C O N G R A T S
KELLEY & VICTORIA FERTITTA Named W O M E N O F I N T R I G U E by Las Vegas Weekly magazine. Recognized for style and grace, we appreciate all you have done and are excited for your bright futures.
ENTERTAINMENT SEPTEMBER – NOVEMBER
TOTO AND PAT BENATAR & NEIL GIRALDO RED ROCK POOL ★ SEPTEMBER 2
DAVID COOK WITH KATHRYN DEAN SANTA FE ★ SEPTEMBER 1
AN EVENING OUT WITH OTTMAR LIEBERT & LUNA NEGRA SUNSET ★ SEPTEMBER 2
JERROD NIEMANN SANTA FE ★ SEPTEMBER 2
OHIO PLAYERS BOULDER ★ SEPTEMBER 9
RICKY NELSON REMEMBERED STARING MATTHEW & GUNNAR NELSON SANTA FE ★ SEPTEMBER 9
LOUIE ANDERSON RED ROCK ★ SEPTEMBER 15 & 16
HOT TAMALES BOULDER ★ SEPTEMBER 15
AVERAGE WHITE BAND SANTA FE ★ SEPTEMBER 15
GEORGE BENSON SUNSET ★ SEPTEMBER 16
MARY J. BLIGE WITH SPECIAL GUEST LALAH HATHAWAY PALMS ★ SEPTEMBER 1
IDINA MENZEL PALMS ★ SEPTEMBER 2
LUIS FONSI PALMS ★ SEPTEMBER 8
COMMANDER CODY BOULDER ★ SEPTEMBER 7
STEEPWATER BAND BOULDER ★ OCTOBER 19
SELWYN BIRCHWOOD BOULDER ★ NOVEMBER 2
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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Group Publisher GORDON PROUTY (gordon.prouty@gmgvegas.com) Publisher MARK DE POOTER (mark.depooter@gmgvegas.com)
EDITORIAL Editor SPENCER PATTERSON (spencer.patterson@gmgvegas.com) Associate Editor MIKE PREVATT (mike.prevatt@gmgvegas.com) Senior Editor GEOFF CARTER (geoff.carter@gmgvegas.com) Editor at Large BROCK RADKE (brock.radke@gmgvegas.com) Staff Writer C. MOON REED (cindi.reed@gmgvegas.com) Staff Writer LESLIE VENTURA (leslie.ventura@gmgvegas.com) Film Editor JOSH BELL Contributing Editors RAY BREWER, CASE KEEFER, KEN MILLER, ERIN RYAN Contributing Writers DAWN-MICHELLE BAUDE, JIM BEGLEY, IAN CARAMANZANA, MIKE D’ANGELO, SARAH FELDBERG, SMITH GALTNEY, JASON HARRIS, MOLLY O’DONNELL, JASON SCAVONE, CHUCK TWARDY, ANDY WANG, ANNIE ZALESKI Library Services Specialist/Permissions REBECCA CLIFFORD-CRUZ Office Coordinator NADINE GUY
CREATIVE Associate Creative Director LIZ BROWN (liz.brown@gmgvegas.com) Designers CORLENE BYRD, IAN RACOMA Photographers L.E. BASKOW, CHRISTOPHER DEVARGAS, STEVE MARCUS, MIKAYLA WHITMORE Photo Coordinator YASMINA CHAVEZ
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Vice President of Manufacturing MARIA BLONDEAUX Production Director PAUL HUNTSBERRY Production Manager BLUE UYEDA Art Director of Advertising & Marketing SEAN RADEMACHER Production Artists MARISSA MAHERAS, DARA RICCI Traffic Supervisor ESTEE WRIGHT Graphic Designers MICHELE HAMRICK, DANY HANIFF Traffic Coordinators MEAGAN HODSON, KIM SMITH
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Las Vegas Weekly 08.31.17
Trust Us Everything you absolutely, positively must get out and do this week
Fri., 8 p.m.
Double Down Radio Anniversary at Double Down Saloon Streaming punk and garage station Double Down Radio (double downradio.com) celebrates its ninth year as it did the eight previous: loud and dirty. The night begins with a twohour live broadcast and descends into ear-splitting chaos afterward with sets from The Bitters, Mizz Absurd, William Neal and more. Free. –Geoff Carter
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sat., 10 p.m.
No Scrubz Dance Party AT VELVETEEN RABBIT You’ve probably heard her dropping the best hiphop, R&B and underground future bass at the Rabbit Hole. Now Lo Dino is getting behind the decks for a dance night filled with your favorite girlpower anthems. Ladies, leave your man at home. Free. –Leslie Ventura
COMEDY HOMECOMING 01
friday, 9 p.m.
JO KOY AT TREASURE ISLAND Jo Koy is just like you, only funnier. He’s coming back to Vegas to visit his crazy family, and he’ll make sure to catch up with old friends while he’s here. “I’ve got a lot of locals coming to the show,” the former resident and one-time UNLV student says of his Saturday-night show at TI. “And I get to see my old co-workers, too; a lot of them come through. It’s crazy. It’s like, I used to work with you at Champs!” He’s come a long way since slinging sneakers at the Boulevard Mall, spiking earlier this year with Jo Koy: Live From Seattle on Netflix and following up with the debut of Inglorious Pranksters, an Internet clip show he hosts on Kevin Hart’s LaughOutLoud.com streaming service. “That guy has the blueprint,” Koy says of Hart, who also performs on the Strip this weekend. “Everybody else is trying to catch up to him or beat him, that’s the goal, and he’s not gonna stop moving. I’m just happy to be with him on that show.” $55-$70. –Brock Radke Koy performs at TI on September 1. (Courtesy)
L ookin g f or m ore to do ? T u r n t o t h e r e s o u r c e i n I n d u s t r y W e e k ly
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SUDS AND SONGS 01
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FRIDAY, 2 P.M.
SATURDAY, 8 P.M.
DOUBLE BEER TAPPING AT BAD BEAT BREWING
IDINA MENZEL AT THE PEARL
The Henderson hop house celebrates the release of two beers at the same time: Big Blind, a double IPA making a return to the brewery (and available to take home in four-packs) and a new porter promising “milk chocolate and toffee flavors … with more subtle toasty malt flavors in the background.” Try both, then participate in Bad Beat’s drunken spelling bee at 8 p.m. We’ll even help you prepare: Spell brettanomyces—you know, without looking at the word. 7380 Eastgate Road #110. –Spencer Patterson
Don’t “Let It Go.” Make sure you catch “the wickedly talented Adele Dazeem.” … Whoops, we’re not John Travolta at the Oscars. We meant to say, make sure you see Tony- and Grammywinner Idina Menzel belt out melodies inside the Palms. She has the voice of a Disney queen—you know her as the voice of Elsa from Frozen. She’s Broadway royalty—she originated the roles of Elphaba in Wicked and Maureen in Rent. And she’s an actress—starring in Lifetime’s remake of Beaches and appearing in Glee. The New York Times says Menzel’s voice “suggests a robust Diana Ross with 10 times the stamina and lung power.” At Menzel’s solo show, expect a mix of Broadway favorites along with her own songs. The classically trained mezzo-soprano and songwriter has six solo albums. She calls her latest, 2016’s Idina, “the most personal, introspective album I’ve made.” $64-$142. –C. Moon Reed
Menzel makes a Palms stop on September 2. (Brad Barket/Invision/AP)
“WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT [WE] CONSIDER FRIENDS JUST FROM SEEING THEM AT SHOWS,” MINUS THE BEAR’S JAKE SNIDER RECENTLY TOLD BILLBOARD. NOW IT’S YOUR TURN, LAS VEGAS— MAKE FRIENDS WITH THIS SEATTLE BAND.
ROOTS, ROCK AND LAUGHS 01
& SEPTEMBER 2
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SUNDAY, 10 P.M.
VIVA RAS VEGAS AT BROOKLYN BOWL
ILIZA SHLESINGER AT MIRAGE
Given reggae’s massive popularity here, it was just a matter of time before a dedicated multi-day fest popped up. Viva brings eight acts to the Bowl over two nights: SoCal favorites The Expendables and The Aggrolites, along with Hawaiians Anuhea and Spawnbreezie on Friday; and the headlining Long Beach Dub Allstars supported by ex-Black Uhuru member Don Carlos, Hawaii’s Hirie and rising Long Beach band Law on Saturday. Basically, it’s a tour across the reggae spectrum, from old-school Jamaican to Pacific dub to island-style. Your lesson awaits. 6:30 p.m., $23-$90. –Spencer Patterson
The Mirage grabbed Iliza Shlesinger for its Aces of Comedy series at the best possible time. The first woman to win Last Comic Standing makes her Terry Fator Theatre debut over Labor Day weekend fresh off a 15-city national tour; Truth & Iliza, her brand-new Freeform late-night talk show, is picking up steam; and she has generated a bit of comedy controversy this summer by doubling down on expectations of her fellow female comics. “I think shock value works well for women, but beyond that, there’s no substance,” she told Deadline, sparking a social media battle. “I want to see what else there is with such complex, smart creatures.” $39-$50. –Brock Radke
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MONDAY, 9 P.M.
MINUS THE BEAR AT BUNKHOUSE SALOON The proggy indie rockers headed in a poppier direction on sixth studio album Voids, but the 15-year-old Seattle band’s signature shimmering guitars still shine through on tracks like “Call the Cops” and “What About the Boat.” And longtime Minus the Bear supporters need not worry. A glance at recent setlists confirms that you’re still likely to get “Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse” and “Pachuca Sunrise.” Sounds like a win-win. With Deap Vally, $20-$22. –Leslie Ventura
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SLIDIN’ TOWARD COACHELLA
the inter W H E R E
I D E A S
How a near-death experience helped a food-truck pioneer find his new calling BY LESLIE VENTURA
F
rom the moment Ricardo Guerrero sold his first burger out of his Slidin’ Thru truck in 2010, the mobile restaurant seemed destined for success. The truck quickly became one of the most popular in the Valley—so much so that Guerrero had difficulty keeping up with demand—and he sold Slidin’ Thru in 2013. His latest endeavor, an online web store dedicated to music-festival fashion, finds the former burger chef honing in on one of his favorite pastimes. “If you ask anybody who I am and what I represent, I’m all about music festivals,” he says. “I just love those moments and experiences so much that it definitely became a passion of mine.” That lust for life can also be risky, and it was a lifethreatening accident in Puerto Vallarta in April that led Guerrero to his new business endeavor. “I tried to scale this windowsill and as soon as I let my feet go I just lost my grip,” Guerrero, 31, says. He fell two stories and woke up in a hospital in Mexico, but it wasn’t until he got back to the United States that he learned he had fractured his cheek and eye socket and broken his jaw. For the next eight weeks, Guerrero’s jaw was wired shut. With nothing to do but watch Netflix and browse the Internet, he took a crash course in e-commerce and launched festivibes.com in May. With only a small scar on his cheek to remind him of his grisly injury, Guerrero says he’s focused on creating a business that taps into his wandering spirit. “It’s kind of given me freedom. I can run everything from my computer, and that allows me to maintain my adventurous lifestyle. That’s really me and what I represent.”
IS THERE A PRICE HIKE IN RED ROCK CANYON’S FUTURE? Last year, Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area hosted 2.5 million visitors and often faced overcrowding. Now, the Bureau of Land Management is considering doubling or tripling its rates. By 2023, the $7 vehicle fee could increase to $20 and the $30 annual pass could increase to $60. “All the money that comes from fees goes right back into Red Rock amenities,” BLM spokesman John Asselin
says. Park costs include maintenance, educational programs and more. “It seems like Red Rock just runs smoothly, and that’s the point. But there’s a lot of cogs in the machine that keep this going. We’re just trying to stay afloat and provide a quality visitor experience.” Have an opinion about the park pricing and amenities? Comment at blm.gov/ node/13377. –C. Moon Reed
rsection A ND L IF E M E ET
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WATER FLOWING UNDERGROUND Las Vegas’ life-saving flood control system doubles as a work of art BY GEOFF CARTER
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1 BIG PHOTO
Laurie Brown’s “Arena Harena” (1994 silver print), part of Peripheral Control Structures of Las Vegas. (Courtesy/Photo Illustration)
THE RTC DECIDES WHAT’S FARE FOR STUDENTS It’s going to be years before we see a light rail line in this town, assuming one even gets approved. (Please, let’s assume. We need this.) But until then, UNLV, CSN and Nevada State College need to move thousands of students around town, and not all them can afford or even want a car. Once again, the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) is meeting these students, staffers and faculty members halfway with U-Pass, which includes heavily discounted 30-day (only $32.50; that’s 50 percent off) and semester-long ($104; 60 percent off) transit passes good on all RTC routes. For more information on how to get a U-Pass, visit rtcsnv.com or call 702-228-7433. And keep thinking those happy light rail thoughts thoughts. –Geoff Carter
Las Vegas is one big potential flood zone. No one outside the city believes it. We often don’t even believe it. But while our flash-flood season (July to September, though floods can occur any time it rains) isn’t as horrific as what Texas has been experiencing, we dismiss it at our own peril. Property is destroyed in Valley floods; people drown. And the main reason that our city doesn’t wash into Lake Mead is because the Clark County Regional Flood Control District prevents it. Created by the Nevada Legislature in 1985 through a quarter-cent sales tax, the CCRFCD oversees a network so staggeringly large, it’s amazing we can take it for granted. There are 91 detention basins and 612 miles of flood channels—some above ground, much of it below—threaded through the Valley, says CCRFCD spokeswoman Erin Neff, with another 34 basins and 205 miles of channels planned for construction over the next 20 to 30 years. The channels sit bone-dry most of the year. A sizeable homeless population occupies the belowground channels, but the aboveground network—concrete arroyos and other giant, futuristic-looking constructions—have been hidden in plain sight, until now. From September 29 through November 10, UNLV’s Donna Beam Gallery will present Peripheral Flood Control Structures of Las Vegas, a show by the Center for Land Use Interpretation that reimagines those aboveground flood channels as land art, in the spirit of Michael Heizer’s City. It makes sense. The channels and basins are striking in their austere way. And though the CCRFCD didn’t authorize the show (Neff surmises it was shot with drones), the agency looks forward to seeing its work in a new light. “We’ve always considered these facilities to be very artistic,” Neff says. Unfortunately, the channels have something else in common with Heizer’s work: They’re largely off-limits to visitors. (Neff admits that’s tough to enforce: One basin, at the base of the Spring Mountains, has become a very unofficial off-road driving and shooting range.) But you might have visited some detention basins and not known it: Charlie Frias and Desert Breeze parks are designed to be used “360 days a year,” Neff says. Meaning: On those other five days, be somewhere else.
PRESENTS
8.25.17 PHOTOG: WADE VANDERVORT
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WOM EN INTRI GUE of
They operate in the complicated worlds of Las Vegas entertainment, hospitality, media, community, culture and cuisine, but the individuals who make up our secondannual list of Women of Intrigue have something in common: They’re leaders, and they’re pushing our city into the future. Read on to get a glimpse of what that future looks like. Photographs by Christopher Devargas • Grooming and Makeup touch-ups by Natasha Chamberlin
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JOIN THE PARTY
Celebrate this year’s Women of Intrigue on August 31 at 10 p.m. at Intrigue nightclub inside Wynn Las Vegas. Reserve your spot at lasvegasweekly.com/ womenofintrigue.
DESIREE REEDFRANCOIS
“W
hen you exit the Valley of Fire, you can keep going; you can go to Lake Mead,” Desiree Reed-Francois says. “So we did that, and then we ended up looking at Sam Boyd Stadium. It was a perfect Sunday.” It’s a good sign that UNLV’s recently appointed Director of Athletics is so keen to talk up Southern Nevada’s natural charms and the trails that wind through them. “It’s the most underrated piece of Las Vegas. I don’t think people realize how gorgeous it is here,” she says, while we talk about hiking trails. The person we’ve trusted to keep UNLV’s teams in the running can’t stand still herself. “I spent about 25 years preparing for this opportunity,” she says, “ever since I was 3 years old and put on my first pair of soccer cleats.” The field she faces is a challenging one: ensuring that UNLV’s 17 sports programs—comprised of 480 student-athletes and 242 staff members—become “the best in the west.” “We want to provide our student-athletes with access to a valuable degree, a championship experience and a pathway to a meaningful career,” she says. “We want to lead academically, athletically and administratively.” And that’s not even mentioning the fundraising, program-building and community engagement work that needs doing. A little over two months into the job, Reed-Francois is sensibly starting by meeting with every single one of those 242 staffers. “If you don’t spend time getting to know your folks, you’re not going to really do a good job at leading.” So, how can the community help Reed-Francois put UNLV athletics on top? “Go to the game,” she says. “Our studentathletes and our whole staff are working really hard. And I can promise you we’re going to work every day to make this community proud.” –Geoff Carter
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STEPHANIE CAPELLAS
W
ith a decade of experience in hospitality and communications, Stephanie Capellas was an obvious candidate for the Cosmopolitan’s Vice President of Public Relations. And the fact that she had never worked in-house for a resort? The hotel saw that as a plus, Capellas says. “Being in Vegas for 10 years, I’ve seen a lot of change in the city,” she says. That perspective gives her a unique insight into the industry, and an insider’s knowledge on Las Vegas’ everchanging landscape. After serving in leadership roles with Hakkasan Group and Cirque du Soleil, Capellas is now in a position that involves “constantly looking at opportunities and knowing what opportunities are right” for the venue, and assisting with project rollouts, from the 21 freshly redone Boulevard Tower penthouses to the upcoming Chandelier Bar remodel. “It’s really cool being part of something like that and feeling like I can bring something different to the table that wasn’t here before,” Capellas says. “I don’t feel like every day is one and the same. I started two months ago, [and] it feels like two months and two years at the same time.” The new VP has even more on her plate for the end of 2017. Capellas is getting married in November, which means she’s been balancing her new gig with wedding planning—the sign of a true multitasker. But she doesn’t mind. When the stylish Capellas isn’t working—which she admits is rare—she’s usually browsing the Internet for style inspiration. “I’m obsessed with fashion, so I love to research it,” she says. “If I had it my way I’d probably have my own fashion blog. Maybe one day I’ll have time for that.” Until then, she’s excited to get situated in her new role. “I really feel at home here. I’m able to be myself and I’m surrounded by like-minded people. It’s truly a collaborative effort.” –Leslie Ventura
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AMANDA MOORE
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magine Dragons at T-Mobile Arena. Bill Burr at Park Theater. Il Divo at the Venetian. The Offspring at Downtown Las Vegas Events Center. On September 29, Amanda Moore might have to work as many as all four of those shows should they need her support. The marketing director for the Las Vegas arm of concert behemoth Live Nation will tell you the compact layout of the tourist corridor is on her side, and that “it’s part of the gig. You just have to figure out how to schedule yourself so you can be everywhere you need to be.” What she won’t tell you is that she’s just that good at her job. Moore is responsible for hyping many of the city’s biggest and most noteworthy shows. If you’ve seen a billboard for Mary J. Blige’s upcoming Pearl performance, or Ricky Martin being interviewed on TV for his Park Theater residency, or a Facebook flier for Depeche Mode’s September gig at TMobile Arena, you’ve seen her work. “There’s really no end to what my job entails and what we need to do as marketers to cut through the cacophony of entertainment in this city so our shows stand out.” Given that live music has overtaken production shows as the most in-demand form of entertainment on the Strip, Moore stands out even more—especially given Las Vegas’ reputation as a good ol’ boys town. “I think [women in Vegas entertainment] are definitely recognized and respected, and I 100 percent feel that respect from everyone I work with,” she says. “There are some extraordinary women in the entertainment fabric in this city, but I’d like to see some of these women promoted to a seat at the executive table.” –Mike Prevatt
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CAMI CHRISTENSEN
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hen Westgate Vice President of Resort Operations & Assistant General Manager Cami Christensen speaks about building and maintaining a team, she isn’t just throwing out a management cliche. She’s been part of a team for most of her life, especially as a collegiate basketball player, learning how to lead from one particularly inspiring coach. “He instilled a lot in me. He’s in my head every day,” she says. “I’m a coach. I’m trying to get the team motivated so they give their best, and handle it when they’re not giving their best [while] not being a jerk about it.” It’s a testament to that vision that Christensen has gone from being a hotel manager for the Strip-adjacent property in 2001 to running the entire resort. Her willingness to learn and ability to evolve has resulted in her overhauling departments in which she previously had little pedigree. The renovations she has overseen—and even helped design—have the Westgate looking better that it has in years. “We had duct tape holding the carpeting together,” she says. “But I was thinking, the heartbeat is still there, coming from the team members.” That heartbeat was revived by Westgate’s purchase of the resort in 2014, but Christensen also nurtured the employees, including veterans whose stories of the glory days reinforce the property’s charm and legacy. “I’ve got cocktail waitresses that were here during Elvis’ time,” she says. “There’s history here.” Christensen has her own celebrity tales, from working the red carpet at Barry Manilow’s residency to getting a late-night visit from drunken cast members of The Sopranos. “They’d gotten confused and ended up in my office,” she says. “That’s when I thought, this is a cool gig.” –MP
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JAMIE TRAN
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f there was ever a question whether a finedining concept could work in a residential area like Rhodes Ranch, the Black Sheep is the answer. The Vietnamese-American haunt is the vision of former Aureole and DB Brasserie sous chef Jamie Tran, and it has been one of the Valley’s most talked-about restaurants since opening in May. As executive chef, Tran is bringing foods from her childhood to the forefront, sharing comforting Vietnamese dishes and exploring the cuisine beyond popular dishes like pho and banh mi. “In our household, my mom and dad did not make pho,” she says. “My mom made more comfort food, and my dad did more Mandarin food. They lived in Korea, too, so I grew up eating kimchi when I was little—then [we] moved to Texas, so we ate steak and potatoes.” That geographical fusion of flavors and memories is reflected in Tran’s menu, inspired by dishes of her youth. “The first time I ever fell in love with cooking, I was 3,” Tran says. “We had a blackout, and my mom [cooked] and the pork belly is what I remember. I remember smelling it. I remember the weather. I remember everything about that.” While the restaurant is named after her—she says she was the black sheep of her family—Tran created it with others in mind. “I told my San Francisco State professor, ‘I’m moving out to Vegas and I’m going to open a restaurant and help other people’,” she says. “I want to encourage my cooks to be more than just a cook. If I can give them an opportunity to push and do their own thing, I’m happy.” –LV Wo m e n
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MALI GABAY
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hen visitors walk into Bonanza Gifts— better known as the World’s Largest Gift Shop, a fixture at the corner of the Strip and Sahara since 1980— they’re not just shopping for reminders of a vacation. They’re looking for authentic bits of Vegas to take home, treasures and artifacts with personal resonance. Store manager Mali Gabay sees to it that they find them. “We sell just about anything Las Vegas-related,” Gabay says. “We have celebrity memorabilia: Elvis, Marilyn Monroe. We have sections for food and liquor. We have plush toys, everything you can think of for kids. … It’s 36,000 square feet. You’ve really got to find a lot of merchandise to fill up all of that space.” It’s a tall order, but Gabay, an alumna of UNLV’s entrepreneurship program, fulfills it daily. She has frequent meetings with vendors, which keeps stock fresh (“We’re always looking at new merchandise, new designs,” she says) and prices down. She handles marketing and manages the online presence, constantly looking for new ways to put Bonanza on tourist itineraries. “We’re our own shopping center, so we have to drive people to come to us,” she says, adding that Bonanza is now a stop on Big Bus’ Strip tours. And when she’s not chasing down those dollars, she’s modernizing the place. “A lot of the displays and stuff were very old, so we had to change them out. We’re working on beautification, because the store is kind of a historical property.” In other words, Gabay is putting just about everything she’s got into connecting tourists with the coolest Vegas shot glass, the most colorful Vegas T-shirt. “We’d just like to have everything our customers are looking for at the best price we can give,” she says “That’s our goal.” –GC
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NATALIA BADZJO
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he must have twice as many hours in the day as the rest of us. It’s the only way to explain how this Russian powerhouse thrives at two careers, either of which should take up all her time. As Director of Customer Development at Wynn Nightlife, Natalia Badzjo is responsible for packing the casino’s venues and “creating the best party in town.” She also owns and operates Henderson’s Big B’s Texas BBQ with husband Brian Buechner. How does she do it? She strives for balance and embraces variety. “I love the upscale and refined environment of Wynn. It’s like a second home to me,” Badzjo says. “Then I get to dress down a little and run my own business.” She has always been unique, and not just because she’s a woman in a predominantly male industry. Instead of chasing trends, Badzjo developed qualities that last forever—work ethic, organization, diplomacy and confidence. She has experience in many aspects of the hospitality business, including operations, marketing and promotions. “A lot of people in Las Vegas strive to be ‘cool’ as opposed to successful,” Badzjo says. “I have never cared to be cool but have always worked extremely hard to be successful.” Of course, success isn’t easy. “The first few months after we opened Big B’s were very tough. It was our first business, and we had to learn a lot and very fast,” Badzjo says, recalling months of hard work spent establishing the rhythms of a new restaurant. “Now it’s working like a well-oiled machine.” –C. Moon Reed
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KELLEY & VICTORIA FERTITTA
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emember when you’d go back to school and tell everyone what you did over the summer? These sisters easily win that contest. Station Casinos scions Kelley and Victoria Fertitta spent the season traveling through Alaska and Europe and documenting all the dogsledding and sailing on their year-old lifestyle and fashion blog Wilson Gabrielle and its accompanying Instagram feed, which recently blew by the 20,000-follower mark. “That’s a new market for us to reach, the world of travel,” Victoria says. “Any time you tag a new location, it will bring new followers to your page wherever you are. And now that Instagram’s story is there, we got to show a little more personality as we were focusing on traveling and style through travel during the summer.” The duo has already established the Wilson Gabrielle brand as a combination of their separate styles, and now the sisters are adjusting by going bicoastal—Victoria is off to New York City to study luxury retail and grab an MBA at NYU. “It will be two sisters, two styles, two cities,” she says. “But I’ll be back and forth a lot, and Kelley will be in New York a lot, too. It’s an opportunity to show East Coast vs. West Coast [on the blog], and market to everyone across the country.” Team WG has some big collaborations and events in the works for 2018, including a partnership with one of their favorite makeup brands. It’s all about continuing to build on a very fast start, expanding the audience while staying connected to their home base of Las Vegas. “It’s humbling to know people are interested in the content we’re providing,” Kelley says. “We get a lot of messages from people in Las Vegas asking where we like to go eat and what we like to do around town. We’re looking to continue our growth here, too, because Vegas is our primary market and we want to serve the people that have been so good to our family.” –Brock Radke Photograph by Eric Ita/Courtesy
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about us
THIS WEEK
g r e e n s p u n KEVIN HART’S HARTBEAT WEEKEND
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SEPTEMBER 1 THE CHELSEA
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French Montana Photo courtesy
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The trio used a zorb ball at the Reading Festival and brought J. Balvin onstage at the Hot 100 Festival— and that was just August. September starts with Nightswim.
M AR SH ME L LO
INTRIGUE
The ’mello one plays XS Sunday night but gets Labor Day weekend started at the more intimate Intrigue Friday.
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sat
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ENCORE BEACH CLUB
fri
fri
M A JO R L A Z ER
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PA R K T H E AT E R
After this weekend, Bruno likely won’t be back in Vegas until he’s done with his 24K Magic World Tour.
MAJOR LAZER BY AMY HARRIS/INVISION/AP; MARSHMELLO COURTESY WYNN NIGHTLIFE; B R U N O M A R S B Y M AT T S AY L E S / I N V I S I O N / A P ; B R O O K E E V E R S B Y C O O P S / S A LT - N - P E P A C O U R T E S Y
big this week
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SALT-N-PE PA
CRAZY HORSE III
The Aussie party-starter can’t miss a holiday weekend in Las Vegas. Catch her Saturday night at the Horse.
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WIZ K H AL IFA
fri
the chelsea
drai’s
sat
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marquee dayclub
axis
04 mon
Push it real good when this dynamic duo headlines the latest I Love the ’90s tour stop out at the Beach.
tao
KYG O
rehab
DAS H B E RLIN
B R IT NE Y S PE ARS
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M A N D A L AY B E A C H
encore beach club
USHER
drai’s
sun
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sat
BRO O K E EVERS
FLO RIDA
drai’s
LIL WAYNE
drai’s beachclub
DE UX
E-40
tao
TY DOLLA $I GN
xs
THE CHAI NSMOKER S
xs
DAVI D GUETTA
marquee dayclub
G ALANTI S
encore beach club
TH E CH AINSMOKER S
xs
DI P LO
soundscape
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soundscape
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F
rench Montana says he knew from the second the beat dropped that “Unforgettable” was going to be a monster. “I knew when I heard it for the first time it was a big record. I just fell in love with it,” says the Moroccanborn, South Bronx-bred rapper and producer. “That’s always how I judge music, from the first time listening to it. That record is like God planned it.” Also featuring Rae Sremmurd’s Swae Lee, “Unforgettable” has been certified platinum twice over. It’s Montana’s first track to go Top 10, currently sitting at No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot 100. For many hiphop fans, it’s easily the song of the summer, and while plenty of artists are putting their own spin on it, Montana snagged Mariah Carey for help on the official remix. But he’s not resting on his biggest hit ever, having recently released a video for follow-up “A Lie” featuring The Weeknd, an artist with whom
t o
V e g a s
Montana has previously collaborated. “We worked on ‘Gifted’ from my first album. I just love how we’ve been friends since he started, and we both grew so much bigger,” Montana says. “It’s a beautiful thing to come up with your people. It’s a real collaboration now, not just featuring somebody. It was perfect timing.” Montana also has perfect timing in returning to his residency at Marquee Nightclub for Labor Day weekend. He has been performing at Tao Group venues for years now and has no plans to change anything. “I’ll be in Vegas forever. I might shoot Casino Part 2,” he jokes. “But it’s one of my top five places, like a different universe. I record a lot of music when I’m there, too. It’s just got that vibe that makes me want to stay.” French Montana at Marquee at Cosmopolitan, September 2. –Brock Radke
Photograph courtesy
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legend status
H e a r t
s o u l a n d
s t r e n g t h M a r y
J .
a l w a y s
B l i g e
c o n n e c t e d
t h r o u g h
L Photograph courtesy
h a s
ast week—August 25, to be exact—marked the 25th anniversary of the release of “Real Love” as a single, Mary J. Blige’s first Top 10 hit and the song that defined her sound and led to her eventual title of Queen of Hip-Hop Soul. Once those uplifting piano chords hit on top of that hard, funky beat sampled from Audio Two’s “Top Billin’,” an instant classic was born. Add Blige’s warm, buttery vocals, equal parts confident and vulnerable, and it’s impossible not to sing along to “Real Love” all these years later. The timeless track still stands tall, because everyone can relate to the honesty and hopefulness Blige injects into her music. When her Strength of a Woman tour lands at the Pearl Friday night, she’ll be singing plenty of
h o n e s t y
songs from her 13th studio album of the same name, released in April and recorded during the breakup of her marriage. She has always found some catharsis in recording and performing, and her fans find strength and inspiration in her soulful sounds. “If I make it through hell and I come out alive, I got nothing to fear,” she sings on “Thick of It,” the lead single from Strength of a Woman, and it feels like her fans are right there with her, supporting her struggle ... or maybe she’s supporting them. Mary J. Blige at the Pearl at the Palms, September 1.
FR O M THE CR EATO R O F LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
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S A L E T A G T S WE
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L O PO
K A BE
N I A G A ID DJ , S E M , GA S Y A W ILS A T GIVEA K C E CODIE PERALES R U T A SIGN IST ED
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A U G U S T
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H a r t b e a t b r i n g s D a v e t o
W e e k e n d
U s h e r
a n d
C h a p p e l l e
C OS M OPOLITAN
C
omedy megastar Kevin Hart’s fourth-annual Hartbeat Weekend takeover of the Cosmopolitan September 1-3 might just be the biggest one yet. It starts Friday with a concert at the Chelsea from Usher, last seen in Las Vegas performing at Rehab at the Hard Rock Hotel and currently in the studio with longtime collaborator Jermaine Dupri working on new music. Hart hosts an official concert afterparty at Marquee Friday night before turning up to host a pool party at Tao Beach across the Strip at Venetian Saturday. Then the jokes start coming. Hart and his comedy pals perform at the Chelsea Saturday night before he turns the mic over to the great Dave Chappelle for a Sunday night stand-up show. That’s two Vegas shows in just four months for Chappelle, who played Mandalay Bay Events Center in May. Of course, Hart will sprinkle in appearances with French Montana at Marquee Saturday night and at Topgolf Las Vegas on Sunday, truly making the city his own. Is it possible to be a one-man Rat Pack?
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automatic
W e e k e n d w r a p W h a t
w o u l d
Di p l o
d o ?
F i n i s h
o ff
LD W
X S
a t
Ni g h t s wi m
I
t’s no secret that our favorite time to party in Las Vegas during Labor Day Weekend is the holiday itself, on Monday, when the clubs are still packed but the vibe is more celebratory than explosive. And night is better than day, because the weekend warriors will be catching flights home while the rest of us dance the night away. At Wynn and Encore, the weekend mega-lineup (The Chainsmokers, Marshmello, Kygo, Major Lazer, David Guetta, Alesso and others) concludes
at XS on Monday night with none other than Diplo, and that seems like the perfect DJ for this party. Why? Because no matter what he’s up to, from sacrificial spoofs via Viceland show What Would Diplo Do? to wooing Rihanna in interviews to working on a disco-focused album with Mark Ronson, Diplo’s always coming back to Wynn, always playing big weekend sets like this one, forever soundtracking the Strip’s parties. And he seems particularly
fond of Vegas at the moment. “It’s changed a lot,” he recently told GQ. “The whole tide of that music is turning towards what me and my crew are doing. So I’m not mad at Vegas.” Diplo at XS at Encore, September 4.
LABOR DAY
WEEKEND WITH
R E S E RVAT I O N S 70 2 . 6 9 8 .7 9 9 0 3708 Las Vegas Blvd South Stkhouse.com
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in the moment
Dr a i ’ s 50 ce nt, j eezy & Tre y Song z
aug 25
Photographs by Devin Jimenez/Tony Tran Photography
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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
WITH SPECIAL GUEST
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9
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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h a r d r oc k hot el AFAN B l ack & W h it e Pa rt y
aug 19 Photographs by Preston Powell & Te Ann Lakeotes
S E P T E M B E R
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THE PEARL @ THE PALMS
ELLIS ISL AN
MARY J. BLIGE WITH SPECIAL GUEST LALAH HATHAWAY
&B R
ERY EW
THIS WEEKEND
INO S A DC
FRI, SEPTEMBER 1 IDINA MENZEL THE PEARL @ THE PALMS
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In this weekly series, we spotlight the performers and other participants who will combine for November’s Emerge Music + Impact Conference in Las Vegas.
PHOTO BY JERRY RANGEL/COURTESY
emerge
S O U N D S O F Y O U T H U N I Q U E L A
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O U T F I T C U C O T H R I V E S A T
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ike many teenagers, Omar Banos doesn’t have a conventional sleep schedule. But unlike many teens, it’s for reasons other than boisterous high school parties or the mindless fun of video game marathons. Banos stays up late for band practice. At 19 , he’s the leader and principal songwriter for Cuco, the LA-based indie/ synthwave project that has drawn kudos from rapper Kevin Abstract and The Internet’s guitarist, Steve Lacy. Since releasing its first mixtape Wannabewithu in 2016, Cuco has gone from support slots at tiny venues to headlining a sold-out show at fabled DIY venue The Smell.
“We’re just total night owls. Band practice usually starts around 11 or 12 and ends around 3 or 4 in the morning,” Bano says. The nocturnal vibes often shine through in Cuco’s songs; many of them are downtempo numbers that seamlessly pair moody melodies with a brooding sense of melancholy. Songs like “We Had to End It” and “Lover Is a Day” are ballads that detail heartbreak and failed relationships. Many songs, such as latest single “Lo Que Siento,” contain lyrics in English and Spanish, a decision that Banos says “happens entirely naturally.” While his music and work ethic reflect a sense of maturity, he oozes a youthful conceit. “I record everything and play
all the instruments by myself,” he says. “I like moving around onstage, though, so I called four homies to be my band, and we’ve been doing that since.” –Ian Caramanzana Emerge Music + Impact Conference on the Las Vegas Strip, November 16-18. Tickets available now at emergelv.com.
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B I G
B R E A K F A S T
S T A R T Y O U R
D A Y
W I T H
T H I S
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T H E - T O P B U R G E R
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uy Fieri’s Vegas Kitchen & Bar is known for its big, bold burgers, especially the bourbon brown sugar barbecue sauce-topped Ringer Burger and the piled-high Bacon Mac-NCheese Burger. But the newest burger on the menu can give those favorites a run for their money. The Breakfast Burger has everything you would expect and more. A halfpound patty mounted on a toasted garlic brioche bun gets a lot of help from cheddar cheese, eggs, bacon,
tomatoes and onions. And then things start to get a little crazy. The eggs are scrambled, nothing like the done-todeath, runny-yolk fried egg. In fact, it’s more of a delicate omelet, with a tender texture that takes you offguard. The bacon is chicken-fried— crispy, crunchy, salty and totally over the top. The burger also gets a ladle full of peppery sausage gravy, and a mound of fresh spinach tossed in red wine vinaigrette. Add a squirt of Fieri’s signature Donkey Sauce, and you’re ready to go.
B I T E You know this famous TV chef, and you might think you know what to expect at his restaurant, but Fieri and his team can see you coming and they’re always ready to blow you away with fantastic flavors. Guy Fieri’s Vegas Kitchen & Bar at the Linq, 702794-3139; daily 9 a.m.-midnight.
PHOTOGRAPH BY MIKAYLA WHITMORE
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C h a m p a g n e I s i a h T h o m a s b r i n g s C h e u r l i n t o
B e l l a g i o
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here are two Champagnelinked events that NBA legend Isiah Thomas will always remember. In June 1989, he won the first of back-to-back titles with the Detroit Pistons. And in August 2017, he took in his first-ever Bellagio fountains show at Hyde, with me. Okay, maybe that second one wasn’t as big a deal, but the Champagne being served at Bellagio was probably better than the stuff he sprayed around the locker room with his teammates. Thomas was in Las Vegas to debut the Cheurlin Flagship Collection at the MGM Resorts luxury property. The Chairman and CEO of Isiah International has been importing the quality
bubbly for several years and was named Champagne Producer of the Year during this year’s New York International Wine Competition. Now Bellagio is the only resort in Vegas to carry the Cheurlin brand. “I couldn’t have planned it better,” the basketball icon says. “When MGM and Bellagio said they wanted to have it here at Hyde, it really let me know what they thought of the product and of the family, which has been making Champagne since 1788. They pick it off the vine, they make it right there on the premises, and we bring it over here and let you taste it.” Thomas wasn’t necessarily looking to get into the bubbly biz, but the product sold itself. “When you look at the competi-
tion, there isn’t [much] out there, and there’s only a certain amount of land in Champagne,” he said. “This family has 200 acres. So there’s consistency in the grapes coming from one vineyard; you don’t have to mix grapes from different regions, and that let me know I was getting the highest quality that could possibly be served. And it’s been confirmed—we have a 90-plus rating across our portfolio of Champagnes.” –Brock Radke
P HO T O B Y BREN T ON HO / P O W ERS I MAGER Y
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i am industry
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Z O E
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As the director of the Studio at the Palms, Zoe oversees all the magic that happens inside those soundproofed walls, from sessions with Beyoncé and Lady Gaga to Lil Wayne and more. Her engineer husband, Pat—who has played guitar as part of rock band Asia and on tour with Meatloaf—has worked behind the scenes with pop titans like Britney Spears and The-Dream, and he scored credits on Frank Ocean’s Grammy Awardwinning Channel Orange.
A T
P A L M S
PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRISTOPHER DEVARGAS
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as Vegas hasn’t always been considered a creative hub, but Zoe and Pat Thrall might tell you otherwise.
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You’ve worked with some of the world’s biggest artists. How do you keep things running smoothly? Zoe: It is the creative process, so once they’re in here and the creative juices are flowing, anything is possible. The best thing we can do is give them their privacy and just create the environment for all that creative juice to come out. It’s my job to make sure that they’re as relaxed as possible.
Pat: Because studios have been dwindling over the last decade or so, a lot of people that would’ve been studio musicians in Los Angeles 10 or 15 years ago come out here to work on all these shows. There is something about all this, especially if you’re a musician, that has an appeal. There’s really unique stuff that happens here. How is the Studio at the Palms different from other studios? Pat: With this studio, people were freaked out when we first came here. They were like, ‘This studio is going to be a disaster. Artists are going to come out there and they’re going to be doing too many drugs and partying, they’re not going to get any work done.’ And then what happened? The Killers did their album here, and their producers—Alan Moulder and Flood—said it was one of the best recording experiences they’d ever had. That kind of changed the game here. –Leslie Ventura For more of this interview, visit lasvegasweekly.com.
Is Las Vegas a creative epicenter? Zoe: Absolutely. Look at the artists that have come out of here, first of all.
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CH ATEAU 8/31 DJs Bayati & Casanova. 9/1 DJ Shadowred. 9/2 DJs Bayati & Casanova. 9/6 DJ Bayati. 9/7 DJs Bayati & Casanova. 9/8 DJ Jes Button. 9/9 DJ Shadowred. 9/13 DJ Casanova. 9/14 DJs Bayati & Casanova. 9/16 DJ Seize. Paris, Wed-Sat, 702-776-7770.
DRAI’ S 8/31 DJ Esco. 9/1 Rae Sremmurd. 9/2 Wiz Khalifa. 9/3 Lil Wayne. 9/7 TM88. 9/9 Jeremih. 9/10 DJ Franzen. 9/14 DJ Esco. 9/15 Trey Songz. 9/16 Chris Brown. 9/17 DJ Franzen. Cromwell, Tue, Thu-Sun, 702-777-3800.
EM BASSY 3355 Procyon St., Thu-Sat, 702-609-6666.
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9/1 DJ Baby Yu. 9/2 DJ Excel. 9/8 DJ Konflikt. 9/9 DJ D-Miles. 9/15 DJ Mark Mac. 9/16 DJ Crooked. Mandalay Bay, nightly, 702-632-7631. . F OX TAIL
IN T RIGUE 8/31 Chuckie. 9/1 Marshmello. 9/2 RL Grime. 9/7 Marshmello. 9/8 Stafford Brothers. 9/9 Robin Schulz. 9/14 Marshmello. 9/15 Flosstradamus. 9/16 Dillon Francis. Wynn, Thu-Sat, 702-770-7300.
Dillon Francis. 9/8 Nightswim with Brillz. 9/9 Nightswim with Alison Wonderland. 9/13 Nightswim with Diplo. 9/15 Nightswim with Chuckie. 9/16 Nightswim with RL Grime. Encore, Wed, Fri-Sat, 702-770-7300.
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SLS, Fri-Sat, 702-761-7621. MARQUEE G H OSTBAR Palms, nightly, 702-374-9770.
9/1 Kevin Hart. 9/2 French Montana. 9/3 Stevie J. 9/4 Carnage. 9/8 DJ Mustard. 9/9 Dash Berlin. 9/11 Ruckus. 9/15 Vice. 9/16 French Montana. Cosmopolitan, Mon, Fri-Sat, 702-333-9000.
H Y DE 9/1 DJ Karma. 9/2 DJ C-L.A. 9/3 White Party. 9/5 Joe Maz. 9/6 DJ Sev One. 9/8 DJ Crooked. 9/9 DJ Hollywood. 9/13 DJ Kittie. 9/15 DJ Gordo. 9/16 DJ Ikon. Bellagio, nightly, 702-693-8700.
SURREN DER 9/1 Nightswim with Major Lazer. 9/2 Nightswim with DJ Snake. 9/3 Nightswim with
8/31 Justin Credible. 9/1 E-40. 9/2 Ty Dolla $ign. 9/7 DJ Five. 9/8 DJ Politik. 9/9 Vice. 9/14 Vice & Eric DLux. 9/15 Jermaine Dupri. 9/16 DJ Mustard. Venetian, Thu-Sat, 702-388-8588.
XS 9/1 The Chainsmokers. 9/2 David Guetta. 9/3 Nightswim with Marshmello. 9/4 Nightswim with Diplo. 9/8 RL Grime. 9/9 David Guetta. 9/10 Nightswim with Marshmello. 9/15 David Guetta. 9/16 Diplo. 9/17 Nightswim with David Guetta. Encore, Fri-Mon, 702-770-0097.
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8/31 Amanda Rose. 9/1 DJ Mika Gold. 9/2 DJ Kiki. 9/3 DJ Mika Gold. 9/7 Amanda Rose. 9/8 DJ Mika Gold. 9/9 Amanda Rose. 9/10 Jenna Palmer. 9/14 DJ Mika Gold. 9/15 Amanda Rose. 9/16 Amanda Rose. 9/17 DJ Mika Gold. Palazzo, Thu-Sun, 702-767-3724.
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Red Rock Resort, daily, 702-797-7873.
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9/1 Boombox Cartel. 9/2 Adventure Club. 9/3 Rae Sremmurd. 9/4 Deux. 9/8 Savi. 9/9 Destructo & Grandtheft. 9/10 Henry Fong & Bad Royale. 9/12 Aluna George. 9/15 Pitbull’s Globalization Takeover. 9/16 Frankie J. 9/17 Claude VonStroke. Cromwell, Fri-Sun, 702777-3800.
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9/1 Kygo. 9/1 Nightswim with Major Lazer. 9/2 Alesso. 9/2 Nightswim with DJ Snake. 9/3 David Guetta. 9/3 Nightswim with Dillon Francis. 9/4 The Chainsmokers. 9/8 Chuckie. 9/8 Nightswim with Brillz. 9/9 David Guetta. 9/9 Nightswim with Alison Wonderland. 9/10 Vice. 9/13 Nightswim with Diplo. 9/15 RL Grime. 9/15 Nightswim with Chuckie. 9/16 David Guetta. 9/16 Nightswim with RL Grime. 9/17 Marshmello. Encore, Thu-Sun, 702-770-7300.
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SLS, Fri-Sun, 702-761-7619.
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8/31 Jenna Palmer. 9/1 JD Live. 9/2 Eric Forbes. 9/3 DJ Vegas Vibe. 9/4 DJ Tavo. 9/5 Greg Lopez.
9/6 DJ J-Nice. 9/7 Jenna Palmer. 9/8 JD Live. 9/9 Bebe Rexha. 9/10 DJ Vegas Vibe. 9/11 DJ Tavo. 9/12 Greg Lopez. 9/13 DJ J-Nice. 9/14 Jenna Palmer. 9/15 JD Live. 9/16 Eric Forbes. 9/17 DJ Vegas Vibe. Flamingo, daily, 702-697-2888.
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Green Valley Ranch Resort, daily, 702-617-7744.
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LIN Q 9/1 Dee Jay Silver. 9/2 Flo Rida. 9/8 Jamie Iovine. 9/10 DJ Jazzy Jeff. 9/16 Tego Calderon. 9/17 DJ Drama & Ginuwine. Hard Rock Hotel, Fri-Mon, 702-693-5505.
Linq, daily, 702-503-8320.
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DAYC L U B
9/1 Tritonal. 9/2 Dash Berlin. 9/3 Galantis. 9/4 Sunnery James, Ryan Marciano & Michael Calfan. 9/8 Cedric Gervais. 9/9 Tritonal. 9/10 Nora En Pure. 9/15 Ruckus. 9/16 DJ Mustard. Cosmopolitan, daily, 702-333-9000.
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Palms, daily, 702-374-9770.
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8/31 Javier Alba. 9/1 DJ Five. 9/2 Kevin Hart. 9/3 DJ Mustard. 9/7 Javier Alba. 9/8 DJ C-L.A. 9/9 DJ Politik. 9/10 Mark Rodriguez. 9/14 DJ V-Tech. 9/15 Angie Vee. 9/16 Jermaine Dupri. 9/17 DJ V-Tech. Venetian, Thu-Sun, 702-388-8588.
DAYC L U B VE N U S Caesars Palace, daily, 702-650-5944.
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9/1-9/3 Britney Spears. 9/6-10/7 Jennifer Lopez. 10/11-11/4 Britney Spears. 11/8-11/18 Backstreet Boys. 11/29-12/16 Lionel Richie. Planet Hollywood, 702-777-6737.
BOWL
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. 10/26 Flying Lotus. 10/27-10/28 Trey Anastasio Band. 11/1 Capturing Pablo. 11/5 I Prevail. 11/10 Common Kings. 11/11 The Front Bottoms. 11/16-11/18 Emerge Music + Impact Conference. 11/22 Periphery & Animals As Leaders. 11/30 Wax Tailor. Linq Promenade, 702-862-2695.
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9/1 Usher. 9/2 Kevin Hart & Friends. 9/3 Dave Chappelle. 9/15 Ricardo Arjona. 9/16 Pepe Aguilar. 10/5 Cake. 10/6 Nas. 10/7 Maxwell. 10/14 Bob Dylan. 10/15 The Script. 10/21 Pixies. Cosmopolitan, 702-698-6797.
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9/2-9/3 Rod Stewart. 9/6 Jeff Dunham. 9/89/9 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. 11/1-11/4 Elton John. Caesars Palace, 866-227-5938.
8/31-9/2 Richard Marx. 9/5-10/7 Donny & Marie. Flamingo, 702-777-2782. DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS EVENTS CENTER 9/21 Banda Los Recoditos. 9/29 Sublime with Rome & the Offspring. 10/21 Odesza. 200 S. Third St., 800-745-3000.
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9/14-9/15 Emmanuel. 9/20-10/7 John Fogerty. 10/11-10/28 Diana Ross. 11/1-11/11 Tony Bennett. 11/17-11/18 Harry Connick Jr. Wynn, 702-7709966.
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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. 11/3-11/4 Jon Lovitz & Dana Carvey. 11/18 Boney James. SLS, 702761-7617.
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Daniels. 9/9 Aaron Lewis. 9/12 Reverend Horton Heat. 9/13-9/24 Santana. 9/14 Yuri. 10/4-10/21 Billy Idol. 10/5 Sin Bandera. 10/8 Damian Marley. 10/19 Stone Sour. 10/22 Issues. 10/25 Hanson. 10/27-10/28 Marilyn Manson. 11/1-11/12 Santana. 11/7 Blues Traveler. 11/16-11/19 Joe Walsh. 11/17 Suicideboys. 11/22 Molotov. 11/24 The Used. Mandalay Bay, 702632-7600. T H E
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9/15 Franco Escamilla. 9/30 Ellismania 14. 10/1 Apocalyptica. 10/6 Kings of Leon. 10/710/14 Incubus. Hard Rock Hotel, 702-6935000. M A N DA L AY
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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, 702632-7777. 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.
GOLDEN N UGGET SHOW ROOM 9/1 Tommy James & The Shondells. 9/8 Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels. Golden Nugget, 866-946-5336.
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9/15 Maná. 11/16 Latin Grammy Awards. MGM Grand, 702-521-3826.
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9/1 Buygore. 9/29 Ellismania 14. Hard Rock Hotel, 702-693-5555.
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9/1 Steel Panther. 9/2 Farruko. 9/7 Carlos
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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. 11/23-11/24 Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational. Orleans, 702-365-7469.
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9/1-9/2 George Lopez. 9/1-9/17 Boyz II Men. 9/3 Iliza Shlesinger. 9/8-9/9 Bill Maher. 9/159/16 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. 10/2710/28 Bill Maher. 11/10-11/25 Boyz II Men. 11/2411/25 Jim Jefferies. Mirage, 702-792-7777.
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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. 11/111/5 PBR World Finals. 11/17 Guns N’ Roses. 11/20-11/22 MGM Resorts Main Event Basketball Tournament. 3780 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 702-692-1600.
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9/2-9/3 Bruno Mars. 9/9 Jonathan Lee. 9/129/23 Ricky Martin. 9/29 Bill Burr. 9/30 Ruff Ryders 20th Anniversary Tour. 10/7 Ali Wong. 10/14 Theresa Caputo. 10/27-10/29 Widespread Panic. 11/8-11/25 Cher. Monte Carlo, 844-600-7275. TH E
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9/1 Mary J. Blige. 9/2 Idina Menzel. 9/8 Luis Fonsi. 9/9 Melissa Etheridge. 9/15 Miguel
Bosé. 10/6 Megadeth. 10/14 Evanescence. 10/21 Tegan and Sara. 10/27 Hollywood Undead. 11/17 So You Think You Can Dance. 11/25 Ana Gabriel. Palms, 702-944-3200.
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9/11 Mondays Dark. 9/17 Daniel Emmet. 9/18 Mondays Dark. 9/22-9/24 ScoopFest. 10/2 Mondays Dark. 10/6 Alexandro Querevalu. 10/8 Brandon & James. 10/16 Mondays Dark. 3460 Cavaretta Court, 702-903-1070.
TOPGOL F 9/15 Leroy Sanchez. 9/16 Through the Roots. 10/6 Turkuaz. 10/14 TR3. 4627 Koval Lane, 702-933-8458.
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9/2-9/3 Rob Schneider. 10/28 Restless Heart & Shenandoah. 11/11 Peter Cetera. 11/18 Great White & Slaughter. Tropicana, 800-829-9034.
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9/20-9/30 Il Divo. 10/6-10/21 Rascal Flatts. Venetian, 702-414-9000.
VI N Y L 9/1 Dokken. 9/8 SZA. 9/15 Otherwise. 9/21 Zakk Sabbath. 9/22 Master of Puppets. 9/28 Andy Mineo. 9/30 Ellismania 14 Afterparty. 10/18 The Interrupters & SWMRS. 10/20 Nothing More. 11/1 LANY. 11/3 Bayside. 11/15 Bad Suns. 11/16 Propaghandi. Hard Rock Hotel, 702-693-5000.
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5. PB CRUNCH BURGER AT PUB 1842 This Michael Mina burger comes loaded with pimento cheese, bacon jam, potato chips and peanut butter. You’ll love it or hate it—but you’ve got to find out. $18, MGM Grand, 702-891-3922. (Peter Harasty/File)
DELICIOUS PEANUT BUTTER CONCOCTIONS 1. GRIDDLED PB&J AT THE STILL
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The Mirage beer and sports cave delivers with its desserts, too, like this nutty, fried masterpiece with marshmallow crème and Nutella dipping sauce. $9, Mirage, 702-692-8455.
2. PEANUT BUTTER STUFFED FRENCH TOAST AT THE CRACKED EGG Elvis would approve of this remade classic, stuffed with peanut butter cream cheese filling and topped with honey and bananas. $11, multiple locations, thecrackedegg.com.
3. MEMPHIS BURGER AT TOPGOLF The driving range adds peanut butter, raspberry jalapeño jelly, white cheddar and smoked pork belly to its patty. If this is how they do things in Memphis, we’re moving. $17, 4627 Koval Lane, 702-933-8458.
4. SRIRACHA PEANUT BUTTER BACON BURGER AT BARLEY’S Rooster sauce and peanut butter help this delicious burger—with bacon, caramelized onions and a fried egg—truly explode. $11, 4500 E. Sunset Road, 702-4582739. –Leslie Ventura
60 las vegas weekly 08.31.17
END GAME Looking back on Game of Thrones ’ seventh season—and ahead to the eighth By Spencer Patterson Note: This piece contains spoilers. Do not read if you haven’t finished Season 7. t’s all over but the waiting. Game of Thrones’ seventh season—likely to go down as the most polarizing in the HBO series’ history—concluded in an icy blaze (and with a super-awkward sex scene) Sunday night, setting up an eighth season that might not begin airing until 2019. That leaves fans many months to look forward, and think back on what we just witnessed, including … Change of pace: A lot has been made of the show’s tempo shift in Season 7, from meandering crawl to sudden charge. It reached peak absurdity in Episode 6, when viewers were left bickering about the airspeed velocity of messenger ravens and Gendry’s best times in the mile. It’s obvious why it happened: Unlike author George R.R. Martin, show creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss actually want to get this done in our lifetimes, and they had to
I
compress the time frame significantly to reach the finish line. At times it wasn’t pretty, but it was effective. The major characters have (finally) connected, and the plot lines have been trimmed down to the essentials heading into Season 8. Aegon’s lineage: Keep calling him Jon Snow if you want, though that’s a bit like referring to Aragorn as Strider at this point, no? It took far too long for GOT to “reveal” what we’ve basically known for years—and Aegon himself still doesn’t know—but we can stop speculating about parentage and start wondering how characters will react to his incestuous hookup with Aunt Danaerys (which took place, oddly, amidst a Bran monologue). Here’s hoping the show moves past such concerns quickly—many things are different in Westeros, after all—and gets to more interesting issues, namely how Danaerys will react to Aegon’s royal claim and whether she’ll give birth to their child. Who we lost: Littlefinger, Viserion the dragon (though he’s still getting airtime), Benjen Stark,
the Queen of Thorns, Thoros of Myr, the Sand Snakes, Randyll and Dickon Tarly and all the Freys in the world. Not a particularly high or illustrious death count, by Thrones standards, though Littlefinger’s Episode 7 exit certainly put some shine on it. Considering he triggered the entire story in the first place—and that many had surmised GOT might come down to Littlefinger vs. Varys—it’s surprising and sad to lose such a key villain before the stretch run. The Dead: As we’ve always expected, Game of Thrones will come down to a Great War, between the armies of Westeros and the Army of the Dead. Fans of zombie movies might rejoice, but there’s a real danger Season 8 could devolve into all-out action at the expense of the human interaction that has made the story interesting. The Night King might be a badass, but he’s not a terribly interesting one, and his mindless hordes are even less so. In the end, life vs. death’s got nothin’ on Cersei vs. Tyrion.
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LOSING HIS RELIGION A HASIDIC MAN STRUGGLES WITH AUTHORITY IN MENASHE
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Season 7 has been dracarys’d. (HBO/Courtesy)
HIP-HOP SUPERSTAR
lot of familiar beats, especially in the movie’s second half, as she teams up with an introverted musician (Mamoudou Athie) to seriously pursue her ambitions. Her mother, her musical inspiration and her co-workers dismiss her talents, but she gets one The title character of Patti Cake$ is not your big chance at the movie’s climax to prove herself. typical rapper: Patricia Dombrowski The outcome of that final showdown is AAACC (Danielle Macdonald) is a plus-sized entirely predictable, but the charismatic white woman from suburban New Macdonald (an Australian with no prior PATTI CAKE$ Danielle Macdonald, Jersey who works nights as a bartender rap experience) makes Patti easy to root Bridget Everett, and dreams of hip-hop stardom. In for, and first-time writer-director Geremy Siddharth Dhananjay. her fantasies, she swaps verses with Jasper showcases plenty of authentic New Directed by Geremy Jasper. her idol, mega-star rapper O-Z, but in Jersey grit before giving in to feel-good Rated R. reality the 23-year-old lives at home clichés. Patti’s music may Now playing in with her bitter alcoholic mother not quite be believably select theaters. Barb (Bridget Everett) and her ailing brilliant (unlike the grandmother (Cathy Moriarty). Her songs in obvious best friend is Jheri (Siddharth Dhananjay), an influences 8 Mile and Indian-American pharmacy tech whose smooth Hustle & Flow), but the vocals complement Patti’s rapid-fire lyrics about life movie is charming enough in working-class Bergen County. that it doesn’t really matter. Patti’s triumph-of-the-underdog story hits a –Josh Bell
PATTI CAKE$ SHOWCASES AN UNLIKELY ASPIRING RAPPER
Filmmaker Joshua Z. Weinstein has spent most of his career making documentaries, and his debut narrative feature, Menashe, often feels like a documentary, the product of Weinstein finding himself in the right place at the right time to capture the way life is lived in the ultra-religious Hasidic Jewish enclave of Borough Park, Brooklyn. Although the movie is scripted, it stars real-life members of the community, with dialogue almost entirely in Yiddish, and is based partially on the life of star Menashe Lustig. Lustig’s title character is a hapless grocery-store clerk and a recent widower, who’s lost custody of his son Rieven (Ruben Niborski) thanks to Hasidic laws that require children to be raised in two-parent homes. Menashe’s struggle to get his son back is a bit repetitive, but the movie is such an immersive portrayal of an insular world rarely seen onscreen that the thin story isn’t a major problem. Lustig gives a winning performance, even if Menashe is hard to sympathize with at times. Shooting (often surreptitiously) in real locations in the Hasidic community, Weinstein brings an authenticity and immediacy to the story, with documentary-style hand-held camera work and low-key, naturalistic performances. The story peters out before it reaches any kind of resolution, but that demonstrates how in such a traditional, rulebound community, even the smallest change is almost impossible. –Josh Bell
AAACC MENASHE Menashe Lustig, Ruben Niborski, Yoel Weisshaus. Directed by Joshua Z. Weinstein. Rated PG. Opens Friday at Village Square.
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Ingrid Goes West aaabc Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, O’Shea Jackson Jr. Directed by Matt Spicer. 97 minutes. Rated R. Plaza plays a troubled young woman who forcibly befriends a social-media star (Olsen) in this clever dark comedy. Rather than taking easy potshots at entitled millennials, the movie explores themes of grief, loneliness and mania that transcend whatever current technology is enabling them. –JB Select theaters.
Special screenings Cinemark Classics Series 9/3, 9/6, Office Space, Sun 2 p.m., Wed 2 & 7 p.m., $7.50-$11. Select Cinemark theaters. Millennium Fandom Bar 9/3, Top Gun, 7 p.m., free. 9/7, Cult Classic Happy Hour with Blade Runner, 6:30 p.m., free. 900 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 702-405-0816.
Leap! aabcc Voices of Elle Fanning, Nat Wolff, Carly Rae Jepsen. Directed by Éric Summer and Éric Warin. 89 minutes. Rated PG. Set in 19th-century France, Leap! follows plucky orphan girl Félicie (Fanning) as she travels to Paris to pursue her dream of becoming a ballet dancer. The animation is serviceable, the voice work is adequate, and the story wraps up exactly as expected in under 90 minutes. –JB Theaters citywide.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show 9/2, movie plus live cast and audience participation, 10 p.m., $10. Tropicana Cinemas. Info: rhpsvegas.com. Sci Fi Center Mon, Cinemondays, 8 p.m., free. 9/5, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, 8 p.m., $1. 5077 Arville St., 855-501-4335, thescificenter.com.
New this week Arjun Reddy (Not reviewed) Vijay Deverakonda, Shalini Pandey, Amit Sharma. Directed by Sandeep Vanga. 187 minutes. In Telugu with English subtitles. A successful orthopedic surgeon struggles with alcoholism. South Point. Baadshaho (Not reviewed) Ajay Devgn, Ileana D’Cruz, Emraan Hashmi. Directed by Milan Luthria. 162 minutes. In Hindi with English subtitles. A heist thriller set in Mumbai during the 1970s. Village Square. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Not reviewed) Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr. Directed by Steven Spielberg. 137 minutes. Rated PG. Fortieth-anniversary re-release of the sci-fi classic about aliens arriving on Earth. Select theaters. Hazlo Como Hombre (Not reviewed) Mauricio Ochmann, Alfonso Dosal, Aislinn Derbez. Directed by Nicolás López. 109 minutes. Rated R. In Spanish with English subtitles. The relationship among three longtime male friends is tested when one of them reveals that he’s gay. Select theaters. I Do ... Until I Don’t abccc Lake Bell, Ed Helms, Mary Steenburgen. Directed by Lake Bell. 103 minutes. Rated R. Bell’s second effort as writer and director (after In a World …) is a major disappointment, a contrived and unfunny romantic comedy about three married couples participating in a documentary. The characters are annoying, the humor is stale, the plotting is a mess and the message is disappointingly retrograde. –JB Green Valley Ranch, Suncoast. Marvel’s Inhumans (Not reviewed) Anson Mount, Iwan Rheon, Serinda Swan. Directed by Roel Reiné. 75 minutes. Not rated. A group of superpowered beings live apart from humanity in this IMAX feature film version of the upcoming ABC TV series’ premiere. Aliante, Red Rock, Sunset Station, Town Square. Menashe aaacc Menashe Lustig, Ruben Niborski, Yoel Weisshaus. Directed by Joshua Z. Weinstein. 82 minutes. Rated PG. In Yiddish with English subtitles. See review Page 61. Village Square. Patti Cake$ aaacc Danielle Macdonald, Siddharth Dhananjay,
Alicia Vikander in Tulip Fever, opening Friday. (The Weinstein Company/Courtesy) Bridget Everett. Directed by Geremy Jasper. 108 minutes. Rated R. See review Page 61. Cannery, Sam’s Town, Santa Fe, Suncoast. Tulip Fever (Not reviewed) Alicia Vikander, Dane DeHaan, Jack O’Connell. Directed by Justin Chadwick. 107 minutes. Rated R. In 17th-century Amsterdam, an artist falls in love with a married woman whose portrait he’s been commissioned to paint. Select theaters.
Now playing Annabelle: Creation aabcc Lulu Wilson, Talitha Bateman, Anthony LaPaglia. Directed by David F. Sandberg. 109 minutes. Rated R. A prequel to a spinoff, Creation has to work within some narrow parameters, and the filmmakers don’t find any interesting new directions for the evil doll. Director Sandberg’s flair for creepy set pieces puts Creation slightly above 2014’s Annabelle, but it’s still pretty formulaic, with only occasional scary moments. –JB Theaters citywide. 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. Baby Driver aaabc Ansel Elgort, Lily James, Kevin Spacey. Directed by Edgar Wright. 113 minutes. Rated R. The plot of Baby Driver, about a getaway driver looking to leave behind his life of crime, is nothing new, but the way that writer-director Wright tells that story is playful and virtuosic, making the movie into one long visual mixtape. It’s like a mediocre crime thriller crossed with several very good music videos. –JB Theaters citywide. The Big Sick aaabc Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Ray Romano. Directed by Michael Showalter. 119 minutes. Rated R. The broad narrative arc of The Big Sick is not that different from the average Hollywood romantic comedy; the movie succeeds in the personal specificity of the story, written by comedian Kumail Nanjiani and his wife, based on their reallife romance. It delivers a real love story with real humor from real people. –JB Theaters citywide.
Birth of the Dragon aaccc Billy Magnussen, Philip Ng, Xia Yu. Directed by George Nolfi. 103 minutes. Rated PG-13. Ostensibly about a young Bruce Lee’s fight with old-school Chinese kung-fu master Wong Jack Man, this heavily fictionalized thriller is mostly about a made-up white American student of Lee’s. There’s a boring love story and a fight against gangsters, all in a movie that has no idea what kind of story to tell. –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. Good Time aabcc Robert Pattinson, Benny Safdie, Taliah Webster. Directed by Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie. 100 minutes. Rated R. Good Time is as tense and deliberately abrasive as the Safdies’ previous narrative films, with Pattinson immersing himself in their world of NYC dirtbags, as a lowlevel criminal on the run after a bank robbery. Watching him for 100 minutes (often in dizzying, uncomfortable close-ups) gets to be tedious and grating. –JB Select theaters. Gook aaabc Justin Chon, Simone Baker, David So. Directed by Justin Chon. 94 minutes. Not rated. Set on the first day of the 1992 LA riots, writer-director Chon’s Gook, starring Chon and So as Korean-American brothers trying to keep their family’s shoe store afloat, is surprisingly upbeat and funny. Although it eventually takes a disappointingly manipulative turn toward the end, Gook is mainly a heartfelt passion project. –JB Village Square. The Hitman’s Bodyguard aaccc Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Elodie Yung. Directed by Patrick Hughes. 118 minutes. Rated R. Reynolds plays a private security professional reluctantly tasked with protecting the life of a contract killer (Jackson) set to testify against a brutal dictator (Gary Oldman) in international court. The two loudmouths banter incessantly but weakly, the action is mediocre and the story drags on at least 30 minutes too long. –JB Theaters citywide.
Logan Lucky aabcc Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Daniel Craig. Directed by Steven Soderbergh. 119 minutes. Rated PG-13. Soderbergh’s comeback is an uneven heist comedy starring Tatum and Driver as a pair of working-class brothers who conspire to rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina. The actors mostly lean hard on comical redneck accents, and the slow-moving plot features way too many leaps of logic. –JB Theaters citywide. 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. Terminator 2: Judgment Day 3D (Not reviewed) Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong. Directed by James Cameron. 137 minutes. Rated R. 3D re-release of the 1991 sci-fi action movie about killer cyborgs from the future. Town Square. Wind River aaabc Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Graham Greene. Directed by Taylor Sheridan. 107 minutes. Rated R. Screenwriter Sheridan (Sicario, Hell or High Water) now adds directing with another finely crafted crime story about people living on the margins of society. Renner and Olsen play federal agents investigating the murder of a Native American teen on a Wyoming reservation. The story is straightforward but suspenseful, with rich regional details. –JB Theaters citywide. Wonder Woman aaabc Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Danny Huston. Directed by Patty Jenkins. 133 minutes. Rated PG-13. Set during WWI, this solo adventure for the iconic DC superhero is a step forward for DC’s movie universe. Gadot plays Wonder Woman with an appealing sense of integrity and compassion. The movie never reinvents the superhero origin story, but it hits all the familiar beats with enthusiasm and style. –JB Theaters citywide. JB Josh Bell; MD Mike D’Angelo For complete movie listings, visit lasvegasweekly.com/movie-listings.
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64 LAS VEGAS WEEKLY 08.31.17
THE X FILES EXENE CERVENKA EXPLAINS HOW LA FOURSOME X MADE IT TO THE 40-YEAR MARK BY ANNIE ZALESKI
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os Angeles punk band X is celebrating 40 years together in 2017, and impressively the band’s original lineup—John Doe, Exene Cervenka, Billy Zoom and D.J. Bonebrake—remains intact. The Weekly caught up with Cervenka to discuss how. To what do you attribute X’s longevity? Longevity is the hardest thing to get—in a career, in life—because so many things can stop you along the way, accidentally or on purpose. John and I were married, then we got divorced. Billy quit for a while. We got back together in the mid-’90s, before the get-back-together rage. We did an in-store for a reissue [1997’s Beyond and Back: The X Anthology], and 900 people came. We kind of went, “Wow, people like us!”
Right after that, Pearl Jam asked us to play some shows. The first one was in Las Vegas, if I remember correctly. [It was: July 11, 1998.] That’s when we realized it was still really fun. We wouldn’t have this long-term career if people didn’t wanna see us, so we’re very grateful about that. You can’t play if nobody wants to see you (laughs). How has the band been able to weather all the ups and downs of a lengthy career? A lot of it is just luck. We’re still around, and so many of our friends are not. I wish that wasn’t the case; I wish everybody was still here. … We’ve learned how to coexist pretty well. There’s all these horror stories about being in a band. It’s always like, “Wow, those people hated each other, and they took
four different tour buses on the road.” We don’t have enough money to take one tour bus. Billy always says the reason we’re still together is ’cause we didn’t make enough money to quit or kill ourselves. Digging back through X’s catalog, there’s such an alchemy of different influences and sounds. That’s true. I’m lucky to be in a band with three really amazing musicians who can play every kind of music and have all kinds of musical history behind them. Billy played with Etta James, with all kinds of soul bands, with Gene Vincent. Everybody in the band is really smart, and everybody reads a lot of books, and knows a lot about life. They’re just amazing people.
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LAS VEGAS WEEKLY 08.31.17
LOUD!
LOCAL MUSIC NEWS & NOTES
BY LESLIE VENTURA
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X
with Skating Polly. September 6, 7:30 p.m., $30-$35. Brooklyn Bowl, 702-862-2695.
Four decades on, X still delivers. (Frank Gargani/Courtesy)
X has a Grammy Museum exhibit opening up in October. How involved are you guys in that? We’re heavily involved. Nwaka Onwusa curated the exhibit, and she really gets it. We started collecting things—D.J. had some stuff, I had other things and John had so many photos. There are setlists and a typewriter and the original drum set and clothes … People started contacting us, saying, “Hey, do you want this?” It’s just incredible. Are you working on anything new at the moment? I’m working
on some fiction, and I’m working on some art. Sometimes I work a regular job when we’re not on the road, because, frankly, what am I gonna do all day? Write songs? I don’t think so. And I need to make a living. X doesn’t make enough money for us to make a living. Besides the show where X opened for Pearl Jam, do you have any Vegas memories? I’ve been hanging out at the Double Down a little bit, because I have friends in Las Vegas. I did a DJ night there recently. I love that place.
FOREIGN LEGION Vegas alternative rockers Foreign Sons have spent two years working on their first full length, and on September 1 they’ll drop Transference—a concept album, no less—with their fans. Comprising brothers Chris (vocals/guitar), Kyle (drums) and Joshua Bundra (bass), plus David Weaver (guitar), the four-piece will celebrate with a free release show Thursday, September 7 at Beauty Bar with Twin Cities. “A huge goal
of ours is to be relatable and have a shared experience,” says Chris, who helped conceive the album’s thematic concept, which deals with depression, angst, hopefulness and strength, filtered through the band’s Christian faith. “We’re just really aiming to encourage people and let them know they’re not alone in whatever emotional state they may be in.” RAIN CHECK Shayna Rain, the Vegas singer behind 2016 EP Paper Flowers, has announced that she’ll be taking a hiatus from her eponymous indie band to work on a new alterative-rock project. But before Rain presses pause, she’s heading out on a weeklong West Coast tour, which kicks off with a free show Friday, September 8 at the Bunkhouse with Jessie Pino & The Vital Signs Kaylie Foster and Kat Kalling. ALSO Local indie favorites A Crowd of Small Adventures will reunite for their first show since 2014, in support of Guided By Voices October 27 at the Bunkhouse … The fifth-annual Las Vegas Hardcore Punk Rock Reunion will converge at Fremont Country Club on November 4 with performances by M.I.A., Lethal Injection, Papsmear, Schizoid, Atomic Gods and Pain and Agony. … And the Life Is Sh*t Festival will return to the Dive Bar on September 23 (lineup to come).
Avalon Landing photograph Courtesy
ELLO, DOLLIES Vegas pop-rockers Avalon Landing recently dropped a video for “All My Friends,” the latest single from EP Let What You Love Kill You. Filmed inside Downtown’s Vintage Vegas Antiques and directed by Matthew Jackson, Juan Gutierrez and Billy Sanderson, the eerie video (spoilers ahead!) captures the terrifying moment a woman discovers the reason she hasn’t met her boyfriend’s friends: They’re all antique dolls. Avalon Landing’s bold and soaring arrangements bolster singer Josh Rabenold’s lofty vocals, which come together in a cinematic, Muse-esque climax. Witness the song in person when the group performs Friday, September 1 at the Bunkhouse with local compatriots Hidden Levels and Echo Stains ($7-$10).
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WEEKLY | 08.31.17
Rock’s Not Dead LCD Soundsystem American Dream aaaac
Yes, it was worth it. The “Scary Monsters”-like guitar work in “Other Voices,” the driving post-punk of “Call the Police,” the ascending synths that bring “Change Yr Mind” to a spectacular crescendo—any one of these things was reason enough for James Murphy to have resurrected LCD Soundsystem. But they belong to an album that’s more than a collection of sounds and textures. American Dream is cohesive—a single thought that speaks directly to our violent and frustrating historical moment (“I’m still trying to wake up,” Murphy sings in a vulnerable falsetto during “I Used To”) while delivering enough sonic punch to drown out the chaos. As with LCD’s previous works, it might take a few years to unpack everything that’s good on American Dream. These 10 songs evoke all the things that made LCD great in the past, from the chilly grandeur of the production (see opener “Oh Baby”) to Murphy’s sardonic, world-weary lyrics (“You can’t be believed, and you can’t believe what you’re told,” he sings in “Other Voices”), while adding some indispensable new phrases to LCD’s peerless musical vocabulary. –Geoff Carter
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Liars
TFCF aaabc Throughout their 17-year metamorphosis—from spastic dance punks to spooky noise-makers to icy electronocists and beyond—Liars have had one constant: the partnership between vocalist Angus Andrew and instrumentalist Andrew Hemphill. Until now. Hemphill has bowed out, leaving eighth album TFCF as an Andrew solo endeavor. What does that mean, sonically speaking? In a recent Spin interview, Andrew explained that Hemphill had been more trusted advisor than co-creator in recent years, and TFCF seems to confirm it, fitting comfortably into Liars’ catalog, even if it lands short of favorites like 2006’s Drum’s Not Dead and 2012’s WIXIW. There’s still a lot to like. Andrew brewed up TFCF in a remote part of his native Australia, while living in a house approachable only by rowboat, and that isolation soaks uneasy cuts like “The Grand Delusional” and “Ripe Ripe Rot”—which emphasize his vocals atop a variety of strange sounds—along with synthier tracks that glance back to 2014’s Mess (e.g. “Cred Woes”). “No Help Pamphlet” hints at an entirely new Liars chapter: Angus Andrew, singer-songwriter. Don’t think he won’t do it. –Spencer Patterson
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art rock electronic rock hard rock indie rock
Queens of the Stone Age
The War on Drugs
It’s not uncommon for rock A-listers to bleed into the mainstream, trading their well-worn leather jackets for shinier new ones— and a more polished sonic palate. Such is now the case for Queens of the Stone Age. The SoCal desert quintet teamed with pop producer Mark Ronson— known for his collaborations with Bruno Mars and Amy Winehouse— on seventh album Villains, and the resulting formula works surprisingly well, finding the band in a happy space between dance and rock. The record opens with banger “Feet Don’t Fail Me,” which packs enough punch to dominate arenas and clubs, and riff-stuffed songs like “The Way You Used to Do” and “Domestic Animals” translate into toe-tapping pop anthems. Ronson’s vision especially comes through on the poppy “The Evil Has Landed” and slow-burning closer “Villains of Circumstance.” Still, the quintet stays in rambunctious rock form at times, like on the driving “Head Like a Haunted House.” Villains marks a welcome outlier in the QOTSA discography—an accessible gem in an era when rock music has struggled to top the charts. –Ian Caramanzana
Like fellow critical darling Grizzly Bear, The War on Drugs jumped from an indie to a major label to release its new album. Anyone worried about detrimental changes to the Philadelphia band’s sound can rest easy, however: As its name implies, A Deeper Understanding marks a crisp expansion of the group’s synth-painted, classic rockers-in-the-’80s approach. Roiling keyboards and mournful harmonica brighten the Smiths-like “Nothing to Find,” while soulful organ and Adam Granduciel’s chastened vocals enhance the somber, R&B-tinged meditation “Knocked Down.” A Deeper Understanding pairs these focused moments with sprawling arrangements that strike a balance between meandering and compelling. The 11-minute “Thinking of a Place” sounds like Spiritualized covering Bob Dylan, combining tranquil keyboard arcs and Granduciel’s wrinkled croon. Yet even the band’s usual echoes of Dire Straits (the blazing guitar jangle of “Strangest Thing”) and Bruce Springsteen (atmospheric, piano-cut “Clean Living”) possess more depth here. A Deeper Understanding succeeds by refining The War on Drugs’ sound in surprising and comforting ways. –Annie Zaleski
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A Deeper Understanding aaabc
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67 pop culture
WEEKLY | 08.31.17
Finding my voice
On the sidewalk in New York, 2013. (Mark Lennihan/AP Photo)
an iconic New York City publication stops the presses ast week, The Village Voice announced that, after That’s Vince Aletti, the first person to write about disco. And nearly 62 years as New York City’s iconic downtown that elderly man who works in the paper-choked fire hazard weekly newspaper, it will suspend its print edition. of an office? That’s Nat Hentoff, friend of Malcolm X and Another funeral, yet another end to yet another era. author of the liner notes for Miles Davis’s Sketches of Spain. But big deal, right? Magazines have been shrinking and local Interns weren’t paid, of course. We got something way betpapers have been folding for how long now? What’s so shockter: our first published piece! Mine was a review of a rootsing about the material death of a tired, old publication some rock band called the Bis-Quits (if they’re on Spotify, I can’t say died decades ago? But for those of us who still find ’em). Then came a review of Green Day’s Dookie value the free press, left-of-field arts criticism and (long before that debut went platinum, ahem). Then countercultural spirit, the Voice ceasing to exist as a I started working in the research department as a physical object struck a deeply melancholic note. freelance fact-checker, and suddenly I had a bit of When Norman Mailer co-founded the Voice in a career. Working alongside editors like Christgau, the fall of 1955, it became America’s first “alternaJoe Levy and Ann Powers, who pored through every tive weekly.” Many papers would emulate it: San word of every line of every piece, made me the writer Francisco’s Bay Guardian, Boston’s The Phoenix, the I am today. For better and worse, they’re the reason I Chicago Reader, Seattle’s The Stranger, LA Weekly, can’t even post something on Facebook without worCity Pages in Minneapolis and so on. Wherever you rying if I truly nailed it, that I probably could have Cultural travel and see a stack of homegrown tabloids—the attachment done better. ones that challenge state politics, cover the local arts As always happens, while I was romanticizing the by smith galtney scene, tell the stories of noteworthy locals—you’re mythic figures who roamed the Voice halls, some looking at that town’s version of The Village Voice. of my peers were cutting their own paths. Novelist I was lucky enough to work at the Voice from 1993 Colson Whitehead, who worked in the literary to 1997. At NYU, I took a writing class with Robert supplement, won the Pulitzer Prize earlier this Christgau, the self-proclaimed Dean of American Rock Crityear. Neil Strauss was just “that nerdy fact-checker” before ics, who hooked me up with an internship after graduation. he turned himself into a pickup artist named Style and I was not a good writer then, and I might have been a good published The Game. The night I stepped up to a newsstand intern if I’d spent more time organizing the music editor’s in Times Square and saw my name on the cover of the Voice mail and less time reading back issues in the library. In for the first time marks one of the great moments of my life. those pre-Internet days, that archive was the secret history Walking through New York City, seeing people read your of America—the counter-counterculture of the ’60s, the gay work on the subway, the feedback you’d stumble upon in real nightlife of the ’70s, the birth of house music in the ’80s. time, in the real world—no amount of online commentary Even cooler, that editor over there with the gray moustache? will ever compare.
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68 photography 08.31.17
Insta preservation A crowdfunded photo project seeks to document Nevada’s mid-mod buildings By C. Moon Reed alerie Hecht loves mid-century modern architecture. “Right now, I’m enchanted with buildings on Industrial Road—all of these auto part stores, gentlemen’s clubs,” the Neon Museum volunteer says at a recent info meeting for Uncommon Las Vegas, a crowdsourced photo survey sponsored by the Nevada Preservation Foundation (NPF). “I already stop to photograph buildings that catch my eye. I thought if I could put that to good use with the preservation project, why not?” The project’s goal is nothing if not ambitious: find and document all of Las Vegas’ forgotten modern commercial buildings. The Foundation seeks out those everyday gems built between the late 1940s and early 1970s—old car dealerships with sweeping lines, shopping centers with sharp angles and all of those dusty buildings that still emit an aura of Old Vegas optimism. Everyone’s invited to participate. NPF Execu-
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tive Director Heidi Swank wants locals to get out and experience older architecture. “People always think we blow everything up here, but we actually don’t,” she says. “About 70 percent of our old buildings are still with us, if you don’t look at the Strip.” For the project’s next phase, photographer Kirsten Clarke will take photos of the 100 most interesting buildings. A selection of images (both professional and crowd-sourced) will be displayed in an exhibit and compiled in a book, pending funding. Finally, a few vacant buildings from the collection of photos will be featured as case studies in a February workshop about renovation. Swank says she “stole” the concept for Uncommon Las Vegas from one in Texas called Houston: Uncommon Modern, which took place from 2015 to 2016. (For their part, the Houston preservationists had been inspired by a similar project in Philadelphia.)
At the info meeting, Swank passed around a copy of the Houston project catalog. The 400 or so images of mid-century car dealerships, churches, donut shops, office parks and gas stations took on an unexpected resonance as the city faced catastrophic flooding. Swank, who toured Houston last year, is grateful that the book exists. “If some of those buildings don’t make it, if they can’t be salvaged after the hurricane, then we have the photo documentation of them, which is sometimes all you end up with.” The photo survey will be open through the end of October. Casual documentarians can simply take a photo of a cool building, upload it to Instagram and include the hashtag #UncommonVegas along with the address of the property. Participants who would like to be more involved should contact Nevada Preservation Foundation (855-968-3973, nevadapreservation.org) to get assigned an area of focus.
The cast of Seven Deadly Sins. (Courtesy)
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WEEKLY | 08.31.17
VEGAS’ MOST VEGAS JOB. NOW HIRING DANCING DEALERS AND BARTENDERS
Opera for the people
Cockroach Theatre and Sin City Opera join voices for The Seven Deadly Sins and Erwartung By Molly O’ Donnell
n the theater world, there’s still one word that This focus on America influenced the pieces’ jazz style strikes fear in the hearts of many Americans: and, at times, cabaret approach to opera. opera. There’s a general perception that opera The subject matter of the show also seems more relis dull, partly because it often seems to be some evant than one might expect: perspectives on women’s extended love story, and partly because it’s in Italian. lives. Kurt Weill’s opera-ballet The Seven Deadly Sins But it could be argued the primary reason opera evokes tells the story of Anna, a woman who must travel away apprehension is because we think opera is inaccessible. from her Louisiana home to earn money for her family Sin City Opera has been working to change that perhouse. With a libretto by frequent Weill collaboraception and appeal to regular people by offering Engtor Bertolt Brecht, Deadly also offers a satirical and lish performances that focus on modern subjects. Sin lighthearted look at capitalism. Played in part by Dina City’s latest endeavor in that direction involves their Emerson—fresh off a long career in Mystère—Anna’s first collaboration with local darlings Cockroach Therole is split between opera singer and ballet dancer. atre in presenting a two-piece performance That split echoes the uber-Modern tone audiThe Seven of Kurt Weill’s opera-ballet The Seven Deadly ences will see post-intermission in Erwartung, Sins and Arnold Schoenberg’s Erwartung a 20-minute stream-of-consciousness porDeadly Sins (Expectation). trayal by Rebecca Morris. “The way we present & Erwartung Through September “If I had to recommend a show to someone it almost extends Weill’s piece into Schoen10, times vary, who has never seen an opera,” says Ginger berg’s,” Land-van Buuren says, “with the life $15-$20. Land-van Buuren, executive director of Sin of a woman manifesting in the latter work as a Art Square Theatre, 725-222-9661. City Opera, “this would be that show.” That’s later point her the life.” because it’s Sin City Opera’s general mission Fittingly, Sin City and Cockroach also split to contemporize opera, taking it out of what their roles down the middle, “collaborating on Land-van Buuren calls “the grand opera” context. And everything,” Land-van Buuren emphasizes, “from the these pieces are ready-made for a small opera context, producing to the designing.” Land-van Buuren says Sin with small casts and ensembles. City was inspired by Cockroach and proposed the first What links the two pieces also makes them a good fit joint effort between the two companies. “We love their for a contemporary American audience. Although each work, and we wanted their fresh take on opera, which one has its own director (Darren Weller for Deadly and can be a fun challenge for a company that’s never done Katie St-Pierre for Erwartung), Land-van Buuren points it before.” out that the composers of both works “fled Germany durOpera might be a different challenge, but if all goes as ing World War II and were interested in the American planned, the companies’ combined powers will remind way of life they came face to face with in leaving Europe.” opera newcomers why different can be delightful.
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70 las vegas weekly 08.31.17
FOOD & DRINK
MB’s charred octopus beckons. (Sabin Orr/File)
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las vegas weekly 08.31.17
NEXT GENERATION of dollars on meat and booze. MB Steak hits a salad home run with the heirloom tomato and burrata ($14), colorful and complemented with arugula pesto and aged balsamic, and the baby By Brock Radke iceberg ($15), which has plenty of buttermilk reating a successful restaurant can be blue cheese without using it as the dressing. an arduous process, to say the least. Instead, there’s creamy, zingy green goddess Creating a restaurant with a scene pooled underneath, and it’s wonderful with seems impossible. It might appear that the crisp, cool lettuce, pickled red onions and with all its casino flash, Las Vegas is loaded smoky bacon bits. There’s also a Caesar ($13) with restaurant hot spots where all the movers and a chopped salad ($22) with grilled shrimp. and shakers are regular patrons, but very few Before you get to the meat, consider engagof those dynamic dining rooms actually offer ing with charred octopus ($19) with port side dishes of soul, real warmth and social culwine-stewed tomatoes, seared foie gras ($24) ture to complement their superior service and with strawberries and brioche French toast, magnificent cuisine. or chilled seafood options from oysters to Michael Morton has been a major player poke. For sharing, there’s a 32-ounce double in Vegas hospitality long enough to crack the porterhouse ($68) or a dry-aged, chili-rubbed, code. You get those good vibes when you visit 28-ounce tomahawk ribeye ($99). For single La Cave at Wynn and Crush at MGM steaks, I’d recommend the bone-in Grand, and now he has teamed with filet mignon ($68) or the au poivre MB STEAK Chicago-based brother David for the hanger steak ($42), but ballers Hard Rock Hotel, first time on a new restaurant, the might want the real Japanese A5 702-483-4888. built-from-scratch MB Steak at the Wagyu strip ($120). Definitely get Daily, 5-11 p.m. Hard Rock Hotel. the MB signature steak and pepTheir older brother, Peter, fapercorn sauces to go with whatever mously opened that game-changing you choose. off-Strip resort 22 years ago, and the family The choice non-beef selection right now is history contributes quite a bit to MB Steak’s pan-roasted Alaskan halibut ($41), topped ambiance; it feels like a brand new restaurant with an olive relish with tender asparagus and that has been here all along. It also feels like a a rich tomato broth. You probably don’t need series of discoveries: You enter through a narreminding, but don’t forget the sides: gruyererow passageway into an amber-hued bar and saturated potato gratin, roasted cauliflower lounge with speakeasy tones. A dramatically with cipollini onions and bacon, and creamed lit staircase beckons you upstairs, but you’re corn with crab and roasted poblano peppers. not ready for that yet. Instead, you’ll slide MB Steak opened in June, so it’s too new to into the main dining room, which eschews have fully created and captured its own scene. the current trend of whites and brights for But all the pieces are here. It has its own valet straight-up steakhouse dark and sexy, with along Harmon, an essential service for locals. charred wood walls and a massive chandelier The wine list is interesting, and the cocktails of spiky swizzles. are on point. And when you do make it upThis might sound strange, but I judge a stairs—maybe for the new Sunday late-night steakhouse on its salads. If you’re dropping Magic Hour industry party—you’ll discover a dressing on a pile of lettuce, you’re not making cool bar with a garden wall-skylight and unexme want to stay all night and spend hundreds pected Vegas views.
MB Steak is primed for true destination dining
C
Smoky explorations
Tennesseasonings brings its own barbecue style +
The newly opened barbecue spot with the funny name tucked away on Warm Springs and Tenaya obviously specializes in Tennesseestyle cookery. I’ve eaten most of the major regional styles of American barbecue—Kansas City, St. Louis, Texas, Memphis—but I had no idea what Eastern Tennessee meat-smoking was all about. Tennesseasonings’ website claims the region pulls influences from neighboring states (the Carolinas, Alabama and Georgia) but what I tasted there was a mild style of barbecue that’s meat-forward and not reliant on sauces. The dry rub is more subdued, so diners can focus on the flavor of the pulled pork and smoked chicken. Plate 2.2 ($17.50) features two meats and two sides, and it’s enough to feed two people. Daily specials rotate and might be anything from smoked ham to smoked bologna. I tried the off-the-menu smoked meatballs, plenty big and juicy, a nice take on a familiar favorite. Mac and cheese and green beans are standout sides. The former is, as the menu states, “ooey gooey,” while the latter benefits from being sautéed with onions and bacon. Banana pudding ($5) might be lighter on banana flavor than vanilla, but it’s delightful nonetheless. Combined with crumbled shortbread, it’s a perfect way to cap off a unique dining experience. –Jason Harris
TENNESSEASONINGS 7315 W. Warm Springs Road, 702-342-1260. Wednesday-Sunday, noon-8 p.m.
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