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Contents 7 mail Tamales we missed.
conor mcgregor by christopher devargas; neil scartozzi by mikayla whitmore
8 as we see it Erotic Heritage
46 the strip Holly Madison takes us Down the Rabbit Hole.
cranks it up. Cactus scandal! Is it legal to free dogs from hot cars?
47 fine art Picasso at Bellagio.
12 weekly Q&A Natalie Young is cooking things up Downtown.
fun onstage (heyo, Dirty Dancing and Avenue Q!).
14 Feature | VEGAS STORY
50 food Tasty Mexican fare at
Neil Scartozzi, barber for the ages.
El Dorado. Behind the scenes at Hakkasan’s weekly wine tasting.
16 Feature | it’s octagon
49 stage A rundown of summer
time UFC stars Conor McGregor and Miesha Tate open up ahead of their next big battles.
54 calendar Sinister Minister
24 nights The Golden Tiki is
57 Horoscope Do it.
and his Altar Girls turn Sunday into a dark romp at the Sci Fi Center.
coming to get you.
39 A&E Steven Wright’s deadpan. 40 screen Minions get sucked into an evil plot. The tragic tale of Amy Winehouse.
42 noise The Dead peace out. Desperate rock stars team up.
Cover photograph By christopher devargas
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INTRODUCING THE PIFF You know the hilarious magic dragon from his stint in Vegas Nocturne, but do you know his namesake Kuma Snow Cream dessert? Get a taste of the flavor ruckus at lasvegasweekly.com, where Piff clues us in on new adventures.
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DIG IN From Friday night’s SushiSamba/ Yardbird collaboration and a pop-up dinner at Eat to an ice cream social benefiting Epicurean Charitable Foundation, there are a lot of reasons to dig into the dining scene this week. Hungry? Visit lasvegasweekly. com for all the delicious details.
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MOST READ STORIES lasvegasweekly.com 1. Guide: Fourth of July fireworks shows in Las Vegas 2015 2. With its contract up, will EDC return to rave in Las Vegas? 3. Behind the scenes with Giada at the hottest restaurant in Vegas 4. The Weekly interview: 311 frontman Nick Hexum 5. Heroes and undead hordes collide at Adventure Combat Ops
HOP NUTS BY STEVE MARCUS; YARDBIRD BY ERIK KABIK
PROGRAM Includes: ● Initial Medical Consultation ● Full Body Composition Analysis ● EKG (if required) ● RX for (3) month Appetite Suppressants ● (12) Weekly B12 Injections ● Bi-Weekly Body Composition Analysis ● Medication for (3) month treatment
BOOZY REVELATIONS A beer festival at Mandalay Bay, a local brewery launches a line of cans and another suds seller lands the veteran Human Experience open-mic night. Find more information in our Booze News & Notes roundup, only at lasvegasweekly.com.
Mail > What NExt? Will Electric Daisy Carnival return in 2016?
THE FUTURE OF EDC
BYE-BYE, BODY ENGLISH
The mega dance festival’s contract with Las Vegas Motor Speedway is up, and we’re all waiting to see what happens next.
The Hard Rock Hotel has closed its basement-bumping nightclub.
photograph by yasmina chavez
People are making money here. Why kick them out? We’re a city of vice and tolerance. Let’s continue that to keep people happy and make some money. Today’s EDC ravers are tomorrow’s retirees on vacation dropping money in slots because they started a happy relationship with Vegas. –DieselJunkie
They will close it and reopen it again. Give it time. –Georgeann Holback Burton I remember when Body English was the place to be! Of course, I also remember when Alf was the best show on TV. –Steve Fields
TAMALE HUNT We went searching for gamechanging, stuffed-masa treats, but maybe we missed some?
Anywhere but here. We have enough to deal with. They don’t know how to drive. It was a nightmare the last two times. –Austin Wiley
News flash! The best tamales are sold out of the trunk of a ’97 Toyota Camry in the parking lot of Cardenas. –Chris Ulloa-Padilla
Everyone who doesn’t want it here doesn’t understand how the economy of Las Vegas works. –Chris Sous
My family’s house is [the best], but a close second is Doña Maria. Trust me, I’m Mexican! –Monica Jung
HEY REB!’s ORIGINS
QUEEN OF CUISINE
Confederate controversy and UNLV mascot talk continues.
You guys sure seem to love last week’s cover girl.
[Hey Reb!] had everything to do with the north/south schism in Nevada and nothing to do with the Confederacy. Any long-term resident knows how Southern Nevada was screwed by the north for decades. –Bhess
Best food I have EVER had! Hope to someday go back. –Sue Jankowski
Come on, people. The rest of the country thinks Hey Reb! is a confederate soldier. It is hard to disagree with them. The fact is that Hey Reb! was modeled after a confederate soldier, and that is not acceptable. –Bremkraft He is just a Rebel without a cause. –Scott Morris
Watched her since the beginning, love her show, live in Las Vegas but can’t afford her restaurant. –Shelly House She can cook for me anytime! I am single, Giada, and since I burn over 6,900 calories a day training for marathons and triathlons, I eat more than anyone else you have ever met. Ask Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. I eat more than he does. –Richard Badke
LVWeekly@GMGVegas.com Letters and posts may be edited for length/clarity. All submissions become the property of Las Vegas Weekly.
AsWeSeeIt O p i n i o n + Po l i t i c s + H u m o r + S t y l e
adventures in sex
> hop on, get off Want to know how the two-story sex bike works? Visit the Erotic Heritage Museum.
∑ “We have a lot of penises involved,” says Dr. Victoria
Hartmann, strolling into an empty gallery inside Las Vegas’ Erotic Heritage Museum, where she serves as director. “We need more vulva.” Ask and ye shall receive: The space will soon be home to a 10-foot vulva, part of a forthcoming exhibit called C*NT. The installation invites viewers to step inside the world of female anatomy, where they walk through a tunnel into the womb and touch a floating cervix overhead, seek out a vibrating G-spot and find the clitoris (you’ll know when a bell goes off ). It’s among a slate of new exhibits being rolled out at the EHM through October as part of its push toward immersive, interactive experiences surrounding sex-related topics. Hartmann has championed this hands-on approach since taking over as director last June. “Museums are often thought of as places that ‘hold’ stuff. People don’t want to go to a place that holds stuff; they want to have an experience,” she says. “And that’s what we’re evolving toward—a sort of museum-amusement park.” In addition to immersive elements, Hartmann and her team are looking to broaden the EHM’s educational scope with everything from new historic artifacts and cultural exhibits (Cosplay! Sex in space! Pickled penises!) to lectures and discussions (a panel on trans identities is in the works). On July 11, the museum debuts the permanent installation Earth, Magic, Sex, Motion alongside Bike Smut 9, a festival of erotic bicycle films. The former is a two-story interconnected arc of bicycles that vibrate and respond to rider motion, thrusting into a wall of plants that leads, fittingly, to C*NT. (The bike is also up for a Guinness record for World’s Largest Sex Bike.) “Just as with sex, there’s a relationship of trust and intimacy when you’re riding a bike—you are the engine,” explains Reverend Phil Sano, founder of Bike Smut and the installation’s co-creator. “This is meant to question and explore taboos, as well as the joy and otherworldliness of being in that hyper-aware state.” Next up will be Sex in the Third Reich, a historical examination of how sexuality was controlled in Germany from 1933 to 1945. On display will be what might be EHM’s most controversial artifact—lingerie worn by Hitler’s lover Eva Braun. It’s an intentionally disturbing selection, one Hartmann says highlights the contradictions surrounding the oppressive meaning and power of sex in that era. “When the government controls sexuality, it controls the people absolutely,” she says. From those moments of discomfort in our sexual past to fringe eroticism and the anatomy of pleasure, the Erotic Heritage Museum is preserving and examining bits of humanity that might make you look twice. More importantly, it’s dedicated to helping you understand why you should. –Andrea Domanick
Aoki says A new PSA has a famous DJ giving tough love to hard partiers
∑ Partying at the clubs this weekend? Steve Aoki wants you to think twice about how turnt up you get. The Vegas-based DJ is being featured in a “Party Smart” public-service announcement produced by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. The collaboration with Hakkasan Group went live July 1.
8 LasVegasWeekly.com July 9-15, 2015
“My whole intention is to connect with you,” Aoki says in the video. “If you’re so high, you’re so drunk and you’re so lost—not in the music, but because your head’s not on straight—that’s the worst feeling.” The PSA comes on the heels of Insomniac’s #WeAreWideAwake video, which advocates for
dance-music fans to notify someone if they see a fellow enthusiast in need of help. The Hakkasan Group resident warns revelers to “just be responsible” when partying: “You can still turn up … you can still scream and shout and have a good time,” Aoki says. “That’s what I’m here to do with you.” –Mark Adams
erotic heritage museum by bill hughes
As We See It…
Painted ladies
Uncovering the lie of those colorful cactus blooms by kristen peterson “I cry a little bit on the inside,” someone wrote. “There ought to be a law,” stated another. One commenter asked whether it’s “fraud or prostitution.” And so it goes in the micro-world of deceived cactus buyers, taking to online forums to lament venomously and quaintly about discovering that the blossoms on their plants are actually dried flowers stuck on with hot glue. Keep them natural, keep them naked, they assert. The googly eyes on drugstore cacti were one thing, but this ...
Aesthetics aside, this lipsticking of the cactus pig results in amputated spines and damaged skin and incredulous cries from owners who throw out words like “mutilation.” The opening and closing of the dead strawflowers due to humidity makes the fantasy all the more believable. In fact, when a friend mentioned her cactus-rescue operation (buying the plants and freeing them of glue), I had no idea. One commenter hilariously reasoned in all caps that while it’s definitely not among the “worst things in the world,” distributors who do this are “quite horrendous in their
own little fief.” But distributors are merely responding to customer demand. Altman Plants, which has sold the strawflower cactus to retailers for more than 20 years and offers cacti with and without the decoration, says the novelty item is embraced by consumers who “find the bright fluorescent colors attractive, fun and long-lasting.” As one writer asserted, there is a plus buried in all of this: “the impulse buy based on a deception introduces another new person to the world of cacti that otherwise wouldn’t have had anything to do with them.”
Dogs in heat When it comes to rescuing pets trapped in cars, leave it to the authorities Anyone leaving a pet inside a sun-baking vehicle deserves imprisonment. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an 83-degree day can heat the inside of a car to 109 degrees in 15 minutes. But before you can turn in such a savage, you must take steps to save the animal’s life. Naturally, social-media chatter during last month’s heat wave addressed this, including the intimation that breaking glass in case of emergency is warranted, if not encouraged. Not so, says Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officer Larry Hadfield, for anyone doing so will be subjected to a criminal investigation along with the cruel or careless pet owner. “There is no permission from the police [for civilians] to break windows,” Hadfield adds. The official (and less-destructive) protocol: Immediately dial up Animal Control and/or the police—the authorities actually deputized to save entrapped animals by whatever means necessary—and stick around until they arrive. –Mike Prevatt
cacti by mikayla whitmore
July 9–15, 2015 LasVegasWeekly.com 9
As We See It… > An Offer They Couldn’t refuse Wynn sold his Godfather parcel to Caesars Palace for $2.2 million in 1971.
investment for all Financial startup WiseBanyan works to minimize fees and hassle Invest early and often. That’s the idea driving WiseBanyan, a VegasTechFund startup billing itself as the first free financial adviser in the world. Led by former hedge fund manager Herbert Moore and investment banker Vicki Zhou, the nascent firm aims to eliminate barriers of entry for investors by minimizing fees and investing minimums, so clients can start with as little as $10, and expect to see returns of 5 to 8 percent over time.
t h e i n c i d e n ta l to u r i st
Giving up the Godfather A Strip land transaction from 40 years ago proves anything can happen By Brock Radke It’s hard to imagine a 30-year-old Steve Wynn, new to Las Vegas, hustling and eager to find his place to bloom in the desert. But give it a try. There are many Vegas casinos that never were, but arguably the most pivotal nonexistent project was the Godfather. It was to be built, maybe, on a little parcel between Caesars Palace and Flamingo Road at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard. But instead of the Godfather, Vegas got the Steve Wynn it knows so well today. The story is spelled out in Quiet Kingmaker by Jack Sheehan, a history of building Las Vegas as told by E. Parry Thomas. In the 1960s, Thomas and his Bank of Las Vegas engineered the many land and casino purchases by Howard Hughes, including this Caesars sliver, bought from Western Transportation owner Jake Gottlieb. When Wynn, who came to town in 1967, became interested in this plot of land, he had already been in and out of involvement with the Frontier casino and was helping to build the liquor distribution company that would eventually become Southern Wine & Spirits. So Wynn asks Hughes’ real estate guy, Herb Nall, about the spot and Nall calls it “a lousy piece of real estate.” Wynn gets more interested, especially when he learns Hughes wants to use profits from the potential sale to buy a more desirable plot near the Landmark. Then, Kirk Kerkorian announces his plans to build the original MGM Grand (now Bally’s) across the street. Wynn figures the price of this piece will skyrocket, but it doesn’t ... yet. Nall tells Wynn he wants $1.1 million and he wants the sale to be kept a secret, since Hughes doesn’t want anyone thinking he’s selling off property and ditching Vegas. “I remember putting the phone down and, like Steve McQueen in The Thomas Crown Affair, I danced around on my bare feet on the travertine floor, because I knew on the spot that I had just made my first big deal,” Wynn says in
10 LasVegasWeekly.com July 9-15, 2015
the book. “That purchase ... still ranks as the most thrilling business deal of my life.” Why? Because it gave a young Wynn the incredible option of building his own casino on what would become the Las Vegas Strip, or selling the property for big profit. So he draws up plans for a small casino and hotel called the Godfather, and everybody sees those plans, including the guys at Caesars Palace. Perhaps the plans were just a decoy to motivate Caesars to buy the land—they didn’t need another new competitor operating so close. But Thomas says, “If Caesars didn’t buy it from him, he was going to go ahead with building a place ... and he would have done damn well with it.” Caesars purchased the land for approximately $2.2 million in 1971. Wynn made a million bucks on the turnaround. He took the money and bought a huge chunk of stock in the Golden Nugget, which was just a casino back then. It didn’t have a hotel, but it did have a lot of land for future expansion. He took control and turned it into the Golden Nugget we all recognize today as the jewel of Downtown Vegas. We know Wynn as a risk-taker, a trailblazer, but the Godfather move looks conservative with four decades of hindsight. He spent years learning how to operate casinos before taking another shot at building on the Strip ... and the Mirage certainly isn’t stuck on a tiny shred of the Boulevard. No one could have predicted that Steve Wynn would become this Steve Wynn. Look at the Strip today—the Tropicana and the Cosmopolitan and even the Hooters Casino have new owners. At least two new ground-up resorts are in the works, both from new-to-Vegas developers. That big, blue building that was supposed to be Fontainebleau is just waiting for a hustling, eager somebody to dive in. Moves are being made, behind the scenes and before our eyes. How will they pan out?
“Older firms built their brand around, ‘If you have enough money we’ll let you invest with us,’” says Moore, who consulted with Zhou for a boutique firm in New York City. “We felt that with technology there should be a way for anyone to invest.” So they made one. WiseBanyan plugs clients’ financial goals and contributions into an algorithm that calculates risk and spits out a diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds and exchange-traded funds. WiseBanyan creates portfolios for free (it makes money selling upgraded products), though EFTs charge fees of about .09 percent. From there, the process is automated. “The client doesn’t have to do any real work aside from sit back and watch it grow and contribute monthly or weekly,” Moore says. If WiseBanyan fails or is sold, the accounts would remain with Folio, a Securities Investor Protection Corp.-insured broker-dealer that serves as a third-party custodian for the startup. “We’ve seen this divergence between capital and labor,” Moore says. “A lot of us fall into one of those two camps: Are we working for money or is our money working for us in the background? I hope to see a future where we’re all benefiting both ways.” –Kristy Totten
Weekly Q&A and Anna Nicole Smith to Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston and on and on and on. So I’m so glad I did the commercial. You opened Eat with Downtown Project in 2012, before many restaurants and small businesses popped up in the area. How do you feel about Eat being looked at as a model of success Downtown?
Believe it or not, I don’t think of things like that. I literally mind my own business. I just come in every day and look at how I can make things better and try to stay true and authentic to what I want Eat to be and what experience I want customers to have when they come in here. I want people from all walks of life to come in here and be comfortable. Business at Eat has been gangbusters, beyond my wildest dreams. I was telling someone the other day that I would have been happy just to make enough to pay my rent. Like, really happy. So everything after that is a gift to me. Your new restaurant, Chow, should be open this fall. What’ll that place be like?
Downtown soul Natalie Young continues to inspire, and not just with her delicious food “I look around at everything I have now and it seems absolutely unbelievable.” When Natalie Young says those words near the end of the American Express commercial first broadcast during February’s Academy Awards, you can feel the sincerity. ¶ That commercial allowed the rest of the world to get to know Young, the veteran kitchen pro and soulful force we know as Chef Nat, proprietor behind Downtown’s insanely popular Eat breakfast and lunch restaurant. Now that she’s shared her inspiring story of overcoming substance addiction—and considering her second Downtown restaurant, Chow, is coming soon to Fremont East—we dropped in for an early morning coffee chat with Nat, just to catch up on things, and get a little inspiration, too.
Did you know the American Express commercial was going to take that approach? I didn’t know what it was
going to be about. When we started [filming], the crew came to my house and took all my stuff out except my couch, and the director told everyone else to leave and sat me down and asked, “What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?” Then I was like, “Oh sh*t. This is not about Eat.” But I’ve been getting ready 15
years for this. It is a little bit putting your sh*t out there, but I just did my thing and I was very happy how it turned out. And the first day after the Oscars when it came out, a 19-yearold girl from South Carolina sent me an e-mail saying she had 30 days of sobriety and she was struggling and she saw the commercial on Hulu and it helped her stay sober for another day. So if that’s all that happens from this, I’m good.
But that isn’t the only thing that has happened. I just went to Drexel Uni-
versity to accept this [Outstanding Media Award] at this Young People in Recovery conference. People have started these great recovery groups at different universities and even recovery high schools. It’s very, very necessary, if you think about how many people we just watch die. And think about how people are entertained by that tragedy, from Amy Winehouse
It’s a much different place, but you will see me all over it, my brand and my personality. It’s different from a business aspect because I’ve hired a chef and a general manager. I did Eat by myself, and that’s grown into a $2 million a year restaurant, banging numbers for a really small restaurant. I don’t know what’ll happen with Chow, but I’ll do my best and approach it the same way I did with Eat and put all my love into it. You’ll be serving fried chicken and Chinese food at Chow, which is a confusing combination for some people but makes sense to me. Yeah, people have asked
me how that works, too. It does make perfect sense. There are chicken and dumplings in Southern food and in Chinese food, fried wings in Southern and in Chinese food, chicken and rice in Southern food and in Chinese food. So there you go! It will be like Eat in that it’s nothing you haven’t seen before, and it’s not intended to be, but it’s different and it’s good. We’re doing these amazing pickled jalapeños and corn muffins that go with the chicken. It will have a window in the alley so you can do late-night grab and go or stand out there and eat, and I’ll be playing Led Zeppelin. ... Twenty-five years ago I wanted to do fried chicken and play Led Zeppelin in a tiny place with like two tables and a counter and a pinball machine and mismatched chairs. I’m so excited! –Brock Radke
“I just come in every day and look at how I can make things better and try to stay true and authentic to what I want Eat to be.”
12 LasVegasWeekly.com July 9-15, 2015
photograph by l.e baskow
vegas
story
Neil Scartozzi Longtime Riviera barber
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By Kristen Peterson
t’s 1970, and Neil Scartozzi is cutting hair in a Detroit bookie joint that doubles as a barbershop, feeling disillusioned about the mob life he’s facing and wondering how to get out. He’s not made. Hasn’t killed anyone, only gone to collect money. And the “life,” he says, isn’t for him. So one day he picks up a Las Vegas newspaper left behind by a customer, reads the classifieds and there it is, as if blazing in neon: “Barber stylist wanted. MGM Grand Hotel Las Vegas Nevada.” A 19-year-old Scartozzi makes the long-distance call, heads to Vegas dressed “sugar sharp,” is hired and returns to Detroit to sell everything he owns. Like those who’d come here on vacation and never left, he was thoroughly amused by his golden ticket westward, to a gambling city in the sun writing its own story. And he was now in its chapters. “I was excited, because all the way here, I’m saying, ‘Wow what has just happened to me, man?’ I landed the best job in Las Vegas at the best hotel on the whole Strip, from nothing. From obscurity to this.” Scartozzi rented a $50-a-week studio on Flamingo Road, drove a limo and went to baccarat school while waiting for his Nevada barber’s license, heading to Caesars Palace every day to stand by the rail and watch the dealers in the pit. “The white gloves, tuxedos. I said, ‘That’s me.’ I always had a reputation for looking very sharp. I had a suit and tie, and I always present myself properly. My father always told me, ‘Dress for success. You can never take first impressions back.’” After securing his license, Scartozzi cut hair at the MGM (now Bally’s) from 10 to 6, then dealt baccarat at Castaways from 8 to 4 in the morning—a three year stint until, he says, someone asked him to manage the salon at the Riviera. Instead, he negotiated an ownership agreement. Like his arrival in Vegas, this was dipped in a rose-colored cinematic lens gilded with gratitude: “Here’s a kid coming from a mob barbershop with nothing, to this. The Riviera was the Tiffany of the Strip. It was the most beautiful place. Dean Martin played there, Liberace played there. I started cutting all of their hair.” Hair cutting would be Scartozzi’s story, and he would become Las Vegas legendary. Anytime someone wanted to write about a Las Vegas icon from yesteryear, who looks like he’s been sealed in a bubble from the past, they’d find him: dressed in tailored suits, Italian boots, gold chains and jeweled cuff links, with tan skin and a jet-black pompadour. The articles talk of days when he groomed stars and mobsters, snipping the locks of Milton Berle, Red Buttons, Frank Sinatra, Liberace and even Tony “the Ant” Spilotro. A photo of Scartozzi with MC Hammer hung on the wall, next to framed movie and play posters, by-products of a brief acting career that began with three years at Joe Bernard’s acting school in the ’80s. “I would sit in class and watch these students do Shakespeare and scenes from movies, thinking, ‘Geez, I don’t know if I can do that. I’m a street guy from Detroit,’” he says, sitting in his girlfriend’s apartment on a hot afternoon. “One day I said, ‘Listen I’m spending this money, it’s 600 bucks, I gotta get my feet wet.’” The puddle he dove into was an 8-minute improv sketch with another student. Then he was doing monologues in class, catching the acting bug, he says, until he got cast in local theater productions and television shows.
photograph by mikayla whitmore
But his focus, as always, was the salon he ran with his ex-wife, Silvia, who cut hair by his side. They’d married in 1976, divorced 15 years later and continued to work together as friends. “She paid her $300. I paid my $300. We went to dinner the same night to celebrate our divorce from each other.” While the Riviera gradually lost the reputation of its early days, Scartozzi continued on in his Celebrity Club barbershop. He started there with one Vegas, ending with another. By the time the Riviera closed this year, it had gone, he says, from “fantastic and fabulous to dismal,” each remodeling over the decades making it worse, the once-glamorous clientele disappearing. “The older that Las Vegas got, the younger it got. People were carrying coolers up the walkway to take to their room, because they were too cheap to buy anything from the hotel,” he says. “That’s the kind of clientele it turned out to be. In the old days I remember people coming to me and showing me their new suits they couldn’t wait to wear that night. I remember guys wouldn’t even go to the swimming pool until they got manicured and pedicured in case they met a girl. They wanted to have clean hands and feet. That’s how particular it was back then.” Scartozzi was just as particular. He worked in a suit, not a hair out of place. “My clients loved it, they’d go home and brag and say, ‘Yeah my barber cuts hair in a suit.’ “I’ve always had great respect for my clients,” he says, adding that most of them have been locals in recent years. “These people are so cool. They’ve been with me through thick and thin.” But he doesn’t have that fondness for the Riviera anymore, and doesn’t mind that he was out sick with bronchitis during its final week of operation, saying only, “I’m saddened because of the way it was and the way it ended up.” His phone rings to the theme from The Godfather. He shoots the breeze with a client for a minute, and before hanging up, says, “Thank you for staying with me. Thank you for being loyal to me. I appreciate it.” Now in his 60s, Scartozzi begins his next chapter this month at Innovative Hair on Flamingo, where he’s been getting his own hair done for five years. His girlfriend, Candice Hurst, sets a chicken salad sandwich in front of him and they joke about their relationship. They met at the Bootlegger two years ago. She’d been in town for two weeks, here to write a book about her career, particularly the 10 years she sang with James Brown (including a response to the steamy tabloid gossip about her and Brown’s wife). That night she sang Hoagy Carmichael’s “The Nearness of You.” “When we go out we stop traffic,” he says. With a laugh, she adds: “They don’t know who we are and what we do, but they know it’s something.”
July 9–15, 2015 LasVegasWeekly.com 15
UFC FIGHT WEEK
> freedom of movement McGregor rented a local mansion to be his training bunker (and home to his impressive suit collection).
16 LasVegasWeekly.com July 9-15, 2015
photograph by christopher devargas
Training in style Inside the Mac Mansion, as fighter Conor McGregor Prepares to do battle in ufc 189 By Case Keefer
M
ovement fascinates Conor McGregor, so it makes sense that the home the 26-year-old UFC star rented ahead of the biggest fight of his career teems with constant motion. McGregor wakes after 3 p.m. on a recent day, and teammates fly through the foyer of the 12,000-square-foot, seven-bedroom space like punches thrown in a brawl. Three roommates/training partners from his native Dublin’s Straight Blast Gym prepare food in a kitchen exclusively stocked with vegetables, chicken breasts and protein supplements. Another couple of fighters check their phones and pace by a bar loaded with kickboxing pads, knee braces and sponsorship T-shirts. The only stillness comes from McGregor himself, who’s on the other side of the floor-to-ceiling glass doors holding a headstand. “The more freedom you have in your movement, the more freedom you have as a person, the more freedom you have in a fight,” McGregor says of starting the day with yoga under the desert sun. It’s as if the featherweight nicknamed “The Notorious” activates a pause button when he comes inside. Everyone freezes and looks in the direction of McGregor, who drops into his southpaw stance and fires a pair of punches at an invisible opponent. He finishes the combination with a side kick to the corner of the living-room wall, backing away without dropping the hands guarding his face. McGregor then summons one of his colleagues to the un-air-conditioned basement to practice Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Welcome to the “Mac Mansion,” a castle in the heart of Henderson where everyone knows who’s king and one of the only rules is that his word is law. “Whatever I feel at a given time, that’s what we do,” McGregor says. “No schedule, no routine. Feel guides me. That’s what this setup allows me to do. When I want to train, we all train. When I’m not training, no one trains.”
Other obligations have caused some of the coaches and fighters to come and go during the two months McGregor has lived in the mansion, but as many as 15 confidants have shared it at a time. They’re subject to McGregor’s every whim throughout the day, along with an elongated nighttime training session at one of the UFC’s private gyms. The latter usually begins sometime between midnight and 2 a.m. and lasts two or three hours. McGregor believes those unique preparation tactics will lead him to victory against Chad Mendes Saturday night in the main event of UFC 189 at MGM Grand Garden Arena. The two will fight for the interim featherweight title, after champion Jose Aldo fractured a rib that forced him to pull out of a bout with McGregor last week. McGregor was seen as the foil that Aldo, ranked as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, has lacked in winning 17 straight fights over the past nine years. UFC President Dana White described the original matchup as the biggest fight his league had ever promoted globally. Anticipation prompted the UFC to spend record money on the event, including a press tour that stopped in five countries. But McGregor must now get past Mendes—whose only two losses came at the hands of Aldo—to salvage a fight that could produce one of the highest grosses in UFC history. “I just go in there formless, ruthless, cold and that’s it,” McGregor said after the opponent switch. “It doesn’t matter who’s in front of me or their style, what approach they have. My approach will win the fight.”
***** McGregor often relaxes between workouts by maintaining and reviewing a list on the Notes app of his iPhone. Titled “And New (Champion), World Championship-Ending Shots,” the document details at least 20 techniques he can see himself using to finish the fight at UFC 189. Vision isn’t far behind movement in McGregor’s hierarchy of importance. He July 9–15, 2015 LasVegasWeekly.com 17
UFC FIGHT WEEK
> vision of victory UFC President Dana White reportedly shared that McGregor offered to bet $3 million that he’ll knock out Mendes in the second round.
18 LasVegasWeekly.com July 9-15, 2015
photograph by christopher devargas
swears he visualized all of his success right after turning professional in mixed martial arts, an oath corroborated by those around him. “He said from the start that he was going to be world champion,” says James Gallagher, an amateur fighter who began training with McGregor six years ago. “Now it’s happening. He always believed. He won’t stop until a vision becomes a reality. He’s never changed; his visions only get bigger.” McGregor continued trusting in his vision even when it appeared irresponsible. He lived off Ireland’s public assistance program for a couple of years while fighting after quitting a plumbing apprenticeship. He nearly missed a flight to Stockholm for his UFC debut in April 2013 while collecting a social welfare check. “It was a double week, so it was a good one,” McGregor recalls. “I needed that money. I was training and fighting with no money, no nothing. A grown man with no money is not a nice f*cking thing.” He would never experience that embarrassment again after knocking out Marcus Brimage a minute into the bout, earning a $60,000 performance bonus to go with a base salary of $16,000. The paycheck was almost completely gone a few months later. Dana White became acquainted with McGregor’s aspirations of grandeur when the boss flew his new fighter to Las Vegas for the first time. White drove down the Strip in his Ferrari while McGregor sat in the passenger seat speaking with imminence about purchasing his own luxury cars. “I remember getting out of his car, looking around and telling him, ‘I’m going to own this town one day,’” McGregor says. “And I wasn’t lying.” White preached patience the whole trip, and McGregor ignored his pleas, spending those days lobbying for bigger fights and making guarantees White doubted he could keep.
> elegant Machine Training at a UFC gym; pounding on Max Holloway in a 2013 bout.
But the confidence struck White, who shared as much with UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta. “I told Lorenzo, ‘If this kid can do anything, if this kid can even throw a punch, this kid is going to be something,’” White says. “And it’s bigger than anything I’ve ever seen before.”
***** McGregor could punch all right, knocking out three of his next four opponents within two rounds. The only exception was the unanimous-
Training by l.e. baskow; Conor mcgregor vs. max holloway by Gregory Payan/ap
decision victory over Max Holloway on August 17, 2013. McGregor won every round on all three judges’ scorecards—despite having torn his ACL midway through the bout. His recovery brought him back to Las Vegas, where it felt like every visit brought him closer to his wild ambitions. Before the second fight of a rapid comeback that took less than a year, Fertitta took McGregor to his personal tailor. McGregor’s suit collection is now the centerpiece of the mansion’s walk-in closet.
“People think growth comes from struggle, but I’m not one of those people,” he says. “I think growth comes from comfort. The more comfortable I get in everything else, the more uncomfortable I get at the same time. It pushes me further and makes me work harder to keep it all and get more.” Patrick Timmons Ward has followed McGregor as a documentary filmmaker for the past three years. He’s one of three people living with McGregor who’s not part of the fight camp (along with his assistant and McGregor’s longtime girlfriend) but finds himself exhausted all the same. The rigors of the job have never felt more demanding, with McGregor apt to break into a workout or other activity worth filming at any hour. McGregor insists on all of his training partners staying fresh and getting rest but sometimes borders on not following the guidelines for himself. He mostly relies on a nightly massage or physical therapy sessions for his own revitalization. “Conor is a genius,” Timmons Ward says. “He’s always learning from people. I guess the way he sees it is, the more people you have around, the more opinions you have and the more body types you have to work with. It’s amazing how he does totally different things with different guys when they’re training.” Like everything else in his career, McGregor says he dreamed of moving everyone he needed to the location of a fight and running this type of camp. He can’t understand why more UFC fighters haven’t attempted a similar plan in the past, but expects imitators to follow. He thinks the around-theclock training experience at the Mac Mansion will be remembered as “the evolution of fight preparation.” “I’ve started to accept that it’s natural,” McGregor UFC 189 says. “Society was July 11, doors telling me that this at 3 p.m., $128was not the way to $1,003, MGM do it, so I abided Grand Garden by what society Arena; pay-perwas telling me but view begins at my body and mind 7 p.m., $50-$60. moved me to something different.” At the end of the house’s main hallway, McGregor has stripped down to compression shorts while changing for a photo shoot when his body suddenly compels another stretching exercise. He contorts his legs out to the side and presses his chest toward the floor, showing off flexibility few in the world could match. But the pose isn’t perfect, and McGregor knows it. There’s no sign of frustration as he pops back to his feet, just conviction that one day he’ll own the technique. And maybe Las Vegas. July 9–15, 2015 LasVegasWeekly.com 19
UFC FIGHT WEEK
> at home with miesha Tate’s nickname makes a lot of sense when you see her kitchen.
Cupcakes with “Cupcake” Ahead of her next big bout, Miesha Tate unleashes the sweet By Erin Ryan This cupcake thing is no joke. The beloved treat/nickname of the UFC’s No. 2 woman has cheerfully infiltrated her Las Vegas home, towels to fridge magnets to fan art. We’re making a batch of strawberry, even though Miesha Tate is in serious training mode for her July 25 fight in Chicago with fifth-ranked Jessica Eye. The bantamweight title eliminator likely will determine who gets the next shot at undefeated Ronda Rousey, against whom Tate has lasted longer than anyone—and suffered a gruesome injury from Rousey’s signature armbar. “She just refused to tap out,” says Tate’s longtime boyfriend and training partner Bryan Caraway. “She’s one of the toughest people that I’ve ever met, man or woman.” That first Tate-Rousey matchup for the Strikeforce promotion in 2012 changed a lot of minds about the level of intensity and explosive action women could bring, about their impact on a sport still coming into its own. Tate has the satisfaction of
20 LasVegasWeekly.com July 9-15, 2015
knowing she helped build it, but her ambitions are bigger. “I definitely want to be the UFC world champion. As thankful as I am to be where I’m at now, I don’t feel content. I don’t feel like I’ve done what I set out to do, and that’s to be the best in the world.” Eye hopes to block that path, but Tate will face her with the momentum of three straight wins. At 28, she’s been in mixed martial arts for almost 10 years and is as hungry as ever, for challenges and cupcakes—despite the fact that most fighters wouldn’t get near one so close to weigh-in. Caraway, a rising talent in the UFC who’s fighting on the same July 25 card, sees the pink batter and says, “Torturous,” adding that certain people fighting up a weight class and metabolically blessed can risk it. Even if she wasn’t so blessed, something tells me Tate would still indulge and just work that much harder. In an afternoon in her kitchen, I learn: 1. Frosting from a tub can be deliciously doctored. 2. Tap the tin to
kill batter bubbles. 3. Eggs should be room temperature when added to mix. As for Tate, she reveals herself to be the most polite sneezer on the planet, a dabbler in Cirque-style ring stunts, and mom to a hellion of a kitten named Daisy and a houseful of young fighters. And yes, she makes a mean cupcake. Where did Miesha “Cupcake” Tate originate? I always grew up baking with my mom. She was a professional cake decorator, so she baked a lot. Since I was a baby I think I was eating frosting. (laughs) It’s funny that you embraced the word as a fighter. Earlier in my career, before I established myself and before women’s MMA was promoted or even taken seriously, there would be these girls like, I want to fight her—I know I’d beat her, just based on pictures on my Myspace because I was more girly. A “cupcake” in sports, it’s not really something you want to be referred to. Oh
that person’s a cupcake; they’re soft; they’re a pushover, all these negative things. So I feel like they would think that about me, that I’m not tough because I wear pink and I wear dresses and I wear heels and I do my makeup and I have long hair. You’ve proven that wrong, with a 16-5 record and many memorable displays of toughness, whether it was winning the Strikeforce title with a torn MCL or letting Rousey wreck your arm rather than tap. That was badass. I don’t know if it’s badass or pretty psycho. ... I have the instinct of, the more I get hurt, the harder I fight. If I go down I’m definitely gonna go down swinging. I’m not one to give up, even to my own detriment sometimes. The fights I’ve watched, it looks more emotionally intense between women. I think women naturally are more emotional creatures, and I think that just comes out when we’re fighting, that passion. photograph by spencer burton
The best of Fight Week The UFC aimed to transcend the typical fight experience when it introduced the International Fight Week concept four years ago. Held annually in Las Vegas in early July, the event has grown every year to include more entertainment options for fight fans. This year, someone traveling to Vegas for Fight Week (July 7-12) could conceivably pack in five days of activities without ever stepping foot into the MGM Grand Garden Arena for the pair of fight cards on Saturday and Sunday. Want highlights? The Ultimate Cookoff Four fighters—heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum, former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks, middleweight top contender Luke Rockhold and WWE crossover CM Punk—must cook a dish out of mystery ingredients. A celebrity chef and fans in attendance will pick the winner. July 9, 7 p.m., Lagasse’s Stadium at Palazzo. Invicta Fighting Championships 13 Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino, considered one of the top female fighters in the world, headlines the women’s fighting promotion’s first Las Vegas card with a featherweight title defense against Faith Van Duin. Ronda Rousey’s best friend, Marina Shafir, is featured on the undercard. July 9, 7 p.m., the Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan. Dropkick Murphys free concert The Irish punk band, which several fighters (including UFC 189 headliner Conor McGregor) have used as their walkout music, headlines the annual concert on Fremont’s 3rd Street Stage. July 10, 9 p.m., Fremont Street Experience. Ulti-man 5K Run a 5K or partake in the one-mile fun walk alongside former UFC stars like Forrest Griffin and Matt Hughes. July 11, 7 a.m., starting at Fremont Street Experience. UFC Hall of Fame induction Former lightweight champion B.J. Penn and onetime commissioner Jeff Blatnick are among this year’s inductees into the revamped UFC Hall of Fame. A ceremony will be held shortly before UFC 189 begins. July 11, 11 a.m., UFC Fan Expo at Sands Expo and Convention Center.
my coaches and Bryan and everyone You’ve drawn eyes to the womand I watch that at the beginning of the en’s side, but it also seems like the camp, and we kinda get a game plan UFC gives credit to female athletes, together for what we think we’re gonna and that fans have responded more do. After that it’s just a matter of sharpthan in other sports. There’s a lot ening the tools that I’ve decided I want of push and lead-up to the fights, and to use in that fight and then just preparI feel like the fans can really get to ing cardio-wise, just being ready, being know us as people—not just as sports in the best shape that I can be icons, as individuals. … Plus, as an athlete. everybody likes watching two chicks fight. (laughs) MIESHA Ever have moments TATE VS. where you think this job On your UFC profile, you JESSICA EYE isn’t worth it? I think every answered “Do you have any UFC on Fox 16; fighter does. Especially right heroes?” with “None.” Can July 25, 5 p.m. before you walk out. Right you elaborate? People ask before, when you’re warming me: “Who did you look up to?” up and it’s maybe an hour before or “Why did you get into the sport?” And half an hour before, you’re like, what I’m like, there wasn’t really anyone. I am I doing? Why am I doing this? … just did it, honestly, because. Because I It’s a dangerous sport. It’s something wasn’t scared to do it. you can’t just take lightly. You can’t go in there halfheartedly. You’re gonna Heading into your fight with get hurt, so you gotta really want it. Jessica Eye, who’s known to be a technical striker, how are you preFor more of our interview with Tate, paring? We definitely spend time visit lasvegasweekly.com. reviewing the fights. I sit down with Miesha TatE photo by l.e. baskow
Bud Light Pool Party UFC stars and Octagon Girls have stopped by the official pool party with fans during International Fight Week in past years. July 12, noon-3 p.m., Monte Carlo. –Case Keefer
July 9–15, 2015 LasVegasWeekly.com 21
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NIGHTS
HOT SPOTS
> TURN UP FOR JON Jonathan Smith DJs Saturday at Surrender and Sunday at ECB.
UFC POOL PARTY AT LIQUID
Kick off the big fight weekend by partying up close with the fighters and, more importantly, the Octagon Girls. DJ Shift provides the sonics. July 9, 11 a.m., $10+ women, $30+ men.
DAYSTAR SUNDAYS WITH LIL JON AT ENCORE BEACH CLUB
The uncontrollable insanity that is a Lil Jon DJ set is usually contained at Wynncore clubs Surrender or XS, but this weekend the party spills out under the sun at Encore Beach Club. Remember to reapply sunscreen after Champagne showers. July 12, 11 a.m., $35+ women, $45+ men. UFC AFTERPARTY AT LAX
Did you know Dana White has appointed an official DJ of the man-brand (Playboy) Playboy) also Playboy UFC? He has, and it’s AL3, crashes the Strip this who also won a gig weekend, startas the Sacramento ing with this Kings DJ after DJ Cobra gig impressing the plus $5,000 in Maloof family while playprizes availPlayboy magazine’s print ing the Palms. able to those circulation in 2014. who would DJs Aybsent (Alliance for don bunny ears Mynded and Audited Media) ... and bunny tail, Cyberkid join right? July 10, 11 him for this offia.m., $20+ women, cial fight afterparty. $30+ men. July 11, 10:30 p.m., $20+ women, $30+ men. PLAYMATE SEARCH AT DAYLIGHT Another dedicated
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50 CENT LIVE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION AT DRAI’S
Curtis Jackson just turned 40, but he’s waiting to blow out his candles until he gets back to Vegas so he can celebrate with you, and a bunch of other people. July 10, 10 p.m., $30+ women, $75+ men. A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM AT LIGHT The long-
running Midsummer Night’s Dream Playboy Party, formerly at the Palms, finds a new and appropriate home at the fantastical Light, which transforms into a “1,001 Arabian Nights”themed fantasyland while DJ Irie does his thing. July 11, 10 p.m., $20+women, $30+ men.
CLUB HOPPING Nightlife News & Notes The Cosmopolitan’s new ownership and leadership promised changes, and they’re happening. Book & Stage, once an energetic live-music lounge, will close July 12 (see Page 43), with a new concept yet to be announced. Up on the third floor, the restaurant space formerly occupied by Comme Ça will become
24 LASVEGASWEEKLY.COM JULY 9-15, 2015
Beauty & Essex next year, the Vegas version of an NYC restaurant managed by Tao Group. Speaking of Cosmo and Tao Group, Marquee has struck the first blow in big Labor Day Weekend bookings. Kevin Hart hosts the Comedy All-Stars After Party on September 5, while Drake hosts and performs September 6. Tickets are on sale now for both events. Are you a Pawn Stars lover planning to spend your weekend waiting in line outside the Gold and Silver? Head over to
the Palms for Ditch Fridays on July 10 where Chumlee is on DJ duty. Champagne Life Luxury Events and the Silverton team up for the ’70s Prom at the casino July 10, a benefit for Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation. Find tickets and info at silvertoncasino.com. Fizz kicked off its Deep House Affair over the holiday weekend, with music from DJ Frank Richards. It will be back July 19 and every other Sunday at the Caesars Palace Champagne cavern. –Brock Radke
ANGIE VEE AT TAO BEACH
She’s a former dancer and member of Spinderella’s Backspin Crew, she’s toured everyplace as a DJ for Nike and she still breaks out the vinyl every now and then. Find out all about Hollywood’s Angie Vee at Tao’s dayclub on Sunday. July 12, 11 a.m., $10+ women, $20+ men. JUST THE TIP INDUSTRY POOL PARTY AT REHAB Only
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Nights
Cheers to Juhl
The Downtown apartment complex’s new lounge is a cozy gem
> THE ADVENTURE BEGINS Powers opens his Golden Tiki this month.
Fantasy island
in the form of a talking Faulkner skeleton.) To establish an immersive atmosphere, various props and artifacts were sought—including some from a certain theme park’s Haunted Mansion and the Indiana Jones film franchise—as were craftsmen and artists to create a legit tiki haven (including renowned designer/carver Tiki Diablo). LED-filled ceilings and niche DJs will add to the The Golden Tiki aims to remove you from ambiance when the bar opens July 24, with vaudeville/ reality—and serve a great mai tai cabaret-style entertainment and food offerings to follow. By Mike Prevatt It sounds like a slam dunk for tourists, who will be close thanks to its Strip-adjacent, Chinatown location—an area Powers feels is loaded with nightlife It’s not done yet, but a pre-opening tour of the Golden potential. But according to manager/venue mixologist/ Tiki demonstrated its transportive powers. There’s a artist Jeffrey Alexander, formerly of the Cosmopolitan’s lava cave, a waterfall highlighting Headhunter’s Village, Vesper Bar, the Golden Tiki will actively court servicea trading post for souvenirs, a performance/DJ platindustry folk, working stiffs and other locals looking for form called Mermaid’s Cove and a lair for pirate captain a comfortable place to have a drink. “We want people to William Tobias Faulkner (more on him in a bit). get off work and come here to relax,” he says. Aside from the forthcoming tiki idol with the big Because locals have become more discerning schlong—a Vegas touch, surely—the bar and about their beverages—as are tiki-culture loyalits contents evoke the comprehensive, timeists, who might dismiss an establishment if tradifreezing escapism of Disneyland. Such fantasti- THE tions aren’t properly upheld—the drink program is cal places have been an inspiration to Branden GOLDEN well-considered. Around 15 cocktails make up the Powers, entrepreneur, club-industry veteran and TIKI 3939 menu, including original concoctions and tiki clasmanaging partner of the Golden Tiki. Whether Spring sics, plus craft beers, tea service and Dole whips. as a 6-year-old who envisioned a performing- Mountain The project has been about a year in the making, robots-meets-pizza concept two years, he says, Road, 702bar owners Jeff Fine, Seth Schorr and Joe Cain—all before Chuck E. Cheese’s, or as a rave promoter 809-3636. principals of Fifth Street Gaming—approaching in Southern California, Powers always flexed his Opening July 24. Powers about ideas for refreshing the space, and imagination to suspend reality. Powers immediately placing a tiki concept at the “When [ravers] had to drive two hours on top of his brainstorm. It’s one he’s intimately familiar top of mountaintops, you had to buy into the vision,” with. After a stint as a lounge DJ, he promoted parties Powers says. “You’re going into the enchanted land of in the mid-1990s at the old Hanalei Hotel tiki bar in San Narnia. And that’s what I’ve been really good at creatDiego before graduating to large-scale parties. Though ing. I’m not Walt Disney, but I admire what Disney has Powers is quick to credit his staff with piecing together done. And I do incorporate that into my events, my bars, Golden Tiki, it’s his relentless creativity that dreamed it my Halloween parties.” up in the first place. And his directive is simple: remove Enchantment is an apt word to describe the potential you from the real world and take you elsewhere. vibe of the Golden Tiki, the 4,000-square-foot Chinatown “Tiki Diablo said it best the other day: ‘Tiki bars are bar that used to be Little Macau, but now comprises four time machines,’” Powers says. “When you enter the themed areas that align with the Powers-penned backfront doors, you’re going to be teleported to another story about Faulkner and his fateful visit to Flaming Skull time. … You’re coming to Flaming Skull Island.” Island. (Powers will finally get his animatronic character
26 LasVegasWeekly.com July 9-15, 2015
The Classic Jewel is disguised as an urban lounge, but really it’s a bridge—one that tips its hat to our Rat Pack past, stitches together Fremont East and the Arts District and opens its arms to a notably colorful clientele. The bar, located on the ground floor of the Juhl, throws it back to Vegas’ glimmering heyday with Sinatra & Co. memorabilia, gin drinks like the Sammy and the Fitzgerald, and a classic red-andwhite Ford Falcon convertible that coowner and car enthusiast Jerome Harry parks outside. Though the bar is new, you’d never know it by the camaraderie. On a recent Friday, a DJ spun James Brown, Rick James and OutKast loudly enough to energize the space but CLASSIC not drown out converJEWEL 353 sation. A full house of Bonneville bar-goers gathered on Ave. #11, 702lounge seating beneath 722-6750. a crystal chandelier Mondayor pulled up chairs to Thursday, 4 the blue-light-bathed p.m.-midnight; concrete bar. Friday, 4 p.m.-2 “I tell people it’s not a.m.; Saturday, a club, it’s a lounge,” 1 p.m.-2 a.m.; says Harry, who owns Sunday, 1 p.m.the bar with partner midnight. Selina Brown. “Come after work and let your hair down.” The Classic Jewel Martini, served dirty, dry or “with a twist,” crowns the cocktail menu, followed by favorites, priced at $10-$12, such as the Woodford Reserve Bourbon-based Mint Jewelep, and the Heat, a concoction of Sauza Hornitos Reposado Tequila, agave, orange and lime juices, chili salt and jalapeno. The rotating beer list features $8-$10 drafts and $6-$14 bottles, with several Tenaya Creek and Ballast Point selections. The Classic Jewel is the first of a number of planned F&B establishments to open at Juhl. It’s a bridge, and a step in the right direction for diversifying Downtown. –Kristy Totten
branden powers by mikayla whitmore; classic jewel by l.e. baskow
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LAS VEGAS WEEKLY CLUB GRID
VENUE
THURSDAY
1 OAK
Closed
ARTISAN
Lounge open 24 hours
DJ Kid Conrad
THE BANK
Doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
CHATEAU
Closed
DRAI’S AFTERHOURS
DRAI’S NIGHTCLUB
FOUNDATION ROOM
FOXTAIL
Afterhours
Doors at 1 am; $30 men, $20 women, industry locals w/ID free
Politik
Doors at 10 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Doors at 10 pm, $30+
Closed
Benny Black
GHOSTBAR
HAKKASAN
Doors at 8 pm; $20 men, $10 women, locals free before midnight
Dzeko & Torres
Doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
SPONSORED BY: Mondays Dark
Listings are accurate as of press time. For more info, contact venues directly.
FRIDAY DJ Shift
Scott Disick hosts; doors at 10:30 pm; $40+ men, $30+ women
SATURDAY DJ E-Rock
Doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Artisan Afterhours Artisan Afterhours With DJs J. Diesel Justin Key, midnight; free; lounge open 24 hours
DJ E-Rock
With DJ Que; doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Hi-Tone
Doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Afterhours
Doors at 1 am; $30 men, $20 women, industry locals w/ID free
50 Cent
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Lounge open 24 hours
Lounge open 24 hours
Lounge open 24 hours
Doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women; free for locals
Closed
Doors at 1 am; $30 men, $20 women, industry locals w/ID free
Doors at 1 am; $30 men, $20 women, industry locals w/ID free
Yacht Club with Sidney Sampson
Closed
DJ Sam I Am
Doors at 10 pm, $30+
Doors at 10 pm, $30+
Closed
Closed
Closed
Social Sundays
DJ Bamboozle
ShadowRed
Doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Afterhours
DJ Ease
Afterhours
Doors at midnight; $30+men, $20+ women
Doors at 1 am; $30+ men, $20+ women, industry locals w/ID free
Meek Mill
Sundrai’s with Fabolous
DJ Justin Credible
Stafford Brothers
Michael Woods
Doors at 10 pm; $30+
Doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Exodus & Mark Stylz
Exodus & Mark Stylz
Fergie (DJ)
WEDNESDAY
DJ Five
Doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
DJ Earwaxxx
Doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
TUESDAY
With DJs Justin Key, 360; midnight; free; lounge open 24 hours
Live; doors at 10 pm; $60+ men, $30+ women
Doors at 8 pm; $25 men, $20 women
MONDAY
With DJs Justin Key, Thor Steiger; midnight; free; lounge open 24 hours
Live; doors at 10 pm; $75+ men, $30+ women
Doors at 10 pm; $30+
SUNDAY
Doors at 8 pm; $25 men, $20 women
Calvin Harris
With Burns; doors at 10:30 pm; $50+ men, $30+ women
Live; doors at 10 pm; $40+ men, $20+ women
Doors at 10 pm, $30+
Greystone Sundays with Ty Dolla Sign
Afterhours
Closed
Doors at 10 pm; $30+
Doors at 10 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Afterhours
Live; doors at 10:30 pm; $33+ men, $22+ women
DJ b-Radical
Doors at 8 pm; $20 men, $10 women
DJ Seany Mac
DJ Seany Mac
DJ Presto One
Doors at 8 pm; $20 men, $10 women
Doors at 8 pm; $20 men, $10 women
Doors at 8 pm; $20 men, $10 women
Closed
Closed
Closed
DJ Ruckus
With guests at Ling Ling Club; doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
NIGHTS | club grid
Listings are accurate as of press time. For more info, contact venues directly.
VENUE
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
HYDE
Doors at 5 pm
10:30 pm, $30+ men, $20+ women; doors at 5 pm
Hosting, DJ Derrick Anthony; 10:30 pm, $30+ men, $20+ women; doors at 5 pm
Throwback Thursdays
DJ Corona & Aybsent Mynded Doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
UFC Afterparty with DJ AL3
With DJ Corona & Aybsent Mynded; 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
LIGHT
Closed
Playmate Takeover with Hook N Sling
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
MARQUEE
Closed
DJ set, with Lema; doors at 10 pm; $40+ men, $20+ women
OMNIA
Doors at 10 pm
With DJ Five; doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
With OB-One; doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
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
LAX
DJ Cass; doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Konflikt
Doors at 10 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Porter Robinson
Chuckie
PBR ROCK BAR
SURRENDER
TAO
Ladies Night
$1 vodka for women, 9 pm, $5; 2-for-1 beer pong, $22, 11 am-9 pm; doors at 8 am
EBC at Night with Tommy Trash
Doors at 10 pm; $35+ men, $25+ women
Worship Thursdays with Cash Cash
Doors at 10 pm; $20+ men, $10+ women
DJ Ikon
TRYST
Doors at 10 pm; $30 men, $20 women
XS
Closed
Grandtheft
Doors at 10:30 pm; $35+ men, $25+ women
Justin Credible Doors at 10 pm; $20+
DJ Melo D
Doors at 10 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Miss Nine
Doors at 10 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
DJ Five
Doors at 5 pm
Doors at 5 pm
10:30 pm, $30+ men, $20+ women; doors at 5 pm
Infamous Wednesdays
Jamie Foxx
With DJ Irie; doors at 10 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Benny Benassi
Closed
Closed
With DJ Cass; doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
After Party with Roger Sanchez
Closed
Closed
Doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Closed
Closed
Doors at 3:30 a.m. Sunday; $30+ men, $20+ women
Closed
Krewella
Imagine with Sultan & Shepard
Lil Jon
Eric D-Lux
Doors at 10 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Suits for No Reason with DJ Crooked
Fantasy Wednesday
Closed
With Savi; doors at 10 pm; $40+ men, $20+ women
DJ set; doors at 10:30 pm; $40+ men, $30+ women
With DJ D-Miles; 10:30 pm; free; doors at 5 pm
Doors at 10:30 pm, $30+ men, $20+ women
#Social Sundays
DJ Khaled
Doors at 10 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
DJ Mustard
Afrojack
Closed
Beer Pong Tournament
With Apster, Justin Credible; doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Closed
$20 open bar 9 pm-1 am w/ social media follow; doors at 8 am
Karaoke Night
9 p.m.; $25 open bar until 2 a.m.; doors at 8 am
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
Closed
Closed
Closed
Doors at 10:30 pm; $45+ men, $35+ women
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Sunday Nightswim with Major Lazer
Mad Decent Mondays with Diplo & Slander
Closed
Closed
RL Grime
Doors at 10 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Deadmau5
Doors at 10 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Doors at 9:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
Doors at 10 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
PA$SPORT PROGRESSIVE ellisislandcasino.com | @elliscasinolv | 702-733-8901
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LAS VEGAS WEEKLY POOL GRID
Listings are accurate as of press time. For more info, contact venues directly.
VENUE
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
BARE
Doors at 11 am; $20+ men, $10+ women
Doors at 11 am; $20+ men, $10+ women
DAYLIGHT
Closed
Playmate Search with DJ Cobra
DRAI’S BEACH CLUB
Drai’s Beach
ENCORE BEACH CLUB
FOXTAIL POOL CLUB
LIQUID
Doors at 11 am; $30+ men, $20+ women; locals free
EBC at Night with Tommy Trash
Doors at 10 pm; $35+ men, $25+ women
Closed
UFC Official Pool Party
Doors at 11 am; $30+ men, $10+ women
MARQUEE DAYCLUB
Closed
PALMS POOL
Doors at 8 am; $10+, local women free
TAO BEACH
Doors at 11 am; $20+ men, $10+ women
WET REPUBLIC
Doors at 11 am
SATURDAY DJ E-Rock
Doors at 11 am; $40+ men, $30+ women
Playmate Takeover
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
Doors at 11 am; $20+ men, $10+ women
With DJs Shift, Flow; doors at 11 am; $20+ men, $10+ women, locals free
Closed
Closed
Sundown with Anthony Attala
Closed
Closed
Closed
Drai’s Beach
Doors at 11 am; $30+ men, $20+ women; locals free
Doors at 11 am; $30+ men, $20+ women
Doors at 11 am; $30+ men, $20+ women
Doors at noon; $30+ men, $20+ women
DJ Sinatra
Feenixpawl
D-Wayne
Doors at 11 am; $30+ men, $20+ women
Recess Friday with TJR
Doors at 11 am; $40+ men, $30+ women
Thomas Gold
Doors at 10:30 am; $30+ men, $20+ women
Doors at 11 am
Lema
Doors at 11 am; $20+ men, $10+ women
Ditch Fridays with Chumlee
DJ set, with DJ Ace; doors at 8 am; free before noon; $20+ men, $10+ women
Javier Alba
Doors at 11 am; $20+ men, $10+ women
Doors at 11 am; $30+ men, $20+ women
DJ D-Miles
Drai’s Paradise
Drai’s Beach
Doors at 11 am; $50+ men, $30+ women
Doors at 11 am; $30+ men, $20+ women
Doors at 11 am; $30+ men, $20+ women; locals free
With F3R, David Serrano, Oskar Konne & Rudy Leyva; 11 am; $30+ men, $20+ women; locals free
Dillon Francis
Daystar Sundays with Lil Jon
Closed
Closed
Closed
Doors at 10 am; $60+ men, $40+ women
Stafford Brothers & EC Twins
DJ set; doors at 11 am; $45+ men, $35+ women
Arianny Celeste & Brittany Palmer
Doors at 10:30 am, $30+ men, $20+ women
Hosting; doors at 10:30 am, $30+ men, $20+ women
Closed
Closed
Closed
Doors at 11 am; $20+ men, $10+ women
Doors at 11 am
Closed
Closed
Doors at 11 am
Closed
Closed
Closed
Doors at 8 am; $10+, local women free
Doors at 8 am; $10+, local women free
Doors at 11 am
Doors at 11 am
Doors at 11 am
Doors at 11 am
Closed
Wet at Night with Chuckie
Cash Cash
Savi
Doors at 11 am; $30+ men, $20+ women
Doors at 11 am; $20+ men, $10+ women
Doors at 8 am; $10+, local women free
Doors at 8 am; $10+, local women free
Blizzard Beach with Eric D-Lux
DJ set; doors at 11 am; $30+ men, $20+ women
Calvin Harris
With Burns; doors at 11 am; $150+ men, $60+ women
Angie Vee
Doors at 11 am; $20+ men, $10+ women
Krewella
Doors at 11 am; $30+ men, $20+ women
Cabanas for a Cause
DJ Exodus; doors at 8 am; $10+, local women free
Doors at 10:30 pm; $30+ men, $20+ women
nights | Party Playback J u ly 3
Cedric gervais at marquee Photographs by Brenton Ho
38 LasVegasWeekly.com July 9-15, 2015
Arts&Entertainment M o v i es + M u s i c + A r t + F oo d
Scanning for gold
> THE FUTURE IS NOW Catch the NBA greats of tomorrow without leaving town.
Steven Wright brings his singular stand-up back to Vegas You have such a unique style. Do you have a specific process for writing jokes? When I started, I sat down and would try to write jokes on purpose. I would go through the newspaper and look for an interesting subject or word. Now I just react to the world. I’ll go to a museum, not to write a joke about a museum, but by being in the museum I’ll see something there that might be a joke. Or I’m reading a book, and there’s a word in the book that wouldn’t normally come into my head. So I just react. All art is just noticing the world and then reacting. It’s like your subconscious is scanning all the time. What do you think about the current state of comedy? It seems like every day a comedian is being chastised by the politicalSTEVEN correctness WRIGHT July police. I think it’s 10-11, 8 p.m., too bad, really. It $35. Orleans never bothered Showroom, me, because I 702-284-7777. work completely
Trust Us
Stuff you’ll want to know about GO NBA SUMMER LEAGUE Twenty-three pro teams will be represented at the annual Vegas NBA Summer League, where rookies and developing players tune up their skills for the grueling season. Catch 2015 lottery picks Jahlil Okafor, Mario Hezonja, Stanley Johnson, Frank Kaminksy and more in action. July 10-20, $15-$25, Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion. PING PONG POOL PARTY It’s not just any ping pong pool party, it’s the World’s Biggest Ping Pong Pool Party, featuring DJs, drinks and the launch of the new Pongtopia app. RSVP at worldsbiggestpingpongpoolparty.splashthat.com. July 10, 8 p.m.-midnight, Linq Hotel pool.
HEAR
night at the Chelsea. July 10, 8 p.m., $65-$155. Boom Boom Kid Argentinian musician Carlos Rodríguez is best known for the hardcore Spanglish punk band Fun People, but he’s got a bouncy, indie-punk project, too. So what if it’s a Wednesday? Give Okey Dokey a spin, then head to the Griffin. July 15, 11 p.m., free. SOUSA National Community Band Band geeks (and enthusiasts), unite! U.S. Marine Band director emeritus Col. John R. Bourgeois picks up the baton to lead 80 adult amateur musicians from across America, with selections ranging from Broadway tunes to John Philip Sousa marches. July 12, 3:30 p.m., free, Artemus Ham Hall.
For more of our interview with Wright, visit lasvegasweekly.com.
Astronauts Etc. Toro Y Moi’s touring keyboardist, Anthony Ferraro, brings his swankified brand of synth R&B to Beauty Bar (Google “No Justice” for a taste) for what should be a sexy, slow-jam dance party. July 12, 10 p.m., free.
SEE
Brian Wilson & Rodriguez The sub-
The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection Lifelong collectors Her-
jects of two of the decade’s best music movies—Wilson (new acclaimed biopic Love & Mercy) and Rodriguez (2012’s Oscar-winning doc Searching for Sugar Man)—celebrate their careers Friday
bert and Dorothy Vogel amassed nearly 4,000 works of art, then donated most of them to museums across the country. UNLV’s Barrick Museum showcases its collection through September 19. Free.
nba summer league courtesy; steven wright by jorge rios
clean within a tiny G-rated window. But I feel like it’s too much; the pendulum has gone the other way too much. … [But] I think this other group of people will develop, where it’s like, “We know that you’re pissed off, and we don’t care anymore. We’re fine with it. Come on over here.” What’s the last good joke you heard? The last good joke I heard was hilarious, but I can’t remember it. –Jason Harris
July 9–15, 2015 LasVegasWeekly.com 39
A&E | screen
> minion overload The little yellow guys are taking over.
FILM
Little, yellow, annoying
The Minions struggle to carry their own movie By Josh Bell Like the penguins of Madagascar, the minions are amusing animated supporting characters who are best left out of the spotlight. In the two Despicable Me movies, the little yellow pill-shaped creatures were reliable sources of pratfalls, pranks and puns, but given the task of carrying their own 90-minute feature, they quickly wear out their welcome. Like the penguins, the minions (all voiced by co-director Pierre Coffin) begin their eponymous spinoff movie with an origin story, explaining that since the dawn of time, these creatures have always lived to serve the most dangerous bad guy around, whether that’s a Tyrannosaurus rex, Dracula or Napoleon. The bulk of the movie takes place in 1968, before the minions have met Despicable star Gru, when minions Kevin, Bob and Stuart set off in search of a new master.
It’s just a series of silly set pieces barely held togethThey settle on Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock), er by a half-formed plot. The minions don’t need to the self-proclaimed greatest super-villain in the learn or grow, but their adventures should world, who orders them to steal the queen at least be exciting and funny, and the of England’s crown. Unlike Gru, whose laughs are far too inconsistent. Instead of villainy is tinged with melancholy and aabcc insecurity, Scarlet is as one-note a char- MINIONS Voices serving as sidekicks to a creative ensemble of new characters, the minions are forced acter as the minions themselves, and her of Pierre Coffin, to carry the movie with their gibberish third-act turn against the minions is as Sandra Bullock, dialogue and mostly interchangeable perunmotivated as her earlier embrace of Jon Hamm. sonalities. Thanks to merchandising and them. She’s not particularly interesting as Directed by Internet memes, the minions have become an ally or an antagonist, and there’s very Pierre Coffin and little at stake in the minions’ efforts to help Kyle Balda. Rated pop-culture staples, and the movie’s main or defeat her. PG. Opens Friday. purpose seems to be to further their ubiquity. In that sense, it succeeds, but as an While the Despicable movies focused entertaining story in its own right or as a worthon Gru’s emotional growth, Minions has no heartwhile franchise prequel, it’s not nearly as effective. warming lessons or character development to offer.
FILM
A few years ago, the British filmmaker Asif Kapadia made a documentary called Senna, about the late Formula aaabc One driver Ayrton Senna, that took an unusual but extremely AMY Directed Amy artfully explores the life and effective form: It was constructed entirely in the present by Asif Kapadia. tense, as if the events of Senna’s life were unfolding before Rated R. career of Amy Winehouse our eyes right now. Though it’s not quite as rigorous, Opens Friday. Kapadia’s latest film, Amy, does much the same for the late singer Amy Winehouse (“Rehab”), who died of alcohol poisoning four years ago at the age of 27. Most of her story—first triumphant, then increasingly sad—is told via archival footage in a wide variety of formats, and while the general trajectory is very Behind the Music, few episodes of that show are assembled with such skill. ¶ Unlike the various documentaries about Kurt Cobain, Amy doesn’t stoop to presenting conspiracy theories about its subject’s death, or even point fingers at those who may have facilitated it. Still, Winehouse’s father, Mitch, and her ex-husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, both come across as destructive influences on a woman with a very shaky sense of self, and viewers will have little trouble drawing their own conclusions. Kapadia throws in some traditional talking-head interviews (albeit mostly in audio form only), and it makes sense in this context—a pop singer touches people in a way that a racecar driver does not. Thankfully, the film is as much a celebration as an elegy, and while much of the footage included is low-definition (to put it mildly), Winehouse’s performances and songwriting craft, as showcased here, make a strong case for her legacy. –Mike D’Angelo
A tragic legacy
40 LasVegasWeekly.com July 9-15, 2015
A&E | Screen TV
Match point Tennis mockumentary 7 Days in Hell can’t quite claim victory
TV
Comedy comfort food
The Jim Gaffigan Show is familiar and inoffensive By Josh Bell
He hangs out with his typical sitcom best friend (Adam When TV Land first started creating its own original Goldberg), a cynical single dude who’s always hitting on series, the network known for reruns aired shows that women and wondering how Jim could possibly be happy felt like ready-made reruns, throwback sitcoms like Hot with a wife and kids. The show’s storylines involve typical in Cleveland, Retired at 35 and The Exes, shot in a multisitcom scenarios like mixing up important deliveries and camera format in front of a studio audience and starscheduling two important events at the same time. ring actors with plenty of sitcom experience. But now Gaffigan does draw on his stand-up connecthat the network is attempting to rebrand itself tions to bring in other comedians to guest-star for a slightly younger, slightly edgier audience, aabcc as themselves, and the best episode of the ones it’s moving away from multi-camera shows with THE JIM available for review involves some fairly biting overbearing audience laughter. New sitcom The GAFFIGAN commentary on manufactured media controverJim Gaffigan Show sort of splits the difference SHOW sies. But the show is far more Everybody Loves between the old TV Land style and the somewhat Wednesdays, Raymond than Louie, more interested in Jim’s fresher, more sophisticated style of shows like the 10 p.m., TV cuddly, comfortable home life than in pushing any surprisingly entertaining Younger. Land. boundaries or telling new kinds of stories. It’s a It’s a single-camera show without a laugh track, rarity in modern TV for prominently incorporatbut the premise is entirely old-fashioned. Gaffigan ing Gaffigan’s Catholic faith, but the family that attends plays a fictionalized version of himself, a stand-up comechurch regularly is a sitcom convention even older than dian who lives in New York City with his wife Jeannie most TV Land reruns. Gaffigan’s show was originally (Ashley Williams) and five young children in a two-beddeveloped for CBS, and it has the safe, middle-of-theroom apartment. The show’s Jim is a typical sitcom dad, a road quality of most CBS sitcoms, which makes it just lovable doofus who can’t complete basic household tasks right for TV Land’s mild reinvention. and always needs his wife’s permission to do anything.
At a little over 40 minutes, HBO’s 7 Days in Hell exists in an odd middle ground between a feature film and an extended sketch. Its parody of pompous sports-history documentaries is mostly spot-on, and at least it doesn’t drag things out any longer than an actual HBO or ESPN special about a monumental sporting event would. The jokes are less successful, and the central premise (about a Wimbledon tennis match that stretched on for seven days) doesn’t really have enough material for even the short running time. The cast is a mix of comedy pros like Andy Samberg, Will Forte and Fred Armisen along with real-life tennis players (Serena Williams, John McEnroe, Chris Evert) and sports commentators (Jim Lamaabcc pley, Soledad O’Brien). Game of Thrones star Kit 7 DAYS Harington shows surprisIN HELL ing comedic chops as July 11, 10 dim-witted British tennis p.m., HBO. prodigy Charles Poole, who faces off against American tennis bad boy Aaron Williams (Samberg). The funniest moments are the odd digressions that have nothing to do with tennis, especially a detour to recount the entire career of a superstar courtroom sketch artist. More unexpected absurdity like that could have expanded the movie to feature length and broadened it beyond a mildly amusing pastiche. –Josh Bell
FILM
A sci-fi thriller starring Ryan Reynolds released at the height of the summer movie season sounds like a potential blockbuster, but nothing about Self/less indicates that it was crafted with anything other than weekday-afternoon cable airings in mind. It feels like a refugee from a 2005 straight-to-video bin, with a predictable and uninvolving plot (about a dying billionaire who’s offered the chance to inhabit a new, younger body) stitched together from elements of other sci-fi movies. ¶ Director Tarsem Singh brought uncommon visual flair to studio junk like Mirror Mirror and Immortals, but the look of Self/less is bland and anonymous. Reynolds is serviceable as the post- aaccc SELF/LESS transformation main character, although the script never gives him the chance to Ryan Reynolds, Matthew delve into the situation’s potential emotional complexities. Ben Kingsley shows up Goode, Natalie Martinez. for about 15 minutes as the terminally ill billionaire, and his wild, inscrutable accent Directed by Tarsem Singh. is the most entertaining element of this rote, forgettable thriller. –Josh Bell Rated PG-13. Opens Friday.
Eternal youth
July 9–15, 2015 LasVegasWeekly.com 41
A&E | NOISE PREVIEW
> WEIR IT’S AT The Dead’s Vegas faithful turned out for the band’s Chicago finale.
TAG-TEAM DESPERATION Examining the ways touring co-headliners Billy Corgan and Marilyn Manson continue to embarrass themselves
CORGAN
C O N C E RT- I S H
A LONG, STRANGE PARTY
The slow-building scene at Brooklyn Bowl’s Grateful Dead farewell broadcast BY MIKE PREVATT I’m late to the Grateful Dead party, but right on time to the July 5 live finale of the San Francisco band—or, rather, its surviving members plus guest musicians—which is being broadcast inside Brooklyn Bowl from Chicago’s Soldier Field on a screen above the stage. It’s anything but a happening, however. There are barely 200 tie-dyed folks sitting at highboys and picnic tables right where I assumed people would be grooving along. The Dead play dance music, but alas, there’s fried chicken to sell. This static atmosphere changes slightly once the Dead launch into opener “China Cat Sunflower” and a dozen folks get up to get down. It’s a start. While things slowly build, I listen closely to see how Trey Anastasio, the Phish lead guitarist essentially standing in for Jerry Garcia, is faring. I’m not expecting him to substitute nor mimic the late Dead steward, but for 20 minutes, he dispenses fluid lines and sharp notes, and when the tune ends in applause from the Vegas crowd, it feels like some of it’s directed toward him. Also, when he sings the “gonna miss me when I’m gone” during “I Know You Rider,” it’s an early indication that a thematic current will flow through the setlist. As “Estimated Prophet” funks along and “Samson and Delilah” rollicks through, more dancers emerge and it starts to feel a little more like an actual gig, even though the band’s not on the stage before us. The musicians might as well be during “Throwing Stones,” its build and release leaving most of us shaking our heads in amazement. After that song and set
42 LASVEGASWEEKLY.COM JULY 9-15, 2015
one ends, some onlookers hug. It’s time for intermission, some half-off appetizers and a quick chat with KUNV DJ George Lyons, who praises the show thus far but emphatically reminds me, “This isn’t remotely the Grateful Dead.” Translation: Jerry’s still dead. When set two starts, “Truckin’” gets a huge response, though not as loud as when Weir sings the song’s iconic (and circumstantially resonant) line: “What a long, strange trip it’s been!” Some 50 dancers now fill the small dancing space and the pathways between the tables. One dude kicks off his flip-flops. Now we have a happening … until “Drums”/“Space,” a bathroom break for most, but a revelation for me. I close my eyes and imagine percussionist Mickey Hart moving on to collaborate with any of my favorite modern sound-shapers: J. Spaceman, Kamasi Washington, Daniel Lopatin, Flying Lotus. After a mellow song suite, the (still-growing) crowd erupts at the first few notes of Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away,” singing “You know our love will not fade away” well after the song’s end. “Touch of Grey” gets everyone in the room on their feet (finally!) including myself—though I remain reflective as I recall how that song’s video introduced me to the Dead. I wonder: What kept me from becoming a fan? Probably being 11 and unable to fully appreciate its chorus—“I will get by, I will survive”—or the Dead itself until I was 39. But I’m Grateful it finally happened, as I am for the chance to have joined the Deadheads’ moment of milestone jubilation.
• He went from having touring musicians Mark Stoermer (The Killers) and Brad Wilk (Rage Against the Machine) last fall, to the more unfamiliar drummer Robin Diaz and bassist Kate Cole last month, to replacing Diaz with original Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin—who had left the band for the third time in 2009—just two weeks later, begging the question: Does Corgan finally need Chamberlin more than Chamberlin needs Corgan? • He repeatedly castigates the press … but somehow keeps agreeing to be interviewed. • Speaking of interviews: He has sat with crackpot conspiracy theorist Alex Jones four times, where he says ridiculous things that give him headlines (but don’t sell records or concert tickets). • He recently called out “play the full record” nostalgia shows, calling them “really f*cking boring” even though his current tourmate Manson had said he THE might do some next year for SMASHING the 20th anniversary of AntiPUMPKINS christ Superstar. & MARILYN • He’s the senior producer MANSON of creative and talent develJuly 10, 8 p.m., opment for TNA Wrestling— $60-$75. The enough said. Joint, 702693-5222. MANSON • He sang on an Avril Lavigne song (2013’s “Bad Girl”). If that’s not bad enough, it was co-written and co-produced by Nickelback singer and Lavigne hubby Chad Kroeger. • His latest unremarkable cover: “You’re So Vain,” with Johnny Depp, whom he frequently name-drops. • A recent Paper magazine photo shoot included his dad sporting Manson-esque makeup and grabbing his crotch. Know what family value the Mansons are missing? Shame. • The most disgraceful transgression of all: He can no longer kick up controversy. How does a guy like Marilyn Manson become a bore? • He sports a grill—enough said. –Mike Prevatt
GRATEFUL DEAD SIMULCAST BY ERIK KABIK PHOTOGRAPHY/MEDIAPUNCH
A&E | noise > NEW SOUNDS LeCavalier (second from right) worked on new Third Eye Blind record Dopamine.
lo c a l s c e n e
Bye bye, Book & Stage
The Cosmo’s quirky casino spot officially closes its curtain
preview
Charmed life Vegas musician Alex LeCavalier, on landing a permanent gig with Third Eye Blind for his work in Irish cover band Darby O’Gill and the They’re some of the most recognizable songs of Little People or indie rock group Earth Rising. The the ’90s—“Semi-Charmed Life,” “Jumper,” “How’s former also has ties to Third Eye Blind. “Paul Sinnott, It Going to Be” … and now, Vegas-bred bassist Alex the original Darby drummer, was the drum tech for LeCavalier plays them for a living. Third Eye Blind,” LeCavalier says, and Before he joined Third Eye Blind Millett has subbed in for Darby a handful full-time in 2012, the Foothill grad of times. “I’ve known Abe since I was 8. spent years learning the ropes, jamTHIRD EYE BLIND He’s been a big influence in my playing.” ming with his father’s band as a kid with Dashboard LeCavalier was involved in Third before moving on to local shows. “One Confessional, Night Eye Blind’s latest album, last month’s day they realized they wanted a bass Terrors of 1927. Dopamine—the band’s first full-length player, so [my dad] bought me a little July 11, 8 p.m., in six years—from the moment he tiny bass,” LeCavalier, 29, says. “It’s $40-$55. The Joint, was hired. “As soon as I came in, we pretty square, but it was a lot of fun.” 702-693-5222. were already jumping in the studio,” As for landing the gig in Third Eye LeCavalier says. “I’m kind of smitten Blind, that rock group has always had with all of these songs, because we’ve been working local ties: Former guitarist Tony Fredianelli and on them for so long.” But even with a new album former bassist Abe Millett are both from Vegas. under their belts, something about the tour—perhaps LeCavalier’s chance came when TEB’s interim bass the co-headlining bill with Dashboard Confessional— player couldn’t make a show and the guitar tech, Las feels nostalgic. And LeCavalier sounds fine with that. Vegan Ruston Chidester, suggested LeCavalier fill “You think it would get old, but when the room kind in. “They told me what songs to learn. I just showed of explodes, all of a sudden you forget how many up and played a small, private gig in Vegas.” It went times you’ve had to play ... people really love the so well that LeCavalier was asked to join the band. band. They know every word.” –Leslie Ventura Around town, the bassist might be better known
Book & Stage was once a music venue, always a lounge and never really a full sports book. The latter two designations are much less important than the first, given that its unique entertainment schedule helped the Cosmopolitan quickly establish its reputation as a peculiar, ballsy and ultimately groundbreaking casino that also drew Strip-weary locals to the new property. That robust concert calendar began to diminish, however, a year or so after its 2010 opening until the bookings all but dried up. So it came as no great surprise when the Cosmopolitan recently announced that the venue’s last operating day would be July 12, making way for a new lounge concept. Clark County records reveal that a demolition permit has been filed for the space by a tenant named HQ Cocktail Lounge, a possible name of the refreshed space and the newest venture by former Light Group CEO Andy Masi’s Clique Hospitality, according to another source close to the project. Book & Stage’s hook was free live performances twice a night two to four times a week, a schedule typical of Vegas casino lounges. But those acts were anything but typical, as Best Coast, Mayer Hawthorne, Mates of State, Chairlift, White Denim and Mariachi El Bronx were acts more associated with music festivals like Coachella than the local concert calendar, and the venue introduced Foster the People and Aloe Blacc to Las Vegas just before they ascended into the mainstream. The venue layout wasn’t ideal, but the price certainly was, another facet we’ll miss when the lights officially go out. –Mike Prevatt
lo c a l s c e n e
A major night for Vegas Threat This is a city built on tribute bands, now including Vegas Threat. The new local outfit VEGAS THREAT is dedicated to Minor Threat, the seminal early-’80s D.C. hardcore thrashers of “Straight with S.F.T., Los Edge” fame. ¶ Vegas Threat features Tyson McEntire on vocals, Paolo Del Carmen on Carajos, Over It, bass, Omar Bruce on drums and Carlos Acosta Jr. and John Fernandez on guitar. The Burien, Die Nasty, quintet of friends are no strangers to covering songs. A couple of them have also been Mystic Perception. in Descendents tribute troupe Vegascendents; others have transformed traditional July 11, 10 p.m., free. Mexican canciones into punk-rock scorchers. ¶ July 11 marks Vegas Threat’s debut, Double Down Saloon, in a cavalcade at the Double Down. According to singer McEntire, VT’s set will be fast, 702-791-5775. aggressive and totally Minor Threat (no Fugazi, if you were wondering). “We’re going probably to burn through 15 or 16 songs in under 30 minutes,” he says. “It’s hardcore punk. Should be fun.” ¶ As a Sin City bonus, Vegas Threat’s logo combines Minor Threat’s iconic “bottle man” symbol with the face of young Elvis. One, two, three … viva! –Greg Thilmont
vegas threat by jesse nabers
July 9–15, 2015 LasVegasWeekly.com 43
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A&E | noise ROCK
NEIL YOUNG
The Monsanto Years aaabc
Neil Young is often at his best when he’s got his fur up about something, and that’s certainly the case on The Monsanto Years, Young’s third album in the past two years. He has described the new album as an “ecologically/environmentally focused” recording and certainly, with song titles like “Big Box” and especially “A Rock Star Bucks a Coffee Shop,” which namechecks Starbucks (one of several targets called out by Young directly on the album), it’s not hard to detect that he has a specific agenda in play. But the real story behind the scenes of The Monsanto Years is the pairing of Young with Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real, the California-based quartet that provides a strong musical engine for the record’s ragged, guitar-driven material—bringing to mind the similar energy and song quality Young captured in the ’90s through his collaborations with Pearl Jam. The combined results produce what might be Young’s finest album since 2012’s Psychedelic Pill. –Matt Wardlaw
DA N C E- P O P
LITTLE BOOTS
Working Girl aaaac
On her 2009 debut Hands, Little Boots sounded like an electro-pop star in the making. But disputes with her record label and a disappointing second album (2013’s Nocturnes) pushed her out of the spotlight. Newly independent, she returns with confidence and focus on Working Girl, a sort of pseudo-concept album about female liberation and empowerment. From the power-suited cover photo to the ’80s-movie-referencing title, Working Girl is a bit retro in its representation of feminism, and the music too is often reminiscent of ’80s pop trailblazers Madonna and Kylie Minogue. On songs like the bass-heavy disco romp “Get Things Done” and the bubbly, infectious “The Game,” Little Boots mixes cheeky, clever lyrics with danceable beats and memorable hooks. Instead of chasing after indie cred or mainstream accessibility, she’s followed her own instincts, and put together some of this year’s best, most assured pop music in the process. –Josh Bell
A LT- R O C K
Failure
The Heart Is a Monster aaaac
In the years after the band’s 1997 breakup, Failure’s grungy, eerie space-rock became a sonic inspiration to bands such as Paramore, Speedy Ortiz and Cave In. The stellar The Heart Is a Monster, Failure’s first full-length since reuniting last year, underscores why the LA trio’s music endured then and continues to galvanize today. The record’s dense, challenging compositions never take an obvious route, winding through glinting metal, expansive post-rock and discordant hard rock. Highlights include the shuddering, stoner-sludge of “Atom City Queen;” the disorienting sonic manipulation and saw-toothed post-punk riffs of “Counterfeit Sky;” and the ambient-punk fury of “Fair Light Era.” Yet Monster also has immaculate pacing, a by-product of the band’s penchant for cinematic gravitas. Starry-eyed, piano-and-harmonydriven highlight “Mulholland Dr.” and instrumental moments such as the synth-trembled “Segue 6” swell with poignant drama. Failure’s second act is an unqualified creative success. –Annie Zaleski
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SHOCKINGLY TAME These days, Kathy Griffin’s bite doesn’t live up to her bark BY JASON HARRIS radio DJ. That might be an excel“What I love is that Jerry lent next move for her. Seinfeld and Amy Schumer and Griffin takes on subjects like a lot of really great comics have Rachel Dolezal’s “transracial” been really vocal about sayclaim and Bristol Palin’s hypocing stand-up comedy shouldn’t risy for making six figures as a be held to the standards as, like, pro-abstinence lecturer while elected officials. So I’m just warnonce again getting pregnant out ing you, I’m gonna say some sh*t of wedlock. These are ripe topics tonight that’s really inappropriate, for lots of comedians, but Griffin and I’m not gonna feel like I’ve only recounts the facts in really done my job until a humorous way, instead someone storms out.” of putting a new slant on Though I agree with aabcc them. the first half of that stateKATHY She has always been ment completely, the GRIFFIN a champion for gay second proved to be a July 3, the rights and has earned a problem for Kathy Griffin Mirage. massive gay following, Friday night at the Mirage. but when she breaks Earlier in her career, down the LGBTQIA2 commuGriffin might have been shocknity as “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, ing, but those days have passed. Transgender, Queer, Intersexual, Her openness about her celebrity Ally 2 Caitlyn,” referring to Bruce encounters helped catapult her to Jenner’s open transformation, it fame, along with her old TV show, feels like the simplest take posMy Life on the D-List, but those sible. Maybe if she didn’t repeatceleb stories seem rather tame at edly remind us she’d crossed a this point. line by saying things like, “You Griffin, now 54, certainly gave don’t think I’m gonna hold back a major effort. She stood next on Caitlyn, do you?” it wouldn’t to a podium in the center of the feel as forced. stage for just under two hours. Griffin is currently on an Her energy stayed high, but her 80-city tour, which is impresmaterial didn’t match her spirit. sive, as are the 23 specials on her Actually, calling it material might résumé. Maybe it’s time for her to be a stretch. At this point, what step back, however, and like her the redheaded comic does is diva-hero Cher, find some way to expunge on the issues of the day reinvent herself. in a way most similar to a morning
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A&E | the strip
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T H E K AT S R E P O RT
Cautionary tales
In her new book and in person, Holly Madison looks back on her toughest times as a Playboy Bunny By John Katsilometes She arrived in town forging the identity of “Miss Las Vegas,” prepared to star in a show on the Strip and developing a TV show revolving around Holly’s World. That was seven years ago. As a moniker, Miss Las Vegas is long gone. Holly Madison is a Mrs. now, married to Insomniac and Electric Daisy Carnival founder Pasquale Rotella and mother of 2-year-old daughter Rainbow. Rather than donning and shedding a corset, she’s a best-selling author, having penned Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny. The just-released tome debuted at No. 2 on The New York Times Bestseller List among hardcover nonfiction releases. The book’s boomlets include a highly unflattering account of Madison’s romantic relationship with Hugh Hefner (“Needless to say, for me, sex was never the highlight of the relationship,”), the deteriorating state of the mansion itself (the place reportedly reeked of dog urine and feces) and other playmates’ cocaine and crystal meth use. Of Hefner, she writes, “I learned Hef was the manipulator and that he pitted us (including Madison and housemates Kendra Wilkinson and Bridget Marquardt) against one another,” she noted. “I realized I wasn’t treated well. I’m done being afraid of people. I don’t have any loyalty to Hef.” On July 1, before spending three hours signing copies of the book at Barnes & Noble at the Rainbow Promenade, Madison chatted about the book. The highlights:
How do you resolve writing negatively about Hugh Hefner, a man you lived with and always seemed compassionate about?
I just really wanted to tell my story, and yeah, there are mixed emotions that come along with revealing the negative sides of someone you were once close to, but I think the reason I felt okay with it is that he never respected our privacy. In what way? You know, he was always taking pictures of us, like nude snapshots, and things we never signed releases for, in scrapbooks. Years later, I found out from his friends that he was planning to donate those scrapbooks to a public library when he dies. And I was like, “Oh, great.” How does Pasquale feel about the book? He’s very proud of me for telling my story, because he knows firsthand how difficult it is for me to talk about it, how much I don’t want to talk about it. He read it and said he didn’t enjoy reading it, because he doesn’t read about things that are hurtful to me. But he’s very supportive of the fact that I am getting the truth out there and trying to move forward in a positive way. Did you run any of it by him before it was published? No,
and I didn’t have anyone else read it. I didn’t want to be swayed. ... I just wanted it to be real. Does this book make it possible not to answer questions about this part of your life anymore? I would love to never talk
You’ve talked of mistakes you made during the time covered in the book. Do you have any regrets? I have to say no,
about any of this stuff again (laughs). I’d love to just be able to say, “You know what? I wrote about it. Read my book.”
because I love where my life ended up, now. I think even when you do stupid things you learn from them … But I think that if I had any advice for my younger self, what I would change, not long after I moved into the mansion, I was pressured by Hef into giving up my waitressing job.
What’s next? If I do more television, I want to do more of hosting and not so much reality. I want to write another book, I want to have more kids, and I want to travel.
This is the job at Hooters? Yeah, which sounds silly, because
it is just a waitressing job. But that was my last thread of independence, really. I think if I’d kept the job, I would have had my head screwed on my shoulders a little better.
What’s the next book going to be about? It’s going to be the anti-dating advice book. A fictionalized version of my single years dating and what I learned there, and kind of an antidote to all of the traditional advice books that don’t work. Something really fun.
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A&E | fine art review
Intimate Picasso
Viewers plunge into the painter’s life and creative process at the Bellagio By Dawn-Michelle Baude
48 LasVegasWeekly.com July 9-15, 2015
> about face Picasso’s portrait of his second wife Jacqueline Roque (left) and Picasso-fication of El Greco show his range of styles and subjects.
sensual and defined, Gilot alert and sitting, Maar other in Goya. In reworking Old Masters’ paintreclining and dreaming. Volumes expand and ings as he often did later in life, Picasso wasn’t contract; hairstyles alter; a drape and screen add copying—he was Picasso-fying famous pictorial and subtract bawdy detail; toward the elements, making them his own. Here, end, Gilot is a cubist sphinx while as elsewhere, the content remains perMaar’s head disappears within a vulva sonal, even intimate. One woman repreaaaab of arms. The final, 18th litho has bird sents Gilot, a painter Picasso met when PICASSO: and cockroach drawings in the frame. he was 61 and she 40 years his junior; CREATURES AND The women are no less alien and they spent nearly 10 years together. CREATIVITY creaturely. About another decade was spent with Through January 10; Three additional series—linocuts the second woman, photographer Dora daily, 10 a.m.-8 p.m., humorously based on El Greco, linMaar, who was 28 to Picasso’s 54 when $14-$19. Bellagio ocuts portraying a jaunty Roque, they crossed paths. Gallery of Fine Art, and a painting/print combo of a The women overlapped in Picasso’s 702-693-7871. volumized Gilot—provide a glimpse life as they did in his art. At the begininto the evolution of Picasso’s proning of the lithograph series, Gilot cess, not only within an artistic sequence, but is depicted in a neoclassical style while Maar relentlessly, throughout a rare and extraordiseems only an incipient biomorphic form. As nary life. the series progresses, both women become more
images © 2015 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Make no mistake: Picasso: Creatures and Creativity is a must-see. The Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art exhibition, curated by Tatyana Franck, features 40 accomplished paintings and prints, along with two linoleum blocks and one zinc plate. Three celebrated photos snapped in the south of France by Picasso’s friend, David Douglas Duncan, humanize the genius who created an estimated 50,000 artworks during his lifetime. Among exhibition highlights is the 1962 masterpiece, “Woman with a Chignon and a Yellow Hat.” A key work in Picasso’s fiercely creative, and poorly understood, late period, the painting depicts his second wife, Jacqueline Roque. In this and other late works, Picasso anticipates the postmodern tendency to appropriate a vocabulary of recognizable artistic moves—abstraction, surrealism, cubism and expressionism. Although a compendium of artistic techniques, the vibrant portrait is not a historical sampler. It’s Picasso, at age 81, doing Picasso in a symphonic style all his own. The head, face and nose resemble Jacqueline’s, but the penetrating eyes are Picasso’s. Other gripping paintings from the post-war period include “Woman With a Yellow Necklace, 1946,” with sexualized geometry transposed onto a spirited portrait of Picasso’s lover Françoise Gilot, and the curious “Reclining Woman Reading, 1952,” with its atypical use of negative space. But most of the focus is on Picasso’s prints, exhibited in step-by-step proofs that give viewers a generous glimpse into the artist’s creative process. The haunting lithographic suite, “Two Nude Women, 1945” achieves the emotional complexity art often aspires to but rarely obtains. Its success partly depends on its subject matter: two women, one posed in the manner of Manet, the
A&E | stage
> characters we love Men play the fiery Southern ladies in Re-Designing Women; Dirty Dancing is just as steamy onstage.
the ’80s are ba-ack!
Local stages load up on nostalgic romps
dirty dancing by Matthew Murphy
By jacob coakley Break out the leg warmers, fire up the boombox and get the sitcom laugh-track ready, because the ’80s are back in a big way onstage this month. The campy Re-Designing Women, a completely unauthorized stage play that brings the four tart-tongued Southern feminist designers from the classic ’80s sitcom into the age of reality TV, plays at the Onyx July 10-13 and 16-18. While the show might not have an ironically quotable catchphrase, its fierce attitude and iconic characters were “appointment viewing” for writer Jamie Morris. “I grew up in West Virginia, and even though we weren’t the Deep South I still knew these four women—Julia, Suzanne, Charlene, Mary Jo—and identified with them,” Morris says. “Powerful and opinionated, they got their voice from creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, who dealt with some rather groundbreaking themes such as HIV/AIDS.” Morris’ show brings the characters back for fans, and he hopes to introduce them to a new generation. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that men play all the Women, which Morris believes “heightens the comedy and ups the camp factor.” Next up is Avenue Q at Las Vegas Little Theatre, which runs July 10-26. While Q wasn’t written until the early ’00s it has its feet firmly planted in the ’80s, placing characters that grew up in that lost decade in the modern world,
with puppets explaining how to deal with new adult conundrums in warm-and-fuzzy songs like “The Internet Is for Porn” and “If You Were Gay”—which puts two very familiar puppet roommates in a new light. The Las Vegas Little Theatre production has rented the official puppets from the show’s licensing agent, and brought in a puppet wrangler to teach the cast how to bring them to life. “Rehearsal might have gotten a bit more foul-mouthed than your average rehearsal, but given the show, it was encouraged,” says Walt Niejadlik, co-director of the piece along with Gillen Brey. “We’ve had a blast working on this show and can’t wait to get it in front of an audience.” Finally, say it with me, “Nobody puts Baby in a …” If you know how that phrase ends, then you’re the perfect audience for Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story on Stage, which cha-chas its way into the Smith Center July 14-19. The musical retells the story of Baby and Johnny and their summer-camp romance built around steamy dance numbers. (Which my grandma called “sex in jean shorts,” while obsessively renting the VHS copy from the convenience store down the street.) The show features many of the movie’s popular songs, and a dance corps sure to heat up the Smith Center. It’s all frothy summer fun that proves you can’t keep a good decade down.
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FOOD & DRINK E AT T H E M E N U
Good as gold El Dorado Cantina is too deliciously diverse to be overlooked BY BROCK RADKE
Traditional Mexico City-style cuisine available around the clock in a theatrical location next door to one of Las Vegas’ most popular gentleman’s clubs—that’s the obvious story behind El Dorado Cantina. But the most unique thing about this restaurant is not its quirky decor or location, it’s the food—innovative twists on authentic flavors and a serious dedication to high-quality, sustainable and healthy ingredients. Eat this menu and taste for yourself.
EL DORADO CANTINA 3025 S. Industrial Road, 702-722-2289. 24/7.
CARNE ASADA This is a mountainous platter of food—tender, juicy slabs of citrus-marinated, grass-fed California beef, roasted vegetables including jalapeños and cactus, guacamole, rice and beans, even a bit of house-made spicy chorizo. This is a meaty and memorable feast. ($26)
HUEVOS DIVORCIADOS Yes, El Dorado does breakfast, too— don’t forget, it’s always open, and it’s always serving breakfast to suit your schedule. Two fried eggs over corn tortillas with beans, avocado and cheese will hit the spot at any hour, and the bright, spicy tomatillo sauce will wake up your taste buds. ($14.50)
CEDAR CHIPOTLE SALMON You’ll feel great
knowing you’re eating beautifully grilled, wildcaught Norwegian salmon alongside fresh-cut vegetables and fluffy cilantro rice, but you’ll feel even better when you taste this fish with the perfectly spicy-smoky-sweet chipotle honey mustard sauce. ($26.50)
IMPERIAL SHRIMP Wild shrimp are stuffed—over-stuffed, actually—with crab and fish, wrapped in bacon and lightly fried for a shockingly nongreasy, crisp and delicate bite. Dip them in chipotle ranch dressing to add to the addiction. ($15)
50 LASVEGASWEEKLY.COM JULY 9-15, 2015
GORDITAS Why snack on sliders when you can devour these crispy corn masa pockets stuffed with chicken or steak, pico de gallo, fresh guac and queso fresco? Three of these delectable little sandwiches for eight bucks feels like stealing. ($8)
PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRISTOPHER DEVARGAS
SLUSHIE GIN AND TONIC
> TIME TO TASTE It’s a tough job, but Jordan Cruz and Constantin Alexander are up to the Tuesday Tastings task at Hakkasan.
INSIDE HAKKASAN’S UNUSUAL TUESDAY TASTINGS
Experts create a process where the food chooses the wine BY E.C. GLADSTONE
INGREDIENTS Any restaurant with a wine list has some sort of tasting process—assessing colors, aromas and flavors, judging what will go well with the food and if people will want to drink it. Some restaurants might do this only once, when the wine list is first assembled. Others will make seasonal changes or adjust when a salesperson visits. But most of the time, wines are tasted in as neutral an environment as possible, with only water or perhaps some crackers to cleanse the palate between samples. Hakkasan doesn’t do this. That might not surprise you if you think of the MGM Grand destination only for its mega nightclub, but Hakkasan the restaurant takes wine very seriously, touting one of Las Vegas’ best wine lists recognized not only for rare and expensive bottles but for intriguing wines from around the globe (350 labels in 17 categories). There are wines you would never guess would go well with modern Chinese cuisine, far beyond the Rieslings and Sauvignon blancs that typically pair with Asian food or California Chardonnays and Cabernet Sauvignons that are easy to sell. How does Hakkasan do it? All wrong, but so right. During weekly “Tuesday Tastings,” the restaurant’s wine director and other managers assess a batch of wines within Hakkasan’s moody atmosphere while enjoying a selection of the menu’s most popular dishes with mild, salty, spicy and sweet profiles, trying to find any reason to eliminate a wine. “The point is not to find perfect pairings,” says wine director Constantin Alexander after inviting me to join the process with lead sommelier Jordan Cruz and divisional beverage manager Cassandra Brown. “The point is to find wines that don’t clash. The food needs to choose the wine.” Think of your favorite wine—or the most expensive, critical-darling wine you’ve ever tried—and imagine how well it would go with four different flavor profiles, as it would have to if you’re buying a bottle to enjoy throughout a meal. Whether you notice or not, if a wine you selected doesn’t pair well with a certain course or dish, your expe-
HAKKASAN BY CHRISTOPHER DEVARGAS
rience is likely to sour ... literally. During my Tuesday Tasting, we open a Clare Valley (Australia) Riesling and two interesting Italian whites, a mineral-acidic Sicilian Etna Bianco and rounder Pecorino from Abruzzo (all 2013) along with a restrained German Pinot Noir (2012) and a fruity, leathery 2005 Spanish Rioja that a team member has been championing. Really, a broad selection. We enjoy a moderate feast of Hakkasan’s most popular dishes, including the gorgeous dim sum, salt and pepper squid, crispy chicken in lemon sauce, sweet and sour pork with pomegranate and sanpei chicken claypot with sweet Thai basil, stir-fry black pepper beef ribeye with Merlot and Szechuan mabo tofu with minced beef. “The sweet course is the graveyard,” notes Brown to grim, bemused nods from her colleagues. “A wine killer.” This process—which happens at all Hakkasan restaurants worldwide under group wine buyer Christine Parkinson—actually becomes a fun game once expectations are dispensed. Aided by score charts in which each wine is graded per course, we all take turns giving feedback on pairings. And while there’s often consensus, sometimes one or two of us completely disagree, reminding that everyone’s palate is different and nobody is wrong. One wine does magnificently with two courses and awful with others, another opens up after a course but has too many off-notes soon after. Only one continues to work nicely, and it’s not the one anyone predicted. You might expect the process to favor flabby, inoffensive juice, but all manner of outliers show surprisingly well, Alexander says, probably why three categories on Hakkasan’s list are actually anti-categories, like “Curious vines” (unusual varieties). Still, only one in eight wines tested on average ends up on the list, and the staff does the same thing for by-the glass selections. The three we gave a green or yellow light to on this Tuesday might still not make it through another round. I could give you my guess, but maybe you should visit the restaurant and check for yourself.
2 oz. Bombay Sapphire East Gin 4 oz. Fever-Tree Tonic Water 1 scoop Häagen-Dazs Zesty Lemon Sorbet lemon slice, lime slice, orange peel, kaffir lime leaf (garnish)
METHOD Build drink over ice in stemless wine glass. Add scoop of sorbet and grate lemon and lime zest on top. Garnish with lemon slice, lime slice, orange peel and kaffir lime leaf.
This classic gin and tonic has been upgraded in all the right ways. The peppery flavor in the Bombay Sapphire East complements the sweetness of the sorbet, and the citrus garnishes keep the drink fresh.
Cocktail created by Francesco Lafranconi, Executive Director of Mixology and Spirits Education at Southern Wine & Spirits.
JULY 9–15, 2015 LASVEGASWEEKLY.COM 51
A&E | Short Takes Babysitting and Boyz N the Hood. –JB Theaters: SC, TS
Special screenings
Faith of Our Fathers (Not reviewed) Kevin Downes, David A.R. White, Stephen Baldwin. Directed by Carey Scott. 96 minutes. Rated PG-13. The sons of two Vietnam veterans explore their fathers’ journey of faith and friendship. Theaters: ST, VS
Boozy Movie Wednesdays Wed, 8 pm, free with cocktail purchase, 21+. 7/15, Disneyland, U.S.A. Inspire Theater, 107 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 702489-9110. Cinema in the Circle 7/10, An American Tail, 6:30 pm, free. Huntridge Circle Park, 1251 S. Maryland Parkway.
Far From the Madding Crowd aaabc Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen. Directed by Thomas Vinterberg. 119 minutes. Rated PG-13. Danish filmmaker Vinterberg (The Celebration, The Hunt) takes a stab at one of Thomas Hardy’s most famous novels, cutting and condensing it in a way that underlines the author’s protofeminism. And he gets a quietly terrific performance from Mulligan, who makes Bathsheba Everdene very much her own. –MD Theaters: SC
Cinemark Classic Series Sun, 2 pm; Wed, 2 & 7 pm, $7-$10. 7/12, 7/15, Spaceballs. Theaters: ORL, ST, SF, SP, SC Dive-In Movies Mon, 7 pm, $5, hotel guests free. 7/13, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Grand Budapest Hotel. Cosmopolitan Boulevard Pool, 3708 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 702-698-7000. Exhibition on Screen 7/14, video tour of museum exhibits featuring Impressionist painters, plus behind-the-scenes footage, 7 pm, $10.50-$15. Theaters: COL, ST, VS. Info: fathomevents.com. > can you hear me now? Reese Mishler prays for cell service in The Gallows.
Metropolitan Opera HD Live 7/15, encore showing of Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment, 7 pm, $13-$15. Theaters: COL, SF, SP, ST, VS. Info: fathomevents.com.
New this week
Midnight Brewvies Mon, movie plus popcorn, midnight, free. Elixir, 2920 N. Green Valley Parkway, Henderson, 702-272-0000.
Amy aaabc Directed by Asif Kapadia. 128 minutes. Rated R. See review Page 40. Theaters: DTS, TS, VS
Movies in the Square Thu, sundown, free. 7/9, The Mighty Ducks. 7/16, The Lego Movie. Town Square, 6605 Las Vegas Blvd. S., mytownsquarelasvegas.com. Outdoor Picture Show Sat, dusk, free. 7/11, Dolphin Tale 2. The District at Green Valley Ranch, 2225 Village Walk Drive, Henderson, 702564-8595. RiffTrax Live 7/9, Sharknado 2: The Second One with comedic commentary, 8 pm, $10.50$12.50. Theaters: COL, ORL, SF, SP, ST, VS. 7/16, encore showing, 7:30 pm, $12.50. Theaters: COL, VS. Info: fathomevents.com. Saturday Movie Matinee 7/11, American Sniper, 2 pm, free. Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, 702-507-3400. Sci Fi Center Mon, Cinemondays, 8 pm, free. 7/11, The Wizard of Oz with Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon soundtrack, The Rocky Horror Picture Show with live shadow cast, 8 pm, $9. 7/12, Sinister Sunday Night Massacre hosted by the Sinister Minister, featuring Night of the Living Dead, 10 pm, $10. 5077 Arville St., 855-501-4335, thescificenter.com. Speakeasy Cinema Wed, classic mobster noir movies plus historical presentation, complimentary alcoholic beverages, 6:30 pm, $12-$15. 7/15, 711 Ocean Drive. Mob Museum, 300 Stewart Ave., 702-229-2734. Summer Movie Date Night Alternate Fridays, sundown, free. 7/10, The Bourne Identity. Town Square, 6605 Las Vegas Blvd. S., mytownsquarelasvegas.com. Tuesday Afternoon at the Bijou Tue, 1 pm, free. 7/14, The Black Swan (1952). Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, 702-507-3400.
52 LasVegasWeekly.com July 9-15, 2015
Baahubali: The Beginning (Not reviewed) Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty. Directed by S.S. Rajamouli. 159 minutes. Not rated. In Telugu with English subtitles. Two brothers go to war for control of a kingdom. Theaters: SP The Breakup Playlist (Not reviewed) Sarah Geronimo, Piolo Pascual, Rio Locsin. Directed by Dan Villegas. 90 minutes. Not rated. In Filipino with English subtitles. A pair of musicians fall in love while collaborating on a song. Theaters: ORL, VS The Cokeville Miracle (Not reviewed) Jasen Wade, Nathan Stevens, Sarah Kent. Directed by T.C. Christensen. 94 minutes. Rated PG-13. In the aftermath of a tragedy, children describe the presence of celestial beings that helped them survive. Theaters: SC, ST The Gallows abccc Reese Mishler, Pfeifer Brown, Ryan Shoos. Directed by Chris Lofing and Travis Cluff. 80 minutes. Rated R. There’s nothing exciting or original about this found-footage horror movie, which puts a group of unpleasant teens at the mercy of a vengeful spirit in their high-school auditorium. The acting is subpar and awkward, the dialogue is full of clumsy exposition, and the scares are minimal. –JB Theaters: AL, BS, CAN, CH, COL, DI, FH, ORL, PAL, RP, RR, SC, SF, SHO, SP, TS, TX Minions aabcc Voices of Pierre Coffin, Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm. Directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda. 91 minutes. Rated PG. See review Page 40. Theaters: AL, CAN, CH, COL, DI, FH, GVL, ORL, PAL, RP, RR, SF, SHO, SP, SS, ST, TS, TX, VS Self/less aaccc Ryan Reynolds, Matthew Goode,
Natalie Martinez. Directed by Tarsem Singh. 117 minutes. Rated PG-13. See review Page 41. Theaters: AL, BS, CAN, CH, DI, FH, ORL, PAL, RP, RR, SC, SF, SP, TS, TX
Now playing The Age of Adaline aabcc Blake Lively, Michiel Huisman, Harrison Ford. Directed by Lee Toland Krieger. 110 minutes. Rated PG-13. Lively’s stilted, mannered acting actually works in her favor playing a seemingly immortal woman born in 1908. Adaline falls in love and wistfully looks back on her long, lonely life, but neither the romance nor the regret is particularly convincing. The plot is dull and predictable, especially in its turgid second half. –JB Theaters: SC Avengers: Age of Ultron aaabc Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris
Theaters (AL) Regal Aliante 7300 Aliante Parkway, North Las Vegas, 702-221-2283 (BS) Regal Boulder Station 4111 Boulder Highway, 702-221-2283 (PAL) Brenden Theatres at the Palms 4321 W. Flamingo Road, 702-507-4849
Hemsworth. Directed by Joss Whedon. 141 minutes. Rated PG-13. The Marvel superheroes (including Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and more) team up for their latest adventure, taking on evil robot Ultron. Writer-director Whedon manages to include an impressive amount of character development and clever dialogue, although eventually the action set pieces and cluttered plot steamroll over the drama. –JB Theaters: ST, VS Dope aaabc Shameik Moore, Kiersey Clemons, Tony Revolori. Directed by Rick Famuyiwa. 105 minutes. Rated R. Geeky inner-city teenager Malcolm (Moore) has to fend off dangerous characters when he ends up with a backpack full of drugs meant for someone else. Writer-director Famuyiwa mixes winning comedic moments with serious, life-or-death situations, often at the same time, like a cross between Adventures in
(DTS) Regal Downtown Summerlin 2070 Park Center Drive, 702-221-2283 (FH) Regal Fiesta Henderson 777 W. Lake Mead Parkway, Henderson, 702-221-2283 (GVR) Regal Green Valley Ranch 2300 Paseo Verde Parkway, Henderson, 702-221-2283
(CAN) Galaxy Cannery 2121 E. Craig Road, North Las Vegas, 702-639-9779
(GVL) Galaxy Green Valley Luxury+ 4500 E. Sunset Road, Henderson, 702442-0244
(CH) Cinedome Henderson 851 S. Boulder Highway, Henderson, 702-566-1570
(ORL) Century Orleans 4500 W. Tropicana Ave., 702-889-1220
(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
(RP) AMC Rainbow Promenade 2321 N. Rainbow Blvd., 888-262-4386
Furious 7 aaacc Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez. Directed by James Wan. 137 minutes. Rated PG-13. Replacement director Wan freshens the seventh film of this ridiculous series with a great villain (Statham) and several razzle-dazzle set pieces, and replaces the usual machismo with “family”-type bonding. But he also can’t stop the movie from raging too long and running out of gas early. –JMA Theaters: TC Home aabcc Voices of Jim Parsons, Rihanna, Steve Martin. Directed by Tim Johnson. 94 minutes. Rated PG. After the cute, clueless alien Boov invade and take over Earth, human tween Tip (Rihanna) teams up with misfit alien Oh (Parsons) to save the planet. It’s a familiar mismatched-friends story, tolerable enough for children who like funnycolored aliens but forgettable enough that parents should be able to easily ignore it. –JB Theaters: TC Hot Pursuit aaccc Reese Witherspoon, Sofia Vergara, John Carroll Lynch. Directed by Anne Fletcher. 87 minutes. Rated PG-13. Witherspoon
(SF) Century Santa Fe Station 4949 N. Rancho Drive, 702-655-8178 (SHO) United Artists Showcase 3769 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 702-221-2283 (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 (TX) Regal Texas Station 2101 Texas Star Lane, North Las Vegas, 702-221-2283 (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.
A&E | Short Takes > young again CGI sends Arnold Schwarzenegger back to his youth in Terminator Genisys.
and Vergara have minimal chemistry as a cop and a criminal, respectively, in this lazy, unfunny action-comedy, which combines weak, repetitive jokes with desultory cop-drama plot points. The jokes mostly rely on tired gender stereotypes and jabs at Witherspoon’s short stature and Vergara’s curves and incomprehensible accent. –JB Theaters: TC I’ll See You in My Dreams aaacc Blythe Danner, Martin Starr, Sam Elliott. Directed by Brett Haley. 92 minutes. Rated PG-13. This dramedy about aimless retiree Carol (Danner) is a low-key amble through a brief period in her life, as she takes a few steps to shake up her settled but lonely routine. Danner is charming, and the talented supporting cast offers gentle laughs and a few moments of heartfelt emotion. –JB Theaters: VS Inside Out aaabc Voices of Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Richard Kind. Directed by Pete Docter. 94 minutes. Rated PG. Pixar’s latest animated feature takes place almost entirely inside the brain of an 11-yearold girl, focusing on the five core emotions—Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust and Anger—who control her behavior. It’s a funny movie with a remarkably wise message, but parents of pre-teen kids be warned: It will wreck you. –MD Theaters: AL, BS, CAN, CH, DI, GVL, ORL, PAL, RP, RR, SC, SF, SHO, SP, SS, TS, TX Insidious: Chapter 3 aaccc Stefanie Scott, Lin Shaye, Dermot Mulroney. Directed by Leigh Whannell. 97 minutes. Rated PG-13. This horror prequel features none of the main characters from the previous Insidious movies, instead focusing on an earlier case handled by psychic Elise Rainier (Shaye). It’s an underwhelming, standard-issue ghost story, relying mostly on jump scares, without the sense of dread that made the original movie stand out. –JB Theaters: TX Jurassic World aabcc Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simpkins. Directed by Colin Trevorrow. 124 minutes. Rated PG-13. The fourth
movie in the series about genetically engineered dinosaurs returns to the theme-park setting, with a new deadly dino wreaking havoc on the fully operational park. Two decades after the groundbreaking original, this sequel arrives as just another overstuffed, CGI-filled blockbuster about people running and yelling. –JB Theaters: AL, BS, CAN, CH, DI, GVL, ORL, PAL, RP, RR, SC, SF, SHO, SP, SS, TS, TX Love & Mercy aaabc John Cusack, Paul Dano, Elizabeth Banks. Directed by Bill Pohlad. 120 minutes. Rated PG-13. This biopic focuses on two periods in troubled musician Brian Wilson’s life, with Dano as the young Beach Boy and Cusack as the middleaged burnout. Dano and Cusack’s performances don’t necessarily line up, but each captures Wilson convincingly, and the filmmakers don’t try to fit his life into a particular movie formula. –JB Theaters: GVR, VS Mad Max: Fury Road aaabc Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult. Directed by George Miller. 120 minutes. Rated R. Taciturn drifter Max Rockatansky (Hardy, replacing Mel Gibson) returns for the first time in 30 years, on another post-apocalyptic adventure. The thin plot is an excuse for director Miller to stage bravura car chases and action sequences, which should be more than enough to satisfy fans. –JB Theaters: GVR, ST, VS Magic Mike XXL acccc Channing Tatum, Joe Manganiello, Matt Bomer. Directed by Gregory Jacobs. 115 minutes. Rated R. The sequel to the surprise-hit male-stripper drama is barely even a movie at all; the plot is a string of minimally connected set pieces that exist mainly to showcase the stars’ abs. It’s every bit the cheesy, brainless exercise in audience pandering that many expected from the first movie. –JB Theaters: AL, BS, CAN, CH, DI, DTS, GVL, ORL, PAL, RP, SC, SF, SHO, SP, SS, TS, TX Max abccc Josh Wiggins, Thomas Haden Church,
Lauren Graham. Directed by Boaz Yakin. 111 minutes. Rated PG. This shamelessly manipulative family drama follows sullen teenager Justin (Wiggins) as he learns important life lessons while taking care of the military dog left behind by his late brother. The heavy-handed message is matched by the terrible dialogue, one-dimensional characters and sloppy third-act attempt at generating suspense. –JB Theaters: AL, CAN, CH, ORL, PAL, RP, RR, SF, SP, ST, TS, TX, VS Me and Earl and the Dying Girl aaccc Thomas Mann, RJ Cyler, Olivia Cooke. Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon. 105 minutes. Rated PG-13. This Sundancewinning dramedy is smug and selfserving in its story of an awkward teen (Mann) who learns and grows after befriending a cancer patient (Cooke). It’s at least somewhat clever in its lighter, funnier first half, but what starts as a mildly funny comedy ends up as a disingenuous tearjerker. –JB Theaters: GVR, ST, VS The Overnight aaacc Adam Scott, Taylor Schilling, Jason Schwartzman. Directed by Patrick Brice. 79 minutes. Rated R. A dinner party takes a turn for the perverse when two married couples get intimate. Writer-director Brice mixes uncomfortable humor with genuine revelations, and the depravity escalates so effectively that it’s a little disappointing when he pulls back at the end. –JB Theaters: GVR, VS Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 abccc Kevin James, Raini Rodriguez, Neal McDonough. Directed by Andy Fickman. 94 minutes. Rated PG. Six years after thwarting a heist at a New Jersey mall, bumbling security guard Paul Blart (James) ends up doing the same at a Las Vegas hotel. Mall Cop 2 suffers from indifferent plotting, listless action and apathetic jokes that often don’t appear to have punchlines. –JB Theaters: TC Pitch Perfect 2 aabcc Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow. Directed by Elizabeth Banks. 115 minutes. Rated PG-13. Everything in this
sequel to the 2012 surprise hit college a cappella comedy is a little bigger, but none of it is better. The songs are still catchy, the stars are still charming, and some of the jokes are still funny, but the original’s freshness has been replaced by a dutiful retread. –JB Theaters: TC, VS Poltergeist aaccc Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt, Kyle Catlett. Directed by Gil Kenan. 93 minutes. Rated PG-13. Poltergeist is considered a horror classic, so a remake ought to have a unique point of view, or at least deliver some solid scares. Kenan’s new version of the 1982 haunted-house story has neither, recycling most of the original’s major plot points with a few half-hearted modern updates. –JB Theaters: TC San Andreas aaccc Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, Alexandra Daddario. Directed by Brad Peyton. 114 minutes. Rated PG-13. Johnson plays a fire department rescue pilot who attempts to save his wife and daughter when a series of massive earthquakes strike California in this moronic, mushy, painfully predictable disaster movie. Its wholesale devastation of California is an impressive feat of special effects, but the destruction eventually becomes repetitive. –JB Theaters: BS, CAN, ORL, PAL, RR, SC, SF, SP, TS, TX Spy aaacc Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne. Directed by Paul Feig. 115 minutes. Rated R. The plot is the least interesting element of this plot-heavy movie, in which McCarthy’s insecure CIA analyst is thrust into the field after the apparent death of her partner. That stuff is all just window dressing for the comedy, though, and McCarthy delivers, even when the overstuffed plot drags the movie down. –JB Theaters: ORL, PAL, RR, SF, SP, ST, TS, VS Ted 2 aaacc Mark Wahlberg, Amanda Seyfried, voice of Seth MacFarlane. Directed by Seth MacFarlane. 115 minutes. Rated R. MacFarlane’s foul-mouthed teddy bear
is back, struggling to overturn a legal decision that he’s not a person, with the help of thunder buddy Wahlberg and a bong-toting civil-rights attorney (Seyfried). Like the original, it’s very hit-and-miss, joke-wise, but the relaxed chemistry between the actors gives the gags an appealing context. –MD Theaters: AL, CAN, CH, DI, DTS, GVR, ORL, PAL, RP, SF, SHO, SP, SS, ST, TS, TX, VS Terminator Genisys aabcc Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney. Directed by Alan Taylor. 126 minutes. Rated PG-13. The fifth movie in the series about the battle between humans and machines for control of the future rewrites events of the first, but fails when it comes to creating its own story. With a convoluted plot that’s full of holes, Genisys often feels like a glorified piece of fan fiction. –JB Theaters: AL, CAN, CH, DI, GVL, GVR, ORL, PAL, RP, RR, SF, SHO, SP, SS, ST, TS, TX, VS Tomorrowland aabcc George Clooney, Britt Robertson, Raffey Cassidy. Directed by Brad Bird. 130 minutes. Rated PG. A teenage prodigy (Robertson) teams up with a grumpy ex-inventor (Clooney) to discover the hidden futuristic city of Tomorrowland and eventually save the world. This slow-paced, convoluted and strangely preachy movie is more of a presentation about the concept of adventure stories than an actual exciting adventure story. –JB Theaters: ST, VS Woman in Gold aabcc Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds, Tatiana Maslany. Directed by Simon Curtis. 109 minutes. Rated PG-13. The true story of Maria Altmann, an Austrian Jew who fled the Nazis during WWII and later battled to reclaim paintings that the Nazis stole from her family, is stirring and complex, but the filmmakers smooth it out and simplify it, making every courtroom battle into a clichéd, heavy-handed triumph. –JB Theaters: SC JMA Jeffrey M. Anderson; JB Josh Bell; MD Mike D’Angelo
July 9–15, 2015 LasVegasWeekly.com 53
Calendar LISTINGS YOU CAN PLAN YOUR LIFE BY!
> LADIES MAN The Sinister Minister and his lovely friends host Night of the Living Dead.
THE GRUESOME GOSPEL He might not have Elvira’s curves (unless you count his buxom Altar Girls), but the Sinister Minister could teach the infamous horror host a thing or two about creepy makeup and trilling words like a surly Scottish vampire. Busy with a taped show that broadcasts on streaming service Roku’s Bizarre TV (Fridays at midnight; Sundays at 9 p.m.) and on-demand on the Grindhouse Channel, he made room for a monthly live gig every second Sunday at the Sci Fi Center, where owner William Powell is seeing to the lightning bolts, smoke and schlock films for the Sinister one to comically shred. Powell says: “It’s Mystery Science Theater, but with a satanic priest.” The July 12 kickoff features a zombie classic: SINISTER SUNDAY NIGHT Night of the Living Dead. In the grand horror-host tradition, expect lots MASSACRE July 12, 10 p.m., of corny wordplay and the kind of dark silliness that will make you miss $10. Sci Fi Center, 5077 Arville being a kid sneaking peeks of the “bad” channels. –Erin Ryan St., 855-501-4335.
LIVE MUSIC T H E ST R I P & N E A R BY Brooklyn Bowl Earphunk, Barry Black 7/9, 9 pm, free. Machine Gun Kelly 7/10, 9 pm, $25-$30. Adler, Paper Tigers, Strange Mistress 7/11, 8 pm, $22-$28. Kevin Fowler 7/15, 8 pm, $18-$22. Jurassic 5, RDGLDGRN, RNR 7/16, 8 pm, $35-$85. The Offspring, The Garden 7/17, 8:30 pm, $43-$48. Between the Buried and Me, Animals as Leaders, The Contortionist 7/18, $20. Stooges Brass Band 7/19-7/20, 8 pm, free. Easy Star All-Stars, The Movement 7/27, 8 pm, $17-$20. Ky-Mani Marley 7/29, 8 pm, $17-$20. Danzig, Pennywise, Cancer Bats, Brave Black Sea 7/31, 7:30 pm, $36$39. The Suffers 8/6, 9 pm, free. Everclear, Toadies, Fuel, American Hi-Fi 8/8, 8 pm, $40. Common Kings 8/15, 9 pm, $20-$22. The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Black Ryder 8/16, 8 pm, $30-$35. George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Yojimbo 8/18, 9 pm, $28-$33. Modest Mouse
8/20, 9 pm, $55. Coal Chamber, Fear Factory, Devil You Know, Saint Ridley, Madlife 8/21, 6:30 pm, $20-$25. Lecrae 8/22, 9 pm, $25$50. Jill Scott 8/27, 8 pm, $46-$100. Psychedelic Furs, The Church 9/8, 8 pm, $30-$35. Banda El Recodo 9/12, 8 pm $55-$66. Lettuce 9/23, 9 pm, $20. Robert Randolph, Amy Helm, The Handsome Strangers 10/6, 8 pm, $20-$30. Linq, 702-862-2695. The Colosseum Reba, Brooks & Dunn 12/2, 12/4, 12/6, 12/9, $60-$205. Rod Stewart 7/31, 8/1, 8/5, 8/8, 8/9, 8/12, 8/15, 7:30 pm. Celine Dion 8/27, 8/28-8/30, 9/1, 9/4-9/5, 9/8-9/9, 9/119/12, 9/29-9/30, 10/2-10/3, 10/6-10/7, 10/9-10/10, 11/3-11/4, 11/7-11/8, 11/1011/11, 11/13-11/14, 11/17-11/18, 11/20-11/21, 12/20-12/31, 1/2, 1/6, 1/9-1/10, 1/12-1/13, 1/16-1/17, $55-$250, 7:30 pm. Aretha Franklin 8/14, 8 pm, $55-$160. Enrique Iglesias 9/13-9/14, 9 pm, $40-$300. Plácido Domingo 9/15, 8 pm, $80-$500. The Who 9/19, 10:30 pm, $96-$501. Elton John 10/13-10/14, 10/16, 6:30 pm, $55-$500. Caesars Palace, 702-731-7333. The Cosmopolitan (Chelsea) Brian
Wilson, Rodriguez 7/10, 7 pm, $50. Brantley Gilbert, Carter Winter 7/24, 8 pm, $65. Willie Nelson, Emi Sunshine 7/26, 7 pm, $35. D’Angelo & The Vanguard 8/21, 7 pm, $50. (Boulevard Pool) Barenaked Ladies, Violent Femmes, Colin Hay 7/18, 8 pm, $50. Of Monsters and Men 8/13, 9 pm, $35. Slightly Stoopid 8/14, 9 pm, $35. Drake 9/6, 9 pm, $65. Damian Jr. Gong Marley, Stephen Ragga Marley, Morgan Heritage, Tarrus Riley 9/24, 8 pm, $43. Counting Crows, Citizen Cope 10/3, 7:30 pm, $55. Charli XCX, Bleachers 10/9, 8 pm, $26. Garbage, Torres 10/10, 8 pm, $40. Father John Misty, Mikal Cronin 10/15, 8 pm, $23. The Neighborhood, Bad Suns, Hunny 10/30, 8 pm, $25. 702-698-7000. Dive Bar Three Bad Jacks, Dead at Midnite, The Legendary Boilermakers 7/11, 9 pm, $10. 4110 S. Maryland Pkwy., 702-586-3483. Double Down TV Party Tonight w/ Atomic Fish 7/9, 9 pm, free. False Cause, 40 oz. Folklore, Lambs to Lions, The Wreckless 7/10, 10 pm, free. S.F.T., Los Carajos, Burien, Die
Nasty, Mystic Perception, Vegas Threat 7/11, 10 pm, free. Piccadilloes, 1/2 Ast, Sounds of Threat 7/17, 10 pm, free. 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., 702-791-5775. Flamingo Olivia Newton-John thru 7/11, 7/14-7/18, 7/21-7/25, 8/4-8/8, 8/118/15, 8/18-8/22, 9/1-9/5, 9/8-9/12, 7:30 pm, $69-$139. 702-733-3333. Gilley’s Brodie Stewart Band 7/17-7/18, 10 pm. Chad Freeman Band 7/23, 9 pm; 7/24-7/25, 10 pm. Kenny Allen Band 8/27, 9 pm; 8/28, 8/29, 10 pm. Austin Law 8/20, 9 pm; 8/21-8/22, 10 pm. Scotty Alexander Band 7/30, 9 pm; 7/31-8/1, 10 pm. Shows $10-$20 after 10 pm unless noted. Treasure Island, 702-894-7722. Hard Rock Hotel (Pool) Nelson, Elvis Monroe 7/10, 9 pm, $35. South of Graceland 7/17, 9 pm, $30+. G. Love and Special Sauce, Big Head Todd and the Monsters 7/23, 9 pm, $45$37. Puddle of Mudd 7/31, 9 pm, $25+. The Wailers 8/7, 8 pm, $30$32. Inner Circle, Fourtunate Youth 8/14, 9 pm, $20-$25. Tribal Seeds, The Expanders 8/21, 9 pm, $25. Skid Row 9/4, 9 pm, $35-$40. Blue October 9/18, 9 pm, $30. Live 10/2, 9 pm, $35+. 702-693-5000. Hard Rock Live Turnpike Troubadours 7/23, 7 pm, $17-$21. Say Anything, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Modern Baseball, Hard Girls 7/31, 7 pm, $20-$25. Hard Rock Cafe (Strip), 3771 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 702-733-7625. House of Blues Jowell y Randy 7/9, $35. Los Enanitos Verdes/Maldita Vecindad 7/11, $45. Bonfire 7/15, $10. Corey Taylor 7/18, 7 pm, $23-$26. Led ZepAgain 7/30, $12. Tokio Hotel 8/1, 7 pm, $22-$25. Stephen Ragga Marley 8/4, 7:30 pm, $26-$31. Heart 8/13-8/15, 11/19-11/21, 8 pm, $55-$70. Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers 9/5, 8 pm, $29-$44. Carlos Santana 9/16, 9/18-9/20, 9/23, 9/25-9/27, 11/4, 11/6-11/8, 11/11, 11/13-11/15, $90-$350, 8 pm. The Tragically Hip 10/3, 7:30 pm, $43-$55. Halestorm 10/17, $30. Ghost 10/31, $25. Kamelot, DragonForce 12/7, 7 pm, $22-$25. Rhyme N Rhythm Mon, 9 pm, free. Live swing music Tue, 9 pm, free. Blues Wed, 8 pm, free. Phil Stendek Thu, 8 pm, free. Singles Sat, 9 pm, free. Gospel Brunch Sun, 10 am & 1 pm, $27$50. PJ Barth Trio Sun, 8 pm, free. Mandalay Bay, 702-632-7600. The Joint The Smashing Pumpkins & Marilyn Manson, Cage 7/10, 8 pm, $60+ Third Eye Blind, Dashboard Confessional, Night Terrors of 1927 7/11, 8 pm, $40+. Steve Miller Band 7/25, 8 pm, $50+. Juanes, Ximena Sariñana 7/30, 7:30 pm, $60+. Brit Floyd 7/31, 9 pm, $35+. Peter Frampton, Cheap Trick 8/22, 8 pm, $50+. Primus and the Chocolate Factory, The Fungi Ensemble 9/4, 8 pm, $43+. Incubus 9/6, 8 pm, $70+. Five Finger Death Punch, Papa Roach 9/19, 6:15 pm, $50+. Scorpions, Queensrÿche 10/7, 8 pm, $60+. UB40, Ali Campbell, Astro, Mickey Virtue 10/16, $40-$55. J Balvin, Becky G 10/24, 8 pm, $60+. Little Big Town 12/4, 8 pm, $35+. Hard Rock Hotel, 702-693-5222. Mandalay Bay (Events Center) 5 Seconds of Summer 7/17, 7:30 pm, $50-$100. Fall Out Boy, Wiz Khalifa
CHECK OUT OUR COMPLETE CALENDAR LISTINGS AT LASVEGASWEEKLY.COM/EVENTS 54 LASVEGASWEEKLY.COM JULY 9-15, 2015
8/7, 7 pm, $25-$70. Kelly Clarkson, Pentatonix 8/15, 7:30 pm, $40$125. Juan Gabriel 9/13, $69-$229. (Mandalay Beach) 311 7/3-7/4, $55-$95. Switchfoot, Drew Holdcomb & The Neighbors, Colony House 7/10, $34. Pepper, Iration 7/17, $35+. Sugar Ray, Uncle Kracker, Eve 6, Better Than Ezra 7/16, $35, 9 pm. Ziggy Marley 7/31, $43. Lost ‘80s Live ft. ABC, Wang Chung, Naked Eyes, A Flock of Seagulls and more. 9/26, $35. 702632-7777. MGM (Grand Garden Arena) Rush 7/25, 8 pm, $60-$180. Aerosmith 8/1, 8 pm, $50-$150. Madonna 10/24, 8 pm, $43-$383. Andrea Bocelli 12/5, 8 pm, $78-$403. Mötley Crüe 12/27, 7 pm, $25-$150. 702-891-7777. Orleans Throwback Sizzling Jam 7/17, 7:30 pm, $42. Don McLean, Judy Collins 7/18-7/19, $40. Espinoza Paz, El Komander, La Adictiva, Los Torres 7/25, 8 pm, $50. The Bacon Brothers 8/1-8/2, $30. Super Freestyle Explosion ft. Stevie B, Exposé, Taylor Dayne, Lisa Lisa, The Cover Girls, Freestyle, Debbie Deb, Trinere, Nu Shooz, J.J. FAD 8/7, 8 pm, $32. CSNSongs 8/15-8/16, $20. Coyote Countryfest 8/29, 7 pm, $20. Brass Transit 8/29-8/30, $20. Air Supply 9/4-9/6, $40. NiteKings Wed, 4 pm. Rick Duarte Fri, 9 pm. Acoustic Den Sat, 9 pm. Shows free unless noted. 4500 W. Tropicana Ave., 702-365-7075. Palace Station (Jack’s) Forget to Remember Fri-Sat, 9 pm, free. 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, $72. 3355 S. Las Vegas Blvd., 702-4144300. Palms (The Lounge) Santa Fe and the Fat City Horns Mon, 10:30 pm, $10. 702-944-3200. The Pearl Alice in Chains 7/18, 8 pm, $53+. Melissa Etheridge 8/7, 8 pm, $49+. Fifth Harmony 8/13, 7 pm, $33+. Jackson Browne 8/21, 8 pm, $63+. Alejandra Guzman 9/12, 8 pm, $33+. Oliver Dragojevic w/ UNLV Symphony Orchestra 9/26, 8 pm, $69+. Palms, 702-942-7777. Piero’s Pia Zadora Fri & Sat, 9 pm, two-drink minimum. 355 Convention Center Dr., 702-369-2305. Planet Hollywood Earth, Wind & Fire, Chicago 7/17, 8 pm, $70-$219. J. Cole, YG, Jeremih, Bas, Cozz and Omen 7/18, 8 pm, $41-$200. Britney Spears 8/5, 8/7-8/8, 8/12, 8/14-8/15, 8/18-8/19, 8/21-8/22, 8/26, 8/28-8/29, 9/2, 9/49/5, 9/9. $60-$195. La Arrolladora 9/13, 9 pm, $59-$175. Ricky Martin 9/15, 8 pm, $50-$160. 702-234-7469. Rí Rá The Black Donnellys 7/9, 7/12, 7/14-7/16, 7/19, 7/21-7/23, 7/26, 7/287/30, 8:45 pm; 7/10-7/11, 7/17-7/18, 7/247/25, 7/31, 9 pm. John Windsor 7/13, 7/20, 7/27, 8:45 pm. Shows nightly. Mandalay Place, 702-632-7771. Route 91 Harvest Festival ft. Florida Georgia Line, Keith Urban, Tim McGraw and more. 10/2-10/4, times vary, $199. MGM Resorts Village, rt91harvest.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. Vinyl Letlive, Stolas, A Friend a
Calendar Foe, There Is No Us 7/13, 7 pm, $13-$25. A Steampunk Concert Fantasy 7/15, 11 pm, $10+. Dead Sara, Lost in Society 7/22, 8 pm, $15-$35. The Aggrolites 7/29, 8 pm, $15-$35. Lights 8/18, 8 pm, $18-$35. Eliza Battle, Alex & His Meal Ticket, Lawn Mower Death Riders 8/19, 8 pm, $8-$15. Kehlani 8/22, 7 pm, $15-$35. Cody Canada & The Departed 8/26, 8 pm, $17-$32. Millencolin 9/1, 8 pm, $19-$22. Anuhea 9/4, 9 pm, $20-$45. Blue October 9/19, 9 pm, $30-$45. Misfits 11/11, 8 pm, $25-$45. Reverend Horton Heat, The BellRays, The Lords of Altamont 12/4, 9 pm, $25-$45. Hard Rock Hotel, 702-693-5000. Wynn (Eastside Lounge) Michael Monge WedThu, 9 pm, $10. 3131 S Las Vegas Blvd.
All shows free. 425 Fremont St., 702-3824204. The Smith Center Frankie Moreno 7/14, 7/21, 8/11, 8 pm, $25-$35. Lon Bronson Band 7/18, 8 pm, $15-$35. Lyle Lovett and His Large Band 7/25, 7:30 pm, $25+. Johnny Mathis 7/31, 7:30 pm, $29+. Reckless in Vegas 8/14, 8 pm, $35-$45. Spectrum 8/15, 7 pm; 8/16, 3 pm, $37-$40. Clint Holmes 9/11-9/12, 8:30 pm; 9/13, 2 pm, $37-$46. Paul Anka 9/18, 7:30 pm, $29-$149. Pink Martini 2/6, 7:30 pm, $100-$250. The Tenors 2/20, 7:30 pm, $24-$95. 361 Symphony Park Ave., 702-7492000.
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Babes Rockin’ Sports Bar Sin City SInners 7/9. Dio Rising 7/10. Billy Dare and the Pumps 7/11. Smashing Alice, Bugbone 7/18. Swamp Pussy 7/24. Tailgun 7/25. Rock ‘n’ Roll Never Forgets 7/30. 5901 Emerald Ave., 702-435-7545. Cannery Cool Change Thru 7/11, 8:30 pm. 2121 E Craig Rd., 702-507-5700. Distill Summerlin Besty Holm 7/11. Michael Anthony 7/18. Marty Feick 7/25. All shows free & begin at 8 p.m. 10820 W. Charleston Blvd., distillbar.com, 702-534-1400. Eagle Aerie Hall No Zodiac, Unit 731, No Altars, Presagers, Mental Prison, DIstinguisher, The Devil Who Decieved Them, Amongu 7/16, 5 pm, $11-$13. Forever Came Calling, Season Change, You Me and Everyone We Know, Life Pacific, New and Improved 7/17, 5:30 pm, $13-$15. Hail the Sun, Artifex Pereo & Eidola, 16 Hours Remain, Courvge, I am Of Terra, Journey 2 Rapture, Amarionette 7/21, 5 pm, $12-$15. Distinguisher, A Shark Among Us, Heartwork, Scream the Lie, Locust, From Where We Came 7/30, 5:20 pm, $10-$13. Like Moths to Flames, The Plot in You, Myka Relocate, Yuth 7/31, 5:30 pm, $15-$17. The Devil Who Decieved Them, Words From Aztecs, Invoker, Amongu, Mephitic Origins, Loose Ends 8/8, 5:20 pm, $11-$14. King Conquer, Here Comes the Kraken, Adaliah, Dealey Plaza, The Devil Who Deceived Them 8/18, 5 pm, $13$15. Knocked Loose, Orthodox, Another Mistake, Locust, Brooklyn Edge 9/1, 5:20 pm, $12-$15. 310 W. Pacific Ave., 702-6454139. Elixir Justin Mather 7/10, 7/24. Shaun South 7/11, 7/25. Marty Feick 7/17. Iian Dvir 7/18. Kelly Dorn 7/31. All shows at 8 p.m., free. 2920 N. Green Valley Pkwy., 702-2720000. Green Valley Ranch (Hanks) Dave Ritz Tue, Thu, 6 pm; Sat, 7 pm. Nick Mattera Fri, 6 pm. Jeremy James Sat, 7 pm. Rick Duarte Wed, 6 pm. Shows free unless noted. 702367-2470. M Resort (M Pavillion) Elvis, The Aloha Concert Tribute 8/8, 7 pm, $30-$42. Shows free with drink purchase. M Resort, 800745-3000. Rampart Casino (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., 702-5075900. Red Rock (Rocks Lounge) Zowie Bowie Fri, 10 pm. The Dirty Sat, 11 pm, $10. David Perrico Pop Strings Orchestra Sat, 11 pm, free. (Onyx) Jared Berry Thu, 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., 702-797-7777. Santa Fe Station (Chrome Showroom)All shows free unless noted. (Revolver) Bro Country Thu, 8 pm. (4949 Lounge) Jared Berry Thu, 7 pm, free. 4949 N Rancho Dr., 702-658-4900. Sienna Italian Authentic Trattoria Vegas Good Fellas Thu, 7:30 pm. Red Velvet Fri-Sat, 8:30 pm. 9500 Sahara Ave., 702-360-3358. Silverton Wine Down Wednesdays Wed, 6 pm, free. (Veil Pavilion) 3333 Blue Diamond Rd., 702-263-7777. South Point Dennis Bono Show Thu, 2 pm, free. Wes Winters Fri-Sat, 6 pm, free. Spazmatics Sat, 10:30 pm, $5. 702-7978005. Sunset Station (Club Madrid) Lon Bronson
Artifice Vegas Blues Dance Tue, 7 pm, free. Thursday Request Live Thu, 10 pm, free. 1025 S. 1st St., Ste. 100., 702-489-6339. Art Bar Ryan Whyte Maloney Thu, 6 pm. Live music Fri-Sat, 6 pm. Downtown Grand, 206 N. 3rd St., 702-719-5100. Backstage Bar & Billiards Stoney Curtis Band & All Star Jam 7/10, 8 pm, free. Happy Campers, Battle Born, Surrounded by Thieves, Brock Frabbiele 7/11, 8 pm, $7-$10. Rewind: Dead or Alive tribute 7/11, midnight, free. Chiks who Rok 7/12, 8 pm, free. Live band karaoke 7/14, 8 pm, free. Chelsea Wolfe 8/27, 8 pm, $10-$12. 601 E. Fremont St., 702-382-2227. Bar & Bistro Out of the Desert Bluegrass Band Sun, noon, free. Arts Factory, 107 E. Charleston Blvd., 702-202-6060. Beauty Bar Astronauts Etc. 7/12, 8 pm. Shannon & The Clams 9/27, 9 pm. 517 Fremont St., 702-598-3757. The Bunkhouse Frontier Ruckus, Sons of Bill, The All-Togethers 7/10, 9:30 pm, $10. Trans AM, Go Dark, Life Coach 7/11, 9 pm, $10-$12. Rum Rebellion 7/12, 8 pm, $8-$10. Sarah Bethe Nelson, Candy Warpop 7/13, 8:30 pm, $5-$8. Numb Bats, Pet Tigers, The Pysiatics 7/14, 9 pm, $5. Cayucas 7/16, 10:30 pm, $12. Hassan Hamilton, Trade Voorhees, The Sideshow Tragedy, Alex and his Meal Ticket 7/17, 8 pm, $5. Hawthorne Heights, Sleepwave, Bonfires 7/19, 7:30 pm, $12-$15. Same Sex Mary, Hidden Levels, Dark Black 7/25, 9 pm, $10. Melt Banana, Torche, Hot Nerds 7/26, $20. Dawes, John Moreland 8/8, 9 pm, $20-$25. Happyness 8/11, 8 pm, $10-$12. Man or Astroman, Turbo Fruits, Wray 8/13, 9 pm, $15. The Drums, Froth 8/18, 8 pm, $15. Broncho, Junk 8/20, 9 pm, $10-$12. Savages 8/21, 9 pm, $20-$25. The Melvins 8/29, 9 pm, $20. 124 S. 11th St., bunkhousedowntown.com. Downtown Container Park Philip Stendek 7/10, 7/24, 7:30 pm. Empire Records 7/10, 9 pm. Jessica Manalo 7/11, 8 pm. Cat Attack! 7/11, 9 pm. The Sideshow Tragedy 7/18, 10:30 pm. Bricks performing “Dark Side of the Rainbow” 7/24, 9 pm. Patty Ascher 7/31, 9 pm. 707 Fremont St, downtowncontainerpark.com. Downtown Grand Reckless in Vegas 7/10-7/11, 9 pm, free. Empire Records 7/18, 8 pm, $5. Journey Unlimited 8/8, 8 pm, $5. Wanted 8/22, 8 pm, $5. Mick Adams and the Stones 9/5, 8 pm, $5. 206 N. 3rd St., 702-719-5100. Fremont Street Experience Dropkick Murphys 7/10, 9 pm. Immortal Technique, Chino XL, Pen, Ekoh 7/12, 8 pm, $15-$20. Theory of a Deadman 7/18, 9 pm. Spin Doctors, Cherry Poppin’ Daddies 8/1, 9 pm. Kansas, Blue Oyster Cult 9/6, 9 pm. Downtown Las Vegas, vegasexperience. com. Gold Spike The Royal Hounds 7/10, 10 pm, free. Haleamano 7/18, 7/25, 10 pm, free. 217 Las Vegas Blvd. N., goldspike.com. Griffin Boom Boom Kid 7/15. Live music Wed, 10 pm, free. 511 Fremont St., 702-382-0577. Hard Hat Lounge The Funk Jam Wed, 10:30 pm, free. Transmission 7/18, 9 pm, free. 1675 Industrial Rd., 702-384-8987. LVCS Ces Cru, Joey Cool, Houston Zizza 7/9, 9 pm, $10. Moonshine Bandits, J Gamble, N.E. Last Words, Jelly Roll, Crucifix 8/21, 9 pm, $10. Insomnium, Ominium Gatherum 8/29, 9 pm, $12-$15. Krisiun, Origin Aeon, Alterbeast, Soreption, Ingested 9/17, 8 pm, $17-$20. 425 Fremont St., 702-382-3531. Mickie Finnz Happy hour music 4-7 pm daily.
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CALENDAR Band Fri, 9:30 pm. Zowie Bowie Sat, 10 pm. (Gaudi Bar) Ryan Whyte Maloney, Cali Tucker Fri, Sat, 7 pm. Willplay Sat, 7 pm. (Rosalita’s) Tony Venniro Fri, 7 pm. Peter Love Sat, 7 pm. (Sunset Amphitheater) George Thorogood & The Destroyers 9/19, 8 pm, $24-$60. (Cabo) Vegas Voice Afternoon Affair 5/20, 1:30 pm. Shows free unless noted. 1301 W. Sunset Rd., 702-547-7777. Texas Station (Dallas Events Center) (A-Bar) Darrin Michaels Fri-Sat, 7 pm. (South Padre) Elemental Fri, 9 pm. Yellow Brick Road Sat, 9 pm. 702631-1000.
E V E RY W H E R E E L S E Arizona Charlie’s Decatur (Naughty Ladies Saloon) The Good Fellas 6/26-6/27. Jerry Tiffe Fri, 4 pm. 740 S. Decatur Blvd., 702-258-5200. Boomers Live music Wed, 10 pm, $5-$10. Hip Hop Roots Fri, 10 pm, $5. 3200 Sirius Ave., 702-368-1863. Boulder Dam Brewing Blue String Theory 7/10. Wake Eastman 7/11. Justin Mather 7/16. Jimi Prima Band 7/17. Out of the Desert 7/18. Unscene Patrol 7/23. Tommy Alexander 7/24. Joe Teichman 7/25. Holes and Hearts 7/31. Thu, 7 pm; Fri & Sat, 8 pm, all shows free unless noted, Fri-Sat, 8 pm; Wed-Thu, 7 pm. 453 Nevada Way, Boulder City, 702-2432739. Boulder Station (Railhead) Jonny Lang 8/21, 8 pm, $30-$60. Yellow Brick Road Fri, 9 pm, $5. Bee Gees Gold Sat, 9 pm, free. 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 Burn Unit 7/9, 8:30 pm, free. Wednesday 13, Death Division 7/10, 9 pm, $10-$15. Armored Saint, Dinner Music For the Gods, Tyrants By Night 7/11, 9 pm, $10-$15. Drum Wars: Carmine and Vinny Appice & Their All Star Band 7/18, 9 pm, $10-$15. Sin City Sinners 7/30, 10 pm, free. Let it Rawk, London 8/1, 9 pm, $10. Texas Hippie Coalition, Red Sky Mary, 3Eighty3, Dellacoma 8/8, 8:30 pm, $10-$15. Tom Keifer 8/14, 8:30 pm, $20-$25. Orgy, First Class Trash, Crackerman 8/21, 9 pm, $10-$15. Black ‘N’ Blue 8/22, 9 pm, $10-$15. 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, 702-458-6343. Eastside Cannery (Marilyn’s Lounge) Claudine Castro Band Mon, 10 pm. Phoenix Wed, 9 pm. Spazmatics Sun, 9 pm. Shows free unless noted. 702507-5700. Milo’s Cellar Live Music Thu, 8 pm, free. 538 Nevada Hwy., 702-293-9540. Ron DeCar’s Event Center Jazz Conversations Big Band Series Sat, 1 pm, $15. Swingin’ Sundays Sun, 5 pm, $10. 1201 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 702384-0771. Sam’s Town NiteKings Sun, 7 pm, free. Shows free unless noted. 5111 Boulder Hwy., 702-284-7777.
COMEDY Louie Anderson 7/24-7/26, 7:30 pm, $40+. South Point, southpointcasino. com. 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
TO SUBMIT LISTINGS: Email listings@gmgvegas.com. Submissions received after Friday will be published in the following week’s issue.
two-drink purchase). 206 N. 3rd St., 702-719-5100. Bonkerz Comedy Club JW Marriott Shows 7 pm, $15. 221 N. Rampart Blvd., 702-507-5900. Bonkerz Comedy Club Primm Fri, 8 pm & 10:15 pm; Sat, 10:15 pm; $10. Primm Valley Resort , 31900 S. Las Vegas Blvd., 800-386-7867. Bonkerz Comedy Club Sayers Club Erik Myers 7/9-7/11. Ian Gutoski 7/167/18. Michael Parise 7/23-7/25. J.C. Currais 7/30-8/1. All shows 8 pm, $10$20. SLS, 702-761-7000. Bonkerz Comedy Club Silver Sevens Fri-Sat, 10:30 pm; $10. Silver Sevens Hotel & Casino, 4100 Paradise, 702733-7000. Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club All shows at 8 pm, $65-$87. MGM Grand, 891-7777. Jim Breuer 7/10-7/11, 7:30 pm, $25+. South Point, southpointcasino.com. Carrot Top Wed-Mon, 8 pm, $50-$60. Luxor, 702-262-4900. Margaret Cho 10/16, 9 pm, $44-$72. Treasure Island, 702-894-7111. Jeff Civilico Sat-Mon, Wed-Thu, 4 pm, $39-$50. Quad, 888-777-7664. Andrew Dice Clay All shows at 9 p.m., $59+. Vinyl, hardrockhotel.com. Comedy After Dark Wed-Sun, 10 pm, $40-$60. LVH, 702-732-5755. Jeff Dunham Wed-Sun, 7 pm; Sat-Sun, 4 pm, $72. Planet Hollywood, 702531-4320. Vinnie Favorito Nightly, 8 pm, $55$100. Flamingo, 702-733-3333. Eddie Griffin Mon-Wed, 7 pm, $90$182. Rio, 702-777-7776. Kevin Hart & Friends Comedy AllStars 9/5, 7 pm & 10:30 pm, $50. Cosmopolitan, cosmopolitanlasvegas. com. HydroComics Unleashed Wed, 9 pm, free. Lucie’s Lounge, 3955 Charleston Blvd., 702-776-6417. The Improv Dennis Blair, Gilbert Lawand, Aiko Tanaka thru 7/12. Graham Elwood, Gary Brightwell, Jessica Michelle Singleton 7/14-7/19. Ben Gleib, Nick Youssef, Joe Dosch 7/21-7/26. Tue-Sun, 8:30 & 10 pm, $30$45. Harrah’s, 702-369-5000. Jim Jefferies 10/3, 8 pm, $45. The Joint, 702-693-5000. The Joe Show Thu-Sat, 8 pm, $30. Tuscany, 255 E. Flamingo Rd., 702629-0715. Jokes With Friends Thu, 10 pm, free. Nacho Daddy, 9925 S. Eastern Ave., 702-462-5000. L.A. Comedy Club Tue-Sun, 9:30 pm, $39-$62. Ballys, 702-777-2782. The Laugh Factory Quinn Dahle, Shayma Tash, Jimmie JJ Walker thru 7/12, 8:30 & 10:30 pm, $35-$55. Ian Edwards, Bob Golub, Marc Patrick 7/13-7/19, 8:30 & 10:30 pm, $35-$55. Rich LIttle Sat-Sun, Tue-Thu, 7/148/23, 7 pm, $40-$60. Tropicana, 702739-2222. Laughternoon Adam London Daily, 4 pm, $20-$25. The D, 702-388-2111. Jay Leno 9/18, 11/20-11/21, 10 pm; 9/19, 9 pm, $60-$80. Mirage, 702-792-7777. M Resort Comedy Night Fri, 9 pm, free with drink purchase. M Resort, 702-797-1000. The Mac King Comedy Magic Show Tue-Sat, 1 & 3 pm, $33. Harrah’s, 702369-5000. Party Improv Comedy Thu-Sun, 7 pm, $25, 2 drink minimum. Planet Hollywood, 702-531-4320. Russell Peters 9/6, 8 pm, $49+. Pearl, 702-942-7777. Paula Poundstone 6/19-6/20, 8 pm, $20+. Orleans, orleanscasino.com. Puppetry of the Penis 8 pm, $45-$49. Erotic Heritage Museum, 3275 S. Industrial Rd., eroticheritagemuseumlasvegas.com. Red Skelton Tribute Sat-Tue, 2 pm; $35-$40. Westin Las Vegas, 160 E.
Flamingo Rd., 702-245-2393. Riviera Comedy 40 is Not the New 20 Mon-Sat, 10 pm, $40. Riviera, 855468-6748. 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., 702368-1863. Sin City Comedy & Burlesque Show 8:30 pm, $38-$49. Planet Hollywood, 702-777-7776. Christopher Titus 7/31-8/2, 7:30 pm, $20+. South Point, southpointcasino. com. Steven Wright 7/10-7/11, 8 pm, $35. Orleans, orleanscasino.com.
PERFORMING ARTS Art 9/4-9/20, 8 pm, $14-$15. Las Vegas Little Theatre, 3920 Schiff Dr., 702362-7996. Avenue Q 7/10-7/11, 7/16-7/18, 7/23-7/25, 8 pm; 7/12, 7/19, 7/26, 2 pm, $25. Las Vegas Little Theatre, 3920 Schiff Dr., 702-362-7996. Book of Mormon 9/22-9/27, 9/29-9/30, 10/1-10/4, 10/6-10/11, 10/13-10/18, 7:30 pm, 9/26-9/27, 10/3-10/4, 10/10-10/11, 10/17-10/18, 2 pm, $36-$160. Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com. A Balanchine Celebration: From Tchaikobsky to Rodgers & Hart to Gershwin 11/7, 7:30 pm., 11/8, 2 pm, $29-$139. Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com. Bye Bye Birdie Presented by Super Summer Theatre. 7/9-7/11, 7/15-7/18, 7/22-7/25, 8:05 pm, $12-$20. Spring Mountain Ranch State Park, Highway 159, Blue Diamond, supersummertheatre.org. Cabrera Celebrates Sibelius 11/21, 7:30 pm, $26-$96. Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com. A Choreographer’s Showcase 10/11, 10/18, 1 pm, $25-$45. Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com. Cinderella 2/13, 7:30 pm, 2/14, 2 pm, $29-$139. Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com. Dirty Dancing 7/14-7/19, 7:30 pm; 7/187/19, 2:30 pm, $29+. Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com. Elf the Musical 11/24-11/29, $29-$129. Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com. For the Record: Baz Mon-Sun, 8 pm, Tue dark; $55+. Light Nightclub, Mandalay Bay, bazlasvegas.com. 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. Ken Block Show 7/25, 7 pm, $15. Starbright Theatre, 2215 Thomas Ryan Blvd., 702-240-1301. Kelly Clinton Show 7/18, 7:30 pm, $18. Starbright Theatre, 2215 Thomas Ryan Blvd., 702-240-1301. Las Vegas Philharmonic: Beethoven & Brahms 9/12, 7:30 pm, $26-$96; opening night cocktail reception, 9:30 pm, $50. Passport to the World 10/24, 7:30 pm, $26-$96. The Snowman: A Holiday Tradition 12/5, 2 pm & 7:30 pm, 12/6, 2 pm, $26-$96. Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com. The Nutcracker 12/12, 8:30 pm, 12/13, 1 & 5:30 pm, 12/18, 7:30 pm, 12/19, 2 pm $ 7:30 pm, 12/20, 1 pm & 5:30 pm, $29$179. Smith Center, thesmithcenter. com. Ragtime 10/27-11/1, $30-$130. Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com. Re-Designing Women 7/9, 7/10, 7/11, 7/13, 7/16-7/18, 8 pm, 7/12, 5 pm, $25. Onyx Theatre, 953 E. Sahara Ave.,
702-732-7225. Riverdance 1/26-1/21, $29-$129. Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com. Simply Ella 11/13, 7:30 pm, $35+. Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com.
SPECIAL EVENTS The Art of Naked Yoga Tue, Thu, 7 pm; Sat, 6 pm; $20. Harry Mohney’s Erotic Heritage Museum 3275 Industrial Rd., eroticheritagemuseumlasvegas.com. The American Whiskey Experience Dinner pairing 7/29, 7 pm, $90. Andiron Steak & Sea, 1720 Festival Plaza Dr., 702-685-8002. An Executive Chef’s Culinary Classroom With Executive Chef Edmond Wong. 7/23, 8/27, 9/29, 10/13, 11/10, 7 pm, $135. Bellagio, 866-4067117. Beer for Breakfast 8/30, 9 pm, $50. Fleur at Mandalay Bay, lvbeerbarrelproject.com. Birdies & Beers Disc Golf and Beer Festival 7/18, 8 am, $30-$40. Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort, skilasvegas.com. CLIF Bar CrossVegas 9/16, $55. Desert Breeze Soccer Complex, W. Desert Inn Rd., crossvegas.com. Harvest Festival 9/11-9/13, 10 a.m., $4-$9. Cashamn Center, 850 Las Vegas Blvd N., harvestfestival.com. Hot Havana Nights 8/6, 6 pm, $45. Mob Museum, 300 Stewart Ave, themobmuseum.org. Jazz Film Festival 7/10-7/11, times vary, $25. Starbright Theatre, 2215 Thomas Ryan Blvd., 702-240-1301. Kumukahi Ukulele & Hula Festival 8/7-8/8, times vary, $22. Sam’s Town, 702-284-7777. Las Vegas Beer and Barrel Project: Seminars and Panel Discussions 8/29, 1 pm, $99. Mandalay Bay, lvbeerbarrelproject.com. Mandalay Bay Beach Beer and Barrel Festival 8/29, 7:30 pm, $75. Mandalay Beach, lvbeerbarrelproject.com. Monday’s Dark with Mark Shunock 7/20, 8/17, 9/21, 10/19, 11/16, 9:30 pm, $20+. Vinyl, hardrockhotel.com. Neon Clash of the Champions Dance Competition 7/18, 7 pm, $15. Cashman Center, 850 Las Vegas Blvd. N., ateamlv.com. Jessica Lee RIchardson Book Signing 10/24, 7 pm, free. The Writer’s Block, 1020 Fremont St., 702-550-6399. Sevens Live Music, comedy & spoken arts. Mon, 7 pm, free with one drink minimum. Silver Sevens, 4100 Paradise, 702-733-7000. Skin Wars Viewing Party Wed, 8 pm, free. Hard Hat Lounge, 1675 S Industrial Rd., 702-384-8987. Speakeasy Cinema Summer Movie Series 711 Ocean Drive 7/15. The Lady Gambles 7/22, 6:30 pm, free with museum admission. Mob Museum, 300 Stewart Ave, themobmuseum.org. Switch: Trans* Clothing Swap Thu, 5 pm, free. Gay & Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada, 401 S. Maryland Pkwy, 702-733-9800. Vegas Gone Yoga Festival 9/199/20, 8 am-4 pm, $89-$169. Springs Preserve, 333 S. Valley View Blvd., vegasgoneyoga.com. Wilson Daniels Around the World Dinner 8/17, 6:30 pm, $175. db Brasserie, Venetian, 702-430-1235. Windmill Music Club Discussing Nirvana. 7/26, 4 pm, free. Windmill Library, 7060 W Windmill Ln., 702507-6030. Wock As One: Summer Dance Intensive 2015 A benefit for AFAN
CHECK OUT OUR COMPLETE CALENDAR LISTINGS AT LASVEGASWEEKLY.COM/EVENTS 56 LASVEGASWEEKLY.COM JULY 9-15, 2015
and Sunrise Children’s Hospital. 7/15-7/17, times vary, $200-$325. The Rock Center for Dance, 8210 S. Maryland Pkwy., wockasone.com.
SPORTS Joe Weider’s Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend 9/17-9/19, 7 pm, $72+. Orleans, orleansarena. com. Las Vegas 51’s vs. Reno 7/11-7/13, 7:05 pm; 7/14, 12:05 pm. Salt Lake 7/157/16, 7:05 pm; 7/17, 12:05 pm, $10-$25 unless otherwise noted. Cashman Field, 850 Las Vegas Blvd. N., milb. com. Las Vegas Outlaws vs. New Orleans Voo Doo 7/25. Spokane Shock 8/8. $18-$198. Thomas & Mack, unlvtickets.com. Topspin Charity Ping Pong Tournament 7/18, 6 pm, $75-$150. Lagasse Stadium, 866-641-7469. UFC: Aldo vs. McGregor 7/11, 4 pm, $128-$103. MGM Grand, ticketmaster. com. USA Basketball Showcase 8/13, times vary, $15+. Thomas & Mack, unlvtickets.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, 702-383-3133. 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, 702-3667001, trifectagallery.com. Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art Daily, 10 am-8 pm, $11-$16. 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 702-693-7871. 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 Abraham Abebe Thru 7/10. 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., 702-375-4147. Downtown Spaces 1800 Industrial Rd., dtspaces.com. Galleries include: Wasteland Gallery Thu, 6 pm-9pm; Fri & Sat, 6 pm-11pm, Sun-Wed by appointment. Emergency Arts 520 Fremont St., 702-686-3164. Gainsburg Studio & Gallery Mon-Sat, 10am-5pm. 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., 702-647-7378. Michelle C. Quinn Fine Art Advisory By appointment only. 620 S. 7th St., 702-366-9339. P3Studio Gabrielle St. Evensen Marry Your Self Thru 6/7. Wed-Sun, 6-11 pm. Cosmopolitan. UNLV Lied Library The French Connection Open thru Oct. Donna Beam Fine Art Gallery Mon-Fri, 9 am-5 pm; Sat, 10 am-2 pm. At UNLV, 702-895-3893. West Las Vegas Arts Center Wed-Sat, 9 am-7 pm. 947 W. Lake Mead Blvd., 702-229-4800. Winchester Cultural Center Art Gallery Kim Johnson Thru 7/17. TueFri, 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-Aug. 22
Nov. 22-Dec. 21
How can you fulfill your potential? What strategies will help you become the best Aries you can possibly be? Now is an excellent time to meditate on these riddles. One of my Aries readers, Mickki Langston, has some stellar tips to inspire you: 1. One of your greatest assets is your relentless sense of purpose. Treasure it. Draw on it daily. 2. Love what you love with pure conviction, because there is no escaping it. 3. Other people may believe in you, but only sometimes. That’s why you should unfailingly believe in yourself. 4. It’s your duty and your destiny to continually learn more about how to be a leader. 5. Don’t be confused by other people’s confusion.
You have cosmic permission to lose your train of thought, forget about what was so seriously important, and be weirdly amused by interesting nonsense. If stress-addicts nag you to be more responsible, tell them that your astrologer has authorized you to ignore the pressing issues and wander off in the direction of nowhere in particular. Does that sound like a good plan? It does to me. For now, it’s your sovereign right to be a wise and innocent explorer with nothing much to do but wonder and daydream and play around.
On behalf of the Strange Angels in Charge of Uproarious Beauty and Tricky Truths, I am pleased to present you with the award for Most Catalytic FunSeeker and Intriguing Game-Changer of the Zodiac. What are your specific superpowers? You’re capable of transforming rot into splendor. You have a knack for discovering secrets that have been hidden. I also suspect that your presence can generate magic laughter and activate higher expectations and wake everyone up to the interesting truths they’ve been ignoring.
TAURUS
VIRGO
CAPRICORN
April 20-May 20
Aug. 23-Sept. 22
Dec. 22-Jan. 19
While making a long trek through the desert on a camel, British author Somerset Maugham passed the time by reading Marcel Proust’s novel In Search of Lost Time. After finishing each page, Maugham ripped it out and cast it away. The book weighed less and less as his journey progressed. I suggest that you consider a similar approach in the coming weeks, Taurus. As you weave your way toward your next destination, shed the accessories and attachments you don’t absolutely need. Keep lightening your load.
Even the most provocative meme cannot literally cause the Internet to collapse. It’s true that photos of Kim Kardashian’s oiled-up butt spawned a biblical flood of agitated responses on social media. So did the cover shot of Caitlyn Jenner in Vanity Fair and the YouTube video of a tiny hamster noshing tiny burritos. But none of these unleashed so much traffic that the web was in danger of crashing. It’s too vast and robust for that to ever happen. Or is it? I’m wondering if Virgos’ current propensities for high adventure and rollicking melodrama could generate phenomena that would actually, not just metaphorically, break the Internet. To be safe, I suggest you enjoy yourself to the utmost.
“Who is that can tell me who I am?” asks King Lear in the Shakespeare play named after him. It’s a painful moment. The old boy is confused and alarmed when he speaks those words. But I’d like to borrow his question and transplant it into a very different context: your life right now. I think that you can engender inspirational results by making it an ongoing meditation. There are people in a good position to provide you with useful insights into who you are.
GEMINI
LIBRA
AQUARIUS
May 21-June 20
Sept. 23-Oct. 22
Jan. 20-Feb. 18
“I have gathered about me people who understand how to translate fear into possibility,” writes John Keene in his story “Acrobatique.” I’d love to see you do the same, Gemini. From an astrological perspective, now is a favorable time to put your worries and trepidations to work for you. You have an extraordinary capacity to use your doubt and dread to generate opportunities. Even if you go it alone, you can accomplish minor miracles, but why not dare to think even bigger? Team up with brave and resourceful allies who want to translate fear into possibility, too.
The coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to acquire a new title. It’s quite possible that a person in authority will confer it upon you, and that it will signify a raise in status or an expansion of your clout. If for some reason this upgrade doesn’t occur naturally, take matters into your own hands. Tell people to refer to you as “Your Excellency” or “Your Majesty.” Wear a name tag that says “Deputy Director of PuzzleSolving” or “Executive Vice-President of Fanatical Balance and Insane Poise.” For once in your life, it’s okay to risk becoming a legend in your own mind. It wouldn’t be a bad time to demand a promotion—diplomatically, of course, in the Libran spirit.
What’s hard but important for you to do? What are the challenging tasks you know you should undertake because they would improve your life? The coming days will be a favorable time to make headway on these labors. You will have more power than usual to move what has been nearly impossible to move. You may be surprised by your ability to change situations that have resisted and outfoxed you in the past. I’m not saying that any of this will be smooth and easy. But I bet you will be able to summon unprecedented amounts of willpower and perseverance.
CANCER
SCORPIO
PISCES
June 21-July 22
Oct. 23-Nov. 21
Feb. 19-March 20
When novelist John Irving begins a new book, his first task is to write the last line of the last page. Then he writes the second-to-last line. He continues to work backwards for a while until he has a clear understanding of the way his story will end. Right now, Cancerian, as you hatch your next big phase of development, I invite you to borrow Irving’s approach. Visualize in detail the blossoms that will eventually come from the seeds you’re planting. Create a vivid picture of the life you will be living when your plans have fully ripened.
Between now and July 22, your password and mantra and battle cry is “serendipity.” To make sure you are clear about its meaning, meditate on these definitions: a knack for uncovering surprising benefits by accident; a talent for stumbling upon timely help or useful resources without searching for them. Got that? Now I’ll provide clues that should help you get the most out of your lucky breaks and blessed twists: 1. Be curious and receptive, not lackadaisical and entitled. 2. Expect the unexpected. Vow to thrive on surprises. 3. Your desires are more likely to come true if you are unattached to them coming true. But you should formulate those desires clearly and precisely.
Franz Kafka produced three novels, a play, four short fiction collections and many other stories. And yet some of his fellow writers thought he was uncomfortable in expressing himself. Bertolt Brecht said Kafka seemed perpetually afraid, as if he were being monitored for illicit thoughts. Milena Jesenská observed that Kafka often wrote like he was sitting naked in the midst of fully-clothed people. Your assignment in the coming weeks is to shed such limitations and inhibitions from your own creative expression. What would you need to do to free your imagination? To get started, visualize five pleasurable scenarios in which you feel joyful, autonomous, generous and expansive.
July 9–15, 2015 LasVegasWeekly.com 57
The BackStory
photograph by l.e. baskow
WORLD SERIES OF POKER | The RIO | JULY 5, 2015 | 12:49 P.M. Sunglasses hide the eyes of lots of poker players, and sometimes, they reveal. Not how someone might be sweating through the choice to check or raise, or trying to crack into an opponent’s brain, or fighting thoughts of hunger and fatigue and how sweet it would be to win $10 million like last year’s champion, Martin Jacobson. The reflection shows the landscape of the game, the expanse of green and anxious fingers, a four-leaf clover resting on a chair like an angel of luck. This shot was taken on the first day of 10 in the race for glory, and however this guy plays, he should win something for not getting a single smudge on those shades. –Erin Ryan