East Side Story | Vegas Seven | August 8-14, 2013

EVENT

A NET WINNER

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[ UPCOMING ]

August 17 Help of Southern Nevada’s Boot Scootin’ Benefit at Gilley’s Saloon (HelpSoNV.org) August 24 AFAN’s Black & White Party at Hard Rock Hotel (AFANLV.org)

Photos by Joe Fury

August 8–14, 2013

Chris Paul makes a living dishing out assists as the star point guard for the Los Angeles Clippers, but on July 27, he traded in one game for another as host of Las Vegas’ first TopSpin Charity Ping-Pong tournament at The Palazzo.

Sixteen current and former NBA athletes—including Paul himself—battled paddles in front of more than 450 spectators for four rounds of competition. While the action unfolded at the tables, guests bid on signed sports memorabilia, with proceeds benefiting the Chris Paul Foundation, TopSpin Charity and Jump for Joy through Tao Cares. In the end, the host took home the crystal trophy, as Paul defeated Roger Mason of the New Orleans Pelicans in the championship match.

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would go on to a three-decade career teaching political science at UNLV. “He had me doing research for his legislation, and the issue of atomic veterans and testing came up. He asked me to look into it for him—and it turned into a book.” (The book, Bombs in the Backyard: Atomic Testing and American Politics, was published in 1986, with a second edition in 2001.)

Titus’ research inspired her early on to fght the proposed nuclear-waste repository at Yucca Mountain, and now she’s fghting the plan again.

The fact that she is still having to fght this fght against a foe Nevada thought it had already beaten reminds me of one of my favorite Cannon stories. I asked him what would have happened if Louisiana’s Senator Bennett Johnston had introduced the bill to route waste there while he was still a senator.

“He wouldn’t have, because I was a committee chairman with seniority,” Cannon said. “He knew I would have made Louisiana disappear.”

That’s partly how Congress worked—and sometimes still works.

We can all learn a lot from Cannon.

Titus did, and her desk is a quiet reminder of that.

As we roll into our third month of triple-digit temperatures, it’s easy to get the summertime blues. But some great dog-days promotions give reason for good cheer.

• Flying under the radar at the moment is a good “free money” deal at the Plaza and Las Vegas Club Downtown. These casinos, under the same ownership, have dually launched a new players club with some good features for new sign-ups, the best of which is a $100 loss rebate. Play away with a hundred bucks and, if you lose it, get it back in two installments.

• On the Strip, the Tropicana is offering the same deal, only with a maximum rebate of $200. Here, too, losses are refunded in two installments (30 days apart). So that’s a $300 free-shot ($400 if you add in the $100 deal at the Cosmo), which gives you a lot of room to gamble with impunity while looking for something to go your way.

• Another deal for gamblers runs at the Four Queens in August, where you get a $25 bonus when you hit—naturally—four queens in video poker. With the Queens’ good video poker schedules, this is a nice perk. The bonus doesn’t graduate with higher coin denominations, so it’s worth the most when you play quarters.

• By now, you’re ready for a drink, and a good place to start is the newly opened McFadden’s in the Town Square shopping district. This place digs happy hours and runs several variations, including half-price appetizers and drinks all day on Mondays, free drinks for ladies from 9 to midnight on Tuesdays, and bottomless Bloody Marys and mimosas for $20 on Sundays.

• The Venetian is running “Drink Us Dry Saturdays.” Buy a ticket for the 10 p.m. showing of Rock of Ages and drink unlimited domestic beer in the Zebra Lounge from 8 to 10, or pay $25 for an upgrade to an unlimited open bar.

• Corkage! If you’re a wine guy (or girl) you know that certain restaurants will let you bring in your own stash, then open it for you and let you use their glasses for a fee. In some places the fee is nominal, while others charge to the point where it’s hardly worth bothering. In all of Vegas, I know of only two restaurants that charge nothing for corkage. The first is Pinot Brasserie at the Venetian, which has offered this deal for several years. The second is Todd’s Unique Dining in Henderson, where corkage is waived on Wednesdays.

• All I can say is it’s about time. Steak ’n Shake at South Point has a happy hour daily from 2 to 4 p.m., with 50 percent off select milkshakes. No beer. No wine. Just shakes.

Drink responsibly.

Michael Green is a professor of history at the College of Southern Nevada.

Anthony Curtis is the publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor and LasVegasAdvisor.com.

Fighting On, From the Desk of a Legend

August 8–14, 2013

Dina Titus sits at Senator Howard Cannon’s old desk.

Here’s why that’s meaningful.

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THE MAHOGANY-AND-LEATHER DESK is historic in its own right, custommade for the Russell Senate Offce Building in Washington, D.C., when it opened in 1909. Senator Howard Cannon of Nevada used to sit behind it. Now it’s in the Las Vegas offce of Representative Dina Titus, and that says a lot about Titus and Nevada’s history.

In spring 1982, Titus spent a semester in Washington, D.C. on a faculty internship for Cannon, a Democrat then fnishing his fourth term. That fall, Cannon lost his re-election bid. In those days, a senator could take his desk with him. Cannon did. When he died in 2002, his daughter, Nancy Downey, inherited the desk. Earlier this year, she told Titus she could use it. It was an offer Titus couldn’t refuse.

“It’s an honor to have it and that Nancy would trust me with it,” Titus says. “I think that working for Senator Cannon led me to be interested in running for offce, so it’s a wonderful thing to sit behind his desk today and have his picture on the wall to remind me to do the right thing.”

Titus is one of many who went to Washington to work for members of Congress and came away with their lives changed. Senator Pat McCarran was most famous in Nevada history

for helping residents get through law school, after which they would come home and enter public service.

Cannon continued the tradition of pointing young Nevadans in that direction—he even hosted Titus’ frst fundraiser when she ran for state Senate in 1988—and now Titus and other members of the Nevada delegation have taken the baton.

Cannon represents what has become a lost art in Washington: He worked well with his colleagues on both sides of the aisle. He could be conservative on some issues (he was about as big a supporter of defense projects as you could hope to fnd) and moderate to liberal on many others. He was a shrewd customer, and he understood how to cut an effective legislative deal.

His accomplishments ranged from funding numerous federal projects here to getting Nevada a rebate on slot-machine taxes that could be spent on education.

Titus has fond memories of her time with Cannon, which helped shape her career not only as a politician but also as a scholar who

DINA TITUS PHOTOGRAPH BY BRYAN HAINER

GAMBLING, CORKAGE, AND A MILKSHAKE HAPPY HOUR

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THOUGHT

After the Fire

Climate-change science shifs into damage-control gear

By Heidi Kyser

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steroids. In our case, drought adds fuel to wildfres, causing them to burn more ferociously.

If humans slowed the causeeffect chain of climate change, it would take the steroids away from the storms. In the meantime, however, we have to prepare for them to continue.

Citing data from various U.S. government departments and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Weiss notes that the feds spend six times as much on disaster relief for extreme weather events related to climate change as on preparedness.

At the same time, every dollar invested in preparedness saves $4 on future damages. What does this preparedness look like? Often, it has to do with infrastructure. Take wildfres: Planners could incorporate buffer zones between burn areas and the built environment.

Pat Mulroy, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, says extreme weather is the problem that keeps her up at night. SNWA was one of the founding members of a

climate alliance among water utilities formed in 2007, and Mulroy says the authority—one of the largest power consumers in the state—has been working to reduce its carbon footprint by implementing more energy-effcient opera-

from, has been devastated by drought, and it’s not abating; it’s getting worse,” she says. “I think we’re headed into two very ugly years.”

SNWA began talking about adaptation to climate change 13 years ago, Mulroy says. When

“WE’LL CONTINUE TO SEE CHANGE IN CLIMATE, SO WE NEED TO PREPARE COMMUNITIES TO WITHSTAND EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS.” tions and installing solar panels at pumping stations. At the same time, she says, Southern Nevada has made impressive strides in water conservation.

But that won’t stop the slowmoving disaster of drought that’s sapping our water sources, she says. “The Colorado River system, which is where 90 percent of our water comes

many other utilities were ramping up efforts to reduce their carbon footprint and mitigate impacts, SNWA was focusing on the damage already done.

The third intake at Lake Mead is one example of planning for contingencies that once seemed extreme and now seem inevitable. Cities, Mulroy says, are operating on a 19th- and

20th-century infrastructure that wasn’t built for the current environment. Everyone will have to change the way they deliver, consume and manage resources; just look at the impact of Hurricane Sandy on New York and New Jersey. As millions of residents foundered without power—some for weeks on end— utility executives talked of smart meters, redundancy and other upgrades that would prepare the area for similar future disasters. These improvements are costly, cumbersome and a tough sell, because they entail disruptions to current systems and cost increases to rate/taxpayers.

“Sometimes you feel like Sisyphus,” Mulroy says. “It just keeps getting worse as you put measures into place. And you can’t build these projects overnight.”

But consider how Sisyphus’ task would have gone if an entire city of 2 million lined up behind him to help push that boulder. That’s what would happen if every citizen of Southern Nevada did his part to reduce the carbon that’s leading us to disaster.

PHOTO BY ANTHONY MAIR

August 8–14, 2013

SINCE THE MOUNT CHARLESTON FIRE

burned itself out in late July, a few commentaries have noted that, in some ways, it was a best-case scenario. Although it torched 28,000 acres of natural habitat, it took few human structures and no human life.

Residents of Nevada should get used to such silver-lining thinking, because this won’t be the last time we see our forest go up in fames.

Climate change is setting the stage for more extreme weather events, such as the Mount Charleston fre, prompting climate scientists and policymakers to move beyond simply convincing people that climate change is factual and focus on damage control. Among the experts speaking at the yearly National Clean Energy Summit on August 13 at Mandalay Bay will be a panel addressing the topic of resilience in the face of extreme weather. They’ll set out to connect the dots between investment in clean energy and the growing incidence of severe hurricanes, foods, tsunamis, wildfres and the like.

Daniel J. Weiss, who directs climate strategy at the Center for American Progress, says it lays out like this: Power plants are among the two biggest carbon polluters, along with motor vehicles; carbon in the atmosphere contributes to climate change, heating the planet; recent research links climate change to extreme weather events. Therefore, we must reduce the carbon that power plants produce in order to slow down climate change and the extreme weather related to it.

Unfortunately, the extreme weather train has already left the station. “While we’re reducing the carbon responsible for climate change, we’ll continue to see change in climate,” Weiss says. “So we need to prepare communities to withstand these extreme weather events.”

Of course, natural disasters happen without climate change; lightning strikes caused the Mount Charleston wildfre, for instance. What climate change does, however, is put these natural events on

Photo by tK

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August 8–14, 2013

talized east side can be found in places like the Cardenas market. As the Hispanic community stabilizes and matures in the coming years, its political and economic influence will likely grow.

Bilingual second-and-third

a place to start, because it’s the older, smaller homes. There was a period of time where we had a lot of Hispanic families where you’d have two or three families in one house. You don’t see that as much anymore, because once they get on their

“Change comes slow.

It’s a matured town; you can’t build out, so you have to BUild from within.” he says. “I think it would be beneficial to the whole area if there was a major master plan done by the county, and to bring in input from a vast number of residents and get them to come to community meetings to get some real planning going on.”

Even without such an organized effort, seeds of a revi-

generation families—if they remain on the east side— would help integrate the area into the cultural fabric of the wider Valley. That, in turn, would lead to more opportunities and greater vibrancy for the whole community.

This process is already under way, Denis says. “For a lot of people, the east side has been

feet and save some money, they get their own home.”

One idea that has been suggested to boost the east side’s economic prospects and lift its profile within the Valley is the development of a Latino Village—perhaps along Eastern Avenue or Nellis Boulevard—much like Chinatown, which took shape along

Spring Mountain Road in the late ’90s. The area could, for instance, include a Latino restaurant row to draw foodies to the east side for authentic Mexican, Cuban and Salvadoran cuisine. Coffin, the only Hispanic member of the City Council, supports such a concept but believes it can’t be created by government fiat—only organically, with community members gradually putting together the pieces.

That’s consistent with a refrain you hear from eastsiders: The area’s people—more than outside developers or government projects—will be the vehicle of its revitalization.

It’s that mindset that has kept Denis on the east side for four decades, and excited about what the future holds. “We’ve looked at moving,” he says, “but every time we think about it, it’s about just going a little farther east, up on Sunrise where there are bigger houses.

I’ve always loved the east side. Sure, there’s some great views from the Strip and other places, but for me, looking at Sunrise Mountain, that’s what I grew up with.”

August 8–14, 2013

and there ought to be strong commercial opportunities along the major arterials.

And it’s been a source of disappointment to me that, to some extent, that hasn’t happened, and that there has been some deterioration,”

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is wearing out,” Coffin says.

“And the City staff understands that; the Council members understand that.

They know that they don’t have to replace pipes under Summerlin or at Peccole Ranch; it’s new. The majority of the City’s maintenance and rehabilitation money is going to have to go to the east side of Las Vegas for decades.”

The City has proposed expansion of one of its two official Redevelopment Areas to include three northern portions of Charleston Boulevard, stretching from Eastern Avenue to just east of Lamb Boulevard. Being designated as a Redevelopment Area would allow business owners there to apply for financial assistance for exterior improvements or help bring a property up to code.

Woodbury, a Las Vegas native who served on the County Commission for more than 27 years, says he is concerned that unless a comprehensive plan is drafted for the east side, it will continue to fall into decline.

“It ought to be one of the premier residential areas,

NIGHTLIFE

Holland’s Household Name

Talking hip-hop and drops with Dutch House crossover star Sidney Samson

August 8–14, 2013

By Sam Glaser

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SIDNEY SAMSON HAS emerged from Holland’s DJ proving grounds with a signature blend of hip-hop-inspired, dropheavy electro-house. Most recently, he’s been collaborating with the likes of Will.I.Am and Far East Movement, officially remixing pop stars from Lady Gaga to Mariah Carey, and headlining stages from Ibiza to Mexico City. Catch the Wynn Resorts resident when he drops into Encore Beach Club on August 16.

You started DJing hip-hop when you were 14, and began transitioning to house around 1999 at the age of 18.

What signals told you that it was time to make that move?

A friend of mine was a house/ trance DJ at the time, and he said, “Why don’t you just go along one day and see how

the parties are where I play?”

So I joined him, and I saw the crowd go crazy, jumping and showing respect to the DJ, like, “Great set!” And I said, “Yeah, I love this energy way more!”

How did your hip-hop beginnings affect your style today?

I blend hip-hop stuff with the house music nowadays, but it’s also the way that I am DJing. I never mix a song for two minutes or something. It’s always quick transitions, using a lot of acapellas and mixing up house like I’m playing hip-hop. In hip-hop, you don’t have a two-minute intro and then a one-minute break and then a drop for two minutes.

It’s all really quick—you frst have to have the hook, and then it goes to the verse and back, and it all goes around in three or 3 � minutes. I’m trying to keep that same energy in my house productions.

Has the Wynn been a good place for you to embrace both sides of the spectrum, house and hip-hop?

Yeah! I’d never been to Vegas before I actually played there.

[Originally] they told me that it was mostly hip-hop, and now it’s mostly house music. But people still love hip-hop, and of course there is still hip-hop music everywhere in Vegas. What I’m doing now when I’m playing Vegas is the combination of hip-hop, house music and trap music—it’s all like a big mix.

How does trap ft in?

Trap is really a perfect transition to go from hip-hop to house music. You have a hiphop song, and then the sounds of the trap music is like a house song, so it’s not strange to hear hip-hop, then trap and then house music. It feels natural.

One song’s on 48 BPM, one is 38 BPM and, the way I mix it, it still feels like one mix. It’s all a story.

What’s the future of hiphop in the electronic dance music era?

Hip-hop will always be there, because there are too many people who love it. But I think only the biggest hip-hop artists will really make it. And in house music, even if you are smaller, you can still make a living. I think that’s the difference.

Massive, bass-heavy drops— that’s what you’re personally known for. What is the most important part of producing the drop?

The most important thing is that it has be like a jewel that you can remember. The hook has to be something catchy,

and the bass has to be low. That is the key: The bass has to be hard and low, and the hook has to be easy to sing along to and remember. That’s the most simplistic thing, but that’s the hardest part!

You’ve worked with some really serious crossover players, including Kylie Minogue, David Guetta, Martin Solveig, Flo Rida, Will.I.Am and, most recently, Mariah Carey.

What’s the secret to a great collaboration?

The secret is that one can do something that the other can’t.

Now, when I am in the studio with a producer who is also a great producer, then sometimes nothing comes out because it’s like having two captains on a ship. But when I have a great songwriter, I can’t write and the songwriter can’t make beats. So that’s great collaboration! Or, if there’s one producer who’s really good in melodies and I’m better in beats, you can achieve the impossible together and make it hotter.

The story behind the Dirty Dutch sound—get it at VegasSeven.com/Sidney-Samson.

NIGHTLIFE

Post-Pomp

Punk rock isn’t dead—it’s being channeled by Adrian Lux

By Grace Bascos

August 8–14, 2013

AT JUST 27 YEARS OLD, Adrian Lux (a.k.a. Prinz Adrian Johannes Hynne) has already led two prolifc lives, frst as a punk-rock guitarist and then as a DJ/producer. His 2010 debut, the indie-heavy track “Teenage Crime,” was nominated for a Grammy. And his latest single, “Damaged,” showcases his crossover appeal. While a lot of electronic-dance-music acts might seek to collaborate with hiphop artists, Lux joined forces with Swedish indie darling Alva Tang and post-punk guitarist Nico Malmstedt to create this dreamy, harmonious tune.

The Swede, who recently moved to Los Angeles, has been in Las Vegas several times this summer thanks to his monthly Wynn Resorts residency—his next show is August 16 at Surrender—but also to play the main stage at Electric Daisy Carnival in June. Now on a North American tour, Lux talks about how he got into EDM, where he thinks the scene might be going and why he’s reserving his ears for his own music.

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How long have you been DJing and producing?

I have been playing since I was 16, so that’s 11 years now.

I was hanging out with a lot of people back then who were down with hip-hop, so that became my interest, too. I discovered DJing and producing through that.

Coming from a punk-rock background, how do you

translate that sensibility into electronic music?

It’s all about music at the end of the day. I’m trying to always do something fresh and support sounds that I like and maintain my sound. There are always ways to combine different genres, good and bad.

Do you ever go back to just playing guitar, “unplugging,” so to speak?

Yes, sometimes in the studio I will just work with the simplest things. It’s all about fnding inspiration in something. It can be a guitar riff or just a simple phrase.

Having played in Las Vegas a few times now, and the main stage at Electric Daisy Carnival, what does Las Vegas represent on the map of electronic music?

It’s defnitely a big part of the EDM scene. Everyone is playing here, and it has become like a new Ibiza.

What are the main differences between the U.S. scene and the European scene?

It depends on where you go; they are both very big territories, so it’s hard to say.

It used to be more laid-back techno and house vibe in Europe, and U.S. crowds usually were going harder. But since this genre of music has become so big, the different parts of the world inspire each other, which is a good thing because then there will be room for not just one thing in one territory.

Instead of collaborating with urban/hip-hop artists, as is common in the U.S., you’ve chosen more indie, post-punk artists.

Where does electronic

music go from here?

I guess I just have to feel it.

If it would make sense to do a rap feature I would do it, but it has to ft in my world and sound. I have worked with more indie because I feel it’s representative of my vibe and who I am. But that doesn’t mean I’m ruling out different stuff; I’m just sensitive in the way I want to do it. We will see more different types of DJs and sounds. It’s already happening, so the most important thing these days is to have a strong integrity.

What have you been listening to lately in your free time?

[Laughs] It sucks, but I don’t really have any time to get into that much music except my own stuff and the collaborators I’m working with. I have so many new ideas and songs, so I need my ears for that! But I kind of like that “Ho, Hey” song!

Keep up with Adrian Lux and his Wynn Resorts residency by following @Adrian_Lux on Twitter.

Nightlife

Starry-eyed 26-year-old

singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding has been on a roll since her 2010 debut, Lights, and its international-charttopping single of the same name. Her signature blend of angelic vocals over electro-leaning melodies has led to collaborations with Skrillex, Zedd and fellow Brit Calvin Harris—accomplishments all trumped by her performance at Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding.

Goulding was in town July 26 to do a rare DJ set at Surrender. Before taking the helm, she took some time out from touring with Bruno Mars to answer a few questions.

August 8–14, 2013

In 2010 your Lights album became a massive commercial success. In retrospect, what was special about Lights?

I think that at the time it was a refreshing thing for a singer-songwriter to be so heavily into electronic music. It’s a very honest album about everything.

I think people found that appealing because there was so much music around at the time that wasn’t honest enough.

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The Queen of English Electro-Pop Ellie Goulding talks about Lights, electronic infuences and her frst anthem

By Sam Glaser

You recently told Elle, “I have such an affnity with electronic music that I can’t step away from it.” How did you get into electronic music, and where do you see the genre evolving?

I grew up on electronic music because my mum listened to it constantly.

It was [her] escape from everything. It was very much in my system, and everything I listened to, I started to compare it to electronic music. So it became a big reference point for me. I feel like there was a big burst of EDM in the last couple of years, but in the same way that we had a big burst of garage music in the U.K. at one point, I think EDM is now a solidifed genre, whether it’s combined with pop or alternative music or standing alone.

What do you think accounts for the recent British Invasion of

female pop singers like yourself, Adele, Lily Allen, etc., and how is your sound different from American singers who are working in similar genres?

People always tell me that my voice is unique and that separates my music most of the time. Also, I see everyone’s efforts in music as being individual. No one has the same upbringing. I had a very poor upbringing and then went to university, and all of those experiences have shaped my sound.

How was performing at Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding, and what experience could ever possibly top that?

Nothing, ha!

You’re re-releasing your Halcyon album—what will be different about it?

It’s coming out with quite a few extra tracks. I’m really excited about the additions, and hope my fans will be, too.

You’ve done some unique social media contests.

What’s been the most interesting?

The Vine contest for “Burn” was really great—my fans are so cute and creative. I loved watching everything they came up with.

Your new music video for “Burn” got more than 8 million YouTube views in the frst few weeks.

What are the meanings and emotions behind that track?

It’s the frst song that I’ve done that I really feel like is anthemic in the sense that people interpret it for their own situation. I think it has a really positive feeling to it; it’s about coming together, as cheesy as that sounds.

What have been the most exciting and challenging aspects of your summer tour with Bruno Mars?

The only challenge is that it’s hard to adjust to playing in such a big room, sound-wise. It changes the ambiance dramatically.

However, that has been the only real challenge— everything else about it has been incredible, so there are no complaints here!

NIGHTLIFE

PARTIES

TAO BEACH The Venetian [ UPCOMING ]

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See more photos from this gallery at SPYONVegas.com

PHOTOGRAPHY BY POWERS IMAGERY

August 8–14, 2013

Aug. 30 DJ Five spins Aug. 31 Eric D-Lux spins Sept. 1 Trinidad Jame$ performs

NIGHTLIFE

PARTIES

WET REPUBLIC MGM Grand [ UPCOMING ]

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See more photos from this gallery at SPYONVegas.com

PHOTOGRAPHY BY TOBY ACUNA AND TEDDY FUJIMOTO

August 8–14, 2013

Aug. 9 SpyOn Hot 100 Aug. 10 Tiësto and Tony Arzadon spin Aug. 11 Aokify Splash Vegas

NIGHTLIFE

PARTIES

LIQUID Aria

[ UPCOMING ]

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See more photos from this gallery at SPYONVegas.com

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARIO GARCIA

August 8–14, 2013

Aug. 8 Industry Thursdays Aug. 11 Social Sundays Aug. 14 Vibe Wednesdays

NIGHTLIFE

PARTIES

TAO

The Venetian [ UPCOMING ]

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See more photos from this gallery at SPYONVegas.com

PHOTOGRAPHY BY POWERS IMAGERY

August 8–14, 2013

Aug. 29 Ice Cube hosts Aug. 30 Trey Songz hosts Sept. 1 Kaskade spins

Gastro Fare. Nurtured Ales. Jukebox Gold.

Drinking

ASK A SOMM

By Lindsey Whipple, Advanced Sommelier

“Whenever we go out to dinner, a friend of mine always claims to be allergic to wine. Is this even possible?”

Every night working the foor as a sommelier I would have a guest who claimed to have wine allergies.

Although some are likely imagined or misattributed hangovers, it is defnitely possible to have real allergic reactions to wine. Luckily for my guests, I am sommelier plagued with actual wine allergies and intolerances, so I am familiar with their pain.

The three main culprits resulting in negative reactions of wine consumption are sulftes, histamines and alcohol. Sulftes are used to preserve wine from oxidation. Typical sulfte allergic symptom is the “wine headache.” U.S. food and beverage labels must declare the presence of sulftes if the product contains a detectable level, defned as 10 parts per million or more. Most wines contain sulftes, although some wines, such as organically-made ones, are sulfte-free.

However, most negative reactions to wine are not the product of allergies, but of intolerance to histamines and alcohol. Histamines are a natural byproduct of fermented beverages.

Most people can metabolize histamines, but if you cannot, you could experience sneezing, itching, asthma or fushing of the skin.

Alcohol intolerance is genetic, and is most common to people of Asian or Native American descent.

Intolerance to alcohol is caused by the absence of the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase. Symptoms are similar to histamine intolerance.

However rare, severe symptoms such as anaphylactic shock, vomiting and hives can occur. Talk to your physician about an allergy and intolerance test if any symptoms arise when drinking wine or alcoholic beverages.

August 8–14, 2013

award that counts. Only one restaurant in Las Vegas has three Michelin stars, and that is Joël Robuchon in MGM Grand.

Pretty as they are on the walls, these awards can also be useful to wine consumers. If the restaurant has an award from the second highest or highest levels of wine awards, the wine experience should be solid. And if it has at least one Michelin star, so much the better.

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“Every restaurant seems to boast having this award or that. What goes into these awards, and what do they mean for me, the wine customer?”

Those fashionable awards hung in dining rooms around the world are likely Wine Spectator’s Restaurant Wine List Awards, Wine Enthusiast’s Best Wine Restaurant Awards and—if they’re lucky—the coveted Michelin star.

There are three levels within each award. Award of Excellence (Wine Spectator) and Award of Distinction (Wine Enthusiast) are basic-level honors recognizing the combination of quality wine producers with a thematic match to menu, at least 100 selections. Restaurants in this category are typically at an affordable price point. Ferraro’s Italian Restaurant has received both, and delivers value for quality wine and dining experience.

Best of Award of Excellence (Wine Spectator) and Award of Unique Distinction (Wine Enthusiast) indicates a restaurant with 400-plus selections along with vintage depth, vertical offerings of top wines and various selections from around the world as well as harmony of service and menu.

Recent Best of Award winner Twist

by Pierre Gagnaire in the Mandarin Oriental has three seasonal tasting menus from which to choose that showcase wines and cuisines from all over the world.

The highest awards, the Grand Award (Wine Spectator) and Award of Ultimate Distinction (Wine Enthusiast), represent less than 7 percent of the awards given out, restaurants with wine lists of more than 1,500 selections showing a serious breadth, plus superior service and menu harmony.

In 2003, Picasso in Bellagio and Aureole in Mandalay Bay were the frst two restaurants in Las Vegas to receive a Grand Award. In the decade since, both have received the Grand Award due to their exceptional pairing menus and extensive wine books to get lost in.

Michelin Guide gives a restaurant 1, 2 or 3 stars based on an anonymous inspector’s overall experience of the restaurant, including the greeting by the host, restrooms, service, wine list, etc.—and even getting one star is a feat. Fine-dining establishments deem the Michelin star the only

drinking Dining

[ Scene StirS ]

August 8–14, 2013

For Hakkasan’s Smoky Negroni recipe, visit VegasSeven.com/ Cocktail-Culture.

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You May Approach the Bar nOw that the smoke has settled following the opening of Las Vegas’ newest nightlife and dining complex, it’s safe for cocktailians to approach the restaurant’s bar to enjoy some of the more geeky menu elements. Chic and pretty as she is, Hakkasan has plenty to keep their attention. The Plum Sour ($15) is the menu’s darling, a blend of Yamakazi 12–Year whisky, umeshu (plum liqueur), lemon juice, Angostura bitters and egg

white. Also alluring is the Lingering Garden ($15), made from Hangar One Spiced Pear vodka, Nashi pear (Asian pear), saffron, nigori sake, Dolin Rouge de Chambéry and lemon juice.

But of all of former beverage director Gian Carlo D’Urso’s creations, the most captivating is the Smoky Negroni ($17). Listed frst on the menu, the classic combination of gin—in this case, Ransom Old Tom—Antica Formula

sweet vermouth and Campari gets the Michelin-starred Hakkasan treatment. It goes into a decanter, where it is swirled with smoke from woodchips that have been soaked in Grand Marnier. A bit theatrical, yes, but not without purpose. The result is a more delicate, wider-appealing Negroni, and one with just a kiss of Cognac and orange. A cocktail with character is always a good call.

I’m writing this week from Calistoga, California, waiting out the dog days of summer in the north end of the historic Napa Valley.

This is my fourth trip here (and I’ll have a full report of what’s new, noteworthy and oh-so delicious soon enough), but my four visits is nothing compared with Domaine chandon, which this year celebrates four decades in the Valley. Moët & Chandon founded the first French-owned winery in the area in 1973. In honor of the occasion, Domaine Chandon has released a nonvintage 40th Anniversary Cuvée Rosé, a winery-only special ($40). But if you can’t run for the vined hills just this moment, you can still toast to another 40 years of Chandon at Tao and Lavo restaurants, at Tao Beach’s Sunday brunch and at Bubbles & Brunch at the Cosmopolitan’s Overlook Grill.

Back at home, Las Vegas has one new master sommelier to count among its august ranks. As if to exemplify the point made by the 2012 documentary Somm— which chronicles the white-knuckled panic that is the exam only 202 candidates have passed in four decades—nick Hetzle of Sage in Aria was the one candidate in 70 invited to take the increasingly difficult three-part master sommelier exam in Dallas last month. So maybe think twice about trying to one-up Hetzle to impress your dinner guests—he can probably swirl, sniff and spit circles around you!

If the hometown heat is getting to you, too, head to Sugar Factory (SugarFactory.com), which recently rolled out its own cocktail cart. The hybrid cart makes cocktails tableside, but also can give drinks such as the cotton candy-flavored Cosmopolitan and candy-inspired creations including the Jolly Rancher, S’Mores and Hubba Bubba the liquid nitrogen treatment.

Another cooling notion, beer has been called “the most democratic, egalitarian, and open source of all beverages.” Millionaires can make it, and so can you. As of last month, homebrewing is legal in all 50 states. (Thank you, Mississippi!) And now, thanks to the proliferation of the growler, there are more ways to enjoy that experience in your own backyard.

At total Wine & More in Henderson, a 3-month-old growler station allows you to stock up on draft craft, 12 varieties—includes at least one local and some more exclusive one-offs—using your own growler (32- or 64-ounce glass or stainless steel sealable beer vessels) or purchasing one there for $4-$5. Growler fillups range from $7-$29 depending on your taste. Like Total Wine & More Henderson’s Facebook page to see what’s on tap. Similarly, Whole Foods Market in Henderson got in on the same act with six taps. Fillups will run you $8-$24 with $4 growlers. Like Whole Foods Market Henderson on Facebook to see Friday’s beer updates. – X.W.

Photo by Kin Lui

Birthday BuBBly, Chilling Out and Craft Beer fOr all

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ence of the brain and how the neurons connect.”

Like many sufferers, Evans’ tendency toward depressive episodes was deepened by life’s challenges and tragedies.

Recently, she lost her brother, Edward Miller, to cancer; a close family friend was killed in a car wreck; and she went through a divorce, all within six months.

“I had panic attacks and night terrors, and a lot of them got really bad. Sometimes it got to the point of, ‘Well, OK, if I die, then …,’ she says, leaving the rest unspoken. “My therapist said, ‘I think you’ve had post-traumatic stress with all you’ve been through.’ I went to counseling for a while, and my counselor showed me ways to make your brain reconnect.

Because of experiences you have, they connect in a certain way. And then when you go through all that, you retrain your brain, and it will literally, physically change who you are.”

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Evans’ paintings address depression and anxiety in terms of the wiring of the brain with “Sum Total of All” and “Burial” (top), and from an emotional standpoint in “My Secret Self” (above) and “My Wildest Dreams” (right).

Layers as psychic symbolism.

Layers as the complexities of personality. Layers of … Alfred Hitchcock?

“I started watching a lot of Alfred Hitchcock flms, like Strangers on a Train and Vertigo,” she says, then explains her fascination with the latter flm, which replaced Citizen Kane as the best flm of all time in a 2012 critics’ poll in Sight & Sound, a magazine published by the British Film Institute. “[Jimmy Stewart plays] a really great guy who turns into this psycho, and you think, ‘Where did that come from? Do we all have a side like that, and where are those layers?” she says.

“We all have things happen

to us. People have repressed memories that cause anxiety.

There’s panic, but there’s also greatness inside of people and it gets hidden by the anxiety.

My work is about that as well, looking at the crap the world has put on you and discovering yourself, who you really are inside, recognizing your own strength and abilities. I had to go through that, too. I had to reach deep down inside of me, because there were mornings I didn’t want to get up.”

Some Evans pieces are portraits of turbulence (“Night Terrors,” “Calm Before the Storm,” “My Secret Self”); others are the psyche on the mend (“Discovering Happiness,”

“Beyond the Fear,” “Clearing Vision”); still others are simply abstract depictions of the subconscious at work when the body is at rest (“Lucid Dreams,” “Worries and Wishes”).

Duality is a hallmark of “Night Terrors,” its nearly

blood-red backdrop dotted with odd, lighthearted counterpoints. “You wake up and there’s this intensity to what you’re feeling, but then there are happy things, like the roses in there,” she says. “You’re trying to make sense of things.”

“Sum ToTal of all” and “my WildeST dreamS” PhoToS by beverly PoPPe

August 8–14, 2013

••• Both the soul and the brain are depicted in It’s All In Your Head, just as patients with depression are ideally treated with both psychotherapy that delves into the psyche and pharmacology that targets those misfring neurons and knotted-up synapses.

Several paintings revealing the latter are intriguing for putting an aesthetic and impressionistic spin on images that recall slide-show photos of microscopic bodily cells from high school science class. Clinical artistry, if you will.

On a more charged, visceral level, however, Evans explores what she terms “hidden layers of consciousness” through “emotional excavation,” approximating that by layering her artwork via paper, paint and graphite. Set against bold colors—some foreboding and bleak, in shades of black, gray and deep purple; others rebounding into cheerier oranges and yellows, refective of depressives regaining emotional balance—her diverse materials are collaged together.

Disparate cutout images—an eye here, a heart there, a pair of shoes somewhere else—foat through the tableaus as they would in enigmatic dreams we can’t quite interpret, but suggest the layers of ourselves.

In “My Secret Self,” Evans takes the Vertigo theme to its painterly conclusion, as what appears to be a predatory animal looks toward potential prey. “This is my crazy bipolar,” she says. “You see the angel wings there? That’s your angelic self, but you have this darker side that maybe you don’t want everybody to see or even admit is there.”

Conversely, “My Wildest Dreams” embraces the psyche on an exultant upswing, its title inspired by the 1986 Moody Blues song, “Your Wildest Dreams.” Connecting the piece to her love of the Moodies, she notes that many fans of the progressive rockers who see them in concert report having supernatural experiences, or at the very least feel spiritually airborne.

“I love fying in my dreams, these wild, crazy dreams,” she says. “In one I few back to the house where I grew up in Georgia. I had painful childhood experiences, as we all have. I was taking pine cones off the trees and throwing them like bombs at my house. But I’ve also dreamed entire musicals. I don’t know how to write music, but the songs were there. Barry Manilow has said he’s written songs in dreams, and Billy Joel.”

August 8–14, 2013

•••

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It’s All In Your HeAd Can artistry of any sort exist

bY MArYlou evAns without the demons—and the victories over them—that are 12:30-9 p.m. attendant to artists of all kinds?

Wed-Fri, 9 a.m.-6 Addressing the link between p.m. Sat through depression and creativity, September 28, both clinically and anecdotCharleston ally, a Psychology Today article Heights Arts published in November cited Center, 800 S. psychotherapist Eric Maisel’s Brush St., free, claims that virtually 100 per229-6383, Artscent of creative people suffer LasVegas.org. from bouts of depression.

Theorizing about the causes, the article noted: “Some say that—like many therapists—artists and writers engage in their special line of work as a kind of self-therapy for depression. Others claim that the experience of depression provides a valuable subject matter for artistic creations, as witnessed

by Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream’ and Emily Dickinson’s poem, ‘There’s a Certain Slant of Light.’ Finally, some claim that artists cannot truly understand and artistically express the human condition unless they have experienced the lowest of emotional lows.”

Those of us who have fought this mental/ emotional fog that often envelopes us and sometimes threatens to swallow us will immediately feel kinship with both the artist and her art in It’s All in Your Head, in which Evans uses both talent and honesty to combat anxiety and depression.

“A lot of who you are comes out in your art, even when you’re not trying to,” she says. “There’s a line from [Adventures of] Huckleberry Finn where he says, ‘You can’t pray a lie,’ and you can’t paint a lie either—if you’re painting from the heart.”

Souls that create are often souls that suffer, and the yin-yang between them is eternal. Renowned acting coach Stella Adler explained it thus: “Life beats down and crushes the soul, and art reminds you that you have one.”

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muSic

Brian Saliba (far left) answers questions at the Las Vegas Club Promoters panel.

Scaling Up

The Vegas Music Summit returned to help a scene that won’t always help itself

August 8–14, 2013

By Pj Perez

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Seth handler moved to Las Vegas from Los Angeles about a month ago. By day, he works in marketing. By night, he plays music with singer-songwriter Janelle Nikole, who’s been trying to make her own way through the local acoustic music scene. Handler says he’s already made inroads here faster than he ever could in L.A. “I’ve been able to meet someone in every little area in very little time,” Handler says, citing the compact size of Las Vegas—both physically and culturally—as a “pro.”

Furthering those connections was the reason he and Nikole attended the Vegas Music Summit, which was held August 1-3 in the Fremont East Entertainment District.

Launched Downtown in 2009 by longtime local promoter Brian Saliba and Rodel Delfn of L.A.-based artist management frm RM 64, this annual music business networking conference (think South by Southwest, but much smaller) returned to Fremont East after a year off. It offered strong programming both day and night, fulflling its mission of giving independent artists the chance to perform for industry professionals as well as to interact with those same insiders during workshops and mixers.

Given that rare opportunity to connect with A&R reps, producers, promoters and bookers—at the end

of the “A&R at the Majors” panel, reps from Virgin Records and Hollywood Records actually offered to listen to demos—the middling attendance at most panels (about 25 on average) calls into question just how serious local musicians are about succeeding in the entertainment industry.

Would it have been worth the $49 to $99 for a three-day conference pass for a member of an up-and-coming band to attend the “Las Vegas Club Promoters” panel to hear directly from bookers how to get onstage at local venues?

Maybe not, and that may speak to the state of Las Vegas’ music scene.

Among the local musicians who did make it to the daytime programming were members of Paper Tigers and Avalon Landing, both of which were booked to play the nighttime showcases—meaning free panel admission.

Paper Tigers founder Jason Juadines found the panels “educational,” and came to get “face-to-face” time with industry reps, in order to “bond the trust” that exists between artists and the people representing them. Avalon Landing’s Mike Vargovich, on the other hand, came to the Club Promoters panel to air his band’s grievances with a promoter.

It was at that panel where Live Nation’s Holmes “Homie” Pooser, who does booking and marketing for

the House of Blues Las Vegas, made known his own complaints with Las Vegas-based musicians, including lack of professionalism and the loss of community among local artists.

“It needs to get back to that,” he said, referring to the long-gone Boston Bar & Grill, a Spring Valley neighborhood venue that was the epicenter for the Vegas music scene more than a decade ago. Unlike that era, when bands flled the Boston to support each other, Pooser observed that bands don’t connect with each other anymore, a sentiment echoed by other promoters on the panel.

With the concentration of localfriendly venues on Fremont Street such as the Beauty Bar, Backstage Bar & Billiards and Fremont Country Club, however, it seems the opportunity exists for Vegas-based musicians to fnd a central area around which to rally, even if not in a singular venue such as the Boston or the Huntridge Theater (whether or not the latter returns to fulfll that purpose remains to be seen). At the “DTLV Players” panel, Carlos “Big Daddy” Adley even discussed plans to toss his tavern license for Fremont Country Club so he can produce 18-and-over shows in the traditionally 21-and-over area, another big step toward cementing Fremont East as the center of live music in Las Vegas.

Pooser says attending events such as the Vegas Music Summit or organizing formal mutual appreciation societies aren’t the solutions to rebuilding that sense of community in the local music scene. It’s much more organic than that, and much simpler.

“Go to each other’s shows,” Pooser said. “Get to know the bands you’re playing with. And stick around when your set’s over.”

i receive many odd emails from Las Vegas bands, but a recent YouTube link from Black Camaro takes the gourmet cupcake. The veteran indie-rockers sent me a 60-minute video called Michael Landon Don’t Give a Fuck, documenting the band’s 2004 tour across the U.S. in support of debut album White People Fucked Up the Blues. The disc turns 10 years old this month. In honor of the occasion, Camaro frontman Brian Garth edited hours of footage he found in his closet.

“We had brought a 16-track recorder, a bunch of mics and some video cameras on the road with us,” he says. “Songs were all tracked live at the shows.”

The result is a punchy collage of live footage with strong mixes and quirky “on the bus” sprinkled throughout.

“We admire the actor Michael Landon,” says Garth of the flm’s name. “We also wanted the title to be quirky and confusing.” Mission accomplished.

Let’s talk live music: Texas bluesman Gary Clark Jr. lights up Boulevard Pool at the Cosmopolitan at 8 p.m. August 8. Hailed as a fret board-shredder in the Jimi Hendrix mold, Clark is touring in support of last fall’s well-received Blak and Blu album. He’s a muscular, aggressive guitarist, and a song like “Ain’t Messin’ Round” confrms what it says. Clark wrote a blistering song about New York, “Bright Lights,” which hinges on fery and overdriven solo passages.

On a calmer note, Maui-born singersongwriter Anuhea “leis” down her islandvibin’ folk and R&B grooves at Vinyl in the Hard Rock at 10 p.m. Aug. 9. Her music falls in the Jack Johnson camp of easygoing surf-pop. Two albums into her career, Anuhea boasts a killer voice and enough original tunes to keep a crowd hooked.

This is good-time music for a summerbeach feeling.

The next evening (9 p.m. August 10), indie blues-rock trio the Dirty Hooks headline a cool lineup of local acts at Artifce. (Also on the bill: Love Vendetta, Revolve, DJ Day Won and the All Togethers.) The Hooks are raising their profle considerably this summer. They played last week’s Vegas Music Summit and are on the bill for the Boulevard Social Club Thursday-night summer concert series at the Cosmopolitan pool on August 15.

(This time with Goldboot, the McManus Project and DJ Mike Attack.) The Hooks have also been snagged to appear at Life Is Beautiful in October. Someone sign these guys, please.

Your Vegas band releasing a CD soon?

Email Jarret_Keene@Yahoo.com.

Photo by hew burney

camaro trackS, blueS lickS, iSland vibeS

EDWARD SHARPE & THE MAGNETIC ZEROS Boulevard Pool at the Cosmopolitan, August 1

Whether you were into the music or not, you couldn’t help but smile. Only minutes after the dozen or so musicians known as Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros took the stage, the audience interaction began. Lead singer Alex Ebert climbed down from the stage to sing with the audience as is his M.O. There was an audience-participation storytelling session during their most recognizable song “Home.” And the musicians rotated, giving different band members a shot at carrying the lead. However, a bit more of Jade Castrinos’ singing and a little less tambourine would have been welcome. With a good balance of selections from the band’s albums (including their new self-titled release), one could imagine this is what it must’ve been like to attend a hippie love fest in the ’60s—but in the best possible way. ★★★✩✩ – Deanna Rilling

DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES August 8–14, 2013

The Joint, August 3

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Filling The Joint for two nights, Hall & Oates showed why they are the most successful recording duo of all time. With a 14-song set that didn’t contain a song newer than 1984, their blend of pop, rock and soul remains as vibrant as it was 30 years ago.

Opening with “Out of Touch,” one of their six No. 1 singles to be played during the show, Hall & Oates were backed by a six-piece band that helped produce four- and five-part harmonies.

Hall’s powerful, soulful voice was in full range for ’70s light-rock staples “She’s Gone” and “Sara Smile,” while Oates took a turn on lead vocals for the lesser-known “Las Vegas Turnaround (The Stewardess Song)” and minor hit “How Does It Feel to Be Back,” giving a very Springsteenesque delivery.

From there, it was just hit after hit. The R&B-fueled “Maneater” and “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)” were fleshed out with saxophone solos from longtime band member Charles DeChant, the arrangements changed just enough to keep the songs fresh but still retain their original flavor.

Hall moved from guitar to keyboards for a two-encore finale of “Rich Girl,” “You Make My Dreams,” “Kiss On My List” and “Private Eyes,” drawing much of the crowd closer to the stage. Sure, there were a few hits left out (“One on One,” “Adult Education,” “Method of Modern Love”), but they still packed enough in over 90 minutes to where nobody was complaining. ★★★✩✩ – Sean DeFrank

EDWARD SHARPE PHOTO BY TEDDY FUJIMOTO; HALL & OATES PHOTO BY SCOTT HARRISON/ ERIK KABIK PHOTOGRAPHY

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CONCERTS

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POP CULTURE

Being Walter

Kennedy had a secretary named Lincoln, Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy and Breaking Bad’s Walter White has an unlikely dopplegänger

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OF ALL THE great tragedies facing us as a society, the fact that there are only eight remaining episodes of Breaking Bad has to rank among the most dire. (Sorry, overpopulation, peak oil and the continued existence of the word “selfe.” You had your chance.)

It’s a sad time for fans, yes, but it’s also bouncing-offthe-walls exciting as we get to the fnal run of one of television’s best series at 9 p.m.

August 11 on AMC. We only know a couple of things about this last stretch, most of which we gleaned from the Season 5 debut’s fash-forward sequence: Walter White will fnd himself on the run posing as a New Hampshireite with a fake name; he’ll be spending his 52nd birthday eating an ominous, lonely man’s breakfast; Ghost Mike will serve as a scrappy sidekick and comedic ne’er-do-well.

What we know overall is how series creator Vince Gilligan has repeatedly described the overreaching story arc of the series as Walt’s journey from Mr. Chips to Scarface. Which, as anyone who’s seen Scarface knows: Things didn’t work out so well for Scarface.

Aside from the Western shading and the general frontier sensibility the show adopts for its Southwest setting, though, Breaking Bad shares a spiritual connection to Las Vegas: Gilligan’s show pitch essentially describes Oscar Goodman’s career in reverse. (Careful: Everything moving forward is one long spoiler. Here be dragons.)

As far as starting points go,

when we’re frst introduced to Walter White, he’s mostly naked and careening his meth-lab RV out of control before a hurried video message to his family he precedes with, “To all law enforcement entities, this is not an admission of guilt.” He’s a cartoon— a two-dimensional Mr. Magoo of a drug lord who’s as endearing as he is toothless (in the metaphorical way, not in the meth-y way).

Shaken, out of his depth, confused about the way the legal system works and pantsless. It’s all so unGoodman-like, isn’t it? Not that Goodman ever reached “meth kingpin and nearchild-murderer” level, but coming out of law school in the ’60s, he did immediately

Gilligan pinpoints Walt’s turning point as coming early in the series—when he decides he’s going to cook meth to pay for his cancer treatments instead of accepting charity. But to most everyone else, Walt’s real heel turn came at the end of Season 2, when he allows Jane to choke

Bonham as he sleeps next to her. It just depends which way you’re trending on the side of angels.

The frst half of Season 5 sees a different Walt. He comes to rule a meth empire, serving an insatiable overseas market until, fnally, his wife takes him to a pile of money in a storage

ASIDE FROM THE WESTERN SHADING AND THE GENERAL FRONTIER SENSIBILITY THE SHOW ADOPTS FOR ITS SOUTHWEST SETTING, THOUGH, BREAKING BAD SHARES A SPIRITUAL CONNECTION TO LAS VEGAS. establish himself as the assured defender of men such as the “Mob’s Accountant” Meyer Lansky (who could’ve been the Gus Fring of organized crime). And Goodman did it in a suit. With pants and everything.

They each even had their justifcations for their dalliances with the criminal element: Walt was trying to make as much money as possible before cancer took its toll. Goodman has said he felt like he was protecting the sanctity of the legal system and combatting government overreach.

to death on her own vomit while she sleeps. He was right there; he could have done something. He didn’t. It was the point of no return.

It’s just like in ’99, when Goodman went from “the guy who battles the government” to merely “the government” upon being elected mayor. As far as career arcs go, there’s nothing that screams “turning point” quite like attaining a prominent offce, or watching while your crime partner’s meth-addled, blackmailing girlfriend goes full-on John

unit, asking him “I want my kids back. I want my life back.

Please tell me, how much is enough? How big does this pile have to be?” Walt agrees to give it up and is preparing for a life as kingpin emeritus.

Term limits did to Goodman what a giant mountain of cash did for Walt, and now that he’s out, he’s turned into something of a mascot for Las Vegas, as endearing as he is toothless.

(In the “can’t give direct orders to people and make the government spring into action” way, not in the “still exerts considerable infuence” way.

Or the meth-y way.)

There are other, smaller parallels with the show and Goodman. Both Walt and the former mayor are profoundly intertwined with strong women who exert themselves on the family business. They’ve both made boasts that could get them in trouble (Walt’s drunken bragging to DEA brotherin-law Hank that one-time suspect Gale was just copying another, smarter man’s work; Goodman telling a bunch of fourth-graders the one thing he’d take to a desert island would be gin). Walt had a narcorrido song written about him, Goodman played himself in Casino.

But then again, maybe we’re looking in the wrong place. Maybe the parallel isn’t so much with Walt. Maybe it’s between Goodman and Walt’s lawyer, Saul. Saul Goodman, in fact. When actor Bob Odenkirk was being interviewed about a potential spinoff based on his stripmall attorney, he told The New Republic, “Saul Goodman should be mayor of Las Vegas.

He could work in any city. It’s just that in Vegas he could be the mayor one day. He’d really be an upstanding citizen.”

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY CHRISTOPHER JONES

August 8–14, 2013

By Jason Scavone

sTAge

The D* WorD A lIghTWeIghT musIcAl coffee klATch lo,” “Shop Around,” “Turn Me On,” etc.

Particularly entertaining is Castro, vamping in a blond va-va-voom wig to Donna Summer’s “Hot Stuff,” belting out Carrie Underwood’s revenge anthem, “Before He Cheats,” and pairing with Wright for a rousing rendition of Diana Ross’ “It’s My Turn.”

When The D* Word cranks up the jukebox, the kvetch-fest gets less kvetchy and more zesty. Yet it can’t carry it over a major obstacle—a genre identity crisis.

Schizophrenically, The D* Word aspires to musical-comedy status with specifc characters (and even a dollop of a subplot about a man who comes between two of them), but comes off as a singers-and-zingers revue, the gulf between them throwing off the balance. Yet as a coffee klatch set to music starring engaging performers, it’s an innocuous, sometimes chuckle-worthy 90 minutes—unless, gentlemen, you’re among the hounds who callously ditched, dumped, divorced and dated your share of ladies and deserve this good-natured fangbaring. Relax—it doesn’t bite hard enough to draw blood.

Producers should consider an alternate title, though: Sex and the City Extra Lite: The Musical.

STRIP POSTSCRIPT: Come August 29, hubby/wifey erotic revue maestros Angela and Matt Stabile (X Burlesque, Raack N Roll), will unveil their new T&A epic, XRocks, at the Rio. Yet another topless strut-a-thon and enemy of the bra industry.

Never did I imagine uttering these words, but when you’ve seen two breasts, you’ve seen them all. … Did I just say that? Pulse check, please.

My oink-snort needs recharging.

Got an entertainment tip? Email Steve.Bornfeld@VegasSeven.com.

August 8–14, 2013

Granted, that description is written from the male-chauvinist-piggie perspective (oink, snort), but LVH’s new The D* Word—A Musical (*Ditched, Dumped, Divorced and Dating), from the fem-centric folks who brought you Menopause The Musical, embraces it as a tuneful grouse about those of us with junk. Which isn’t to say it isn’t a cutesy, mildly amusing trife, particularly if you’re a connoisseur of the Big Ears/ Big Hands/Big Feet equals Big Junk school of snicker-snicker gender comedy.

Who isn’t, except half the population—the half for whom this show wasn’t written but will be dragged to by sig-others.

Inside the intimate Shimmer Cabaret, meet: Erica (Angie McKnight), a 14-years-and-counting celibate; Jen (Sarah Hester Ross), a sparkplug whose husband left her for a man; DeeDee (Maddie Castro), at loose ends after a 20-year marriage went splat; and Kate (Laura Wright), who’s eager to get preggers. (Also credited are Adam Ursell and Chauncey Alan as dialogue-free “bartender/hunks” who mostly shift props during scene changes.)

Getting acquainted at speed dating, they gather at Erica’s living room, bemoaning the 40s-and-single life. They diss ex-partners’ quirks (what is it with men and Applebee’s?), banter naughtily (DeeDee uses her new pals as a test group for selling sex toys), are cheerfully self-pitying (“I funked the eHarmony personality test,” Jen says) and support each other, girl power-style.

Mostly they just yak —and sing, in the show’s best moments. Against recorded background tracks, the four, all strong singers and dancers, cut loose to nearly 20 pop standards, with obvious thematic inclusions: ”I Will Survive,” “Love Hurts,” “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” “Just a Gigo-

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Photo by DaviD Fox

I Am WomAn. Hear Me Kvetch.

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MOVIES

As wife to a disgraced entrepreneur (Baldwin), Blanchett gives depth to an archetype.

Blanchett DuBois

Woody Allen’s rif on Streetcar leaves something to be desired

August 8–14, 2013

By Michael Phillips Tribune Media Services

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THE ACTING IS everything in Blue Jasmine, though Cate Blanchett and company wouldn’t have anything to act without writerdirector Woody Allen’s fagrant revision of A Streetcar Named Desire. “Best-since” phrases have been fying since Allen’s seriocomic exercise opened in New York and Los Angeles: best since Vicky Cristina Barcelona, best since Match Point, best since Crimes and Misdemeanors a generation ago, even. Well.

Certainly it’s his best since Midnight in Paris, two movies ago, which is to say it’s better than To Rome With Love.

Relocating the Tennessee Williams action from New Orleans to San Francisco, Allen offers a portrait in how the mighty have fallen on hard times, hanging his tale on a Park Avenue socialite,

disgraced and fnancially leveled by her morally challenged entrepreneur husband (Alec Baldwin). The protagonist, Jasmine (Blanchett), dissolves into a puddle of drink, pills and despair, and moves in with her working-class sister (Sally Hawkins) across the country.

Blanchett vibrates with a tremulous hum of anxiety throughout Blue Jasmine, valiantly making sense of Allen’s comic and dramatic strains.

The gag at the top of the picture, revealing Jasmine on a cross-country fight, spilling her guts out to a stranger, is meant to be funny but not rimshot-funny; still, with Jasmine (born Jeanette) already muttering and delusional, you wonder if this performance and the flm itself have anywhere to go for an hour and a half. The

answer is a qualifed yes. Each character, each scene in Blue Jasmine feels as if it comes from some other movie or play, whether Allen’s or Tennessee Williams’. Yet you stick with the flm, for Blanchett, and for some shrewdly cast supporting turns, notably that of Andrew Dice Clay, forcefully insinuating as the ex-husband of Jasmine’s sister, whose lottery winnings were turned into a pile of nothing by the Baldwin character’s chicanery.

Like Blanche DuBois in Streetcar, whom Allen sent up once upon a time in Sleeper, Jasmine has been yanked out of her comfort zone by harsh circumstance. The movie jumps back and forth in time, a present-day indignity or comment triggering another dive back into Jasmine’s old

life. The contrasts in class and wealth brake right at the edge of parody; Jasmine meets a swank diplomat (Peter Sarsgaard) and pins her hopes on his romantic interest, lying all the way. Meantime sister Ginger cheats on her latest boyfriend (Bobby Cannavale) with a sweeter variation on her usual guys, a sound man played with pleasing understatement by Louis C.K. It’s heartening to see Allen using familiar faces for something unexpected, and it is Clay who gets the key speech near the end, reminding the audience that for every Bernie Madoff wolf, a lot of forlorn sheep are left behind.

Allen has played many of these class distinctions and character types for straight laughs in the past; in Blue Jasmine he’s after an elusive combination of pathos and amused irony. Blanchett knows this territory well; her celebrated stage turn as Blanche in Streetcar (opposite Joel Edgerton’s Stanley) came to New York a few years ago, and one wonders if Allen saw it, got the idea for his own Streetcar and took it from there. Some

scenes in Blue Jasmine simply do not square with the rest of the picture, even if they’re momentarily effective, such as Jasmine’s haughty introduction to the world of the working poor. She becomes a receptionist in a dentist’s offce (Michael Stuhlbarg plays the smitten employer, going on about bridgework). “Dr. Flicker, where is all this talk leading?” Blanchett asks at one point. By the time we hear about Jasmine’s electroshock therapy, the Streetcar-ness of Allen’s creation has become complete.

The derivative nature of the setup won’t matter to a lot of people; Blanchett and her co-stars will be enough. Maybe I’ve simply seen one too many Streetcars to give Allen’s picture a fair shake. We all bring our viewing experiences to every new movie we see. The recent Allen flms I like—Match Point, Vicky Cristina Barcelona (which ends on a terrifc, ambiguous note), Midnight in Paris—have had their moments that simply do not wash, or that betray a casual tourist’s eye at best for the global capitals in which they were photographed.

The same can be said of Blue Jasmine, though Allen and cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe (who shot Vicky Cristina Barcelona) wisely steer clear of most of the Top 10 Bay Area snapshot attractions.

The reason we keep coming back to Allen, through good flms, bad ones and worthy in-betweens, I think, has to do with a mixture of nostalgia and the very real payoffs an uneven picture like Blue Jasmine provides, and especially provides its actresses. As written, Jasmine is little more than an artful copy of an archetype.

As brought to nerve-racked life by Blanchett, it’s still that, but with an edge recalling Judy Davis in Husbands and Wives.

Plenty of fne actresses have delighted in Allen’s snappish comic rhythms, which the writer never really loses, even in drama. Or in drama borrowed from Tennessee Williams. He’s hardly alone, but the man behind Blue Jasmine has always relied on the kindness of inspirations, be they Shakespeare, Chekhov, Bergman or Woody Allen.

Blue Jasmine (PG-13) ★★★✩✩

A&E

movies

GunninG for LauGhs A star duo provides the frepower in this entertaining action comedy

By Michael Phillips

Tribune Media Services taken from a graphic novel, 2 Guns has this much in common with Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine: They’re both about characters hung out to dry.

Also, the stars in both flms lend panache and a sense of purpose to familiar-seeming material. Beyond that the differences are signifcant.

Blue Jasmine is the movie with the old-time jazz on the soundtrack; 2 Guns is the one with people getting shot in the leg, the arm, the head, the chest or somewhere else, and with Paula Patton in a nude scene that brings a hush of prayer-like gratitude from a mostly male audience.

Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg provide the stardom.

They’re two of the most reliable, relatable action heroes in American movies today. In 2 Guns the company they keep onscreen is solid, thanks to Bill Paxton as a vicious CIA operative after the millions stolen from a New Mexico bank; Edward James Olmos as a drug lord, after the same; James

Marsden, as a U.S. Naval Intelligence offcer, after the same.

Paxton in particular registers strongly; with his twitty little mustache, tiny little hats and blood-curdling interrogation methods, he appears to be channeling a villainous passel of character actors (a little John Hillerman, a lotta Warren Oates) from flms past.

The setup: Washington’s character, who goes by Bobby Beans (what is this, Rango?) may look and act like a garden-variety bank robber, but he’s really an undercover Drug Enforcement Agency op, trying to bring down the Mexican drug cartel ruled by Olmos’ Papi Greco. He doesn’t realize (and vice versa) that his partner, “Stig” Stigman (Wahlberg), is likewise no common thief. He’s a U.S. Naval Intelligence offcer undercover and gunning for Greco.

Already this is getting twisty.

2 Guns comes from a BOOM! Studios series of comics written

by Steven Grant and drawn

by Mateus Santolouco. In its original form, the story is

Washington and Wahlberg play undercover agents after each other.

diverting, facile stuff. The same can be said of the flm version, adapted freely by Blake Masters and directed by Baltasar Kormákur, whose career spans Icelandic-language dramas and English-language thrillers, among them Contraband, starring Wahlberg.

He has talent, this director: 2 Guns isn’t necessarily my thing (the jokey sadism is a drag), but Kormákur lays out an action sequence with a swiftness and a coherence missing from many other pictures.

The movie’s a demonstration of two overlapping brands of

narrative cynicism: Its depiction of a vast, CIA-fueled and drug-funded conspiracy is pure early 21st century, but in many of the particulars, 2 Guns harks back to the smaller-scale amoral thrillers of the postWatergate 1970s studio era. The 1973 Don Siegel flm Charley Varrick is a major reference point, with the bank robberies in both flms taking place in fctional Tres Cruces, New Mexico. Cinematographer Oliver Wood goes for brightly lit compositions, steering clear of faux-documentary realism in his lighting. The bantering

August 8–14, 2013

short reviews

VEGAS SEVEN

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The Smurfs 2 (PG-13) ★★✩✩✩

Not much to see here, but at least it’s wholesome. Gargamel (Hank Azaria) the Smurf-hater is now a big-shot magician, filling venues around the world. But he’s running out of Smurf Essence. So, a couple of his Naughties (voiced by Christina Ricci and J.B. Smoove) Smurf-nap Smurfette, and they intend to get the magic formula from her through interrogation.

Unless Papa (Jonathan Winters) and his motley “B-team” (voiced by George Lopez, Anton Yelchin and John Oliver) can stop them, with the help of their human friends (Neil Patrick Harris and Jayma Mays).

The To-Do List (R) ★★★✩✩

Writer-director Maggie Carey delivers a more feminine-centric teen comedy. Brandy (Aubrey Plaza) is a high school grad who’s super smart and a social zero. Brandy makes a list to help with acquiring some sexual experience prior to college. Along for the ride are her pals, played by Alia Shawkat and Sarah Steele, as well as some dudes, played

by Johnny Simmons and Scott Porter. While over the top, Carey’s a crafty writer, and Plaza’s delivery keeps things fresh.

The Wolverine (PG-13) ★★★✩✩

Hugh Jackman’s back as Logan/Wolverine, and the results aren’t too shabby. Way back when, Logan survived the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, while saving the life of a Japanese soldier. The soldier went on to become a powerful and corrupt industrialist. He has a dying wish for Logan, who winds up having to protect Yashida’s daughter, Mariko (Tao Okamoto), from the yakuza. It’s the strongest solo Wolverine flick yet.

stars remain front and center throughout. The psychology, if you can call it that, regarding the characters’ motivations and entanglements is paper thin, the Achilles’ heel of the typical graphic novel-derived action flm. The actors—including Patton as Bobby’s DEA colleague and sometime fing—cannot act what is not there. But with Washington, Wahlberg, Olmos and Paxton around jockeying for dominance, the standoffs have their moments.

2 Guns (R) ★★★✩✩

[ by tribune media services ]

Pacifc Rim (PG-13) ★★★✩✩

In Guillermo del Toro’s homage to Japanese sea-beast mythology, amphibious dragons called Kaiju emerge from beneath the ocean floor. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes and threat levels. They destroy entire cities in short order. So the nations of the world settle their petty politics and agree to work together on a solution: 25-story-tall human-made robots known as Jaegers, controlled by two pilots who are mind-melded in a neural bridge.

It’s a battle for mankind, and while entertaining, it’s pretty loud.

movies

Grown Ups 2 (PG-13) ★✩✩✩✩

The Lone Ranger (PG-13) ★✩✩✩✩

Despicable Me 2 (PG) ★★✩✩✩

Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain (R)

Adam Sandler and his gang of has-beens and other hangers-on are back for this shovel-ready sequel. Lenny (Sandler) and his wife (Salma Hayek) and their brood have moved back to their hometown. That’s where childhood pal Eric (Kevin James) runs a body shop, Kurt (Chris Rock) is a cable guy and Marcus (David Spade) is a deadbeat dad. The story follows this lot through a long day that ends in an ’80s party. The jokes are lame, and it’s obvious Sandler is just mailing it in, again.

You could do worse than this sequel, but reports of this installment’s charm have been greatly exaggerated. Here, the AntiVillain League recruits Gru (Steve Carell) to track down the supervillain, El Macho. AVL agent Lucy (Kristen Wiig) gets partnered up with him, and the two go undercover at the mall. There are the goofy Minions from the first film, and some fellow mall tenants (Ken Jeong and Benjamin Bratt), but this film relies too heavily on just the timing and charm of Carell and Wiig.

Alas, while we “wait” on the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean picture, Disney and Johnny Depp churn out this mess of a film. While it never works from the start, the story follows Tonto (Depp), the trusty Native American sidekick of the famous masked Texas Ranger (Armie Hammer) hell-bent on revenge. The Lone Ranger and Tonto spend most of their time mugging, acting silly and leaping around lavish action set pieces while extreme violence occurs all around them. While Depp takes the lead with Tonto, it’s not enough to warrant the spectacle.

★★✩✩✩

This short concert film captures standup comic Kevin Hart’s Madison Square Garden show and pads it with a long, dead, scripted prologue that doesn’t really work. Hart has hit the big time, and it shows, but we tend to like our comics angry and dissatisfied. While he’s an impressive performer, the writing just isn’t as strong, and most of the show just has Hart working too hard to make inferior material go over. His surprise hit Laugh at My Pain from 2011 is much funnier.

This buddy cop movie is female-based for once. Sandra Bullock plays an FBI agent bucking for a promotion. She travels to Boston to nail a drug lord. That’s about all the plot there is, even though the movie goes on another two hours about it. Melissa McCarthy is the local blowhard with a badge. The odd couple learns to work together, eventually winding up, as these movies always do, in an abandoned warehouse full of criminal scum. It’s simple, but the co-stars are great.

White House Down (PG-13) ★★✩✩✩

This may sound familiar, but in this movie, the White House is under siege. Jamie Foxx plays an earnest but earnestly funny commander in chief. Channing Tatum plays Cale, a war vet/D.C. cop who can’t convince Maggie Gyllenhaal to let him in the Secret Service. He has to content himself with guarding the speaker of the House and getting his daughter (Joey King) a White House tour. Naturally, the bad guys bust in, and the only person who can save his daughter, the prez and the world is Cale.

99 VEGAS SEVEN

The Heat (R) ★★★✩✩

August 8–14, 2013

The Heat (R) ★★★✩✩

Marketplace

Wally Backman

The 51s’ manager on arguing with the men in blue, his 10 career home run swings and the speech that jump-started the ’86 Mets

August 8–14, 2013

By Matt Jacob

VEGAS SEVEN

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THE SEARING HEAT, coupled with higher-than-usual humidity, is turning Cashman Field into an outdoor sauna. And yet as he surveys the latter stages of batting practice from inside the shadybut-steamy Las Vegas 51s dugout late on a Friday afternoon, manager Wally Backman is in quite the cheerful mood. This is noteworthy because Backman is known as much for his hot temper as he is for the integral role he played on the New York Mets’ notorious 1986 world-championship team— baseball managers with short fuses generally aren’t very jovial during the dog days of an endless summer. But it turns out the 22nd manager in the history of our city’s Triple-A franchise has more or less kept his cool this season. “No, it really hasn’t,” Backman says when asked if his temper has risen along with the thermometer. “I think I’ve only been thrown out of three games this year and suspended one time for one day. So I’m defnitely on the under there.”

Jump ahead 10 days, and there was Backman charging out of the dugout during the second game of a doubleheader in Sacramento after one of his pitchers was ejected in a bean-ball incident. A benchclearing brawl ensued as a fuming Backman went after the River Cats’ manager, the two needing to be separated by three umpires. Backman served a two-game suspension immediately following the fracas, which means the 51s should have their fery manager in uniform when they kick off an eight-game homestand August 8 with a Dollar Beer Night contest against Oklahoma City.

What’s your most memorable ejection?

God, I’ve had some good ones!

I’ll give you the two best: One was back in 2002, when I was [managing] in Double A with the White Sox. It was a doubleheader, and the umpire made three bad calls to end the frst game, and we lost. I was screaming at him all the way off the feld, and we had some pretty good words in two different tunnels. Then he said something, and I took off running into the tunnel, then we came around the corner and I ran right over the top of him.

We had a woman umpire that day, she came over and jumped on my back, and I was still yelling at the guy while she was on my back. I ended up getting suspended for that one.

The other one was when I was with the Diamondbacks, in Lancaster [California]. ... I was arguing with the home-plate umpire, then the second-base umpire threw me out, and I took off on a dead run and I didn’t stop—I ran right over him. They gave me 10 days for that one.

How often do you give a clubhouse speech, and what’s usually the impetus?

Probably this year I’ve had three. We talk every series about the team we’re about to face— the hitters and the pitchers, those type of things. That’s just a regular meeting. … That frst meeting [at the beginning of the season] that you have with your players is probably the most important. After that, you’ll have a blowup sooner or later—every manager does. But I try to stay away from those as much as I

can. If I have a real issue, those meetings are usually individual.

Of all the speeches you heard as a player, which one stands out?

Jim Leyland gave good speeches. Lou Piniella gave good speeches. But the one that stands out the most was probably the speech Davey Johnson gave to us on the frst day of spring training in 1986, because we won the World Series that year. The speech that he gave was basically, “We’re going to win. Bar none, we’re the best team, and we’re going to win. And there’s going to be no excuses this year.”

There was a lot more said in the speech, but the confdence he instilled in us right from Day One really made us work our asses off in spring training.

Everybody bought into it.

During your playing days, who’s the one pitcher you dreaded facing?

Fernando Valenzuela. I didn’t face him all the time, but I know what I did against him: I was 0-for-19 [actually 1-for-17].

I was a horseshit right-handed hitter. But I didn’t dread facing guys like Nolan Ryan—the guys who threw hard.

You hit 10 home runs in your 14-year major league career. Do you remember all of them?

[Laughs]. Pretty close! First one was off Rick Camp—left felder ran into the wall, and the ball just scraped over the wall.

David Cone. Bob Welch. Mike Krukow. Pascual Perez. [Pause.]

Had a couple of inside-theparkers—one against the Pirates off Enrique Romo. That’s six.

John Dopson of the Red Sox. … I hit one in Houston, I think, but it was inside the park.

You know, I never fucking hit a home run [at Wrigley Field] in Chicago—that’s the easiest place to hit home runs. But that’s where I had the highest batting average, in Wrigley Field. … Goddamn, I’m not sure [about the rest]. The other guys must’ve been nobodies!

When’s the last time you wore your World Series ring?

What time is it right now, 5:30? I took it off at 1:30.

What are Wally Backman’s memories of Game 6 of the ’86 World Series? And which team is his pick to win this year’s Fall Classic? Find out at VegasSeven.com/Backman.

PHOTO BY KIN LUI

7 QUESTIONS

Describe the art of a nose-tonose argument with an ump.

Is there a skill to it?

I don’t know if there’s a skill to it. You know, most of the arguments are based on players.

When a player gets thrown out, they know I’ve got their back.

We can go inside [the clubhouse] and talk about it afterward, but I’m defnitely going to get my say [with the umpires].

I played for Lou Piniella, Davey Johnson, Jim Leyland—you kind of take a piece of those guys with you. Sometimes I think maybe I took a little too much of Lou Piniella, but that’s who I am.