ENTERTAINMENT AUGUST – NOVEMBER
BBR LAS VEGAS PRESENTS ALICE RED ROCK ★ AUGUST 14
BOZ SCAGGS GREEN VALLEY ★ AUGUST 19
GIPSY KINGS RED ROCK POOL ★ AUGUST 26
DAVID COOK WITH KATHRYN DEAN SANTA FE ★ SEPTEMBER 1
TOTO / PAT BENATAR / NEIL GIRALDO RED ROCK POOL ★ SEPTEMBER 2
OTTMAR LIEBERT SUNSET ★ SEPTEMBER 2
ON SALE AUGUST 11
COLLIN RAYE SUNSET ★ AUGUST 11
OHIO PLAYERS BOULDER ★ SEPTEMBER 9
RICKY NELSON REMEMBERED STARING MATTHEW & GUNNER NELSON SANTA FE ★ SEPTEMBER 9
ROB CAUDILL TRIBUTE TO ROD STEWART GREEN VALLEY ★ OCTOBER 28
MIKE EPPS PALMS ★ AUGUST 12
HOME OF THE STRANGE TOUR WITH COLD WAR KIDS
PALMS ★ AUGUST 18
MARY J. BLIGE WITH SPECIAL GUEST LALAH HATHAWAY PALMS ★ SEPTEMBER 1
IDINA MENZEL PALMS ★ SEPTEMBER 2
LES DUDEK BOULDER ★ AUGUST 17
COMMANDER CODY BOULDER ★ SEPTEMBER 7
STEEPWATER BAND BOULDER ★ OCTOBER 19
SELWYN BIRCHWOOD BOULDER ★ NOVEMBER 2
YOUNG THE GIANT
PURCHASE STATION CASINO TICKETS AT WWW.STATIONCASINOSEVENTS.COM PURCHASE PALMS TICKETS AT PALMS.COM Tickets can be purchased at any Station Casino Boarding Pass Rewards Center, the Fiestas, by logging on to SCLV.com/concerts or by calling 1-800-745-3000. Digital photography/video is strictly prohibited at all venues. Management reserves all rights. © 2017 STATION CASINOS, LLC.
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06 las vegas weekly 08.10.17
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Monday 6 & 8:30 p.m.
Postmodern Jukebox at Cabaret Jazz YouTube is not a meritocracy. Videos generally don’t go viral because people worked hard at them; the hiccupping kitten is just doing its thing, and the guy receiving a junk-punch obviously didn’t do a few practice runs. But Postmodern Jukebox, a musical ensemble formed by (and around) keyboardist and arranger Scott Bradlee, earned its stripes the moment Bradlee began posting its videos—sharp, endlessly listenable covers of songs by Macklemore, Guns N’ Roses, Lorde and others, performed in a variety of styles ranging from 1960s soul to big band jazz—to the service circa 2013. (Visit PMJ at youtube. com/user/scott bradleelovesya.) While this isn’t exactly new ground— Richard Cheese and Shawn Lee are still out there someplace, vamping away— there’s something in the way Bradlee rearranges these familiar songs that makes the covers feel audacious, free of the ironic detachment that can push such covers over into novelty. Onstage, Bradlee surrounds himself with a crackerjack assortment of skilled players and vocalists and keeps the energy high simply by playing really, really well. Every last cover shows the work that went into making it. $49-$99. –Geoff Carter
Trust Us e v e r y t h i n g y o u a b s o l u t e ly, p o s i t i v e ly m u st g e t o u t a n d d o t h i s w e e k
12
SATurday, 9 P.M.
The Sloths at Golden Tiki You might know their jangly, lo-fi single “Makin’ Love”—originally released in 1965 and later featured on the Back From the Grave, Volume Four garage rock compilation in 1984. Influenced by American blues and the bands of the British Invasion, the LA five-piece was born and bred on the Sunset Strip, playing regularly at Pandora’s Box and the Whisky a Go Go. But it took 50 years after their debut single—when The Sloths reunited—for the band to record its debut full-length, also titled Back From the Grave. Vocalist Tommy McLoughlin fills in for the late Hank Daniels on that 2015 LP, released on independent, LA-based imprint Burger Records. Pick up a copy on vinyl (it was previously only available on cassette), then witness the psych-garage legends tear through an intimate set at Golden Tiki, with local DJ Cromm Fallon of The Van der Rohe spinning ’60s gems all night long. Free. –Leslie Ventura
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SATURDAY, 3 P.M.
11
THRU AUGUST 27
11
FRIDAY, MIDNIGHT
STRONG BEER FEST AT ACES & ALES
Hair at the Space
SSHH AT SAND DOLLAR LOUNGE
How strong are the drafts—from breweries like Avery, Cascade and Pizza Port—at this high-ABV celebration? Cut many of their alcohol percentages in half and they still couldn’t be sold legally at grocery stores in Utah. 2801 N. Tenaya Way, $15 entry (includes first pour), $5 tastes. –Spencer Patterson
It’s the second dawning of the “Age of Aquarius.” Majestic Repertory Theatre produces an “immersive staging” of the counter-culture classic. With a fantastic soundtrack and political themes that remain relevant today, this one’s a must-see. Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 5 p.m.; $27 –C. Moon Reed
Zak Starkey has been putting in the work as both drummer during The Who’s Colosseum residency and— following each of those shows—as guitarist for his own band, Sshh, at the Sand Dollar. Which means you’ve got one more shot to see Ringo’s (51-year-old) kid tear up the Stripadjacent bar. Free. –Mike Prevatt
07 las vegas weekly 08.10.17
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Saturday, 8-11 p.m.
HOPPED TACO THROWDOWN AT ZAPPOS
(Photo Illustration by Ian Racoma/Staff)
Chef Geno Bernardo (Herringbone) is making tacos with shaved porchetta and rapini, and the “tortilla” is pizza dough made with Tenaya Creek’s Bonanza Brown Ale. Chef Dalton Wilson (DW Bistro) is making 99 Problems and a Brisket Ain’t One—Red Stripebraised beef tacos with jicama-cilantro-lime slaw—and a Jamaican jerk pork leg taco with sweet and tangy barbecue sauce and crispy fried onions. Chef Bryan Forgione (Buddy V’s) is making a taco and the shell is salami. If those were the only bites at Motley Brews’ new beer and taco event in the “backyard” at Zappos’ Downtown headquarters, it’d be worth it, but there are many more talented local chefs doing their own taco innovations, plus brews from Bad Beat, Big Dog’s, CraftHaus, Lagunitas, Joseph James, Oskar Blues, Lovelady, Stone, Prodigy, Victory and more. $50 ($70 VIP access at 7 p.m.), 400 Stewart Ave., hoppedtaco.com. –Brock Radke
08 LAS VEGAS WEEKLY 08.10.17
the inter W H E R E
PASSING THE TORCH
I D E A S
Why the 2028 Summer Olympics matter to Las Vegas BY C. MOON REED
I
n 1984, the last time LA hosted the Summer Olympics, Las Vegas was home to just over half a million residents. And the time LA hosted in 1932? Legal gambling was only a year old. But by 2028, when the SoCal city hosts again, Las Vegas will be more than ready to benefit from the global gathering. Here’s how: We could host Olympic soccer matches. “Football” is so popular, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will need lots of large venues. “It doesn’t take a genius to know that the IOC will like Vegas; there’s a sexiness to the market,” says Las Vegas Pro Soccer founder Brett Lashbrook, who also worked on New York City’s 2012 Olympic bid. Lashbrook is “1,000 percent” in support of Las Vegas hosting Olympic soccer. He also envisions Nevada hosting potential training camps for international teams. The draw? LA will feel easy after acclimatizing to our summer heat. Betting on gold, silver and bronze. Nevada is the only state in the country where you can legally bet on the Olympics. When big sporting events happen in Arizona—like the Super Bowl and the annual Fiesta Bowl—Las Vegas gets a bump. Fans fly into McCarran, have a little fun, place their bets and then travel on to the game. They’ll travel through a second time to collect their winnings or drink to their losses. Think of us as the world’s tailgate party. LA locals will escape to Vegas. In addition to attracting international visitors in the region, UNLV Center for Gaming Research Director David G. Schwartz sees a potential market for “Angelenos looking to get away from the traffic and commotion.” He thinks the 2028 Olympics could have a positive impact on Las Vegas, but “the key will be to program events that will appeal to both groups.” With the Raiders’ stadium and who knows how many pro teams, it’s safe to say Las Vegas will be up to the challenge.
THE WEEK IN WEED: THE COUNTRY’S LARGEST DISPENSARY AND MORE Another week, another set of local cannabis developments. The biggest—literally— includes plans recently announced for the nearly 16,000 square-foot Nuwu Cannabis Marketplace, whose Las Vegas Paiute tribe owners say would be the largest in the U.S. The recreational-oriented facility will be located at 1225 N. Main St. Meanwhile, Henderson will have to wait at least another month before its five dispensaries can sell recreational marijuana, as the Henderson City Council continues to
finesse regulations—which could allow for 24-hour operations (currently only allowed in North Las Vegas). And finally, the Clark County Commission is deliberating on an ordinance that would ban cannabis advertising at McCarran International Airport, which, in its current wording, would extend to taxis and other vehicles on the airports’ roads and property. The Commission, noting the ambiguity, will revisit and possibly clarify the act next month. –Mike Prevatt
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LAS VEGAS WEEKLY 08.10.17
IMMERSION IS COMING
A ND L IF E M E ET
Why not turn the Excalibur into a Game of Thrones-themed resort? BY GEOFF CARTER
+
1 BIG PHOTO
(Illustration by Ian Racoma/Staff)
SUMMER OF THEIR DISCONTENT Remember when summer break meant summer break? When we sang “School’s Out” by Memorial Day and bought backpacks Labor Day weekend? I didn’t realize we had it so good until my daughter and I began back-to-school shopping last week. In early August. With temperatures deep in triple digits. Monday—August 14—marks the start of the Clark County School District academic year … barely two months after kids got out on June 8. Why? “To allow students to complete testing prior to Winter Break, rather than testing shortly after students return,” according to a CCSD press release. Of course, blame it on testing; that kid already spends his lunch hour eating alone. –Spencer Patterson
You needn’t go all Ygritte on me. I understand that the MGM Resorts-owned Excalibur has a specific niche, and there’s no actual need to update a property that’s doing its job. I know also that Game of Thrones—both the book series by George R.R. Martin and the hit HBO show based on it—is probably expensive to license and definitely the polar opposite of Excalibur’s familyfriendly atmosphere. It is known. But what if it weren’t? That is to say, what if MGM, Martin and HBO were to take an unprecedented step in transforming the 27-year-old Excalibur into the Eighth Kingdom—a fully immersive, Game of Thrones-themed resort? Now’s the time to do it: Enthusiasm for the HBO show is high, and Disney/ Lucasfilm just announced plans to create an immersive Star Wars-themed resort in Orlando—one where you’d eat, sleep and breathe the Star Wars universe for the entire length of your stay. A Game of Thrones resort could be that, too … although some might argue that it’s unwise to actually sleep in that world, and you might not want to touch that goblet of wine. I don’t want to throw too many ideas out there, in case MGM decides to pay me as a consultant. But they’d be proper fools not to begin renovations at once, most of which would only require changes to costuming, training and signage. Individual suites could be themed to Winterfell, Dorne and the Tower of the Hand. The Tournament of Kings can easily become the Battle of the Bastards with the addition of giants, wildlings, guys with British Invasion haircuts and maybe a White Walker cameo. Camelot Steakhouse could become Black Walder’s, with a new emphasis on meat pies. The currently off-brand cocktail bar Octane can be renamed A Man Has a Thirst, and serve up milk of the poppy and dracarys-fired flatbreads. Themed slots could pay out on “Triple Seven Hells.” And it goes without saying that the wedding chapel could easily become the Red Wedding Chapel with a few coats of appropriate paint. And if you’re thinking that GoT contains too much murder, rape and incest to make a Vegas resort, remember that we’ve already got one themed for the Roman Empire. George, you’ve got my email.
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12 COVER STORY
WEEKLY | 08.10.17
The
adv entu rers Meet the conquerors of the great Las Vegas outdoors By C. Moon Reed
13 COVER STORY
WEEKLY | 08.10.17
Sure, Las Vegas is home to some of the most stunning interior spaces in the world. But we’re not just a city of indoor folk who commute between desk, couch and casino. We’re also a city of outdoor adventurers. Meet six Southern Nevadans who explore the wild places beyond the edges of suburbia. They climb to mountainous heights, paddle down the Colorado River, overcome their fears and push physical limits. Each confronts the sublime in a unique way—and hopefully compels the rest of us to discover our own adventures.
One-upmanship partnership Obstacle racers
(Mikayla Whitmore/Staff)
Nevin Wright & Chris Nuñez Are they best friends or bitter rivals? For race partners Chris Nuñez and Nevin Wright, perhaps it’s possible to be both. “We unintentionally pace each other, because we’re so competitive,” Nuñez says, describing one of the many races they have run together. “The difference between us was seconds,” Wright adds. He’s the tall, stoic one, a union laborer and construction foreman. “We were running to the finish line, pushing each other, fueling each other’s fire,” says Nuñez, who works in retail inventory. He’s the outspoken one who feels antsy sitting still; he’d rather be outside. They’d both rather be outside. Two years into their friendly rivalry, they finish each other’s sentences. The guys practice about 12-15 hours a week. When they can’t compete in person, they track each other’s activity on their watches. Such dedication was born of personal loss. In 2007, Wright’s son died. Athletic but lazy, Wright didn’t want to “sit around and be what [he] was.” So he got active. Then in 2012, Nuñez was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. After what he called “a year of self pity,” he got involved with racing. That’s when they found each other. “The best therapy I’ve ever experienced is just being out somewhere new and beautiful, putting in work,” Wright says.
This year, both purchased annual passes to the king of all obstacle races: Spartan. Their goal is to complete about 30 races this year. More than halfway there, they travel most weekends. And sometimes they run races twice, just for the heck of it. “Everyone has their own thing, and we’re just crazy enough to let this be ours,” Nuñez says. “I just really enjoy it,” Wright says. “My favorite is the starting line. You get all the nerves. Looking around, everybody is pumped up. The unknown is quite a rush. Then they yell ‘go,’ and everybody starts going. It’s a great feeling.” Obviously, “enjoyment” is subjective. In Spartan races, participants run as far as 14 miles and battle up to 35 obstacles, climbing ladders, scaling walls, traversing monkey bars, leaping over fires, crawling under barbed wire and worse. “Spear throw is my nemesis,” says Nuñez, who does target practice in his own backyard. He and Wright hope to advance to the elite wave of races, for which they’ll need to improve their time by about 20 minutes. How will they do it? Nuñez: “You gotta try harder, run faster, get stronger.” Wright: “A lot of hill training.” Nuñez: “Luckily, we live in a beautiful area with plenty of hills.”
14 COVER STORY
WEEKLY | 08.10.17
THE SEARCHER Mountain rescue dog handler
MICHELLE FRENCH (with Lida and carson) In case of avalanche, you’ve got a 90 percent chance of survival if you’re found within 15 minutes. Odds plummet to around 30 percent if the search extends to 30 minutes. Humans aren’t particularly adept at finding people buried in the snow—but dogs are. In 2005, 13-year-old Allen Brett Hutchison was swept from the ski lift during an avalanche on Lee Canyon. The boy’s death deeply affected Michelle French, who’d assisted with the search. “I said to myself, ‘Damn, I live up here, I should have a dog.’ It might never happen again, but at least you have one more tool that’s readily available.” Michelle and her husband, Greg, created nonprofit organization Bristlecone Avalanche
Rescue K9’s (B.A.R.K.) to help fund the rescue dog program they’re building at Mount Charleston. They’re training two American Field Labradors: Lida and Carson, each named after Nevada cities. “Labrador puppies can be a handful,” Michelle says. “You need that energy and that drive. You can’t have a lazy dog as an avalanche rescue dog.” After retiring from running a repossession business in 2010, Michelle had planned to ride a bicycle across the country. Instead, she became Lee Canyon’s ski patrol manager. “It’s a hell of a retirement job, but it’s fun.” Michelle takes Lida on daily hikes and bike rides. They play hide and seek and practice
focus amid distraction. In the winter, she digs snow caves and buries (willing) participants and personal items for Lida to find. “[On the ski lift], by the third tower up, Lida is singing, because she knows we’re going to do something.” On the way down, Michelle skis with Lida between her legs or on her back. Lida goes to the ski resort every day it’s open in winter. And the little girls in ski school love her. “To some degree she’s sort of a mascot. I try not to push that so much. I want people to know that the dogs are there for a reason.” For more information or to donate, go to barkleecanyon.com. (Wade Vandervort/Special to Weekly)
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The
adv entu rers
COVER STORY
WEEKLY | 08.10.17
THE NEW PRO Mountain BIKER
LISA LEONARD “Some people are naturally gifted and have no fear. I’m not one of those people,” says newly minted pro mountain biker Lisa Leonard. “I work at different skills, chipping away.” She’ll spend months on a single trail, practicing until she zips over its obstacles. She went cliff jumping to overcome a fear of “going fast over steep downhill terrain.” She does wheelies and bunny hops on a BMX bike to become more comfortable in the air. “I’m probably the only almost-30-year-old who practices bunny hops up and down the street.” Leonard has a soft, lilting accent that belies her upbringing in Garioch, Scotland. Back home, she competed in triathlons, swimming in an icy “man-made loch” until her face became rubber. When she moved to Las Vegas in 2012, she felt dissatisfied with the relative ease of warm-weather triathlons in pleasant weather. “Here, you can swim without a wet suit,” she says. Two years ago, she fell in love with mountain biking. “I’m doing it for fun. It’s always an adventure,” Leonard says. “I’m constantly blown away by the places to ride and see.” Leonard works two jobs as a physical therapist so she can travel for races. Those medical skills come in handy, too. If she has an ache or pain, she can usually diagnose the problem. Leonard’s next competition is Breck Epic in Breckenridge, Colorado, on August 13. To prepare for the six-day race, she practices elevation gains on Mount Charleston. (“The good thing about falling uphill is that you topple, brush off your ego and continue.”) She typically rides five to six days a week, for a total of 10-15 hours. The jump from amateur to pro was a “huge eye-opener” for Leonard. “Where I previously thought I’d been working hard, I now realize I have all these levels above that. “Even if I’m finishing in the back of pack, I’m racing against the best girls in the world. There’s not many places where your rivals are your idols— Olympians and world champions. I’m definitely more hungry now.” (Mikayla Whitmore/Staff)
16 COVER STORY
WEEKLY | 08.10.17
SHOW US THE WAY Kayaker, river guide and Desert Adventures owner/CEO
IZZY COLLETT
The challenges of wilderness kayaking are also its joys. “It can be windy, rainy, 120 degrees, with a lot of grouchy creatures—snakes and scorpions,” says Izzy Collett, owner/CEO of Boulder City-based outfitter Desert Adventures. “I don’t like to use a tent, so I wake up with a lot of bug bites. It’s part of the experience.” Collett grew up on a river in Salina, Utah. After school, she’d skip rocks, play with minnows and catch tadpoles. As an adult, she built a career on returning to her roots in nature, and helping others do the same. The avid outdoorswoman became “hooked immediately” on kayaking after a magical experience in British Columbia, where she paddled with sea otters. Kayaks
offered an additional advantage for the onetime backpacker: You can fit way more stuff into a kayak than a backpack, and you don’t have to carry it. This helped with multi-day trips down rivers. “Teaching is most rewarding part of my job,” says Collett, who has been a river guide since her early 20s. “You’re educating your guests and the public on water issues, the importance of leaving no trace and how to keep an area sustainable. I love teaching the staff.” River guide and instructor Regina Dietrich has worked for Desert Adventures for six years. “I’ve learned pretty much everything there is to know about kayaking in our area from Izzy,” she says. “We all try to follow her
example and be stewards of the river out here.” Desert Adventures ends up serving mostly tourists, but Collett has a message for us locals: If you want these public areas protected, let your representatives know. “The Colorado River and many of our public recreational lands are under constant threat from hungry developers, mining companies, urban sprawl and drought, to name a few. National parks are being overwhelmed with visitation, as people search to escape the cities and be in wild natural places ... Even just one voice can make a difference. Don’t be a bystander. Speak up.” (Mikayla Whitmore/Staff)
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COVER STORY
WEEKLY | 08.10.17
IN THE MIX CLIMBING PHOTOGRAPHER
IRENE YEE (aka Lady Lockoff)
Irene Yee is not a documentary photographer. She doesn’t hold herself aloof in an effort to get the shot. On the contrary, Yee is in the mix and part of the party. “I’m a very vocal person, especially if I know the climber,” she says. “I love to encourage and have a blast with them while we’re on the wall.” The self-taught photographer discovered rock climbing through a couple of friends. Her art grew from her desire to document her climbing trips. “I started just by shooting the people I was climbing with, mostly ground shots.” Eventually, she learned how to use a rope or jumar to capture scenes from above. She will lean, hang and wait to get the right shot. She even built a seat so that she’d be more comfortable in her harness. Yee’s photos tell a story of normal people in extraordinary places. Facial expressions are honest and unguarded. She doesn’t hide the ropes or equipment or the humanity of the sport. This unique perspective has garnered her 40,000 followers on Instagram as @LadyLockoff, the name referring to a climbing move that requires tremendous upper body strength. Yes, she can do it. “I thought you had to climb at this elite level, because the [mainstream] media only shows the elite parts of climbing,” Yee says. “I didn’t know it could be just so fun. That’s the great thing about social media— you have such a plethora of normal people climbing. ... One image just changes your mind about something you thought you previously couldn’t do.” Yee took a unique route to photography and climbing: technical theater. She’s a carpenter for Zumanity, and the creativity and problem solving required by her “day job” has translated well to rock climbing photography. Anytime she feels frustrated, she gives herself a pep talk: “Irene, you are nothing but creative. Figure it out, okay. This is what we have today; what can we do with it? If you’re on the ground and you’re getting nothing but a butt shot, get the coolest butt shot.” (Mikayla Whitmore/Staff)
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THIS WEEK
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Publisher Mark De Pooter (mark.depooter@gmgvegas.com) Editor Brock Radke (brock.radke@gmgvegas.com) Staff Writer Leslie Ventura (leslie.ventura@gmgvegas.com) Associate Creative Director Liz Brown (liz.brown@gmgvegas.com) Designers Corlene Byrd, Ian Racoma Contributors Jim Begley, Brittany Brussell, Sarah Feldberg, Jason Harris, Deanna Rilling Circulation Director Ron Gannon Art Director of Advertising and Marketing Services Sean Rademacher CEO, Publisher & Editor Brian Greenspun
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Chief Operating Officer Robert Cauthorn Group Publisher Gordon Prouty Managing Editor Ric Anderson Las Vegas Weekly Editor Spencer Patterson 2275 Corporate Circle, Suite 300 Henderson, NV 89074 lasvegasweekly.com/industry lasvegasweekly.com /lasvegasweekly /lasvegasweekly
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A ND S P EC IA L G U EST JASON B ONH A M ’ S LE D ZEP P ELIN EXP ERIENC E
AU G U ST 27 TH E C H E LS E A
on the cover
KEVIN HART’S HARTBEAT WEEKEND
HART BEAT W EEK END
USHER
KEVIN HART & FRIENDS
S E PTE M B ER 1 TH E C H EL SEA
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TRY ONE
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PUB FOOD WITH A CELEBRITY TWIST. NOW OPEN.
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If she’s not onstage at events like last week’s Hard Festival, she’s all over your social feed thanks to appearances like her recent Galore magazine bikini shoot. Tinashe performs at the Flamingo’s party pool Saturday.
THE CH AINS MO K E R S
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The Chainsmokers have one of the biggest hits of all time in “Closer,” which has been inside the Top 40 for more than a year.
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DRAI’S
Latest single “Nobody Else but You” plays like a bouncy summer love ballad that has the Drai’s resident climbing the charts once again.
T i n a s h e b y J o n S a l a n g s a n g / A P ; T HE C h a i n s m o k e r s b y J a c k P l u n k e tt / A P ; T r e y S o n g z b y O w e n S w e e n e y / Ap ; D J M u s t a r d b y T o n y T r a n P h t o o g r a p h y ; S h a q u i l l e O ’ N e a l b y D av i d G o l d m a n
big this week
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Fresh off the release of his Don’t Box Me EP, Mustard doubles up at the dayclub Saturday and at night for Marquee Mondays.
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marquee dayclub
DJ Diesel’s in the house for Sunday’s edition of Rehab. We can only hope he’ll spin “What’s Up Doc” or “(I Know I Got Skillz” from his ’93 rap debut.
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marquee
C E DR IC GE RVAIS
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REHAB
encore beach club
TH E CHAI NSMOKER S drai’s
DAS H B E RLIN
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LAI DBACK LUKE
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JAMIE IOVINE
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n her fifth studio album, Joanne, the pop-music titan known around the world as Lady Gaga traded in her signature disco-laden beats for something more pared down. The result, a country and Western-flecked, pop-tinged soft-rocker, couldn’t sound more different coming from the woman of “Poker Face” fame. While Gaga eschews all strategic and musical conventions on her latest longplay, it wasn’t a complete shock, however. Change is what the chameleon-like singer does best. No stranger to over-the-top glitz and glamor, Gaga can seemingly tackle any genre with ease—she has racked up more than 30 million global album and 150 million singles sales during her career, and her loyal legion of Little Monsters remains dedicated despite her many musical and sartorial transformations.
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last year’s Grammys. We can only assume she has even bigger tricks up her sleeve for the world tour supporting Joanne. She kicked off the 60-gig run in Vancouver on August 1, and she’ll touch down at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Friday for the first of two shows (she’s back December 16). Expect jaw-dropping costumes and loads of Swarovski crystals—550,000 of them, in fact—plus plenty of bodysuits, fringe and a headturning fire-engine red Norma Kamali “sleeping bag” coat with a custom 10-foot train. Joanne might show a different side to Lady Gaga, but the “Born This Way” singer is still there. She’s got the hits—and the wardrobe—to prove it. Lady Gaga at T-Mobile Arena, August 11. –Leslie Ventura
Earlier this year, Gaga had everyone talking about her Super Bowl 51 Halftime Show, and whether you loved or hated it, Gaga was the one chosen to pay homage to the late David Bowie at
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hough he generated some buzz with 2011 mixtape Killer Instinct Vol. 1, Bryson Tiller still caught R&B and hip-hop fans by surprise when his single “Don’t” exploded in the spring of 2015, eventually hitting No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Since he signed with RCA and released debut album Trapsoul in October of that year, the Louisville native’s intense, bass-heavy sound has continued to catapult him to success, including this year’s follow-up True to Self and a co-starring role on the DJ Khaled-Rihanna summertime track “Wild Thoughts.”
I T Photo by ro.lexx
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“I’m always down to get on [DJ Khaled’s] stuff,” Tiller says from his home in Kentucky while preparing for his current Set It Off tour. “The first time we did something, he told me he wanted me to be part of something bigger, and before he even played the song [“Wild Thoughts”] for me, he was like, ‘Congratulations, this is gonna be one of the biggest songs ever.’” Khaled was right; the hit collaboration is sitting pretty at No. 2 on the Hot 100. Tiller says the true test of how far he has come since he started writing and recording will be the newest and most challenging part of his job—performing. He’ll take the stage at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel this week. “When it comes to music, the studio is where I exist,” he says. “Some people were born to be onstage, just killing it like they have an alter ego, and I don’t understand how they do it. The issue for me is trying to channel the same energy onstage that I feel in the studio, to tap back into that. That’s been my biggest challenge.” Bryson Tiller with Metro Boomin and H.E.R. at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel, August 12. –Brock Radke
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aug 6 Photographs by Jeff Ragazzo/ Kabik Photo Group
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JAMIE IOVINE FRI, AUG 11
SAT, AUG 12
DJ DIESEL AKA SHAQ SUN, AUG 13
FIGHT WEEKEND
FIGHT WEEKEND
PUFF DADDY AUG 20
SEP 8
MEEK MILL
AUG 26
JAMIE IOVINE
FIGHT WEEKEND
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AUG 27
TEGO CALDERON FINALE - SEP 9
REHAB@HRHVEGAS.COM | 702.693.5505 | HARDROCKHOTEL.COM | REHABLV.COM
SEP 16
SEP 22
/REHABLV #REHABLV
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PHOTO BY HANNAH SIDER
he word that springs to mind upon first listen of indie-pop singersongwriter Billie Eilish’s layered, lilting tracks is “how.” As in, how does a 15-year-old sound like she’s been living and singing for at least twice that long? How does she write lyrics that hearken back to old-school pop-soul before twisting in surprising ways? And how has she not exploded into a full-fledged star yet?
In this weekly series, we spotlight the performers and other participants who will combine for November’s Emerge Music + Impact Conference in Las Vegas.
B I L L I E
Those questions will likely be answered at November’s Emerge Music + Impact Conference, where Eilish, born and raised in LA by actors and musicians, will take the stage among other upand-comers sure to break big in Las Vegas. Eilish originally collaborated with her brother Finneas O’Connell in releasing two songs to Soundcloud, but it was her first solo track, “Ocean Eyes”—a song O’Connell had been playing with his band— that set fire to her name. The
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ballad, which was eventually released by Interscope Records, showcases Eilish’s sugary voice, emotional tone and melodic style. But it’s the more recent track “Bellyache” that will stick in your head forever. Soft percussion and acoustic guitar strumming rotate into an indie-electro chorus over which Eilish coos, “Where’s my mind/Maybe it’s in the gutter/ Where I left my lover/What an expensive fate.” How has such a young artist carved out her own take on modern pop music? –Brock Radke Emerge Music + Impact Conference on the Las Vegas Strip, November 16-18. Tickets available now at emergelv.com.
TINASHE
DJ SUPA JAMES AND ERIC FORBES
SATURDAY, AUGUST 12
DOORS OPEN AT 9AM FOR BOTTLE SERVICE, CABANA & DAYBED RENTALS CALL 702.697.2888 • FLAMINGOLASVEGAS.COM
SMASH MOUTH SUN, AUG 27
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT TICKETMASTER.COM @FlamingoVegas #FlamingoGoPool Must be 21 or older to gamble. Know When To Stop Before You Start.® Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-522-4700. ©2017, Caesars License Company, LLC.
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llis Island Casino & Brewery has been a Las Vegas favorite for nearly 50 years, known for beer, food, karaoke and fun for locals and tourists looking to have a great time without breaking the bank. As such, the casino just east of the Strip hasn’t needed to make many changes over the years. But something big is coming.
says Director of Marketing Christina Ellis. “For years we’ve been a locals’ joint, but we’ve seen huge growth in the tourist market, more new people coming in and hanging out. It’s a good opportunity to add something new.” Especially when that something will appeal to both longtime local patrons and Vegas visitors just discovering the charms of Ellis Island.
Construction is underway on the Front Yard, a unique, brewpub-style indoor/ outdoor venue stretching along Koval Lane. The two-story expansion will fit 300, serving suds straight from the Ellis Island brewery, with a fresh menu of bar grub and live music, too.
Set to open later this year, the Front Yard will incorporate the brewery into its design so customers can witness the brewing process. It will occupy the northwest area of the property at Flamingo and Koval, providing views of the Strip from its garden-like atmosphere and secondfloor atrium.
“It really started out as a patio concept and snowballed into this separate thing,”
Ellis says the team is still discussing the
musical lineup, but it’s safe to expect diverse sounds. “We would love to do a local-music series there, and we’ve talked about cover bands and even a gospel choir or stand-up comedy,” she says. No one seems more excited about the Front Yard than Ellis Island’s longtime regulars, who have been surveying the model inside the casino. “People are bringing their friends in to check it out, and our team members are so excited. It’s a contagious energy,” Ellis says. “We want to make sure everyone knows we’re not taking away any of the things they love, just adding more to love.” –Brock Radke
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any Vegas visitors have fond meal memories of time spent at the Mirage’s Japonais restaurant, an energetic night spot and haven for sushi and grill enthusiasts. But it was time for some fresh flavors, and that’s where Otoro comes in. The new spot leans into its swank surroundings with a vibe perfect for business meetings, dates or hanging with friends. The versatile menu features starters, sushi, tempura, large plates and robata sections, among others.
posed to the traditional charcoal, the Otoro grill—kept at 700 degrees—uses hickory wood to impart bold flavor into meat, seafood and vegetables. Baby artichokes with lemon aioli are one-bite wonders, while asparagus with roasted macadamia nuts have a nice interplay of textures and smokiness. Lamb chops are tender and complemented perfectly by Asian pear jam and sea salt. Oysters are beautifully presented and a delight to shoot, with the sweet, briny shellfish meshing with an excellent array of toppings: yuzu, red miso, wasabi crunch and masago butter cream.
The robata grill produces many of the new eatery’s best plates. As op-
The non-robata signature item is “the rock,” a sizzling hot stone sitting in
the middle of a plate atop a decorative mound of salt. Thinly sliced, raw, marinated sirloin steak is presented with it, so diners can cook the meat to their liking. Two seconds on each side achieves medium rare, and that super marinade of white miso, garlic, ginger, salt and pepper permeates every bite. With Otoro, the Mirage has found a great new piece to fit together with its evolving culinary puzzle. Otoro at Mirage, 866339-4566; Sunday-Thursday 5-9:30 p.m., Friday & Saturday 5-10 p.m. –Jason Harris
P h oto g r a p h b y P e t e r H a r a s t y
night bites
Download Sizzle app in the app store for previews of World’s Greatest Rock Show. >
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t’s been raising eyebrows in Las Vegas for 18 years, but Pink Taco, the Hard Rock Hotel’s Mexican restaurant, is just as satisfying as its name is outrageous.
p h o t o b y e r i k k a b i k / k a Bi k p h o t o g r o u p
Pink Taco’s new brunch menu, created by chef Crystal Parker (formerly chef de cuisine at Flour & Barley in San Diego), serves up the best of two distinct worlds: sweet and savory. You can’t pass up the churro waffles, tossed in cinnamon and sugar and drizzled with brown butter cajeta, or the ridiculous tres leches pancakes, a warm and fluffy stack served with a scoop of fried ice cream, a sprinkling of powdered sugar and condensed milk syrup. Switching gears, the crispy chicken tamale with roasted tomatillo salsa isn’t your ordinary tamale. The crunchy masa exterior gives way to an enticing textural experience, and the moist and tender meat on the inside will keep your fork coming back for more. Topped with a fried egg and queso fresco, this dish is savory and smoky—just the right plate to offset the sweetness of those pancakes. While soup might not scream “brunch,” you’ll be thankful you ordered the hangover green chile chicken stew. Pink Taco’s take on posole uses tender chunks of smoked chicken and earthy hominy, then adds both to a citrusy, salty and spicy broth. As promised, it’ll cure that nasty hangover, and get you primed for round two. Pink Taco at the Hard Rock Hotel, 702-693-5525; brunch Saturday & Sunday 11 a.m.-3 p.m. –Leslie Ventura
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he’s an actress and an incredible singer from the tiny town of Shelbyville, Kentucky, and she was building quite a résumé in TV and movies and onstage living in LA. But Ruby Lewis had to come to Las Vegas to get to Broadway. Lewis portrayed the lead role of Daisy in the initial For the Record production of Baz at Light Nightclub, an innovative, romantic musical on which Cirque du Soleil’s theatrical division was partnering. Given her electric presence and soaring voice, it was no surprise Cirque stole her for its own first musical, Paramour, which premiered last May at the Lyric Theatre in New York City. “I had no idea what to expect,” Lewis says. “We took our time building the show, and it was my first time—on this grand scale—to be part of the artistic process and have this much input. I got to build the character around myself and my strengths, and in that way it was the most ideal Broadway debut anyone could ask for.” The acrobatics-laced, Hollywood Golden Age-themed production grossed more than $1 million in its first six shows. When it wrapped
up in April, Lewis returned to the West Coast—not to LA, but to Vegas to reclaim her starring role in Baz, which just celebrated its first completed year at the Palazzo Theatre. “When I found the For the Record [team], for me it was the perfect recipe for entertainment,” Lewis says. “This show allows me to go deeper as an actor and to sing like a pop star or rock star, to really go for it and not hold back. I love this show for that.” Lewis, who has appeared in productions of Gypsy, Grease and Jersey Boys and on TV in Girl Meets World, Masters of Sex and Desperate Housewives, says her work in Paramour and Baz has opened even more doors. “That’s the name of the game right now,” she says. “Before I got the offer to come back to Baz, it was looking like it’d be back to the grind of auditioning, throwing spaghetti against the wall. But now, people are more interested, thanks to the live musicals on the networks every year and La La Land, which really revved people up. I hope I can jump in there and be part of that scene.” –Brock Radke
Photograph by Jon Estrada
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rose.rabbi t. l i e c al ida gr o u p 10 t h anniv e r sa ry Photographs courtesy
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FRIDAY, AUGUST 18
FRIDAY, AUGUST 25
Mandalay Bay Ticket Office 702.632.7580 mandalaybay.com 800.745.3000 ticketmaster.com Download Sizzle from the app store for an exclusive Brooklyn Bowl experience >
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CH ATEAU 8/10 DJs Bayati & Casanova. 8/11 Wushu. 8/12 DJ P-Jay. 8/16 DJ Reaction. 8/17 DJs Bayati & Casanova. 8/18 Bayati. 8/19 DJ Brees. 8/23 DJ Shadowred. 8/24 DJs Bayati & Casanova. 8/25 DJ Seize. 8/26 DJs Bayati & Casanova. Paris, Wed, Fri-Sat, 702-776-7770. DRAI’ S
hyde bellagio courtesy
8/10 DJ Esco. 8/11 Trey Songz. 8/12 T.I. 8/13 Rae Sremmurd. 8/17 TM88. 8/18 Big Boi. 8/19 Miguel. 8/20 DJ Franzen. 8/24 DJ Esco. 8/25 50 Cent, Trey Songz & Jeezy. 8/26 Chris Brown. 8/27 Fabolous. Cromwell, Tue, ThuSun, 702-777-3800. EM BASSY 8/10 Royelle. 8/12 DJ Lezlee. 8/17 DJ Two Lips. 8/19 DJ V-Tech. 8/24 Angie Vee. 8/26 DJ C-L.A. 3355 Procyon St, Thu-Sat, 702-6096666. FO U NDATIO N
RO O M
8/11 DJ Mark Mac. 8/12 DJ Excel. 8/18 Sam I Am. 8/19 Konflikt. 8/25 Graham Funke. 8/26 DJ Crooked. Mandalay Bay, nightly, 702-6327631.
G H OSTBAR Palms, nightly, 702-374-9770.
H Y DE 8/12 DJ Gordo. 8/14 Sheikh Fashion Week. 8/18 DJ Crooked. 8/19 DJ Ikon. 8/22 DJ Five. 8/23 DJ Kittie. 8/25 Joe Maz. 8/26 DJ D-Miles. 8/30 DJ D-Miles. Bellagio, nightly, 702-6938700.
IN T RIGUE
8/10 Flosstradamus. 8/11 MakJ. 8/12 Laidback Luke. 8/17 Dillon Francis. 8/18 Brillz. 8/19 Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike. 8/25 Cedric Gervais. 8/26 Gianluca Vacchi. Wynn, Thu-Sat, 702-770-7300. MARQUEE 8/11 Dash Berlin. 8/12 Eric DLux. 8/14 DJ Mustard. 8/18 Ruckus. 8/19 DJ Mustard. 8/21 Vice. 8/25 Vice. 8/28 Carnage. Cosmopolitan, Mon, Fri-Sat, 702-333-9000.
SURREN DER 8/11 Nightswim with RL Grime. 8/12 Nightswim with Brillz. 8/16 Lost Kings. 8/18 Nightswim with Flosstradamus. 8/19 Nightswim with Dillon Francis.
8/23 Nightswim with DJ Snake. 8/25 Nightswim with Getter & Ookay. 8/26 Nightswim with Conor McGregor. Encore, Wed, Fri-Sat, 702-770-7300.
TAO 8/10 DJ Five. 8/11 Four Color Zack. 8/12 DJ Politik. 8/17 DJ Five. 8/18 DJ Scene. 8/19 Eric DLux. 8/24 Justin Credible. 8/25 DJ Scene. 8/26 Gucci Mane. Venetian, Thu-Sat, 702-3888588.
XS 8/11 The Chainsmokers. 8/12 Robin Schulz. 8/13 Nightswim with RL Grime. 8/14 Virgil Abloh. 8/18 Diplo. 8/19 Alesso. 8/20 Nightswim with Nicky Romero. 8/21 RL Grime. 8/25 DJ Snake. 8/26 The Chainsmokers. 8/27 Nightswim with Yellow Claw. 8/28 EDX. Encore, Fri-Mon, 702-770-0097.
VEGAS BREWED. PT’S CRAFT BEERS AT OVER 50 LOCATIONS
NOW POURING HORIZON LIGHT | BOULDER STOUT | GOLDEN HEFEWEIZEN SEAN PATRICK’S RED| HUALAPAI IPA
Must be 21. Beers may vary per location. Management reserves all rights.
Download Sizzle from the app store for an exclusive PT’s Brewing Company >
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encore beach club courtesy wynn nightlife
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CLU B
8/10-8/11 DJ Mika Gold. 8/12-8/13 Amanda Rose. 8/17 Amanda Rose. 8/18 DJ Mika Gold. 8/19 Amanda Rose. 8/20 DJ Mika Gold. 8/248/25 DJ Mika Gold. 8/26 Amanda Rose. 8/27 Jenna Palmer. Palazzo, Thu-Sun, 702-7673724. CABANA
CLU B
Red Rock Resort, daily, 702-797-7873. DRA I ’ S
BEACH CLUB
8/11 Ape Drums. 8/12 Bingo Beach. 8/18 Benzi. 8/19 Zeds Dead. 8/20 Kyle. 8/22 Swim Night with Snoop Dogg. 8/25 Destructo. 8/27 DJ Franzen. Cromwell, Fri-Sun, 702-777-3800. E NCO RE
BEACH
CLUB
8/10 Flosstradamus. 8/11 Chuckie. 8/11 Nightswim with RL Grime. 8/12 The Chainsmokers. 8/12 Nightswim with Brillz. 8/13 Alison Wonderland. 8/18 Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike. 8/18 Nightswim with Flosstradamus. 8/19 Diplo. 8/19 Nightswim with Dillon Francis. 8/20 Alesso. 8/23 Nightswim with DJ Snake. 8/25 Cedric Gervais. 8/25 Nightswim with Getter & Ookay. 8/26 The Chainsmokers. 8/26 Nightswim with Conor McGregor. 8/27 DJ Snake. Encore, ThuSun, 702-770-7300.
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SLS, Fri-Sun, 702-761-7619. G O
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8/18 JD Live. 8/19 Eric Forbes. 8/20 DJ Vegas Vibe. 8/21 DJ Tavo. 8/22 Greg Lopez. 8/23 DJ J-Nice. 8/24 Jenna Palmer. 8/25 JD Live. 8/26 Eric Forbes. 8/27 DJ Vegas Vibe. Flamingo, daily, 702-697-2888.
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Green Valley Ranch Resort, daily, 702-617-7744. R E H AB
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LIN Q 8/11 Jamie Iovine. 8/13 Shaquille O’Neal. 8/18 Breathe Carolina. 8/20 Kid Ink. 8/27 Ice Cube. Hard Rock Hotel, Fri-Mon, 702-693-5505.
Linq, daily, 702-503-8320.
MARQUEE
DAYC L U B TAO
8/10 Dash Berlin. 8/11 Cedric Gervais. 8/12 DJ Mustard. 8/13 Kungs. 8/18 Andrew Rayel. 8/19 Carnage. 8/20 Nora En Pure. 8/25 Ruckus. 8/26 DJ Mustard. 8/27 M!KEATTACK. Cosmopolitan, daily, 702-333-9000.
PALMS
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8/10 DJ Paradice. 8/11 Stephi K. 8/12 DJ Politik. 8/13 DJ Wellman. 8/17 Mark Rodriguez. 8/18 DJ C-L.A. 8/19 Eric DLux. 8/20 Javier Alba. 8/24 Chuck Fader. 8/25 Angie Vee. 8/26 Eric DLux. 8/27 Mark Rodriguez. Venetian, Thu-Sun, 702-388-8588. VE N U S
8/10 Jenna Palmer. 8/11 JD Live. 8/12 Tinashe. 8/13 DJ Vegas Vibe. 8/14 DJ Tavo. 8/15 Greg Lopez. 8/16 DJ J-Nice. 8/17 Jenna Palmer.
8/19 Brody Jenner. Palms, daily, 702-3749770.
Caesars Palace, daily, 702-650-5944.
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8/11-9/3 Britney Spears. 9/6-10/7 Jennifer Lopez. 10/11-11/4 Britney Spears. 11/8-11/18 Backstreet Boys. Planet Hollywood, 702-7776737. BOWL
8/11 Dead Cross. 8/20 Cracker. 8/25 J Boog. 8/28 The Fixx. 8/29 Simple Plan. 9/1-9/2 Viva Ras Vegas with The Expendables, Long Beach Dub Allstars and more. 9/6 X. 9/14 Lil Yachty. 9/15 Catfish & The Bottlemen. 9/16 Bob Saget. 9/20 The Magpie Salute. 9/23 Danzig. 9/24 Metal Alliance Tour. 9/28 Motionless in White. 9/29 Make America Rock Again. 9/30 Andrew W.K. 10/4 Chronixx. 10/5 Post Malone. 10/6 Jon Bellion. 10/12 Father John Misty. 10/13 The Church. 10/20 Run the Jewels. 10/21 In This Moment. Linq Promenade, 702-8622695.
TH E
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8/12 Deep Purple & Alice Cooper. 8/13 Fleet Foxes. 8/17 Bryan Ferry. 8/23 Die Antwoord. 8/26 Trombone Shorty. 8/27 Foreigner & Cheap Trick. 9/1 Usher. 9/2 Kevin Hart & Friends. 9/3 Dave Chappelle. 9/15 Ricardo Arjona. 9/16 Pepe Aguilar. 10/6 Nas. 10/7 Maxwell. 10/15 The Script. 10/21 Pixies. Cosmopolitan, 702-698-6797.
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8/10 Jeff Dunham. 8/11 The Who. 8/15-9/3 Rod Stewart. 8/18 Jeff Dunham. 8/23 Jeff Dunham. 8/25 Steve Martin & Martin Short. 8/30 Jeff Dunham. 9/6 Jeff Dunham. 9/8-9/9 Jerry Seinfeld. 9/13 Jeff Dunham. 9/14 Gloria Trevi & Alejandra Guzman. 9/15-9/16 Enrique Iglesias. 9/17 Gloria Trevi & Alejandra Guzman. 9/19-10/7 Celine Dion. 10/8 Sebastian Maniscalco. 10/11-10/28 Elton John. 10/22 Joe Bonamassa. 10/29 Steve Martin & Martin Short. Caesars Palace, 866-227-5938.
8/10-8/12 Donny & Marie. 8/15-9/2 Richard Marx. Flamingo, 702-777-2782. DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS EVENTS CENTER 8/25 Rancid & Dropkick Murphys. 9/29 Sublime with Rome & The Offspring. 200 S. Third St., 800-745-3000.
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8/11 Steel Panther. 8/12 Yuridia. 8/17 Elvis Monroe. 8/18 Steel Panther. 8/19 Van Jones. 8/24 August Alsina. 8/25 Steel Panther. 8/30 Dude Ranch. 9/1 Steel Panther. 9/2 Farruko. 9/9 Aaron Lewis. 9/12 Reverend Horton Heat. 9/13-9/24 Santana. 9/14 Yuri. 10/4-10/21 Billy Idol. 10/8 Damian Marley. 10/19 Stone Sour. 10/22 Issues. 10/25 Hanson. 10/27-10/28 Marilyn Manson. Mandalay Bay, 702-632-7600. T H E
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8/18-8/19 Dave Koz & Larry Graham. 8/26 Brian Culbertson. 9/1-9/2 Jon Lovitz & Dana Carvey. 9/16 Jonathan Butler. 9/23 Mindi Abair. 10/6-10/7 Jon Lovitz & Dana Carvey. 10/27-10-28 Jon Lovitz & Dana Carvey. SLS, 702-761-7617. GOLDEN N UGGET SHOW ROOM 8/11 Rare Earth. 8/18 Gary Puckett & the Union Gap. 8/25 BJ Thomas. 9/1 Tommy James & the Shondells. 9/8 Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels. Golden Nugget, 866-9465336.
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9/14-9/15 Emmanuel. 10/11-10/28 Diana Ross. 9/20-10/7 John Fogerty. Wynn, 702-7709966. T HE
BLU E S
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8/12 Bryson Tiller. 8/18-8/20 Psycho Las Vegas. 8/26 Yestival. 8/27 The Australian Pink Floyd Show. 9/15 Franco Escamilla. 9/30 Ellismania 14. 10/1 Apocalyptica. 10/6 Kings of Leon. 10/7-10/14 Incubus. Hard Rock Hotel, 702-693-5000. M A N DA L AY
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8/18 311. 8/25 Iration. 9/2 I Love the ’90s with Salt-N-Pepa, All 4 One, Kid ‘n Play & more. 9/8 Lifehouse & Switchfoot. 9/9 Lost ’80s Live with Wang Chung, Berlin & more. Mandalay Bay, 702-632-7777. M A N D A L AY B AY EVENTS CENTER
9/15 Marco Antonio Solis. 9/16 Marc Anthony. 10/14 Janet Jackson. 10/22 Arcade Fire. Mandalay Bay, 702-632-7777. MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA
8/27 Smash Mouth. Flamingo, 702-697-2888. 8/26 Big3 Championship Finals. 9/15 Maná. MGM Grand, 702-521-3826. HARD
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9/29 Ellismania 14. Hard Rock Hotel, 702-6935555.
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8/19 Endurocross. 8/25 Super Summer Bash with Boy George & more. 9/15-9/16 Joe Weider’s Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend. 10/20 Andre Rieu. 10/21 Old School Party Jam. 10/27 Harlem Globetrotters. Orleans, 702-365-7469. PA RK
TH EATER
8/11-8/19 Cher. 9/2-9/3 Bruno Mars. 9/9 Jonathan Lee. 9/12-9/23 Ricky Martin. 9/29 Bill Burr. 9/30 Ruff Ryders 20th Anniversary Tour. 10/7 Ali Wong. 10/14 Theresa Caputo. 10/2710/29 Widespread Panic. Monte Carlo, 844600-7275. TH E
P EARL
8/12 Mike Epps. 8/18 Young the Giant. 9/1 Mary J. Blige. 9/2 Idina Menzel. 9/8 Luis Fonsi. 9/9 Melissa Etheridge. 9/15 Miguel Bosé. 10/6 Megadeth. 10/21 Tegan and Sara. 10/27 Hollywood Undead. Palms, 702-9443200.
T HE
SPAC E
8/17 The Phat Pack. 8/21 Mondays Dark. 9/11 Mondays Dark. 9/17 Daniel Emmet. 9/18 Mondays Dark. 10/2 Mondays Dark. 10/6 Alexandro Querevalu. 10/8 Brandon & James. 10/16 Mondays Dark. 3460 Cavaretta Court, 702-903-1070.
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8/11-8/12 George Lopez. 8/18-8/19 Ron White. 8/18-8/27 Boyz II Men. 8/25 Jay Leno. 8/26 Tim Allen. 9/1-9/2 George Lopez. 9/1-9/17 Boyz II Men. 9/3 Iliza Shlesinger. 9/8-9/9 Bill Maher. 9/15-9/16 Gabriel Iglesias. 9/29 Jay Leno. 9/30 Tiffany Haddish. 10/6-10/29 Boyz II Men. 10/7 Wayne Brady. 10/20-10/21 Ron White. 10/27-10/28 Bill Maher. Mirage, 702792-7777.
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8/11 Lady Gaga. 8/26 Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor. 9/1-9/2 George Strait. 9/15 Alejandro Fernández. 9/16 Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin. 9/22-9/23 iHeartRadio Festival. 9/29 Imagine Dragons. 9/30 Depeche Mode. 10/8 Los Angeles Lakers vs.
Sacramento Kings. 10/14 The Weeknd. 10/28 Jay-Z. 3780 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 702-692-1600. TOPGOL F
8/24 Scotty McCreery. 9/14 Leroy Sanchez. 10/6 Turkuaz. 4627 Koval Lane, 702-933-8458.
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8/19 Sara Evans. 11/18 Great White & Slaughter. Tropicana, 800-829-9034. VEN E T I AN
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9/20-9/30 Il Divo. 10/6-10/21 Rascal Flatts. Venetian, 702-414-9000.
VI N Y L 8/11 Slow to Surface. 8/18-8/20 Psycho Las Vegas. 8/24 Terravita. 9/8 SZA. 9/21 Zakk Sabbath. 9/28 Andy Mineo. 9/30 Ellismania 14 Afterparty. 10/20 Nothing More. Hard Rock Hotel, 702-693-5000.
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55 las vegas weekly 08.10.17
Who Knows Night three of The Who’s Caesars Palace residency saw Pete Townshend (pictured) and Roger Daltrey shuffling up their setlist— which provided some extra-memorable moments, not to mention additional challenges for their six-piece backing band. Read our report from the Colosseum at lasvegasweekly.com. (Photograph by Adam Shane/ Special to Weekly)
Arts & entertainment Menus to conquer completely
The Weekly 5
1. Carlito’s Burritos
2. Chada Street
3. Cleo
4. Cornish Pasty
5. Mint Indian Bistro
Pork verde-stuffed sopapillas, red chilesmothered breakfast burritos, a tortilla burger … These New Mexican treats require frequent returns. 4300 E. Sunset Road #A5, 702-547-3592.
This Chinatown Thai house journeys far beyond noodles and curries. Bring lots of friends for maximum sampling efficiency. 3839 Spring Mountain Road, 702-579-0207.
The LA Mediterranean import will tempt you to order way too many of its small-plate specialties— dips, kebabs, veggies, and more—and you’ll still leave with a wish list. SLS, 702-761-7612.
If you’ve tried one of these addictive savory pastries you have not tried them all, with options ranging from lamb and mint to carne adovada. 10 E. Charleston Blvd., 702-862-4538.
The menu unites northern and southern Indian cuisine, from methi malai to Rogan Josh curry. Maybe avoid the ultra-spicy “inferno” section, though. 730 E. Flamingo Road, 702-8949334. –Spencer Patterson
56 las vegas weekly 08.10.17
CHILDHOOD TRAUMA The Glass Castle makes compelling drama from family turbulence By Mike D’Angelo othing inspires easier sympathy than children in peril, especially when their parents are the primary threat. Give The Glass Castle credit, then, for making a sincere (if not always successful) effort to complicate its tale of four kids growing up with a flighty, irresponsible mom and an alcoholic dreamer of a dad. Adapted from former gossip columnist Jeannette Walls’ 2005 memoir and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (Short Term 12), the film focuses primarily on the turbulent relationship between Jeannette and her father, and takes pains to emphasize their tender, loving highs just as much as their destructive lows. There’s enough emotional truth here to compensate for the occasional lapses into Hollywood phoniness. It helps that we know right from the jump that Jeannette, at least, will turn out okay. She’s first seen in 1989, after she’s moved to New York City and made a name for herself in journalism; on the way home from a business dinner with her fiancé (Max
N
Greenfield), she sees her parents—Woody Harrelson shape a two-hour narrative from fundamentally plays Rex Walls, opposite Naomi Watts as Rose anecdotal source material. But The Glass Castle’s Mary Walls—scrounging through trash cans on the hokey speeches and manipulative reversals are street. This triggers a series of flashbacks depicting outnumbered by its piercing moments of alternating the family’s nomadic, hand-to-mouth bliss and despair. Harrelson gives Rex just existence in West Virginia and elsewhere, the right combination of easygoing charm AAABC as Jeannette (played at younger ages by and frightening ruthlessness, and his THE GLASS other actors) and her siblings cope with rapport with all three of the actors who play CASTLE Brie Larson, Rex’s penchant for spending the grocery Jeannette makes the father-daughter pushWoody Harrelson, pull heartbreakingly credible. One minute, budget on liquor and aspiring artist Rose Naomi Watts. Mary’s failure to put down her paintbrush he’s “teaching” her to swim by repeatedly Directed by Destin Daniel and take care of her brood. Back in 1989, tossing her into a public pool, ignoring her Cretton. meanwhile, Jeannette struggles with terrified screams; the next, he’s giving her Rated PG-13. whether or not to let her parents back into Venus—the whole planet—as a Christmas Opens Friday citywide. her life, after having worked so hard to present, explaining that her descendants escape all that they represent. can charge people rent when Earthlings As in Short Term 12, Cretton (who also inevitably migrate there. Watts gets less wrote the screenplay with Andrew Lanham and to do as the kind but oblivious Rose Mary, but her Marti Noxon) has a regrettable tendency to fall back presence serves as necessary ballast. When she and on dramatic clichés at crucial moments—a tendency Rex abruptly start laughing in the middle of an angry that’s likely amplified in this case by the need to physical altercation, that’s this movie in a nutshell.
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las vegas weekly 08.10.17
Gangs of Hollywood Get Shorty puts criminals in the movie business
+
Naomi Watts and Woody Harrelson (right) watch over their chaotic clan. (Lionsgate/Courtesy)
Creation has to work within some pretty narrow parameters, and Dauberman doesn’t find any new angles in the story of six orphan girls who move The evil doll returns in in with a reclusive couple who lost their young Annabelle: Creation daughter 12 years earlier. Could that daughter’s name be … Annabelle? Judging by the audience reaction every time the Obviously it is, and much of the movie is just title character appeared onscreen in Annabelle: marking time until evil forces show up to Creation, the evil doll is well on her way wreak havoc. Sandberg knows how to jolt to becoming a horror icon. She’s kind AABCC an audience well enough, and he has an of an inert antagonist, though, which ANNABELLE: assured visual style that builds up an atmomay be why Creation director David F. CREATION sphere of dread. But without an engrossing Sandberg (Lights Out) and returning Lulu Wilson, story or interesting screenwriter Gary Dauberman use her Talitha Bateman, Anthony LaPaglia. characters, that more as a harbinger for other, more moDirected by atmosphere bile demons who can scurry and skitter David F. Sandberg. doesn’t lead around the creepy old house where the Rated R. Opens Friday citywide. anywhere movie is set. except to the Sandberg’s flair for creepy set pieces next chapter puts Creation slightly above 2014’s Anin the increasingly nabelle, but it’s still pretty formulaic, with only lucrative Conjuring occasional scary moments. A prequel to a spin-off universe. –Josh Bell (the doll originated in 2013’s The Conjuring),
DEMONIC TOY
Creator Davey Holmes has compared his TV-series version of Get Shorty to FX’s Fargo: both shows take the titles and broad outlines of popular, acclaimed ’90s movies and apply them to mostly unrelated crime dramas, adapted for the modern age of serious, serialized TV. But while Fargo retains some tonal kinship with the Coen brothers movie that inspired it, Get Shorty has almost nothing in common with its source material, either Barry Sonnenfeld’s 1995 movie or the 1990 Elmore Leonard novel on which it was based. The basic idea of a lowlevel criminal who wants to get into the movie business is all that remains; here, it’s Chris O’Dowd as Pahrump-based enforcer Miles Daly, hoping to go legit to win back his wife and daughter. He teams up with Hollywood B-movie producer Rick Moreweather (Ray Romano) to make a period drama as a front for laundering money for Miles’ boss. The showbiz material is pretty thin, and much of the series takes place in dusty desert locations (shot in New Mexico), focusing on tired crime-drama devices. There’s none of the playful humor of Sonnenfeld’s film (there’s barely any humor at all), or the sly cleverness of Leonard’s crime novels (captured much more effectively in the Leonardbased Justified). Nor is there a diminutive movie star for the characters to pursue, rendering even the title irrelevant. –Josh Bell
AABCC GET SHORTY Sundays, 10 p.m., Epix. Premieres August 13.
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las vegas weekly 08.10.17
Special screenings
The cute but deadly mice of The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature. (Open Roads Films/Courtesy)
Batman and Harley Quinn 8/14, animated feature plus bonus content, 7:30 p.m., $10.50-$12.50. Select theaters. Info: fathomevents.com.
An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power aaccc Directed by Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk. 98 minutes. Rated PG. Al Gore returns, 11 years after An Inconvenient Truth, with an update on the devastating consequences if we don’t step up our efforts to combat climate change. There’s more emphasis on Gore the man than on facts and figures this time, and the film’s message is basically “I told you so.” –MD Downtown Summerlin, Green Valley Luxury, Green Valley Ranch, Town Square.
Daywalker: Blade Origins 8/10, locally produced fan film, 12:30 & 12:45 p.m., $8. Eclipse Theaters. Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry 8/14, 8/16, 8/19, Japanese animated feature film, Mon 7 p.m. subtitled, Wed 7 p.m. dubbed, Sat 4 p.m. dubbed, $8-$12. Orleans, Sam’s Town, Santa Fe, Village Square. Info: funimationfilms.com/fairytail. Saturday Movie Matinee 8/12, 2 p.m., free. Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, 702-507-3400. 8/12, 1 p.m., free. Windmill Library, 7060 W. Windmill Lane, 702-507-6036. Sci Fi Center Mon, Cinemondays, 8 p.m., free. Sun, Game of Thrones viewing party, 7 p.m., free. 8/10, Nosferatu (1922) with original score by local musician Steven Goldfinger, 7 p.m., $10. 8/12, At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul, 8 p.m., $5, includes popcorn, soda and candy. 5077 Arville St., 855-501-4335, thescificenter.com. TCM Big Screen Classics 8/13, 8/16, Bonnie and Clyde 50th-anniversary screening with introduction from Turner Classic Movies, 2 & 7 p.m., $5-$12.50. Select theaters. Info: fathomevents.com. Tuesday Afternoon at the Bijou Tue, 1 p.m., free. 8/15, The Spy Who Loved Me. Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, 702-507-3400. Women in Film Series 8/16, Middle of Nowhere, 7 p.m., $16, includes popcorn. Eclipse Theaters.
New this week 13 Minutes aaacc Christian Friedel, Katharina Schüttler, Burghart Klaussner. Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. 114 minutes. Rated R. In German with English subtitles. This biopic about Georg Elser, a German carpenter who attempted to assassinate Hitler in 1939, is more conventional and less powerful than Hirschbiegel’s 2004 WWII movie Downfall, struggling to connect a central romance to its political narrative. But Friedel gives a sympathetic and layered performance, humanizing an important and unsung historical figure. –JB Village Square. Annabelle: Creation aabcc Lulu Wilson, Talitha Bateman, Anthony LaPaglia. Directed by David F. Sandberg. 109 minutes. Rated R. See review Page 66. Theaters citywide.
Lowery delivers a layered and moving meditation on grief and the passage of time, even with his lead actor (Affleck, as a troubled musician killed in a car accident) covered entirely by a sheet for nearly the entire running time. He haunts the home he lived in, unable to move on. –JB Colonnade, Suncoast.
Kidnap aaccc Halle Berry, Sage Correa, Chris McGinn. Directed by Luis Prieto. 81 minutes. Rated R. Berry plays a waitress chasing after the kidnappers of her young son in this empty, predictable, cheap-looking thriller. More than half the movie is a repetitive, drawn-out car chase, and despite a running time that barely hits 80 minutes, Kidnap is still padded and plodding. –JB Theaters citywide. The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature abccc Voices of Will Arnett, Katherine Heigl, Maya Rudolph. Directed by Cal Brunker. 91 minutes. Rated PG. This grating animated sequel doesn’t even have the semi-clever heist-movie premise of its predecessor, instead throwing a bunch of hyperactive, annoying animal characters together in a jumble of subplots loosely related to saving their park home from an evil developer. It’s chaotic, ugly and unpleasant, without even a solid lesson for the kid audience. –JB Theaters citywide. Once Upon a Time aaccc Liu Yifei, Yang Yang, Jin Luo. Directed by Zhao Xiaoding. 108 minutes. Not rated. In Mandarin with English subtitles. This Chinese fantasy epic is more or less incomprehensible without extensive knowledge of Chinese mythology, and its overwrought emotions and muddled character motivations don’t help. Every shot is crammed full of garish CGI, and while there are some decent fight scenes, they’re buried under an onslaught of visual and narrative clutter. –JB Town Square. A Taxi Driver aaacc Song Kang-Ho, Thomas Kretschmann, Yoo Hai-Jin. Directed by Jang Hoon. 137 minutes. In Korean with English subtitles. The true story of a German journalist who captured footage of South Korea’s 1980 citizen uprising, thanks to the reluctant help of a Korean taxi driver, gets an overlong but uplifting dramatization. The main character’s political awakening is a little heavy-handed, but the performances are strong and the message is a worthy one. –JB Village Square.
The Glass Castle aaabc Brie Larson, Naomi Watts, Woody Harrelson. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. 127 minutes. Rated PG-13. See review Page 65. Theaters citywide.
Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (Not reviewed) Akshay Kumar, Bhumi Pednekar, Anupam Kher. Directed by Shree Narayan Singh. 155 minutes. Not rated. In Hindi with English subtitles. A man must win back his wife by improving the sanitation conditions in his village. Village Square.
LIE (Not reviewed) Nithiin, Megha Akash, Arjun Sarja. Directed by Hanu Raghavapudi. 150 minutes. Not rated. In Telugu with English subtitles. A man with a dangerous obsession disrupts the lives of those around him. Sam’s Town.
Velaiilla Pattadhari 2 (Not reviewed) Dhanush, Kajol, Amala Paul. Directed by Soundarya Rajnikanth. 130 minutes. Not rated. In Tamil with English subtitles. Crusading engineer Raghuvaran returns for another chapter in his story. Village Square.
Now playing Atomic Blonde aaabc Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, Sofia Boutella. Directed by David Leitch. 115 minutes. Rated R. Theron plays a British MI6 agent in 1989 Berlin in this stylish if confusingly plotted spy thriller. Theron is fantastically cool, the supporting performances are entertaining, the set and costume design are sophisticated, and the jaw-dropping action sequences are both brutal and beautiful. –JB Theaters citywide. The Dark Tower aaccc Tom Taylor, Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey. Directed by Nikolaj Arcel. 95 minutes. Rated PG-13. The long-in- the-works adaptation of Stephen King’s epic fantasy-novel series has turned it into a generic, streamlined action-fantasy, making the sprawling mythology feel limited and small. Elba is a highlight as world-weary warrior Roland, but Taylor is the real star as an overly earnest teen who joins Roland to save the world. –JB Theaters citywide. Detroit aaacc John Boyega, Will Poulter, Algee Smith. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow. 143 minutes. Rated R. Set mostly during the 1967 Detroit riots, the movie aims to put viewers alongside the black residents of the city as they rebel. It gets bogged down in depicting a particularly notorious incident that takes up most of the movie, with a cartoonish cop villain, but it still has powerful moments throughout. –JB Theaters citywide. Dunkirk aaaac Fionn Whitehead, Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance. Directed by Christopher Nolan. 106 minutes. Rated PG-13. Nolan’s docudrama about the evacuation of Dunkirk early in World War II is perhaps the boldest gamble yet made by this ambitious director, injecting a potentially alienating degree of abstraction into the sheer intensity of pitched battle. Once again, he somehow makes it work. –MD Theaters citywide. A Ghost Story aaaac Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara. Directed by David Lowery. 92 minutes. Rated R. Writer-director
Lady Macbeth aaabc Florence Pugh, Cosmo Jarvis, Naomi Ackie. Directed by William Oldroyd. 89 minutes. Rated R. Pugh gives a fearsome performance as Katherine Lester, a young upper-class wife in 19th-century England who rebels against her stable but oppressive life via adultery and murder. Oldroyd captures the bleak emptiness of Katherine’s surroundings, as she embraces her darkest, most twisted nature. –JB Green Valley Ranch. Landline aaabc Jenny Slate, Abby Quinn, Edie Falco. Directed by Gillian Robespierre. 93 minutes. Rated R. Set, delightfully but for no apparent reason, in 1995, Landline is a laid-back comedy about an uppermiddle-class NYC family in slow-motion distress. Even if it’s not as bracing as Robespierre and Slate’s Obvious Child, it’s still warm and funny and heartfelt, with great affection for both its characters and its era. –JB Village Square. Spider-Man: Homecoming aaabc Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Jacob Batalon. Directed by Jon Watts. 133 minutes. Rated PG-13. Bringing popular teen superhero Spider-Man (Holland) into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Homecoming is a feat of corporate deal-making as much as an artistic endeavor. There are a few impressive set pieces (most notably one set at the Washington Monument), some seeds planted for future movies and some entertaining bits of humor. –JB Theaters citywide. War for the Planet of the Apes aaacc Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn. Directed by Matt Reeves. 140 minutes. Rated PG-13. Part three of the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise boldly asks viewers to reject our own kind and root wholeheartedly for simian victory. Serkis remains a marvel as Caesar; shame the film stacks the deck by making its handful of humans cartoonishly evil, complexity be damned. –MD Theaters citywide. JMA Jeffrey M. Anderson; JB Josh Bell; MD Mike D’Angelo For complete movie listings, visit lasvegasweekly.com/movie-listings.
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60 LAS VEGAS WEEKLY 08.10.17
FLEET FOXES
with Bedouine. August 13, 8 p.m., $26-$41. The Chelsea, 702-698-7778.
SCHOOL OF FOLK FLEET FOXES’ ROBIN PECKNOLD TALKS NEW MUSIC AND COLLEGE HIATUS BY ANNIE ZALESKI
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n June, indie-folk band Fleet Foxes released Crack-Up, its first album in more than six years. Musically, the record features the familiar signifiers that made the Pacific Northwest group a sensation—pastoral harmonies, meticulous arrangements and haunting songwriting—but Crack-Up also marks an intriguing step forward. Humming electronic elements burble beneath “Cassius, –” while “Third of May/ Odaigahara,” a song inspired by frontman Robin Pecknold’s longtime friendship with collaborator Skyler Skjelset, is a nearly nine-minute epic blooming with acoustic guitars and aching sentiments. Leading up to Fleet Foxes’ Las Vegas debut, Pecknold spoke to the Weekly.
Between records, you went back to school, attending New York City’s Columbia University. Was there any particular class that really shaped your thinking? Probably my Walt Whitman class. We just read Leaves of Grass and walked around New York looking at different monuments related to him or places he had lived. There are a few of his poems that were part of the class, where it was like a picture of a mind, or a worldview, that I thought was really inspiring and worth aspiring to. When Fleet Foxes got back together, did you find that your relationship with bandmate Skyler Skjelset had changed? He and I are officially
adults now. We met when we were 13 years old, and from 13 to 26 or 27, we were kind of in the same dynamic. [Then] we saw each other pretty sparingly for three years, and I think that was just enough time to reset the dynamic. There’s a lot more mutual respect and less sibling rivalry (laughs). What kind of new influences did everyone bring to Fleet Foxes this time around? On this one, I was into music that was trance-y— Moroccan Gnawa music or Ethiopian jazz, stuff that had a trance element in terms of repetition to induce a hypnosis or something. That made its way into more of the music
noise
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las vegas weekly 08.10.17
resurfacing Onetime Vegas mainstay Slow to Surface gets back together—for a night By Deanna Rilling fter a five-year absence putting your heart and soul from the Las Vegas music into something and getting so scene, Slow to Surface close to making a career out of will reunite for one night it, then have it fall apart, then only, August 11 at Vinyl. Known getting so close again and have and respected for sticking to its it fall apart. After a while it’s sound and refusing to sell out, like rock ’n’ roll turns out to be the band has three albums up on a mean bitch.” Spotify, all of which Slow to Surface still hold up thanks also lost its origito their timelessnal guitar player ness and creative, Stephen Penhall to emotive rock. suicide. “We would “When came have loved to have back and listened him [with us] for to the CDs, I hadn’t the reunion show,” heard them in a Benwood says. long time,” says Mostly, Benwood singer Benwood. sees Friday’s show “I think we were a as a way to “get out pretty great band. of my rut. Just going We stayed true to back to practice, ourselves, and that just the adrenaline Slow to makes me feel good.” rush, when you get Surface The mononymed those endorphins gowith Jesse Pino vocalist, who will ing, it’s the best thing & The Vital Signs, be joined onstage you can do for depresDJ Day Won. by Zach Saucier and sion. And I know the August 11, 9 p.m., $10. Vinyl, Jeff Basso (guitars), rest of the guys miss 702-693-5000. Mac Purdy (drums), Slow to Surface.” Adam Handley Could the reunion (bass) and Josh Hercontinue? Benwood’s zog (keyboards and samples), not ruling out new music if the concedes that the industry took support is there. “Right now its toll during Slow to Surface’s we’re just excited [to play] original run. “Speaking just these songs that used to be for myself, I got depressed. It’s stale to us. Now all of a sudden rough to spend that much time they’re brand new again.”
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Pecknold, far left, and Fleet Foxes play their first Vegas show on August 13. (Shawn Brackbill/Courtesy)
on this one. Skye brought a lot of textural ideas. A lot of the sound-design stuff throughout the record is Skye’s work. [Keyboardist] Casey [Westcott] had been doing a lot of stuff with this program SuperCollider, and then manipulated keyboard instruments like harpsichords and Rhodes pianos. Now that the record is out in the world, what are you most proud of about it? The way that we made it. As I get older, I’m
trying to think less in terms of end results and more in terms of pleasure in the experience of doing something. … On the [previous] record we made, I was totally cool with that being a miserable experience, because I was only thinking about the end product (laughs). But I’m happy with this album, and I’m also way happy about how [it turned out in] the end. For more of our interview with Pecknold, visit lasvegasweekly.com.
62 NOISE
WEEKLY | 08.10.17
SOUND JUDGMENT Algiers
The Underside of Power aaaac
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Of this year’s musical rebukes of the Trump presidency—see Kendrick Lamar, Roger Waters, Joey Bada$$ and Moby—none resonate or defy pop conventions quite like Algiers’ sophomore album, a fiery condemnation of the president, Brexit, bigotry and the global power structure. The Atlanta quartet elevates its post-punk charge and industrial dystopia with gospel vocals—courtesy of frontman Franklin James Fisher and, less frequently, sampled choir harmonies—resulting in a seamless, clarion version of urban blues. There’s a riot goin’ on in “Cleveland,” a churning, righteously aggrieved stew of thunderous beats, taser-click loops, cross-sectioned hosannas and Fisher’s soaring tremolos. If “Cleveland” is pure post-millennial tension, the radiobaiting title track is an ebullient— albeit heavily programmed—update of classic R&B that spazzes and swings equally. And Fisher dissects the neofascist response to Obama’s eight years on the punky “Animals”: “And now the old man’s walking around and around/screaming, ‘It’s my turn!’” From the entitled cacophony of Trump rallies springs Algiers’ glorious noise. –Mike Prevatt
A few of our 2017 favorites (so far)
Austra
Richard Dawson
Japanese Breakfast
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Future Politics aaabc Austra is Katie Stelmanis, a Toronto-based singersongwriter with a knack for writing and arranging gloomy synth-pop, and a vocal so affecting, she can’t help but transcend her own material. You might need to ease yourself gently into what seems like a dour earnestness—the chorus of the opening track actually goes “What if we were alive,” the first line of every poem ever written in a coffeehouse— but it doesn’t take long before you spot the wry smile hidden behind Austra’s stylish black veil, and Future Politics opens up like a morning daisy. In fact, that reveal takes only four minutes, 10 seconds—the length of the title track. “The system won’t help you when your money runs out,” declares Stelmanis, over a wicked Eurodisco stomp that falls somewhere between Zola Jesus and old-school Eurythmics. The hot streak continues through the upbeat “Utopia” and “Freepower,” cools to blue in the hypnotic “Beyond a Mortal” and “I Love You More Than You Love Yourself,” and concludes with “Deep Thought,” an honest-to-God harp solo. This is proof of life you can dance to. –Geoff Carter
Peasant aaaab
The titular peasants of Richard Dawson’s excellent June album seem like the sort of folks who live in the Westerosi cities on Game of Thrones, far removed from their rulers’ scheming. Dawson, an Englishman gaining traction for his fanciful folk songs, paints vivid pictures—of Medieval commoners scared to die in battle, struggling to stay fed, warding off dark characters—with a compositional style reminiscent of Roy Harper and Joanna Newsom. If the lyrical content sounds odd, it is, but the accompanying music—which marries John Fahey’s acoustic-guitar sublimity to Captain Beefheart’s badass barroom stomp—is so compelling, you might find yourself wandering ’round the house emulating Dawson’s delivery on lines like “Miscreants, malingerers, dastards and knaves.” His voice, like Newsom’s, will turn some away, though there can be no denying its emotional richness. Sonic adventurers with open minds should try “Ogre” (which features a choir backing Dawson), then proceed to the hair-raising “Soldier” (“The rolling fields grow dark as the grave/And I am running for my life”). If you’re still onboard, you’re good to go. –Spencer Patterson
Soft Sounds From Another Planet aaabc
Michelle Zauner of Philly emo outfit Little Big League went out on her own with last year’s Japanese Breakfast debut, Psychopomp, but followup Soft Sounds From Another Planet has established her as an indie-pop force. It begins with the syrupy “Diving Woman,” which evokes ’90s shoegaze and soft dream pop. Reverberating synths and a spiraling guitar hook dance around Zauner’s vocals, creating a dizzying effect that evokes images of the song’s subject— female divers, or haenyeo, in South Korea. Then there’s the single, “Road Head”: “You gave road head/on a turnpike exit/Going home, going home/Last ditch desperate, like a makeshift siphon.” Zauner simultaneously addresses the complexity of female sexuality and the vulnerability of failing love. Japanese Breakfast’s sophomore LP is peppered with nods to bands like Spiritualized, Mazzy Star and Slowdive, but its second half takes on a streamlined approach more reminiscent of indie contemporaries like Waxahatchee. And while Zauner originally conceived of Soft Sounds as a concept album about outer space, the finished product speaks of more intimate themes, landing at the crossroads of love, fragility, confidence and strength. –Leslie Ventura
Free LSD’s Badtrip plays the Tap. (Photograph by Jose Gonzalez/Courtesy)
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WEEKLY | 08.10.17
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Filling a hole The Tap breathes new life into Boulder City’s music scene By Leslie Ventura hen much-loved Boulder City music venue Matteo’s Buffalo, an LA-based singer-songwriter on Sub Pop Underground Lounge closed in 2008, it left a Records, perform in the back dining room—a boutiquesizable hole in the cozy town’s underground scene. style space with wood flooring, plush couches and moodIn the near-decade since, various restaurants have setting chandeliers. tried to pick up the slack—Milo’s Cellar hosted acoustic While the front of the Tap is set up for watching sports, sets in its basement, and the Dillinger has staged a handful the versatile back area will be home to different types of of shows on its patio. But with the opening of the Tap, programing in the future, says owner Grant Turner. “We Boulder City music heads might finally have the all-ages can do all kinds of different events,” from music to movie venue they’ve been missing. nights, game nights and more, Stefanova adds. “Something we all strive to do is bridge The grand opening, slated for September The tap the gap between Vegas, Downtown Vegas and 2, will feature bands performing out in the 704 Nevada Way, Boulder City,” says Tsvetelina Stefanova, social parking lot, not unlike the annual Boulder Boulder City, media coordinator for the Tap. The Bad Moon City Block Party. Turner, who also owns the 702-293-0532. Booking founder—and keyboardist for localDillinger and Boulder City’s Forge Social scene mainstay Same Sex Mary—will also be House, spent the slow summer months gearing in charge of booking live music at the Tap. “We live in up for fall—when he says the town really comes alive. Boulder City, and we’re always playing Downtown. We “This place was rough,” Turner says of the Tap prewant to promote this town more and more. The more we remodel, when it was operated by the Mongols Motorcycle get people to just come out here once and check it out, the Club. Now, with a complete overhaul both inside and out, more they’re going to see how easy it us to come out for Turner is ready to get things moving. lunch or stay a couple days.” “The summer gave us the opportunity to really train The Tap had a packed house on August 2, when folks the staff and work out the menu items,” Turner says. “By from Las Vegas and Boulder City turned out to see Avi September 2, we’re going to be ready to get after it.”
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Lopez lands at the Mirage for two shows this month. (Scott Gries/Invision/AP)
comedy
WEEKLY | 08.10.17
Off the Wall Comic George Lopez drops into town fresh off his latest HBO special By Brock Radke
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f you missed George Lopez’s fourth HBO special, there are more occasions when they do come. And the The Wall, broadcast live on August 5 from the twinge of “Go back to Mexico,” of racism and bigotry— Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., get your that has never been higher at any point in my career, eyes on your preferred TV catch-up screen now. and Donald Trump is directly responsible for all of that. When he wasn’t straight-up cursing out the President, Clearly this motherf*cker has no respect for us, so why he was digging into new absurdities generated by this would I be apologetic? crazy political climate: “It’s amazing to me how documented the undocumented are ... you Is Las Vegas one of those places that prefers George want to see my birth certificate? From what comedy when it’s less political? It’s like a tone Lopez year? How old do you want me to be?” knob. Arsenio [Hall] just asked me today what August 11 & 12, We spoke with the comedy veteran this I’m going to do in Vegas. It’s a more general 10 p.m., $60-$87. week, right after The Wall and right before he tone. I’ve got so much stuff, so it will be more Mirage, returns to the Vegas stage this weekend. about those absurdities without as much 702-792-7777. political stuff. So you really came out firing Saturday. I seem to have upset every mom who has a kid with a You’re always working on movies and TV in addition peanut allergy. After all of that, that was the thing that to steady stand-up. What’s on the front burner? In got everyone offended? 2019 I will have been doing this for 40 years, so maybe by then I’ll realize if I want to dwindle [from stand-up]. How has Trump affected your performance and your Hopefully, I’ll be producing so much I won’t have to do writing? If I’m going to pull the trigger, I’m not going as much, but I’m one of the few guys who have never to squint. I pick my targets. I play places that the tickets been disconnected from it. I really love it. Preparing for don’t sell as well if [the material] is not political, and this hour [The Wall] was not easy, but it was much more that’s everyone’s choice; if you know what I’m going to accelerated, way different than the previous three. I’m talk about and don’t want to hear it, don’t come. But happy with how it turned out.
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WEEKLY | 08.10.17
DRAWING conclusionS
Political cartoonist Mike Smith gets a presidential retrospective By C. Moon Reed is favorite presidents to draw are Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. The reason? Jowls and hair, respectively. Cartoonists emphasize distinctive features to create a likeness. “When you’re drawing the president or anybody, the more attractive they are, the more difficult they are to draw,” says award-winning editorial cartoonist Mike Smith. “Obama doesn’t have a lot of features, other than ears.” Over the course of six presidencies, or 34 years, Smith has been turning his observations and opinions into political cartoons for the Las Vegas Sun (the Weekly’s sister publication). His work is widely syndicated and has appeared in The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post and elsewhere. Now, as presidential politics dominate the national conversation, Nevada Humanities is presenting an exhibition of his work, titled Cartooning the Presidency. The exhibit consists of a selection of Smith’s favorite presidential cartoons from over the decades. They appear in their original 11-by-14-inch
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format, which allows the viewer to see beyond the turist, but not an impartial journalist. “I take the pristine published version. “There are corrections work that a journalist has done, and I use satire and and smudges—things in the art that are not perfect,” exaggeration to make a point,” he says. Smith says, encouraging the viewer to look closely. Smith is a proud liberal who dislikes Trump. He still draws his cartoons by hand, drafting in blue Ironically, when Republicans are in power, he pencil and inking with Sharpies and has more material. “In cartooning, brush pens. He scans the drawings, you have to be riled up. You’ve gotta Mike Smith: then adds color in Photoshop. be angry with what’s going on,” Smith Cartooning the Presidency One of Smith’s biggest challenges is says. Other pet topics include the Yucca Through coming up with a cartoon every day. Mountain nuclear waste dump, traffic September 27, “It’s really about reading,” Smith says. and education. He used to poke fun at Monday-Friday, “My day is 90 percent absorbing inforpop culture, but the frenetic news cycle 1-5 p.m., free. Nevada Humanities mation and 10 percent drawing.” The of the current administration has kept Program Gallery, pressure of a deadline cures any blocks. him covering politics. 1017 First St. #190, “The closer you get to deadline, the “There’s never been an administration 702-800-4670. more creative you become,” he says. with so much news in so short a period Astonishingly, even though his work of time. It’s hard to keep up with it all,” appears in the Opinion section, readers says Smith, who makes a comic every day. sometimes complain that Smith’s cartoons aren’t “How do you draw a cartoon about a cartoon? He’s objective. “They’re missing the point of a cartoon,” so outrageous, it’s almost hard to improve upon. Smith says. Call him an artist, a humorist or a caricaBut at the same time, it’s a blast.”
66 LAS VEGAS WEEKLY 08.10.17
HIDDEN TREASURE DISCOVER ADVENTUROUS SUSHI SPEAKEASY KAME OMAKASE BY JIM BEGLEY ig if you will the picture, of you and I engaged in a fish. Perhaps Copper River salmon. Or Kamashita toro. Or even shirako (cod sperm sac). If that sounds intriguing, seek out Kame Omakase, hiding in plain sight adjacent to the more accessible Yummy Grill & Sushi. This isn’t a meal for anyone with even a modicum of culinary cowardice. In omakase, the chef already has your journey prepared for you, but if you’re willing to push your the limits of your palate (and wallet), Kame stands ready. At $165 per person before drinks, it’s an expensive but wildly memorable meal. Each experience lasts around two hours with ornate presentations for eight lucky diners offered during twice-nightly seatings. The menu, consisting of 16 to 20 courses, rotates monthly depending upon seasonal ingredients. Recently, live octopus tentacle accompanied smoked radish, while crispy lotus root-topped Chilean sea bass was paired with live softshell Maryland crab and accompanied by sharp, house-pickled ginger. A rare treat, Hokkaido hairy crab arrived in two dishes: its tomalley (innards) atop chawanmushi—steamed egg custard—with uni and caviar, and with pickled squash and an addictive butter-miso dipping sauce with fresh wasabi on a miniature sharkskin grater. A nigiri lightning round late in the meal impressed: shima aji layered with white kombu; smoked sea salt-dusted sea perch; New Zealand mackerel adorned with gomashio; Seattle giant clam; Kamashita toro in a trio of presentations including cheek, chutoro and sashimi straight from the jaw; uni playfully swaddled in a seared nori “taco”; and a duo of Copper River salmon (sockeye and white king) needing no gilding. Other composed dishes included black truffle sea salt-sprinkled Maine lobster sashimi garnished with dollops of bluefin cheek, caviar, uni, gold flaked tapioca spheres and Scottish smoked trout roe in a busy, delicious presentation; and in a surf-and-turf for the ages, unctuous, hot stone-grilled A5 Kumamoto Wagyu served simply with wasabi and cold smoked sea salt preceded by lobster claws swimming in an uni Sauvignon Blanc sauce with soba noodles. Thus far, the large majority of Kame’s guests have been tourists. With a meal this good lurking right below our noses, isn’t it time to change that?
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KAME OMAKASE
7331 W. Lake Mead Blvd. #104, 702-771-0122. Monday-Saturday, 6-10 p.m.; Sunday 7-9:30 p.m. Kame’s innovative fare isn’t for culinary cowards. (Christopher DeVargas/Staff)
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food & Drink
las vegas weekly 08.10.17
Vongerichten is serving new food surrounded by a new look. (Eva Agostini/Invision/AP)
Summertime soup is a thing at Tang Tang Tang
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A steakhouse refreshed Jean Georges redesigns a sublime experience
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Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s luxurious gimlet, showcase personality without taking away namesake steakhouse has been a from the food. A focus on cult wines from California mandatory stop on the Vegas foodie tour helps sets the steakhouse apart from peers. since it opened inside Aria in 2009. Tableside carving injects an interactive While the quality cuisine and edgy decor element; among those offerings are JEAN GEORGES kept it prominently placed on that map, smoked Wagyu brisket coated in black a recent redesign couldn’t have come at peppercorn lacquer, and bone-in STEAKHOUSE a better time. With newer neighbors at Chateaubriand, a nod to the classic Aria, 702-590-8660. Carbone and Bardot Brasserie pushing training of the chef’s youth. A 32-ounce Daily, Aria’s restaurant reputation higher and Wagyu tomahawk is a carnivore’s fantasy. 5:30-10:30 p.m. higher, a jolt of fresh energy was due. And it’s not just the meat that gets the Jean Georges’ new look works on every upscale treatment. Dishes like Dungeness level. The layout seems more spacious, and crab cake with snap pea remoulade and the restaurant’s different areas feel more connected. crunchy organic chicken with spinach and hot sauce It’s still dark and sleek, but now there’s a secret are at once familiar and high-end. steampunk society vibe. Renovation? Welcome to the reinvention of Jean Smooth new libations, like the excellent lavender Georges Steakhouse. –Jason Harris
It’s the heart of summer in Las Vegas, so you might not expect a soup shop to fill up with hungry patrons. But that’s the case at Tang Tang Tang, an eatery that specializes in Korean soup. There isn’t an empty table in the joint. The tang (soup) boast deep flavors, courtesy of bone broth. This type of soup’s on a recent upswing because it’s nutrientpacked and full of protein, plus it shows respect to the animal by using parts that would otherwise go to waste. Bones are roasted, then cooked down in a pot for up to 24 hours, providing a rich, soothing taste to the liquid. Ox bone soup ($9.99$13.99) comes with a collection of side dishes and different cuts of meat. The kimchi doesn’t hold back on its assertive punch. Spicy turnips have a nice crunch. Glass noodles with vegetables are likely to be the first side dish in need of a refill. Beef shortrib soup ($12.99) fills out the bowl with noodles or cabbage, and its giant chunks of meat are beyond tender. Be sure to ask for the side sauce, a Korean pickling sauce featuring soy, vinegar, sugar, sliced jalapeños and onions. The use of dates in the broth is both trippy and delicious. Add a rice cake for $2 for another interesting textural component. Grab an order of galbi ($23.99)—grilled beef short ribs—or daeji ($18.99)—spiced, grilled pork ribs—and enjoy. But not for too long; someone wants that table. –Jason Harris
TANG TANG TANG 6000 Spring Mountain Road #1B, 702-464-5177; Daily, 10 a.m.-11 p.m.
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speaker as “American,” a middle-aged man with a Midwestern voice and a metaphor, maybe, for every seeker looking PRINT 08.10.17 for answers, and love, in all the wrong places. American rambles the world to write about Himalayan base camps and Turkmen markets, but his girlfriend and another writer friend impel him to journey to dark and troubling places. One tape records his memories of slogging through a Louisiana swamp with a snake-killer, who performs that task, it seems, in a hallucination he inREAD DEEPLY INTO duces in the journalist. American’s secTHE SILENCES OF FOUND ond story takes him to Kowloon, where graffiti goads him to track down a City AUDIO BY CHUCK T WARDY of Dreams that could be a street-gang hat is the sound of silence, scheme or a portal into the Unknown. anyway? Wander beyond Eventually he finds himself recoverPaul Simon’s social ing in a hospital, wondering whether signposts into the Land of his now-ex-girlfriend visited him in a dream or not. Koan—one hand clapIn the third tape, he ping and such—you’ll tries to put what he calls get Found Audio. “my psychotic existential N.J. Campbell’s crisis” behind him, through trade-paperback novrounds of therapy and el is on one narrative analysis. He seeks a desk level about an intern job and enjoys days without left with a manuwonder and nights without script trying to find dreams. Then his old friend someone to publish it. But it’s also about once again plunges him silences: silences on into the riddle-dappled AAABC two audio cassettes pond of imagining, this FOUND AUDIO dutifully noted by time guided by a Turkish By N.J. Campbell, $16. their transcriber chess master. (an audio analysis “I tried as best I could expert) along with to write about what I had magnetic induction noises and lived, rather than what I saw was being provocative interjections by those lived,” American notes after his enpresumably recording the tapes; counter with the snake-hunter, but this and silences implied by the apparinsight gets him only halfway home. In ent disappearances of the audio the silent spaces between wakefulness expert and others. and sleep the mind ravels what is really The transcriber refers to the real. Or so it seems.
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Now through 08/31/17.
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calendar
las vegas weekly 08.10.17
Live Music THe Strip & Nearby Brooklyn Bowl Dead Cross 8/11, 8 pm, $26. Empire Records 8/12, 8:30 pm, free. Beatlemajesty (Beatles tribute) 8/19, Cracker 8/20, 7 pm, $22-$25. Linq, 702-862-2695. Caesars Palace (Colosseum) The Who 8/11, 8 pm, $76-$501. Rod Stewart 8/18-8/19, 8/22, 7:30 pm, $49-$250. 702-731-7333. Cosmopolitan (Chelsea) Deep Purple, Alice Cooper, The Edgar Winter Band 8/12, 6:30 pm, $45-$135. Fleet Foxes, Bedouine 8/14, 8 pm, $26-$51. Bryan Ferry, Judith Owen 8/17, 8 pm, $29-$89. Die Antwoord 8/23, 8 pm, $29$208. 702-698-7000. Flamingo (Donny & Marie Showroom) Richard Marx 8/15-8/19, 7:30 pm, $59-$99. 702-777-2782. Hard Rock Hotel (The Joint) Bryson Tiller, H.E.R., Metro Boomin 8/12, 8 pm, $50-$200. (Vinyl) Slow to Surface, Jesse Pino & The Vital Signs 8/11, 9 pm, $10-$20. (Multiple venues) Psycho Las Vegas ft. King Diamond, Mastodon, The Brian Jonestown Massacre & more 8/17-8/20, $249. 702-693-5000. Hard Rock Live Holes and Hearts 8/10, 9 pm, free. Smashing Alice 8/12, 9 pm, free. Remedy 10/13, 9 pm, free. Hard Rock Cafe (Strip), 702-733-7625. House of Blues Gente de Zona 8/10, 8 pm, $45-$55. Steel Panther, Crash Midnight 8/11, 9 pm, $16-$32. Yuridia 8/12, 8 pm, $37-$75. Steel Panther, Gina & The Eastern Block, The Raskins 8/18, 9 pm, $16-$73. Wild Child (Doors tribute) 8/23, 7 pm, $15. Mandalay Bay, 702-632-7600. Mandalay Bay (Beach) 311, New Politics 8/18, 9 pm, $51-$115. 702-632-7777. Mirage (Terry Fator Theatre) Boyz II Men 8/188/20, 7:30 pm, $44-$163. 702-791-7111. Monte Carlo (Park Theater) Cher 8/11-8/12, 8/16, 8/18-8/19, 8 pm, $55-$436. 844-600-7275. Palms (The Pearl) Young the Giant, Cold War Kids, Joywave 8/18, 7 pm, $30-$50. 702-944-3200. Planet Hollywood (Axis) Britney Spears 8/11-8/12, 8/16, 8/18-8/19, 9 pm, $69-$500. 702-777-2782. SLS (The Foundry) David Koz, Larry Graham 8/18-8/19, 8 pm, $79-$135. 702-761-7617. Stoney’s Rockin’ Country Trent Harmon, Jillian Jacqueline 8/10, 9 pm, $10-$20. Scotty Alexander 8/11, 9 pm, $5-$20. Town Square, 702-435-2855. T-Mobile Arena Lady Gaga 8/11, 7:30 pm, $45$275. 702-692-1600. Treasure Island (Gilley’s Saloon) New Frontier 8/10, 9 pm; 8/11-8/12, 10 pm. CJ Simmons 8/16, 9 pm. Shows $10-$20. 702-894-7722. Tropicana (Theater) Sara Evans 8/19, 9 pm, $40-$70. 702-739-2222. Westgate Las Vegas The King Lives! Donny Edwards Tribute to Elvis 8/11-8/12, 7 pm, $22$84. 702-732-5111.
Downtown Backstage Bar & Billiards Avon, Void Vator, The Van der Rohe, Sonolith 8/10, 8 pm, $10. Free Salamander Exhibit, Major Entertainer 8/11, 10 pm, $8-$10. Reclaim the Sky, Mario Z 8/16, 8:30 pm, $5-$10. 601 E. Fremont St., 702-382-2227. Beauty Bar The Delta Bombers, Dead at Midnite, Go Bold 8/10, 8 pm, $10. Brick + Mortar, Split party, Shayna Rain, Lazer Whip 8/11, 8 pm, $10. The Claudettes, Europa, Child Support 8/14, 8 pm, free. Swingin Utters, Western Settings, Franks & Deans, Mercy Music 8/16, 8 pm, $12. 517 Fremont St., 702-598-3757. Bunkhouse Saloon Echo Stains, Luna Flore, Chameleon Queen 8/10, 9 pm, $6-$8. MacroFi BBQ ft. Vessel, Blair & Chani, Hassan, Indigo
The Mike Patton-fronted Dead Cross hits Brooklyn Bowl on August 11. (Photograph by SAWA/Courtesy)
Kidd, Planes on Paper 8/11, 7 pm, $5. Croy and the Boys, Paige Overton, The Prettiest 8/15, 8 pm, $5-$8. 124 S. 11th St., 702-854-1414. Fremont Street Experience (1st St. stage) Rick Springfield 8/12, 9 pm, free. Fremont St., vegasexperience.com. Golden Nugget (Showroom) Rare Earth 8/11, 8 pm, $21-$108. Gary Puckett and the Union Gap 8/18, 8 pm, $21-$141. 866-946-5336. Smith Center (Cabaret Jazz) Peter Cincotti 8/11, 7 pm, $39-$65. Reckless in Vegas 8/12, 8 pm, $35-$45. Frank Laspina 8/13, 2 pm, $25. Postmodern Jukebox 8/14, 6 & 8:30 pm, $49$99. The Composers Showcase 8/16, 10:30 pm, $20-$25. 702-749-2000. Velveteen Rabbit Angel Magic, Passive Tourist, Echo Stains 8/12, 8 pm, $5. 1218 S. Main St., 702-685-9645.
Everywhere Else Adrenaline Sports Bar & Grill Donnie Menace, Dim, Luck Factor Zero, Doms Gauge, RKB, The Jones, Snypa Da Prophet, AJ 8/12, 8 pm, $10. Prozak, JoJo Blast, Ego James, Luck Factor Zero, RKB 8/16, 9 pm, $10. 3103 N. Rancho Drive, 702-645-4139. Cannery (The Club) Good Vibrations (Beach Boys tribute) 8/12, 8 pm, $10. 70s Soul Jam ft. The Stylistics, The Emotions, Bloodstone, Carl Carlton 8/19, 8 pm, $29-$50. 2121 E. Craig Road, 702-507-5700. Count’s Vamp’d Nitetrain, Queens of Noise, Stoked 8/10, 9 pm, free. Todd Kerns, Flat Earth Committee, Joshua Allen 8/11, 9 pm, $5. 9 Electric, Quor EMDF 8/12, 9:30 pm, free. John Zito Band 8/16, 9:30 pm, free. 750 W. Sahara Ave., 702-220-8849. Dive Bar Goddamn Gallows, Fuzz Solow, The All-Togethers 8/11, 9 pm, $12. Raven Black, Doll Skin, Next to None 8/12, 9 pm, $8. The Scoundrels, Strange Mistress, Black Rhino
8/13, 9 pm, free. 4110 S. Maryland Parkway, 702-586-3483. Eagle Aerie Hall Holehearted, Words From Aztecs, Devthbed, Sunlifter, Desolation, Misdirection 8/12, 5 pm, $10. 310 W. Pacific Ave., 702-568-8927. Green Valley Ranch (Grand Events Center) Boz Scaggs 8/19, 8 pm, $34-$69. Shows 7 pm, free unless noted. 702-367-2470. Primm Valley Resort (Star of the Desert Arena) Paquita la del Barrio 8/19, 8 pm, $30-$60. 702-386-7867. Sand Dollar Lounge The Rayford Bros. 8/10. SSHH 8/11. Shows 10 pm, free unless noted. 3355 Spring Mountain Road, 702-485-5401. South Point (Showroom) Herman’s Hermits 8/11-8/12, 7:30 pm, $40-$50. 702-796-7111. Suncoast (Showroom) Sonny Turner 8/12, 8:30 pm, $20. 702-636-7075.
Comedy
Caesars Palace (The Colosseum) Jeff Dunham 8/10, 8/16, 8/23, 7:30 pm, $50-$80. 702-731-7333. Mirage (Terry Fator Theatre) George Lopez 8/11-8/12, 10 pm, $65-$87. Ron White 8/188/19, 10 pm, $65-$89. 702-792-7777. Orleans (Showroom) Frank Caliendo 8/11-8/12, 8 pm, $34-$120. Carlos Mencia 8/18-8/19, 8 pm, $34-$55. 702-284-7777. Palms (The Pearl) Mike Epps 8/12, 8 pm, $40$90. 702-944-3200.
Performing Arts
Smith Center (Reynolds Hall) Something Rotten! Thru 8/13, times vary, $29-$127. 702749-2000. The Space Majestic Repertory Theatre: Hair 8/11-8/27; Fri & Sat, 8 pm; Sat, 4 pm; Sun, 5 pm; $27. 3460 Cavaretta Court, 702-903-1070. Summerlin Library & Performing Arts Center
Sin City Opera: An Die Musik: An Afternoon of German Opera From Mozart to Wagner 8/13, 3 pm, free. 1771 Inner Circle Drive, 702-507-3860. Super Summer Man of La Mancha Thru 8/26, 8 pm. Spring Mountain Ranch State Park, 702594-7529. Winchester Cultural Center The Lion King Jr 8/10-8/12, 6 pm; 8/12, 2 pm; $8. S. McLeod Drive, 702-455-7340.
Special Events
Hopped Taco Throwdown 8/12, 8 pm, $50-$70. Zappos, 400 Stewart Ave., hoppedtaco.com. Kumukahi Ukelele & Hula Festival 8/11, 2 pm; 8/12, 9 am, $25. Sam’s Town, 702-284-7777. Strong Beer Fest 8/12, 3 pm, $15 (includes first pour/$5 tastes). Aces & Ales, 2801 N. Tenaya Way, 702-638-2337. War on the Catwalk 8/13, 7 pm, $23-$98. House of Blues, 702-632-7600.
Galleries
The Corner Gallery Henderson’s City Lights Artists Thru 8/31. Call for hours. Arts Factory, 107 E. Charleston Blvd. #220, 702-501-9219. CSN (Fine Arts Gallery) Benjamin Entner: Classics Thru 9/2. Mon-Fri, 8 am-10:30 pm; Sat 8 am-5 pm. 3200 E. Cheyenne Ave., 702-651-4146. Nevada Humanities Program Gallery Mike Smith: Cartooning the Presidency Thru 9/27. Mon-Fri, 1-5 pm, free. 1017 S. First St. #190, nevadahumanities.org. Priscilla Fowler Fine Art Lolia Dovelay: Opulent Thru 9/2. Wed-Sat, noon-6 pm. 1025 S. 1st St. #155, 719-371-5640. Sahara West Library (Gallery) Nevada Clay Guild: All About Clay Thru 8/26. (The Studio) KD Matheson: Masks, Sculpture, Paintings Thru 8/28. Mon-Thu, 10 am-8 pm; Fri-Sun, 10 am-6 pm. 9600 W. Sahara Ave., 702-507-3630.
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