Birth of an Edge City | Vegas Seven Magazine | November 20-26, 2014

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12 | THE LATEST

“Breaking the Ice,” by Jason Scavone The NHL is flirting with Las Vegas. What will it mean if the relationship gets consummated?

Plus, a live music district for Downtown and Tweets of the Week.

14 | Breaking Stuf & Making Stuf “The Search for Inspiration, USA,” by Greg Blake Miller Or, how I looked for Elsewhere and found home.

16 | Green Felt Journal

“Dealing with a Bad Hand,” by David G. Schwartz.

Hit hard by a government crackdown, Macau would be wise to borrow ideas from Las Vegas to help rebuild its stack.

22 | COVER

“Can the Urban Dream Work in the Suburbs?” by Brett Robillard (with Greg Blake Miller).

The rise of Downtown Summerlin forces a local architect to rethink just what “downtown” means—and how new definitions just might change the face of the Valley.

29 | NIGHTLIFE

“Gaining Momentum,” by Kat Boehrer.

Light resident Hook N Sling returns to Las Vegas with two new releases and a world tour under his belt.

53 | DINING

Al Mancini on Vila Algarve.

Plus, the joys of real maple syrup, Dishing With Grace and Cocktail Culture.

59 | A&E

“The Morning-After Show … With Jay Leno,” by Steve Bornfeld.

With his Tonight reign over, it’s time to appreciate the underappreciated funnyman.

Plus, Duck Dynasty to hit the stage, The Hit List and Tour Buzz.

64 | Sound Proof

The debut of Zoneil Maharaj’s go-to guide for Vegas hip-hop.

66 | Movies

The Theory of Everything and our weekly movie capsules.

72 | Going for Broke

The Patriots aren’t done yet, but the Lions will be formidable this weekend.

78 | Seven Questions

Humorist David Sedaris on self-revelation, the art of not trying to be funny and what he once might have done for 50 bucks.

Downtown Summerlin may be the step to the creation of an “edge city.”

ON THE COVER Photo by Jon Estrada

Dialogue Seven Days The Deal Gossip Style Seven Nights Showstopper

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November 20–26, 2014

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DIALOGUE CONTRIBUTOR’S NOTE Building for the Future ➜ A Las Vegas-based ar-

chitect, Brett Robillard has spent the past two decades working on projects locally and internationally, focusing on expressive, modernist designs on a variety of scales. This wealth of experience, not to mention past assignments writing about architecture and design for Vegas Seven, made Robillard the ideal candidate to ruminate on the long-awaited arrival of Downtown Summerlin— specifically, how our latest piece of expansive architecture might jump-start a new aesthetic for the Las Vegas Valley (see Page 22). “Being a resident of Las Vegas and seeing the city and community work its way through incredible growth as well as a very difficult recession, the news of Downtown Summerlin moving forward was very positive,” says Robillard, who is the design director for Gensler’s Las Vegas office and an adjunct faculty member at UNLV’s School of Architecture. “The steel skeleton that had marked the site for so long had become a sign of a very challenging era. But big ideas that generate new development can be heroic and help elevate the mindset of a community.”

For Robillard, analyzing the potential impact of the new development was intriguing not only professionally but personally. That’s because Downtown Summerlin sprouted up virtually in his backyard. “This project was so close to home,” he says. “And I found that writing the piece reinforced my ideals about the foundation of our experiences being much more tied to positive personto-person interaction than about any particular architectural style. Still, it never hurts to have a dramatic and interesting context.”

OUR SITES TO SEE

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HOME WITH HISTORY

Tired of tracking down all the new music local artists are producing?

Zoneil Maharaj curates it all for you in his online music column Hear Now, where he highlights the latest (and legal) downloads, streams and videos. VegasSeven.com/HearNow.

Victoria’s Secret Angels Adriana Lima and Alessandra Ambrosio stopped in Las Vegas to show off the bejeweled Fantasy Bras they’ll be wearing on the runway in December. Watch the Angels (and the bras, which are valued at $2 million each) dazzle the crowd at VRated.com/ FantasyBras.

Freshman forward Patrick McCaw wasn’t expected to be part of the UNLV basketball team’s rotation to start the season, but the 6-foot-6 St. Louis native turned out to be a vital contributor in the Rebels’ two narrow victories to start the campaign.

Mike Grimala breaks down McCaw’s skills at RunRebs. com/McCaw.

Whenever a great house goes on the market in the Scotch 80s neighborhood, we take notice—especially when one of its former renters is an Oscar winner.

Real estate columnist Pj Perez takes you through the 3,500-square-foot property that actor Nicolas Cage once inhabited at DTLV. com/UrbAppeal.

FACEBOOK: /VegasSeven TWITTER: /7Vegas INSTAGRAM: /VegasSeven

“Macau seemed to have it all fgured out.

But then fate—in the form of an anti-corruption crackdown by the Beijing government this summer—intervened.” GREEN FELT JOURNAL {PAGE 16}

News, gossip, style and tapping the creative aquifer for inspiration

Breaking the Ice

The NHL is firting with Las Vegas. What will it mean if the relationship gets consummated?

By Jason Scavone

12

Construction continues on MGM Resorts’ new arena behind New York-New York.

will change during the next league gathering December 5-6.)

As the NHL-to-Vegas rumors were simmering, NBA honcho Adam Silver was lighting the gauntlet on fre and finging it out of a catapult with a candid op-ed in The New York Times in which he called for the widespread legalization of sports gambling. “I believe that sports betting should be brought out of the underground and into the sunlight where it can be appropriately monitored and regulated,” Silver wrote.

Silver’s now-on-the-record opinion bodes well for Robinson. Once a major professional league opens up shop in one city, others more often than not follow. Of the 41 American markets with an NHL, NBA, NFL or Major League Baseball franchise, only 10 are single-team cities, and three of those sport an MLS club.

Of course, local support is critical to the success of any pro franchise, but Las Vegas is a unique market where a signifcant chunk of the workforce works at night. While Daly was quick to point out this obstacle, Don Logan, the longtime 51s president and COO, says tourists could make up for the loss of third-shift locals.

But Logan sees another, more subtle speed bump: Corporate sponsors like Anheuser-Busch are already dumping signifcant money here, both in the resorts and their existing arenas.

Assuming Bud and MGM can square it up, the next logical question is: Where might Las Vegas land on the NHL attendance spectrum?

Near Chicago, Detroit and Toronto, which average 20,000 fans per game?

Or closer to the Florida Panthers, where less than 9,000 people a night can clearly hear the sounds Roberto

Luongo makes when he stands on his head. According to the most recent Harris Poll on sports, 5 percent of people say hockey is their favorite sport. That translates to roughly 90,000 puck die-hards in the Valley.

If they all attend two games a year, that’s about 4,400 per night, or about what the Wranglers averaged during their 2013 season. That’s a big burden for casual and tourist fans to carry.

The Maloofs sold the Sacramento Kings for more than $500 million, and Foley is worth north of $600 million. They’re equipped to handle the $400 million expansion fee, a reasonable price to pay to go down as the group that fnally brought pro sports here. If they close the deal, let’s hope they’re wise enough to adopt the Wranglers’ smartest tradition: an annual midnight game to accommodate our hockey-loving swing-shift souls.

PHOTO BY JON ESTRADA

November 20–26, 2014

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VegasSeven.com

IF YOU’RE OF THE AGE WHERE YOU COULDN’T

get a date in junior high without dressing and having a haircut like Vanilla Ice (What’s up Kristie del Vecchio—now who doesn’t look “remotely cool”?) then you remember a time when the youth of America, for whatever reason, couldn’t get enough overalls: Overalls at school. Overalls at the dance and at church and while you’re shopping for more overalls.

Point being, everyone had them in the 1990s, no one knew where they came from, and somehow they were shockingly successful.

Stadiums and pro sports in Las Vegas: Welcome to your overalls moment.

By now, you know all the players: the still-hanging-around UNLV Now project; the Las Vegas 51s’ still-theoretical stadium adjacent to Downtown Summerlin; the neverwas stadium for the Wranglers at the Plaza; the proposed Major League Soccer facility at Symphony Park; the Jackie Robinson-shepherded $1.4 billion, NBA-lusting All Net Arena and Resort next to SLS. Then there’s the venue that actually is sprouting out of the ground: the MGM-AEG 20,000-seat arena behind New YorkNew York. It’s slated to open in 2016, and it’s at the heart of rapidly metastasizing NHL expansion talk.

Last week, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly admitted to the Minneapolis StarTribune that he had toured the arena site and met with an ownership group, outed by The Hockey News as being led by real estate/fnance mogul William Foley and the Maloof family, who declined comment.

It’s worth noting that the NHL hasn’t offcially committed to expansion, let alone picked out its cities.

But it’s also worth noting that a “no comment” isn’t a denial, and that names of ownership groups don’t get leaked if, as Daly protested, the issue has barely come up in Board of Governors meetings. (Perhaps that

Live, From Fremont Street …

Owners of the Bunkhouse and Wheel House band together to start a live music district

By Bob Whitby THURSDAY, NOV. 20: If you think reality TV

By Geoff Carter ON ITS FACE, the news doesn’t seem that remarkable: Recently, the Downtown Project transferred operational control of the Bunkhouse to Corner Bar Management, the company behind Commonwealth, Park on Fremont and several other bars around the Valley. (Disclosure: The owners of Corner Bar, Justin Weniger and Ryan Doherty, also own WENDOH Media, publishers of Vegas Seven.)

The Downtown Project still owns the Bunkhouse, as well as the land underneath Corner Bar’s next project: Wheel House, an indoor-outdoor music venue at the corner of Fremont and 11th streets, adjacent to the Bunkhouse.

Wheel House just broke ground, and when it opens—which could be as soon as the spring—two of Downtown’s most infuential operators will have joined forces to create the start of a live music district.

Suddenly, this unremarkable bit of operational news looks like anything but.

“We want [this part of Fremont] to have a vibe and fow that’s different from the rest of the Fremont East,” Downtown Project founder Tony Hsieh says. And he frmly believes that the Corner Bar team will get the feel right: “They’re extremely passionate about live music,” he says.

The details are still being sketched out, but what we do know is the courtyards of Wheel House and the Bunkhouse will be connected. Also, while Wheel House’s most distinctive feature will still be its windmill stage—illuminated by Phish’s inventive lighting designer Chris Kuroda—that stage may be moved slightly from its initial design to better accommodate the fow between the two venues.

Meanwhile, over at the Bunkhouse, don’t expect Corner Bar’s involvement to result in any changes in the day-to-day operations under general man-

A rendering of Wheel House.

ager Michael Stratton. “We love what Mike Stratton and [music booker] Mike Henry are doing, and we don’t want to change it,” Weniger says. “That’s not what this is about. We’re not going to come in and hang up a chandelier.”

Meaning: If you’re worried that the Bunkhouse might adopt Commonwealth’s pricing or aesthetic, don’t. Your cheap beers will stay cheap; the eccentric cowboy decor will remain where it is. And the staff that’s served so well since the Bunkhouse reopened in the summer will stay in place.

“We feel fortunate to have gained the support of so many people in the music scene, and we’re counting on that support to help us fully realize the Bunkhouse’s potential,” Stratton says.

The other pieces of the district are falling into place even now. 11th Street Records, Ronald Corso’s record store and recording studio, is still planned for the same block as the Bunkhouse and Wheel House. Eat’s Natalie Young is working on a new Chinese/fried-chicken restaurant that would be across the street from Wheel House, next door to the soonto-open Writer’s Block Book Shop. And PublicUs, the long-gestating cafe down the road at Maryland Parkway and Fremont Street, recently began staffing up in anticipation of opening its doors.

has jumped the shark, you’re right.

But there are still laughs to be beaten out of this dead horse, as proven by the Kinsey Sicks, a song-and-dance group of politically incorrect drag performers.

Their newest show—America’s Next Top Bachelor Housewife Celebrity Hoarder Makeover Star —is, as the title suggests, Gone Wild—is, a send-up of the reality genre. It’s racy, raunchy and debuts at 8 p.m. at The Smith Center, with shows through Sunday. TheSmithCenter.com.

FRIDAY, NOV. 21: Ice skating season opens tonight in

Las Vegas! What, you didn’t know we had an ice skating season? Every year about this time, the Cosmopolitan transforms its rooftop Boulevard Pool into an ice rink with a great view of the Strip. It opens at 3 p.m., and daily skating continues through Jan. 4.

CosmopolitanLasVegas.com.

SATURDAY, NOV. 22: How’s your novel coming along? It

is National Novel Writing Month, you know, so you’ve only got a few more days to crank out 50,000 words.

If you need a quiet place to work among your fellow novelists, the Summerlin Library has you covered with its NaNoWriMo Workshop, 3-5 p.m. in the conference room. LVCCLD.org.

SUNDAY, NOV. 23: Fancy yourself a hiker? Then you’ve no doubt heard of the Appalachian Trail, the 2,200-mile route that runs from Georgia to Maine. Yes, it’s on the other side of the country, but your journey could start today, 3:30 p.m. at Springs Preserve, where you’ll watch a feature film about this bucketlist adventure. SpringsPreserve.org.

MONDAY, NOV. 24: Did you know that women with

AIR FORCE ONE BY JIM WARLICK

JFK EXHIBIT LANDS AT THE TROP If you thought last year’s 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination would bring closure to the nation’s JFK obsession, think again. Longtime presidential memorabilia collector Jim Warlick visited a convention of 200 conspiracy theorists in Dallas last November. “From that experience, I think it will never be put to rest,” says Warlick, who, for the record, believes Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.

As insatiable as the public’s JFK appetite is, even Warlick—who is bringing The JFK Exhibition to the Tropicana from November 22-January 3—admits to being surprised

last year when he attended an auction and was prepared to bid no more than $75,000 on the 35th president’s brown leather bomber jacket. He ended up going as far as $250,000. It sold for $629,000.

As for Warlick’s family-friendly 25,000-square-foot Tropicana exhibit, rather than dwell on the assassination it mostly focuses on personal items, such as the shoes Jacqueline Kennedy wore during a

trip to Paris, one of the pens Kennedy used to sign the Peace Corps Act into law and replicas of the Oval Office and inaugural gowns worn by various first ladies. There’s also a display that explains Kennedy’s relationship with longtime Las Vegas Sun publisher Hank Greenspun.

The exhibit’s biggest and most impressive piece of memorabilia is the fuselage from a Boeing 707, which is displayed exactly as Air Force One looked on November 22, 1963. There’s also an audio clip of Lyndon B. Johnson consoling Rose Kennedy during a phone call following the assassination, as well as the white 1963 Lincoln Continental that JFK rode in that fateful morning, the last car he exited alive. Tickets are $25 ($20 for locals, with discounts for military, seniors and students); 888-829-9034, TropLV.com.

– Paul Szydelko

naturally high levels of testosterone are often excluded from international athletic competitions?

Rebecca Jordan-Young of Columbia University is an expert on the topic and will be visiting the Marjorie Barrick Museum at 7:30 p.m. to share some of her insights. UNLV.edu.

TUESDAY, NOV. 25: Speaking of activities at the university, the UNLV Symphony Orchestra will be cranking out a little Beethoven (Symphony No. 7) and a dash of Barber (Violin Concerto) at 7 p.m. at the Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall. It’s a lot of culture for the low price of $10. UNLV.edu.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 26: The House of Fabergé produced more than 150,000 pieces of art, many of them one-of-a-kind items made for the Russian imperial family. The Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art got its hands on 238 of the artifacts, including some of the iconic Easter eggs, for its new exhibit titled Fabergé Revealed. The show opened last week and runs through May. Bellagio.com.

Or, how I looked for Elsewhere and found home

WHAT SHOULD I BE TIPPING VALETS AND BARTENDERS THESE DAYS?

November 20–26, 2014

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VegasSeven.com

ABOUT 15 YEARS AGO, MY WIFE AND I

14

J A M E S P. R E Z A

were living happily in Los Angeles—not far from the beach, in fact—when our landlords suddenly decided they could do better than us and our shallow pockets.

The rent went up 20 percent, and we went apartment hunting. Our search eventually led us north to Los Osos on California’s central coast, a few miles from San Luis Obispo. I had recently fnished a master’s degree in creative writing, and I was dreaming of a place that was fresh to my senses and easy on my wallet—in other words, a place where I could hunker down and write Something Great.

We found a small, shadowed, slightly damp bottom-foor rental, put down a deposit and readied ourselves for an exciting new life.

Jobs? Well, we’d fgure that out.

Then, I—let me put this as delicately as I can—chickened out.

We went to check out the apartment for the frst time since the previous tenants—a pleasant elderly couple with matching moist eyes and crepe-paper skin—had moved out. On the carpet where their bed had been was a large, red spot, maybe two feet in diameter, as if someone from an old noir flm had been shot before being dumped off the bluff by the Port San Luis Lighthouse.

We asked the property manager if perhaps the stain could be removed.

“We’ve tried,” she said. “It won’t come out.”

“Then we’d like you to change the carpet.”

“No.” “No?” “No.” What would we do? This was our dream, after all, our romantic grasp after crazy freedom. We’d been to a writers conference in Mendocino a month earlier, and I’d read a piece by the campfre; the group had laughed where I’d hoped they would laugh and gasped where I’d hoped they would gasp, and, at the end, they’d asked, Where can I buy that book? and I’d told them that, at the moment, it existed only in the hard drive of my Toshiba computer. Los Osos was the dream of getting enough good words into that old Toshiba that I could take the words out and send them to New York, or Hollywood, and live

Breaking Stuff & Making Stuff

Mad musings on the creative life GREG BLAKE MILLER

happily ever after on the central coast. Were we really going to give up the dream because a gangland killing had apparently once taken place in our bedroom?

We returned to the San Luis Obispo Days Inn to sleep on it. I woke up at 5 a.m. with a 103-degree fever.

We went back to the apartment, and I couldn’t feel anything—not revulsion at the spot, not excitement about the place, not a thrill about the prospect of beachtown bohemianism. The sky was steely gray. The entrance, we suddenly noticed, was laced with spider webs. Charlotte herself was proudly perched on the porch light. The ocean was a mile away, just over a small hill and some sand dunes, but we felt we’d landed somewhere in, say, northern Scotland, in some Hitchcockian land of craggy stones and taciturn watchmen and suspicious seagulls. We wouldn’t have been surprised if all the town’s

telephones suddenly went dead.

The real problem, of course, was the job thing. We just didn’t have it in us to make the gamble we were proposing to make.

We surrendered our deposit and wound up returning to my hometown of Las Vegas, where I became the editor of a family magazine. Within a year, we had begun a family of our own. Happy endings have a way of arriving on their own terms.

Still, the romance of a creative roost, of an inspirational portal in space and time, hovers and haunts. I’ve tried to fght the feeling, but it wells up like water when you dig too deep, this notion of another place as creative aquifer.

Maybe, though, the real aquifer is the feeling itself, the stubborn longing of the mind. Surely you could tell a good story about a man so nostalgic for a place he’s never been that he’s unable to truly be where he is. Maybe the real matter to ponder is our hesitance, when we look for inspiration, to look to the world at our fngertips and the ground at our feet, right here on this dry land.

Greg Blake Miller is the director of Olympian Creative Coaching & Consulting, providing storytelling training to students, professionals and organizations. OlympianCreative.com.

Tipping is the quintessential Las Vegas question, and its complexities—including stories about who tips well and who doesn’t— could fill a chapter. (See my March 14, 2013, column for advice on tipping your busser.)

As for how much to tip a valet, I find it difficult to pass less than $3 upon return for basic service. If that service is especially speedy, or I’m feeling generous, or a fancy place warrants it, I’ll bump it to $5. Of course, psychology is always at play here, as tipping reflects the tipper as much as the tippee. Under pressing circumstance—facing a “Valet Full” sign when you and/or your date are sporting heels—offering $10 might make a spot appear, or vault you to the front after a sold-out concert.

Meanwhile, tipping bartenders used to be simple: a couple of bucks for a round of three to four basic pours. Now, with mixology playing a larger role in our nightcap repertoire and drinks requiring more than just popping the top off a lowbrow lager, that old rule hardly seems appropriate. I’ll still follow that rule if I’m divebarring it one round at a time. But if I am running a tab (usually in a less-divey place), I tend to tip 20 percent of the pre-tax total. With intricate cocktails costing $9-plus per drink, that’s a lot more than two bucks a round. Then again, my friends in the service industry have a rule, too: If you cannot afford to tip, drink at home!

HOW LIKELY IS IT THAT I’M GETTING MY CLEANING DEPOSIT BACK AFTER VACATING MY RENTAL? Our city’s transiency (even when people stay, they hop from place to place), combined with how the recession ravaged home ownership (which fell to 48 percent in mid-2012) means a mass of deposit money is in the hands of landlords. And they’re not likely to want to part with it. If it’s specified as a “nonrefundable fee” in your lease, they won’t have to. If it’s a “damage deposit” ... still not likely. A friend and real estate management executive says somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 to 30 percent of renters can expect a refund.

And if your lease doesn’t require a “damage deposit,” most can still expect a portion of their “security deposit” to be withheld even when lease terms appear satisfied. The executive says it’s a sneaky way of padding profit, especially at apartment complexes. I’ve also heard angry tales from home renters who spent a few days making the place “spotless,” only to have the landlord withhold deposits. My best advice? When you rent, understand what you are likely to lose before you sign the lease.

Questions? AskaNative@VegasSeven.com.

ILLUSTRATION BY CIERRA PEDRO

THE LATEST

The Search for Inspiration, USA

Hit hard by a government crackdown, Macau would be wise to borrow ideas from Las Vegas to help rebuild its stack

CANNERY REBATE IS A WIN-WIN FOR PLAYERS

November 20–26, 2014

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BACK IN 2002, WHEN THE GOVERNMENT

16

of the Macau Special Administration Region awarded its frst gaming concessions to American companies, it was conventional wisdom that the former Portuguese colony would learn a great deal about gaming from the wizards of Las Vegas. That is, the architects of the Strip would take their highly successful business model to Asia and usher in a new era of gaming, applying the lessons of Las Vegas to a populace hungry for the real deal.

Once those architects began planning resorts, however, it became apparent that Asia was not Las Vegas, and that what worked so well here for the previous generation—large slot parlors with tablegaming cores—was not at all adaptable to conditions on the ground in China. So American operators—Las Vegas Sands, Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts International—did the adapting, emphasizing baccarat while adjusting to a market where VIP play dwarfed the mass market.

Then the Great Recession hit, and Macau became an unexpected lifeline for the American companies fortunate enough to be operating there. While construction projects folded on the Strip, the Macau skyline continued to rise, and its gaming win continued to soar—a “mere” $2.8 billion in 2002; by 2009, arguably the Strip’s low ebb, it was $15 billion, more than twice that of Las Vegas. Last year, Macau clocked in at $45 billion; by comparison, all commercial casinos in the United States took in roughly $37 billion.

So Las Vegas ripped a few pages from the Asian gaming enclave’s book. It wasn’t the frst time; in the 1980s, Las Vegas became more like Atlantic City by emphasizing slot machines after the latter city’s revenue surpassed ours. This time, Vegas would emulate Macau’s focus on VIPs. Baccarat represented 7.5 percent of total Strip casino win in 2003; in 2013, it was responsible for more than 24 percent of all the money casinos won.

Macau seemed to have it all fgured out. But then fate—in the form of an anti-corruption crackdown by the Beijing government this summer—intervened. Doubledigit monthly win increases quickly slowed, then dipped into the red. Last month, Macau casinos won 23 percent less than they did at the same time in 2013. That kind of drop is reminiscent of Nevada’s worst recession years. Macau’s annual revenues are still up from last year, but fve consecutive months of decline are enough to shake even the most optimistic observer.

With the duration and intensity of the crackdown still a mystery, analysts currently see the future of Macau lying in the premium mass—those a step or two below

the private-room high-rollers—as well as the masses of middle-class Chinese vacationers. This is why those currently building Macau resorts—including the aforementioned trifecta of Las Vegas-based companies—aren’t panicking.

History, it seems, is on the side of the (relatively) low-roller in Macau: Since 2011, the percentage of Macau gaming win generated

by VIP baccarat has dropped from 73 percent to 60 percent—the opposite of the trend on the Las Vegas Strip. At the same time, non-VIP baccarat (mostly the premium mass gamblers) has risen from 18 percent to 30 percent.

So perhaps the Las Vegas approach—focus on both the masses and the high-rollers, with plenty of non-gaming elements to appeal to everyone else—isn’t so ill-adapted to Macau. Today’s Strip resort owners not only are comfortable with making the majority of their money from things besides gambling, they embrace it, investing heavily in everything from observation wheels to sports arenas.

There’s hope that the ongoing pivot to the mass market in Macau will see that city’s casinos weather the worst of the crackdown storm.

Recent Las Vegas history suggests that broadening a gambling town’s appeal can help it overcome even major shifts in gamblers’ behaviors.

Looks like Macau can learn a thing or two from Las Vegas after all.

Of the many ways casinos attempt to drum up new business, among the juiciest for players are loss rebates. A loss rebate allows you to gamble until you lose a specified amount with a guarantee of getting that money back.

The main problem with loss-rebate offers is, they’re so enticing, they usually don’t last long. For example, in the past month $100-rebate deals have been sporadic at such spots as SLS and Dean’s Place bar. One that’s definitely ongoing at press time is at Cannery and Eastside Cannery.

The Cannery’s Great Rebate returns up to $500 in losses, which is the highest I’ve seen in Las Vegas, with the exception of the Riviera’s $1,000 offer a couple of years ago.

This means you can gamble (machines or tables) virtually risk-free until you lose up to $500, since you get it back in free play. You have to play the free play through one time, so it’s possible to lose a little (the expected loss is less than $10). The upside, of course, is you could get lucky and come out ahead— way ahead.

The Cannery rebate is for new members only, so if you’ve already joined the C.A.N. Club, you aren’t eligible. There are no other exclusionary clauses, but here are a few rules/procedures to be aware of, as well as some advice: ➜ Make sure you’re ready to play on the day you sign up, as the deal applies to losses incurred on that day only. ➜ Your result will be tracked by your players card, so make sure that it’s properly inserted when you play a machine or that you hand it to a pit manager (who will rate you) if you’re playing a table game. ➜ You have to play for at least 20 minutes and lose a minimum of $20, but that shouldn’t be a problem. The real power in this offer is the free roll, so if you can, play until you either walk away with a big win or lose the whole $500. Let’s say you hit a royal flush or even a few four-of-a-kinds. Fantastic. That’s real money that’s yours to keep. ➜ Once you hit the loss limit, stop and take your card back to the club booth to verify that everything was recorded. Within 10 days, you’ll be mailed two free-play vouchers, each worth 50 percent of your loss. A negative here is that you’ll have to survive a couple of weeks without the money. If that’s a problem, play to a lower loss limit. ➜ If you’re normally a 25-cent player, this is the perfect opportunity to bump up a level or two. First you’ll get the buzz of playing at 50 cents or $1. More important, if you hit, your win is multiplied.

To repeat, though: These deals tend to disappear quickly. So get on it.

David G. Schwartz is the director of UNLV’s Center for Gaming Research.

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

ILLUSTRATION BY CIERRA PEDRO

THE LATEST

Dealing with a Bad Hand

THE LATEST

@neiltyson Mysteries of #Interstellar: In this unreal future, they teach unscientific things in science class.

Oh, wait. That is real.

@JoseCanseco I could probably hit a softball further with 9 fingers. Less weight means more bat speed. Lol.

@Vukizzle At a point in my life when I’m shopping and think “What lacy green underwear would Jack Napier purchase?” Don’t know how to feel about that.

@sirpearce

Bizzaro Vegas

Hard Rock goes country, Canseco gives us the fnger and Diplo is Lazer focused

This Marathon was the perfect solution to Las Vegas’ traffic problems.

@Mitzula Concerned about gay marriage ruining the sanctity of marriage?

There is a Run Thru Chapel as part of the Vegas Marathon, like in the Bible.

@Malevz

18

on the Strip (congratulations to the 2038 South Toronto LightningPanthers, truly the best hoverskate team in the league), we’ve got two major sports championships to choose from in town: the National Finals Rodeo and the World Series of Poker.

And because we have those august events on our local calendar, we get to reap the rewards of ancillary programming during the rest of the year. Like with pop-country trio Rascal Flatts, which just agreed to do a nine-show residency, Vegas Riot!, at The Joint from February 25-March 14. This marks a radical departure from The Joint’s previous residency strategy, which had been restricted to acts that at one point or another would have dealt exclusively in groupies who looked like Tawny Kitaen.

On the other side of the trickledown sports effect, we have Jose Canseco, whose athletic prowess of clubbing baseballs never seemed to translate into other areas of the sporting life, like felding baseballs. Or target shooting.

Canseco, you as a fan of late ’80s baseball, weird social media and gun-related digit trauma will remember, shot off his middle fnger while cleaning his gun late

last month. Doctors were able to reattach the digit. Happy ending for anyone who’s hoping Canseco is at full strength to type out Juiced 2, right?

Unfortunately, like a lazy fy ball to right feld in Arlington, Texas—don’t get the reference?

YouTube it—things don’t always work out like they should. Canseco was playing in a poker tournament November 13 when the reattached fnger just kind of … fell off.

Naturally, Canseco tweeted about the incident. He posted an “after” picture. Even veteran shop teachers were grossed out. The only one who didn’t mind unedited rotting stump footage? Canseco. “I put my fnger in the freezer. Anyone want fnger appetizers?” he tweeted.

Now you know why his former manager Tony La Russa drinks.

You might argue we left the fght game off the aforementioned short list of major sports championships. We might argue that while

individual titles are certainly important, the structure of the game isn’t such that one singular champion is more important than another. And that you’re being kind of a pedantic dick about it.

But anyway, here’s your fght-game news of the moment: Former UFC fghter War Machine was in Clark County District Court on November 15 for a preliminary hearing on the 34 charges he faces stemming from his alleged assault of porn star Christy Mack. When Mack testifed that he sexually assaulted her, War Machine laughed and shook his head. Which, as you can imagine, didn’t sit well with the judge. He’ll have plenty of time to read Nietzsche in prison.

Finally, from the world of our city’s favorite non-athletic pastime, electronic dance music, Insomniac touted an economic impact study claiming the 2014 Electric Daisy Carnival was worth $337.8 million to Clark County. Which buys a lot of glow sticks. And Diplo’s ex-girlfriend gave birth to their second son, whom he promptly named Lazer. It’s just kind of depressing that this isn’t a more formal era, where the child would get a proper name—you know, like Laser, with an “s.” Standards just ain’t what they used to be.

Las Vegas wants an NHL franchise. Is it about hockey? Or flying in people every few days with an average salary of $2.4 million?

@TheJonRix I always thought Celine Dion was a type of mustard?

@NHLJets2point0 Expansion to Vegas: because people in Vegas can’t find anything to do on a Saturday night, let’s give em some hockey.

@michaelianblack FASHION PATROL: Thank goodness nobody told the folks in Las Vegas that fanny packs are “out”. Practical, sporty, and fun. Love it!

@gregvegas Hey Adam Silver: Philly (+16½, under 205) at Houston tonight. Any value there? DM please.

Share your Tweet! Add #V7.

ILLUSTRATION BY JON ESTRADA

November 20–26, 2014

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VegasSeven.com

UNTIL THE STANLEY CUP GETS CONTESTED

THE LATEST

STYLE

Ronald Smith Stylist

How long have you worked in fashion? I’ve been getting paid

since the summers of high school in the mid to late ’80s, but I’ve always had an unconscious interest in fashion.

I worked in retail as a stock person in a relatively highend store. I had no interest in working in an offce environment. I wanted to be able to get nice clothes and make money at the same time, and because of the lack of income in our family, paying for my own clothes was ideal.

How do your roots impact your look? Because of the way I

dress, people immediately know I’m not from the West Coast. I’m originally from Rockville, Maryland, just outside of D.C. I own a raincoat and an umbrella. When the Vegas winter comes, people here still wear fipfops. Why not wear some boots and a coat? We don’t appreciate the change in season—the changes in color, fabric. And it’s men who miss the boat a lot of time.

20

It’s a theory that I have: The microchip has killed the well-dressed man. Maybe it’s a book I will write one day.

When we started going to the age of technology, everybody went to casual Fridays, which IBM was really behind. For example, Zappos is one of the greatest companies to come to Vegas, but there is no dress code. If you’re in IT, do you dress up? Tech hindered the [fashion] cues for professional people.

– Jessi C. Acuña

Stitched XXXX custom blazer and dress shirt designed by Smith; Robert Talbott tie; Tallia trousers; Mezlan loafers; Edward Armah pocket square; Wims & Co. lapel.

PHOTO BY JON ESTRADA

November 20–26, 2014

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VegasSeven.com

How do you feel about contemporary dress, considering you have such a classic sensibility?

CAN THE URBAN DREAM WORK IN THE SUBURBS? The rise of Downtown Summerlin forces a local architect to rethink just what “downtown” means—and how new definitions just might change the face of the Valley

By Brett Robillard

with G R E G B L A K E M I L L E R

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Photographs by J O N E S T R A D A

here’s a distinct difference between charisma and character. Character is earned, not instantaneously created. Charisma is charming, but often feeting. Downtown Summerlin aims to blend both qualities with an ambitious plan to create a culturally vibrant center in an otherwise manicured HOA-driven sprawl. ¶ Summerlin, and now Downtown Summerlin, certainly do not lack in vision.

The Summerlin community at-large has always had a master plan; this latest offering is one of the last critical developments in completing that plan. But this completion could also be seen as a new beginning. It’s a testament to the rebounding Las Vegas economy and the tenacity of the developer and local residents. The steel frame of the project’s early, recession-stunted incarnation loomed over the western Valley for years, a lasting sign of the boom and bust of the millennium’s frst decade. Today, the vibrant array of shops is a welcome change, not only for those who live in Summerlin, but for the entire Valley. It combines the convenience of freeway access, the scenic backdrop of Red Rock Canyon and an interesting attempt at urbanism to create what could be an energetic new “urb” in a neighborhood that has been the very portrait of a bedroom community. What’s left to argue about?

But if we’re wondering whether Downtown Summerlin shows the way forward for our erstwhile suburban areas, the natural question that arises is: Can you really build a Downtown from scratch?

Or is the title of “downtown” by its very nature earned rather than simply proclaimed? Should the word be reserved for locales that have endured, persevered and in turn defned a local or regional culture? Does the new approach create simply an outdoor mall—“We’ve got your fresh urbanism right here; just add water!”—or something more signifcant, a worthwhile approach to city building in the age of the master developer?

November 20–26, 2014

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VegasSeven.com

The Vegas Context

24

las vegas grew so fast that, by the 1980s, it was actually defned by a lack of a true center or downtown. The real center of our city, of course, is not Downtown at all, but the Strip. It’s the main artery of all that the world knows to be “Vegas.” It is as important to our city as Broadway is to New York City.

But the Strip can never truly be “our” center. Everyday life—at least for most of us—would be impossible to sustain at that pace and intensity.

The historic center of town—Fremont Street—was and remains an attempt to provide a more traditional geographic focus for our civic lives. But for decades, the notion of Fremont as the center of the action was mostly wishful thinking. When the Fremont Street Experience opened on December 14, 1995, it hoped with its vast canopy and pedestrian promenade to create a metaphoric neon arrow proclaiming, essentially, that “the action is here.” Instead, the attraction had simply taken one of our most organic streets and turned it into a fabrication.

Over the past few years, Downtown Las Vegas has seen much national attention because of major investments from Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh’s brainchild, the Downtown Project. Hsieh

and his partners have replaced the Fremont Street Experience strategy of trying to revive Downtown with that single, showy neon expanse; instead they’ve planted dozens of small seeds, hoping to hit the right spots and spur wider economic and cultural growth.

And if this bohemian, semi-decentralized effort, with its lack of a master plan and gestures toward organic growth, works, it will be a phenomenon with limited boundaries.

It has created much-needed energy in the historic city center, but it has yet to resolve crucial issues about urban density and critical mass. The avant-garde approach is creating

sary evil for a housing-hungry population—an ecologically and culturally unhealthy blemish on the city.

But while we can make it a priority to better manage future growth, today’s suburbs are not going away. And the health of the Valley depends on their continued evolution into more than bedroom communities.

The world is rapidly urbanizing.

The days of a singular downtown as the center are fading quickly. In more established areas—good examples are West Hartford, Connecticut, and Tysons Corner, Virginia—we see the collision of populations on the outskirts of town beginning to coalesce into

FOR OUR COMMUNITY—ACCEPTING IT FOR ALL IT IS AND ISN’T—THE QUESTION IS WHETHER DOWNTOWN SUMMERLIN HITS THE RIGHT NOTES AND CREATES A NEW CENTER AND INSPIRATION FOR MORE INTERESTING GROWTH. genuine energy, but the question remains: How will it play out over the long term? And while the Downtown Project is a welcome experiment in the urban core, its principles would be diffcult to apply to areas farther from the city center. So, how do we turn those areas into denser, more sensible and rewarding neighborhoods that limit driving and foster interaction?

In other words, how do we go about crafting workable “edge cities”?

First of all, it’s reasonable to ask whether there can even be legitimate edge cities or “second cities” in the Valley. I believe the “edge city” would be not only possible here, but valuable. It’s become fashionable to dismiss the edge as, at best, a neces-

viable retail centers, lifestyle centers and entertainment hubs. In this day of instantaneous technology and instant gratifcation, culture itself seems always poised to happen. The real chore falls to the developers, architects and visionaries to create a viable physical framework for it to grow.

Living on the Edge edge cities have been around for a while; they can generally be found on the margins of larger downtown areas and along connected spines of public transit. What turns “the edge” into an “edge city” is the collation of just enough

amenities, jobs and interconnected layers of society that the area can thrive on its own. Edge cities rise when the original urban context becomes undesirable and people seek more space, more solitude and less congestion. The irony is that most people still crave the fundamental offerings of a city: vibrancy, culture, the idea of a pedestrian promenade—a place to see and be seen. It is a natural phenomenon, one that grows organically around human interest, investment and societal infuences.

Most of Las Vegas’ mixed-use developments have sold themselves as “lifestyle centers”—these spots, such as Town Square, offer an enriched variety of offerings to cater to families and myriad activities. At Town Square, one can spend ample time in a town-like enclave, but the experience is decidedly inwardly focused, with a pastiche treatment of facades and styles that can feel less like a town and more like a caricature of the one it had hoped to be.

Town Square and Tivoli Village promote the now-romantic idea of a pedestrian streetscape, but the offerings are more about quick transactions set against a stage-set of foreign style and surrounded by parking. But I don’t think anyone is complaining about these experiences versus the “strip” mall: The developments work as pleasant alternatives to their dismal predecessors and to a traditional mall. But they are neither a “downtown” nor a true center of community.

Downtown Summerlin is indeed on the edge of town, nestled against the far western reaches of the Interstate 215 and Red Rock Canyon. It’s an attempt to create a center for an emerging edge city, and it’s particularly ambitious in scale and scope. It will take years to fnd out whether the project can evolve into a true downtown, but it already promotes a sense of urban scale, with plenty of space for pedestrians and functional roadways for cars. Of course, Downtown Summerlin also relies heavily on large parking lots, inviting the big question about whether the area

For several years, the retail component of Downtown Summerlin existed only as a steel frame—and a depressing reminder of the Valley’s economic plight. Today, it is alive and well, and it just might light the way to a new way of Las Vegas living.

While Downtown Summerlin features the ample parking and pedestrian streetscapes that have become de rigueur for our outdoor shopping districts, its overall design feels far more urban—and looks far less forced—than such places as Town Square and Tivoli Village.

small, barnacle-like accretions that created great historic downtowns. New development (and redevelopment)—especially on the edges—usually needs a major catalyst to fll landlocked empty lots or bring together a series of disconnected, shuttered relics.

Smart urbanism is still possible in a master-planned suburban setting.

Over time, even masterplanned places can earn a patina of authenticity—the aesthetic variation, historical context and emotional associations that come with being truly “lived in.” Certainly, Paris, Washington, D.C., and Chicago are stunning examples of master-planned urban conditions. It generally takes a bit of time to be timeless.

• •

In this context, the idea of turning an island of already-graded land in the middle of a sprawling bedroom community into a pedestrian-oriented mixed-use district is not a terrible proposition.

LAS VEGAS IS A TEAR-IT-DOWN, “CLEAN SLATE” KIND OF TOWN. ITS LEGACY IS PRESENT IN ITS ENDLESS NEWNESS. BUT FOR THE CITY TO GROW OUT OF ITS PERPETUAL ADOLESCENCE, IT NEEDS TO HAVE SOME SENSE OF PERMANENCE. Town Square—or even parts of Downtown.

The broader issue for this development and others like it is how the notion of a “downtown” can be imposed rather than organically grown. Master plans are great, and I certainly would never discourage fresh ideas. What’s ironic about this project, though, is that the developers—and those who crafted their branding strategy—believed that a vacant plot could be instantly turned into something meriting the moniker “Downtown.” So it should be no surprise that the authenticity and earned character of a downtown are lacking.

There are two ways of looking at this: The frst is to throw up our hands and say, “If sipping a $7 latte while strolling past Old Navy and another Wolfgang Puck restaurant is the best we can do for this ‘downtown,’ we’re in trouble.”

The second is to acknowledge a few unavoidable facts of living in a young city in the 21st century: planners and designers •canTalented deploy traditional concepts and aesthetics, but age itself cannot be faked.

From the point of view of an architect, I can take issue with some of Downtown Summerlin’s aesthetics: The surrounding streetscape is largely the unadorned block facades of the ‘back of house’ areas of the shops. The southern parcel gives us a very traditional strip mall environment. And that sea of parking buffers the development from existing and future planned development. At the moment, this “downtown” feels knitted only to itself, rather than to the secondary community streets. In other words, it hasn’t yet put the “city” in “edge city.”

But these missed opportunities and false moves don’t get in the way of the real source of Downtown Summerlin’s potential energy: the new streetscape and the people within that realm. The proposed stadium for the Las Vegas 51s would pull in real energy and distribute it back onto the sidewalks of Downtown Summerlin. So would the area’s planned residential components—the frst of them, the Constellation, is set to begin construction before year’s end. If Downtown Summerlin can ultimately engage its surrounding neighborhoods, it may even earn its name.

Real Life, Real Trade-offs my wife and i have joked that with this new development, we’re “never leaving Summerlin.” I’m hesitant to admit to it, as part of me still longs to live in a “real” downtown, where there is more history, urban grit, edginess and variety.

I’ve lived in those environments—in Boston, Chicago, New York City and even Shanghai—and each is exhilarating. I’ve even lived in the Arts District in Las Vegas, and that was fun, too.

But there’s something alluring about the immediate backdrop of Red Rock Canyon, the manicured streetscapes and the amazing ease of traffc (you can’t complain about it here until you’ve experienced real traffc elsewhere). I’ve lived in areas where “character” is omnipresent, and I think of areas where there is unmistakable character—where the buildings and sidewalks tell stories and show the wear of centuries of life.

But these places come with a price tag, too: That price is often a public realm that is more flled with confrontation. Yes, the character of such areas is “earned,” but growing up through it isn’t always pleasant. Can a new California Pizza Kitchen change my life? Probably not, but I think I’ve lost my urban edge enough to be mildly excited about it.

Las Vegas is a tear-it-down, “clean slate” kind of town. The legacy of our city is present in its endless newness. But for the city to grow out of its perpetual adolescence, it needs to have some sense of permanence. And everything was “new” once. Maybe Downtown Summerlin can take its place in history as a pivotal development that helped give our sprawl a center—many centers—pulling us out of our cars for a moment and inviting us to take a stroll in the city.

When I weigh the value of these new conceptions of what “downtown” can mean, I think of the lyrics from Bruce Springsteen’s “My Hometown”: Now Main Street’s whitewashed windows and vacant stores; seems like there ain’t nobody wants to come down here no more. Even 30 years after the song was written, the words ring true for many communities: There are far too many examples of shuttered storefronts and downtrodden traditional downtowns. The irony here is this historically earned character, while beautiful, didn’t survive the social, economic and architectural changes that shook cities in the late 20th century. But, even in an age of instant gratifcation, the strip mall fails to satisfy. We like convenience, but we also like the feeling of urban connectedness, with the varied experiences it offers. So the idea of a downtown is evolving, with many new developments attempting to fuse old-fashioned urban character with contemporary ease and energy.

With its attempt to blend the right mix of pedestrian and automobile, offce and retail, entertainment and dining, celebration and simplicity, Downtown Summerlin just might be a step toward fnding the “right ft” for our “right here” and “right now.”

VegasSeven.com

you might be surprised to learn that the Las Vegas Valley is actually a vast suburban expanse with surprising density. Compare Summerlin with most established suburban communities in the U.S. Northeast, and you’ll fnd that it’s at least four times more densely populated. The problem here is not a lack of density but rather that, despite our proximity to one another, we live in a decidedly closed-off environment.

The issue is really about connectivity: Most people enter their home from the garage as the door rolls down behind them, and that’s the last they see of their neighbors each day. So for our community—accepting it for all it is and isn’t—the question is whether Downtown Summerlin hits the right notes and creates a new center and inspiration for more interesting growth. Can it live up to its moniker from the onset, and will it perform its duty to be a catalyst for the continued growth and evolution of the area? To look at the development in this light is to see it as part of a greater, still-evolving whole.

Downtown Summerlin is a robust hybrid of retailers and restaurants; it’s a local project, but it draws many of its core tenants from ubiquitous national chains. Formally, the property turns its back to the edges. And, like both our 1990s-style big-box strip malls and our 2000s mixed-use lifestyle centers such as Town Square and The District at Green Valley Ranch, Downtown Summerlin is an island in a sea of parkingstriped blacktop. So, what can save this and future edge-city attempts at urbanism from the lifestyle-center trap?

One idea that would both help Downtown Summerlin reach its full potential and spur smart development elsewhere is a fxed-route public transit system.

These kind of big transportation ideas are the framework for interconnected growth, and for promoting a balance of car versus pedestrian.

To Las Vegans, this might seem farfetched, but it once seemed farfetched to the residents of Phoenix, too. Consider Tempe in the Phoenix area. The home of Arizona State University, Tempe is connected via rail, with a robust collection of shops, entertainment and residential along the route. The community is affliated with Phoenix in many ways, but it is clearly its own enclave, with its own identity. On the East Coast, the Burlington, Massachusetts, area has rapidly developed along one of Boston’s critical highways. Ironically, the initial catalyst was a large indoor mall built in 1968.

Only recently has the area catapulted beyond a large retail center to now include

Modern development does not •necessarily progress in the same

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The Lowdown on a “Downtown”

residential, medical and offce spaces.

Burlington is now a legitimate edge city.

But even without the Hail Mary of smart public transit, Downtown Summerlin might just have a chance: The architectural character is purposefully varied. While there are some excessively dramatic moves, such as the enormous tent-style shade structures, the overall feel is vanilla. But it’s a good vanilla—the one you are glad to taste.

By comparison, the multitude of favors in other areas—remember that Town Square visage that winds up simply feeling fake?—often yields a far less desirable taste. The offce tower at the development’s center has simple, clean lines and just enough neon fair with the top edge lighting bands. The connection at the base level between the new streets is very successful, and the curbside parking on the long blocks feels legitimate and useful—it’s not just a fussy nod toward an “urban look.”

For the streetscapes and common areas, the master planners—ELS Architects and Urban Design from Berkeley, California—took no groundbreaking aesthetic risks. But it’s precisely the simplicity of the design that gives it a decidedly urban and urbane feel compared with

November 20–26, 2014

can ultimately engage people in more sustainable methods of travel such as a dedicated rail, bus or other system that could link with nearby neighborhoods, the Strip and beyond. If not, the sense of downtown could be lost.

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NIGHTLIFE

Light resident Hook N Sling returns to Las Vegas with two new releases and a world tour under his belt

By Kat Boehrer

VegasSeven.com

A RECENT JOURNEY AROUND THE WORLD has afforded Hook N Sling [a.k.a. Anthony Maniscalco] some one-of-a-kind experiences (and his new tracks some interesting backstories).

His love for all kinds of food and sneaker shopping kept him entertained while visiting foreign lands, but he says he always likes to come back to Las Vegas to hang out with the Cirque performers at his resident nightclub, Light. The other thunder from down under, Maniscalco recently took a moment to chat about life on the road before he brings his Aussie favor back to Light on November 22.

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Gaining Momentum

November 20–26, 2014

PHOTO BY JOE TORRANCE

Your city after dark and photos from the week’s hottest parties

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NIGHTLIFE

What’s the story behind your new single, “Momentum?”

That song was lying around in pieces on my computer for about 6-8 months.

I wrote one piece, and then I wrote another piece. I kinda jumble together songs sometimes. It came together when I was just mixing and matching little parts of songs that I’ve written.

And it started working really well together. That beat with those chords, you know what I mean? But I wrote them separately.

You just released the original mix of “Tokyo

by Night.” Didn’t the remix come out first?

The Axwell remix came out frst. We let the Axwell mix do its thing. A lot of people were playing it, and I wanted to show people where his mix came from.

Why did you guys release a remix before the original?

He just wanted to put his own favor on it. I don’t think he was too concerned with the original. He just wanted to take it and make his version. We always wanted to put the original out. I just wanted to wait a little bit.

What’s the best part about touring with your music?

Eating at lots of cool places!

Then where’s your favorite spot to tour … and eat?

I just came back from Asia, actually. I had Korean barbecue in Korea, which was one of the most amazing meals I’ve had in a long time. Apparently, they grade Korean beef differently there than anywhere else in the world, and they save all the good stuff for themselves.

What else do you do in your free time when you’re in a foreign place?

I spent a week in Tokyo a couple of weeks ago, and I went sneaker shopping. There are a lot of good clothing stores in Tokyo.

Pick up anything good?

I actually bought these Balenciagas. I got them in Hong Kong. I like my Nikes, Adidas and Common Projects, as well.

November 20–26, 2014

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VegasSeven.com

What about Las Vegas? What’s distinctive about a gig here?

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The quality of the venues and the effort that gets put into the shows. There is so much competition here. There’s an extremely high standard of production, sound and lighting. Sometimes when I’m DJing, I get distracted by the show that’s going on around me. I look around at the Cirque du Soleil astronauts—last time I was here, there was one foating above my head!

So, do you party a lot?

Sometimes. If there are friends of mine in town, my arm is easily twisted. Crazy stuff happens—it’s Vegas!

What’s your craziest Las Vegas story?

[Laughing.] This won’t get printed if I tell you that …

By

NIGHTLIFE

Camille Cannon

Common.

rendition’s even got a performance by Thievery Corporation’s live drummer, Congo Sanchez. (124 S. 11th St., 11 p.m., BunkhouseDowntown.com.)

SUN 23 Still got that DayGlo? Work it again at Hyde for an ’80s- and ’90s-themed XIV Sessions.

Your hosts for the evening are none other than Saved by the Bell’s Screech (Dustin Diamond) and Mr. Belding (Dennis Haskins). A couple of bottles oughta suspend your disbelief when you see these two in a nightclub together. (In Bellagio, 6 p.m., SBE.com.) BBC Radio 1 host Pete Tong comes back to Life. This time, dance music’s elder statesman brings Welsh electronica marvel Sasha for support. (In SLS, 10:30 p.m., SLSLasVegas.com.) Green Lantern is the name of a celebrated DC Comics character, a crappy feature flm based on that character and a DJ born James D’Agostino. The latter is known for fusing trap, hip-hop and EDM beats. Give Lantern’s Iggy Azalea-laced remix of “Know About Me” a listen before his set at XS. (In Encore, 10:30 p.m., XSLasVegas.com.)

MON 24

November 20–26, 2014

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THU 20

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Electronic producer Must Die! doesn’t take himself too seriously. Take his moniker, for example. The Houston native told Vibe his stage name was inspired by the 2006 rom-com John Tucker Must Die. He says, “I thought that naming myself after something terrible would be a good laugh.” He also lists “pan futes” as a personal interest on Facebook. Catch his winning personality in action when he brings the Death & Magic Album Tour Pt. 2 to Body English. (In Hard Rock Hotel, 10:30 p.m., HardRockHotel.com.)

FRI 21 Touted as the “world’s largest paint party,” Life in Color splashes down at Cashman Center. It’s a great excuse to wear sensible clothes while

dancing to Strip headliners Adventure Club and Borgeous, and rap duo Rae Sremmurd (of “No Flex Zone” fame). Your tube dresses and suits don’t stand a chance at this party.

(850 Las Vegas Blvd. North, 9 p.m., Facebook.com/LICTour.) If you want music, dancing and Mexican food all in one place, get thee to Beauty Bar for a Global Party for the Masses. Bilingual rhyme slinger Olmeca tops the bill with DJ Canyon Cody and local emcees Misty Reign and Tree Hill. Don’t miss live art, a photo booth and, oh yeah, the grub. (517 Fremont St., 9 p.m., TheBeautyBar. com.) Most nightclub sets are over in the blink of an eye, but Common’s full-length concert at Drai’s will be an exception.

The Chicago-born hip-hop artist will kick off his Nobody’s Smiling tour—complete with support from Jay Electronica—after a warm-up by DJ Brisk. Way to

think outside the box—er, disco ball! (In the Cromwell, 10 p.m., DraisNightlife.com.)

SAT 22 There ain’t a whole lot happening out in Southern Highlands, so Distill flls the void with an ’80s-themed blowout. Dust off your DayGlo and tease your roots for the costume contest.

(We’re going as Duckie from Pretty in Pink.) Best of all? Even the drink specials are throwbacks, with Bartles & James and Jell-O shots on the menu. (4830 W. Pyle Ave., 8 p.m., DistillBar. com.) Hungry? Head to Bunkhouse for the Chicken Shack.

Although it’s a new location (the poultry-palooza was previously held at Double Down Saloon), you can still bet on free fried chicken, funky tunes and ferce moves by the Shack Shakette go-go dancers. This

Football season is in full swing, and you shouldn’t have to sacrifce partying for pigskin. Combine your passions at Cabo Wabo Cantina, where on Monday nights you can view the games and score a $59 unlimited food-and-

Sasha.

beverage buffet. Or bypass the booze and pay only $29 for the grub. (In the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood, CaboWaboCantina.com/Vegas.)

TUE 25 It’s been awhile since we’ve mentioned the Bloq Party at the Linq, but you should know it’s still going on every Tuesday.

Flash your local ID for half-off rides on the High Roller, and stick around for the silent disco on the promenade at 9:30 p.m. (TheLinq.com.)

WED 26 What’s the best way to work off your Thanksgiving dinner before it even begins?

Twerksgiving at Surrender.

(Yes, Microsoft, “Twerksgiving” is a word.) Unhinged dance moves are encouraged as the always-dapper Diplo mans the decks. (In Encore, 10:30 p.m., SurrenderNightclub.com.)

Diplo.

NIGHTLIFE

PARTIES

HAKKASAN MGM Grand

[ UPCOMING ]

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See more photos from this gallery at SPYONVegas.com

PHOTOS BY TEDDY FUJIMOTO AND JOSH METZ

November 20–26, 2014

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VegasSeven.com

Nov. 21 Steve Aoki and Autoerotique spin Nov. 22 Calvin Harris and Burns spin Nov. 23 The Chainsmokers and Mark Eteson spin

NIGHTLIFE

PARTIES

STK

44

See more photos from this gallery at SPYONVegas.com

PHOTOS BY BOBBY JAMEIDAR

November 20–26, 2014

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VegasSeven.com

The Cosmopolitan

NIGHTLIFE

PARTIES

FOXTAIL SLS

[ UPCOMING ]

50

See more photos from this gallery at SPYONVegas.com

PHOTOS BY JOE FURY

November 20–26, 2014

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Nov. 24 DJ Loczi spins Dec. 24 Sharam spins

DINING

“The inexpensive stuff you see in your supermarket generally isn’t maple syrup—it’s high-fructose corn syrup colored to look like low-grade maple syrup.” {PAGE 56}

Restaurant reviews, news and the most-consumed spirit in the world comes tto the Strip

A pendulum of beef espetada.

An Ambitious Iberian Undertaking Portuguese cuisine is a rare treat in Las Vegas. Now all Vila Algarve needs are customers to serve.

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you which dish goes with which description and price. Take heart: The staff is extremely friendly and helpful in guiding you through the menu.

Appetizers include chorizo, snails, frog legs and assorted seafood, while the entrée section offers pastas, Mozambican curries and various preparations of steak, chicken and bacalao (salted dry cod), among other things.

I’ve been most impressed with the restaurant’s seafood, such as a pair of large char-grilled Portuguese sardines. They arrive at the table whole, topped with peppers, onions, garlic, olives and olive oil, to be deboned by the server at the table.

Another wonderful seafood starter seems to have gotten mangled a bit in translation. Listed on the menu as “shrimp tails,” they’re actually jumbo shrimp with the heads removed, coated in a rich sauce of white wine, garlic and melted cheese. My favorite dish, however, has been the paella. The well-seasoned saffron rice comes packed with chicken, chorizo, shrimp, calamari and mussels.

November 20–26, 2014

PHOTO BY JON ESTRADA

PORTUGUESE FOOD IS A RARE

fnd in Las Vegas. So when I heard about Vila Algarve on West Tropicana Avenue, I imagined it would be a small spot catering to a niche market. To my surprise, I instead found a large space, with seating for up to 70 people in the dining room, a formidable bar area, and a stage that hosts an open-mic comedy night on Wednesdays and swing bands on the weekends. The owners may have been a bit ambitious, since I didn’t see another customer in the place during my frst meal—nor when I returned a few days later for takeout. Which is a shame, because most of what I’ve sampled from the menu has been delicious, even if service was exceptionally slow.

The menu at Vila Algarve (named for a region in the south of mainland Portugal) is divided into two sections: appetizers and entrées.

Dishes are listed with descriptions and prices, followed by two pages of photos of various items.

Unfortunately, none of the photos are labeled, so your server has to tell

VegasSeven.com

By Al Mancini

53

VILA ALGARVE

Large Portuguese sardines.

Al’s

Menu Picks Portuguese sardines ($7), Algarve shrimp tails ($7.50), paella ($25) and half chicken ($9.50).

While it doesn’t have any socarrat—the crispy bottom layer that a really good paella pan provides— it’s nonetheless one of the better versions I’ve had in Las Vegas.

The meat dishes haven’t impressed me as much. Trin-

chado, for example, is cubed beef, chicken or pork that’s marinated in red wine and served in a rich and creamy dark sauce. I had an appetizer portion with beef, and while I loved the taste, the meat was tough.

The chicken espetada was another disappointment, although it was the coolest looking dish I’ve tried here. It’s basically a kabobstyle skewer of chicken, pork or beef, presented hanging from a funky curved metallic stand. Sadly, you cannot taste a presentation.

The meat was bland and a little dry. If you’re looking for a chicken dish, the spice-marinated half chicken is less visually impressive, but more favorful.

Overall, Vila Algarve has the feel of a banquet hall, thanks to both the stage and the rather generic décor (although the aquariums lining the half wall between the dining room and the bar area are a nice touch). Slow service is frustrating enough when a restaurant is busy, but it’s hard to forgive when there’s not a single other diner in the place. If the owners are serious about ever flling their dining room, that’s where they should start.

[ A SMALL BITE ]

THANKSGIVING ALTERNATIVES Thanksgiving doesn’t always have to be about the turkey! Ditch the trussed up bird, and be thankful for something more interesting this year. ➜ At the very first Thanksgiving, it would not have been unusual to find crustaceans on the table at Plymouth Plantation. The shellfish may not have been Florida stone crab, but Piero’s Italian Cuisine is on the right track. Order up to 300 claws, complete with Piero’s mustard sauce, mallets and cracking instructions. A typical 1½-pound order is five to six of the pinchers. $90 dinner, $15 per claw, $15 to-go fee, $25

November 20–26, 2014

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VegasSeven.com

delivery fee, 355 Convention Center Dr., 702-369-2305, PierosCuisine.com.

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➜ If you’re looking for your Thanksgiving meal all piled into one delivery method, gobble Holsteins’ Billy Burger. The

turkey burger’s provenance is from New England itself, and comes piled high with cranberry relish, bread stuffing and giblet gravy on a bun. And only one dish to clean up! $16.50, in the Cosmopolitan, 702-698-7940, CosmopolitanLasVegas.com. ➜ How about a little breast with your thigh? Little Darlings—like the native Wampanoag—welcomes everyone to their

feast from 6-8:30 p.m. for a “totally nude” Thanksgiving (OK, that part is not like the Wampanoag). The buffet is free, but you’re still paying for something. Just wash your hands before and after you eat. 1514 Western Ave., 702-366-1141, LittleDarlingsVegas.com. – Grace Bascos

Get the latest on local restaurant openings and closings, interviews with top chefs, cocktail recipes, menu previews and more in our weekly “Sips and Bites” newsletter. Subscribe at VegasSeven.com/SipsAndBites.

GORDON RAMSAY’S NEW TAKEAWAY, CHICKEN SKIN GALORE AND WHERE TO GET YOUR SPICE FIX Now that he has a steakhouse, a burger joint and a pub, everyone’s favorite Scottish chef is going full-on U.K. with his newest addition to the Strip, Gordon Ramsay Fish & Chips. Although the traditional English meal can already be had at his pub in Caesars Palace, Ramsay’s new spot—set to open in spring at the Linq—will be a more casual experience, fashioned after takeaway spots you’d find across the pond. It’s also decidedly smaller at just 740 square feet. In addition to its namesake dish, the menu will feature all the greatest hits of British comfort food, including bangers and mash, chicken planks and seafood chowder. This kind of dining is meant to be a quick (and often post-drinking) nosh, but also works for a stroll down the Linq promenade. The only thing missing is deepfried pizza, straight from Ramsay’s homeland.

Speaking of fried things, I had no idea fried chicken skin could ever be more than that which is unceremoniously peeled off a piece of chicken. Sure, I’ve had them as chicharrón, which is how Comme Ça (in the Cosmopolitan, 702-698-7910) treats them, with still a little bit of fat beneath the skin. It curls up when fried, forming a perfect scoop, which as it turns out is an ideal delivery method for the accompanying schmear of chicken liver mousse. But I’ve also found them as thin, crispy sheets, as they’re done at Carson Kitchen (124 S. Sixth St., 702-473-9523), where they’re served with smoked honey. At Yusho (in Monte Carlo, 702730-7777), they’re beer-mustard glazed and togarashi dusted, the fat having been rendered so they crack like potato chips. They’re also crack-like in that you can’t stop eating them once you’ve started.

Sticking with the food-as-crack theme: The crazy-spicy Tony’s Chicken with Three Chilies at Lao Sze Chuan (in the Palms, 702-9426862) is a deep-fried (seeing a pattern here?), spicy and slightly sweet signature that has actually been called “Chicken Crack” in some Chicago circles, where the restaurant brand originates. But my fix goes deeper than that, so I go instead for the chef’s special dry-chili chicken. The difference is subtle, until you see the number of chilies that arrive with this version—and it’s more than three. In fact, it may even appear that there are more chilies than pieces of chicken, but don’t be discouraged.

The heat imparted by the chiles is the slowly creeping kind that envelops your mouth, rather than punches it. And before you know it, the feel-good endorphins have kicked in and you can’t get enough. But for your sanity, I’d suggest you don’t actually eat the chilies.

Grace Bascos eats, sleeps, raves and repeats.

Read more from Grace at VegasSeven.com/ DishingWithGrace, as well as on her diningand-music blog, FoodPlusTechno.com.

PHOTO BY JON ESTRADA

DINING

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DINING

TRENDSPOTTING

Sappy Goodness Real maple syrup adds a drop of autumn splendor to both sweet and savory seasonal dishes

By Al Mancini

THE GOODS

If you want to be sure you’re getting the real stuff, just look for the words “100 Percent Pure Maple Syrup” on the label. You can also find it on the tables year-round at the Griddle Café, or in the following dishes.

Irrigation tubes connect mapletree taps to a central collection point; maple trees can accomodate as many as three sap taps.

➜ The sweet potato

puree that accompanies Craftsteak’s turkey dinner is made with bourbon and Grade “A” Vermont maple syrup.

Chef Michael Chapman says the booze and the syrup “add sweetness and balance” to the dish.

In MGM Grand, 702-8917318, MGMGrand.com.

➜ For dessert, Andre’s

pastry chef offers a poached Seckel pear baked with maple custard in almond cream served warm with an oatmeal streusel and cabernet sorbet. In Monte Carlo, 702-798-7151, AndreLV.com.

➜ At the Country Club at

November 20–26, 2014

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VegasSeven.com

AS AN UNAPOLOGETIC FOOD GEEK, I SCAN

56

menus for the way in which seasonal specials refect the freshest ingredients.

I’ve always associated maple syrup with the frst chilly nights of fall and winter.

While plenty of chefs seem to agree that we’re entering the months of maple, Brett Ottolenghi, whose company Artisanal Foods supplies restaurants and the public with gourmet ingredients, recently set me straight.

“The [maple] sap is generally fowing from about February through April. It depends on the weather and when it starts getting warm,” Ottolenghi says.

I’ve known Ottolenghi long enough not to question his expertise. But if maple sap is a warm-weather product, why do I associate it with the cold? “That’s a good question,” he says, laughing.

The simplest reason seems to be that

maple just goes better with cold-weather ingredients. And unlike produce, it’s a product with a long shelf life; so you could harvest in warmer weather and put it up for use in winter. “It stores for a very long time,” he says.

That’s not to suggest that seasonality doesn’t play a role in the quality of true maple syrup. The earlier in the season the sap is harvested, the higher the quality, usually indicated by a lighter color and more delicate favor. But whether you get grade “A Fancy,” “A,” “B” or “C” syrup, if it’s been properly prepared, it’ll be good for at least a year after it was harvested.

One to three taps can be applied to a sugar maple, which must be at least 30 years old before it’s tapped. The taps are connected to irrigation tubes that connect each tree in the forest to a central

Wynn, the chef tops his butternut squash soup with a maple Chantilly cream, macerated cranberries and pumpkinspiced crystals. As the whipped cream melts, it adds sweetness to the soup. In Wynn, 702-7703315, WynnLasVegas.com.

➜ Cut steakhouse offers

collection point, where it’s boiled down to create syrup. Depending on the sugar content, it takes 20-50 liters of sap to produce one liter of syrup. And the inexpensive stuff you see in your supermarket generally isn’t maple syrup—it’s high-fructose corn syrup colored to look like low-grade maple syrup.

“You’d think if you were making a fake product that you would make it taste like the best one or the highest grade,” Brett says in disbelief when I mention products like Mrs. Butterworth’s. “But most of those are made to taste and look closer to grade ‘B’.”

pork belly with a maple syrup glaze and Asian spices. It’s accompanied by watercress and huckleberry compote.

In the Palazzo, 702-6076300, WolfgangPuck.com.

➜ For dessert at Fix,

try the salted maple ice cream, which is accompanied by pumpkin brittle. In Bellagio, 702-693-8400, FixLasVegas.com.

DRINKING

VegasSeven.com

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➜ To say baijiu is an acquired taste is an understatement. Distilled from sorghum, wheat and other grains that have been fermented in earthen pits, and stored in clay vessels, the world’s most consumed spirit (thank you, China) is wickedly pungent and lingering. It’s the durian fruit of the booze world, and it’s coming to Las Vegas.

Hakkasan Beverly Hills was the frst in the group’s portfolio to offer baijiu (pronounced “bye-Joe”); the restaurant in MGM Grand is next, and beverage manager Constantin Alexander thinks it can work. “It really completes us as worldwide brand,” he says. Alexander admits frst-timers will need to have an open mind.

“It still has that earthy, barnyard favor. You really get complex nuances—after the initial shock.”

So can Hakkasan make Las Vegas love baijiu?

“Challenge accepted!” lead bartender Tim Weigel says.

He played with all fve baijius Alexander is making available by the bottle and carafe, and his resulting cocktail, Weapon of Choice ($18), blends gin, Shui Jing Fang Wellbay baijiu, Wondermint and Hum liqueurs, and peach bitters. “Even though there’s only a halfounce of baijiu, it still takes center stage,” Weigel says.

The “spirit of China” arrives at Hakkasan this week—are you up for the challenge?

Get Weigel’s recipe at Vegas Seven.com/CocktailCulture.

November 20–26, 2014

PHOTO BY JON ESTRADA

Break Out the Big Guns

57

A&E

“Only a soul that’s hopelessly out of tune couldn’t get carried away by the music—and the musicianship—blasting off the stage.”

SHOWSTOPPER {PAGE 65}

Movies, music, stage and ducks

With his Tonight reign over, it’s time to appreciate the underappreciated funnyman

By Steve Bornfeld

VegasSeven.com

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The Morning-After Show … With Jay Leno

November 20–26, 2014

PHOTO BY MITCHELL HA ASETH/NBC; RAIDING THE ROCK VAULT BY DENISE TRUSCELLO/WIREIMAGE

SO JAY AND I ARE JUST SHOOTIN’ THE

shit, ya know?

Rewinding time, I mention New Rochelle, the New York ’burb north of the Bronx along the Long Island Sound that I know well— and where Jay Leno was born.

“Ever go to Leno’s Clam Bar?” he asks, delighted at our shared reference. “That’s my cousin. They’ve had the place 40, 50 years.”

Hell, yeah. That joint—less a restaurant than a grub shack out of a Frankie & Annette fick—is noshtime nirvana (and a nutritionist’s nightmare), specializing in burgers cooked in enough grease to shame a can of Valvoline. You have to catch them before they slip-slide off Kaiser rolls piled high and deep with fried onions and accompanied by corn on the cob swimming in so much butter, your arteries harden the moment you place the order.

Yet to devoted regulars, “Leno’s Clam Bar” (they served clams too, but who cared?) was just a sign atop the dilapidated roof.

We knew it as “Greasy Nick’s.”

We chalked it up to the cuisine.

“Yeah, it was just one of those nicknames,” he says. “I don’t know how it got there.”

That’s one reason I like Jay Leno—his family owns a place nicknamed Greasy Nick’s. Check out another, elicited when asked if he’d like one of those Vegas “residencies” we hand out like candy to Strip stars.

“You don’t want anything with your name on it, like The Jay Leno Theater. I don’t fault anybody who does it, but there’s a sense of selfimportance there,” says 64-yearold Leno, who returns to the Mirage’s Terry Fator Theatre (no offense, Terry) November 21-22.

More reasons for admiration: “It’s amusing to me when a comedian does a ‘one-man show,’” he says. “You have a lamp onstage and a chair and suddenly it’s a one-man show? It’s your fucking act! Same one you’ve done for 20 years. It’s also the reason I don’t do HBO specials or put out records.

It’s my show. If you want to see it, I’ll come do it for you. (Did PG-Jay say “fucking”? Awwriiight!)

Also, as host, Leno removed “starring” in The Tonight Show title before the host’s name, opting for

59

“with” when assuming the mantle from Johnny Carson in 1992. (Current host Jimmy Fallon reinstated “starring”).

Post-Tonight, Leno’s riding a mini-resurgence. On top of his 100-plus standup gigs this year, next year CNBC will debut the weekly Jay Leno’s Garage, based on his Web series focusing on his automotive passions. On December 19, he’ll be the fnal guest on Craig Ferguson’s last Late Late Show.

Last month, Leno pocketed the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, bestowed in a star-studded, Kennedy Center salute taped for broadcast Sunday night on PBS. And earlier this month, he made a gracious return to Tonight as a guest, certainly reveling in his hostemeritus status, but also performing a routine, like any guest comedian.

Because Jay Leno is something better than the critic’s darling he’s never been. He’s a working-man’s star.

November 20–26, 2014

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*****

60

t went y y ears have passed since I last interviewed Leno—two years into his Tonight run, and at a diffcult career moment, when New York Times writer Bill Carter’s book, The Night Shift was published. That best-seller painted Leno as an insecure, second-choice successor to Carson. Despite losing the gig, David Letterman was portrayed as a dignifed hero, winning his own CBS show and the Carson stamp of latenight approval. Leno was left beaten up and humiliated. (Though he admits to the book’s best sight gag—hiding in a closet, eavesdropping on a conference call between the NBC brass.)

Back then he was amiable but tense,

trying to dismiss it as ego-fueled show-biz absurdity (which it was, but immensely readable). Now—after departing the franchise as ratings king— he’s supremely relaxed. And amiable.

“I did it for 22 years and it was great, but at some point it becomes diminishing returns. Show business is like champagne. If you drink it every day, you become an alcoholic,” Leno says.

“And when I did The Tonight Show, I’d fy to Vegas, do my show, the plane waits, I’d come back and write 14 minutes worth of new jokes. Now I can go to one of the comedy clubs, meet the new guys or any of the guys like Brad Garrett or Carrot Top. Just have fun, like the old days.”

Leno earned that fun.

Consider it partial compensation for being one of TV’s most picked-on and picked-apart personalities. Columnists spilled reservoirs of ink—coated in condescension and derision—trying to discover “what makes Jay tick” behind that big-chinned joviality. Coastal critics turned the hard-working, vacation-spurning Leno’s appeal to the catchall “middle-America” demographic into an implication of failure.

Sniffng at him as if he’d peed in their cocktail glasses, they penned peevish columns bemoaning viewers’ preference for him over Letterman.

“I probably got beat up a lot because I didn’t fght back, but my feeling is: It’s not a DUI, you’re not cheating on your wife, it’s not cocaine, it didn’t hurt my wife or my family, and if you’re on TV, you’re already winning,” Leno says.

“Besides, when I walk out, people just want to hear a joke. I tell young comedians, ‘Never create anything

bigger than your act. If you’re known ***** as the angry guy, you’re not the funny guy anymore.’ I remember as a kid event ually, we all learn no one seeing Mort Sahl, who I loved. But for is exactly as they seem, Leno included. an hour he spoke about the Kennedy Realists know there’s no such thing assassination. It’s not what I paid to as “what you see is what you get”—a see and I never went to see him again.” sunny, simplistic description that Brilliant though he was, Sahl couldn’t avoids our complexities. Ambitions, have been one-tenth the Tonight host jealousies, working the system—they that Leno was. Yet one critic, with Leno suffuse every offce in the land. Few in the twilight of his run, referred to workplaces are as big, though—and him as a “place-holder” host in Topublic—as network television. Certainnight history. Wise men refer to this as ly the 2010 Conan O’Brien imbroglio— bullshit. when Leno returned No one is a 22-year from his prime-time place-holder. You last fop to replace his own JAY LENO that long—winning all replacement—still begs 10 p.m. Nov. 21-22, the way—because you’re questions about the Terry Fator Theatre good. Because viewers principals’ behavior. at the Mirage, like you. Because even (For more on that, read $60-$80, though Tonight made him Carter’s follow-up book, 702-792-7777, a one-percenter, Leno The War for Late Night.)

Mirage.com. seemed willing to tell Similar aspersions, fellow one-percenters though, can periodiJAY LENO: to shove it, as when he cally be cast on all of us THE MARK TWAIN characterized the ratings at our own jobs.

PRIZE battle with Letterman as Yet basic decency—an 8 p.m. November “millionaires arguing at overall sense of some23, KLVX-TV midnight” in 1993. one’s good heart and Channel 10.

“I also tell young perhead-on-straight outformers, ‘The reason look—is fairly easy to show business pays a lot recognize. So it is to me of money is that sooner or later you’re regarding Jay Leno. Being the average going to get screwed, but you’ll still guy’s TV star is a good way to irritate have a big pile of money,’” he says. the elites, which in turn is a great way “Most people who get screwed don’t to tickle the masses. get any money. Most people, after One day, perhaps he and I can clog working 20 years, at Christmastime our arteries together over paper they get the three favors of popcorn plates soaked through with butter and in a big tin.” grease as stray kernels of corn and onWas I—a TV critic during the Johnnyions dribble down our chins (in Jay’s to-Jay handoff—a 100 percent Leno case, a much longer journey down). booster? No. Never did he evolve into Where? We both know just the joint.

PHOTO BY DOUGL AS GORENSTEIN/NBC

A&E

Leno tries out the other side of the desk on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

a high-grade interviewer (with notable exceptions like the Hugh Grant episode). Sometimes his pummeling of punch lines, shouting “Yeah! Yeah!” and “Ya know? Ya know?” to egg on audience laughter, grew annoying.

Earlier this year, though, I caught long-form Leno at the Mirage, delving into extended, leisurely-paced comic arcs—a hilarious reminder of his comedic craftsmanship, and why he’s iconic to a generation of seasoned comedians (Jerry Seinfeld calls Leno “my idol”). Compared to the rat-a-tat Leno of Tonight monologues, under the gun of everyday events, it was a revelation.

“The fun thing about being on the road is you try out a joke on Monday, and almost get it, and then you can work on it more on Tuesday,” he says.

“Now when a comedian walks onto a late-night show, if they don’t get a laugh in the frst 10 seconds, they go, ‘He’s bombing!’ Well let the guy fnish, will ya? Jesus! They edit the comedian literally to the punch line so you don’t get any growth to the joke, there’s no build-up, everything is in your face.

When you watch an old master like Bob Newhart, he’ll take a few minutes and set the stage. You’re smiling along the way, and it catches you laughing when you get to the punch line. That’s what’s fun about stand-up.”

Tame Impala Takes Fans on a Trip Brooklyn Bowl, Nov. 13

A&E

It took nearly an hour for Kevin Parker to finally communicate with the audience. “Thank you so much, you guys. This is the most fun I’ve had onstage in a long, long time.”

The frontman and lead guitarist of Australian rock project Tame Impala appeared barefoot and he guided fans on a psychedelic trip—turning the Brooklyn Bowl into a large, souped-up hippie circle, compete with lights and trippy visuals displayed via projector.

The band took a hi-fi approach to their traditional lo-fi sound, and songs such as “Endors Toi” and "Mind Mischief” achieved new levels of depth and clarity. Impromptu jam sessions seamlessly transitioned into songs. Parker swung his guitar and stomped during the driving rhythm of “Elephant” and crooned with fans in a sing-along rendition of “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards.” ★★★✩✩ – Ian Caramanzana

Death From Above 1979 kept their rock hard and simple Brooklyn Bowl, November 15

It’s a hell of a tornado of noise from two guys who don’t even have a guitar. Death From Above 1979 makes the most of minimalism: Bass and drums are the only instruments, but they create a sonic barrage that makes some multi-guitar acts sound like pennywhistle quintets.

Their stage show is likewise stripped down: a backdrop of the band’s haircuts-with-elephant-trunk-noses logo. One guy in black, the other in white, both with clear Lucite instruments. Stage patter was held to a brief, vaguely uncomfortable greeting, leaving the focus on the sound, a riff-heavy roar. Death From Above’s set included early singles “Romantic Rights” and “Blood on Our Hands,” as well tracks from their new album, The Physical World, such as the sprawling “Right On, Frankenstein." Singer/drummer Sebastien Grainger pummeled his kit and wailed evocative lyrics about bedrooms and basements, toxic clouds and skateboards, while bassist Jesse Keller built to a hypnotic groove that filled the room—not bad for just a duo. ★★★★✩ – Lissa Townsend Rodgers

November 20–26, 2014

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tore out chunks of distortion, grimy hooks and string squeals. All of it

62

RU EXPERIENCED? It’s not easy cramming two decades of hits into a two-hour show, but R&B superstar Usher gets the job done. His UR Experience comes to MGM Grand Garden Arena on Nov. 22 ($48-$188) with a combination of outstanding vocals and nonstop dancing.

Usher.

ON SALE NOW The Roots will take a brief break from their Tonight Show duties and play a three-night residency at Brooklyn Bowl on Dec. 31 and Jan. 2-3 ($44-$82.50).

Expect cuts from their latest album, ... And Then You Shoot Your Cousin, some classic covers and a few surprise guests.

TAME IMPAL A AND DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979 BY ERIK K ABIK/ERIKK ABIK.COM; USHER BY FREDERIC LEGRAND/SHUT TERSTOCK

CONCERTS

The

HIT LIST

Already dressed for the chorus line: Jase, Si, Willie and Phil Robertson.

ALBUMS WE'RE BUYING 1 Pink Floyd, The Endless River

TARGETING THIS WEEK'S MOST-WANTED EVENTS

2 The 1975, The 1975

By Camille Cannon

3 Foo Fighters, Sonic Highways

4 Neck Deep, Wishful Thinking

5 Machine Head, Bloodstone & Diamonds

9 Big K.R.I.T., Cadillactica

Taylor Swift, 1989 10

DUCK DYNASTY BY ART STREIBER; GAZILLIONAIRE AND PIBBETS BY TOM DONOAGHUE

According to sales at Zia Record Exchange at 4503 W. Sahara Ave., Nov. 10 -Nov. 16.

SOCK IT TO HER

Because this worked so well for Pawn Stars, the Duck Dynasty dudes are mounting a Vegas stage show. The Duck Commander Family Musical hopes to open at the Rio in February. So what does a Duck Dynasty musical look like, other than a huge money-pit doomed to shutter within months of opening?

If it’s a broad satire of reality culture

Las Vegas’ greatest crusader

for sock-puppet social justice, Penny Pibbets, is putting on her own show at the Art Square Playhouse Theatre. Almost. The Absinthe star netted more than $20,000 on Kickstarter for the Penny Pibbets Show,, a live yakker that will officially debut December 21. (Big-ticket donors at $5,000 would land a coffee-and-doughnut date with Pibbets.) She’s still shy of her stretch goal of $23,000 at presstime— where she’d ride into the show on a rhinestoneencrusted rainbow unicorn. Directing is Shannan Calcutt of Zumanity. The Gazillionaire already has his own Web series, and Melody Sweets fronts the band Koocheekoo. This is the next logical step in our entire local economy being based on Absinthe side projects. – J.S.

RYTHMIC REMIXES If you have to hear Frozen’s “Let It Go” one more time, let it be the Africanized tribal cover by Alex Boyé. The Nigerian YouTube star will perform from his repertoire of reinvented pop songs (also including Pharrel Williams' “Happy” and Katy Perry’s “Roar”) at 8 p.m. in UNLV’s Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall. UNLV.edu/PAC. FLOCK TOGETHER This is your last weekend to be edified

by Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull at CSN’s Backstage Theatre. Now considered among Chekhov’s four major plays, its opening night in 1896 was an infamous disaster.

Your support means CSN students won’t experience the same. CSN.edu.

YOU BETTER BOOK IT If your loved ones love comics, get your holiday shopping done during the fifth annual Black Wednesday Sale at Maximum Comics. All three locations are offering raffles, discounts and extra-special deals for those who show up when doors open at 9 a.m. Nov. 26. Now you can relax on Black Friday. Facebook.com/MaximumComics.

TRAPPED IN A BOX Cute from a distance and gory up close, Abigail Goldman’s Home Sweet Home is a series of dioramas depicting violent deaths in rural settings. “No need to struggle with this work,” reads Trifecta Gallery’s website. The exhibit, on display through Nov. 28, is meant to incite tension, and perhaps, even make you laugh.

TrifectaGallery.com.

VegasSeven.com

Slipknot, .5: The Gray Chapter (Explicit) 8

|

7 Run the Jewels, Run the Jewels 2

DUCK DYNASTY, COMING TO A STAGE NEAR YOU

in general and the Robertson family in particular, we could see where this could have some interesting artistic merit and appeal to a sharper audience.

So naturally, that’s the exact opposite of what they’re doing, opting instead for a straightforward telling of the Robertson family’s story. But, you know, with more music, faker beards and involvement from the kinds of Broadway lifers with whom the Robertsons would never otherwise voluntarily associate.

According to The New York Times, which broke the news, the musical is “expected to feature video of the real Robertsons and duck hunting, interspersed with family anecdotes and a 14-song score that mixes country, blues and show tunes. The likely opening number is ‘Faith, Food and Family.’”

Well, if there’s one thing that people come to Las Vegas for, it’s a healthy dose of faith and family. We see zero downside here. – Jason Scavone

November 20–26, 2014

6 Real Friends, Maybe This Place Is the Same and We’re Just Changing

63

MUSIC The Flavr Blue.

[ SOUND PROOF ]

THE NEW FLAVR Introducing your go-to guide for Vegas beats

BEFORE MOVING FROM THE BAY AREA TO

Las Vegas in January, I held two pretty common misconceptions about the population of my future home: 1. You all love horrible EDM. 2.

You are all assholes. I quickly learned that the former was not true; the latter is still up for debate.

Being a hip-hop head and seeing the genre underrepresented within these pages, I started pitching concert reviews, which led to artist interviews, which led to an online column focused on music streaming and downloads called Hear Now (read it at VegasSeven. com/hearnow). Which brings us to Sound Proof, a new bi-weekly column for news on local artists, shows to see, rants and who knows what else. I’ll be freestyling this as I go, so I’d love to hear your inside tips, thoughts and suggestions. With that said, let’s jump into the frst cypher.

MPC maestro RJD2, who’s best known for the Mad Men theme song, touches down at the Bunkhouse on November 21. The Ohioan has more than a decade of genre-pushing production in his catalog, from his solo instrumental releases to collaborations with underground emcees. He’s known to bring an arsenal of equipment onstage with him, including drum machines and multiple turntables. It’s defnitely one for the beatheads. But don’t skip opener Kitze + the CPUs. The oneman project is the latest from Las Vegan Brett Bolton (formerly of Kid Meets Cougar), who makes groovy 8-bit electro-pop jams paired with entrancing visual projections.

Also dropping into the Bunkhouse on November 23 is Seattle electroR&B trio The Flavr Blue. Comprised of members from various Northwest rap groups, the new crew has taken a totally different direction from their previous affliations, mastering both dancefoor bangers (“F x F”)

and darker, atmospheric productions (“We Can Go Blind”). If singer Hollis looks and sounds familiar, it’s because she stole the show on Macklemore’s ScHoolboy Q-assisted “White Walls.”

OK, I’ll stop with the Bunkhouse worship, but we’ll stay Downtown as ¡MURSDAY! stomps into LVCS on November 25 (the same night DJ QBert plays Bunkhouse ... shit, sorry).

A collaboration with Miami hip-hop band ¡MAYDAY!, the newly formed outft is the latest reinvention for West Coast veteran and former Living Legends member Murs. You shouldn’t expect anything out-of-the-box, just straight up, hard-hitting boom bap. If there’s rap to mosh to, this is it.

While many have slept on Vegas’ hip-hop scene, Rick Ross hasn’t. The Florida tycoon signed Vegas rapper Yowda to his Maybach Music Group last week. Yowda, who earned buzz from his collaborations with YG (“That’s How It Goes”) and Rozay himself (“Ballin’”), joins the ranks of Wale, Stalley and Meek Mill—all of whom were catapulted into the national spotlight by Ross’ Midas touch.

Let’s hope the Las Vegan’s MMG offerings won’t be as boring as, say, anything by Wale.

As terrifc as that last news item is, Yowda might not be the best representation of our diverse hip-hop scene. I’d advise you to skip Googling his name and instead cop Marion Write’s Black Gold. Available for free download, it’s one of the most polished recent releases from a local artist.

I’m hoping to discover more, so feel free to drop me a line. Or, if you see me lurking at concerts—the big, grizzly-looking Indian dude in a fvepanel—come say what’s up and prove you’re not all assholes.

Got new music or upcoming shows?

Holler at Zoneil.Maharaj@wendohmedia. com or @zoneil on Twitter.

PHOTO BY AVI LOUD

By Zoneil Maharaj

STAGE Whitesnake’s Doug Aldrich shreds through the ‘vault.’

ROCK AND RELOAD Overhauled Raiding the Rock Vault is a hit-and-miss hit parade

PHOTO BY DENISE TRUSCELLO/WIREIMAGE

LOOK! UP ON THE STAGE! IT’S A CONCERT!

It’s a theater piece! It’s … well, kinda one, but not completely … and sorta the other, but not very often. Or very well.

It’s Raiding the Rock Vault, Take Two, revamped and relocated to the Tropicana after nearly two years at the LVH-turned-Westgate, owing to legal acrimony between show co-creator John Payne (of the group Asia) and producer Harry Cowell. That necessitated changes.

Paradoxically, Rock Vault was originally enjoyable as a well-paced mix of music, sketch interludes and multimedia narrative of the music’s history—even though, as a sparkly Vegas package, it seemed like an unintentional rebuff of rock’s scruffy, defant ethos. Now it’s more concert-centric, but periodically screeches to a halt for comic breaks that are hardly worth the effort, with inconsistent video-monitor minutiae.

One can only guess why most songs merit trivia streams onscreen, but the Eagles’ “Hotel California” doesn’t even get a fash of the song title. Or why, in the midst of several songs released in the ’70s—Free’s “All Right Now,” Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” and Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water”— up pops a graphic itemizing the cost of living in 1968. (Movie tickets: $1.50.)

Gone is the odd but atmospheric opening that set up its former theatrical element, in which hazmat-suited wanderers from the future cracked open the “vault,” ushering forth the show’s rockers. Instead, they fle onstage in straight intros, but once they arrive, the good times rock ’n’ roll. On hand for the second go-round (sans Payne) are, among others: singers Paul Shortino (Quiet Riot), Andrew Freeman (Lynch Mob) and the strutting,

often chest-baring Robin McAuley (Survivor), guitarists Howard Leese (Heart) and Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake), bassist Hugh McDonald (Bon Jovi) and drummer Jay Schellen (Badfnger).

Only a soul that’s hopelessly out of tune couldn’t get carried away by the music—and the musicianship—blasting off the stage. Kicking off with “My Generation” and “Light My Fire,” this “raid” tears through the decades with a truly great greatest-hits compilation. Among the highlights: “Honky Tonk Women,” “We Are the Champions,” “Dream On,” “Carry On, Wayward Son,” “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” “Addicted to Love,” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and a scorching “Highway to Hell.”

Unleashing some power pipes, Carol-Lyn Liddle goes deliriously gonzo on “Heartbreaker,” and even the cheesiness (and cheesecake) of two female dancers in boxing trunks throwing Rocky-like jabs can’t diminish the pulsating “Eye of the Tiger.”

No complaints—except when the now-fewer, less-funny sketches drop in out of nowhere, along with intermittent narration built around fctional stoner-roadies reminiscing.

Painfully unfunny bits feature them sharing a story about how cops stole their weed, and later, as oldie roadies, looking back on the good times. Another routine, with Shortino playing the stereotypical drug-hazed rocker, is fat-out embarrassing.

As a pure concert, Raiding the Rock Vault would indeed be a stairway to heaven. As for the ill-ftting narrative changes: Carry on without them, wayward producers.

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

A&E

MOVIES

A BRIEF HISTORY OF LOVE The true story of Stephen Hawking’s frst marriage is absolutely cosmic

By Michael Phillips Tribune Media Services Jones and Redmayne play star-crossed lovers.

RELATIONALLY, YOU CAN’T ENTIRELY TRUST

what you’re seeing in The Theory of Everything, the romanticized portrait of astrophysicist superstar Stephen Hawking and his many years spent with his frst wife, Jane Hawking. Yet biopics are funny this way: Even satisfying ones can fudge and elide and gloss over any number of diffculties, while in this instance offering a steadily absorbing and movingly acted depiction of a marriage whose time comes, and then goes.

Eddie Redmayne, last seen trembling with grief, nobly, in Les Miserables, plays Hawking before and in the thick of his motor neuron disease. Felicity Jones portrays the woman initially known as Jane Wilde, whose recent memoir Travelling to Infnity: My Life with Stephen was the basis of screenwriter Anthony McCarten’s adaptation. This was the heavily revised second memoir she wrote on the subject. More on that in a bit.

When we meet Redmayne’s Hawking in the 1963 Cambridge University scenes, he’s a gangly, grinning bundle of intellectual discovery, ogling the

world (and women) through enormous black horn-rimmed glasses, pursuing his own theory of the origin of the universe. Director James Marsh, whose superb work in documentaries includes Man on Wire and Project Nim, brings Stephen and Jane together as a golden couple. The flm is a story of a marriage that survives, for a long time, in the face of crushing disease, and within the framework of a caretaker scenario that led to Jane’s depression in the midst of Stephen’s increasing global fame.

The trailers for The Theory of Everything hint at the real-life couple’s romantic travails. Their three kids always nearby, Jane ended up with their friend, choirmaster Jonathan Hellyer Jones (Charlie Cox). Stephen left Jane for his nurse, Elaine Mason (Maxine Peake). The movie’s pretty light on matters of science. It works best as a study of human vulnerability and love’s way with us all, and as such, a handsomely mounted, slightly hollow picture by the

end becomes a very affecting one.

Now: Setting facts aside, how “authentic” are the relationships imagined here? A much bleaker image of the Hawkings’ lives together emerged from the pages of the 1999 memoir Jane published under the title Music to Move the Stars. She acknowledged that she wrote it in the wake of “a horrendously painful divorce.” The one we see in The Theory of Everything does not answer to that description. Jane’s initial memoir’s description of Stephen as a “puppeteer” and an imperious, narcissistic “emperor” led to fearsome blowback. Jane later said she learned “that you can’t write exactly as you think.”

The Theory of Everything takes out a lot of the mess. Marsh nonetheless manages a flm worth seeing. Redmayne has often seemed like not quite enough onscreen; in the trife My Week With Marilyn, opposite Michelle Williams, his freckled ice-cream face (to twist an Odets line from Sweet Smell

November 20–26, 2014

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SHORT REVIEWS

66

Beyond The Lights (PG-13) ★★★✩✩

Beyond the Lights is another pain-behindthe-music romance. But it’s so well written, cast and played that we lose ourselves in it all. This hip-hop-era Bodyguard has heart and soul, thanks to stars Gugu MbathaRaw, Minnie Driver and Nate Parker. Rising hip-hop phenom Noni (Mbatha-Raw) is dating a star rapper, doesn’t drink and never loses track of the album that’s about to drop. Her driven stage mother/manager (Driver) keeps Noni focused. But Noni is in misery. Can the cop assigned to guard her door (Parker) save her?

Rosewater (R) ★★★✩✩

The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart makes his first-feature film, and it works. Stewart has serious talent behind the camera, as well as a sense of humor. He’s telling his fictionalized version of the story of Maziar Bahari, a journalist covering the 2009 elections in Iran for Newsweek. Shortly after appearing in a Daily Show segment, the reporter was arrested and tossed in a Tehran prison. The excellent prison scenes with Bahari (Gael Garcia Bernal) and the interrogator/torturer known to Bahari as Rosewater (Kim Bodnia), after the cologne he wears, anchor the film.

Dumb and Dumber To (PG-13) ★★★✩✩

Twenty years after they lowered the bar on dumb character comedies, Lloyd and Harry are back. Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels energetically reprise their popular roles.

Harry needs a kidney donor, so the two head off in search of the dopey bombshell (Rachel Melvin) who might be his daughter and a potential donor match. Comedy left the Farrelly brothers behind more than 10 years ago, and even their best efforts at reviving their PG-13 Three Stooges style feel old-fashioned and tired.

of Success) was photogenic, but the performance never sparked. Now, though, as Hawking, he has the most interesting role of his young career, and he proves he’s fully up to it, both in his rigorous physical depiction of the progressive disease’s results and in capturing Hawking’s wit.

In a more recessive role, Jones is no less impressive. She hints at Jane’s internal struggles even when the flm itself chooses a more decorous route.

The best scene in The Theory of Everything is the breakup itself. The way Marsh lingers for a telling few seconds on Stephen, as he weighs the decision to send a very important message to his wife, which will be translated into the famous Hawking voice, the flm’s polite drawbacks fade. We’re left with two actors, two valiant, fawed characters and a moment that makes the movie.

The Theory of Everything (PG-13) ★★★✩✩

By Tribune Media Services

Interstellar (PG-13) ★★★✩✩

A knockout one minute, a punch-drunk crazy film the next, this Interstellar is a highly stimulating mess. Emotionally it’s also a mess, and that’s what makes it worth its 169 minutes. Simple, elemental human feeling. The film takes the time and the narrative space to explore several worlds. When McConaughey breaks down watching years-old messages from his son, he weeps. And even Zimmer’s music backs down, allowing the scene to breathe, play out and—like the best of this crazy, mixed-up, heartfelt endeavor—matter.

Low Down (R) ★★★★✩

Big Hero 6 (PG) ★★★✩✩

Laggies (R) ★★✩✩✩

Nightcrawler (R) ★★★✩✩

Horns (R) ★★✩✩✩

Birdman (R) ★★★✩✩

The movie is an impressive, street-level feature debut from director Jeff Preiss.

It’s based on the book Low Down: Junk, Jazz, and Other Fairy Tales From Childhood, in which Amy-Jo Albany, daughter of jazz pianist Joe Albany, wrote about her riskprone, caretaking childhood. Lena Headey plays Amy-Jo’s hostile drunk of a mother.

While the writing in her scenes feels less authentic—more like an actress speaking writerly lines than a real-life character—it’s a minor glitch in a tough-minded, empathetic portrait of dreamers on the edge.

In Laggies, Keira Knightley tries on a generic American dialect. Based on the results, the actress defines that as “nasal, and how!” Her character, Megan, is 28 years old and a Seattle native. She has thus far let life happen to her, and around her. The movie is too mild to provoke much active frustration, but Laggies never quite gets over its credibility problems. By dint of its on-screen talent, Laggies qualifies as a genial, puttering indie with a starrier cast.

Ignatius “Ig” Perrish has a hangover, and the morning after a night of unspecified “terrible things,” he puts his hands to his temples and realizes he has a “pair of knobby pointed protuberances” where none used to be. A murder mystery, Horns concerns a young man who turns his back on the Lord and is both punished and rewarded. It’s hard to jerk tears a beat or two after gleeful rounds of brutality, even if it happens to, or because of, Daniel Radcliffe. As Ig, the Harry Potter alum labors valiantly to stay on course with a role, and material, that goes every which way.

Here we have a robot considerably more beguiling than his movie. The Big Hero 6 gang first appeared in the Marvel pages in 1998. While we’re on it: Many Disney animated pictures succumb to the temptation of a protracted action climax.

This is one of them. Without making a big deal out of it, Big Hero 6 features a shrewdly balanced and engaging group of male and female characters of various ethnic backgrounds. Scott Adsit (30 Rock) voices Baymax, aptly, as a kind of Americanized mecha-Jeeves, ready to serve.

Jake Gyllenhaal lost 30 pounds for Nightcrawler, and the result is eerie, much like the film itself. His character is Lou, a freelance L.A. crime scene videographer.

The street scenes, lonely canyon roads and shadowy interiors come from both the movies and from corners of the real L.A., so mundane in its capacity for everyday evil.

Despite the familiarity of its themes—the bottom-feeding news media; the pathology born of isolation; the American can-do spirit, perverted into something poisonous—Gilroy’s clever, skeezy little noir is worth a prowl.

Birdman proves that a movie—the grabbiest, most kinetic film ever made about putting on a play—can soar on the wings of its own technical prowess, even as the banality of its ideas threatens to drag it down. Its star, Michael Keaton, is a beloved actor who made millions on Batman and settled for a smaller level of fame. Keaton plays Riggan Thomson, a fictionalized version of Keaton himself, right down to the shared number of syllables in both names. The viewer can take Birdman as capital-M Meaningful or else as pleasantly devoid of deep thoughts.

BETTING

ON SECOND THOUGHT …

Looks like the Patriots are still pretty good afer all.

They just won’t be good enough this week.

UNLIKE MOST PEOPLE IN THE 21ST CENTURY— and I’m looking right at you, Ms. Wine Expert and Mr. Fantasy Football Expert—I’m not one to tout myself as all-knowing in a particular feld.

(This is when you scan to my record at the bottom of this page and mutter to yourself, “Yeah, no shit.”) That said, there is one skill I’ve honed to darn-near expert levels: the art of the apology. This is one of the benefts of 20 years of marriage!

So without further delay, allow me to take this time to sincerely apologize to two fne gentlemen whom I so rudely and recklessly disparaged in this space some six weeks ago: Tom Brady, Bill Belichick—I’m sorry. I’m sorry that, after your New England Patriots face-planted in Kansas City on the fnal Monday night in September, I took great delight in thumbing out several texts to friends (including a couple of Patriots fans) contending your reign as the NFL’s gold standard was history. I’m sorry I dared to assert in this column that Brady’s days as an elite quarterback were over and that he couldn’t so much as hold Andy Dalton’s jock. And I’m sorry I topped that column with the following headline: “How the Mighty Have Fallen: A certain Hall of Fame quarterback is in a downward spiral—as is his oncedominant team.”

Actually, upon refection, I shouldn’t be apologizing to Brady and Belichick so much as I should be the rest of the NFL for taking a stick to a sleeping bear. Because since that 41-14 Monday night massacre in Kansas City, all the Patriots have done is rip off six consecutive victories, going 5-1 against the spread.

During this stretch, the offense has averaged 40.5 points per game (tallying 136 points in the last three weeks alone); the defensive has yielded 21.3 ppg; and New England has won four times by more than three touchdowns.

As for the washed-up Golden Boy, he’s thrown for 1,858 yards with 20 touchdowns versus three interceptions during the winning streak, vaulting from 29th in quarterback rating to ffth.

In other words, all the reports of Brady and the Patriots’ demise—by the way, I wasn’t the only one wielding that bear-poking stick—were greatly exaggerated. But, hey, at least I’ve learned my lesson and will be laying the 7 points with New England when it hosts Detroit this week … right? Wrong.

MATT JACOB

LUCKY SEVEN

Lions +7 at Patriots (Best Bet) Ravens +3.5 at Saints Seahawks -6.5 vs. Cardinals Dolphins +7.5 at Broncos Iowa +10 vs. Wisconsin Baylor -27 vs. Oklahoma State UCLA -3.5 vs. USC

You see, the Lions aren’t exactly pushovers. Yes, they fell 14-6 at Arizona last week, but they’re still 7-3, they still haven’t lost consecutive games all season and they still sport the NFL’s No. 1 defense—and it’s No. 1 by a lot: Detroit is giving up just 15.6 points and 290.3 yards per game (every other team in the league is allowing more than 17 points and more than 300 yards per game).

To put things into perspective, the six defenses the Patriots have faced during their winning streak rank eighth, 15th, 16th, 22nd, 27th and 32nd in points allowed. In fact, Brady and Co. have faced just two teams that currently rank in the top seven in scoring defense: the Chiefs (second) and Dolphins (fourth). Not so ironically, those are the only two squads to defeat New England this season … by the combined score of 74-34.

Will Detroit become the third team to topple the Pats? I wouldn’t be shocked. At the very least, the Lions— who have no-showed just once all year, a 24-7 Week 2 loss at Carolina—will keep this close. And their defense will make the 37-year-old Brady look his age for the frst time since the Chiefs loss.

Wait, what’s that you’re asking?

Yes, I guess I am siding with Jim Caldwell over Bill Belichick … in a November game … in New England.

Yeah, let me get started on crafting my next apology …

Last Week: 4-3 (1-2 NFL; 3-1 college; 0-1 Best Bet).

Season Record: 38-39 (19-21 NFL; 19-18 college; 4-7 Best Bets).

Matt Jacob appears at 10 a.m. Thursdays on Pregame.com’s First Preview on ESPN Radio 1100-AM and 100.9-FM.

Opening nOvember 21 Enjoy snow showers, fire pits, s’mores, warm cocktails and skating on real ice as The Cosmopolitan transforms the iconic Boulevard Pool into a winter retreat overlooking The Las Vegas Strip.

skating specials fOr lOcals

cos m o p o l i ta n l asv e gas .co m

Does it feel awkward meeting fans since you’ve given so much of yourself for public consumption?

When I meet people, I don’t talk about myself so much, because it is so uneven. I usually ask them, “Why are you asking me so many questions?

What are you doing?” I don’t feel like I have no soul left, that I’ve given away all my mystery. If I shit in my pants, I’d write about it. So why would I ask for privacy now?

I don’t beneft from an aura of mystery. I would feel like some magic was dispensed with. People don’t know anything of consequence. They might know that I’ve bought an owl, that I grew up in Raleigh. But I’ve discovered the illusion of exposing yourself.

What don’t you write about?

I don’t write about sex. It’s just not my subject. I’m sort of amazed by people who write in detail about something they do with another person in bed.

David Sedaris

The humorist on self-revelation, the art of not trying to be funny and what he once might have done for 50 bucks

By Cindi Moon Reed

November 20–26, 2014

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VegasSeven.com

How do you know what to reveal and what to hold back?

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Before you “made it,” your personal essays described your odd jobs, drug use and nervous tics—stuff that readers could relate to. Now that you’re rich and famous, has your writing changed?

I don’t feel like I’m a different person. Having money didn’t make me confdent, didn’t make me brave in any important way, didn’t make me good-looking, didn’t make me talented. … I don’t know that it

has affected my essay writing.

When telling a story, you’re trying to write it in a way that people can relate. ...

I actually thought about that [recently] when I was fying frst class from Atlanta to Ra-

Sometimes you don’t want to hurt people. It’s always nice to keep a little something for yourself. The worst things I’ve done I’ve already written about. They are the things most people can relate to, because we’re not that different.

If I’m talking about envy or stealing or lying or any kind of sin or any kind of horrible thought, 90 percent of people in the world have had that same thought. I was signing books awhile ago and this guy came up to me and said, “Have you ever had a rape fantasy?” I thought, you don’t have to answer every question that a stranger poses.

But I went ahead and said, “Yeah, once or twice.” He said, “Me too. In my fantasy, I hold the guy down and I cut away the pants.” “In your fantasy,

AN EVENING WITH DAVID SEDARIS

Nov. 23, 7:30 p.m., The Smith Center, $46-$56, TheSmithCenter.com.

you’re the rapist?” Rapists! I just didn’t expect that at all.

But I like being the person who people can tell that to.

Do you try to be funny?

I recorded “Santaland Diaries” for a BBC Christmas special.

I hadn’t read it on a page in 17 years, and I was mortifed by how awful it was, how obvious it was. I was straining to get a laugh. I couldn’t believe that no one stopped me from publishing it. Humor writing that’s straining for a laugh— nothing is less funny than that. I’d rather do without a laugh than get it that way.

You’re famous for picking up trash on these long walks in the English countryside. What’s the grossest thing you’ve picked up?

I found a deli tray—somebody had vomited in the cover of a deli tray and threw it out the window. Luckily it’s autumn, so I washed my hands with dead leaves. A couple of weeks ago, somebody used a plastic grocery bag as a toilet. There was toilet paper near it. That’s too much even for me. It’s the grossest thing I’ve come across.

In “A Plague of Tics,” you describe a childhood in which you felt compelled to make weird repetitive movements. Did you ever grow out of that?

You mentioning that, now I’m going to roll my eyes and jerk my head. It’s not going to last that long, at least a day. It wasn’t much fun being that kid, the kid who was jerking his head and rolling his eyes.

But I look at it, and it all goes in to making you you.

I never learned to drive a car, but if I had learned I’d probably never be a writer.

When I was young, I didn’t have any way to get [anywhere], so I stayed home and found ways to entertain myself. Not that nervous tics kept me at home, but I felt that home was safe. I think that some of my nervousness and anxiety have something to do with me being afraid to drive a car. I got trifocal glasses and this middle-distance thing was not working for me. They said, “You’ll get used to it.” I never got used to it. I never stopped being afraid.

PHOTO BY ANNE FISHBEIN

SEVEN QUESTIONS

leigh, North Carolina. Because I travel so much, American Airlines bumped me up. I wouldn’t have mentioned that except if I’d been in coach I’d have a different story to tell: The guy across the aisle was chewing tobacco and spitting juice into a soda bottle.

I wondered how much you’d have to pay me to drink that.

Thirty years ago, I’d have done it for 50 bucks. Ten years later, it would cost 10 times as much.

And now … ? How’d I get so spoiled that I’d have to get so much money to drink that guy’s tobacco spit?