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from 2023-04-23 - Las Vegas Magazine

Steamy, ribald ROUGE rises to the occasion for adult audiences

The action is augmented by large video screens at the side of the stage that provide close-ups of the gorgeous cast members. Strap acts have been done before, but never in a tantalizing tandem that ends with both performers forming a star with their bodies. “Light My Fire” kicks o a soundtrack that includes Nina Simone’s version of “I Put a Spell on You,” which captures the sophisticated spirit ROUGE exudes throughout the various acts of acrobatic strength and gravity-defying choreography.

There are beautiful bodies everywhere. There are transﬁxing acts such as a siren splashing in an oversized martini glass, hand balancers and full-cast dance routines. And there are costumes, some of which leave little to the imagination, others that evoke laughter.

ROUGE creator Hanoch Rosènn combined his experience developing previous productions Extravaganza and WOW–The Vegas Spectacular with “sexpertise” to evolve a concept of risqué variety show as adult playground, the foundation for what could indeed be the sexiest show in Vegas. How successful that realized vision turned out is a matter for the eyes of the beholders.

Imaginative prosthetics create a thought-provoking display at Bodies … The Exhibition

By Em Jurbala

Possibly one of the most interesting attractions on the Strip, Bodies …The Exhibition puts on display the marvels of the human body. From full human skeletons to preserved organs and nerves, the exhibits here are astonishing. Not to mention, the educational content is vast, with informational videos and signage that cover topics like athletics and mental health, or simply include some fun facts. But there’s one section in particular that adds to the depth of this exhibit like no other.

In collaboration with the Alternative Limb Project, Bodies…The Exhibition includes imaginative prosthetic limbs that meld the functional art form of creating artiﬁcial appendages with surrealistic and fanciful concepts. Each created for a di erent purpose, these pieces often reﬂect the amputee’s interests or contribute to a larger piece of performance art.

Recently, Alternative Limb Project founder and artist Sophie de Oliveira Barata unveiled a new

702.262.4400 represent its wearer on , a carved from cherry wood cuckoo clock, bell piece in the exhibition; Materialise, an arm that is highly realistic on the underside, but features interchangeable sections made from materials that represent its wearer on the top of the limb. Also on display is Cuckoo, a striking prosthetic leg carved from cherry wood that features a working cuckoo clock, bell and pendulum.

“All the limbs are completely unique; all completely di erent … My background is making realistic-looking limbs for amputees, and then I just started thinking, back in 2011, there wasn’t really much available for people. It was either people who would have the components on show, or they would blend into society by having something realistic,” de Oliveira Barata told Las Vegas Magazine. “And there’s deﬁnitely a place for that, but I just felt that there could be something that unique; all com- as woodworkers and electrical engineers, who specialize in whatever materials that the pieces might require.

“It’s quite nice to then see these limbs deconstructed and made up in di erent materials and reimagining the body in a di erent way,” de Oliveira Barata said. “It’s stepping out of the clinical … and then stepping into the art and imaginary world, fusing those two, which is really exciting.” celebrated their uniqueness … I thought from a rehabilitation perspective, psychologically it was quite powerful, claiming control over your body.”

Creating these limbs is no easy feat, and while de Oliveira Barata is the founder of the project, she works with a team of skilled specialists for each piece.

“There’s challenges all the way along because the process is di erent every time ... In the beginning I say, ‘Oh, anything’s possible,’ because it’s better to think that way, and then we can rein it in, rather than doing it the classic way.”

The project perfectly contrasts the organic forms that ﬁll Bodies … The Exhibition. With transhumanism, a philosophical and scientiﬁc movement that seeks to use technology to elevate the human experience, a central theme, the inclusion of these limbs forces visitors to think outside what they may consider possible. way than

Tackling these challenges requires the help of prosthetist Chris Parsons of Design Prosthetics to perfect ﬁt and functionality. From there, de Oliveira Barata collaborates with experts such

The moment I saw all the cardboard boxes stacked up on the left side of the stage at David Blaine’s Resorts World Las Vegas show, In Spades, I knew it was going to be a memorable evening. And sure enough, once the show started, it only took a few minutes for my hands to begin sweating.

Blaine, the man who has made defying death a way of life, wasted no time in revealing what those boxes were for. Su ce it to say, it’s certiﬁably insane (you might have heard the recent reports of Blaine injuring his shoulder at a recent show; this is the stunt that caused it).

But as staggering as this mini-performance was, it was only the beginning of the experience. Those who have seen all Blaine’s various feats of endurance on television (as well as his groundbreaking magic specials, in which he travels the globe and blows the minds of people from all cultures and creeds) will have a pretty good idea of what to expect from this evening. And even for those who know what’s coming, Blaine doesn’t disappoint.

In Spades is a mix of everything Blaine is famous for. You will see him:

• Pierce various body parts, always producing not a single drop of blood;

• Venture into the audience with nothing but a deck of cards and have everyone gobsmacked within minutes;

• Produce objects from his esophagus that do not seem physically possible; axs.com

• Break a long-standing physical endurance record, all while children are invited onstage during said stunt to give him ﬁ st bumps and pose for selﬁes.

One of the best things about In Spades is the expressions on the faces of the volunteers Blaine brings onstage. As an audience members blurted out, “You’re crazy, man!” And the audience laughed in agreement. It’s all alternatively exhilarating and exhausting, and the show’s ﬁ nal act sees Blaine sitting on some stairs on the side of the stage, talking to the audience as he recovers from the toll the show takes on him. He fully admits that it’s a bit crazy to think the show can last for long—after all, the stunts he performs in just under two hours took him years to perfect, and are meant to be performed individually, not back-to-back.

In other words, see this show while you can. It’s quintessentially Vegas in its showmanship and its wow factor, and it’s one you’ll be telling all your friends about long after you’ve left the theater. Blaine has been a polarizing ﬁgure throughout his career; some have said he’s a fraud, while others have questioned whether he truly puts himself at risk. But with In Spades, Blaine proves himself one of the top performers currently on the Strip. I saw the show weeks ago, and just remembering it, my palms begin to sweat again.

By Matt Kelemen

Punk rock legend Iggy Pop brings

decades of iconic music to Las Vegas

Iggy Pop has always surrounded himself with beautiful losers, from Ron and Scott Asheton in The Stooges to his current band, succinctly dubbed The Losers. Consisting of guitarists Jamie Hince and Andrew Watt, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Chad Smith, the lineup is only committed to exist for five live dates in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas, but without a doubt will contribute to an exciting chapter in Pop’s long and winding career.

That chapter began with the January release of Pop’s latest album Every Loser. With production wunderkind Watt (Eddie Vedder,

Ozzy Osbourne) in charge of recording, Smith pounded his set for a majority of the album, including on standout tracks “Frenzy,” “Strung Out Johnny” and “Modern Day Ripoff.” Guns ‘N’ Roses founding member McKagan played on several tracks with Watt and Jane’s Addiction bassists Eric Avery and Chris Chaney handled the low end for the rest of the album. Hince is sort of the odd man out with no credits on the album, but even a cursory listen to the music he and Alison Mosshart have made as avant-garde rockers The Kills demonstrates how generations that came in the wake of Pop’s rise to fame have fruitfully expanded on his musical aesthetics. Few of Pop’s classmates in the college town of Ann Arbor would have predicted he would become one of the most dynamic live frontmen to ever prowl a con- cert stage, but that’s exactly what happened to the son of schoolteacher parents.

Pop’s mom and pop let young James Osterberg turn the master bedroom of their trailer home into a drum rehearsal space, and by age 14 he became part of the Southern Michigan music scene. Bob Seger, The MC5 and ? and the Mysterians

(“96 Tears”) were part of the live circuit Pop followed, and a job at a record store led to connecting with the Asheton brothers.

Pop taught Scott Asheton to play drums and, with Dave Alexander on bass, The Stooges set about creating a sound influenced by The Rolling Stones, John Coltrane, James Brown and the rhythmic sound of machine presses familiar to kids brought up in industrial areas. The Stooges recorded two proto-punk albums before collapsing in the wreckage of Pop’s heroin addiction. Thus began the cycle of self-destruction and renewal that would characterize Pop’s career for nearly two decades. A meeting with David Bowie in the early ’70s would spark his creativity through that decade, with Hunt and Tony Fox Sales becoming the next brothers to back Pop for 1977’s Lust for Life.

Pop’s songwriting had been influenced by the brothers’ father Soupy Sales, whose request that fans of his children’s show limit fan mail word length to 25 words directly inspired the minimalist lyricism of classic Stooges songs such as “1969” and “I Wanna Be Your Dog.”

Watt’s empathy for artists he grew up listening to was well applied to Every Loser Expect Pop to play three or four songs from the new album amidst a heaping helping of Stooges and solo classics.

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