doors at 8 pm; $20 men, $10 women
DanSing Karaoke
10 pm; $30
DJ Presto One
Doors at 8 pm; $20 men, $10 women
DanSing Karaoke
8 pm; line dance lessons, 7 pm; drink specials; doors at 11 am
8 pm; line dance lessons, 7 pm; 2-for-1 drink specials, 7-10 pm; beer pong; doors at 11 am
Closed
Doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Closed
Closed
Doors at 5 pm
Doors at 5 pm
10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women; doors at 5 pm, free
DJ Silent John
Closed
Closed
DJ Loczi
10 pm, $30+ men, $20+ women; doors at 5 pm, free
DJs Mike Carbonell, Charlie Darker; doors at 8 pm; $10, $5 locals
10 pm; $30
Lost Angels
Doors at 8 pm; free
Doors at 5 pm
DJ DMoney
Doors at 8 pm; free
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LAS VEGAS WEEKLY CLUB GRID
VENUE
THURSDAY
LAS VEGAS BULL
$1 drinks for women; $30 all-you-can Jack Daniels boots, $20 all-you-can PBR boots; doors at 7 pm; $10
LAX
Ladies’ Night
Doors at 10:30 pm; free open bar for women until midnight; $30 men, $20 women
DJ Dezie
Listings are accurate as of press time. For more info, contact venues directly.
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
18 and Over
Locals Stampede
Drink specials for 21+; dance lessons; doors at 7 pm; $10, $15 for 18-20
Dance lessons; $2 drafts, well drinks for locals; doors at 7 pm; $10, $5 for locals w/ID
Doors at 10:30 pm; free open bar for women until midnight; $30 men, $20 women
Doors at 10:30 pm; free open bar for women until midnight; $30 men, $20 women
Panorama Saturdays
LEVEL 107
11 pm; doors at 4 pm
LIFE
Closed
LIGHT
DJ Neva; doors at 10 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Doors at 10 pm; $40+ men, $20+ women
MANDARIN BAR
Doors at 5 pm
9 pm; free; doors at 4:30 pm
MARQUEE
Closed
DJ Frank Rempe; doors at 10 pm; $40+ men, $20+ women
live; DJ M!KEATTACK; doors at 10 pm; $40+ men, $20+ women
Ladies Night
2-for-1 beer pong, $22, 11 am-9 pm; 100 oz. beer tower, $35; doors at 8 am
2-for-1 beer pong, $22, 11 am-9 pm; 100 oz. beer tower, $35; doors at 8 am
DJ Brooke Evans
DJs, 11 pm; doors at 4 pm
Rebecca & Fiona
Doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Tony Arzadon
Live music
Treo
PBR ROCK BAR
$1 vodka for women, 9 pm, $5; 2-for-1 beer pong, $22, 11 am-9 pm; doors at 8 am
Drag Queen Bingo
PIRANHA
REVOLUTION LOUNGE
Michelle Holliday hosts, 7-10 pm; $8 drinks w/text (“GAY” to 83361), 10 pm, free; open 24 hours
Get Back Thursdays
DJ G-Minor; doors at 10 pm; $20 men, women free
F*ck It Friday
India Ferrah, Des’ree St. James, midnight; DJ Vago; 10 pm, free; open 24 hours
Good Foot DJ Scratch Battle
DJs Phase, Wyldsyde, Sincere; doors at 10 pm; $20, women free
DJ Dezie; $5 Absolut drinks, 1-4 am; 11 pm; 15% off bottles; doors at 4 pm
Michael Woods
Doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
A-Trak
Doors at 10 pm; $40+ men, $20+ women
Live music
9 pm; free; doors at 4:30 pm
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
Closed
Closed
Closed
Doors at 5 pm
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
DJ Dezie
Woman Crush Wednesday
Scenic Sundays
Selfie Saturday
DJ G Minor
DJ Flow; doors at 10 pm; $20 men, women free
Sky High Mondays DJ Girl 6; 2-4-1 drinks for locals, $5 Skyy drinks, 1-4 am; 11 pm; doors at 4 pm
11 pm; doors at 4 pm
DJ Dezie; 2-4-1 drinks for women; 11 pm; doors at 4 pm
DJ Zen Freeman; doors at 10:30 pm; $25+, free for locals before midnight
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Doors at 10 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Live jazz
Doors at 5 pm
Doors at 5 pm
Doors at 5 pm
Closed
Closed
DJ Kittie; 11 pm; doors at 4 pm
#IndustryLife
6 pm; free; doors at 5 pm
Pentatonix
Indie Ferrah’s Goddess Show, midnight; DJs Vago, Virus; 2-for-1 drinks, noon-8 pm; free; open 24 hours
SPONSORED BY: Las Vegas Bull Cowboy Town
Tony Arzadon
Savi
Closed
DJ Lema; doors at 10 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women, locals free
#Social Sundays
Beer Pong Tournament
$20 open bar 9 pm-1 am w/ social media follow; doors at 8 am
El Deseo
DJs Virus, Vago; $5 mystery drinks; 10 pm; drink specials, 5-9 pm; free; open 24 hours
9 p.m.; $25 open bar until 2 a.m.; doors at 8 am
Industry Mondays
Karaoke Night
10 pm; 2-for-1 beer pong, $22, 11 am-9 pm; doors at 8 am
2-for-1 beer pong, $22, 11 am-9 pm; 100 oz. beer tower, $35; doors at 8 am
La Noche
Hot Mess w/Des’ree St. James, 10 pm, free; half-off drinks w/industry ID, 4-9 pm; free; open 24 hours
DJ Majesty, Vago, 10 pm; karaoke w/Sheila, 7-11 pm; 2-for-1 drinks, noon-8 pm; free; open 24 hours
2-for-1 drinks, noon-8 pm; free; open 24 hours
Closed
Closed
Closed
Revo Sundays
Hot Body Contest; DJ Nick Ayler; doors at 10 pm; $20, locals free before midnight
LAS VEGAS WEEKLY CLUB GRID
Listings are accurate as of press time. For more info, contact venues directly.
VENUE
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
REVOLVER
Closed
Drink specials; Line Dancing 101, 8-9:15 pm; doors at 8 pm; $5 after 10 pm
Drink specials; line dancing 101, 8-9:15 pm; doors at 8 pm; $5 after 10 pm
ROCKHOUSE
Happy hour, 2-6 pm, 11 pm-2 am; $50 open bar; Kill the Keg unlimited drafts, $20, 2-9 pm; doors at 11 am
Happy hour, 2-6 pm, 11 pm-2 am; $50 open bar; Kill the Keg unlimited drafts, $20, 2-9 pm; doors at 11 am
$50 open bar; 100 oz. beer tower, $35; doors at 8:30 am
Fireball Fridays
SAYERS CLUB
Bands. Beats. Vibes.
10:30 pm; doors at 7 pm, free
NSA Thursdays
SHARE
Desrae Pendavis hosts; DJ J Diesel; $10 liquor bust; doors at 10 pm; free
SURRENDER
Closed
TAO
Doors at 10 pm; $20+ men, $10+ women
TRYST
DJ MeloD; doors at 10 pm; $30 men, $20 women, local ladies, industry free
TUSCANY
DJ Five
The Affair
Amanda Avila
Piazza Lounge; 8:30 pm, free
Sessions
Live music, 10:30 pm, free; doors at 7 pm
Stripper Circus
DJ Majesty; doors at 10 pm; free
Grandtheft
Doors at 10:30 pm; $35+ men, $25+ women
DJ Big Ben
Doors at 10 pm; $20+ men, $20+ women
DJ Ikon
SATURDAY Silver Saturdays
Sessions
Live music, 10:30 pm, free; doors at 7 pm
Scotty Marx, Kurtis Wolfe host; DJs Pornstar, J Diesel; half-off drinks, 10 pm-midnight; free
Flosstradamus
Doors at 10:30 pm; $35+ men, $25+ women
DJ Eric D-Lux
Doors at 10 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
DJ Turbulence
Doors at 10 pm; $30 men, $20 women
Kenny Davidsen Show
Red Abbey
Enter the Void
Velveteen Rabbit
Doors at 5 pm
DJs Athenas, Fish; 10 pm; free; doors at 5 pm
XS
Closed
Doors at 10 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
DJ Snake
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
Closed
Closed
Drink specials; Line Dancing 101, 8-9:15 pm; doors 8 pm; $5 after 10 pm
Ladies Night
Taco Tuesdays
$50 open bar; doors at 8:30 am
9 pm; happy hour, 2-6 pm, 11 pm-2 am; doors at 11 am
$1.50+, $5 tequila shots, $7 margaritas; happy hour, 2-6 pm, 11 pm-2 am; doors at 11 am
Happy hour, 2-6 pm, 11 pm-2 am; $50 open bar; Kill the Keg unlimited drafts, $20, 2-9 pm; doors at 11 am
Doors at 7 pm, free
Doors at 7 pm, free
Doors at 7 pm, free
Doors at 7 pm, free
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Doors at 9 pm; $45+ men, $35+ women, locals free
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Nik at Night
Laura Shaffer Vintage Vegas Cocktail Party
Get Your Balls Wet
Beer pong tournament, $25; doors at 8 pm; no cover
Confession Sundays
Ladies Night
Pornstars in Vegas
Doors at 10 pm; $30 men, $20 women
Piazza Lounge; 8:30 pm, free
SPONSORED BY: Hooters Casino Hotel Las Vegas
Piazza Lounge; 9 pm, free
International Playground
DJs Selecta’ Scream, Jr Ska Boss; 10 pm; free; doors at 5 pm
David Guetta
Doors at 10 pm; $75+ men, $20+ women
Closed
Piazza Lounge; 7:30 pm, free
Doors at 5 pm
DJ Slander
Doors at 10 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women, local women & industry free
Piazza Lounge, 7:30 pm; free
Doors at 5 pm
Moonshiners
DJ Snake
Nieve
Piazza Lounge, 8:30 pm; free
Piazza Lounge; 8:30 pm, free
Doors at 5 pm
Doors at 5 pm
Closed
Closed
DJ Dave Fogg
Doors at 10 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women, local women & industry free
MAGNUM MONDAYS AT STK, CHEERS TO THE LADIES BUSINESS MIXER
02/16/15 Photog: Tek Le
Arts&Entertainment M o v i es + M u s i c + A rt + F o o d
mighty Winds Las Vegas’ professional wind ensemble achieves another milestone
> time to shine Dear Runnin’ Rebels. Please crush San Diego State. Thank you.
Trust Us
Stuff you’ll want to know about HEAR
unlv basketball by Lenny Ignelzi/ap
FLIGHT FACILITIES Electronic music rules the Strip … as long as a DJ is playing it. Thankfully, Brooklyn Bowl carries the torch for live electronic music with its latest beatfriendly booking: Aussie indie groove duo Flight Facilities, whose “Crave You” is on the ascent thanks to its remix from Adventure Club (also in town Saturday night, at Drai’s). With Touch Sensitive. February 28, 9 p.m., $22. swervedriver Playing to a tiny tent crowd, these reunited British shoegazers delivered a righteous set at Coachella ’08. Don’t be like the folks who missed out and heard their friends rave about it later. With Gateway Drugs, March 3, 9 p.m., $10-$15, Bunkhouse Saloon.
CHEER SAN DIEGO STATE AT UNLV Hoping for a happy ending to the Runnin’ Rebels’ rocky season? A win over the conference-leading Aztecs would help, with the Mountain West tournament still to come. March 4, 8 p.m., $20-$110, Thomas & Mack Center.
EAT LOW COUNTRY BOURBON DINNER Start with glazed doughnut waffles, fried chicken “oysters” and she-crab soup shots before the main attraction: honey-roasted pork paired with the St. Helena Crush, concocted with Tatoosh bourbon, Southern Comfort and pineapple. This one-night-only meal is comfort food at its finest. March 4, 6:30 p.m., $39. Made L.V., reservations required, 702-722-2000.
SEE HOUSE OF CARDS SEASON 3 Hoard snacks and draw the curtains. The Netflix original political thriller returns Friday, making 13 episodes available for rapacious consumption. Murderous politician Frank Underwood is finally president—is his revenge plan complete? February 27, Netflix. THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES Based on hundreds of interviews, Eve Ensler’s 1996 work started an important conversation about violence against women. Still a significant dialogue today, it comes to UNLV Saturday night (thanks to the Jean Nidetch Women’s Center) with proceeds benefiting CARE Advocates’ Survivor Emergency Fund. February 28, 8 p.m., $10, Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall.
When Charles A. Maguire was hired to lead a small orchestra at a local Methodist church, he didn’t know that ensemble would morph into Las Vegas’ professional wind band. But after a handful of string players didn’t show up for rehearsal, Maguire was left with a tiny contingent of highly skilled woodwind and brass instrumentalists. The band’s artistic director says he realized then “there was a place for a wind ensemble” in Las Vegas, and officially established the Desert Winds in 2009. The Desert Winds features up to 75 musicians depending Colorations on the perforin Purple mance, with February 28, 7:30 approximately p.m., $15. CSN’s 40 instrumenNicholas J. Horn talists and 30 Theatre, 3200 E. singers, many Cheyenne Ave., of whom are music teachers thedesert winds.org. and professional musicians around town. The ensemble will perform the latest installment of its annual concert series, “Colorations in Purple,” February 28 at the College of Southern Nevada. In addition to playing a work by David Maslanka, an American composer prolific in the world of wind band music literature, the instrumental group will also premiere a piece written solely for them—a first for the Desert Winds. U.K. composer Peter Meechan created it, inspired by the tragic deaths of civilian children during the chemical attacks in Syria. “The piece represents the souls of the children rising from their bodies,” Maguire says “It’s a very poignant piece of music.” –Mark Adams
February 26-March 4, 2015 LasVegasWeekly.com
39
A&E | screen FILM
Tricks of the trade
Will Smith and Margot Robbie are grifters in love in Focus By Josh Bell The inherent difficulty in making a movie about con artists is that the audience will spend the entire movie anticipating the Big Twist, missing many of the little pleasures along the way in favor of parsing every interaction for clues about who is playing whom. Writer-directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra (I Love You Phillip Morris) don’t entirely avoid this problem in their glossy, uneven drama Focus, but they do manage to veer away from the most obvious reveals, leaving the audience guessing without undermining previously established character relationships. Mainly that’s the dynamic between veteran con artist Nicky (Will Smith) and his protégé Jess (Margot Robbie), whom he takes under his wing (and then, of course, into his bed) after she clumsily tries to con him. The movie is divided into two halves involving two big jobs, three years apart: In the first half, Nicky and Jess are part of a team of pickpockets and identity thieves in New Orleans during the Super Bowl; in the second aaabc half, they encounter each other again FOCUS Will in Buenos Aires as Nicky is running Smith, Margot a con on a race-car mogul (Rodrigo Robbie, Adrian Santoro). Smith and Robbie have fan- Martinez. tastic chemistry, and they both bring Directed by natural charm to their wary but exu- John Requa berant characters. Robbie, who had and Glenn a small but memorable role in The Ficarra. Rated Wolf of Wall Street, gives a major star- R. Opens making performance. Friday. The movie’s first half is playful and sly, ending with a small but satisfying twist. The second half is less successful, as Requa and Ficarra build up the suspense, and then pull back the curtain a few too many times in the finale. Even as they do so, they subvert some expectations of how these kinds of stories wrap up, and while the ending’s a bit convoluted, it doesn’t feel like a cheat. Most importantly, it keeps the relationship between Nicky and Jess intact, since that’s what holds the movie together. It’s fun to watch them put one over on unsuspecting marks, but it’s even more enjoyable to see them let down their considerable defenses and connect emotionally (especially in one steamy scene that recalls Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight). For a con artist, that’s the toughest feat to pull off.
TV
Partners in crime Cop drama Battle Creek explores familiar territory One of the perks of creating a show as popular and acclaimed as Breaking Bad is that even your castoffs become hot commodities. Breaking Bad’s Vince Gilligan developed Battle Creek for CBS in 2002, when the network passed on it, but now it’s been refurbished and
40 LasVegasWeekly.com February 26-March 4, 2015
given the green light, thanks mainly to Gilligan’s involvement. He rewrote the pilot along with House creator David Shore, who will be the showrunner, and the solid but unexceptional procedural seems more in line with Shore’s talents. It takes place in the small city of Battle Creek, Michigan, where a burned-out police detective (Dean Winters) finds himself teamed up with a smooth-talking, upbeat FBI agent (Josh Duhamel) who heads up a new local field office. The pilot features familiar buddy-cop banter and a forgettable case about a pair of drug dealers getting
murdered. But Gilligan and Shore bring wit and liveliness to the dialogue, and the supporting cast is full of talented actors, including Kal Penn, Janet McTeer, Liza Lapira and Damon Herriman, which bodes well for the development of a well-rounded ensemble. Battle Creek is unlikely to inspire the same kind of praise and devotion as Breaking Bad, but it’s an entertaining exercise in typical TV crime-solving. –Josh Bell
aaacc BATTLE CREEK Sundays, 10 p.m., CBS.
TV
> the pick-up artists Smith and Robbie talk shop.
The end of the world Will Forte navigates the postapocalypse as The Last Man on Earth The apocalypse is all over TV, from the zombies of The Walking Dead to the irradiated Earth of The 100 to the vampires of The Strain, but none of those shows aim for humor (at least not on purpose). Fox is attempting to fix that with the sci-fi comedy The Last Man on Earth, starring and created by Saturday Night Live alum Will Forte. As the title implies, Forte is the show’s only regular cast member, although within the first episode, he has already encountered what appears to be the last woman on Earth (played by Kristen Schaal), and casting reports indicate other people will show up to make the show’s title a bit of a misnomer. Still, it’s an inherently limited premise, and the first episode already zips through the obvious indulgences of being the (apparent) last person on Earth (breaking stuff, stealing priceless works of art, living in a huge mansion). That episode also begins with the nearextinction of the entire human race and ends with the main character almost committing suicide, so the show isn’t afraid to aaacc explore the dark implications of THE LAST MAN its premise, along with the jokes ON EARTH about post-apocalyptic bathroom Sundays, 9:30 habits. Consequently, the humor p.m. (premieres in Last Man is often more disturbMarch 1, 9 p.m.), ing than laugh-out-loud funny, and Fox. some of it can be off-putting. But the show is more ambitious than any other current network comedy, and in just two episodes it pushes forward in bold, even reckless ways. It may end up crashing and burning, but at least it will do so without having held anything back. –Josh Bell
F I L M | VO D
The Rewrite marks the fourth time actor Hugh Grant and writer-director Marc Lawrence have worked together on a romantic comedy, and their previous efforts range from tolerable (Music and Lyrics) to atrocious (Did You Hear About the Morgans?). The Rewrite is actually quite enjoyable at times, which by default makes it Grant and Lawrence’s best collaboration yet. The setup is pretty formulaic, with Grant’s washed-up screenwriter Keith Michaels working as a writer-in-residence at an upstate New York college, first dismissing and then falling for middle-aged single mother Holly Carpenter (Marisa Tomei), who enrolls in his class. ¶ But Lawrence manages to avoid many of the rom-com pitfalls that he himself popularized, giving The Rewrite’s supporting characters surprising nuances (aided by a cast that includes Chris Elliott, Allison Janney and J.K. Simmons). Grant is charming in a part he’s played many times before, and he has strong chemistry aaacc THE REWRITE Hugh with both Tomei and Bella Heathcote as Keith’s initial, obviously Grant, Marisa Tomei, Bella Heathcote. inappropriate love interest. As rewrites go, this one represents a Directed by Marc Lawrence. Not rated. decent improvement. –Josh Bell Available on Video on Demand.
Rom-com redo
February 26-March 4, 2015 LasVegasWeekly.com
41
A&E | NOISE CONCERT
Metal militia
> starting fires Swedish band In Flames packed a lot into a 70-minute set.
Machine Head and In Flames prove heavy music is alive and well By Josh Bell If you can judge the success of a heavy metal concert by the size of its moshpit, then Machine Head’s February 19 show at Vinyl was a much bigger success than the triple bill headlined by In Flames at the House of Blues three days later. But really, both shows were testaments to the continuing power of heavy metal, a genre that has been increasingly marginalized over the past decade, even within the rock community. The moshpits in general might be smaller, but the fans are just as devoted, and the music is just as powerful. The Machine Head fans were the most dedicated, loudly chanting “Machine f*cking Head!” while waiting for the band to take the stage. Billed as “An Evening With Machine Head,” the show lived up to its lofty title, offering a thorough overview of the band’s career, including songs from all eight Machine Head albums. With no opening act, the band played for nearly two and aaabc a half hours, and MACHINE HEAD the audience’s February 19, Vinyl. enthusiasm never waned. aaacc The moshpit IN FLAMES started during February 22, the first song House of Blues. and pretty much never let up; before “Killers & Kings,” singer-guitarist Robb Flynn called for a huge circle pit that ended up engulfing what seemed like a third of the floor space in the relatively full venue. Before launching into “Darkness Within,” a soaring ode to the power of music from 2011’s excellent Unto the Locust, Flynn told the audience that the band’s first-ever gig outside of its Bay Area home base, 22 years ago, was at the Huntridge Theatre. “It was the first step on a journey,”
he said, and while Flynn is the only original band member still on that journey, he and his current bandmates certainly did justice to the music created along the way. Although Swedish band In Flames has a history just as extensive as Machine Head’s, their HOB set was only about half as long, capping off an uneven show opened by Wovenwar and All That Remains. Wovenwar’s half-hour set was marred by terrible sound, with the guitars completely
drowned in the mix despite the presence of three guitar players, and the response from the sparse crowd was tepid. All That Remains, who’ve headlined HOB themselves, fared much better, with a set that mixed brutal intensity and catchy melodies. The balcony was still almost entirely empty when In Flames took the stage, but the floor was full enough for some decent moshing. Frontman Anders Fridén was in a jovial mood, joking about his bandmates’ attractive-
ness and the quality of the beer being consumed by the crowd. The 16-song set lasted just 70 minutes, and tended to highlight the sameness of the band’s songs. But it also highlighted their musical efficiency, in contrast to Machine Head’s often-sprawling compositions. “I don’t say this is the only way, but this is our way,” Fridén said about the Swedish approach to heavy metal. In Flames’ way and Machine Head’s way both proved to be the right way for the heavy metal faithful.
c o n c e rt
Wait, are they … yep, two members of Dr. Dog are wearing Dr. Dog T-shirts onstage Saturday night at House of Blues. But hey, it’s the last night of their tour, why do laundry when you (February 21, House of Blues) can pull some clean threads from the merch booth? The Philly sextet can really groove live. Aside from a couple of experimental breakdowns, Dr. Dog keeps our feet moving consistently throughout the evening, and it’s even better with the band dancing along. Bassist Toby Leaman and guitarist Scott McMicken share lead-vocal duties with remarkably similar voices. They can be distinguished by pronunciation: McMicken’s relaxed slur versus Leaman’s clear diction. I really think the band could play up the dog schtick a little more than they do. I tried to get a barking chant going in the crowd, but nobody was into it. Whatever, it would have been cool. “Thanks for coming out,” Leaman says to the mostly packed room, much of which even showed up early for opener Hanni El Khatib. “This is not a place we play often, so it’s nice to see that people give a sh*t. I think in 11 years of touring this is only the second time we’ve played Vegas.” Here’s hoping the successful visit will lead to more. –Chris Bitonti
Five thoughts: Dr. Dog
DR. DOG BY SPENCER BURTON
42 LasVegasWeekly.com February 26-March 4, 2015
A&E | NOISE
> TORONTO TRANSITION Drake’s mixtape-turnedalbum shows he’s headed in a new direction.
Follow your own path to wellness.
HIP-HOP
Drake set free
If You’re Reading marks the end of a chapter—and sets up the next At this point IYRTITL is disIf You’re Reading This It’s cussed more for its music biz poliToo Late was originally meant tics than its actual tracklist. The to be released as a free mixtape album is darker, sparsely produced spread around the Internet with and hostile, more gym than bedthe tight-lipped poise of a pack room in songs “Energy” and “6 of boars. But as the story goes, God,” and at times Drake’s label decidbordering on unveiled ed to release it as a late-night thoughts full-length. That is, set to a trap beat’s con17 songs of what you stant hi-hat. At risk of could probably call using a throwaway a means of thinning word, it’s interesting, a creativity clot and both for better (no isn’t, by a long shot, pandering rap singles) a cohesive project or or worse (no singles even representative in general). Glass halfof the obsessive profull, the tape quietly duction showcased aaacc Drake released on iTunes is in a typical Drake If You’re Reading This a way to shed some record. Regardless It’s Too Late musical bureaucracy of its strength as an and refocus on the album, however, it’s next project, an album allegedly the fourth of Drake’s four-record titled Views From the 6 (a nickname contract, leaving one of the biggest for Toronto, Drake’s hometown) musical acts of right now open to which, given the outcome of the becoming a free agent and, with mixtape/album debate, will presthat, regaining complete creative ent us with a Drake we haven’t seen control of his craft, which he in six years. –Max Plenke hasn’t had since signing in 2009.
INDIE ROCK
Screaming Females Rose Mountain aaaac Screaming Females have always been known for their scabrous guitars and hypnotic, heavy grooves—a brash style that’s led to tours with such like-minded acts as Dinosaur Jr., Throwing Muses and The Dead Weather. But on the new Rose Mountain, the New Jersey trio harnesses and sculpts their trademark aggression into concentrated ruptures of indie, punk and metal—from Sabbath-style heavy metal riffage (“Ripe”) and fuzzed-out space-rock (“Triumph”) to gothic-grunge simmering (the title track) and distortion-creased blues hollers (“Wishing Well”). While no less strident than their previous work, the tension-driven album feels more like controlled chaos this time—perhaps because Rose Mountain marks the first time Screaming Females have used an outside producer, noted heavyweight Matt Bayles (Mastodon, The Sword). Still, it diminishes Screaming Females’ collective talent to give Bayles total credit for the record’s direction; this is the work of a band perfecting its bewitching abrasiveness. –Annie Zaleski
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CJ-15-010412_LVWeeklyHalfPgVert_Ad-r2.indd 1
2/20/15 3:39 PM
A&E | NOISE
> GETTING EMOTIONAL “I’m tired of yelling at the government,” Henrriquez (far right) says.
LO C A L S C E N E
GROWN-UP PUNK
Rayner brings emotion to new music, and new energy to the scene BY LESLIE VENTURA
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be your confessional/cleanse you Four young punks file into the of guilt when you’re vulnerable/ Beat, logos of punk-rock heavyfeed your urges/don’t come to me weights like The Queers and The when your indiscretions won’t let Slackers crossing their black tees. you sleep,” Henrriquez sings on One has a Dos Equis in hand—it’s “Very, Dreadfully Nervous.” 11 a.m. Another slams a giant ener“You can only be angry about gy drink. Singer Dany Henrriquez things for so long,” adds guitarist orders a coffee and finds a seat at Rory Child, who shares writing the table. “This is the most produties with Henrriquez. “When fessional thing we’ve ever done,” you’re a teen and you listen to Henrriquez says of our interview punk, it’s hard to tell people you with his new band, Rayner. have emotion. It’s sad words, but That’s hard to believe. They happier-sounding sounds.” have business cards (nice ones), The group was dreamt they’ve recorded a up by Piro and Sergio stripped-down session Cervantes (drums) back for punksinvegas.com RAYNER with in February 2014. With and Paul Miner (Death Alex and His the additions of Manny by Stereo, Thrice, New Meal Ticket, Eliza Hollers (not presFound Glory) mixed their Battle. February ent during our interthree-song EP, Where Do 28, 9 p.m., free. I Begin? Hardly signs of Aces & Ales, 3740 view) on bass, Child and Henrriquez, the a band that doesn’t know S. Nellis Blvd., guys played their first what it’s doing. Plus, 702-436-7600. show opening for hardHenrriquez has a bachcore New Orleans punks Pears elor’s degree in actuarial science, in December. As Rayner begins and guitarist Christopher Piro in working on the next collection of business management—not your songs, the guys are focused on stereotypical punk-rock bona fides. playing more—like on next week’s Henrriquez calls the music solid bill with Alex and His Meal “punk that grew up and got emoTicket and Eliza Battle—and eventional. I’m tired of yelling about tually playing some out-of-town the government,” he says. Instead, shows. If Rayner’s brief history is bands like Iron Chic, Latterman any indication, the band’s organic and Jawbreaker influence Rayner’s grit and punk-rock savvy could melodic, raw pop-punk, and power have heads banging and lips movchords gallop through quick, ing just about anywhere. coarse, untreated lyrics. “I refuse to
A&E | the strip
> SECOND HOME “Vegas always brings me back, with open arms, and it’s great,” Fatone says.
T H E K AT S R E P O RT
Joeeeey!
Fatone’s fans are stoked on his run in Rock of Ages—and so is he By John Katsilometes
PHOTOGraph by denise truscello
Joey Fatone nearly won Dancing With the Stars in 2007, when he and partner Kym Johnson were edged by Olympic skating champion Apolo Anton Ohno and Julianne Hough. Fatone is still showing off some fancy footwork. Today his favorite dance is the Reinvention Foxtrot as he takes over one of the key roles in Rock of Ages at the Venetian. “I am always, always trying to reinvent myself,” Fatone says in the early stages of his run as Bourbon Room owner Dennis Dupree, whom he’ll portray through April 29. “It’s an interesting role, to be playing this guy who is kind of a hippie but also a father figure to all these kids who come through this club.” Beyond his run in the stage show, Fatone is also reprising one of his more ambitious portrayals— that of the Greek character Angelo Portokalos, cousin of Toula (played by Nia Vardalos), in My Big Fat Greek Wedding II. Fatone, of course, is famously Italian. “We’re filming right after I’m done with Rock of Ages, and the script has been written and pretty much the original cast is back together,” Fatone says. “It’s funny how people, after the first movie, would say, ‘You’re Greek? Really?’ No, I am Italian, but it’s the same thing (laughs).” Fatone is now nearly a generation removed from his time as a pop superstar as a member of ’N Sync, and says he remains comfortable being identified with the group. The original members reunited in August 2013 for the MTV Video Music Awards telecast,
when Justin Timberlake accepted a Vanguard Award for lifetime achievement in video-music production. But that appearance was just a traipse back in time, and Fatone has long sought to put his ’N Sync career in context with everything else he’s had going on, especially in Las Vegas. He has performed a range of roles on the Strip, as guest host of the sinceclosed The Price Is Right Live at Bally’s and as a regular performer in Dancing With the Stars: Live in Las Vegas at Tropicana. He remains the host of the cable show My Family Recipe Rocks on Live Well Network, which has focused on such Las Vegas performers as Carrot Top and Frankie Moreno. “I have always been comfortable with ’N Sync and where it fits in my life, but there is a huge chunk of people who know me in other ways,” Fatone says. “For me, over the years, it’s been so random that when people come up to me, I’ll get people who remember me from Dancing With the Stars, or ‘I loved you in ’N Sync, and I remember you from Hannah Montana’ (in which Fatone appeared as restaurant owner Joey Vitolo). The different generations know me from different things.” Fatone is the first celebrity guest star to be cast in Rock of Ages, which opened in March 2013. He draws a lot of attention, creates a lot of buzz and helps fill seats. Last Sunday’s performance was peppered with fans shouting “Joeeeey!” at the stage whenever Dupree appeared. The Dupree character is not a particularly daunting challenge for
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Fatone, who performed for millions of fans during his days in ’N Sync and is clearly at home onstage. He also appeared as Mark Cohen in Rent, and as Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, both on Broadway, though more than a decade ago, just as ’N Sync was disbanding. Dupree, like every other character in Rock of Ages, follows the nimble navigation of the club’s sound man, Lonnie, portrayed with ample energy by Mark Shunock. Fatone and Shunock are friends now, and are hitting the town with great zeal after
performances of Rock of Ages. Fatone has grown to love Las Vegas. “Vegas always brings me back, with open arms, and it’s great,” Fatone says. “I have a lot of friends here and a lot of opportunities.” As long as there is a stage role needing a boost from a genuine member of ’N Sync—or a guy who can perform the mambo or whip up a mean marinara—there’s a home in Vegas for Joey Fatone.
ROCK OF AGES Nightly, 8 p.m., $74-$167. Venetian, 702-414- 9000.
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> MR. SUBLIMINAL Nealon flashed back to SNL during his Suncoast set.
2X1 mojitos on tuesday nights.
Saturday night, live SNL alum Kevin Nealon plays it weird at the Suncoast By Jason Harris
photograph by bill hughes
putting a gas engine in it, because You know those trainwreck gas has gone down so low”—often sketches on Saturday Night Live? have a Steven Wright quality to The strange ones toward the end them. But on this night they didn’t of the show that just don’t conhit home like his local humor. nect with the audience? The bad “Summerlin. For people who like news for fans of SNL alum Kevin Vegas but just don’t like Vegas.” Nealon is that his Saturday set at Before the halfway mark, the Suncoast felt a lot like one of Nealon abandoned his set altothose. The good news is, like those gether and went with a story-time oddball sketches, it was a memoapproach. He opened the floor to rable and entertaining event, howquestions, with drunken audience ever awkward it might have been. members asking about his To be fair to Nealon, the favorite SNL host (Steve older, suburban crowd was not as ready to laugh as a typ- aaacc Martin) and what’s currently wrong with Chevy Chase. ical club crowd. Nonetheless, KEVIN It’s too bad it went this way, it’s never a good sign when NEALON but at least it was interesting. 12 minutes into an hour- February (I never knew that Nealon long set, the performer has 21, almost got the part of Sam to query about his greatest Suncoast. Malone on Cheers.) In that hits—asking if the patrons regard, it became more of “An were fans of SNL or Weeds. The Evening with Kevin Nealon” than shame of it is, the former Weekend a typical stand-up show. It kinda Update anchor can be funny and worked for a guy who’s starred in a absurd. “When I see an adult wearstoried late-night franchise, a culting braces I smile, because I know ish Showtime series and countless they have hope for the future and Adam Sandler movies. I guess the I know they’re going to look good lesson is that if you have to rely on when it happens.” your greatest hits, it helps to have His clever barbs—“I have an hits as great as these. electric car. It’s in the shop. We’re
A&E | Fine ART
The secret center
photographs by steve marcus
Heroes honors artists who influence artists By Dawn-Michelle Baude There is no genome for artistic lineage. No way to put an artwork under a microscope and extract the creative DNA. Artists rip each other’s work. They copy, alter, revise and censure style and technique, but determining how one artist shapes and forms another remains a puzzler. While some artistic influences leave their traces behind—maybe in a type of paint stroke or a particular palette—often the evidence doesn’t show. Yet artistic affinity remains at the secret center of most art making, as Satellite Contemporary’s Heroes reminds us. For the exhibition, Satellite curators—accomplished artists in their own right— decided to showcase the artists who inspire them. Nicole Langille Jelsing, Christopher Kane Taylor and Dennis McGinness selected 15 small-format pieces that cohabit the gallery like old friends who’ve gone in different directions and reunited, somewhat awkwardly, for the occasion. The show maintains visual coherence, despite the radically different artistic styles in the paintings, sculptures, prints and photographs. Among the standouts is a gestural oil painting by Alan aaabc Crockett. “Chapeau Charade” HEROES Through is a kind of madhouse of March 13; Friday, 5-8 mark-making in which new p.m.; Saturday, 11 marks seem on the verge of a.m.-3 p.m. Satellite emerging while others sink Contemporary, back into the picture plane. satellite The layering of abstract pic- contemporary.com. tographs, symbols and blotches alludes to Paleolithic cave painting at one end of the spectrum, jazzy painters like Cy Twombly and Jackson Pollock at the other. There’s meaning to this onslaught, “Chapeau Charade” seems to suggest. The pleasure of viewing it comes largely in the decoding. Is that a fedora or an anagram in Hindi? Another work of note—“Painting Number 7” by Peter Adsett—belongs to an altogether different artistic planet. The minimalist black and blue canvas has nothing to do with interpreting pictorial marks and everything to do with experiencing purities of proportion, line and color. Adsett’s geometrical abstraction hinges on the weight and balance of the picture planes manifesting in front of the viewer’s eyes. Despite its simple, hard-edge forms, the composition has a weirdly soft, even fleshy, feel. “Painting Number 7” would have greater impact with more space around it, which a small gallery like Satellite cannot afford. Heroes includes mysterious photogravures by Hanlyn Davies, an allegorical pop figure by Jerry Kerns, and a literary book sculpture with self-referential commentary by Ann Hamilton. The exhibition also presents three “outsider” art pieces that have emotional appeal without significantly enriching the outsider aesthetic. Overall, Heroes brings a perky range of interesting artists from as far away as Australia to Las Vegas, so we can readily absorb their influence here.
> INSPIRED COLLECTION Heroes maintains visual coherence despite its radically different styles.
February 26-March 4, 2015 LasVegasWeekly.com
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A&E | stage
The good and The Weird
> fun with tropes The cheerleader always get it ...
Despite genuine laughs and clever presentation, Off-Strip’s latest suffers from unevenness By Jacob Coakley The latest from Off-Strip Productions, The Weird continues producing director Troy Heard’s call for cheap laughs and gore. Playwright Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s love letter to the pulp side of pop culture (horror and comic books) remixes horror tropes with self-awareness, but never seems to coalesce into something beyond that. Which is not to say it isn’t funny—there are plenty of laughs here, but there are just as many bits that don’t land, and sketches that seem to end abruptly. When the first vignette, a wonderfully tense remix of the “Bloody Mary/teen slasher” horror tropes didn’t deliver the jump scare, I was puzzled. The scene was taut and managed to knowingly tweak the tropes while succumbing to them itself—but when the moment came, the scare didn’t. And when the second vignette ended (a parody of ’50s sci-fi horror films, particularly The Fly)—I was surprised. Not because of a scare; because it didn’t feel complete. Perhaps it was the fault of the material (a Rosemary’s Baby spoof seemed particularly one-note), but the production itself seemed sloppy. Timing and mechanics matter as much as mood in comedy as well as horror, and at times this show didn’t click. Christopher Lyons delivered as the wickedly manipulative teenage torturer in the opening bit with the petulant yet endearing Abby Dandy (who also had a fun turn later on as Supergirl). And April Sauline got laughs no matter what outrageous costume she was wearing. The rest of the ensemble (Matthew Antonizick, Jake Taylor, Jamie Riviere)
were goofy and game throughout, but Michael Close wasn’t up to the role of the evening’s host, clearly not in command of the script. The costumes and hair design from Stephen R. Sisson added immensely to the characters and humor, reaching a zenith in the vampire number, pairing a silver lamé housewife ensemble and bouffant wig on Sauline with a virile repairman (Taylor) with an equally bouffant wig straight out of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. They were an unlikely but surprisingly sexy couple, and the cos-
tumes hit the right grace notes throughout. Troy Heard’s scenic design places the show in a two-dimensional black-and-white world. It’s a clever visual joke, but unfortunately the show is only sometimes dimensional than the set. aaacc THE WEIRD Through March 7; ThursdaySaturday, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m., $20. Onyx Theatre, 702 732-7225.
Stage hands and existential dilemmas Nevada Conservatory gives Six Characters new life
to the absurdity while underscoring the work’s exploration of art. As the title suggests, this play is all about character. Its premise has a very contemporary feel: What if an author creates six fully realized characters and then abandons them? They search for a new author to write their tale. In this way, Six Characters is a play within a play, where the outer narrative—a modern company rehearsing a comedy—is interrupted by the six and their tragedy of recognition and reversal.
48 LasVegasWeekly.com February 26-March 4, 2015
Drawn in by this narrative, the director is willing to play along, convinced that the characters are acting out an elaborate pitch to sell their play. When he agrees to produce it and casts his company members, the more philosophical questions about truth and the mutability of identity are explored. Where these heady questions intentionally upstage the plot is also where the play occasionally feels heavy. But this might be going too far to find fault in an otherwise good production that offers
aaaac SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN AUTHOR Through March 1; Thursday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m.; $20-$30. Judy Bayley Theatre, 702-895-2787.
six characters by Jennifer Van Buskirk
When you walk into the theater for Nevada Conservatory’s latest show, you just know this isn’t going to be your average night. The entire stage, including what would normally be hidden—light stands, cellophane-wrapped set pieces, stage hands hammering away—is out in the open. The house lights, usually cloaking the audience, are up. All of this serves as a metaphor in Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author, where the audience is given a front-row seat in the creative process. This production’s fresh comic and pop-culture take on the process updates the original drama’s playful side, providing a welcome counter-note
both comedy and tragedy, not to mention dance numbers that explicate these hard questions. If the deep ponderances of art production make your head spin (perhaps partly because there’s no intermission), there’s plenty to offset them. Excellent performances by the tantalizing and frustrating leads, played by Jasmine Mathews and Oliver Wadsworth, carry the drama movingly to the end. And Jean Randich’s skillful direction of the large cast and all its moving parts is enhanced by a quality set and impressive effects. So put your thinking cap on, and a clean shirt (to accommodate for the lighting). This show matches the academic with the entertaining. –Molly O’Donnell
A&E | PRINT COMIC
> HE BELIEVES (IN TALKING FARM ANIMALS) Duchovny’s smart-alecky humor is strange coming from a cow.
CARTOON THEORY The Sculptor shows Scott McCloud thinking and illustrating with real depth BY J. CALEB MOZZOCCO
MYSTERY MEAT
David Duchovny tries to tell too many stories in Holy Cow
DUCHOVNY BY SCOTT GRIES/AP
BY HEATHER SCOTT PARTINGTON David Duchovny’s debut novel is not quite a children’s book. And it’s not quite novel, either. Holy Cow features bovine heroine Elsie and her sidekicks Tom (a turkey) and Shalom (a pig). After Elsie spies the farmer watching a documentary on factory farming, she divines her fate and plans her escape. These anthropomorphic beings leave their home and end up taking a flight to the Middle East, where they hope to find sanctuary. While it seems there’s a story Duchovny wants to tell—about religion, hatred, maybe even veganism?—the pieces of this puzzle don’t quite fit together. Elsie narrates in an affected, popcultured voice (“My name is Elsie, yes, I know. And that’s no bull. See?” “I’m totes cray-cray.”) Unfortunately, the aaccc kind of smart-alecky, ironic wisecrack HOLY COW that worked so well for Duchovny on By David Californication doesn’t read on the page Duchovny, with the same charm. It gets old fast. $24. Are we to take Elsie seriously, even when she makes observations about the human race? Sometimes it’s hard to tell, and Duchovny’s style reads like your old man telling you things the kids are saying. Elsie’s take on all things cow is colored by a voice you’d likely find on Twitter. “Look, this isn’t a gossipy tell-all;” she says, describing milking. “I’m not here to grind axes and settle scores, but sometimes I just gotta calls ’em likes I sees ’em. The brother was rough on the teats.”
At times Elsie speaks directly to the reader, giving us the inside scoop on conversations with her editor. This makes for bizarre reading, as it’s clear that Duchovny wants us to know just how to read his book: “[M]y editor says human adults won’t take a talking animal seriously (‘Why not?’ I asked. ‘What about Animal Farm and Charlotte’s Web? Babe?’ And she goes, ‘Elsie, Elsie, Elsie, times have changed, and anyway, this isn’t an allegory, this is a true story … blah, blah, blah’). So she’s gonna market it as a kids’ book, a wolf in sheep’s clothing.” These intrusions are so frequent that they distract. If Duchovny would have just trusted his reader to “get it”—or trusted himself to tell the story—it would have been easier going. There are so many logical problems with the cow/ turkey/pig caper that the author actually addresses them near the end, and then tells us not to worry much about any of it. Ultimately, this novel isn’t one you think about too hard. It isn’t going to change hearts and minds. That said, it’s easy to forgive the myriad problems of the book if you simply love Duchovny. I suspect that a good many readers of Holy Cow will be people who adore the actor and want to read his voice. On that promise, it delivers. And bully for Duchovny for putting himself out there, puns and all. “I can no longer be part of the herd,” he (Elsie) says. “I want to be heard.”
Scott McCloud wrote the book on comics, quite literally. Best known for his landmark 1993 Understanding Comics—a comprehensive exploration of the history, distinction, vocabulary and function of the comics medium—McCloud is generally regarded as one of its foremost thinkers. So much so that people often forget he’s also a great cartoonist. In addition to Understanding, itself a comic book, McCloud created Zot! in the 1980s and The New Adventures of Abraham Lincoln in 1998. For anyone needing a reminder of his abilities, now aaaaa there’s The Sculptor. Almost THE as long as it is long-awaited, SCULPTOR the 500-page book tells the By Scott story of struggling young McCloud, sculptor David Smith. The $30. personification of death offers David a deal: He’ll grant David the ability to instantaneously shape any material any way he wishes simply by touching it, but only for 200 days, after which David must die. David, who only wants to achieve immortality through his art, agrees. Then he meets the love of his life. The Sculptor is a complex story with a powerfully compelling central character, a story filled with spectacular set pieces and, as one might expect from a cartoonist turned theorist-who-cartoons, a great deal of discussion of the abstract topics of art and the meaning of life. It’s ironic that in Understanding Comics, McCloud settles on “sequential art” as the best term to refer to comics, preferring it to the more narrow and often misused “graphic novel.” Because The Sculptor is a perfect example of a true graphic novel, a novel told in the form of comics.
FEBRUARY 26-MARCH 4, 2015 LASVEGASWEEKLY.COM
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FOOD icymi
> garden of delights Sinatra’s carpaccio di tonno and (left) Frank’s spaghetti and clams.
Fly me to the moon Sinatra still ranks among the Strip’s best Italian restaurants By Brock Radke grette. The menu touts this dish as one of its new, lowerWhen Encore opened at the very end of 2008—a calorie options (140 to be exact), but who cares when lively complement to the now 10-year-old Wynn— flavors pop like this? it added five exciting restaurants to the fold. The pastas seem simple and neat but also turn out to be Theo Schoenegger, whose career included establishing flavor bombs, particularly a classic lasaNew York’s San Domenico and gna Bolognese ($29) with pork, veal and winning a Michelin star at LA’s beef; and Frank’s “spaghetti and clams” Patina, was arguably the most ($29), purportedly the Chairman’s fave, celebrated chef to debut a reswhich would come as no surprise due to taurant at the new resort. its perfect garlic-tomato broth. Six years later, the other Save room for Sinatra’s side dishes, Encore eateries have seen such as the savory ratatouille-esque capsignificant change. But not ponatina ($10) or crispy polenta sticks Schoenegger’s Sinatra. It dusted with Parmigiano Reggiano over has maintained some of the marinara ($10). If beef, lamb or braised Strip’s best and most seasonveal ossobuco feel too heavy, consider a ally inspired Italian cuisine in beautiful quartet of seafood specialties. another one of Wynn’s flawMy pick is lobster, shrimp, clam and scalless, gorgeous dining rooms. lop cioppino ($60) with fluffy couscous The range and quality of Vegas and another breathtaking broth of tomato Italian food—B&B to Bartolotta, and fennel. There’s also seared scallops Rao’s to Giada—is so much with vegetables and gnocchi in Madeira more respectable these days, sauce ($46) or butter-poached lobsterbut for overall experience, it’s topped risotto ($45), but the obvious hard to put anything above favorite is branzino over brightly colored Sinatra. (It helps that we still salsa verde and yellow pepper emulsion get a kick out of looking at Ol’ ($49). The chef’s delicate touch shines Blue Eyes’ Oscar, Grammy and with these oceanic treasures. Emmy awards on the way in.) Sinatra Encore, 877-321-9966. Daily, If this all sounds too precious, rest The best seats in this warm, amber room are along immense 5:30-10:30 p.m. windows peering into a secret garden ... unless you’re eating in the garden itself. After you indulge in a lovely bread basket served with salted butter and a memorable, olive-topped Cannellini bean purée, the go-to starter is a bigeye tuna carpaccio ($19) with pickled vegetables in lemon vinai-
assured Sinatra does great versions of veal or chicken parm, complete with plenty of melted mozzarella and a tangy pomodoro sauce. Pair yours with an order of meatballs ($18) or some primo antipasto ($22) for a different kind of Italian dinner. The food at Wynn resorts will always be fancy, and we wouldn’t want it any other way. Really, who does it better?
c h e f ta l k
we are still doing some of the highest numbers.
Christina Wilson,
Has working at BurGR changed the way you think about burgers? It is really hard for me to order a burger now when I go out to eat. I had my go-to spots in Philly, then I came out here and we don’t have In-N-Out on the East Coast, so of course you gorge yourself on that. But even when I do try a different burger, I find myself less impressed now. We just have so many great options on the menu here.
Gordon Ramsay BurGR Christina Wilson was an up-and-coming chef when she showed up on Season 10 of Hell’s Kitchen. She won, kicking her career into overdrive and landing her in Las Vegas in mentor Gordon Ramsay’s new steakhouse. After a year and a half there as chef de cuisine, Wilson shifted into the role of executive chef last year at Ramsay’s BurGR at Planet Hollywood.
How have you handled the transition from Steak to BurGR? It was a little tough at first. On the East Coast at independent restaurants, the higher you get, the closer you are to the food. Here, the higher you get, the farther away you are from the food. But BurGR has the same standards as Steak, it’s just a different product, and the energy level of the room here matches my personality better. We’re orchestrating 1,400 covers a day here. The Strip is so competitive, and Vegas is probably unlike any other place on the planet with so many decorated chefs. I think there were 60 openings on the Strip in the past year. But
50 LasVegasWeekly.com February 26-March 4, 2015
What’s your favorite on the BurGR menu? Probably the Farm Burger. Bacon in general, you know, always a crowd pleaser. But this has duck bacon, which is so flavorful but not as fatty. There’s a good amount of fat already in the burger mix, so you’re covered. How often do people recognize you from Hell’s Kitchen? Like a dozen times today. It’s never too much. I’m incredibly fortunate to be under Gordon’s umbrella and kind of riding off the success of the show. It’s only tough when I can’t walk away from the job to talk to people or step out for a picture. But it’s still surprising to me ... I never considered people would be recognizing me that way. –Brock Radke
Sinatra by mikyala whitmore; chef christina wilson by l.e. baskow
BLOOD ORANGE MARGARITA
INGREDIENTS 1 1/2 OZ. CASAMIGOS BLANCO TEQUILA 3/4 OZ. KING’S GINGER LIQUEUR 3/4 OZ. FRESH LIME JUICE 3/4 OZ. BLOOD ORANGE JUICE 1 BAR SPOON FLOAT OF EL SILENCIO ESPADIN BLACK MEZCAL 2 OZ. SALT 1 TSP. CINNAMON 1 BLOOD ORANGE WHEEL FOR GARNISH 1 KUMQUAT FOR GARNISH
SMOKIN’ GOOD Billy’s throws its brisket into the local barbecue battle
METHOD
Barbecue is like beauty—it’s always in the eye, or on the palBILLY’S BARate, of the beholder. While most B-QUE 4115 S. find cooking animal protein over Grand Canyon flames or hot coals to be quite Drive #100, attractive, the differences lie in whether the process should be 702-445-7764. devoted to a certain cut of meat, Mondayinvolve a particular spice blend Saturday, or benefit from a slather of sauce, among many other preferences. ¶ 11 a.m.-8 p.m. It’s a good thing Billy’s Bar-B-Que, a West Flamingo newcomer to the local ’cue scene, offers a lineup that covers all bases. Hickory is the wood of choice here, serving as the foundation for everything from pulled chicken and pork shoulder to baby back ribs. Pig parts are put on a pedestal courtesy of a “competition-style” rub that uses many flavors stacked together to create one-bite barbecue. ¶ The brisket ($10.99 on a sandwich) relies on simplicity— salt, pepper and roughly 16 hours in the smoker—and comes in thick slabs, chopped and layered on a handmade corn tortilla with coleslaw ($2.75), and in snap-happy sausage form. Sides also get hit with smoke and supplemented with more meat, like the brisket baked beans ($2.50-$3.50) and macaroni and cheese with bacon crumbles. ¶ If you’re saucy like me, try the signature, vinegar-based White Thunder. It’s a little sweet at the beginning but finishes with a kick that complements the meat and makes the coleslaw light and acidic, helping cut through richness. But at Billy’s, don’t expect anything but the ribs to get the lacquer job. Here, sauce is only an accent to assist with the main event—perfectly smoky meat. –Brittany Brussell > BILLY’S GRUB Mmmmm, ribs.
BILLY’S BAR–B–QUE BY MIKAYLA WHITMORE
Combine the tequila, ginger liqueur, lime juice and blood orange juice in a cocktail shaker and fill with ice. Cover and shake well. Rim margarita glass with a blood orange slice, then roll rim in cinnamonsalt mixture.* Pour contents of shaker through a strainer into the glass. Float the mezcal on top. Garnish with a blood orange wheel and a quartered kumquat. *To make the cinnamon salt, combine 2 ounces of salt with 1 flat teaspoon of cinnamon. The cinnamon adds an unexpected twist to the classic citrus flavors, complements the ginger spice of the liqueur and brings out the smokey quality of the mezcal for a truly unique interpretation of a classic margarita.
Cocktail created by Francesco Lafranconi, executive director of mixology and spirits education at Southern Wine & Spirits.
FEBRUARY 26-MARCH 4, 2015 LASVEGASWEEKLY.COM
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A&E | Short Takes against her totalitarian government. Mockingjay may lack the action and excitement of the previous two movies, but it makes up for it in greater emotional and thematic resonance. –JB Theaters: COL, ST, TC
Special screenings Aerosmith Rocks Donington 2014 2/26, broadcast of Aerosmith concert from June 2014, 7 pm, $13-$15. Theaters: ORL, SF, ST. Info: fathomevents.com.
The Imitation Game aaacc Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode. Directed by Morten Tyldum. 114 minutes. Rated PG-13. Cumberbatch stars as Alan Turing, the English mathematician who was instrumental in breaking the Nazis’ Enigma code. While that material is quite exciting, however, the film’s attempts at a character study, treating Turing as someone on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum, are less successful. –MD Theaters: DTS, GVR, ORL, SP, ST, TS, VS
Boozy Movie Wednesdays Wed, 8 pm, free with cocktail purchase, 21+. 3/4, Goodfellas. Inspire Theater, 107 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 702-489-9110. Cinemark Classic Series Sun, 2 pm; Wed, 2 & 7 pm, $7-$10. 3/1, 3/4, Charade. Theaters: ORL, ST, SF, SP, SC The Drop Box 3/3-3/5, documentary about abandoned babies in South Korea, plus broadcast of panel discussion, 7 pm, $10.50-$12.50. Theaters: COL, ORL, SF, SP, ST, VS. Info: fathomevents.com. Erotic Movie Night Fri, 7 pm, free. Erotic Heritage Museum, 3275 Industrial Road, 702-794-4000. Midnight Brewvies Mon, movie plus popcorn, midnight, free. Elixir, 2920 N. Green Valley Parkway, Henderson, 702-272-0000. Road to Hell 3/3, feature film directed by Albert Pyun, 7 pm, $12. Theaters: TS Sci Fi Center Mon, Cinemondays, 8 pm, free. 2/27, Howl’s Moving Castle plus anime costume contest and raffles, 8 pm, $5. 2/28, The Rocky Horror Picture Show audio only, plus live shadow cast, 10 pm, $9. 5077 Arville St., 702-792-4335, thescificenter.com. Tuesday Afternoon at the Bijou Tue, 1 pm, free. 3/3, Moby Dick (1956). Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, 702-507-3400. UFC 184: Rousey vs. Zingano 2/28, broadcast of UFC fight between Ronda Rousey and Cat Zingano, 7 pm, $13-$15. Theaters: COL, ORL, SF, SP, ST, VS. Info: fathomevents.com.
New this week A La Mala (Not reviewed) Aislinn Derbez, Mauricio Ochmann, Papile Aurora. Directed by Pedro Pablo Ibarra. 106 minutes. Rated PG-13. In Spanish with English subtitles. A woman whose job is to flirt with men to test their fidelity falls for her latest target. Theaters: CAN, ORL, ST, TS, TX Focus aaabc Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Adrian Martinez. Directed by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra. 104 minutes. Rated R. See review Page 40. Theaters: AL, CAN, CH, DI, FH, GVL, GVR, ORL, PAL, RP, RR, SF, SHO, SP, SS, ST, TS, TX, VS The Lazarus Effect (Not reviewed) Olivia Wilde, Mark Duplass, Evan Peters. Directed by David Gelb. 83 minutes. Rated PG-13. A group of medical students conduct experiments to bring people back from the dead. Theaters: AL, CAN, CH, COL, DI, FH, ORL, PAL, RP, RR, SF, SHO, SP, SS, ST, TS, TX, VS
Now playing American Sniper aaccc Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Luke Grimes. Directed by Clint Eastwood.
> evil woman Olivia Wilde comes back from the dead in The Lazarus Effect.
132 minutes. Rated R. Cooper’s performance is the strongest element of this biopic about Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle. It’s a simplistic, pandering tribute to the American military, aimed at an audience that prizes patriotism over drama and isn’t interested in complexity when telling the stories of so-called American heroes. –JB Theaters: AL, BS, CAN, CH, GVR, ORL, PAL, RR, SC, SF, SHO, SP, SS, TS, TX Annie aaccc Quvenzhané Wallis, Jamie Foxx, Rose Byrne, Cameron Diaz. Directed by Will Gluck. 118 minutes. Rated PG. This new film version of the 1977 Broadway musical about an adorable orphan (Wallis) who melts the heart of a high-powered industrialist (Foxx) uses fewer than half of the original songs. The insipid material isn’t improved by equally cloying new songs, crass product placement, dated pop-culture jokes and movie stars who can’t sing. –JB Theaters: TC Big Hero 6 aabcc Voices of Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, T.J. Miller. Directed by Don Hall and Chris Williams. 108 minutes. Rated PG. Based loosely on an obscure Marvel comic book, this Disney animated adventure features a bright, friendly world and some exciting action sequences, plus a very entertaining character in cuddly robot Baymax. But its superhero-team origin story is bland and familiar, with Scooby-Doo-level plotting and underdeveloped characters. –JB Theaters: TC, TX Birdman aaabc Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts. Directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu. 119 minutes. Rated R. Keaton gets a much-needed comeback vehicle in Iñárritu’s entertaining chamber piece, playing a washed-up actor—famous for playing a Batman-like superhero called Birdman—who’s now directing and starring in a chaotic Broadway play. Seemingly composed of a single continous shot, the film also boasts Norton, Watts and Andrea Riseborough as fellow actors. –MD Theaters: AL, COL, DTS, ORL, SF, SP, ST, TS, VS Black or White aaccc Kevin Costner, Octavia Spencer, Jillian
52 LasVegasWeekly.com February 26-March 4, 2015
Estell. Directed by Mike Binder. 121 minutes. Rated PG-13. Binder achieves an impressive feat here, depicting a courtroom battle between a middleaged white lawyer and a working-class African-American family, and making the rich white guy into the underdog. That kind of deck-stacking pervades Binder’s clumsy melodrama, which stars Costner as a man fighting for custody of his biracial granddaughter. –JB Theaters: SF, ST, TS, VS Black Sea aaabc Jude Law, Scoot McNairy, Ben Mendelsohn. Directed by Kevin Macdonald. 115 minutes. Rated R. Laidoff submarine captain Robinson (Law) hatches a plan to steal an underwater cache of Nazi gold. Surprisingly, things do not go according to plan, and Macdonald ratchets up the tension as Robinson and his men start turning on each other. When it sticks to the chaotic undersea action, Black Sea is efficient and gripping. –JB Theaters: VS The Boy Next Door abccc Jennifer Lopez, Ryan Guzman, John Corbett. Directed by Rob Cohen. 91 minutes. Rated R. After one ill-advised night of carnal passion, a middleaged teacher (Lopez) finds herself being stalked by her hunky, unstable neighbor (Guzman). With its painfully obvious plot twists and moronic characters, Boy is so terrible that it’s actually quite funny at times, thanks especially to Guzman’s intensely wooden performance. –JB Theaters: BS, DI, ORL, SC The Duff (Not reviewed) Mae Whitman, Bella Thorne, Robbie Amell. Directed by Ari Sandel. 101 minutes. Rated PG-13. A teenager seeks to reinvent herself after she learns she’s been dubbed the “designated ugly fat friend.” Theaters: AL, BS, CAN, CH, COL, DI, GVL, ORL, PAL, RP, RR, SC, SF, SHO, SP, SS, TS, TX Fifty Shades of Grey acccc Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Luke Grimes. Directed by Sam TaylorJohnson. 125 minutes. Rated R. Existing in a tepid middle ground apt to disappoint both hardcore fans of E.L. James’ bestselling novel and newbies expecting something scandalous, Fifty Shades
of Grey flounders thanks to its leads’ lack of chemistry, inert direction and limp faux-salacious sex scenes. –NS Theaters: AL, BS, CAN, CH, DI, GVL, GVR, ORL, PAL, RR, SC, SF, SHO, SP, SS, TS, TX Foxcatcher aabcc Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo. Directed by Bennett Miller. 134 minutes. Rated R. Carell gives an uncharacteristically dramatic performance (wearing a big prosthetic nose) as John E. du Pont in this fictionalized version of a real-life tragedy. Tatum and Ruffalo are better still, but the movie huffs and puffs to freight a fairly banal case history with Meaning. –MD Theaters: SC The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies aabcc Martin Freeman, Luke Evans, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellen. Directed by Peter Jackson. 144 minutes. Rated PG-13. The conclusion of Jackson’s three-film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic fantasy novel is underwhelming, dispatching with the previous films’ main villain in the first 10 minutes and then turning to an interminable battle. The title character spends most of the time on the sidelines, and the attempted grandeur is mostly empty. –JB Theaters: COL, TC Hot Tub Time Machine 2 ACCCC Rob Corddry, Clark Duke, Craig Robinson. Directed by Steve Pink. 93 minutes. Rated R. The first Hot Tub Time Machine was a pleasant surprise, but this sequel is worse in every way. The plot is overly convoluted, with the main characters traveling to the future to prevent an assassination. The jokes are tasteless, repetitive and unfunny, the production values are low, and the characters are abrasive. –JB Theaters: AL, BS, CAN, CH, DI, GVL, GVR, ORL, PAL, RP, RR, SC, SF, SHO, SP, SS, TS, TX The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 aaacc Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth. Directed by Francis Lawrence. 123 minutes. Rated PG-13. After enduring the titular tournament of death twice now, headstrong teenager Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) has moved on to fighting directly
Interstellar aaacc Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain. Directed by Christopher Nolan. 169 minutes. Rated PG-13. Nolan’s three-hour, effects-heavy sci-fi epic (about the search for a new planet for humanity to inhabit) turns out to be a soft-hearted plea for the power of love, ultimately relying on sentimental platitudes. At the same time, Nolan creates overwhelming, often breathtaking suspense in a number of astonishing set pieces. –JB Theaters: ST, TC Into the Woods aaacc James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Emily Blunt, Meryl Streep. Directed by Rob Marshall. 124 minutes. Rated PG. Directed by Rob Marshall (Chicago), the long-awaited screen adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s fairy-tale musical boasts a strong cast, including many actors (like Kendrick) who can actually sing. Unfortunately, Act 2 of the stage production has been gutted, and the result is a movie that’s only half satisfying. –MD Theaters: COL, ST, TC Jupiter Ascending aabcc Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum, Eddie Redmayne. Directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski. 125 minutes. Rated PG-13. This convoluted sci-fi epic from The Matrix filmmakers the Wachowskis boils down to another story of a Chosen One who saves the world and falls in love. The Wachowskis remain impressive stylists, and if Jupiter were as accomplished in its plotting and character development as in its visuals, it would be brilliant. –JB Theaters: AL, BS, CAN, CH, COL, ORL, PAL, RR, SC, SF, SP, SS, TS, TX Kingsman: The Secret Service aabcc Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson. Directed by Matthew Vaughn. 129 minutes. Rated R. A street tough known as Eggsy (Egerton) is recruited to join super-secret private spy organization Kingsman in this loose adaptation of the comic book by Mark Millar (Kick-Ass). Meant as a self-aware parody of James Bond-style superspies, Kingsman lacks the wit and style of the best Bond adventures. –JB Theaters: AL, CAN, CH, COL, DI, DTS, GVL, ORL, PAL, RP, SF, SHO, SP, SS, ST, TS, TX, VS McFarland, USA aabcc Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Carlos Pratts. Directed by Niki Caro. 128 minutes. Rated PG. Costner’s weary, livedin performance as a high-school coach is the best thing about this predictable underdog sports drama, based on the true story of a cross-country team from the impoverished, primarily Latino central California town of McFarland that achieved surprising success in the late 1980s. –JB Theaters: AL, CAN, CH, COL, DI, GVL,
A&E | Short Takes ORL, PAL, RP, RR, SF, SHO, SP, SS, ST, TS, TX, VS
Theaters: SC The Wedding Ringer AACCC Kevin Hart, Josh Gad, Kaley CuocoSweeting. Directed by Jeremy Garelick. 101 minutes. Rated R. This contrived bromance involves a lonely rich guy (Gad) hiring a professional best man (Hart) to stand in at his wedding. Hart is likable, but the story never builds on its ridiculous premise, stumbling through unfunny set pieces and vulgar humor, without any worthwhile payoff. –JB Theaters: AL, PAL, RR, SC, SF, SP, ST
Mr. Turner aaabc Timothy Spall, Dorothy Atkinson, Marion Bailey. Directed by Mike Leigh. 150 minutes. Rated R. Spall plays painter J.M.W. Turner in Leigh’s sprawling, unconventional biopic, a portrait of the artist as an old crank. Providing virtually no context for his story of the renowned landscape artist’s later years, Leigh strings together scenes that are alternately funny, sad, bitter and baffling, and sometimes all at the same time. –JB Theaters: VS
Whiplash aaabc Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Paul Reiser. Directed by Damien Chazelle. 107 minutes. Rated R. Teller plays an aspiring jazz drummer who has either the good or bad fortune to fall under the tutelage of a sadistic teacher-conductor (Simmons). There’s not much to the film apart from their weird sort of S&M relationship, but with two lead actors this formidable, that’s enough. –MD Theaters: VS
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb aaccc Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Dan Stevens. Directed by Shawn Levy. 98 minutes. Rated PG. Made from the “kids-won’t-care-how-badly-weslapped-this-thing-together” school of filmmaking, the third movie in the Night at the Museum series brings the usual cast to London to save their magic tablet. The movie brings up ideas and lets them drop, clumsy cutting ruins most of the jokes, and visual effects are plentiful and lifeless. –JMA Theaters: TC Old Fashioned ABCCC Rik Swartzwelder, Elizabeth Ann Roberts, LeJon Woods. Directed by Rik Swartzwelder. 115 minutes. Rated PG-13. A born-again Christian (Swartzwelder) sets out a strict code of conduct for his courtship with a young free spirit (Roberts) in this plodding, creepy romance. Rather than sweet and heartwarming, their relationship is off-putting and awkward, and the movie drags toward its pseudo-wholesome, paternalistic conclusion. –JB Theaters: VS Paddington aaabc Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Nicole Kidman, voice of Ben Whishaw. Directed by Paul King. 95 minutes. Rated PG. Somehow the new Paddington movie seems modern while at the same time holding firmly to its quaint, lovely ideals. The movie includes a few big slapstick moments, but they arise naturally out of the character’s unfamiliarity with the civilized world. Ben Whishaw voices the CGI bear. –JMA Theaters: BS, CH, COL, SC, TS, TX Penguins of Madagascar aabcc Voices of Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights. Directed by Eric Darnell and Simon J. Smith. 92 minutes. Rated PG. The no-nonsense penguins who stole scenes in the Madagascar animated movies get their own feature, proving again that characters who are funny in small doses aren’t necessarily suited to carrying entire movies. The penguins’ madcap adventures fighting an evil octopus are occasionally cute and occasionally clever, but mostly just end up exhausting. –JB Theaters: TC Project Almanac aaccc Jonny Weston, Sofia Black-D’Elia, Sam Lerner. Directed by Dean Israelite. 106 minutes. Rated PG-13. A group of irritating teenagers discover a time machine in this forgettable thriller. It takes what feels like an eternity to get to the actual time travel, and the eventual consequences are vague and rushed. The found-footage style is distracting, and the vapid characters aren’t worth watching as they stumble toward discovery. –JB Theaters: BS, CH, DI, PAL, SF, TS, TX Selma aaabc David Oyelowo, Tom Wilkinson, Carmen Ejogo. Directed by Ava DuVernay. 127 minutes. Rated PG-13.
> all about chemistry Aislinn Derbez and Mauricio Ochmann in A La Mala.
Selma is a sometimes powerful, sometimes stilted look at the 1965 march led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Oyelowo) from Selma to Montgomery in Alabama to rally for voting rights for African-Americans. The filmmakers create a sense of real life being lived, rather than just facts and figures being dramatized. –JB Theaters: VS Seventh Son (Not reviewed) Ben Barnes, Jeff Bridges, Julianne Moore. Directed by Sergey Bodrov. 102 minutes. Rated PG-13. A young man becomes the apprentice to a powerful warrior and must fight an evil witch. Theaters: CH, COL, PAL, ST, VS The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water aabcc Voices of Tom Kenny, Clancy Brown, Mr. Lawrence. Directed by Paul Tibbitt. 92 minutes. Rated PG. The second movie starring animated undersea creature SpongeBob SquarePants features all the familiar characters in an adventure to track down the stolen recipe for Krabby Patties. The story drags over the course of 90 minutes, with mild humor and a strained climax that mixes the animated characters with live action. –JB Theaters: AL, CAN, CH, COL, DI, ORL, PAL, RP, RR, SF, SP, SS, ST, TS, TX, VS Still Alice aaacc Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart. Directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland. 101 minutes. Rated PG-13. Moore fully deserves the acclaim she’s received as a linguistics professor who’s diagnosed with earlyonset Alzheimer’s disease. The movie itself isn’t up to her high standard, though, gradually deteriorating—much like its heroine—from an astringent drama to a more generic disease-ofthe-week movie. –MD Theaters: AL, DTS, GVR, ORL, SF, SP, ST, TS, VS Taken 3 abccc Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Forest Whitaker. Directed by Olivier Megaton. 109 minutes. Rated PG-13. Neeson returns as former secret agent Bryan Mills, who has to clear his name after being framed for murder. Lacking the strong hook of the original, this sequel blunders through action-movie clichés, with nonsensical twists, inconsistent
characterization and one of the most incoherently shot and edited car chases in recent memory. –JB Theaters: BS, COL, ORL, SC, TX The Theory of Everything aaccc Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, David Thewlis. Directed by James Marsh. 123 minutes. Rated PG-13. Redmayne gives an impressive physical performance as famed theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, conveying a vivid sense of a lively mind trapped inside an unresponsive body. Alas, the movie, which gives science short shrift, is primarily about Hawking’s bland relationship with his first wife (Jones). –MD Theaters: COL, RR, TS, VS
subtitles. Best Actress nominee Cotillard plays a Belgian factory worker who must persuade fellow employees to forgo a sizable bonus so that she can be rehired. The world would be a better place if everyone were required to watch this magnificently empathetic film and think hard about its lessons. –MD Theaters: SC
Wild aaaac Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Thomas Sadoski. Directed by JeanMarc Vallée. 115 minutes. Rated R. Witherspoon and director Vallée clearly have great respect for author Cheryl Strayed and her attempt to leave behind a troubled past while hiking more than a thousand miles. They approach the story with grace and subtlety, downplaying big revelations and instead focusing on the small steps that Cheryl (Witherspoon) took. –JB Theaters: SC The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death AABCC Phoebe Fox, Helen McCrory, Jeremy Irvine. Directed by Tom Harper. 98 minutes. Rated PG-13. This horror sequel takes place at the same creepy, abandoned mansion as the original, only decades later. Harper relies heavily on the creepy atmosphere of the house and the surrounding town, but he relies even more heavily on sudden loud noises, which are the source of the movie’s meager scares. –JB Theaters: TC
Two Days, One Night aaaab Marion Cotillard, Fabrizio Rongione, Catherine Salée. Directed by JeanPierre and Luc Dardenne. 95 minutes. Rated PG-13. In French with English
Unbroken aabcc Jack O’Connell, Domhnall Gleeson, Miyavi. Directed by Angelina Jolie. 137 minutes. Rated PG-13. This glossy biopic depicts World War II hero (and Olympian) Louis Zamperini (O’Connell) as more of a superhuman ideal than a person. Director Jolie cranks up the oppressively rousing score and gets some sweeping camerawork from topnotch cinematographer Roger Deakins, but the movie often feels like a parody of a feel-good biopic. –JB
Theaters
Summerlin 2070 Park Center Drive, 702-221-2283
(SF) Century Santa Fe Station 4949 N. Rancho Drive, 702-655-8178
(AL) Regal Aliante 7300 Aliante Parkway, North Las Vegas, 702-221-2283
(FH) Regal Fiesta Henderson 777 W. Lake Mead Parkway, Henderson, 702-221-2283
(SHO) United Artists Showcase 3769 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 702-221-2283
(BS) Regal Boulder Station 4111 Boulder Highway, 702-221-2283
(GVR) Regal Green Valley Ranch 2300 Paseo Verde Parkway, Henderson, 702-221-2283
(PAL) Brenden Theatres at the Palms 4321 W. Flamingo Road, 702-507-4849 (CAN) Galaxy Cannery 2121 E. Craig Road, North Las Vegas, 702-639-9779 (CH) Cinedome Henderson 851 S. Boulder Highway, Henderson, 702-566-1570 (COL) Regal Colonnade 8880 S. Eastern Ave., 702-221-2283 (DI) Las Vegas Drive-In 4150 W. Carey Ave., North Las Vegas, 702-646-3565 (DTS) Regal Downtown
(GVL) Galaxy Green Valley Luxury+ 4500 E. Sunset Road, Henderson, 702442-0244
JMA Jeffrey M. Anderson; JB Josh Bell; MD Mike D’Angelo; NS Nick Schager
(SP) Century South Point 9777 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 702-260-4061 (SC) Century Suncoast 9090 Alta Drive, 702-869-1880 (SS) Regal Sunset Station 1301-A W. Sunset Road, Henderson, 702-221-2283
(ORL) Century Orleans 4500 W. Tropicana Ave., 702-889-1220
(TX) Regal Texas Station 2101 Texas Star Lane, North Las Vegas, 702-221-2283
(RP) AMC Rainbow Promenade 2321 N. Rainbow Blvd., 888-262-4386
(TS) AMC Town Square 6587 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 702-362-7283
(RR) Regal Red Rock 11011 W. Charleston Blvd., 702-221-2283
(TC) Regency Tropicana Cinemas 3330 E. Tropicana Ave., 702-438-3456
(ST) Century Sam’s Town 5111 Boulder Highway, 702-547-1732
(VS) Regal Village Square 9400 W. Sahara Ave., 702-221-2283
For complete movie times, visit lasvegasweekly.com/movies/listings.
February 26-March 4, 2015 LasVegasWeekly.com
53
Calendar LISTINGS YOU CAN PLAN YOUR LIFE BY!
THREE QUESTIONS: HOWLIN RAIN’S ETHAN MILLER New album Mansion Songs doesn’t feel especially gloomy to me, even though you wrote those songs after losing your record deal and your band. How would you describe your mood at the time? I did feel a little bleak, after the dust settled and the band had dissolved and we were done with the majorlabel deal. I was just kind of standing there with a few poetry books and a guitar. But if I was feeling moments of being pretty hollowed out, I didn’t want the record to be a super-downer record. I still wanted it to be a Howlin Rain record, to be raw and honest emotionally. Looking back at your experience with Rick Rubin and American Recordings, could you have gone much farther down the commercial path? I always loved rock music and populist music, and I just wanted to try everything. Being on Rick’s label and working with Rick was something that was too enticing. With [2012’s] The Russian Wilds, we didn’t turn in a hit single. Some of the songs are, like, eight-and-ahalf minutes long without repeat-
LIVE MUSIC T H E ST R I P & N E A R BY Brooklyn Bowl Flight Facilities, Touch Sensitive 2/28, 9 pm, $22+. Ozomatli, Hellride, N.E. Last Words 3/1, 8 pm, $28. Korn 3/13, 9 pm, $55-$61. Rebel Souljahz, The Jimmy Weeks Project 3/15, 9 pm, $20. Dan & Shay, Canaan Smith 3/21, 7:30 pm, $22-$28. Railroad Earth 3/22, 8 pm, $22-$28. Jessie’s Girl 3/27, 8 pm, $11. Linq, 702862-2695. The Colosseum Rod Stewart Elton John 3/20-3/21, 3/23-3/24, 3/27-3/28, 3/30-3/31, 4/3-4/4, 4/6-4/7, 4/10-4/11, 4/13-4/14, 6:30 pm, $55-$500. Caesars Palace, 702-731-7333. The Cosmopolitan (Chelsea) Pentatonix 2/28, 8 pm, $20-$30. Jason Mraz, Raining Jane 3/14, 8 pm, $50. Hozier 4/9, 9 pm, $30+. (Boulevard Pool) Ratatat, Sylvan Esso 4/8, 9 pm, $28. St. Vincent 4/10, 9 pm, $25. RAC, St. Lucia 4/11, 9 pm, $20. Marina and the Diamonds, Kiesza 4/13, 9 pm, $25. Lykke Li, Ryn
ing choruses. So if my intention was mass, commercial success, that wasn’t the record that should have been turned in (laughs).
the zone that I want to present, though with a completely different band and with a different setlist. –Spencer Patterson
Your live record has a much more jammed-out, psychedelic feel than the studio stuff. Is that what folks can expect from the show here? Yeah. I like a live gig to be bombastic and explosive, so the live gig as presented on Live Rain is in
For more of our interview with Miller, visit lasvegasweekly.com.
HOWLIN RAIN with The Blank Tapes, The Shelters. March 5, 9:30 p.m., $8-$10. Bunkhouse Saloon, 702-854-1414.
Weaver 4/14, 9 pm, $20. Interpol 4/15, 9 pm, $25. Stromae 4/16, 9 pm, $25. Barenaked Ladies, Violent Femmes, Colin Hay 7/18, 8 pm, $50. 702-6987000. Dive Bar One Eyed Doll, Irie, Someday Broken 4/25, 9 pm, $8-$10. 4110 S. Maryland Pkwy., 702-586-3483. Double Down Bargain DJ Collective Mon. Unique Massive Tue, midnight. The Juju Man Wed, midnight. Punk Rock Bingo first Wed of the month. Blooze Brothers Third Sun of the month. Shows 10 pm, free unless noted. 640 Paradise Rd., 702-7915775. Flamingo Olivia Newton-John 3/103/14, 3/17-3/21, 7:30 pm, $69-$139. 702-733-3333. Gilley’s Country Nation 2/27-2/28, 10 pm. Austin Law 3/5, 9 pm; 3/6-3/7, 10 pm. Chancey Williams Band 3/12, 9 pm; 3/13-3/14, 10 pm. Chad Freeman Band 3/19, 9 pm; 3/20-3/21, 10 pm. Scotty Alexander Band 3/26, 9 pm; 2/13-2/14, 3/27-3/28, 10 pm. Shows $10-$20 after 10 pm. Treasure Island, 702-894-7722. Hard Rock Live Bayside, Senses Fail,
Man Overboard, Seaway 3/13, 7 pm, $20. The Devil Wears Prada, Born of Osiris, The Word Alive, Secrets 3/24, 5 pm, $21. Crizzly, Dotcom, K Theory 3/28, 8 pm, $30-$35. Kimbra, MikkyEkko 4/18, 8 pm, $20-$25. Hard Rock Cafe (Strip), 3771 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 702-733-7625. House of Blues Cold War Kids 2/28, 6:30 pm, $20-$23. Schism 3/3, 7:30 pm, $10-$15. Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience 3/6-3/8, 7:30 pm, $28-$75. Bayside, Senses Fail, Man Overboard, Seaway 3/13, 7 pm, $20. Local Brews Local Grooves: Empire Records, Elvis Monroe, RnR 3/21, 7 pm, $35-$45. Jazmine Sullivan 3/29, 6:30 pm, $30-$32. Mandalay Bay, 702-632-7600. The Joint Rascal Flatts, Craig Wayne Boyd 2/27-2/28, 3/4, 3/6-3/7, 3/11, 3/133/14, 8 pm, $40+. WIdespread Panic w/ Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe 3/27 w/ Chris Robinson Brotherhood 3/28, 8 pm, $55+. Hard Rock Hotel, 702693-5222. Mandalay Bay (Events Center) Chris Brown, Trey Songz, Tyga 3/7, 8 pm, $50-$126. Charlie Wilson 3/28, 8 pm,
$50-$130. 702-632-7777. MGM (Grand Garden Arena) Grasshopper 2/28, 8 pm, $58-$168. Fleetwood Mac 4/11, 8 pm, $50-$200. Iggy Azalea, Nick Jonas, Tinashe 4/25, $40-$70. Bette Midler 5/22, 8 pm, $95-$310. (Crown Royal Gold Buckle Zone) 702-891-7777. Orleans Robert Cray Band 2/28, 3/1, 8 pm, $30+. Marshall Tucker Band 3/6-3/7, 8 pm, $30+. NiteKings Wed, 4 pm. Rick Duarte Fri, 9 pm. Acoustic Den Sat, 9 pm. Shows free unless noted. 4500 W. Tropicana Ave., 702365-7075. Palace Station (Jack’s) Peter Love Trio Fri, 9 pm. Willplay Sat, 9 pm. Shows free unless noted. 702-547-5300. Palazzo (Palazzo Theatre) Frank: The Man. The Music. ft. Bob Anderson Tue-Thu, Sat, 8 pm; Fri 9 pm, Beginning 1/24, $72. (Laguna Champagne Bar) Jimmy Hopper Thu-Sun, 9:30 pm, free. 3355 S. Las Vegas Blvd., 702-414-4300. Palms (The Lounge) Santa Fe and the Fat City Horns Mon, 10:30 pm, $10. 702-944-3200. The Pearl Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band 3/15, 7:30 pm, $73-$153. Steely Dan 4/11, 8 pm, $94+. Palms, 702942-7777. Piero’s Pia Zadora Fri & Sat, 9 pm, two-drink minimum. 355 Convention Center Dr., 702-369-2305. Planet Hollywood Britney Spears 2/27-2/28, $60-$195. Ricardo Arjona 3/15, 8 pm, $59-$181. Weird Al Yankovic 5/12-5/16, 8 pm, $59-$89. Ricky Martin 9/15, 8 pm, $50-$160. 702-234-7469. Rock in Rio Festival Ft. Taylor Swift, Metallica, Linkin Park, No Doubt, The Deftones, John Legend 5/8-5/9, 5/15-5/16, $298-$498. Rockinrio.com. Stratosphere David Perrico and Pop Evolution First & third Tue, 10:30 pm, $20. 800-998-6937. Tuscany Danny Lozada Sun & Thu 10 pm, free. Kenny Davidsen Celebrity Piano Bar Fri, 10 pm, free. Live music Sat, 10 pm., free. 255 E. Flamingo Rd., 702-893-8933. Venetian The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Godesses ft. Las Vegas Philharmonic 6/10, 8 pm, $66-$176. 3355 S. Las Vegas Blvd., 702-287-5922. Vinyl That 1 Guy 2/28, 9:30 pm, $13+. Alice: A Steampunk Concert Fantasy 3/18, 4/1, 5/20, 6/17, 7/15, 11 pm, $10+. Ekoh, Almsot Normal, Avalon Landing 3/25, 8:30 pm, $5-$7. Hard Rock Hotel, 702-693-5000. Wynn (Eastside Lounge) Michael Monge Wed-Thu, 9 pm, $10. 3131 S Las Vegas Blvd.
D OW N TOW N Artifice Bad Faerie Ball 2/28, $10-$15. Vegas Blues Dance Tue, 7 pm, free. Thursday Request Live Thu, 10 pm, free. 1025 S. 1st St., Ste. 100., 702489-6339. Backstage Bar & Billiards Duane Mark, Whiskey Breath Band 2/26, 8 pm, $7-$10. David J. & The Gentlemen Thieves 2/27, 8 pm, $12-$15. Rewind: Love And Rockets Tribute 2/27, midnight, free. Fishbone, The Untouchables, Lady Reiko, Retrolites, JR Ska Boss, Selecta Scream 3/1, 8 pm, $21-$25. 601 E. Fremont St., 702-382-2227. Bar & Bistro Out of the Desert Bluegrass Band Sun, noon, free. Arts Factory, 107 E. Charleston Blvd., 702-
CHECK OUT OUR COMPLETE CALENDAR LISTINGS AT LASVEGASWEEKLY.COM/EVENTS 54 LASVEGASWEEKLY.COM FEBRUARY 26-MARCH 4, 2015
202-6060. Beauty Bar Love Vendetta, Black Beans & Hippie Liver, Jam Stain 2/27, 9 pm, free. A Place To Bury Strangers 3/12, 9 pm, $8-$10. Reverend Petyon’s Big Damn Band 3/29, $10-$15, 9 pm. 517 Fremont St., 702-598-3757. The Bunkhouse Heartless Bastards 2/26, 9 pm, $15-$20. La Luz, The Shivas 3/1, 9:30 pm, $10. Howlin’ Rain, The Blank Tapes 3/5, 9:30 pm, $8-$10. The Clydesdale 3/6, 9 pm, $8. Black Pussy, O’s of Presidential 3/7, 9:30 pm, $8-$10. Night Terrors of 1927 3/13, 9 pm, $10-$15. Single Mothers, The Dirty Nil, Mercy Music, The People’s Whiskey, Eliza Battle 3/15, 9:30 pm, $10. The Cure Tribute Night 3/20, 8 pm, $5-$8. 124 S. 11th St., bunkhousedowntown. com.. Downtown Grand Reckless in Vegas 3/27, 9 pm, free. 206 N. 3rd St., 702719-5100. Fremont Street Experience Cheap Trick 3/7, 9 pm, free. Downtown Las Vegas, vegasexperience.com. Golden Nugget Tommy James and the Shondells 2/27, 8 pm, $61-$109. Don Williams 3/6, 8 pm, $61-$109. Pam Tillis, Lorrie Morgan 3/13, 8 pm, $61-$109. Bobby Vinton 3/20, 8 pm, $72-$109. Sheena Easton 3/27, 8 pm, $39-$61. 129 Fremont St., 702385-7111. Griffin Live music Wed, 10 pm, free. 511 Fremont St., 702-382-0577. Mob Bar The Jeremy Cornwell Project Thu, 8 pm. Shaun DeGraff Band Fri, 8 pm. Dueling Pianos Sat, 8 pm. Yvonne Silva Sun, 6 pm. All shows free. 201 N. 3rd St., 702-259-9700. The Smith Center Jimmy Mulidore 2/26, 7 pm, $35+. The Lon Bronson Band ft. Larry Braggs 2/28, 8 pm, $15. HAPA 3/6-3/7, 7 pm, $35+. Jake Shimabukuro 3/20-3/21, 7 pm, $39+. Clint Holmes First Fri & Sat, 8:30 pm; first Sun, 2 pm; $35-$45. 361 Symphony Park Ave., 702-749-2000.
THE ’BURBS Cannery Billy Ocean 3/7, 8 pm, $30. Peace Frog 3/13-3/14, 8 pm, $10. Mopars at The Strip: Phoenix 3/27, 6 pm, free. Mopars at The Strip: Queensryche 3/28, 7:30 pm, $25. Patrick Puffer Wed-Thu, 3/4-3/14, 8 pm. Patrick Puffer/Glenn Nowak Fri-Sat, 3/4-3/14, 7 pm, free. Shaun South Wed-Thu, 3/18-3/29, 8 pm. Shaun South/Glenn Nowak Fri-Sat, 3/18-3/29, 7 pm. DND Project, Fri-Sat, 7 pm, free, Tue-Thu, Sun, 8 pm. 2121 E Craig Rd., 702-507-5700. Eagle Aerie Hall Your Life Is Over, Leather Bound Crooks, Courvge, Minnow, Pool Party, New and Improved, Ambedo 2/27, 5 pm, $10-$13. 310 W. Pacific Ave., 702-6454139. Elixir Scott Starr 2/27. Shaun South 2/28. Shows at 8 pm, free. 2920 N. Green Valley Pkwy., 702-272-0000. Fiesta Henderson (Cerveza Lounge) Josh LaCount Wed, 8 pm. 702-5587000. Fiesta Rancho (Club Tequila) Take the Stage Thu, 7 pm. Shows free unless noted. 702-631-7000. Green Valley Ranch (Drop Bar) Jared Berry Thu, 7 pm. Rick Duarte Fri, 6 pm. Tony Venniro Sat, 6 pm. Ryan Whyte Maloney, Cali Tucker Sun, 9 pm. (Hanks) Dave Ritz Tue, Thu, 6 pm; Sat, 7 pm. Nick Mattera Fri, 6 pm. Jeremy James Sat, 7 pm. Rick Duarte
Calendar Wed, 6 pm. (Lobby Bar) Shai Peri, Christina L Thu, 8 pm. Christina L Fri, 8 pm. Cayce Andrew Sat, 8 pm. Shows free unless noted. 702-367-2470. M Resort (M Pavillion) Jamm 2/28, 9:45 pm. Elvis, The Aloha Concert Tribute 3/14, 8/8, 7 pm, $30-$42. (Ravello Lounge) The Old School Show 2/20, 2/27, 10 pm. (Hostile Grape) Cameron Calloway 2/20, 7 pm. Curtis David 2/21, 7 pm. Anna Duerden 2/27, 7 pm. Zach Winningham 2/28, 7 pm. Shows free with drink purchase. M Resort, 800-745-3000. Rampart Casino (Grand Ballroom) (Addison’s Lounge) Wes Winters Tue, 6 pm. Mark O’Toole Wed, 6 pm. All shows free unless noted. (J.C.’s Irish Sports Pub) All shows free unless noted. (Round Bar) All shows free unless noted. JW Marriott. 221 N. Rampart Blvd., 702-507-5900. Red Rock (Rocks Lounge) Frankie Moreno 3/7, 4/11, 7 pm, $19-$39. Zowie Bowie Fri, 10 pm. The Dirty Sat, 11 pm, $10. David Perrico Pop Strings Orchestra Sat, 11 pm, free. (Onyx) Willplay Fri, 8 pm. Tim Catching Sat, 9 pm. The Dirty Sat. 11 pm, $10. (T-Bones) Dave Ritz Wed, 6 pm; Fri, 7 pm. Rick Duarte Thu, 6 pm; Sat, 7 pm. Shows free unless noted. 11011 W. Charleston Blvd., 702-7977777. Santa Fe Station (Chrome Showroom) Magic of Motown Sat, 10 pm. Jerry Tiffe 3/4, 6:30 pm. Vegas Goodfellas 3/11, 6:30 pm. Best of the Crooners 3/18, 6:30 pm. Las Vegas Jazz Society 3/25, 6:30 pm. (Revolver) Bro Country Thu, 8 pm. 4949 N Rancho Dr., 702658-4900. Sienna Italian Authentic Trattoria Vegas Good Fellas Thu, 7:30 pm. Red Velvet Fri-Sat, 8:30 pm. 9500 Sahara Ave., 702-360-3358. South Point McCartney Years 2/27-3/1, 7:30 pm, $25+. Bill Medley, McKenna Medley 3/6-3/8, 7:30 pm, $45+. The Lettermen 3/203/22, 7:30 pm, $25+. Crystal Gayle 4/24-4/26. Kingston Trio 5/1-5/3, 7:30pm. Winter Dance Party 5/8-5/10, 7:30 pm. Deana Martin and Big Band Swing 5/29-5/31, 7:30 pm. Dennis Bono Show Thu, 2 pm, free. Wes Winters Fri-Sat, 6 pm, free. Spazmatics Sat, 10:30 pm, $5. 702-797-8005. Suncoast The Man In Black: A Tribute to Johnny Cash 2/28, 3/1, 7:30 pm, $16+. 9090 Alta Dr., 702-636-7075. Sunset Station (Club Madrid) Brian White 2/27, 8 pm, $10. Barry Black Fri, 9:30 pm. Zowie Bowie Sat, 10 pm. (Gaudi Bar) Ryan Whyte Maloney, Cali Tucker Sat, 7 pm. Willplay Sat, 7 pm. (Rosalita’s) Tony Venniro Fri, 7 pm. Peter Love Sat, 7 pm. (Chrome Showroom) Shows free unless noted. 1301 W. Sunset Rd., 702-547-7777. Texas Station (Dallas Events Center) DSB: An American Journey 2/21, 8 pm, $15. (A-Bar) Darrin Michaels Fri-Sat, 7 pm. (South Padre) Crossfire Fri, 9 pm. Yellow Brick Road Sat, 9 pm. 702-631-1000.
E v e ry w h e r e E l s e Adrenaline Sports Bar and Grill Mechanical Manson, E.M.D.F., Meade Avenue 2/28, 8 pm, $8-$10. Open Mic Night Thu, 7 pm. 3103 N. Rancho Dr., 645-4139. Boomers Live music Wed, 10 pm, $5-$10. Hip Hop Roots Fri, 10 pm, $5. 3200 Sirius Ave., 702-368-1863. Boulder Dam Brewing You Knew Me When 2/27. Blue String Theory 2/28. Duane Mark, Reverend Red 3/5. Rick Berthod Band 3/6. Out of the Desert 3/7. Marty Feick 3/13. Crossroad South 3/14. Justin Mather 3/19. DJ Hayden & Friends 3/20. Jacob Cummings 3/21. Holes and Hearts 3/27. Cletus & Mexican Sweat 3/28. All shows free unless noted, Fri-Sat, 8 pm; WedThu, 7 pm. 453 Nevada Way, Boulder City, 702-243-2739. Boulder Station (Railhead) Bee Gees Gold Fri, 10 pm, $5. El Moreno Carrillo Sun, 11 pm, $5-$10. (Kixx Bar) Joey Vitale Fri, 8 pm. Reflection Sat, 8 pm. 702-432-7777. Count’s Vamp’d Sin City Sinners 2/26, 10 pm, free. John Zito Electric Jam Wed, 9 pm, free. 9:30 pm, free. 6750 W. Sahara, 702-220-8849. The Dillinger Marty Feick Thu, 7 pm. Stefnrock First & third Sat, 8:30 pm, free. 1224 Arizona St., 702-293-4001. Dispensary Lounge Uli Geissendoerfer Trio
Fri-Sat, 10 pm. 2451 E. Tropicana, 702-4586343. Eastside Cannery Paquita la del Barrio 3/14, 8 pm, $40+. (Marilyn’s Lounge) Claudine Castro Band Mon, 10 pm. Phoenix Wed, 9 pm. Spazmatics Sun, 9 pm. Shows free unless noted. 702-507-5700. Italian American Club 2333 E. Sahara Ave., 702-457-3866, iac.com. Milo’s Cellar Live Music Thur, 8 pm, free. 538 Nevada Hwy., 702-293-9540. Ron DeCar’s Event Center Charles McNeal Big Band 2/28, 1 pm, $15. Jimmy Wilkins’ New Life Orchestra 3/7. Merv Harding’s Talk of the Town Orchestra 3/14. Swingin’ Sundays Sun, 5 pm, $10. 1201 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 702-384-0771. Sam’s Town TNiteKings Sun, 7 pm, free. Shows free unless noted. 5111 Boulder Hwy., 702-284-7777. Star of the Desert Arena Buffalo Bill’s Resort & Casino, 31900 S. Las Vegas Blvd., Primm, 800-386-7867. Winchester Cultural Center The Vaginia Monologues in Spanish 2/27-2/28, 3/1, 7 pm. 3130 S. McLeod Dr., 702-455-7030.
Comedy Louie Anderson Wed-Sat, 7 pm, $60-$102. Plaza, 702-386-2110. Roseanne Barr 2/28, 4/11, 9:30 pm; 6/6, 7:30 pm, $50-$118. Venetian, 866-641-7469. Bill Bellamy 3/6-3/7, 7:30 pm, $16+. Suncoast, 9090 Alta Dr., 702-636-7075. Big Al’s Comedy Club Wed-Sun, 8 pm, $20. Gold Coast, 702-251-3574. Bonkerz Comedy Club Downtown Grand Fri-Sat, 8:30 pm, free (with two-drink purchase). 206 N. 3rd St., 702-719-5100. Bonkerz Comedy Club JW Marriott Shows 7 pm, $15. 221 N. Rampart Blvd., 702-5075900. Bonkerz Comedy Club Primm Fri, 8 pm & 10:15 pm; Sat, 10:15 pm; $10. Primm Valley Resort , 31900 S. Las Vegas Blvd., 800-3867867. Bonkerz Comedy Club Silver Sevens FriSat, 10:30 pm; $10. Silver Sevens Hotel & Casino, 4100 Paradise, 702-733-7000. Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club All shows at 8 pm, $65-$87. MGM Grand, 891-7777. Wayne Brady 2/27, 4/17, 10 pm, $40+. Mirage, 702-792-7777. Caroline Rhea, Elayne Boosler 3/28, 9:30 pm, $40-$96. Venetian, 866-641-7469. Carrot Top Wed-Mon, 8 pm, $50-$60. Luxor, 702-262-4900. Dana Carvey 3/13-3/4, 8 pm, $55+. Orleans Arena, 702-284-7777. Jeff Civilico Sat-Mon, Wed-Thu, 4 pm, $39$50. Quad, 888-777-7664. Andrew Dice Clay 3/12, 3/14-3/15. All shows at 9 p.m., $59+. Vinyl, hardrockhotel.com. Comedy After Dark Wed-Sun, 10 pm, $40$60. LVH, 702-732-5755. Whitney Cummings 3/13-3/14, 9:30 pm, $74$118. Venetian, 866-641-7469. Jeff Dunham Wed-Sun, 7 pm; Sat-Sun, 4 pm, $72. Planet Hollywood, 702-531-4320. Bill Engvall 3/6, 9 pm, $60+. Treasure Island, 702-894-7722. Vinnie Favorito Nightly, 8 pm, $55-$100. Flamingo, 702-733-3333. Craig Ferguson 3/13, 8 pm, $25+. Cosmopolitan, 702-698-7000. Garfunkel & Oates 3/21, 9:30 pm, $40-$96. Venetian, 866-641-7469. Eddie Griffin Mon-Wed, 7 pm, $90-$182. Rio, 702-777-7776. HydroComics Unleashed Wed, 9 pm, free. Lucie’s Lounge, 3955 Charleston Blvd., 702776-6417. The Improv Bob Zany, Nika Williams, Rick Ingraham 3/3-3/8. Michael Colyar, Jim McCue, Shayma Tash 3/10-3/15. Henry Phillips, Joel Lindley, Sandro Iocolano 3/17-3/22. Tue-Sun, 8:30 & 10 pm, $30-$45. Harrah’s, 702-369-5000. The Joe Show Thu-Sat, 8 pm, $30. Tuscany, 255 E. Flamingo Rd., 702-629-0715. Jokes With Friends Thu, 10 pm, free. Nacho Daddy, 9925 S. Eastern Ave., 702-462-5000. Jo Koy 3/20, 9 pm, $55+. Treasure Island, 702-894-7722. L.A. Comedy Club Tue-Sun, 9:30 pm, $39$62. Ballys, 702-777-2782. The Laugh Factory Shows at 8:30 & 10:30
Calendar
702-732-0079
2055 E. Tropicana Ave., Ste. 9 | 89119
Open MonDAY – FriDAY 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM, SatURDAY 9:00 AM – 10:00 PM, & SunDAY 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM
BOTOX STARTS AT $99 PER AREA
(B12 & Fillers also available) ALL INJECTIONS ADMINISTERED BY MD
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BOTOX STARTS AT $99
(702) 367-3930 | Thurs-Sat 10-6 or by appointment
Scandals Salon | 4235 S. Fort Apache Rd. #100 | Las Vegas N V 89147
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pm. $29-$45. Tropicana, 702-739-2222. Laughternoon Adam London Daily, 4 pm, $20-$25. The D, 702-388-2111. Jay Leno 2/28, 10 pm, $60-$80. Mirage, 702792-7777. George Lopez 3/13-3/14, 10 pm, $60-$80. Mirage, 702-792-7777. Loni Love 2/14, 9:30 pm, $40-$97. Venetian, 866-641-7469. M Resort Comedy Night Fri, 9 pm, free with drink purchase. M Resort, 702-797-1000. The Mac King Comedy Magic Show TueSat, 1 & 3 pm, $33. Harrah’s, 702-369-5000. Bill Maher 3/21-3/22, 8 pm, $43-$93. Pearl, 702-942-7777. John Mulaney 3/6, 10 pm, $54-$65. Mirage, 702-792-7777. Party Improv Comedy Thu-Sun, 7 pm, $25, 2 drink minimum. Planet Hollywood, 702531-4320. Red Skelton Tribute Sat-Tue, 2 pm; $35-$40. Westin Las Vegas, 160 E. Flamingo Rd., 702245-2393. Riviera Comedy Club Jeff Wayne Mon-Sun starting 3/9, 8:30 pm, $30. 40 is Not the New 20 Mon-Sat, 10 pm, $40. Riviera, 855468-6748. Rita Rudner 3/4, 3/11, 7:30 pm, $60-$100. Harrah’s, 702-369-5000. Sapphire Comedy Hour Fri-Sat, 8 pm, $20. Sapphire Gentlemen’s Club, 3025 Industrial Rd., 702-796-6000. S.E.T. Improv Comedy Mon, 8 pm, $10. Onyx Theatre, 953 E. Sahara Ave., 702-732-7225. Side Splitting Sundays Sun, 10 pm, free. Boomers, 3200 Sirius Ave., 702-368-1863. Sin City Comedy & Burlesque Show 8:30 pm, $38-$49. Planet Hollywood, 702-7777776. Daniel Tosh 3/27, 10 pm; 3/28, 7:30 pm, $60+. Mirage, 702-792-7777. Ron White’s Comedy Salute to the Troops 3/4, 7:30 pm, $80-$119. Mirage, 702-792-7777.
Performing Arts The Addams Family Thru 3/7, Fri-Sat, Mon, 7 pm; Sun, 1 pm, $15. Summerlin Library Theatre, 1771 Inner Circle Dr., broadwayboundlv.com, 702-838-5131. Broadway in the Hood: Once on This Island 3/13-3/15, 6:30 pm; 3/14-2/15, 2:30 pm, $21. Smith Center, 702-749-2000. Girls Night: The Musical 3/26-3/28, 7 pm, 3/28-3/29, 2 pm, $35. Smith Center, 702749-2000. Jeff McBride’s Wonderground Variety show. Third Thu of the month; 8, 9 & 10 pm; $10. Olive Mediterranean Restaurant Lounge, 3850 E. Sunset Rd., 702-451-8805 . John Tartaglia’s ImaginOcean: The Live Glow in the Dark Family Musical 3/12, 6 pm, $13+. Smith Center, 702-749-2000. Las Vegas Philharmonic Pops IV: Symphonic Spectacular 3/28, 7:30 pm, $26-$94. Smith Center, 702-749-2000. Las Vegas Philharmonic Masterworks IV: Cabrera Conducts Mendelssohn & Schumann 3/7, 7:30 pm, $26-$94. Smith Center, 702-749-2000. London Symphony Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas 3/30, 7:30 pm, $29+. Smith Center, 702-749-2000. Momix Alchemia 3/10, 7:30 pm, $19+. Smith Center, 702-749-2000. Newsies 3/17-3/22, 7:30 pm, 3/21-3/22, 2 pm, $39+. Smith Center, 702-749-2000. Nice Work If You Can Get It Thru 3/1, 7:30 pm; 2/28 & 3/1, 2 pm, $39+. Smith Center, 702-749-2000. Once On This Island 3/13-3/15, times vary, $21. Smith Center, 702-749-2000. Shen Yun 3/2-3/4, 7:30 pm, $54+. Smith Center, 702-749-2000. Stage Kiss 2/27-2/28, 3/5, 3/7, 3/12-3/14, 8 pm; 3/1, 3/8, 3/15, 2 pm, $20. Art Square Theatre, 1025 S. First St., #110, cockroachtheatre.com. Trouble in Tahiti 2/27-2/28, 8 pm; 2/22, 4 pm, $15. Winchester Cultural Center, 3130 S. McLeod Dr., 702-455-7030.
Special Events Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation: An Evening of Hope 3/6, 6 pm,
$150. World Market Center, 495 S. Grand Central Pkwy., candlelightersnv.org. Dowtown Podcast Thu, 9 pm, free. Scullery, 150 Las Vegas Blvd., 702-910-2396. Expanding the Arts: Suddenly Sondheim 3/20, 7 pm, $50. Faith Conservatory of the Fine Arts, 2015 S. Hualapai Way, faiththeatre.com. Monday’s Dark with Mark Shunock 3/16, 4/20, 5/18, 6/15, 7/20, 8/17, 9/21, 10/19, 11/16, 9:30 pm, $20+. Vinyl, hardrockhotel.com. Raw Grandeur 3/5, $15-$20. Fremont Country Club, 601 Fremont St, rawartists.org. Southern Nevada Sons and Daughters of Erin St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Festival 3/14, 10 am, free. Henderson EVents Plaza, 200 Water St., hendersonlive.com. Stellar Gospel Music Awards 3/27-3/28, 7 pm, $50-$200. Orleans Arena, 702-284-7777. The Vagina Monologues 2/28, 7 pm, $12. Artemus Ham Hall, UNLV, unlv.edu.
Sports Boyd Gaming 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series 3/7, 8:30 am, $30-$69. Las Vegas Motor Speedway, 7000 North Las Vegas Boulevard, lvms.com. Championship Bull Riding 3/7, 8 pm, $20$60. South Point Arena, southpointarena. com. Kobalt 400 Nascar Spring Cup Series 3/8, noon, $49-$110. Las Vegas Motor Speedway, 7000 North Las Vegas Boulevard, lvms. com. Stratosphere Pole Day 3/6, noon, $25. Las Vegas Motor Speedway, 7000 North Las Vegas Boulevard, lvms.com. UNLV Men’s Basketball Wyoming 2/28, 5 pm, $15-$100. San Diego State 3/4, 8 pm, $20$110. Thomas & Mack, 702-739-3267. UNLV Women’s Basketball San Jose State 3/6, 5 pm. All games 5 p.m. Cox Pavilion, 702-739-3267. Western Athletic Conference Championships 3/11-3/14, $37-$247. Orleans Arena, 4500 W. Tropicana Ave., orleansarena.com.
Galleries Amanda Harris Gallery of Contemporary Art Thu-Fri, 5-8 pm, and by appointment. 900 S. Las Vegas Blvd., 702-769-6036. Arts Factory 107 E. Charleston Blvd, 702383-3133. Galleries include: Joseph Watson Collection Wed-Fri, 1-6 pm; Sat, noon-3 pm; Sun, 11 am-2 pm. Suite 115, 858-733-2135. Sin City Gallery Wed-Sat, 1-7 pm; Sun, 11 am-2 pm. Suite 100, 702-608-2461. Suite 135, 702366-7001, trifectagallery.com. Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art Daily, 10 am-8 pm, $11-$16. 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 702693-7871. Blackbird Studios Fri-Sun, noon-7 pm. 1551 S. Commerce St., 702-782-0319. Brett Wesley Gallery Wed-Sat, 1-7 pm. 1025 S. First St. #150, 702-433-4433. Clark County Government Center Rotunda Mon-Fri, 8 am-5 pm. 500 Grand Central Parkway, 702-455-7030. Clay Arts Vegas Mon-Sat, 9 am-9 pm; Sun, 11:30 am-6:30 pm. 1511 S. Main St., 702-3754147. Donna Beam Fine Art Gallery Mon-Fri, 9 am-5 pm; Sat, 10 am-2 pm. At UNLV, 702895-3893. Downtown Spaces 1800 Industrial Rd., dtspaces.com. Galleries include: Wasteland Gallery Thu, 6 pm-9pm; Fri & Sat, 6 pm11pm, Sun-Wed by appointment. Emergency Arts 520 Fremont St., 702-6863164. Gainsburg Studio & Gallery Mon-Sat, 10am5pm. 1533 West Oakey Blvd, 702-249-3200. Left of Center Gallery Tue-Fri, noon-5 pm; Sat, 10 am-3 pm. 2207 W. Gowan Rd., 702647-7378. Michelle C. Quinn Fine Art Advisory By appointment only. 620 S. 7th St., 702-3669339. P3Studio Wed-Sun, 6-11 pm. Cosmopolitan. West Las Vegas Arts Center Wed-Sat, 9 am-7 pm. 947 W. Lake Mead Blvd., 702-229-4800. Winchester Cultural Center Art Gallery Tue-Fri, 10 am-8 pm; Sat, 9 am-6 pm. 3130 S. McLeod Dr., 702-455-7340.
HOROSCOPE
free will astrology
By Rob Brezsny
ARIES
LEO
SAGITTARIUS
March 21-April 19
July 23-August 22
November 22-December 21
Lately your life reminds me of the action film Speed, where a criminal has rigged a passenger bus to explode if its speed drops below 50 miles per hour. In your story, you seem to be acting as if you, too, will selfdestruct if you stop moving at a frantic pace. Nothing bad will happen if you slow down. As you clear your schedule of its excessive things-to-do, I bet you will experience a soothing flood of healing pleasure.
It seems you’ve slipped into a time warp. Is that bad? I don’t think so. Your adventures there may twist and tweak a warped part of your psyche in such a way that it gets healed. At the very least, I bet your visit to the time warp will reverse the effects of an old folly and correct a problem caused by your past sins. (By the way, when I use the word “sin,” I mean “being lax about following your dreams.”)
“Don’t worry, even if things get heavy, we’ll all float on.” So sings Modest Mouse’s vocalist Isaac Brock on the band’s song “Float On.” I recommend you try that approach yourself, Sagittarius. Things will no doubt get heavy in the coming days. But if you float on, the heaviness will be a rich, soulful heaviness. It’ll be a purifying heaviness that purges any glib or shallow influences that are in your vicinity.
TAURUS
VIRGO
CAPRICORN
April 20-May 20
August 23-September 22
December 22-January 19
One of the most dazzling moves a ballet dancer can do is the fouetté en tournant, French for “whipped turning.” As she executes a 360-degree turn, the dancer spins around on the tip of one foot. Can you imagine a dancer doing this 32 consecutive times? You may not be a prima ballerina, Taurus, but in your own field there must be an equivalent to the fouetté en tournant. Now is the time for you to master that skill.
In English and French versions of the word game Scrabble, the letter z is worth ten points. In Italian, it’s eight points. But in the Polish variant of Scrabble, you score just one point by using z. Keep this general principle in mind as you assess the value of the things you have to offer. You will be able to make more headway and have greater impact in situations where your particular beauty and power and skills are in short supply.
“What I look for in a friend is someone who’s different from me,” says science fiction novelist Samuel Delany. “The more different the person is, the more I’ll learn from him. The more he’ll come up with surprising takes on ideas and things and situations.” What about you, Capricorn? What are the qualities in a friend that help you thrive? Now is a perfect time to take an inventory.
GEMINI
LIBRA
AQUARIUS
May 21-June 20
September 23-October 22
January 20-February 18
If you’re a martial artist and you want to inject extra energy into an aggressive move, you might utter a percussive shout that sounds like “eee-yah!” The Japanese term for this sound is kiai. Even if you’re not a martial artist, Gemini, I suggest that in the coming weeks you have fun trying out this boisterous style of yelling. It may help you summon the extra power and confidence you’ll need.
“Learn all you can from the mistakes of others. You won’t have to make them all your yourself.” So said Alfred Sheinwold in his book about the card game known as bridge. I think this is excellent advice for the game of life and it should be extra pertinent for you in the coming weeks, because people in your vicinity will be making gaffes and wrong turns that are useful for you to study.
At the turn of the 19th century, Russian laborers constructed thousands of miles of railroad tracks from the western part of the country eastward to Siberia. The hardest part of the job was blasting tunnels through the mountains that were in the way. I reckon you’re at a comparable point in your work, Aquarius. It’s time to smash gaping holes through obstacles. Clear the way for the future.
CANCER
SCORPIO
PISCES
June 21-July 22
October 23-November 21
February 19-March 20
The prolific and popular French novelist Aurore Dupin was better known by her pseudonym George Sand. Few 19th-century women matched her rowdy behavior yet she was also a doting mother to her two children, and loved to garden, make jam, and do needlework. Her astrological sign? The same as you and me. She’s feisty proof that not all of us Crabs are conventional fuddy-duddies.
“Love her but leave her wild,” advised a graffiti artist in a public restroom. Another guerrilla philosopher added: “That’s a nice sentiment, but how can anyone retain wildness in a society that puts so many demands on us in exchange for money to live?” I scrawled a response: “Be in nature every day. Move your body a lot. Be playful.” And that’s also for you, Scorpio. It’s crucial for you to nurture your wildness.
The British rock band the Animals released their gritty, growly song “The House of the Rising Sun” in 1964. It reached the top of the pop music charts and Rolling Stone magazine ultimately ranked it as the 122nd greatest song of all time. And yet it took the Animals just 15 minutes to record in one take. That’s the kind of beginner’s luck and spontaneous flow I foresee you having in the coming weeks.
L
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The BackStory
photographs by steve marcus
DIM THE LIGHTS FOR TARK | LAS VEGAS STRIP | 10:30 P.M. | FEBRUARY 18, 2015 One minute it looked like it always looks, glowing fiercely and busily. The next it was like we’d beamed to another city. The Strip went dark last week. Not because aliens attacked or the power blew or because a president left this world. Jerry Tarkanian did. Reports said that only eight people in history have been honored this way, with Tark joining the likes of JFK, Frank Sinatra and Elvis. In other places, maybe it isn’t that big of a deal to flip the switch. But in the city that never shuts off, it was. –Erin Ryan
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