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14 | THE LATEST
“Season’s Greetings,” by Lissa Townsend Rodgers. Celebrate the holidays by partaking in some uniquely Vegas traditions, from twinkling cacti to Pastramakah sandwiches. Plus, Ask a Native and Higher Math on Higher Education.
16 | DTLV
“What’s in a Name? Everything,” by Geoff Carter. Downtown has a proper-noun problem and needs to ‘Shift’ gears.
18 | Latest Thought
“Get Together, Give Together,” by Julie Murray and Anna Auerbach. How teamwork turns our desire to give back into lasting results for the whole Valley.
20 | THE SHOPPING ISSUE
Shopping tips from the pros, our favorite apps and blogs, and how a few nattily attired children get their looks as we kick off the holiday season.
29 | NIGHTLIFE
“Here’s How to Party,” by Kat Boehrer. MAKJ shows the Strip how a superstar DJ does it.
53 | DINING
Al Mancini on Lucky Foo’s. Plus, Christian Dolias introduces Mexican food to Prague, Dishing With Grace and Cocktail Culture.
59 | A&E
“All We Want for Christmas …” Vegas Seven staffers reveal what’s on their wish list. Plus, anticipating Rascal Flatts’ residency, The Hit List and Tour Buzz.
64 | Old Lady in a Mosh Pit
Lissa Townsend Rodgers brings a lifetime of hard music to her debut column.
66 | Movies
Foxcatcher and our weekly movie capsules.
72 | Going for Broke
Handing out the Griswold awards as football season enters the homestretch.
78 | Seven Questions
David Leibner, CEO and co-founder of It’s On Me and Gift Local, on supporting Vegas retailers, shopping greed on Thanksgiving Day and why delivery drones won’t work.
Dialogue Vegas Moment Seven Days Seven Nights Showstopper
ON THE COVER Photo by Danielle DeBruno “Have a wardrobe that wears well both clean and dirty, and when you do get dirty, use that to play up your more rugged side,” says Miles McCoy, 5.
STYLING BY L AUREN MOL ASKY;
HAIR AND MAKEUP BY NATALIE L ANE USING M.A.C. COSMETICS ISABEL MAR ANT ÉTOILE sweater, J BR AND gray jeans and ALEX ANDER WANG cream handbag, Neiman Marcus in Fashion Show. Céline checkered slip ons, Barneys in the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian and the Palazzo.
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November 27–December 3, 2014
PHOTO BY JON ESTRADA
11 12 15 34 65
VegasSeven.com
DEPARTMENTS
9
LAS VEGAS’ WEEKLY CITY MAGAZINE
|
FOUNDED FEBRUARY 2010
PUBLISHER
Michael Skenandore
EDITORIAL
Matt Jacob Paul Szydelko, Xania Woodman A&E EDITOR Cindi Reed ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jason Scavone SENIOR WRITERS Steve Bornfeld, Geoff Carter, Lissa Townsend Rodgers ASSOCIATE STYLE EDITOR Jessica Acuña CALENDAR COORDINATOR Camille Cannon EDITOR
SENIOR EDITORS
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Melinda Sheckells (style), Michael Green (politics), Al Mancini (dining), David G. Schwartz (gaming/hospitality)
ART
Ryan Olbrysh Jon Estrada, Cierra Pedro STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Anthony Mair CREATIVE DIRECTOR
GRAPHIC DESIGNERS
VEGASSEVEN.COM
Nicole Ely Herbert Akinyele ENGAGEMENT EDITOR Zoneil Maharaj STAFF WRITER, RUNREBS.COM Mike Grimala ASSISTANT WEB PRODUCER Amber Sampson DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL MEDIA
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
PRODUCTION/DISTRIBUTION
Marc Barrington Jimmy Bearse DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR Jasen Ono
DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION/DISTRIBUTION ADVERTISING MANAGER
SALES
Christy Corda Nicole Scherer ACCOUNT MANAGER Brittany Quintana ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Robyn Weiss
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR DIGITAL SALES MANAGER
INTERNS
Cassidy Bowman, Ian Caramanzana, Akira Hernandez, Melissa Holmes, Jacqueline Konesavanh, Brien McCrea, Natalie Odisho, Joenita Turner, Christian Wilhelm
Ryan T. Doherty
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Michael Skenandore VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING AND EVENTS Kyle Markman CREATIVE DIRECTOR Sherwin Yumul MARKETING COORDINATOR Maureen Hank PRESIDENT
FINANCE
Rey Alberto Donna Nolls SENIOR ACCOUNTANT Linda Nash HUMAN RESOURCES COORDINATOR Kara Dennis VICE PRESIDENT
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PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE OBSERVER MEDIA GROUP Vegas Seven, 888-792-5877, 3070 West Post Road, Las Vegas, NV 89118 Vegas Seven is distributed each Thursday throughout Southern Nevada c 2014 Vegas Seven, LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without the permission of Vegas Seven, LLC is prohibited.
DIALOGUE CONTRIBUTOR’S NOTE Shopping in Style ➜ Lauren Molasky, who styled
this week’s cover shoot, is a native daughter who writes one of Las Vegas’ most important fashion blogs, AHippiesDaughter.com. For our annual Shopping Issue, Molasky (pictured far right) enlisted a team consisting of photographer Danielle Debruno, producer Heather Vincent, and hair and makeup artist Natalie Lane to bring to life the best looks of the season, playfully juxtaposing high fashion with the most approachable footwear: sneakers. It’s a combination that certainly works in Las Vegas, where shopping is a constant study in contrast. We acknowledge this reality starting on Page 20, where you’ll find the entire range of high to low well represented, from men’s and women’s apparel to jewelry to tough-to-find products. (Can we interest you in the perfect cactus? Maybe a drone?) Within these pages, we also answer that all-important question, “What should I wear today?”; update you on the Valley’s newest retail additions; point you toward the best shopping-related apps and blogs; and offer expert tips from shopkeeps who are themselves just as trendy as the wares they peddle. We even serve up some fashion advice from the wee-est consumers. Not enough to satisfy your shopping fix? Head online for more content at VegasSeven.com/Shopping2014.
PHOTO BY SHANE O’NEAL
OUR SITES TO SEE
OPEN FOR BUSINESS
COURTING CONSISTENCY
MODEL BEHAVIOR
There’s no turning back: The holiday season is upon us, so we’re unveiling our inaugural DTLV Holiday Shopping Guide. Get the scoop on where to buy local gifts for the fashionistas, creatives and tiny tots in your life at DTLV.com/ShoppingGuide.
With such a young and inexperienced roster, it’s no surprise the UNLV men’s basketball team has struggled out of the gate, particularly when it comes to finding the most effective starting lineup. In advance of the Runnin’ Rebels November 29 home game against Albany, Mike Grimala analyzes coach Dave Rice’s lineup options at RunRebs.com/ RebelsLineup.
Although she just recently made the transition from infant to toddler, celebrity kid Rainbow Rotella does not shy away from the camera. Check out her fashion dos and don’ts on Page 25, then visit VegasSeven.com/Rainbow to catch some behind-thescenes footage of Rainbow in action during the photo shoot for our annual Shopping Issue.
FACEBOOK: /VegasSeven TWITTER: /7Vegas INSTAGRAM: /VegasSeven
VEGAS MOMENT
Marching Toward Manhattan
Have you taken a photo that captures the spirit of Las Vegas this week? Share it with us at VegasSeven.com/Moment.
| November 27–December 3, 2014
Hours before the turkey goes into the oven and the day’s frst football game kicks off, the holiday season traditionally begins with the early-morning Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. This year, that parade will have a decidedly local favor, as the 300-plus-member Foothill High School marching band will join Snoopy, Spider-Man and SpongeBob SquarePants along the 3-mile route in Manhattan. Since learning 18 months ago that it was one of just six high school bands in the nation invited to perform, the band spent dozens of hours practicing its 90-second routine, including this penultimate run-through November 21 at the Henderson school. The hometown kids will get their turn in the spotlight near the end of the parade.
VegasSeven.com
Photo by Jon Estrada
13
“Downtown Project is perhaps the worst offender, with a market called The Market, a shipping container park called Container Park, and a place called Place.” DTLV {PAGE 16}
Season’s Greetings Celebrate the holidays by partaking in some uniquely Vegas traditions, from twinkling cacti to Pastramakah sandwiches By Lissa Townsend Rodgers
November 27–December 3, 2014
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VegasSeven.com
WHEN MOST PEOPLE THINK OF THE HOLIDAYS,
14
it evokes old family traditions, children’s excitement and snowy Norman Rockwell vistas. Of course, our blow-’em-up, leave-the-kids-at-home, Tony “The Ant” Spilotro knucklebusting desert city doesn’t quite ft the stereotype. But contrary to popular perception, Las Vegas does indeed know how to celebrate the season, as these traditions prove: ➜ After 10 years at Sunset Park, the 2 million-plus bulbs of the Glittering Lights display moved to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2010. Some dates feature a live Nativity scene, because, you know, nothing says Christmas like driving your Buick around a race track lined with giant, light-up gingerbread men and
slow-rolling past the baby Jesus. The only downside: Your $20-per-carload admission doesn’t give you the green light to blow by all the candy canes and snowmen at 120 mph. ➜ Every year at this time, the Ethel M Cactus Garden drapes its four acres of cacti in multicolored lights for a slightly surreal display that echoes the Strip skyline in the distance. After you wander the garden, grab a hot chocolate or killer chocolate milkshake at the factory store. And if you haven’t gotten grandma a gift yet, you can always grab a box of crème liqueur truffes. She likes the ones with Amaretto. ➜ Light up your holiday in a different way with Ellis Island’s Egg Nog. Shortly before Thanksgiving,
the casino-brewery releases its highproof salute to the season, a secret family recipe that involves egg, milk, liquor and other undisclosed ingredients (we’re guessing the warmth of good friends, children’s laughter and possibly whiskey). ➜ For a complete winter wonderland experience, visit the Opportunity Village Magical Forest, which has been hitting families with holiday sensory overload for more than two decades. There’s a carousel, passenger train, forest of lights, gingerbread house village, minigolf, Santa and dozens of other ways to distract the kids from asking you when they can start opening gifts. Visit on Anime Costume Night and completely trip out!
➜ A more adult way to support Opportunity Village is take part in the Great Santa Run. It’s a nationwide event, but Las Vegas has won the “World Santa Challenge” several times. You can sign up solo or as a team, and don’t worry about the red suit: It’s included in the registration fee. So when you show up and see 15,000 Clauses roaming around, remember that you’re not hallucinating. ➜ Downtown offcially gets in the holiday spirit when the lights go up on the Fremont Street Tree and Menorah. Slotzilla gets some company when Mayor Carolyn Goodman switches on the tree, and then the frst menorah “candle” is lit about a week later. The festive feeling carries on with holiday-themed
PHOTO BY SEAN AK ARI
Last year’s Great Santa Run on Fremont Street.
musical acts and possibly zipline Santa action. ➜ The Bellagio Conservatory Winter Holiday Display has been a must-visit since the casino opened in 1998. Past tableaux have included polar bears made of thousands of white carnations, Shaquille O’Neal-size toy soldiers, 1,600-pound chocolate houses, 40-foot Christmas trees and a walk-through snow globe. One thing we know for sure: There will be poinsettias. ➜ What Bellagio’s display has been to Las Vegas Boulevard, Mystic Falls Park at Sam’s Town has been to Boulder Highway. The indoor forest has been celebrating the season for nearly 20 years with lights, wreaths, “snow,” polar bears, a daily laser show and, yes, a cowboy Santa. ➜ Tired of folks trying to impress you with electricity? Watch some remarkable stunts at the Nevada Ballet Theatre’s annual production of The Nutcracker. The Sugar Plum Fairy, Prince Charming and the Mouse King will all leap and pirouette for your pleasure to the classic Tchaikovsky score. The dazzling set is designed around a giant “dollhouse,” where characters wait their turn to shine.
GLITTERING LIGHTS
Through Jan. 5 GlitteringLightsLasVegas.com
➜ Not all holiday traditions are, well, traditional. The Double Down Saloon’s annual Pastramakah event satisfes the desire to celebrate the season with surf bands and salty sandwiches in a punk rock bar. Meanwhile, White Trash Christmas keeps it lo-f on the big day, with SpaghettiOs made in a coffee pot, dollar haircuts and dollar abortions (the former being only slightly less scary than the latter). ➜ Don’t let the name fool you: The Bagel Ball is now the Light It Up Party, but the Jewish Foundation’s annual shindig is still a chance to mix, mingle, sip and be single. Prior to this party atop Ghostbar, the foundation will let loose with the good cheer (both emotional and liquid) at their Vodka & Latkes event, which combines cocktails, shopping and, of course, potato pancakes. ➜ The West Las Vegas Library hosts Kwanzaa 2014, the library’s annual celebration of culture and community. This year, there will be a marketplace with food and vendors, dance and yoga classes, spoken-word acts and a choir, as well as a performance of August Wilson’s play, Two Trains Running.
MYSTIC FALLS PARK AT SAM’S TOWN
Through Jan. 1 SamsTownLV.com
[ HIGHER MATH ]
IT’S GOOD TO BE THE KING
8%
Rate of UNLV tuition hike in 2011.
4%
Rate of annual UNLV tuition hike scheduled from 2015-18.
100
Number of university faculty positions eliminated since 2012.
260
Number of university staff positions eliminated since 2012.
246,000
$
Base salary of former UNLV President Neil Smatresk in 2013.
ETHEL M. CACTUS GARDEN
Through Jan. 1 EthelM.com OPPORTUNITY VILLAGE MAGICAL FOREST
Through Jan. 4 OpportunityVillage.org
VODKAS & LATKES
Dec. 7 JewishLasVegas.com NEVADA BALLET THEATRE: THE NUTCRACKER
PASTRAMAKAH
Dec. 20 DoubleDownSaloon.com
ELLIS ISLAND EGG NOG
Available through December EllisIslandCasino.com FREMONT CHRISTMAS TREE AND MENORAH
Dec. 9 & 16 VegasExperience.com
Base salary of interim UNLV President Don Snyder.
Dec. 13-Dec. 21 NevadaBallet.com
GREAT SANTA RUN
Dec. 6 OpportunityVillage.org
303,000
$
LIGHT IT UP
Dec. 24 JewishLasVegas.com/LightItUp WHITE TRASH CHRISTMAS
Dec. 25 DoubleDownSaloon.com
BELLAGIO CONSERVATORY WINTER HOLIDAY DISPLAY
KWANZAA 2014
Dec. 6-Jan. 4 Bellagio.com
Dec. 27 ArtsLasVegas.org
525,000
$
Base salary of Len Jessup, who will take over as UNLV’s 10th president on Jan. 5.
113
%
Rate of salary increase for UNLV’s president since 2013. – Lissa Townsend Rodgers
By Bob Whitby THURSDAY, NOV. 27: There’s no avoiding it:
You’re going to pack on some serious calories today. So perhaps you should put a little currency in the fitness bank with the Wobble Before You Gobble 5K/1-mile walk. You’ll get a T-shirt and a medal, a chance to spend a beautiful morning in Kellogg Zaher Sports Complex, and the satisfaction that comes from knowing you did something today besides eat. 8 a.m., DesertSkyAdventures.com.
FRIDAY, NOV. 28: Whether you’re in the market for a
new car or just like to wallow in the smell of leather and motor oil, you’ll want to make your way to the Las Vegas Convention Center this weekend for the Motor Trend International Auto Show. They have everything from mighty Lamborghinis to humble Kias, plus test rides, custom cars and entertainment. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., continues through Sunday, AutoShowLV.com.
SATURDAY, NOV. 29: OK, so the UNLV football team hasn’t exactly duplicated last year’s success. But you’re not some kind of fair-weather fan, are you? Of course you’re not. So get out there and show your support as the Rebels take on UNR in the annual battle for the Fremont Cannon. 7:30 p.m. at Sam Boyd Stadium, UNLVRebels.com. SUNDAY, NOV. 30: Hey, it’s snowing!
No, not right now. Well, maybe right now, depending on when you’re reading this. Specifically, it’s snowing with machine-like precision over at Town Square, just as it does every year at this time. The forecast calls for a 10-minute snow shower at 7 and 8 p.m., with similar “weather” events occurring through Dec. 23. Takes all the guesswork out of it and no shoveling. MyTownSquareLasVegas.com.
MONDAY, DEC. 1: Did you jump on the turkey-frying bandwagon on Thanksgiving and then find yourself with five gallons of cooking oil and no place to put it? Don’t fret, it’s happened to the best of us. Just take your used oil over to Springs Preserve between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and they’ll dispose of it properly. Today’s the last day, though! SpringsPreserve.org. TUESDAY, DEC. 2: Beer and trivia go together like beer and everything else, which is to say they’re great together. The Beat Coffeehouse melds these two things into a fine Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. They’ll have beer specials, and you could even win stuff. EmergencyArtsLV.com.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 3: In celebration of the upcoming National Finals Rodeo, the Fremont Street Experience is throwing its 28th annual Hoedown, 4:30 p.m. to midnight. Catch top country acts such as Thomas Rhett, the Cadillac Three and Confederate Railroad for free. Not a bad deal. VegasExperience.com.
THE LATEST
DTLV
J A M E S P. R E Z A
What’s in a Name? Everything Downtown has a proper-noun problem and needs to ‘Shif’ gears By Geoff Carter
November 27–December 3, 2014
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VegasSeven.com
HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT SHIFT? IT’S A
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terrifc transportation startup. According to a recent article in Mashable, they’re staffed with former Google engineers and just raised $23.8 million in seed funding; in short, these guys are legit. And the best thing about Shift is that it’s based right here in Downtown Las Vegas. Except it isn’t. That Shift is based in San Francisco and is intended to simplify used car sales. Our Shift is a car-ownership alternative and a great idea in its own right, but that doesn’t change the fact that there’s another company out there with the same name as ours. And as near as I can tell, they were Shift frst. (It should also be noted that Nissan has been using “Shift” as its slogan since 2002.) We can’t all be “Shift,” gentlemen, even if he is a complicated man who’s only fully understood by his woman. The mirror-universe “Shift” problem—and, to a lesser degree, Mr. Brainwash’s “Life Is Beautiful” nuisance lawsuit—points to a larger problem Downtown Las Vegas has suffered for a while: We can’t name things. Downtown Project is perhaps the worst offender in this regard,
with a market called The Market, a shipping container park called Container Park, and a place called Place. But they’re far from the only ones: Over on the northwest corner of Fremont and Seventh streets, a Scottsdale, Arizona, company is building a venue that’s actually named The Venue. And with all due respect to Derek Stevens—seriously, man, your Andiamo Steakhouse is really freaking good—I can’t look at The D without thinking of virtually every poor report card I ever brought home. We’re beginning to snap out of it, I think. The soon-to-debut Writer’s Block on Fremont is a great name for a bookshop and writer’s classroom, and the Bunkhouse/Wheel House combination should lend itself nicely to a collective nickname. Still, we need to be on guard and make sure some clever entrepreneur doesn’t open a bar called “Bar,” or launch a startup called “Goggle.” Quite frankly, we need brand police—some kind of mutant half Don Draper, half Batman. On a slightly more serious note, bad or derivative names diminish Downtown’s brand. We can’t tell the national press that we’re cre-
ating something new and original in our city core when we’ve punted on half the names of our businesses. It’s the equivalent of someone trying to convince you how brilliant and original Taylor Swift’s songwriting is. We could just get by on abbreviations and improper nouns, but why do that when there’s an entire world of language we can draw from? Or words we can simply invent? We can make shit up without fear of reprisal. This is, of course, writerly nitpicking. The Market’s sandwiches are no less delicious for this problem, and (our) Shift no less useful. But just imagine how much more national press Shift could be pulling right now if it didn’t share a name with a better-funded San Francisco rival. And those sandwiches would still be delicious if we’d called it “The Fremont Market,” and we wouldn’t have to take the extra step of explaining to interested friends which market we’re talking about. Good names have more agency than bad ones. So let’s pick some good ones from now on. At the very least, by doing so, we’ll have a better sense of Place.
By “showgirl,” I believe you mean our Strip’s classic, Parisian-inspired stage performer—a tall, topless beauty adorned in sequins and feathers, heels and headdresses—whose primary purpose was to tower over Sin City’s latenight adult audiences and captivate them with classic French notions of beauty and glamour. You can imagine how this sort of thing goes over in the 21st century, even in Las Vegas. The showgirl concept was brought to the Strip from France by Vegas entertainment legend Donn Arden in the mid-1950s, a time when Mad Men was mad real, and the primary gambling resorts on the Strip were all the old school, Ocean’s 11 faves. Arden—who programmed entertainment for Cleveland nightclubs owned by none other than the original “Mr. Las Vegas,” Moe Dalitz—arrived in the desert to do the same for Dalitz’s Desert Inn. There, Arden founded an eponymous troupe called the “Donn Arden Dancers,” who set the stage for much Vegas Greatness to come. By 1957, topless stage shows debuted in Las Vegas when Harold Minsky brought burlesque to the Dunes with Minsky Goes to Paris. The next year, Arden made Vegas history when he combined the concepts into Lido de Paris at the Stardust, thus creating the city’s first topless showgirl extravaganza. Arden was so successful at bringing 19th-century, Parisian-inspired revues to the Strip that others soon followed. At the Sands, Jack Entratter adopted and adapted the showgirl concept, making her more of a saucy, New York-styled chorus girl. In the early 1960s at the Dunes, Frederic Apcar created Vive Les Girls, a sexy French lounge show that eventually led to Casino de Paris, his $2 million Dunes extravaganza. By the mid-1970s, the sequined showgirl and Las Vegas became inseparable, a notion perpetuated almost daily by Oscar Goodman, who during his three terms as Las Vegas mayor from 19992011 had a showgirl on each arm whenever he attended an event where a camera might be rolling. But now, in 2014, the showgirl appears to be on the wane. There remains only one true “Vegas show”: Arden’s Jubilee! at Bally’s. Once it’s gone, the image of the iconic Vegas entertainer will fall to mirthy clowns, tumbling acrobats and celeb burlesque dancers. That won’t necessarily be a bad thing; it will just mark a new era for this ever-evolving city … much like The Mirage did 25 years ago this month. Questions? AskaNative@VegasSeven.com.
ILLUSTRATION BY JON ESTRADA
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE LAS VEGAS SHOWGIRL?
THE LATEST
THOUGHT
Get Together, Give Together How teamwork turns our desire to give back into lasting results for the whole Valley
November 27–December 3, 2014
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VegasSeven.com
AROUND THE HOLIDAYS, AS WE GIVE THANKS,
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many of us often think about how we can best give back to others who are less fortunate, through a combination of volunteering, fnancial assistance and community involvement. These acts of individual giving are vital as we try to work together to make a lasting difference. At the same time, the nonproft world is doing its part by working together to maximize what we call the multiplier effect of “collective impact.” The good news is that this type of collaboration between community organizations, businesses and individuals is taking place right here, right now. Here are seven examples. The Coordination Effect. The Nevada Homeless Alliance works with more than 50 nonprofts to address homelessness. The shared vision and use of the latest trends and data help prevent duplication of services and provide a better continuum of care. That means less wasted effort, more resources getting where they’re needed most and better outcomes for the most vulnerable members of our society. The Impact of Getting Involved. Nonprofts are connecting with communities in ways both old-fashioned and newfangled. Las Vegas’ Downtown Achieves—a collective effort boosting the academic performance of children in Downtown schools—holds regular gatherings to share plans, offer updates and seek input. This builds buy-in and support, and just as importantly, it keeps the community informed and engaged. Meanwhile, Las Vegas technology startup Charitweet gives Twitter users the chance to take their causes and donations viral. When others retweet, they’re both making a donation and increasing visibility for the cause. The Government Multiplier. These days, there are some unprecedented opportunities for publicprivate collaborations through what’s called New Market Tax Credits. These credits are reserved for business ventures that spur development, but nonprofts are also able to access these funds because of their social mission— funds that are usually used for capital improvements, such as new buildings
and facility expansions, particularly in underserved areas. The Art of Collective Giving. Las Vegas’ Greater Good Council (GGC) is a group of family foundations that funds critical community projects in education and community development. This year, the GGC committed to investing in education, and through a competitive application process selected Crestwood Elementary’s proposal to implement a program focused on “grit” and resiliency, which have proven to increase academic results and equip students for lifelong success. Another group, the Nevada Corporate Giving Council, brings together about 30 corporate funders who meet regularly to discuss the community’s needs and how best to address them. The group also produces an annual report on Corporate Philanthropy in Nevada, which provides much-needed data on corporate giving. The Power of Corporate Leadership. Corporations are partnering with the social sector in new and creative ways. The history of Three Square food bank offers a prime example of these partnerships in action: In 2006, MGM Mirage (now MGM Resorts International) and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation—responding to the fact that 250,000 men, women and children in Southern Nevada go hungry every day—created a plan for an innovative, community-driven food bank. Thanks to the leadership of MGM Resorts and the Hilton foundation, other corporations large and small pledged their support. Jointly, these supporters have provided funding, volunteerism and in-kind gifts to launch and sustain Three Square’s operations. The Cooperative Neighborhood. It’s generally assumed that it’s next to impossible to persuade multiple sectors of society to collaborate on a common mission, but Heroes United proves otherwise. This effort has focused on the northwest Las Vegas neighborhood of Sierra Oeste, which has had some of the Valley’s highest concentrations of gun violence. To combat this epidemic, the Metropolitan Police Department’s Northwest
Area Command Center collaborated with business owners, residents, clergy, nonproft leaders and philanthropists. The partnership worked: Among other successes, there has been a 75 percent reduction in calls for violent crimes in Sierra Oeste in the past year. The Global View. What happens in Las Vegas doesn’t always stay in Las Vegas. Some of this community’s most powerful organizations support initiatives that aim for a worldwide impact. Take the sustained partnership between Cirque du Soleil, MGM Resorts and UFC (among other corporate giants) to support One Drop, the charity established by Cirque du Soleil co-founder Guy Laliberté. These partners—along with local and international philanthropists and foundations—support One Night for
One Drop, an annual fundraiser that promotes local water conservation and global access to clean water. Then there’s Clean the World, a program supported by local hotel-casinos in which unused hotel-room toiletries are recycled and redistributed to impoverished men, women and children around the world. Ultimately, we all desire a more just world with a greater quality of life, particularly for the less fortunate. The more we come together, the closer we can get to this ideal. As Helen Keller once said, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Julie Murray is the CEO and Anna Auerbach is the vice president of Moonridge Group, a philanthropy catalyst that works across sectors to build a stronger, kinder and more connected community.
ILLUSTRATION BY CIERRA PEDRO
By Julie Murray and Anna Auerbach
THE
2014
SHOPPING
ISSUE
From high to low, hit the retail trail to indulge this season’s wants, needs and must-haves
MARC JACOBS dress and cropped sweater, Marc Jacobs in the Forum Shops at Caesars. ALEXANDER WANG backpack and VINCE black leather hi-tops, Neiman Marcus in Fashion Show.
Left: VALENTINO dress, Barneys in the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian and the Palazzo. VANS leather high-tops, Vans store in Fashion Show.
Shopping Tips From a Pro
ALICE & OLIVIA beaded jacket, T BY ALEXANDER WANG tank, GIVENCHY sneakers, LULU FROST statement
LINDSEY MCKANE
Women’s personal shopper, Neiman Marcus Fashion Show
necklace and
JENNIFER ZEUNER
long gold necklace, Neiman Marcus. RTA gray jeans, SHE at Fred Segal in SLS Las Vegas.
What’s the most sought-after product right now? Fall is all about accessorizing. You can take any outfit and maximize its potential by adding a killer shoe, chic handbag and the right jewelry—be it a crystal Chanel necklace or chunky Lulu Frost that sits perfectly on the collar of your boyfriend’s sweatshirt. Style enthusiasts are looking for key pieces that they can mix and match—accessories that turn their clothes into outfits. What is the color of the season? Aubergine—think the deeper the color, the bolder the statement. Pair it with other rich emerald and gray hues, and you’re set for day or night.
white tank, Neiman Marcus in Fashion Show. ISABEL MARANT sneakers and PROENZA SCHOULER navy buckled backpack, Barneys.
What is your favorite item? All women must have the perfect jacket. It can be a Moto leather jacket from Joie or Balenciaga, the perfect blazer from Vince or Dolce & Gabbana, or a timeless Chanel tweed. A great jacket can be worn dressed up for dinner or casual for a great lunch. It’s the only proper way to leave the house! What is a staple item for the season—how should I look today? Today you should be layering—never leave the house with less than three pieces of clothing and accessories. It could be a cashmere sweater with a hint of ruffle underneath, a jacket over your shoulders, and as much jewelry as your mind can imagine. As Ken Downing, our Neiman Marcus fashion director, would say, “More is More!” Don’t ever be less than the best-dressed person in the room.
VegasSeven.com
ALEXANDER WANG
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overcoat and gray fold over pant, Marc by Marc Jacobs in the Forum Shops at Caesars. T BY
Who are the most popular designers? Chanel is a musthave for women of all ages. Helmut Lang transcends seasons. Vince is the easiest “go to” a girl can have. And a piece of Isabel Marant belongs in every women’s closet. The most important thing is mixing and matching your designers, from the world of CUSP across to McQueen and Dolce in fine apparel. Keep people guessing and wondering how you always look so put together!
November 27–December 3, 2014
MARC BY MARC JACOBS black
PHOTOS BY DANIELLE DEBRUNO; STYLING BY L AUREN MOL ASKY; HAIR AND MAKEUP BY NATALIE L ANE USING M.A.C. COSMETICS; PRODUCED BY HEATHER VINCENT; SHOT ON LOCATION AT SON STUDIOS; MODEL: RACHEL (NO TIES MANAGEMENT)
Right: ROBERTO CAVALLI orange beaded gown, Neiman Marcus. VANS checkerboard slip-ons, Vans store.
For more women’s fashion, visit VegasSeven.com/ Shopping2014
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BURBERRY pants, Burberry in the Forum Shops at Caesars. DIOR sweater and shoes, Dior in the Shops at Crystals. FENDI sweater, Fendi in the Shops at Crystals.
SHOPPING
The experts speak on the top trends in men’s retail therapy Z ZEGNA jacket and
PHIL HERNANDEZ
pants, Z Zegna in the Forum Shops at Caesars. Left: BURBERRY coat and pants, Burberry. VALENTINO turtleneck, Valentino in the Shops at Crystals. Below: FENDI jacket, Fendi in the Shops at Crystals.
PHOTOS BY ROBERT JOHN KLEY; STYLING BY JIMI URQUIAGA; MAKEUP BY SARAH SOLORZANO; SET DESIGN BY KELLY FONDRY/THE MAGNET; HAIR BY ALFREDO LL AMAS/TMG; STYLIST ASSISTANT: KORRINA HARMSEN; MODEL: SATOSHI TODA/L A MODELS
Men’s personal shopper, Neiman Marcus
For more men’s fashion, visit VegasSeven.com/ Shopping2014
• Denim and designer sneakers are the most requested items for men, though the big staples of the season are the Armani Spider Web jacket and any DSquared Evening jacket. • Other must-have pieces include outerwear, either by Tom Ford or Moncler, as well as anything by designers Givenchy and Tom Ford. ADRIAN SELBY
General manager, John Varvatos in Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
• Today’s look is very much fitted. So guys are wearing slimmer jeans and pants, and jackets that fit perfectly, almost to the point of looking tailored. Cleaner lines with small but distinct details are key. Going into the holidays, rich fabrics such as velvets, cashmere and suede are leading the way. • At the top of most guys’ shopping list right now are a suede jacket and handmade boots. Slim-leg jeans are also very hot. • The colors for the season are deep blue, and burgundy mixed with gray. • My favorite item right now is a lightweight double-breasted-style peacoat that we do in a deep navy color. We do our double-breasted jackets a little narrower than traditional, which gives a slimmer profile and a unique look. This particular jacket has the look of a peacoat but is dressier and much
lighter, which makes it usable for fancier occasions, as well as with casual outfits paired with jeans.
RICCI LOPEZ
General manager, Stitched Lifestyle in the Cosmopolitan
• We are having so
much success with accessories. Men are now understanding the importance of completing their look with pocket squares and circles in an array of colors and fabrics, as well as lapel flowers, lapel pins, ascots, leather bracelets, timepieces and eyewear. • Every man needs a luxurious piece of outerwear this season—a well-done three-quarter length peacoat or fitted leather jacket. • As for the top colors for autumn/winter 2014, look for brilliant blues, warm cognacs and Italian olives.
NICK SAKAI
Co-founder, 12am Run in the Linq
• Comfort fashion is definitely in vogue for both men and women— jogger pants (ones that don’t look like a pair of Dad’s old sweatpants), designer sweats, fleece shorts and knit beanies are all staples for this season, as are bomber jackets. • My favorite items are retro sport; that’s the stuff I grew up with. We have Seattle Supersonics gear, Bo Jackson jerseys and Andre Agassi shoes. Speaking of shoes, Nike running and vintage running styles are huge—anything with Flyknit sells out instantly. And, of course, the retro Air Jordans, which are our most-requested item. We are one of a handful of stores to get the most exclusive, hardto-find Air Jordans.
VegasSeven.com
What to Wear Now
ISSUE
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2014
November 27–December 3, 2014
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There’s no age minimum when it comes to personal style. Meet three wee Las Vegas fashion plates. B Y L A U R E L M A Y B O N D
ILANA STONE Age: 6
It’s only natural that Ilana Stone would have fierce style embedded in her DNA—mom Judy Stone heads up marketing for posh Las Vegas’ highend fashion hub Crystals. With trusty sidekick Stinky Bunny playing André Leon Talley to her Anna Wintour—“He was so cuddly that I took him everywhere, and he got stinky. I love bunnies, and he’s the best one”—this sassy gal embodies a style we can’t help but call grammar-school glam. Here, she decodes her signature looks and slings advice in her own words. Describe your ideal favorite look. A sparkly dress, a sparkly bag with my Stinky Bunny inside, and a headband. What fashion trend do you wish would just end already? The color brown. Ick, it’s gross. Is there something that you absolutely refuse to wear? Jeans. Is there an ensemble you’d wear every single day if you could? Pajamas and my bunny slippers. Playground must-haves? Puppy pants from Justice with a puppy shirt. Elsa: Hot or not? Not. How do you feel about shoes? Love ’em. My favorites are cool shoes that have spikes.
Miles is wearing a Pink Floyd and flannel shirt, and hat from Target, H&M jeans and shoes from Journey. Ilana is wearing a headband and dress from Justice and toting her sidekick Stinky Bunny by Jellycats.
November 27–December 3, 2014
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VegasSeven.com
Age: 5
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Being the best-dressed guy in the room is nothing new to Miles. Combining a rakish, rough-and-tumble sensibility with an effortless élan that defies his years, Miles raises the bar when he climbs up to the monkey bars. In the interest of sartorially challenged gents, he and mom Brittany, who is the resource development director for Communities in Schools of Nevada, share the skinny on the importance of having sock game and why eating the wrong breakfast can signal fashion disaster.
dad [Parker McCoy, underwriting account executive for Nevada Public Radio] as my personal shopper. I have him on retainer to ensure I always have the look I want, when I need it. There’s nothing worse than showing up to a birthday party underdressed or out of season.
How do you decide what to wear each day? I try to plan the night before, but like my mom, I’m a mood dresser. Mornings can be difficult; if I don’t have my waffles, my entire outfit can be thrown off. That’s why my sister makes sure I have my breakfast in the morning so my look is on point for the playground.
How can a guy look stylish yet still get down and dirty on the playground? It’s really all about how you carry the outfit. If you wear your style with confidence, you can use getting dirty to your advantage. Have a wardrobe that wears well both clean and dirty, and when you do get dirty, use that to play up your more rugged side.
What’s in your pockets right now? I happen to have a Lamborghini and a Jeep in my pocket. I have an extensive collection of Hot Wheels at home. I always bring at least one of my cars with me when I’m out. I find cars are a great conversation starter, especially in the gym play room.
Do you select your own gear, or do you have a personal shopper? I learned early how to use what I’ve got, so I enlisted my
What fashion rule is made to be broken? Matching socks. My mom always tells me it’s important to be an individual and
to think outside the box. I’m not afraid to wear a green sock with an orange sock; in fact I welcome the opportunity.
Who are your style icons? My friend Rebecca, Cleo and Draculaura from Monster High, and my mom. Finish this sentence: “I can’t wait to grow up so that I can borrow …” My mom’s dresses.
Some guys your age tend to spill a lot. Do you have any tips on fabrics or patterns to wear to offset accidents? Wearing plaid really helps hide the spills. Milk, applesauce, ketchup—whatever lands on my shirt can all be hidden with a great plaid pattern. Are there any other accessories (sunglasses, watch, temporary tattoos) you’re sporting this season? In the fall weather, I like a good hat and scarf. I always make sure they complement each other, but don’t match completely. That’s the key to making accessories work for you and not against you. And it leaves the ladies wondering what I’m going to do next. Finish this sentence: “I can’t wait to grow up so that I can borrow …” My dad’s pocket watch. It’s been in the family for years, and it’s a stylish and classic accessory that not everyone can pull off!
PHOTOS BY JON ESTRADA
MILES MCCOY
How do you see your personal fashion journey evolving? I see fancier dresses in my future.
THE
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SHOPPING
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GEMS FIT TO A ‘T’ Tiffany & Co.’s
design director on her early obsession with precious metals, the meaning behind the ‘T’ and the versatility of gold
When Las Vegas’ most famous showgirl (Holly Madison of Girls Next Door fame) collided with the Electric Daisy Carnival king (Pasquale Rotella, founder of Insomniac), a rainbow was born — literally. The colorfully named Rainbow Aurora is a burgeoning fashion risktaker who possesses a kaleidoscopic style. Here, young Rainbow provides insight into her boho POV, with a little help from her glamorous momma. What’s your favorite ensemble? I love my navyblue shirt with a cat on it. It’s a great conversation starter. I can just go up to someone, point to my shirt and tell them what a cat says. It’s great! What are your top three fashion essentials? Definitely a fun hat—those are attention getters. I love sunglasses, too; people seem to think it’s funny
Many toddlers find themselves in fashion limbo— at the mercy of their parents or nanny. What’s your advice for those with less stylish caretakers? Smear pasta sauce all over the clothes you don’t like. No one will be able to get the stains out, and they will be forced to find you something else to wear— something you like! What pieces make up your core wardrobe? Organic bamboo leggings are essential. They are so comfortable and make diaper changes easy. I also stock up on flowing hippie dresses—I’m a free spirit, and I love the natural look. My favorite type of shoes are sparkly Toms. Papa bought me a gold pair a few months
ago, and they were the first shoes I took a liking to. I have them in a few different colors now. Is there an item your mom or dad wishes you’d never grow out of? My mom had a pink Liberace costume made for me when I was less than three months old, complete with a flowing marabou-trimmed cape. She really liked that one. I know she put it in storage for the next victim … er, I mean, baby. What advice would you give aspiring fashionistas? Be yourself. When people are slaves to trends, things can get boring. How do you see your personal fashion journey evolving? I think it will be an adventure. I am artistic and would love to create some fashions of my own. Perhaps I will learn how to tie-dye. Finish this sentence: “I can’t wait to grow up so that I can borrow …” My mom’s sparkly Louboutins.
When did you know you wanted to pursue a career as a jewelry designer? I made my first piece when I was 15. One day at school, my teacher brought a jeweler in to speak to our class, and I was completely fascinated. I’m obsessed with form and function, and it seems that because metal is so malleable and changeable, you can do anything with it. Even now, when I’m on holiday, I’ll spend as much time visiting jewelry stores as I do visiting museums and galleries. What was your inspiration behind Tiffany’s ‘T’ collection? “T” felt like a natural jumping-off point for my work here, a very exciting beginning. “T” pays homage to the Tiffany name, but it also has a verticality and angularity that I associate with the energy and intensity of New York. Tiffany’s T is sculptural and bold and very closely linked to the architecture of [New York]. There
What’s on your fall/winter shopping list? I like clothes with clean lines that aren’t fussy or overdone. I love to mix patterns and colors in an unexpected way. Jewelry is always on the list; it is a great way to put a signature on your outfit, of adding a strong dose of personality and making a statement about who you are and how you want to be perceived. I love gold, because there’s such a wide color palette—from yellow to rose to white. You can do anything with gold. I love blending faceted stones with cabochon shapes. Currently, I’m really into the mix of diamonds and moonstones—a study in white with a real contrast in sensibilities. I love mixing white with gold and black with silver.
VegasSeven.com
Age: 20 months
when I wear them. My favorite accessory, however, is a handbag. Even if it’s just a small paper gift bag I find lying around the house—my mom is a bit of a slob—I’ll throw it over my shoulder and walk around the house like a lady.
Who are you designing for? The Tiffany woman has a spring in her step. She makes her own rules, and she doesn’t conform. The Tiffany T is first and foremost modern, and makes no apologies for that. It’s for the cool girl-about-town who’s well informed and has a handle on what’s happening, what’s now. She’s clever and smart and is very certain of herself and her sensuality. What I love about the Tiffany T, though, is that it’s democratic. It’s an attitude, not an age.
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RAINBOW AURORA ROTELLA
is a lot of New York in the Tiffany T, and by that I mean the relentless movement, optimism and creativity you find on the streets. New York is a place of courage and reinvention that constantly sparks creativity.
November 27–December 3, 2014
RAINBOW AURORA ROTELL A BY ANTHONY MAIR; FRANCESCA AMFITHEATROF BY MARTIN CROOK; JEWELRY COURTESY TIFFANY & CO.
Rainbow is wearing a hooded vest, shirt, skirt and tights by Mim-Pi and shoes by MikiHouse.
➜ In September 2013, Tiffany & Co. named Francesca Amfitheatrof as design director, making her the first female in company history to hold the position. In her new role, Amfitheatrof’s aims to bring a fresh, modern look to the gems that find their way into the iconic little blue box that every woman desires. A trained jeweler and silversmith, Amfitheatrof has previously designed collections for Chanel, Fendi, Marni and Temperley London. She shares her insights on jewelry trends for this shopping season and beyond with StyleConviction.com editor Claire Wigglesworth.
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BEAUTIFUL DOWNLOADS Beauty apps we can’t live without
OPI Nail Studio A time-saver for those who obsess over nail-polish color, this app customizes skin tone and tests the season’s best shades. Good Guide Use your smartphone to scan the barcode of a beauty product, and this app will tell you if it’s good for your skin and if the product has any harsh ingredients. Beautiful Me This app analyzes your Facebook photos to find out if your skin is aging and what color foundation is right for you. Idrated How much water should you drink based on your age and weight? This app will answer that question, which will help you stay hydrated, which is critical to keeping your skin looking young and fresh.
November 27–December 3, 2014
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VegasSeven.com
Pretty In My Pocket Scan a beauty product’s barcode and read the review before you buy it. – Sam Mendoza
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Here’s the lowdown on what makes selvedge denim so appealing—and where you can find it around town BY IAN CARAMANZANA ➜ Selvedge denim is known for its high quality and ability to age beautifully with wear, as its “selvedge” edge prevents it from unraveling. Woven using a traditional loom and neatly finished, selvedge denim has become quite popular with the stylish set. The one drawback: Since it’s usually only available in certain styles and special editions—rather than as part of mainline collections—selvedge denim can be difficult to locate. Fear not, though, as we canvassed the Valley and found eight places where you can get your hands on (and legs in) the good stuff. EXILE ON MAIN STREET This recently
opened Downtown boutique sells denim
NOW READ THIS
Fashion blogs to bookmark
PeaceLove Shea.com Fashion, travel, beauty, photography and shopping—this blog by stylist, model and creative consultant Shea combines everything from street style to high fashion.
TheBlonde Salad.com Follow model, designer and muse Chiara Ferragni’s fabulous life as she shares her looks and inspirations from her adventures around the world.
JsEveryday Fashion.com Learn how to assemble a great outfit on a budget by checking out this blog, which focuses on everyday, affordable looks—a nice alternative to highfashion blogs.
by Nashville-based imogene + willie, whose high-quality selvedge jeans are made in the USA. The boutique also offers denim repair services to extend the life of your investment. 1007 S. Main St., 702-823-3957; ExileBoutique.com. NORDSTROM Another chain that has an
impressive selvedge denim collection, Nordstrom carries 7 For All Mankind, A.P.C., Baldwin, Nudie, rag & bone and Unbranded. In Fashion Show, 702-8622525; Shop.Nordstrom.com. FEATURE SNEAKER BOUTIQUE A locals
go-to for some of the hottest sneakers, this shop also carries high-quality denim from Naked & Famous and A.P.C. 3735 Spring Mountain Rd., Suite 205, 702-4633322; FeatureLV.com.
and Palazzo, 702-629-4200; Barneys.com. LEVI’S STORE Sometimes you just have
to honor tradition. The store in Fashion Show carries the 501 ‘shrink-to-fit’ model, which is the classic American style jean with an equally classic fit. In Fashion Show, 702-731-1866; Levis.com. CHRISTIAN DIOR IN WYNN The Dior
Homme line is famous for its vintage take on traditional blue and black denim. The store at Wynn carries the 17cm and 19cm fits, with the former fit being slimmer. In Wynn Las Vegas, 702-735-1345; Dior.com. SCOOP NYC This hidden gem at the Forum
Shops offers selections from Nudie, AG, rag + bone, Citizens of Humanity and more. In the Forum Shops at Caesars, 702-734-0026; ScoopNYC.com.
BARNEYS This high-end retail powerhouse
carries a variety of brands that will tickle the fancy of even the most pretentious denimhead. Make sure to check out their offerings from Naked & Famous (pictured above), Nudie, A.P.C. and Levi’s Made & Crafted. Barneys in Grand Canal Shoppes at Venetian
BryanBoy.com This luxury men’s fashion blogger shares his insights on trends and must-haves, and offers an inside look at his celebrity friends. He travels the world and models fabulous clothes in exotic places.
ManRepeller.com Visit this site for style and beauty that is so fashionable you may find it offensive. Posts are often written with a cool, aloof sense of humor, and a pop culture section provides articles about current happenings.
CupcakesAnd Cashmere.com Emily Schuman’s lifestyle blog about fashion, food, beauty and home décor helps readers establish their own sense of style. Expect entertaining ideas and organization tips.
G-STAR RAW Liv Tyler is famous for
modeling for this Netherlands-based brand. Visit Las Vegas’ first outpost and browse their raw denim and militaryinspired looks. In Fashion Show, 702-4643077; G-Star.com.
OnTheRacks.com Find pictures of outfits with a laidback cool vibe. All the clothes are “on the racks” now, so if something catches your eye, you know you can buy it.
ScoutSixteen.com “A life built around style” is the mantra of this guys’ guide, which teaches men how to look like a sophisticate and act like one, too. – Sam Mendoza
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Where do I buy … Does your shopping list include a few hard-to-fnd items? We’ve got you covered.
A cool vacuum cleaner? Dyson model DC59, Bed Bath and Beyond, various locations; BedBathAndBeyond.com. 1
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A Sponti Gnome? Kitson in the Linq, 702-836-0925; ShopKitson.com. 3
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A gift basket to ship to my in-laws? Honolulu Cookie Company in the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian/Palazzo, 702-836-9413; HonoluluCookie.com. 2
Obscure records? Record City, 300 E. Sahara Ave., 702-735-1126; RecordCityOnline.com A cape adorned in unicorns? Alexander McQueen in Wynn Las Vegas, 702-770-7000; WynnLasVegas.com. 4
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A fish-eye camera photo lens? Polaroid Fotobar in the Linq, 702-793-2040; PolaroidFotobar.com. 5 A cactus? Cactus Joe’s Las Vegas Nursery, 12740 Blue Diamond Rd., 702-875-1968; CactusJoesLasVegas.com. 6 A cool new bike? RTC Bike Center, 101 E. Bonneville Ave., 702-875-4288; RtcsNV.com.
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A leg of Jamon Iberico? Artisanal Foods, 2275 E. Sunset Rd., 702436-4252; ArtisanalFoods.com. 7
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Clothes covered in sequins? Boston Proper in Downtown Summerlin, 702-266-8159; BostonProper.com. Great barware cocktail glasses? Patina Décor, 1211 S. Main St., 702-776-6222; PatinaDecorLV.com.
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Homemade beef jerky? JoJo’s Jerky in Container Park, 707 Fremont St., Suite 1080, 702-812-2457; JoJosJerky.com.
A drone? Drones Plus, 5010 S. Decatur Blvd., 702-577-1923; DronesPlus.com. 8
PUT ON YOUR SHOPPING SHOES
A look at the newest additions to the Valley’s retail centers
> THE SHOPS AT CRYSTALS Sisley and Céline. Coming soon: Audemars Piguet. > DOWNTOWN SUMMERLIN Mixx Retail, Envy and The Toy Shop. Coming soon: Builda-Bear Workshop, Lindbergh, b.young, Alexander Kalifano and Ethan Allen. > FASHION SHOW Anthropologie, Lorna Jane, Charming Charlie, Apricot Lane, US Polo Assn., Dynamite, Ted Baker London and
G-Star Raw. Coming soon: Melissa Shoes. > THE FORUM SHOPS AT CAESARS Polo Ralph Lauren, Blancpain, Mulberry and AllSaints. Coming soon: Giorgio Armani, Chanel Beauty and LUSH. > GRAND CANAL SHOPPES Agent Provocateur, Armani Collezioni and Robert Graham. > MEADOWS MALL Crazy 8, US Polo Assn. and Charming Charlie.
> TIVOLI VILLAGE Paper Source, Lorna Jane,
Corsa Collections Travel, Corsa Collections Accessories, PacSun and d’annata. In Market LV: Pas De Deux Children’s Couture, Collective Souls Fine Art, Sassy, the Boutique, Good Luck Accessories and Ivone Cristina. > TOWN SQUARE Rockin’ Bettie, ANGL, Apricot Lane and Silver Post. > Via Bellagio Harry Winston.
November 27–December 3, 2014
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VegasSeven.com
A gift that supports local businesses? It’s On Me mobile gifting; ItsOn.me. (See Seven Questions, Page 78)
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NIGHTLIFE
MAKJ shows the Strip how a superstar DJ does it By Kat Boehrer
VegasSeven.com
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Here’s How to Party
MACKENZIE JOHNSON—BETTER KNOWN AS MAKJ—missed our frst scheduled interview. Can you blame him? The DJ/producer is on his frst U.S. headlining tour, and he’s had a lot to juggle on top of it, including a couple of PR nightmares, most notably when he claimed to have created a track with Axwell that was in fact the work of fellow producers Kryder and Tom Staar. His decision to pursue the rock-star lifestyle as a DJ in the U.S. came after a stint as a professional racecar driver in China. His progressive house style is similar to many other EDM fgureheads, and he isn’t ashamed to admit that his music can be “generic.” We fnally connected with MAKJ before his next show at Drai’s on December 13.
November 27–December 3, 2014
ILLUSTRATION BY JON ESTRADA
Your city after dark and photos from the week’s hottest parties
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NIGHTLIFE
If you could book the perfect party, who would be on your dream lineup?
Does it have to be DJs? Because I wouldn’t hire any DJ. Sure, it’s your party. You can do whatever you want.
I would have Pearl Jam headline. Opening up, I would have The Bravery. The middle set, I’d have Kygo. That’d be sick.
So, if you don’t really listen to DJs in your free time, what do you listen to?
Classic rock and some hip-hop.
Which bands or artists do you like?
Shit. Tom Petty, Traveling Wilburys, Pearl Jam— if you wanna consider that classic rock. Defnitely Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac. Bob Seger, shit like that. You’re bringing along some cool supporting acts for your current tour, too. Who are they, and why did you choose them?
One is Joe Ghost—he’s a good friend of mine. He works the club, a lot of people like him, he has a cool look—nice kid, very marketable. So I felt like it’d be easiest. How was your last stop through Vegas?
I was there for my buddy’s bachelor party, and I ended up at Spearmint Rhino getting a lap dance. It was pretty intense. Are there any other Vegas haunts you have to hit while you’re here?
I go to this barbershop—Hi-Rollers, on Maryland Parkway! It’s been on Pawn Stars and a couple of reality TV shows. The guys in there are super rad. It’s kind of in the ghetto, though. So I feel like I’m gonna get stabbed by a crackhead or some shit. Aside from a haircut, what else do you have on the horizon?
I just signed a release on Spinnin’, coming out December 5. [It’s] kind of a generic song, but [I’m] stoked for it. It’s been in the making since Ultra this year. I have a bunch of free releases coming out with Deorro; a free release, an original vocal song, with a guy named Zak Waters next month; a collab with A-Trak; a progressive house track that has either REM or POD on it—we’re trying to decide who has a better vocal. Then, in January, I wanna take a full month off to start writing my album.
November 27–December 3, 2014
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What will this album sound like?
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It’s the evolution of MAKJ. Everyone had their punk-rock days and then hip-hop days and then electro-house days. That’s the evolution. [The album spans] what I started listening to and what I ended up listening to. So it’ll be a multi-genre album. You’ve had a couple of scandals in the past when you’ve been accused of taking credit for other musicians’ songs. How do you go about dealing with that, and how does it make you feel?
Stealing others’ stuff, that’s shit. If people accuse me of stealing other people’s stuff, they’re trying to get publicity out of it. I just take it with a grain of salt. They’ll forget about it in a week. That’s just how this industry is: Kids just wanna hear drama. It’s always been like that, like a reality TV show. Once someone decides that they are jealous of you, they wanna be you; they try everything in their power to put you down. That’s how this industry has become: Don’t speak unless spoken to—that’s always my shit.
By
NIGHTLIFE
Camille Cannon
Dirty South.
party at Artifce at 10 p.m., or meet fellow cyclists at UNLV’s student union at 9 p.m. and ride over together. This defnitely beats the high school experience. (1025 First St., Suite A, 10 p.m., TotesCity.com/BicycleProm.) Can’t decide what to do next? Get down to an array of hits at the Rockabilly vs. ’80s Dance Party at Beauty Bar. The ozone will just have to deal with all the hairspray in the air tonight. (517 Fremont St., 10 p.m., TheBeautyBar.com.)
SUN 30 Shout out to Scorpios and Sagittarii! Liaison celebrates all November babies during this edition of Unlocked Sundays. Locals are free, and Nick Ayler mans the turntables, per usual. (In Bally’s, 10 p.m., LiaisonLasVegas.com.)
MON 1
November 27–December 3, 2014
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Fresh off their Friend Zone tour, dance duo Candyland returns to Marquee. Josie of Candyland explained the tour name to RecoilMag.com this way: “If people come to [our] show and they don’t dance with someone in a way that gets them out of the friend zone, I’m not doing my job right.” So … good luck! (In the Cosmopolitan, 10 p.m., MarqueeLasVegas.com.)
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THU 27
FRI 28
Well, it’s Thanksgiving. If you’re reading this, you’ve either recovered from, or haven’t yet succumbed to, the inevitable post-turkey nap. Just don’t let sleep slow your party plans. There’s holiday fun to be had at the Return of the Tryptophan Dance Party at the Bunkhouse. Specials include turkey sloppy Joes and Wild Turkey whiskey, natch. DJs 8-Bit, Aurajin and Rex Dart provide the funky vibes. (124 11th St., 9 p.m., BunkhouseDowntown.com.) At Tao, DJ Five is on deck for the ninth annual Terminate the Turkey bash. Locals enjoy complimentary admission and a sponsored bar from Hangar 1 vodka 11 p.m.-midnight. (In the Venetian, 10 p.m., TaoLasVegas.com.)
What’s that? You’re complaining about how infrequently you fnd it appropriate to wear a space suit? Cry no more, cosmonaut, and come to Hard Hat Lounge for Deep Sbass, a space-themed “cosmic costume party.” EJ tha DJ, E-Rok and more guide your musical journey. (1675 Industrial Rd., 8 p.m., Facebook.com/HardHatBar.) Still craving something tasty after yesterday’s big meal? Head to House of Blues and catch drum and bass shaker Dieselboy lead the sixth annual Bass Gravy. This roomrumbling blowout is free for anyone 21+, $15 for everyone else. (In Mandalay Bay, 10:30 p.m., Facebook.com/HyperAudio.) What’s nicer than a Friday night at the Cosmopolitan’s Ice Rink? Sounds by Vice while
you skate. Spend $50 at Vice’s sneaker store, CRSVR, and you can shred the ice for free. (10 p.m., CosmopolitanLasVegas.com.) Grammy-nominated producer Dirty South returns to Life for the frst time since releasing With You, his soundtrack and short flm project, earlier this month. While he’s said he won’t play many of the emotional tracks live, you can anticipate fresh remixes. (In SLS, 10:30 p.m., SLSLasVegas.com.)
SAT 29 Need four reasons to attend the Winter Formal edition of Bicycle Prom? Music is by TotesCity, bike valet is available, dress code is “cyclist chic” and oh, yeah, you can compete for the title of prom queen and king! Join the
TUE 2 If you’ve slept on the underground vibes at Downtown
Candyland.
DJ Five.
Cocktail Room’s Tuesday Cymatic Sessions, now is a good time to get acquainted. House star Oscar L. comes to us from Spain, with support by local DJ, Vixen. (111 Las Vegas Blvd. South, 10 p.m., Facebook.com/ CymaticSessions.) Feeling warm and fuzzy? You can walk away with $2,500 for winning the Ugly Sweater Contest at 1 Oak. Then, you should probably give some of the prize money to the aunt who bought you that thing. (In The Mirage, 10:30 p.m., 1OakLasVegas.com.)
WED 3 Mix a little holiday spirit in with your spirit drinking and bring a new, unwrapped toy to Surrender. You’ll receive complimentary entry and open bar from 11 p.m.-midnight during the fourth annual Toy Drive for Communities in Schools. German house producer Tujamo handles the tunes. (In Encore, 10:30 p.m., SurrenderNightclub.com.)
NIGHTLIFE
PARTIES
LAX Luxor
[ UPCOMING ]
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See more photos from this gallery at SPYONVegas.com
PHOTOS BY TOBY ACUNA
November 27–December 3, 2014
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Nov. 27 DJs Shred and Mike Bless spin Nov. 29 DJs Mike Bless and Ryan Wellman spin Nov. 30 DJ Cass spins
NIGHTLIFE
PARTIES
TRYST Wynn
[ UPCOMING ]
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See more photos from this gallery at SPYONVegas.com
PHOTOS BY EMILIO GONZALES
November 27–December 3, 2014
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Nov. 28 Mike Carbonell spins Nov. 29 Dave Fogg spins
NIGHTLIFE
PARTIES
GHOSTBAR The Palms
[ UPCOMING ]
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See more photos from this gallery at SPYONVegas.com
PHOTOS BY TEDDY FUJIMOTO AND JOE TORRANCE
November 27–December 3, 2014
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Nov. 27 DJ Benny Black spins Nov. 28 DJs Exodus and Benny Black spin Nov. 29 DJs Mark Stylz and Seany Mac spin
DINING
“I banged out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and it blew their minds.” {PAGE 56}
Restaurant reviews, news and the imminent rebirth of Fresh & Easy
The ’Burbs Just Got Lucky
The Southeast’s new American izakaya opens with an appealing fusion menu By Al Mancini
Lucky Foo’s cheese mazemen, or brothless ramen.
VegasSeven.com
| November 27–December 3, 2014
PHOTO BY ANTHONY MAIR
I CAN’T REMEMBER THE LAST TIME A RESTAURANT
opening in the southeast part of the Valley generated as much interest as the recent debut of Lucky Foo’s. Helmed by chef Shawn Giordano—who’s served in the Wolfgang Puck organization and worked in New York with David Bouley—it bills itself as an “American izakaya.” (Izakayas are casual Japanese drinking establishments that serve food—the Land of the Rising Sun’s answer to the gastropub.) The menu combines various Asian, American and other infuences, with everything from sashimi to steamed buns to a hamburger. This Eastern Avenue location was previously occupied by Xtreme Sushi & Sterling Steakhouse. But I remember it better for its earlier occupant, the Melting Pot. That restaurant featured several small dining areas, each with just a handful of communal fondue tables. The new owners have tried to open up the space a bit, while also infusing each room with its own distinct modern Asian theme (although some of the remodeling is still a work in progress). Some segments of the restaurant are geared more toward a younger, late-night lounge crowd, while others are better suited for those enjoying a sit-down meal. Small plates meant for sharing dominate the menu. There are such standards as charred shishito peppers, vegetable or pork dumplings, and crispy spring rolls. More original options include Foo Dogs, kurobuta pork sausages wrapped in potato chips, and fried balls of battered shrimp that taste like the shrimp toast I remember from my neighborhood Chinese takeout joint in New York. The restaurant also boasts a robata-style grill, which burns Japanese binchotan charcoal at 1,000 degrees. It’s used to prepare yakitori-style
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DINING
Al’s
Menu Picks Cheese mazemen ($8), chicken and scallion yakitori ($7), kale salad ($8), sashimi ($10-$29).
skewers of meat and vegetables. Lucky Foo’s offers a half-dozen varieties that can be served traditionally or in fusion tacos. The meats I’ve sampled have been well prepared, but some skewers of asparagus were overly seasoned and salty. Also avoid the taco format—at least for now. I’m told it’s evolving, and even members of the staff were unable to identify some of the ingredients on my plate. (Moreover, an experiment with cotija cheese crema on the night of my most recent visit was a disaster.) If you’re looking for a salad, check out the kale with Asian pears, a sprinkling of blue cheese, candied walnuts, grilled shallots
An assortment of yakitori from the robata grill.
and a light drizzle of maple vinaigrette. And for something really interesting in the noodle section, try the cheese mazemen (broth-free ramen) made with thin noodles and a thick, rich combination of smoked Gouda, Monterey jack and Parmesan cheeses topped with bright, crisp scallions. My favorite aspect of this restaurant is the sushi bar. I’m not one for the crazy rolls that many Americans love. Given the experimental nature of the menu, however, I wasn’t surprised to see a fennel roll, made with crab, pickled fennel, cucumber, yellowtail, tobiko and pico de gallo. I’ll leave that and all the other rolls to the sake bomb crowd and will stick with the true test of a great sushi chef: sashimi. Finding high quality fsh that’s respectfully and precisely prepared by a chef with serious knife skills is tougher than it sounds. But the samples I’ve had here are top
notch, at a reasonable price. Lucky Foo’s still needs to work out a few kinks. It has yet to institute their promised lunch service (set to begin December 1). Service can be slow, and the staff still seems to be learning the menu. But management and the chef spend a lot of time in the dining room seeking customer feedback—a sure sign things can only get better. Given the enticing menu, inviting setting and the high quality of the food, it’s worth bearing with them as they do.
LUCKY FOO’S
8955 S. Eastern Ave., 702-650-0669. Open for dinner and late night daily 4 p.m.–3 a.m. Dinner for two, $25-$60.
[ A SMALL BITE ]
FRESH & EASY NOW FRESHER, EASIER
If you’ve visited your local Fresh & Easy lately, you may have noticed some changes—new features or construction. The grocery chain is in the midst of over overhauling its 19 Las Vegas locations. Company spokesperson Brendan
November 27–December 3, 2014
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Wonnacott says the goal is “to deliver modern convenience to customers by
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making fresh and natural foods more available to them.” ¶ This includes changing the layout of the stores, expanding product selection and adding health kiosks and baby product sections. But the biggest change is the introduction of fresh, made-to-order hot foods, including sandwiches and oven-baked pizzas. They’ll be accompanied by extended beverage offerings such as smoothies, fresh juice, coffee, tea and espresso. ¶ The company recently debuted the additional features at the chain’s newest location at 9475 W. Desert Inn Road, which opened November 21. And Wonnacott hopes to have most new features in place in all Valley stores by the end of December, followed by a nationwide rollout. The company is also preparing to introduce online ordering and curbside delivery. ¶ All of these changes are the result of Fresh & Easy’s acquisition last year by Yucaipa Companies, an investment company headed by billionaire Ronald Burkle. Yucaipa’s other local interests include the Light Group and next year’s Rock in Rio U.S.A. festival. - Al Mancini
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.
Gimme Some Sugar (19 S. Stephanie St., Suite 160, Henderson, 702-882-2537, GimmeSomeSugarLV.com) pairs up with Santa Claus on December 16 for one of his many pre-Christmas appearances, this one to support Three Square food bank. Donate nonexpired canned goods and your kids not only get a complimentary chocolate chip cookie, but also some one-on-one time with Santa to discuss gift options. For another $10, you’ll get a keepsake photo with the big guy. Also, we’re pretty sure helping the hungry during the holidays gets you on the Nice List. If your idea of the holiday is more islandthemed, Kahunaville (in TI, 702-894-7390, Kahunaville.com) wants to transport you to its own idea of paradise with its Island Heat LuWow. The new dinner and show ($59; $39 show only) combines South Pacific flavors with Vegas-influenced Polynesian dance, a tribute to Elvis Presley’s Blue Hawaii and a traditional Tahitian drum performance to the Black Eyed Peas. And even though there’s no roasted pig dug up from the beach, the entrées give a definite nod to tropical ingredients, such as macadamia-nut crusted mahi-mahi served with tamarind beurre blanc, pan-seared yellowfin tuna with wasabi mashed potatoes and teriyaki flank steak. It’s a little kitschy, sure, but it pays to think warm these days. Also new to the Strip is Off the Strip, the name of which might be the source of minor confusion when it debuts at the Linq in December. But it’s great to see another homegrown name make the big time. The original from Southern Highlands hopes to translate locals favorites from its no-nonsense comfort food menu, which includes steaks, chops and hearty pasta dishes into tourist favorites in the two-story, 11,000 square-foot, 24/7 restaurant on the Strip. And to be fair, the name will likely sell tourists on the fact that they’re eating what real Vegas people eat. We’re deep into comfort-food season now, and I’d almost forgotten about B&B Ristorante (702-266-9977, Venetian.com). It’s impossible to forget that the Bs in question—Batali and Bastianich—are Italian, but a recent return trip back to the cozy restaurant reminded me that this is still home to some of the city’s most honest Italian food. If you need something soulful but simple, try the orecchiette, ear-shaped pasta that’s cooked to the platonic ideal of al dente and served with spicy lamb sausage and pleasantly bitter rapini. Dishes such as these were made for cold weather—not that you really need a reason. 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 ANTHONY MAIR
GIVE SANTA SOME SUGAR, DINE AND PARTY ISLAND STYLE AND OFF THE STRIP COMES TO THE STRIP
DINING November 27–December 3, 2014
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CHRISTIAN DOLIAS’ CAREER HAS HAD ITS
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share of ups and downs recently. The self-taught chef and founder/leader of the underground cooking collective CutThroat Culinary recently spent three weeks in Prague opening a Mexican restaurant for American restaurateur Glenn Spicker. It was an effort that landed him coverage in the Czech edition of Forbes. He returned to Las Vegas, however, to fnd his local restaurant Desnudo Tacos closed, and himself out of work. Nonetheless, when we got together just a day after his plane landed, he was 100 percent positive. “Prague was amazing!” he exclaimed. We spoke of the city’s architecture and history before, inevitably, discussing the food. “The food is full of history,” he says. “The food is full of a lot of years of repression, a lot of takeovers and communist regime kind of stuff. … The Czech Republic is ready for a [culinary] breakthrough. You’re talking about a culture that has eaten out of necessity rather than pleasure for a lot of years.” While Dolias' task was to teach his staff about Mexican cuisine, he began by introducing them to an American staple: peanut butter and jelly. “Grape jelly doesn’t really exist in the Czech Republic," he says. "So we had to whip
Ego Czech Fresh of the plane from Prague, chef Christian Dolias faces life afer Desnudo Tacos By Al Mancini up grape jelly. And I got the container back [from restaurant staff] and it said ‘Wine Jelly.’ So I banged out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and it blew their minds.” As rewarding as that experience might have been, Dolias found even more satisfaction after the restaurant opened, and he was able to give some Mexican expatriates a taste of their homeland. “I met a family that was from Oaxaca, and they had been in the Czech Republic for a couple of years,” he recounts. “I got a call to the kitchen that the table wanted to speak to me. It was a husband and wife, their young son and the mother of the wife, who was probably in her late 60s. And they were so excited about the food.
The woman was almost in tears. That’s the greatest compliment you can get.” As all this was happening, however, things in Las Vegas weren’t going as well. Local foodies learned from a Facebook post that Dolias’ business partner Chris Palmeri had closed their restaurant Desnudo Tacos on October 20 and was planning to operate it as a food truck until he could fnd a new location. A few days later, Dolias told Vegas Seven that he would not be participating in any future Desnudo ventures. “The food truck idea has never been something for me,” he said. But what went wrong that, despite numerous awards and almost universal critical acclaim, Desnudo lasted less than a year? “We had an amazing
amount of support from our fans and Las Vegas locals,” Dolias says. “But if you’re in a position where you’re unable to draw a fair amount of tourism business, there are going to be some fscal challenges.” Such a carefully worded reply is uncharacteristic of a guy who frequently drops F-bombs. For the frst time since we’ve met, the brutally honest chef seemed guarded. I asked repeatedly whether Desnudo was losing money, and he ducked the question. He did the same with repeated inquiries as to when and how Palmeri told him the place would be closing, ultimately offering a terse, “No comment.” Dolias’ goal is clearly to remain positive, and to put any negative experiences behind him. “Chris Palmeri is, by far, one of my best friends,” he insists. So what’s next? There’s at least one more trip to Prague in the near future. He also expects to work with Palmeri on pop-ups and other events. And he’s hoping to bring some new energy to CutThroat Culinary, which hasn’t staged many dinners over the past year, yet has amassed a throng of high-end chefs anxious to join in on the guerilla-style food events. “I think the best is yet to come,” he says. I don’t doubt it.
PHOTO BY TOMAS TRESTIK
Chef Christian Dolias took his tats and his prowess with Mexican food to Prague.
DRINKING [ THE BEER NUT ]
Kahlúa Pumpkin Spice, pumpkin puree, praline syrup and coconut cream. “It’s the only thing hotter than an ugly holiday sweater this season,” Mercer says. The ski-lodge-chic winterization of the Boulevard Pool deck is open 3 p.m.-midnight Monday-Friday and noon-midnight Saturday-Sunday through January 4. Entry is free; rink tickets are $15 ($10 with Nevada ID). Bring your own skates or rent for $5. $60 season passes include unlimited rink access plus skate rentals. And snow falls every 30 minutes from 6-10 p.m. ThursdaySunday. If only all weather were so predictable! Get the recipe for the Ugly Sweater at VegasSeven.com/ CocktailCulture.
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➜ Here’s a PSL PSA: This pumpkin spice latte can kick your pumpkin spice latte’s butt. Because, besides booze, it comes with a side of s’mores, fre pits, ice skating and snow. Well, “snow.” The Cosmopolitan ice rink is back for its third winter season, but this year’s forecast calls for intermittent foam snowstorms and a lineup of new cocktails by property mixologist Mariena Mercer, liquid courage before trying your hand—er, feet—on the ice. Wrap your mittens around the Bad Santa (hot buttered rum), the Griswold (Wondermint-spiked cocoa) and the Proverbial Carrot, with all the favors of warm, spiced carrot cake. Or, give in to your PSL fever with The Ugly Sweater ($12), featuring Patrón XO Café,
November 27–December 3, 2014
PHOTO BY JON ESTRADA
Coming in Hot
“But is it a Max beer?” To the right person, this is understood to mean that Massimo (“Max”) D’Arrigo of Las Vegas’ Bevi Beverages is the beer’s source. The Italian distributor of importer B United’s European brews has a love of beer that borders on lust—and nothing pleases him more than to share it with like-minded individuals. Which he does at select bars and restaurants around the Valley, including the award-winning Italian beer selection at Fiamma and Comme Ça, weekly barrel offerings at Todd English P.U.B. and the Zymatore keg parties that once packed the Freakin’ Frog. D’Arrigo’s most recent project has been to help Comme Ça GM Anthony Esparza add Italy to his Euro-centric Tour de Biere menu. I stopped by November 21 to sample the new goods, and was delighted by the diverse quartet, all from Birra del Borgo. On draft, Maledetta ($14) is a delightful specialty dark saison with wintery spices, replacing the more summery Saison d’Erpe-Mere; and Comme Ça joins Fiamma as the only two places in town to get ReAle Extra ($14) on draft since Sirio closed. In bottle, Perle ai Porci (“Pearls for Pigs”; $20) is a unique Italian stout, brewed with fresh oysters and clams in their shells; the aroma is savory and mineral, like a whiff of ocean air. Finally, Etrusca ($32) is an off-menu offering, a collaboration beer replicating an ancient recipe. Order one, Google it and settle in—it’s sour and complex enough that you won’t be quaffing it. Each week, you can find D’Arrigo at Todd English P.U.B. in Crystals, promoting rare specialty kegs. Beer geeks and the beer curious will love his current lineup: December 11-13, he’s bringing Thornbridge Brewery’s Raven Black IPA; December 19-21, it’s Hitachino Nest Japanese Classic Ale from Japan’s Kiuchi Brewery; December 25-27, try Birra del Borgo’s experimental BdBi(g)BodyIBU (pronounced like “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo”!); and December 31-January 2, you’ll have to fight me for the Strada San Felice Chestnut Ale from Italy’s Birrificio Grado Plato, a personal favorite. A little further out on D’Arrigo’s brew-to-do list is the opening of Bella Vita Italian restaurant in the District at Green Valley Ranch. A duo of D’Arrigo’s countrymen—restaurateur brothers Sergio and Stefano Montegrande—and partner Jeromy Slater are behind the project, designed by Foundry and slated for a January opening. The sprawling corner space (3,000 square feet inside, 1,200 out) will feature a dining room for 80, open kitchen with a dual-sided bar for up to 20, a wrap-around patio for another 80, reasonable prices and “obsessively authentic Italian cuisine” by Sicilian chef Marco D’agati, who, like many of his ingredients, is being imported for the task. Here, D’Arrigo will pair his portfolio’s draft, direct-draw cask and bottled beers with D’agati’s modern Italian cuisine—lunch, brunch, dinner and late night. “In Italy, we don’t have fettuccine Alfredo or chicken Parmesan,” Sergio says. So don’t expect those Italian-American standards, but instead fresh, refined and even largely vegetarian Italian food prepared the way Italians actually eat. Gordon Ramsay Pub’s Adam Rains will join in as lead bartender and mixologist—may I suggest including a beertail, gents? – X.W.
VegasSeven.com
BEVI POURS A BEVY OF WORLDLY BREWS AT P.U.B., COMME ÇA AND THE DISTRICT
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A&E
“Pinball has been a hobby of juvenile delinquents and other malcontents since Marlon Brando leaned against a game in The Wild One and The Who threw down for Tommy and ‘Pinball Wizard.’”
MUSIC {PAGE 64}
Movies, music, stage and the art of Enigma
All We Want for Christmas … Vegas Seven’s A&E-minded stafers reveal what’s on their wish list Compiled by Cindi Moon Reed
I CANNOT TELL A LIE. I am a Christmas shopping procrastinator. There was one year that I waited so long to buy gifts that it was too late to do anything other than pull an all-nighter writing personalized limericks for every member of my family. The odes to my beloved Aunt Sue and Uncle Jim still hang above their toilet. Success! I think. But the Santa Muse cannot be relied upon to drop gifts down my mind’s chimney every year. So this shopping season, I’m turning over a new holly leaf and asking my beloved A&E-leaning colleagues what they want for whatever holiday it is they celebrate. Not that I’m planning on buying them anything, but because, you know, it just feels productive. And perhaps it can help you, dear reader, fnd gift ideas for the people you love who love the arts. Or perhaps this will inspire a wish list for yourself. Procrastinator’s tip No. 1: Make your own list frst. CAMILLE CANNON, calendar coordinator.
Year’s subscription to Spotify. I’ve been listening to the free version of the music streaming service for a couple of years now. And I’m hooked: For the uninitiated, Spotify is like a magical infnite iTunes player, where (almost) every song is available. So it’s
Taylor Swift’s entire discography. The songstress recently made news by removing her music from Spotify while mumbling something about not wanting to offer her life’s work to an experiment that doesn’t fairly compensate artists. Now I’m not necessarily a Swiftie, but I am guilty of free-music listening (see previous wish). And I want to make amends … by acquiring the full collection of girl-powered sugary popcountry confections. Besides, Christmas is all about getting stuff you’d never pay for yourself. $86.43, Amazon.com
GEOFF CARTER, senior writer for
Vegas Seven and editor of DTLV.com.
Pieces by local artists Su Limbert, Stacy Rink or Jska Priebe. I’ll take works from any or all of them. Now that I think of it, getting pieces by all of them would be best. Limbert’s dark storybook aesthetic, Rink’s homecrafted kinkiness and Priebe’s clever pop culture subversions all complement each other nicely.
Tickets to Cirque du Soleil’s The Beatles Love and O. Cirque comps practically fall out of the sky here, but free Love and O tickets are tough to come by. They’re the two shows I’m most curious about, but I’d see anything. Seems weird, living close to all these bigtime shows and hardly seeing any of it. $79 and up. Gold membership in D23, the offcial Disney fan club. They’re having a big convention in Anaheim in 2015—Disneyland’s 60th anniversary, by the way—and being a D23 member affords you special discounts. $80, D23.com D23.com.
VegasSeven.com
Hemingwrite writing machine. Sure, I could use a computer. Or an iPad. Or, hell, even a pen and paper. But what I really want is this distraction-free writing machine. It’s like a typewriter, but instead of typing on useless paper, it sends your precious words to the cloud. Unfortunately, it probably won’t be released until next Christmas. Price TBA, Hemingwrite.com.
fnally time to upgrade to the premium version, which nixes the ads and offers a few other perks, such as better sound quality and the ability to listen offine. $120, Spotify.com.
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CINDI MOON REED, A&E editor.
Live From New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, as Told by Its Stars, Writers and Guests. I love SNL so much, I’m one case of needle phobia away from getting a Gilly tattoo. Instead, I’m hoping for this 800-page inside-look book, which was updated this year to include all the cast members, sketches and secrets since its frst release in 2003. $21, Amazon.com.
Gift certifcates to Writer’s Block Book Shop. I don’t even know if Writer’s Block will offer gift certifcates; as of press time their doors aren’t even open yet. But having gotten a sneak peek at the Downtown bookstore last week, I know I’m going to spend all of January lost in there. TheWritersBlock.org.
November 27–December 3, 2014
Lyrical art sweatshirt. I already own (and adore) a Drake T-shirt from Rad.co, but now that winter’s chill has arrived, I’d like to slip into this sweatshirt from designer Fly Art. It depicts Edward Hopper’s famous “Nighthawks” painting against lyrics from Drake’s song “Girls Love Beyoncé.” Because I love her, too. $30, Rad.co.
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ZONEIL MAHARAJ,
A&E
engagement editor and music columnist.
The Hutch Los Angeles’ Bootleg Concert Tees Gone Bad. Normally, it’d be embarrassing to rock bootleg gear. But this series by Bootleg are worth the confused reactions from strangers when they see Justin Timberlake’s face on a shirt that reads “Eminem” or Christopher Walken on a Die Antwoord shirt instead of Ninja. I’ll take either in XXL, please. $27, HutchLA.com. David Choe’s art book Snowman Monkey BBQ. Vandal, pervert, lunatic. David Choe is all those things. But he’s also an incredibly talented artist. His new book offers a decade’s worth of watercolors, photos (likely pornographic) and more. $60, UpperPlayground.com.
AMBER SAMPSON, assistant web producer.
The Walking Dead Compendium, Volume 1. My recent comic book kick explains why Las Vegas librarians know my face. Robert Kirkman’s zombie masterwork lives at the top of my wish list. To spare myself the library treks, I’ll ask for an anthology and burrow into my book cave this season. $36.41, BarnesAndNoble.com. Game of Thrones Dragon Egg Paper Weight. I’ve never been one for babysitting, but I wouldn’t object to supervising a dragon egg. I mean, really, the gift speaks for itself: It’s a freaking dragon egg. Sure it serves as a paperweight and won’t be hatching anytime soon, but it sure gives the offce something to gawk at. $45, Store.HBO.com. JASON SCAVONE, DailyFiasco editor, Vegas Seven associate editor and pop culture guru.
Batman: Seasons 1-3 on Blu-Ray. To say I’m excited about the complete Batman TV series fnally coming out in all its Adam Westian glory would be to ignore the Burgess Meredith Penguin T-shirts and Louie the Lilac pajamas I own. Also, I know who Louie the Lilac is. It was a custom job. Stop judging me. Released this month, the box set includes all 120 episodes, several hours of extras and a replica Hot Wheels Batmobile. The only things you’ll need to buy yourself are a copy of the ’66 West-starring movie (usually under 10 bucks at your favorite bigbox stores) and a genuine knock-off LISSA TOWNSEND RODGERS,
November 27–December 3, 2014
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senior writer and music columnist.
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The book Beyond Fashion by Charles James. The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s recent show of the American couturier’s work revealed the sophisticated engineering that created his sumptuous gowns. The companion volume features photos of his glamorous work, as well as sketches, chronologies and materials from James’ extensive archives. $50, Store.MetMuseum.org. ➜ Sleater-Kinney’s Start Together vinyl box set. One of the best rock bands of the ’90s and “the aughts,” Sleater-Kinney recently announced that they would be reuniting for another album and tour in 2015. To celebrate, Sub Pop is releasing a box set with all seven of the band’s albums remastered on vinyl, along with a hardcover book and limited-edition print—and, of course a limited-edition 7-inch single, because they’re punk like that. $125, SubPop.com.
white-painted Cesar Romero mustache. Finally, I can retire the set of bootleg DVDs recorded off TV Land that I bought from some sketchy eBay seller years ago. $175, Amazon.com. Faith No More’s “Motherfucker” on 7-inch vinyl. For a band that cranked out as much brilliantly weird material as Faith No More did, they somehow got pigeonholed as a one-hit, rap-rock wonder. If Linkin Park was a thousandth as brilliant as Mike Patton and his band of oddballs, no one would be complaining about nu-metal to this day. “Motherfucker” is the frst new single from the band in 17 years (which, in comparable terms, is like two whole Tool albums), and presages an April full-length. It’s also the most exciting music news since Jack White’s angry rants about the Black Keys went public. There aren’t many geniuses left in rock, and Patton is absolutely one of them. This is as big a can’t-miss record as there’s ever been. (Please note the last thing I said would be a can’t-miss is The Phantom Menace.) ZiaRecords.com, $6. Thrilling Adventure Hour’s Valentine’s Day “Beyond Belief” recording. Ben Acker and Ben Blacker’s loving homage to radio drama, The Thrilling Adventure Hour is to podcasting what The Hudsucker Proxy is to flm. With, you know, signifcantly less Jennifer Jason Leigh. The best of its recurring vignettes is “Beyond Belief,” wherein comic Paul F. Tompkins and actress Paget Brewster play Frank and Sadie Doyle, a thinly disguised Thin Man-esque couple who solve paranormal mysteries. Thrilling
is recorded monthly at Los Angeles’ Largo, but while these gigs feature a mixture of their other recurring stories—“Sparks Nevada Marshal on Mars” or “The Adventures of Captain Laserbeam”—the Valentine’s show is pure, uncut “Beyond Belief,” and it is awesome. The only trouble is tickets are sold out, so if someone can get a bead on Stubhub ducats, that would be grand. $30, Largo at the Coronet. Galactus Bottle Opener. Finally, something that combines your two great loves: cosmic-level nerdery and hooch. Go ahead, try not to say “I am Galactus, devourer of hops!” every time you pop a fresh brew. Try it, I dare you. $18, MidtownComics.com.
The World of Ice & Fire hardcover book. I know, all right? Look, I know. All the Game of Thrones overload is getting unbearable. I get it. Still? Gimmie. It’s not yet as annoying as the Great Zombie Ubiquity of 2010. And besides, I already know most of the characters in the Thrones series. I need to be confused by trying to keep track of another 473 imposing players on the Westeros scene. It’s how I feel alive. $50, BarnesAndNoble.com.
A TALE FIT FOR A PRINCE A&E
You can’t keep a good prince down. This current revival of the Tony Award-winning 1972 musical Pippin comes to Las Vegas on a wave of glowing reviews (“Dazzling and awe-inspiring,” wrote Ben Brantley in The New York Times) and audience goodwill (“So glad to have chosen @PippinMusical as my first Broadway show. I would put it in my pocket and take it to Spain with me,” tweeted @TaylahGinger). What’s the secret of its success? Stephen Schwartz’s timeless songbook? The choreography, inspired by the work of the director of the original production, Bob Fosse? The rock-solid traveling cast, which includes Kyle Dean Massey and the acrobatics troupe Les 7 Doigts de la Main? I wish I knew. Truth is, I’m reading this stuff at the same time you are. But I’d sure like to go to The Smith Center to see Pippin and discover its magic touch for myself. Nov. 25-30, $39 and up, 702-749-2000. – Geoff Carter
RASCAL FLATTS TAKING JOINT RESIDENCY
The long and storied history of Rascal Flatts in Las Vegas is getting another chapter. Not content to stand pat after filming the “Why Wait” video at the Palms in 2010, the long con finally pays off in 2015 with a nine-show residency at The Joint (Feb. 25-March 14, $40 and up). It marks the first Joint residency for a band that wasn’t stripping the denim jackets off groupies
Awards (which this year is being held at Jerry Jones’ Yee-Haw Colisseum and RV Park in Dallas). But we’re still holding out that they double up a couple of shows a week with Gene and Paul for KISScal Flatts. – Jason Scavone
November 27–December 3, 2014
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THE GREAT PRETENDER Chrissie Hynde's voice is tough and tender. After nearly 40 years in the biz, this woman still rocks. When Hynde plays the Pearl on Nov. 28 ($43-$93), she’ll showcase songs from her solo album, Stockholm, along with a generous helping of the Pretenders tunes.
WONDER NEVER CEASES Stevie Wonder brings his Songs in the Key of Life to MGM Grand Garden Arena on Nov. 29 ($45-$175). It’s a three-hour show with dozens of musicians and backup singers bringing Wonder’s 1976 masterpiece (“I Wish,” “Isn’t She Lovely,” “Sir Duke”) to life.
ON SALE NOW Burt Bacharach wrote hits for countless artists, including Dionne Warwick, the Carpenters, B.J. Thomas, Christopher Cross and Tom Jones. Now, it’s Burt’s turn. The multiple Grammy- and Oscar-winner takes center stage at The Smith Center on Jan. 30 ($29-$125).
PIPPIN BY TERRY SHAPIRO; RASCAL FL AT TS BY SHERYL NIELDS
Brooks and Faith Hill/Tim McGraw residencies, plus the ACM
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in the ’80s. Country has done well in town, between the Garth
The
HIT LIST TARGETING THIS WEEK'S MOST-WANTED EVENTS
By Camille Cannon
GIRLS WITH TATTOOS ... DANCING
There are lots of places to see traditionally beautiful
women performing in Las Vegas. But if you'd like a break from ogling the flawless blonde showgirl/cocktail waitress type, check out Suicide Girls: Blackheart Burlesque. The national tour—showcasing body piercings, combat boots and a Game of Thrones-themed act—stops at the Brooklyn Bowl at 8 p.m. November 28 ($27.50, $22 in advance). – Cindi Moon Reed
SALE AWAY Looking to shop local? The 18b Arts District has specials to suit your creative needs during Plaid Friday on Nov. 28. Swing by Photo Bang Bang for 25-50 percent off framed prints and prepaid studio rentals, or opt for discounted merchandise and class certificates at Las Vegas Ballet School. More deals to be announced. Facebook.com/ PhotoBangBang.
VegasSeven.com
WINTER WONDERMENT Erik Beehn’s From Where I Stand conveys a deep chill with the gray tones and leafless trees of his collages. Below the surface, however, is a glimpse into his laborious creative process. Beehn used film, paint and solvent to present the multilayered works. See it at Michele C. Quinn Fine Art Advisory through Dec. 5.
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One day I walked into the nowdefunct Downtown Las Vegas coffeehouse Enigma Garden Café and found Anthony Bondi sitting at a shaded table with a pile of papers and a large pair of scissors, chuckling to himself. Bondi is this city’s foremost collage artist, a man with a preternatural gift for taking a person or object out of their own environment and placing them into another bizarre, yet somehow more suitable, environment (as he himself did when he appeared alongside Anthony Bourdain on the Las Vegas episode of CNN’s Parts Unknown). He kept chuckling to himself, so I asked him what was so funny. “Nothing,” he replied. “I just love making collage.” Some of the results of that happy work—a collection of striking, monochromatic flyers for the very café where Bondi was hanging out that day—are on display in their original, hand-cut form at Sin City Gallery in the Arts Factory through December 24, and they’re beautiful. You can’t look at them without a delighted laugh escaping your mouth, maybe looking for new context. 107 E. Charleston Blvd., Suite 100, 702-608-2461. – Geoff Carter
THE LONG ROAD Lolita Develay’s A Master’s Journey functions like an artistic time machine. The series of paintings, on display through Dec. 5 at Left of Center Art Gallery, depict previous multimedia works that Develay created while seeking her master of fine art from UNLV. If that’s not inception, we don’t know what is. LeftOfCenterArt.org.
November 27–December 3, 2014
SUICIDE GIRLS BY CHARLES HILDR
ANTHONY BONDI’S ETERNAL ENIGMA
63
MUSIC [ OLD LADY IN A MOSH PIT ]
SHE’S YOUR PINBALL WIZARD Condensing a lifetime of hard music into sof, biweekly morsels By Lissa Townsend Rodgers Guns N’ Roses N’ pinball.
I’VE BEEN AT THIS MUSIC THING A LONG
time. Let’s put it this way: The frst time I got hurt in a mosh pit was in New York City at a CBGB’s hardcore matinee during the Reagan administration. The last time was two weeks ago at a Death From Above 1979 show at the Brooklyn Bowl. I have seen Carl Craig rock a soundsystem under the Brooklyn Bridge and I have watched Motown’s Funk Brothers play in a rehearsal room at the Apollo Theater. I’ve had a beer with Joe Strummer, and Tom Waits once told me I was funny. Now that I’ve done my bit to impress or annoy you (hopefully both), allow me to explain. This column will appear every other week and cover … anything, whether it’s live bands or recorded music, international acts or local players, things that are utterly amazing or things that completely suck. If it makes noise and gets one excited enough to completely forget about personal safety, I’m there. Let’s get started: What’s the most rocking place in Las Vegas that doesn’t host live music? The Pinball Museum, of course, where you can hear KISS, the Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses and Metallica play their hits—albeit through a 4 x 4 inch speaker. Why would a band license a pinball game? Well, like rock ’n’ roll, pinball has been a hobby of juvenile delinquents and other malcontents since Marlon Brando leaned against a game in The Wild One and The Who threw down for Tommy and the Pinball Wizard. The Guns N’ Roses game pulls its playlist from Appetite for Destruction, opening with a live recording of “Welcome to the Jungle” and keeping the music playing through “capture Axl” and shooting “the snakepit” for multi-balls. At the end, it plays an animation of a groupie taking her top off. If the numbers on her tits match the last two digits of your score, you get a free game. The AC/ DC machine has tiny cannons that shoot the ball and a little “hell’s bell”
that lets loose with guitar riffs when you knock it. On the Rolling Stones machine, the little plastic Mick Jagger has snapped off, leaving just the feet to dance for you. (I’m sure Keith Richards likes it better that way.) There’s also the Elton John “Captain Fantastic” game and the Dolly Parton machine. Yes, I know there’s a Ted Nugent game but rock ’n’ roll is about high-fving the underdog and sticking it to the man, not the other way around. ... No human should even consider going to a Black Friday sale … unless it’s in support of your local independent record store. Record Store Day Black Friday will be taking place at various Zia and Record City outlets as well as Wax Trax. Pick up some exotica for that fanatical fan on your list or perhaps just reward yourself for being so damn good all year. Among the new releases will be David Bowie’s two-sided single and a double-disc set of Elvis live at the International Hotel—circa 1970. Yes, it’s sexy, showstopping Elvis, not pilled-out, pants-splitting Elvis. As usual on Record Store Day, there’s an abundance of vinyl exclusives: Miles Davis boxed sets and Hüsker Dü double-album reissues, clearvinyl New Order and colored-vinyl Ennio Morricone, Dio picture discs and the Wu-Tang Clan’s “C.R.E.A.M.” on vinyl cut into the shape of the W logo. In the spirit of the season, favorite holiday tracks from Run D.M.C., Bessie Smith and Wham! are being put out as singles, along with a colored-vinyl reissue of Phil Spector’s A Christmas Gift for You. What’s the best thing about Record Store Black Friday? It happens during normal business hours, so you can enjoy your Thanksgiving—and the store employees can, too. What should I play next? Send your tips to Lissa.Rodgers@vegasseven.com.
STAGE
THANKIN’-STEIN Critics aren’t monsters—we can give thanks, too EVEN INGRATES—SAY, CRITICS WHO GET
ILLUSTRATION BY JON ESTRADA
to see Vegas shows for a living, then kvetch about them—can suck it up once a year and show some appreciation on Thanksgiving. So, this is me sucking. … you know what I mean. Consider me thankful this year for: • Olivia Newton-John, for sprinkling the Strip with fairy dust made of equal parts class, talent, elegance and sweetness. • Rock of Ages star Mark Shunock, whose monthly charity fundraisers, Mondays Dark, reveal Vegas at its humanitarian best. • The concept of knowing when to quit. Case in point: Pawn Shop Live! • The concept of Sammy Davis Jr. living on into future generations. Case in point: Eric Jordan Young. • The fact that the tepidly received Jersey Boys movie couldn’t dull the sheen on the gangbusters live musical at Paris Las Vegas. • The return to the Onyx Theatre (and other venues) of once-imprisoned actor/director Brandon Burk, bringing him back to the community theater scene he loves—and that loves him right back. • Huggy/touchy-feely/pictureposing Shania Twain, who showers affection on her fans during shows in a way that truly defnes “giving thanks.” • Joni and Gina’s Wedding, an interactive, Sapphic-themed dinner show that landed at the intersection of pop culture and social change at precisely the right moment. • What little time we did have with the exquisite, prematurely shuttered Ray Charles tribute, Georgia on my Mind—starring Strip returnee Clint Holmes. • Anthony Cools mercifully (for the audience) allowing volunteers to keep their clothes on when he somehow
persuades them to schtup defenseless chairs and have orgasms on cue. • Matt and Mattingly’s Bucket Show at the Scullery Theater—toss whatever you want to pay for this sharp-witted improv comedy hour into a bucket and get way more than your money’s worth. • Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham’s about-to-begin Planet Hollywood residency, Not Playing With a Full Deck. Given world events, it feels especially crucial now to laugh at his Achmed the Dead Terrorist. • Those green-faced, white-eyed hotsie-totsies of lusty, zesty Zombie Burlesque, proving it’s possible to be impossibly hot without a pulse. • Raiding the Rock Vault’s senior screamers, proving they no longer have to look rock-hard to rock hard. • Watching lounge singer/Steve Wynn discovery Michael Monge, who reminded me of another crooner, my late father—swelling my heart to super-size proportions. • The chicken salad sub at the Nosh deli at Bally’s; the hot pastrami, and chocolate cheesecake at The Mirage’s Carnegie Deli; the burgers at Le Burger Brasserie at Paris Las Vegas; and that “secret pizza” joint upstairs at the Cosmopolitan. • Readers who can still surprise me, such as the one who emailed about my review of Neil Diamond impersonator Rob Garrett, who didn’t fip the switch on my heart light. Wrote my fan: “When I was in Vietnam, I had more respect for the VC [Vietcong] than you.” Fair enough. But I’m cuddlier than the Taliban. Now I think I’ve sucked enough … you know what I mean. Got an entertainment tip? Email Steve.Bornfeld@VegasSeven.com.
MOVIES
A&E
RICH MAN’S FOLLY
Carell and Tatum give life to this deadly duo.
In an Oscar-worthy performance, Steve Carell embodies a dark-fated heir By Michael Phillips Tribune Media Services
DOES EXTREME PRIVILEGE POINT, LIKE AN
arrow, to a sort of rot within the trueblue American spirit? Putting criminal insanity aside for a moment, the answer’s a qualifed, sorrowful yes in director Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher, a true-crime drama hailed in many quarters as a modern classic since it debuted six months ago at the Cannes Film Festival. There are times when director Miller can’t seem to fght his way out from under it. But the flmmaker’s struggle—largely, it appears, in the editing phase—to give shape to this story makes for a compelling riddle with a clear narrative answer but plenty of unanswered ancillary questions. The facts are pretty rich. In 1996, on the grounds of his sprawling Foxcatcher Farm estate in Pennsylvania, wrestling enthusiast and chemical company heir John du Pont shot and killed Olympic gold medalist Dave Schultz. Schultz’s brother, Mark, also spent time living on the du Pont estate and was the frst of the brothers to enter the rarefed orbit of their cryptic, increasingly threatening benefactor. Foxcatcher strips down the real-life events for parts and goes its own way, as all movies must, turning the story into a study of aspirations, goals and the competitive spirit, and how the wealthiest convicted murderer in U.S. history came to be exactly that.
Photographed in ashen tones, Foxcatcher makes much of du Pont’s interest in American history, his proximity to Valley Forge and his belief that a triumphant U.S. Olympic wrestling team is his way to reclaim his country’s greatness. Early in the flm, a portrait of George Washington is seen on the drab apartment wall of Mark Schultz. Clearly these two, du Pont and Schultz, the rich man and the relatively poor man, are spiritually fated to be mated. When we frst see Channing Tatum’s Mark, he’s speaking before a few dozen grade school students on the subject of his Olympic wrestling accomplishments. He gets $20 for the gig. Life is small and blinkered. When the call comes from Foxcatcher to set up a meeting about du Pont’s lavish training facility, it’s fate, messing with Mark for what appears to be the better. Steve Carell portrays du Pont, and it’s a canny performance, a cinch come Oscar nomination time. “I want to see this country soar again,” he says quietly, almost diffdently, to Mark. Working with a prosthetic nose, yellow teeth and a backward-tilted head suggesting an unbalancing sense of wealth, Carell does little to tip his interpretive hand in these initial sequences. In contrast to Carell and Tatum, Mark Ruffalo as Dave Schultz plays the script’s one truly happy man, happy in his fam-
ily life (Sienna Miller portrays his wife, Nancy), content in his coaching, protective of his tense, socially phobic brother. In du Pont, Mark fnds the apparently benevolent father fgure he never had. In Mark, du Pont fnds a malleable conduit for his dream of wrestling glory. The flm acknowledges a certain, tactful degree of du Pont’s drug use, his personality disorders and bizarre behavior, all documented. Plenty more is left out, especially to do with du Pont’s sexually predatory nature. Director Miller is a wizard at establishing mood and interpersonal communication nonverbally. He doesn’t rush things. When Tatum and Ruffalo wrestle early in Foxcatcher, the brotherly relationship is established entirely through
November 27–December 3, 2014
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SHORT REVIEWS
66
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 (PG-13) ★★★✩✩
This is a worthy third movie in the Suzanne Collins franchise—destined to satisfy the legions of filmgoers willing to swing with a lot of scheming and skulking in an underground bunker in order to get to the revolution. The third book in Collins’ dystopian-lit juggernaut has been halved. And it works. Not everything in Mockingjay is dynamic; director Francis Lawrence occasionally mistakes somnambulance for solemnity. The series wraps up with the release of Mockingjay 2 in November 2015.
The Homesman (R) ★★★✩✩
Director, co-writer and star Tommy Lee Jones’ The Homesman is a film out of time. It takes place in 1855, the year after the creation of the Nebraska Territory. Frustratingly uneven, rarely dull, it comes from Glendon Swarthout’s 1988 novel and deals with isolated characters living in the margins of history far away from the historic gunfights or the Colorado Rockies. We first see the virtuous single farm woman Mary Bee Cuddy behind a two-horse plow, and when you have Hilary Swank playing this sort of role, that’s a ton of virtue straight off.
The Theory of Everything (PG-13) ★★★✩✩
You can’t entirely trust this romanticized portrait of astrophysicist Stephen Hawking and his first wife, Jane. The film is a story of a marriage that survives 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 global fame. As Hawking, Eddie Redmayne has the most interesting role of his career, and he’s up to it. In a more recessive role, Felicity Jones is hints at Jane’s internal struggles even when the film chooses a more decorous route.
the way these guys use their bodies. The racist, crotch-groping, gun-crazy du Pont is boiled down to a vaguely sinister specimen waving a select handful of red fags. Miller favors calm long-distance shots at key junctures, so that the behavior on view—du Pont whacking a clipboard out of a subordinate’s hand, for example, or being tackled by police after the worst has happened—appears to be the doings of a rare species of bird, captured through feld glasses. At its core, Foxcatcher grapples with the subjects of class and money, and what some people do when, to quote a line from Psycho, they can’t buy off their own unhappiness. Foxcatcher (R) ★★★✩✩
By Tribune Media Services
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.
Interstellar (PG-13) ★★★✩✩
Low Down (R) ★★★★✩
Big Hero 6 (PG) ★★★✩✩
Laggies (R) ★★✩✩✩
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.
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.
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.
Marketplace
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NOW OPEN Tuesday - Saturday 5pm - Close On the corner of Ogden and 6th Parking available across the street Downtown Ages 25+
BETTING
THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT How the NFC South is the Clark Griswold of the NFL, and other Christmas Vacation comparisons I’VE LONG BEEN ACCUSED BY FAMILY AND
friends of failing to get into the spirit of the holiday season. Not sure how I got this reputation. OK, I’ll admit that putting up decorations tends to send me into a Manson-like rage (because God-for-freakin’-bid the entire strand of lights work) … and that I’d rather take gun-cleaning lessons from Jose Canseco than spend two minutes in a shopping mall this time of year … and that I’m still holding a grudge against Santa for not delivering me that Green Machine on Christmas Day in 1979. (No, Mom, I’m never going to let it go.) But none of this makes me Scrooge. To prove it, I’m flling this week’s betting analysis with seasonal cheer by paying homage to the greatest holiday movie ever—no, I’m not talking about It’s a Wonderful Life (never seen it); I’m talking about Christmas Vacation … Clark W. Griswold Award: Goes to the incredibly hapless NFC South, whose four teams enter Week 11 with a combined 13-30-1 record—and seven of those 13 wins came against one another! Atlanta and New Orleans sit atop the pile of garbage at 4-7; Carolina is just a half-game behind, despite winning just once since Week 2! If the season ended today the Falcons would win the division (and a yearlong subscription to the Jelly of the Month club) based on a Week 1 overtime victory over the Saints. By the way, these Falcons, who are 0-7 vs. non-NFC South foes, are only a 2½-point home underdog this week against the 9-2 Cardinals. Ellen Griswold Award: Goes to fans of the Bills and Browns for suffering through years of ineptitude and disappointment, but refusing to jump ship despite countless reasons to do so. Unlike Mrs. Griswold, Bills and Browns fans might fnally get rewarded for their undying loyalty: At 6-5 and 7-4, respectively, Buffalo and Cleveland—who meet in New York this week—are very much in the thick of an AFC playoff picture that’s more murky than Aunt Bethany’s green Jell-O mold. Cousin Eddie Award: Goes to the Raiders, Jaguars, Titans and Jets, who have parked their broken-down RV in front of the AFC’s house and refused to leave. Not only are these the only four teams in the conference without a winning record, but they’ve combined to lose 38 of 44 games. And like Cousin Ed, this quartet will suck every last red penny from you. Actu-
MATT JACOB
LUCKY SEVEN
Ravens -5.5 vs. Chargers (Best Bet) Seahawks +1 at 49ers (Nov. 27) Cardinals -2.5 at Falcons Packers-Patriots OVER 58.5 Minnesota +14 at Wisconsin Oregon State +20 vs. Oregon UNR -10 at UNLV
ally, Oakland (6-5 ATS) has delivered more than it hasn’t; the other three are 8-23-3 ATS, despite being signifcant underdogs in almost every game. (Don’t let this trio near your microwave—they’ll piss their pants and forget who they are for a half-hour.) Griswold Family Squirrel Award: Goes to Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady, two Pro Bowl quarterbacks who have been destroying everything in their path for two solid months. Brady has thrown 22 TD passes and just four interceptions while leading his Patriots on a seven-game winning streak (after a 2-2 start), while Rodgers has a 25-2 TD-to-INT ratio during the Packers’ 7-1 run (which followed a 1-2 start). This week, Brady and Rodgers duel at Lambeau Field, where the scoreboard is liable to go up in fames like Clark’s Christmas tree. Audrey and Rusty Griswold Award: Goes to the UNLV football team. Sure, the actors have changed over the years, but the story line remains the same: One embarrassing event after another—the latest coming last week when the Rebels scored a go-ahead touchdown at Hawaii with 15 seconds to play and still lost, falling to 2-10. Now here comes hated UNR to Sam Boyd Stadium for a season-ending battle for the Fremont Cannon. The Wolf Pack—who haven’t lost in Las Vegas in a decade, winning the last four meetings at Sam Boyd by an average of 18.3 points—are a 10-point favorite. In other words, a Rebels victory seems more unlikely than Clark Griswold receiving his Christmas bonus and using it to build his poor kids a swimming pool. Last Week: 5-2 (3-1 NFL; 2-1 college; 0-1 Best Bet). Season Record: 43-41 (22-22 NFL; 21-19 college; 4-8 Best Bets).
THURSDAY
DEC 4
SATURDAY
DEC 6
FRIDAY
DEC 12
SATURDAY
DEC 13
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It’s a simple solution that allows consumers to gift in real time. We live in a real-time society and economy, with consumers using on-demand services. You need a car right now? Uber. Need a reservation right now? OpenTable. … But if you want to say “thank you” or “congratulations” to someone in real time, your only two choices are really 1-800-Flowers or Nothing Bundt Cakes. We thought it was crazy that someone couldn’t say “This round is on me”— that someone in London couldn’t have a friend in New York who is having a birthday or who just got engaged, and be able to buy them a drink at their local bar. How does buying those drinks or shopping locally this gift-giving season affect the community?
The impact is incredible. American Express does it very well with ShopSmall.com and Small Business Saturday after Thanksgiving. [It has been estimated that] for every $100 spent at a locally owned business, $73 remains in the local economy. That money goes to local supplies, wages, services, taxes and community donations. With national chains, the money goes to non-local supply, wages and services. You can buy a gift basket or you can gift someone into a local business, and that decision affects you, your child, school, neighborhood—everything.
November 27–December 3, 2014
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VegasSeven.com
How can we make every day “Small Business Saturday”?
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David Leibner
The CEO and co-founder of It’s On Me and Gif Local on supporting Vegas retailers, shopping greed on Thanksgiving Day and why delivery drones won’t work By Xania Woodman
Gift-Local.com and ShopSmall.com support local brick-and-mortar businesses, but the difference is that Shop Small is an online directory that allows someone to spend money in that local area. Our program allows anyone in the world to gift local. It allows someone in Hong Kong to spend money here at a locally owned business. This radiates out to the more than 40 million people a year who come to Las Vegas—and most of them are celebrating. If just a million of them received $100 local gifts from fve friends, that’s $500 million coming into our locally owned businesses. That’s what really gets us excited: letting the world know that we can gift local and
support local businesses no matter where we are. What do you think about the creep of Black Friday storeopening hours from early Friday morning to late Thursday to right in the middle of Thanksgiving dinner?
A lot of those people are focused on material goods, and they’re being sucked in by marketing, and it’s sad. It’s the same as someone at a concert flming their favorite song for 12 minutes instead of watching the song and enjoying the experience. People are forgetting how great this day is and [instead] are thinking about this sweater they can’t afford, but they can get it [on Black Friday]. At the end of the day, who cares about the sweater compared with the relationships and friends we have? If you had one minute in a boardroom in front of the CEOs of the big corporations that have decided to open on Thanksgiving, what would you say to change their minds?
I don’t know if anything can change their minds. As much as we’re two different people, we’re almost two different species—theirs focused on the bottom line and mine on community and people. I’d probably try to make a bottomline argument, the only argument they would hear: Give your employees the day off, and I guarantee you’ll see the return on [that day’s paid holiday] over the next year. You’ve mentioned real-time gifting. What about using drones for delivery?
Drone delivery is a PR ploy— and kind of comical. I cannot imagine a world where there are hundreds of drones fying around, dropping off books and sweatshirts … and if that does come to bear, I can’t wait to see how many kids will be in their backyards with wrist rockets, shooting them down and picking up gifts as they fy by. So, what are you giving your friends and family this holiday season?
All the love I have, a couple of bad jokes, a couple of good dishes and obviously a lot of great gifts through It’s On Me. What damage is done when we spend money at the bigbox stores? For the full interview, visit VegasSeven.com/Leibner.
PHOTO BY JON ESTRADA
SEVEN QUESTIONS
You launched the It’s On Me app (originally Drinkboard) in August 2013. What does it do, and why do we need it?