Back to the Future | Vegas Seven Magazine | Jan. 8-14, 2015

An exclusive gAllery of modern, contemporAry courtyArd style homes desirAbly nestled Alongside blAck mountAin in henderson.

floor plAns from 2,820 sq.ft. to 3,220 sq.ft.

844 Loch Katrine ave | henderson, nv 89012 Just caLL Jeff! (702) 501-6301

Mon 1:00PM - 6:00PM tues-sun 10:00aM - 6:00PM

www.drhorton.com/lasvegas This is being provided for informational purposes only. Not a commitment to lend. Not all borrowers will qualify. Prices, included features, availability and delivery dates are subject to change without notice or obligation and subject to builder discretion. Square footages are approximate. Terms and conditions vary and are subject to credit approval, market changes and availability. Images are an artists conception, actual homes may vary.

APRIL 29 - MAY 16

JOURNEY ON SALE JAN. 16

JAN 21 - 24 ......................................AVN SHOW FEB 7 ....................................................SEETHER & PAPA ROACH

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS KYNG & ISLANDER

FEB 21...................................................ELLIS MANIA 10 FEB 22..................................................TRAILER PARK BOYS’ STILL DRUNK, HIGH AND UNEMPLOYED TOUR FEATURING RICKY, JULIAN AND BUBBLES

FEB 25 - MAR 14................................RASCAL FLATTS VEGAS RIOT! MAR 27 & 28 ......................................WIDESPREAD PANIC

FRIDAY WITH SPECIAL GUEST KARL DENSON’S TINY UNIVERSE SATURDAY WITH SPECIAL GUEST THE CHRIS ROBINSON BROTHERHOOD

APR 3 & 4 ...........................................KENNY CHESNEY THE BIG REVIVAL TOUR APR 10 ................................................SIXX: A.M. WITH SPECIAL GUEST APOCALYPTICA

FOR VIP PACKAGES & RESERVATIONS CONTACT JOINTVIP@HRHVEGAS.COM OR 702.693.5220 AXS.COM

|

888-9-AXS-TIX

|

HARDROCKHOTEL.COM/THEJOINT

SCORE BIG

WITH

PLAYOFF SPECIALS Bud Light $2.50 • Stella Artois $4 Jack Daniel’s $5

Catch all the playoff games on over 50 TVs—including a 120-square-foot, state-of-the-art HD screen—all while savoring GQ’s “Burger of the Year.”

Reservations: 702.761.7614 | slsvegas.com Valid during pro football playoff games, excluding the “Big Game.” Excludes tax and gratuity. May not be combined with any other offer. Management reserves all rights. You must be 21 years or older to consume alcohol. Please drink responsibly.

BRUNCH aT OUR PLACE

SATURDAYs & sundays open @ 10:30am

Watch the Playoff Games & experience Chef’s Halftime Pigskin Party

14 | THE LATEST

“What’s Happening to Free Parking?” by James P. Reza.

Why one of the great only-in-Vegas perks appears to be coming to a stop.

Plus, a look back at CES-introduced marvels, Ask a Native, The Deal and Tweets of the Week.

16 | Sports

“Half-Court Shots,” by Mike Grimala.

Replaying the highlights from the first half of UNLV’s basketball season.

18 | Green Felt Journal

“The Perfect Balance,” by David G. Schwartz.

Vegas is at its best when its attractions appeal to locals and tourists alike.

24 | COVER

“The Once and Future Downtown,” by Pj Perez.

Long before the Fremont Street Experience, Neonopolis and Tony Hsieh, the City of Las Vegas had grand plans for reviving Downtown. Three decades later, we look back at what might have been—and what is today.

29 | NIGHTLIFE

“Vegas Needs R3hab,” by Kat Boehrer.

The DJ/producer uses distinctive processes to define his sound.

53 | DINING

“Strangers In a Strange Land,” by Al Mancini.

Three expatriate chefs talk about cooking their homeland’s cuisine for the American palate.

Plus, Mancini on MTO in Downtown Summerlin and Dishing With Grace.

59 | A&E

“Building Blocks,” by Pj Perez.

This UNLV exhibit explores the past, present and future of architectural design.

Plus, The Hit List, Tour Buzz and reviews of Justin Timberlake and Tony Bennett/Lady Gaga in concert.

66 | Movies

Into the Woods and our weekly movie capsules.

72 | Going for Broke

Oregon, Ohio State enter the national championship game red hot—both on the field and at the betting window.

78 | Seven Questions

George Wendt on being a zombie, flunking out of college and wearing Milk-Bone underwear.

ON THE COVER An uncredited illustration created for the “1987 and Beyond” Downtown plan.

Dialogue Moment Seven Days Gossip Seven Nights Showstopper

|

11 | 12 | 15 | 20 | 34 | 65 |

VegasSeven.com

DEPARTMENTS

January 8–14, 2015

24

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 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

Jacqueline Konesavanh, Brett Lawson

Ryan T. Doherty

| Justin Weniger

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

ASSISTANT CONTROLLER

Comments@VegasSeven.com Sales@VegasSeven.com DISTRIBUTION Distribution@VegasSeven.com

LETTERS AND STORY IDEAS ADVERTISING

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 2015 Vegas Seven, LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without the permission of Vegas Seven, LLC is prohibited.

DIALOGUE CONTRIBUTOR’S NOTE several months ago, freelance writer Pj Perez was digging through the online archives of the UNLV Library’s Special Collections, searching for vintage images of Downtown Las Vegas to accompany a piece he was writing for our sister website, DTLV.com. That’s when he came across a document with an eye-catching cover. “It looked like something from a futurist magazine,” Perez recalls. “And in bold, red, robotic type across the top was an equally alluring title: 1987 and Beyond: A Future Look to Downtown Las Vegas.”

It took Perez about a minute of perusing the document to know he’d stumbled upon a great story idea; being the suckers that we are for nostalgic fashback stories, it took us 30 seconds to concur, and Perez set about researching what would become this week’s cover feature, “The Once and Future Downtown” (Page 24). “I wanted to write a story that used this document as a springboard to see how the actual ‘future’ of Downtown Las Vegas (i.e., what it looks like now) holds up to the vision of a 30-year-old planning document,” Perez says. “The amazing thing I discovered wasn’t so much that projects such as a magneticlevitation people-mover system didn’t make it past the planning stages, but that so many of the plans outlined did come to fruition. That those projects have failed, relocated or entirely disappeared some 30 years later speaks to the nature of Las Vegas—that seemingly unstoppable sense of reinvention and persistent newness that we all seem so drawn toward.”

➜

OUR SITES TO SEE WAVE OF THE FUTURE

CES PHOTO BY KOBBY DAGAN

Although the International Consumer Electronics Show is winding down, we’ve been on the ground tweeting and posting about all the wild and wacky technology that’s been unveiled—mind-control toys and floating speakers, anyone? Get your nerd fix by browsing our coverage at VegasSeven.com/CES2015.

TECHNICALLY SPEAKING

WHAT’S NEW PIZZACAT?

TASTE OF SOUTH BEACH

XS-IVE UPGRADES

The Vegas Tech Fund has rolled out a strategy for 2015 that’s designed to bring more money to some select local startups. Nicole Ely analyzes why this new focus could be the best thing to happen to the Downtown tech scene at DTLV.com/ VegasTechFund.

For those who don’t tumble down the Internet rabbit hole, the Pizzacat is a fictional feline sporting a pizza slice on his head, appearing on Instagram guzzling forties and rapping.

Zoneil Maharaj delves into the bizarre phenomenon with its creator at VegasSeven.com/ Pizzacat.

While visiting Miami during the holidays, resident food critic Al Mancini couldn’t resist finding out what current, former and (possibly) future Las Vegas chefs and restaurateurs are doing in Florida’s party town. Find his discoveries at VegasSeven.com/ EatingMiami.

In addition to their tequila shots, clubbers who venture into XS this year can now enjoy about $10 million in technical enhancements. Find a list of all the upgrades, including 14,000 LED lights and a massive DJ booth, at VegasSeven. com/XSUpgrades.

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

VEGAS MOMENT

Rock That Cradle!

Have you taken a photo that captures the spirit of Las Vegas this week?

Share it with us at Moment@VegasSeven.com.

| January 8–14, 2015

Electronics, fashion, food, booze, cars, heavy equipment, Trekkies, concrete ... porn. If your industry has a convention, we’ll fnd space for you here in Las Vegas.

And that includes Skillcon, The Ultimate Skill Convention, which took over the Rivieria from Dec. 26-Jan. 2, crowning champions in nearly 20 categories, including dodgeball, fair bartending, sepak takraw (we don’t know, either), cornhole, sign-spinning (no joke), rock-paper-scissors (again, no joke) and, yes, yo-yoing. Who determined the winners? As you can see, a very focused panel of judges. Which of course means at some point, somewhere, there was this exchange: “Honey, I’m going to Vegas for eight days around the holidays.”

“For what?”

“To judge a rock-paper-scissors competition.”

VegasSeven.com

Photo by Jon Estrada

13

“It seems developers and civic leaders would be wise to bet on projects that are accessible to visitors and have enduring appeal for locals.”

GREEN FELT JOURNAL {PAGE 18}

News, sports, gossip and answers to burning questions about old-school freplaces

What’s Happening to Free Parking?

Examining why one of the great only-in-Vegas perks appears to be slowly coming to a stop

January 8–14, 2015

|

VegasSeven.com

WHEN IT COMES TO AUTOMOBILE PARKING,

14

Las Vegans and our 40 million annual visitors are a spoiled lot. For most of our city’s relatively brief history, not only has parking been plentiful, it has also been free—and boldly celebrated as such. Anyone who visits other destination cities knows that’s quite a trick—one that seems to be disappearing.

To understand why, one must start with an understanding of Las Vegas, past and future. In stark contrast to old, densely urbanized East Coast population centers (and similar West Coast cities like San Francisco), Las Vegas, like much of the Southwest, came of age during the post-war celebration of suburbia. Like Los Angeles, we’re spread far and wide, and our “suburban” sprawl took root just a short skip from Downtown.

Neighborhoods that today qualify as “urban”—John S. Park, McNeil, Paradise Palms, and others built during the 1950s and 1960s—offer wide, carfriendly streets fronting bungalows lounging on expansive lots starting at a quarter-acre. Compare that to our suburban beltway cluster homes built 10 to an acre during the early 2000s.

Similarly, our city’s mid-century resorts were an homage to car cul-

ture, designed to entice California visitors feeing up Interstate 15 on a weekend escape in the Buick. Check out any vintage Vegas Flickr collection and marvel at the casinos’ deep setbacks from the Strip; the long driveways, the expansive lawns, the massive Strip-front parking lots packed with hulking American iron.

Exploiting the luxury of space has until recently been part of our ethos.

Compare, for instance, the lowslung, spread-out desert resort vibe of the Stardust—whose now-razed center-Strip parcel represents an orgy of space at 63 acres, much of it once used for parking—to the urbanstyled Cosmopolitan, stacked-andpacked on less than nine acres and built on a six-layer underground garage. What’s more, compare our free hotel parking to the $30-$50 a night charged in downtown San Diego—the city former Mayor Oscar Goodman often held up as a model for our own Downtown redevelopment—and you can see where Las Vegas is headed.

It’s as if the Stardust and the Cosmopolitan existed in different places, and as each day passes, that becomes more true. The Strip is changing before our eyes. Record numbers of visitors are coming, driving ever

more cars and demanding more experiences, but they are gambling less, if at all. Witness the Strip’s increasing urbanization—the pushing of resorts right up to the sidewalk, the capitalization of every square inch of land. An abundance of free parking, especially in resort areas, is getting harder to come by. To drive the point home: The Cosmopolitan’s nearly nine acres started life as the parking lot for the Jockey Club timeshare.

The most obvious way to manage a scarce resource is to make it more diffcult or expensive to obtain.

What started a few years ago as an increasing rash of “Valet Full” signs that could be bypassed with a smile and a well-folded $10 bill has escalated into valet attendants sternly requiring a guest key to obtain service. Thus, a high-end, casino-free property like Mandarin Oriental offers one type of parking: fee-based valet. That’s so San Diego.

Our Downtown casinos have always had to deal with parking differently. Instead of vast surface lots, they have long had multilevel garages. Instead of unlimited free parking, they make you validate your ticket at the casino cage, and even then there’s a time limit. Now, however, parking

restrictions are increasing, a byproduct of the redevelopment of the casino properties and Downtown in general. On busy nights, for instance, El Cortez requires a players club card to receive free valet service. Main Street Station, the California and the Plaza each charge various fees for self-parking. And valet parking at the Downtown Grand is $12. All of this is said to help maintain parking availability for paying guests. The result, say some casino execs, is that each time a property implements parking control measures, cars then overwhelm a nearby property that lacks them, prompting those properties to implement controls as well.

One by one, the dominoes of Old Vegas fall. As they do, the perks of Old Vegas—once a remote desert city with space to spare—give way to managing the needs of tens of millions more visitors to the New Vegas. Neon gives way to LED; space gives way to density; the night sky gives way to towering architectural efforts. It is and has always been all about the money, and in the brave New Vegas, it is very possible the few will park for free. It’s one price we pay for always striving to stay relevant to those who pay our bills.

ILLUSTRATION BY CIERRA PEDRO

By James P. Reza

1

4

By Bob Whitby 2

THURSDAY, JAN. 8: Got a case of the

3

5

winter blahs? Then what you need, friend, is a dose of the circus. Lucky for you, the Shrine Circus is at the Orleans Arena for eight performances through Sunday. If clowns, acrobats, cotton candy and dancing elephants don’t cheer you up, maybe nothing will. OrleansArena.com.

FRIDAY, JAN. 9: One upside to January: The motorcycle auctions come to town, starting with the Mecum Auction, Thursday through Saturday at South Point.

Everything from a Yamaha owned by Kenny Roberts to a beautiful 1960 Lambretta scooter will be on the block. And much of what you’ll see is actually affordable, unlike the big car auctions that roll into town later in the year. Mecum.com.

The Future Is the Past Turning back the clock at CES

By Nicole Ely Entrepreneurs, techies and nerds are rubbing elbows with the technology industry’s biggest names this week during the International Consumer Electronics Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Known as the conference where futuristic gadgets are introduced to the world at-large, CES is one of the most anticipated annual events in Las Vegas. Here’s a look at products past and present that made their debut at CES. 1 VCR, 1970

Remember the days when you had to rewind a movie before returning it to Blockbuster? Wait, back up: Remember Blockbuster?

Those Friday nights spent wan-

dering the aisles, trying to fnd a fick for the family wouldn’t have been possible if the videocassette recorder hadn’t made its debut at CES, back when the convention’s home was Chicago.

2 CAMCORDER, 1981

More than 30 years ago, you had to balance a tank on your shoulder to capture your child’s frst steps. And you recorded on a videocassette instead of quickly uploading scenes to your laptop. (Was that the sound of a millennial’s mind exploding?)

The handheld camcorder made an appearance at CES two years before Sony released its frst one for public consumption. Now there’s a tiny camcorder in every smartphone. Think about that the next time you’re watching a cat video on YouTube.

3 HIGH-DEFINITION TELEVISION, 1998

Although the frst high-defnition broadcast aired in 1996, HDTVs didn’t make it to anyone’s living room until after they were showcased at CES two years later. Back then, few consumers could afford the fve-fgure price

tag; today, they’re as common a household item as a toaster.

4 SELF-DRIVING CAR, 2013

Using a combination of GPS, radar and image-analysis technology, these cars function just like any other automobile, except they don’t need a driver—a godsend for those who text, tweet and are otherwise distracted when on the road.

Although driverless cars are not yet available to everyday consumers, Nevada did approve a law authorizing their use in 2011. So who gets the ticket if a cop pulls you over?

5 WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY, 2015

With the advent of Google Glass and the Apple Watch, wearable technology is creating a sizeable buzz at this year’s conference. Cnet.com estimates that shipments for wearables will increase fve times by 2018. Tech giants such as Samsung, Motorola and Intel are expected to duke it out and lay their claim.

Meanwhile, we wait for 2025, when they just implant a device directly in our brains.

[ HEARSAY ]

“Whole Foods is like Vegas. You go there to feel good, but you leave broke, disoriented and with the newfound knowledge that you have a vaginal disease.”

– Kelly MacLean, comic, actress, writer and (just guessing here) NOT the next spokeswoman for Whole Foods … or Las Vegas, for that matter.

SATURDAY, JAN. 10: Today’s Polar Bear Plunge in Henderson isn’t quite as insane as similar events in, say, Minneapolis, but it will probably induce some shrinkage nonetheless. The pool at the Whitney Ranch Aquatic Complex is unheated, after all. Noon to 3 p.m., with goody bags for the first 100 plungers.

HendersonLive.com.

SUNDAY, JAN. 11: The Las Vegas Natural History Museum’s Weekend Science program is a good way to entertain the tots when it’s a bit too nippy for extended time outdoors. This weekend’s topic: Kitchen Color Chemistry. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. today; LVNHM.org.

MONDAY, JAN. 12: If you’ve been watch-

ing the housing market improve and thought to yourself, “I should start flipping houses,” here’s your opportunity: the Flipping Houses Workshop, 6 p.m. at the Henderson Chamber of Commerce, 112 S. Water St., with other sessions scheduled around the Valley through Wednesday.

Registration is free at FlippingWorkshops.com—just remember where house flipping got us last time.

TUESDAY, JAN. 13: It’s Mob Month over at the Clark

County Library, meaning lots of experts and events relating to organized crime. Today’s feature, “The Fix Is In: Sports and the Mob,” looks at the symbiotic relationship between sports betting, journalism and regulatory control. 7 p.m., 1401 E. Flamingo Rd., LVCCLD.org.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 14: Fancy yourself a photographer? Then it’s once again time to take a shot at winning the Springs Preserve’s annual photo contest.

This is a juried competition open to all, professional or amateur.

The winners will be on display in Springs Preserve’s Big Springs Gallery in March. This year’s theme is celebrations and traditions; the deadline for entries is Jan. 22. SpringsPreserve.org.

HalfCourt Shots

Chris Wood has come up big in his sophomore season.

DURING OUR COLDER MONTHS, FIREWOOD IS AVAILABLE AT MY GROCER, YET NOBODY I KNOW HAS ANYWHERE TO BURN IT. WHO ARE THEY SELLING TO?

Replaying the highlights from the frst half of UNLV’s season

By Mike Grimala

INCREDIBLE INDIVIDUAL performances. Inspiring come-frombehind victories. And one stunning upset. The UNLV basketball team has already packed a season’s worth of highlights into a campaign that’s only reached its midpoint. As the Rebels continue their quest for a Mountain West Conference championship, we count down the season’s seven most memorable moments so far: 7 THE GREAT ESCAPE

The Rebels found themselves in an 11-point hole late in the second half of the November 14 opener against Morehead State.

But the team’s vaunted freshman class led a late comeback capped

by Rashad Vaughn’s tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:05 to play.

Vaughn fnished with 26 points in his college debut, and seniortransfer point guard Cody Doolin contributed three points, seven assists, six rebounds and a bundle of hustle plays down the stretch of UNLV’s 60-59 win.

January 8–14, 2015

|

VegasSeven.com

6 MORAL VICTORY, ANYONE?

16

UNLV fell 76-61 at Kansas on January 4, but the fnal score wasn’t indicative of the Rebels’ performance. They went into one of the toughest venues in college sports (historic Phog Allen Fieldhouse, where Kansas is 181-9 under coach Bill Self) and pushed the No. 13 team to the limit.

Balanced offense helped UNLV claim a 33-29 halftime lead, and although the Rebels ran out of gas late in the second half, the frst 30 minutes provided a snapshot of how good this team could be.

5 IT'S “THE OTHER GUY”

Patrick McCaw entered the season as the most anonymous member of the freshman class, but he didn’t stay anonymous for long.

With his quickness and length, the

J A M E S P. R E Z A

lanky guard immediately proved he’s the Rebels’ best perimeter defender. That was never more evident than on December 13 against South Dakota, as McCaw racked up four steals and seven defections in 31 minutes in the Rebels’ 75-61 victory.

4 VAUGHN GETS HIS GROOVE BACK

Vaughn established himself as the team’s most explosive scorer in the season opener, but after struggling in two games in New York during the Coaches vs.

Cancer Classic, he needed a bounce-back game. So he came out fring November 29 against Albany, burying 11 of 18 shots to ring up a career-high 29 points.

The polished freshman scored off the dribble, from mid-range and from long distance (5-for-11 on 3-pointers) to help the Rebels roll to a 75-59 victory.

3 WOOD CATCHES FIRE

There’s a good chance this will go down as the season in which Chris Wood became a superstar, as the skinny sophomore consistently asserted himself on both ends of the court and carried the Rebels for long stretches.

One such instance came on New Year’s Eve in the Mountain West opener at Wyoming, where Wood scored the Rebels’ frst 19 points, nailing his frst six shots from the feld, including three 3-pointers.

Although the Rebels lost 76-71, Wood fnished with 29 points and proved he had arrived as a big-time player.

2 DOOLIN DELIVERS

Coach Dave Rice convinced Doolin to transfer to UNLV for by selling him on the opportunity to be a leader for a talented team of younger players. Doolin knew this would mean he’d have to take charge at times, especially in close games. Cut to Doolin’s fnishing kick against Portland on December 17, when he tossed the Rebels on his back and dragged them to a 75-73 overtime victory. UNLV trailed by eight points with 3 minutes to play in regulation, but Doolin dominated from there, scoring or assisting on 15 of UNLV’s fnal 22 points. Doolin fnished with a season-high 15 points, and the Rebels came away knowing they had their leader.

1 TOPPING THE ’CATS

Arizona was undefeated and ranked No. 3 when it arrived at the Thomas & Mack Center on December 23, but the young Rebels seized the moment and delivered a 71-67 victory as a 12½-point underdog. Wood (21 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks), Vaughn (21 points, three assists, three steals) and McCaw (13 points, seven rebounds) totaled 32 of the team’s 35 points in a back-and-forth second half and never allowed Arizona to gain momentum in the closing minutes. After McCaw hit two free throws in the fnal seconds and Arizona fumbled away its fnal possession, UNLV fans stormed the court to celebrate the program’s biggest victory in more than three years.

Me! And anyone else living in a fireplace-outfitted home built before July 1, 1991. That’s when both Clark County and the City of Las Vegas— aiming to keep the EPA off their backs, and federal highway funds coming their way—adopted new sections to their respective building codes.

The codes imposed restrictions on new construction, specifying that fireplaces in the Valley must be natural gas, electric or a wood burner that “conforms to the ‘Phase II Environmental Protection Agency Standards for Wood Heaters’” (less than 7.5 grams of emitted particulates per hour). Of the three options, builders overwhelmingly chose to go gas—likely the easiest, most appealing and most cost effective (to them).

Burning wood certainly has drawbacks (the effort, the mess and the pollution chief among them), which is why many residents with old wood-burners have retrofitted their fireplaces with gas. But it’s a dirty Vegas secret that the reverse is sometimes possible; we’d be lying if we said we never knew anyone who bought a house built after the summer of 1991 and promptly ripped out the gas logs. Why? Because gas fireplaces strain to satisfy the atmospheric characteristics for a cozy, romantic fire—emitted particulates be damned!

For those who choose to capture those atmospheric characteristics in their backyard with a fire pit purchased at a home-improvement store, take note: You’re actually breaking the law. In fact, burning wood outdoors for any purpose other than cooking is illegal without a permit. If you crave a legal, old-fashioned, wood-burning fireplace, relocate to an established neighborhood. Even some apartments have them!

WHY DO SO MANY OLD-TIMERS STILL CARE ABOUT UNLV BASKETBALL? Simple: In a city still without a major league pro sports team, UNLV represents something tangible and relatively “normal” around which our community can rally. Oh, and then there’s the fact the 1990 Runnin’ Rebels hold the record for the largest-margin of victory in an NCAA championship game (30 points, over the snooty blue bloods of Duke). It doesn’t hurt that, like Las Vegas, UNLV and its men’s basketball team have long been derided by the nation at-large.

Or that, in the years leading up to the championship, the Runnin’ Rebels were a ragtag group of second-chancers recruited by Jerry Tarkanian, the coach Las Vegas loved and the rest of the nation loved to hate. A city of outsiders built on losers cheering on a team of outsiders hellbent on winning. What’s not to like?

Questions? AskaNative@VegasSeven.com.

PHOTO BY JOSH METZ

THE LATEST

SPORTS

LET’S GO PARTY AT the D

Hawaii Appreciation Week JAnuARY 10 – 17, 2015 OnO FOOD, gOOD Fun, bIg wInS!

HOLOHOLO $10,000 SLOT TOuRnAmEnT 10 AM – 2 PM Daily, January 10 – 17 Free entry to slot tournament with Hawaii I.D. See Club D for details.

Comedy with JOEY GuILA and KALEO PILAnCA January 15 – 16 MEL CABANG, January 17

JOEY guILA

MEL CAbAng

Each show $20 with Hawaii I.D. includes all fees, one drink, and open karaoke after each show!

GEt tiCkEts At the D Box offiCE or By CALLiNG 702-388-2111 KALEO PILAnCA

Shows $30 without Hawaii I.D. Must be 21 years or older. Management reserves all rights.

Hawaii Festival

Island-style food, crafts, halau and musIc FREE ADmISSIOn

JAnuARY 10, 11, 16 AnD 17

SATuRDAYS AnD SunDAY nOOn – 8 Pm FRIDAY 4 Pm – 8 Pm bARRY bLACK across from

JAnuARY 10

nEw AgE TRIbE JAnuARY 11

MAHI JAnuARY 16

In COnCERT AT 7 Pm

bAbA b.

JAnuARY 17

Las Vegas is at its best when its attractions appeal to locals and tourists alike

A rendering of the arena that may soon be home to an NHL franchise.

January 8–14, 2015

|

VegasSeven.com

SOMETIMES, IT CAN SEEM THAT LIFE IN

18

Southern Nevada is a big zerosum game. With limited money to spend in both the private and public sectors, this dilemma is ever-present: Invest in infrastructure and attractions that will draw more tourists and pump more money into the economy, or add more services and institutions that enhance the quality of life for those of us who live here?

It seems a fair question. After all, when was the last time you saw a tour group at a local high school (presidential photo-ops excepted)?

And how many residents are really among the masses crowding the Strip to see the latest spectacular?

This is the spirit that frames the debate over investing in soccer stadiums, all-purpose arenas and museums. But when you exclude the extremes—such as high-end Strip restaurants and DMV offces—you realize there is no zero-sum game.

Indeed, there are plenty of out-ofstate license plates at ostensibly “locals” casinos, just as there are plenty of locals ice skating at temporary rinks at Strip casinos or taking in the views from atop the High Roller.

In fact, the best attractions have something for both groups.

These days, the happiest “collisions” between local and visitor interests are happening in and near Downtown, which only makes sense. In the earliest days of Las Vegas, Fremont Street was the place where locals ate, shopped and went for entertainment. Many worked there, and most lived within walking distance of their offces. Meanwhile, the train station brought an infux of visitors who saw the sights

amid locals’ daily routines.

Then came the Great Suburbanization, and most (but not all) locals left the expanding tourist corridor. But in recent years, the critical mass that Downtown needed to become a bona fde city center that blends commerce with life quality has begun to coalesce.

Yes, the Fremont Street Experience is still dominated by casinos catering primarily (though not exclusively) to visitors, but the surrounding blocks are seeing some interesting hybrids.

For proof, look no further than the Mob Museum, which Oscar Goodman championed as an attraction that would both document an important aspect of this city’s history and be of suffcient interest to pull visitors away from the Strip and Fremont Street for a few hours. There were many skeptics at the outset, but the former mayor has been vindicated: Since the Mob Museum opened in February 2012, it has won local awards for best museum in town and been hailed as a must-see attraction for visitors.

On any given day, as many as oneffth of museum attendees are Las Vegans, and 60 percent of the museum’s members live in the area.

Even institutions whose target audiences are clearly residents beneft from out-of-towners. With

CHICKEN LEGS, FREE VODKA AND TOPLESS BOOKIES

its diverse programing, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts has been luring tourists off the Strip for nearly three years. Meanwhile, its neighbor, the Discovery Children’s Museum, also draws its share of non-local customers with its straightforward mission: to engage children and spark their interest in learning. It’s not as catchy a slogan as, say, “What happens here stays here,” yet an informal survey on a recent weekday showed that at least 10 percent of the visitors were not locals. People do still bring their kids to Las Vegas, whether they are here to visit family, or for business or pleasure, and having a place like Discovery only gives them another reason to return.

With that in mind, it seems developers and civic leaders would be wise to bet on projects that are accessible to visitors and have enduring appeal for locals. Could a soccer stadium ft the bill? It’s possible. Certainly, MGM Resorts International and AEG are all-in on this concept, as construction is well under way on their arena behind New York-New York. While it will doubtless have its calendar flled with the same kind of one-off events found at other Strip venues, the grand plan is to secure an NHL— and after that, perhaps an NBA— franchise as an anchor tenant.

Should that happen, the team’s only chance for long-term survival would be if it appeals to both the 2 million-plus residents who live here and our 40 million annual guests.

After a busy 2014 that saw the openings of SLS, the Cromwell, Delano, and the Linq promenade and High Roller observation wheel, things will slow down a bit on and around the Strip in 2015. Check that: Things will slow down a lot. Construction on such big projects as the Park and the associated MGM Resorts International/AEG arena, as well as the massive Resorts World Las Vegas at center Strip, will continue, but the closest thing to a casino opening scheduled for 2015 is the pieceby-piece unveiling of the reworked Casino Royale. Part of that will be our very first White Castle, which I guess counts as pretty big news. In the meantime, the Las Vegas deal machine will continue to roll.

Let’s start 2015 with good news in candy. A new Ethel M Chocolates kiosk has opened on the west side in Tivoli Village. It’s noteworthy because the only other Ethel M outlet, aside from the Henderson factory and airport locations that you can’t get to without a plane ticket, is Downtown at the California, where there happens to be a good value play. Many of the assortments are $34, but you get a 15 percent discount if you spend at least $35.

Throw in two candy bars, and it comes out to the same $34 with the added bonus. As of now, the Tivoli Village kiosk is scheduled to operate only through Valentine's Day. Across the street from Tivoli is the Suncoast, which recently debuted a new sports bar called The Game. I could tell you all about the “more than 25 TVs” (though I counted only 23), but what I dig about this place are the first-I’veever-seen chicken legs, as opposed to wings or fingers. Five big legs to an order ($6.99) come with a choice of two dipping sauces. If you’re still hungry, grab a foot-long hot dog for $1.75 from the cart in the adjacent sportsbook.

Here’s a cool parlay: Buy a bottle of a new California-distilled brand called Jackpot Vodka and get a $25 casino-redemption credit at the Palms. Each bottle has a unique five-character code on the cap, which can be redeemed online for a minimum resort credit of $25. With a suggested retail price of $24.99, assuming you redeem your Palms credit, it’s like getting the booze for free.

Also on the drinking scene, The Jackpot Bar at Slots A Fun has an unadvertised happy hour from 3 to 5 p.m. daily, with all draft beers $1.08.

Lastly, the Hustler Club recently announced it’s applying for a license to run a sportsbook.

Topless bookies sounds like a long shot to me, but sports and strip clubs seem to go together, judging from nearby Crazy Horse III’s cool sports lounge that continues to be the best place in town to watch UFC pay-per-view events for free (with complimentary pizza).

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

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

RENDERING COURTESY MGM RESORTS INTERNATIONAL

THE LATEST

The Perfect Balance

THE LATEST

@MrGeorgeWallace Shout out to folks spelling it “shoppe.” I won’t set foot inside a shop that don’t spell it “shoppe.” I’m fancy as hell and whatnot.

@AAronPaul_8 I love people in the morning in Vegas.

Always a beautiful thing.

The struggle.

@JimGaffigan Goals for 2015: Prove that moon is made of cheese, lose more hair and release an album of duets with Tony Bennett.

@GabbyBelloit

Same S#!@, Different Year 2015 kicks of with a Cyrus/Schwarzenegger pairing, even more Tiësto and Drake being Drake—somebody stop the madness

Oregon has won a Natl Champ title the same amount of times I have left Las Vegas feeling morally intact. That total is 0.

@Neal_Dewing Get well soon, Senator Reid. Do consider slowing down. Perhaps retiring?

@FallonTonight

20

when the calendar fips over, the slate is wiped clean; that 2015 will be a distinct and novel experience of place-in-time, and not, say, another beige plod around the outer edge of a carousel parked inside the world’s fuorescent-lightin’est, volumecranked-up-to-fourin’est, Counting Crowsin’est Restoration Hardware.

And then you realize we’re spending the next year dealing with a second generation of Schwarzeneggers and Cyruses, and you remember why we really drink on New Year’s Eve. Patrick Schwarzenegger and Miley Cyrus, the world’s most improbable couple barring a Katy Perry-Russell Brand reunion, had dinner at Strip House on New Year’s Eve with Arnold Schwarzenegger and his girlfriend, Heather Milligan … who’s 39, making her closer in age to the 22-year-old Cyrus than the 67-yearold who’s somehow still playing the Terminator despite the fact that cyborgs shouldn’t age. (Screw it, if you’ve got a Terminator movie and Arnold’s still kicking, then that’s what you’re going to get.)

After dinner, they all went to see Britney: Piece of Me. Meaning the T-1000 was unsuccessful in its mission of going back in time to cancel

Hannah Montana and stop this grim, post-apocalyptic future we all live in from ever coming to be.

Continuing in this time-is-a-fatcircle, thanks-for-nothing-McConaughey vein, Tiësto, who feels like he’s been headlining in Vegas since the day after Dean Martin played his last show at the Sands, is stretching his Club Life/Republic of Tiësto residencies at Hakkasan and Wet Republic, respectively, for another “multiyear” run. Look for Tiësto to be featured among the other great Vegas songbook classics of RoboSteve Wynn’s ShowStopper 2038. (RoboSteve Wynn will fght MechaSheldon Adelson in the summer blockbuster of ’42.)

Lady Gaga determined sometime ago that her future would be in mining the past, and spent her New Year’s Eve onstage with Tony Bennett doing nothing but jazz standards at the Cosmopolitan’s Chelsea. At midnight, she kissed boyfriend Taylor Kinney to

the delight of the crowd and the continued general confusion of all the grandmas in the audience who were just happy to learn Bennett was still alive.

Meanwhile, over at Marquee, Drake rang in 2015 doing Drake things—crying, probably. Fighting Diddy, possibly. But he stuck around through the weekend, doing dinner at Lavo with a group of 20 on January 2. Reports of Drake still crashing on your couch even though he said he’d totally be out of there by Sunday are as yet unconfrmed.

XS didn’t go for a wholesale reinvention in the new year, but it did unload a ton of money in lights for a little club refresh. Well, a ton of money to normal people.

For a club budget, it spent the equivalent of half of Memorial Day Weekend, dropping $10 million on a production overhaul. Among the upgrades: pyro on the pool deck, a revamped DJ booth with 14,000 LED lights, crowd-scanning lasers (though those could be from Arnold’s Terminator gun) and “a double kabuki drop in front of the DJ booth featuring projectionmapped, state-of-the-art video content.” Whatever the hell that means. Pretty sure the “Double Kabuki Drop” was Yokozuna’s fnishing move in SummerSlam ’94.

Thank you, New Year’s resolutions, for being like Las Vegas wedding vows: half-assed promises made by drunken idiots.

@BillyEichner If ur a gay tween with a grandparent who’s still mobile, may I suggest the Lady Gaga/Tony Bennett tour?

@HunterWalk Put CES in Omaha and see how many reporters still think it’s a “must attend”

@Mulaney “It really meant a lot to me that Coolio put in the effort.” - Coolio’s daughter. Celebrity Wife Swap.

@FiveHundy Rock in Rio Vegas announcements are coming in the next few days. Keep your expectations low.

Share your Tweet! Add #V7.

ILLUSTRATION BY JON ESTRADA

January 8–14, 2015

|

VegasSeven.com

IT’S SO TEMPTING TO ASSUME THAT

The Once and Future Downtown

Long before the Fremont Street Experience, Neonopolis and Tony Hsieh, the City of Las Vegas had grand plans for reviving the city’s core. Three decades later, we look back at what might have been—and what is today.

January 8–14, 2015

|

VegasSeven.com

BY PJ PEREZ

24

it’s a sunday afternoon, and i’m sitting inside the Grill at the Gold Spike, eating fsh tacos. On the TV screens behind the counter, the Arizona Cardinals are trailing the Atlanta Falcons by 13 points. Rather than the game broadcast, house music plays over the Gold Spike’s PA system. It’s otherwise quiet, with only one other party in the restaurant and a few patrons milling about the bar and playroom. ¶ Across the street is the backside of Neonopolis, its monolithic, pastel-colored, windowless wall rendering the distressed mall like some neon-encrusted fortress.

This corner of Ogden Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard was once the proposed home of a “festival marketplace,” a two-block gathering spot that would “serve as the catalyst for additional development and revitalization” of Downtown Las Vegas. If that sounds an awful lot like how Neonopolis was pitched to both the City of Las Vegas and its citizens in the early 2000s, it’s no surprise: Both ideas were well-intentioned yet poorly copied versions of projects that worked in other cities whose demographic, economic and cultural makeups vary greatly from that of Sin City’s. ¶ The festival marketplace was just one of the concepts outlined in the City of Las Vegas’ mid-1980s master development plan, “A Future Look to Downtown Las Vegas.” First adopted in 1984 and then updated at the beginning of 1987, the cover of this 90-page document featured a painting that wouldn’t be out of place on the front of a science fction paperback, featuring Logan’s Run extras surveying the Space Age, Epcot Center-like “future” of Downtown.

Inside, the plans weren’t quite as bold as the cover promised. Aside from a magnetic-levitation “people mover” monorail system, the future that was proposed included pretty basic stuff, including themed trolleys riding up and down Fremont Street, and a throwback “Heritage Square” connecting the then-new Downtown Transportation Center with the former federal courthouse and U.S. Post Offce that’s now home to the Mob Museum.

Thirty years, a new redevelopment plan and an Internet millionairefunded startup boom later, Downtown has certainly been revitalized, even if that revitalization remains in its infancy. But how much does our new Downtown resemble the 1980s vision of the future? To fnd out, we have to go back … to the future!

••••• “welcome to the future!” that’s how Las Vegas City Manager Ashley Hall opened his March 20, 1985, introductory letter, reproduced from decidedly un-futuristic city letterhead. He touted Las Vegas as “one of tomorrow’s best bets for progress, innovation and excitement,” citing the Downtown Transportation Center and the people mover—more on that shortly—as evidence of the city’s prog-

ress, a sentiment echoed by thenMayor Bill Briare, who considered this document “a guide to the future of Las Vegas.”

Contained within the verbose 90page document was a plan that was actually quite simple: Phase 1: Lay down the infrastructure to move people in and around Downtown; Phase 2: Build places for them to congregate; and Phase 3: Make it easy for a variety of private entities to fourish in the area.

The core tenet of Phase 1 was to create a transportation corridor that would connect the Cashman Field Complex (now Cashman Center) with the City Hall area. The Downtown Transportation Center (DTC), at the corner of Stewart Avenue and Casino Center Boulevard, was the essential piece of this plan. It would not only serve to connect the proposed people mover and themed shuttles, but would also become the transfer station for most of the city’s existing bus routes, including the then-lone Strip route.

“There were no facilities in Downtown for people to congregate to catch the bus,” Hall recently said of the impetus to build the DTC. “There were no restrooms, no accommodations at all. It was one terrible, terrible situation.”

The themed shuttles were designed like old-time streetcars or trolleys,

From a people mover overhead to themed trolley cars on the streets, Downtown Las Vegas circa 1985 was headed to the future in style.

••••• former city manager hall doesn’t mince words today when it comes to the importance of redeveloping Downtown Las Vegas—then and now. One of the architects and overseers of the mid-1980s master plan, Hall says “the Strip was eating Downtown’s lunch every year. And you simply had to do something to get Downtown somewhat viable again so it became a positive urban center, not some wasteland.”

Perhaps. But if the gaming industry moved its focus from city-controlled Glitter Gulch to the Clark County-controlled Strip, isn’t that just the free market in action? If the populace abandoned the center of town for newly minted suburbs, isn’t that just natural progression? The fip side, though, is the deleterious effects of urban abandonment can have repercussions that go beyond the dwindling coffers of a few casinos.

“It’s a downtrodden area, not only physically but economically, which has an impact on a declining tax roll, which means lower property-tax revenue, and but for some public involvement, it’ll keep going down,” says Bill Arent, the current director of the city’s Economic and Urban Development department.

“The theory is, if you do it right, once you have it running extremely well, then it no longer needs special attention.”

VegasSeven.com

The 90-page document featured a painting that wouldn’t be out of place on the front of a science fiction paperback, featuring Logan’s Run extras surveying the space-age, Epcot Center-like “future” of Downtown.

Private-sector development and public-private partnerships were essential to Phase 3’s success, which focused on business development throughout Downtown. The master plan touted then-recent expansions of the Golden Nugget and Lady Luck, as well as family-friendly amenities such as a Ripley’s Believe It or Not attraction at the Four Queens and an RV park at the California Hotel & Casino.

Most of Phase 3’s pages were dedicated to proposed projects such as the aforementioned festival marketplace, which would “attract residents and visitors to Downtown for shopping, dining, recreation and entertainment.” The primary model for such a project was Church Street Station in Orlando, Florida, a former railroad depot that entrepreneur Bob Snow turned into an entertainment complex in the late 1970s. By the mid1980s, Church Street Station—based on the strength of its club-hopping appeal— was one of Florida’s top tourist draws.

The other planned private development project would have transformed the former Union Pacifc rail yard properties west of the Union Plaza Hotel and Casino into an ambitious, mixed-use development with 10,000 new hotel rooms, a possible golf course or amusement park, churches and chapels, 70,000 square feet of retail stores, and related support industries.

|

“The idea was to have an easy, accessible way that people could fnd transportation throughout the Downtown area without having to look for parking,” says Ron Lurie, who served as the mayor of Las Vegas from 1987 to 1991 and is now executive vice president and general manager of Arizona Charlie’s Decatur.

Phase 2 of the plan proposed creating a sprawling civic plaza in the “nine blocks within the immediate vicinity of the City Hall Complex,” which relied upon the city acquiring from the U.S. government the former federal courthouse and U.S. Post Offce west of City Hall, with the possibility of reusing it as a “downtown museum.” Other essential components included the Heritage Square adjacent to the DTC, a central library for the newly consolidated Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, and the Children’s Discovery Museum.

January 8–14, 2015

and would basically make a 15-minute loop around the Fremont Street gaming corridor and nearby business areas. They were designed to match the turn-of-the-century aesthetic of the Downtown Transportation Center and Heritage Square, with an emphasis on “old-fashioned craftsmanship.”

Of the three projects, the most mind-boggling—and way ahead of its time, but not just because of the technology involved—was the people mover, the Disneyland-like maglev monorail train that would have risen on pylons over the north end of Downtown, with a 7,500-passenger-per-hour capacity. The master plan is chock-full of photos of train models, renderings of proposed people-mover stations and highly scientifc plans that wouldn’t look out of place in a Star Trek technical manual.

25

The key phrase, of course, is “if you do it right.” A lot of ideas that seem good at the time of development don’t actually pan out in the long term, if at all. That includes a lot of the proposals that have popped up in these parts over the years, and not just from the 1980s master plan. Church Street Station worked in Orlando. Horton Plaza, the model for Neonopolis, worked in San Diego. The monorail ... well, it worked for Disneyland.

“There’s a trend in government to adopt best practices,” Arent says. “So you look at everything that’s happening [across] the country, put it all together, pour it through the magic sausage machine, and there’s our formula.

That’s the wrong way to do it. We need to look at the unique assets we have in our community. We’re a unique place.”

And unique places have failures, such as the original incarnation of Main Street Station, which came out of the festival marketplace proposal.

Lurie says Church Street Station developer Snow moved the project from Fremont Street to Main Street because it was cheaper. There, Snow built a clone of his Orlando entertainment complex around the Main Street Park Hotel. The ornate, Victorian-style Main Street Station opened in 1991 to much fanfare, but Snow’s inexperience with

January 8–14, 2015

|

VegasSeven.com

A letter from City Manager Ashley Hall offers a glimpse into the master development plan for Downtown, complete with the new Downtown Transportation Center.

26

running a casino and the property’s somewhat disconnected location led to a quick decline—and bankruptcy—by the following year. It wasn’t until Boyd Gaming bought the property in 1993 and connected it via pedestrian bridge to its neighboring California Hotel & Casino that Main Street Station would fnally see success, though not as the entertainment and nightlife mecca the city initially envisioned.

The people-mover project, alas, never got off the ground, let alone nearly 17 feet into the sky. Much like the unrelated Las Vegas Monorail years later, the people mover was intended to expand beyond Downtown, connecting to the Strip and then to McCarran International Airport. But both Hall and Lurie say inter-municipal disagreements got in the way, and not even the Downtown portion ever escalated beyond the drawing board.

As for the themed shuttles, they did begin running concurrent with the opening of the Downtown Transportation Center in 1987, though neither Hall nor Lurie can pinpoint for exactly how long. “They did run for a while, but they were not as successful as we thought they would be,” Lurie says.

“Sometimes it takes time to implement programs, and when [public offcials] leave, others have to pick up where we

“The Strip was eating Downtown’s lunch,” former City Manager Ashley Hall says. “And you simply had to do something to get Downtown somewhat viable again so it became a positive urban center, not some wasteland.”

Arts District to the fxed lanes for the ACE transit system.

Sure, we don’t have magnetically levitated trains zooming by overhead, but we do have bodies fying 10 stories above Fremont Street along ziplines (love it or loathe it, the Fremont Street Experience draws 17 million visitors per year and may have single-handedly saved Downtown’s gaming corridor in the mid-1990s). We also may not have themed trolleys, but we do have Shift stations providing vehicle-sharing options for residents to easily and sustainably get around Downtown.

For what it’s worth, Lurie says he’s impressed with Downtown’s ongoing evolution, from the redevelopment of the former Union Pacifc rail yards to the revitalization of Fremont East. And when he sums up the goals of the 1980s redevelopment plan, it’s clear that the vision for the future of Downtown Las Vegas remains fairly consistent, even three decades later.

“We wanted people to park Downtown, eat Downtown, see a show Downtown, hop on the monorail or a trolley, go to Cashman Field and see a play or a ballgame, and come back up to Downtown,” Lurie says. “To me, it was all about marketing. You provide good access and good programs, and people are going to come down there.”

VegasSeven.com

of the Valley, near Town Square.

And if that happens, that’s OK, because here in the future, Downtown Las Vegas is doing fne on its own—even if the best-laid plans of its architects don’t always work out. For instance, the mid-1980s redevelopment plan, though not entirely thrown out, was complemented in 2000 by the adoption of the Las Vegas Downtown Centennial Plan, a 179-page behemoth that outlines everything from infrastructure improvements to the goals and defnitions of Downtown’s distinct districts. Despite the unexpected peaks and valleys in its frst 15 years—the Great Recession, the Downtown Project, competing stadium projects—the effects of the Downtown Centennial Plan can be seen throughout the city’s core today, from Boulder Plaza in the

|

With the Valley’s residential expansion ever outward, the Library District moved its administrative offces from the Las Vegas Library on Las Vegas Boulevard to a new, high-tech facility outside of the city proper in the unincorporated southwest. The neighboring cityowned Reed Whipple Cultural Center was shuttered several years ago because of budget cuts, and plans by current residents Las Vegas Shakespeare Company and Nevada Repertory Co. to spend $45 million remodeling the aging building into a new home for various performing arts organizations have been cut short. According to a Las Vegas ReviewJournal report, donors “encouraged a more central location” than Downtown, so if the proposed Clark County Theatre Center comes to fruition, it will be built from the ground up at the southern end

January 8–14, 2015

left off, and I think there just wasn’t a lot of interest in it at the time.”

It took a few decades more than planned, but the old U.S. Post Offce building was indeed restored and reopened as the Mob Museum in 2012.

In the interim, Heritage Square was paved over, and the DTC was shut down when Downtown’s new central transfer station—the Bonneville Transportation Center—opened in 2010. The old DTC facility has since hosted the Downtown 3rd Farmers Market every Friday, and real estate developer CIM Group has an approved plan to transform that property into an 80,000-square-foot retail, dining and conference complex, although no ground has been broken yet.

Building the Bonneville Transportation Center was part of a shift southward toward the 18b Arts District and The Smith Center for the Performing Arts. Las Vegas City Hall itself relocated to Main Street and Clark Avenue in 2012, just a few blocks from the Bonneville Center, and the renamed Discovery Children’s Museum moved adjacent to The Smith Center. The former City Hall building next to the Mob Museum is, of course, currently leased to Zappos, whose CEO, Tony Hsieh, is in the process of putting his own $450 million stamp on the surrounding area.

27

NIGHTLIFE

The DJ/producer uses distinctive processes to defne his evolving sound

By Kat Boehrer

VegasSeven.com

|

Vegas Needs R3hab

FADIL EL GHOUL—best known as Dutch sensation R3hab—is one of the most amiable guys in the game. Recent releases from the DJ/producer who enjoyed initial support from Afrojack include collaborations with Hakkasan residents Nervo and Calvin Harris, while one particular pairing with KSHMR, “Karate,” was released in December with a sultry video component. Yet even after years of heavily publicized successes and accolades, it’s refreshing to see that such a mega-star can still be so polite and punctual. You can catch him on January 17 when he returns—on time, most likely—to his Life residency.

January 8–14, 2015

ILLUSTRATION BY CIERRA PEDRO

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

29

NIGHTLIFE

R3hab at Life on Dec. 27.

No. It was in downtown L.A. Many people think it was Miami.

What was your inspiration for that video?

When I grew up, there was this record, “Satisfaction” by Benny Benassi. I was like, “Oh, that video was so good! I want to do something similar to that!”

And that’s how the idea started.

January 8–14, 2015

|

VegasSeven.com

What was the filming process like?

30

What we did was very funny. We didn’t use an agency or anything. I just went on Instagram, I looked up all of the girls that I thought were very pretty, and I had my manager email all of them or their agents. That’s how it started. It was very important for everyone to have a fun day [while flming]. All of the girls were so nice and fun. All of my friends wanted to come, but they couldn’t. [Laughs.] It was all shot in one day. It was a long day—14 hours—so I give mad props to all of the ladies.

What prompted you to make the track in the first place?

I made the track for Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas, and I played it there for the frst time. Then I couldn’t fnish it. I played it, and I wanted to change some things. And when I made the fnal version I was like, “This took me so long it better have a good freaking video.”

With your track with Nervo, “Ready for the Weekend,” how did you choose vocalist Ayah Marar?

I sent the record to Calvin Harris, because we talk a lot about music. And I said, “Who do you think is good?” And then Ayah Marar came up. He used her on “Thinking About You.” Do you have a particular audition process for your featured artists?

Ayah didn’t audition. I don’t care if somebody is famous or not famous or has a big name. The record has to be right for the person. Music is not science. You have to fnd the right vocal with the right record at the right spot,

so it’s not really an audition process— it’s a process of being honest.

What should we expect from you t his year?

[About] 100-140 hours.

I have a record coming out in February. I have no name for it yet; I have to fgure it out. I’m just gonna try to release a record every two months and see where it goes. Some people lean more toward deep house, some people lean more toward the harder stuff or the groovy stuff. I have to fgure out for myself where I belong, you know? What’s best for me.

And you were in a studio together the whole time?

So are you going to try to get more into the deep-house vibe or the groovy stuff?

That sounds like a long process.

Have you experimented with sounds like that?

And this works for all of your tracks?

Even when I did the collaboration with Calvin Harris, we tried a couple of things before we got it right. And that’s about being honest and fnding the right record that fts both styles.

How long did that record take you to make?

We hung out at frst, and then we worked separately. We were touring, so we made the basic I.D. [untitled track] when we were together, then it was just [emailing] back and forth.

When I say “100 hours,” that also means 10 hours of staring at the screen just fguring out what to do.

Creativity doesn’t always just hit you right away. You have to awaken it.

I love getting inspired by it. What Disclosure did [by popularizing deephouse with their trendsetting 2013 album Settle], it’s very interesting.

I did, just for my own ears.

Is it going well?

It’s not as good as Disclosure … but we’re getting there.

PHOTO BY TOBY ACUNA

The video for “Karate” has a Miami vibe.

Is that where it was shot?

NIGHTLIFE

By

Camille Cannon

GBDC. Receive complimentary admission with your convention badge or “nerd gear.” But, please, no Google Glass. (In the Palms, 1 p.m., Palms.com.) Perhaps you’d rather wear a poodle skirt?

Get to the Grease-themed edition of Lavo’s Party Brunch.

Although, if you really want to get creative, you should go as the famous red 1948 Ford De Luxe, Greased Lightning. (In the Palazzo, 2 p.m., LavoLV.com.)

Wyclef Jean.

SUN 11

MON 12 Take time to savor Magnum Mondays with DJ M!ke Attack at STK. Night owls with Industry ID receive 25 percent off dinner. Plus, you’ll receive a magnum upgrade when you buy a bottle of Champagne.

(In the Cosmopolitan, 9 p.m., TOGRP.com.)

TUE 13 Don’t sleep on DJ Logic's Spare Time residency at Brooklyn Bowl. You can see the turntablist for free on select dates (including tonight) through Feb. 1. And during the show,

January 8–14, 2015

|

VegasSeven.com

THU 8

34

The holidays are over. Perhaps you received some booze as a gift … and drank it all. The only solution? Hit the clubs!

Join hip-hop mainstay Wyclef Jean for the offcial Head Audio party at Tao. Will he perform some Fugees-era R&B gold from The Score? His catchy chorus on Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie”? Or perhaps, his new single with Avicii, “Divine Sorrow”? Probably the latter, but hopefully all. (In the Venetian, 10 p.m., TaoLasVegas.com.) Producer and emcee Will.I.Am rings in the debut of The Beat at Light. The new open-format night will

feature performances by DJ Mustard, and Macklemore and Ryan Lewis later this month. (In Mandalay Bay, 10:30 p.m., TheLightVegas.com.)

FRI 9 Late last month, Drake joined OVO Sound signee PartyNextDoor at his Las Vegas concert and after-party. Our hopes are high for a return visit at The Weeknd’s performance at Drai's, considering he, too, was raised under the rap crooner’s wing. If not, we’ll settle for him singing to the club-ready Kygo remix of his panty-dropper “Often.” (In the

Cromwell, 10:30 p.m., DraisNightlife.com.) If you’re a Bravo fan, you’re no doubt familiar with the oh-so-soapy reality hit, Vanderpump Rules, which follows the comings and goings of L.A.’s SUR Lounge staff. The show’s standout blonde Stassi Schroeder brings her signature style and sass to Body English.

(In Hard Rock Hotel, 10:30 p.m., HardRockHotel.com.)

SAT 10 Speaking of Vanderpump Rules, Stassi’s co-star and frenemy Scheana Marie hosts the “Geeked Up” CES edition of

Scheana Marie.

Stassi Schroeder.

you can expect a healthy helping of hip-hop, funk, jazz and other things you would never fst pump to. (At the Linq, midnight, Vegas.BrooklynBowl.com.)

WED 14 Chicago-based duo Flosstradamus takes over Surrender with a stew of trap, rap and house beats. Last year the crew rocked Coachella, Lollapalooza and HARD, and they’re poised for an even bigger breakout in 2015. (In Encore, 10:30 p.m., SurrenderNightclub.com.) If you can’t get enough trap, head to Chateau for Trap Nation, where DJs Blanco, Gambino and Shadowred provide the wonky beats. (In Paris, 10:30 p.m., ParisLasVegas.com.)

SCHROEDER BY SCOT T HARRISON/ERIKK ABIK.COM; MARIE BY MICHAEL OLIVERI

If you missed Eva Shaw at Hakkasan on New Year’s Eve with Calvin Harris and Burns, you’ll be glad to know the beauty is back behind the booth. (In MGM Grand, 10:30 p.m., HakkasanLV.com.)

NIGHTLIFE

PARTIES

STK

38

See more photos from this gallery at SPYONvegas.com

PHOTOS BY BOBBY JAMEIDAR

January 8–14, 2015

|

VegasSeven.com

The Cosmopolitan

NIGHTLIFE

PARTIES

LAX

44

See more photos from this gallery at SPYONvegas.com

PHOTOS BY JOE FURY

January 8–14, 2015

|

VegasSeven.com

Luxor

NIGHTLIFE

PARTIES

TRYST

50

See more photos from this gallery at SPYONvegas.com

PHOTOS BY DANNY MAHONEY

January 8–14, 2015

|

VegasSeven.com

Wynn

DINING

“This otherwise delicious meal is marred by the accompanying gnocchi, which may have been the gummiest bits of pasta I experienced in 2014.” {PAGE 56}

Restaurant reviews, news and a look at the vegetable that is taking the town by storm

Three expatriate chefs talk about cooking their homeland’s cuisine for the American palate

By Al Mancini

VegasSeven.com

|

Strangers in a Strange Land

THERE’S NO DENYING that nations, states and regions

all have their own idiosyncrasies and quirks.

Most food fanatics I know try to be students of the world, learning as much as they can about the culinary traditions of every corner of the earth. But sadly, we’re often self-appointed and misinformed snobs—certainly not the correct people to comment on how international tastes differ. So, in an effort to broaden my knowledge, I recently sat down with three expatriate chefs (and, when necessary, their translators) who cook in the U.S.

January 8–14, 2015

PHOTO BY JON ESTRADA

Baguette Café’s Lucien and Claudie Brouillet.

53

54

URBAN EATING, EXCALIBUR’S NEW BUFFET AND LUTEFISK: NOT FOR THE WEAK

One is a Frenchman cooking in a casual café in the ’burbs; one is a Japanese master running one of Chinatown’s top dining destinations; and one is a Spaniard splitting his time between fne dining and tapas on the Strip. To my surprise, not one of these chefs felt they had to dumb-down their cuisine for Americans.

On the contrary, they were universally impressed with American palates. But there were a few notable differences in the ways they present their food here as opposed to in their homelands.

Speak to Spain’s Julian Serrano—who runs the fnedining cathedral Picasso in Bellagio, as well as Las Vegas’ best tapas restaurant in Aria—and he will tell you Americans are better suited to foreign cuisine than most of his European counterparts. “If you go to most cities in Europe, most of the food there will be from whatever country it is,” he says. “In Italy, there’s a lot of Italian food. In France, it’s French food. … But I’m not surprised that America was ready for [Spanish tapas]. They know what they want, and they know how to eat—they’re not so picky.”

More importantly, the trio of chefs I interviewed were impressed by the evolution of the American palate over the past few decades. Lucien Brouillet is a 70-year-old who worked in numerous French kitchens before moving to the U.S. to open the local Baguette Café with his son in an offce park off Interstate 215. “Cooking is really rooted deeply in French culture,” he tells me proudly, before admitting a bit of shame for his motherland. “But what has happened over the years is that it’s faded away because of fast-food culture and supermarkets. The culture has shifted. [By contrast], since the ’80s, in America, there’s been a big transformation toward gourmet; [Americans] have become more sophisticated. We have a lot of gems in France, a lot of amazing restaurants. But the clientele isn’t as appreciative. Here, people are more appreciative of the effort. I guess in France we’re more blasé.”

Mitsuo Endo runs one of Las Vegas’ top Japanese restaurants: Raku in Chinatown. He’s not quite as dismissive of his countrymen as Brouillet, but he agrees that

American tastes are improving. “Ten years ago, the Japanese crowd knew a little more [than Americans],” he says. “But nowadays it’s pretty even.”

So do any of them cook differently for a Yankee audience? Endo admits to small changes. “In America, I add a little more sweetness and a little more thickness to the sauces.”

Conversely, Serrano refuses to change, but says some Americans aren’t prepared for his European style. “People were used to buffets and steakhouses and big portions,” he recalls of his early days serving tasting menus in Las Vegas. “So the problem I had in the beginning was, they’d say, ‘This [course] is too small!’ But I’d say, ‘You have three more courses, plus dessert!’”

Nonetheless, he agrees with the others on the progress of the American palate. “In America, the food business keeps getting better and better and better.”

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.

The push of restaurants to appear directly on the Las Vegas Strip continues apace with Denver import Tom’s Urban (866-815-4365), which just opened right under the Brooklyn Bridge at New York-New York. The menu is fun and approachable, yet sophisticated enough to excite even the most jaded food lovers (myself included). Take the pot sticker salad, which founder Tom Ryan created to get his kids to eat vegetables. In order to get to the ginger chicken pot stickers, they had to also dig into the mound of crunchy chopped salad with spicy Sriracha and peanut dressing. The Big Ass Eggroll—essentially a chimichanga with egg roll innards— is more nuanced than it seems, with flavorful grilled chicken, green rice and cabbage tucked into the wrapper topped with peanut sauce and Asian glaze. What you think might be usual suspects will definitely surprise you here.

Proving that even old favorites deserve a facelift every once in a while, the Buffet at Excalibur (702-597-7777) sports a new look

by Cleo Design, with an overhaul of the menu to match. International flair now dominates the all-you-can-eat extravaganza, with six food stations dedicated to small-batch Asian, Italian, American and Latin dishes. Brunch sees interesting bites such as vanilla bean adobo tacos, which puts Asian flavors on fresh tortillas, while guests can finish their meals with hand-dipped ice cream bars. On Fridays, every crustacean you could desire is available: crawfish, crab legs, blue crab and peel-and-eat shrimp, not to mention lobster polenta and sushi.

On the more intense seafood front: If you’ve ever wondered why Vikings were so tough, consider the culinary curiosity that is lutefisk.

Made from dried cod that is treated with lye, the Scandinavian specialty will be honored at the 17th annual Vegas Viking Lodge Sons of Norway Lutefisk Dinner on January 31 at the Boulder City Elks Lodge. When reconstituted, the delicacy has a gelatinous texture and a decidedly acquired taste that will definitely put some hair on your chest. Never fear, the intense fish is tempered by being drenched in butter or white sauce, with traditional accompaniments of roasted pork, boiled potatoes, peas, carrots and lefse, the Norwegian crepe-like flatbread. Tickets to the 3 and 6 p.m. seatings must be purchased by January 22 by calling 702-869-5775. Velbekomme! – Grace Bascos

SERRANO BY JON ESTRADA; ENDO BY ANTHONY MAIR

January 8–14, 2015

|

VegasSeven.com

DINING

Chefs Julian Serrano (left) and Mitsuo Endo.

DINING

Lost in Translation Downtown Summerlin’s new MTO location misses the mark with its dinner oferings

By Al Mancini

56

Clockwise from top left: five-cheese mac and cheese, quinoa edamame succotash and truffle meat loaf.

PHOTO BY JON ESTRADA

January 8–14, 2015

|

VegasSeven.com

BEING DISAPPOINTED BY A NEW RESTAURANT IS NEVER FUN.

Being let down by a chef you truly respect is even worse. And having the second location of a restaurant you really enjoy fail to live up to the original pretty much just blows. So I can assure you I take no pleasure in saying that the new MTO Café in Downtown Summerlin hasn’t come close to meeting my expectations.

Let me state for the record that I’m a huge fan of chef John Church. From the simple snacks he provided at Tivoli Village’s View wine bar to the incredibly innovative dishes he and Rick Moonen created at Rx Boiler Room, I’ve rarely been disappointed by any plate he’s offered me. And I really like the breakfast and lunch dishes he serves at Downtown’s original MTO Café. So the news that the second MTO would be open for dinner (in a shopping center that’s been sadly slow in opening decent dining spots) was music to my ears. Unfortunately, after two visits, I am not impressed.

The new MTO Café is a bit more casual than the original. You order from a counter rather than a waiter, although your food is delivered to your table in “quick casual” fashion. The vast majority of the menu is identical to the tasty breakfast and lunch available at the original. But, given the extended hours, there are a few additional savory entrées—my review is limited to those dishes.

The best of the new dishes I tried was the truffe meat loaf. Church and his staff use the truffe favor subtly, and the medallions of meat loaf are very nicely seasoned. I also love the sweet ketchup glaze, which reminds me of the meat loaf Mom used to make.

Unfortunately, this otherwise delicious meal is marred by the accompanying gnocchi, which may have been the gummiest bits of pasta I experienced in 2014.

Other menu lowlights include the alleged chicken potpie. Despite the title, this is not a pie; there’s no crust covering the broth and chicken. Instead, you’ll fnd a handful of crust nuggets—making it a simple order of chicken and dumplings. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. But, other than a slight hint of rosemary, the mixture is almost completely devoid of favor. I actually found myself dousing it with salt and pepper just to provide some taste.

A curried spaghetti squash was equally lacking in favor. And a steak and eggs dish was no better—I hate to say it—than what you’d get at your neighborhood Denny’s.

As disappointed as I am with the food at the new MTO, I’ve been extremely impressed with the service. Despite the quick casual style, the staff is extraordinarily attentive. And I’d gladly return for such breakfast and lunch dishes as the chicken in waffes or the Fat Elvis (French toast, peanut butter, bacon, banana, strawberries and Nutella). Unfortunately, for now at least, dinner is not where MTO excels.

TRENDSPOTTING Clockwise from left: The Goodwich's roasted cauliflower sandwich, SkinnyFats' CauliFire;and Carson Kitchen's Rainbow Cauliflower.

Not Your Mama’s Caulifower The of-overlooked vegetable struts its versatile stuf

By Jessie O’Brien

COCONUT ROASTED CAULIFLOWER

“This dish is a tasty, healthier way of enjoying what can be sometimes boring, plain caulifower,” says Ricardo Romo, chef at Whist Stove & Spirits in the District at Green Valley Ranch. Tricolor caulifower is tossed in extra virgin olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper and roasted until slightly tender. It is then fnished in reduced coconut milk and topped with toasted coconut shavings. Coconut and caulifower are the new peas and carrots. $6, Whist Stove & Spirits, 701-307-2694, Facebook.com/WhistStove.

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER SANDWICH

“We’ve all probably had caulifower and cheese, just never in a sandwich,” says Josh Clark, chef and owner of Downtown’s The Goodwich.

And that’s exactly what makes this grinder so unique. Caulifower and bell peppers are roasted and then caramelized on the griddle, then topped with sweet onion fondue and puffed wild rice with curry powder for texture.

The gooey, crunchy goodness is served on your choice of bread. Werk it, caulifower! $5, The Goodwich, 702-910-8681, The-Goodwich.com.

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER

This next high-fashion caulifower creation will humiliate you in a vogue off. “Not a lot of restaurants offer just caulifower as an appetizer,” says William DeMarco, chef at Crush in MGM. “But with people trying to eat healthier nowadays, vegetable items are starting to be ordered more and more, as they should be.”

These multicolored forets are sautéed until golden brown, then reduced in red-wine vinegar before being mixed with garlic, chili fakes and mint, and fnished with butter, salt and pepper. $10, Crush in MGM, 702-891-3222, CrushMGM.com.

CAULIFIRE

This far-more-healthful stand-in for the traditional bucket of wings consists of steamed caulifower that has been tossed in hot sauce and is served Buffalo-style with crunchy carrot and celery sticks and—natch—fat-free ranch salad dressing for dipping. “CauliFIRE offers our customers the ability to enjoy the buffalo favor without having to forgo their vegetarian preference,” SkinnyFats’ chef Josh Green says. Not a bad way to stick to those New Year’s resolutions. $6, SkinnyFats, 702-979-9797, SkinnyFats.com.

VegasSeven.com

Caulifower comes in all shapes and colors. In this kaleidoscopic, high-fashion side dish at Downtown's Carson Kitchen, a mix of yellow, purple and green caulifower is blanched, shocked in an ice bath to stop the cooking process, coated in olive oil and roasted until charred. Next, chopped garlic, chili fakes and fresh lemon juice are added before the dish is fnished with chopped fresh parsley, salt and pepper. Don’t hate it because it’s beautiful. $8, Carson Kitchen, 702-473-9523, CarsonKitchen.com.

|

RAINBOW CAULIFLOWER

January 8–14, 2015

GOODWICH BY JON ESTRADA; RAINBOW CAULIFLOWER BY PETER HARASTY

TYPICALLY, WHEN WE THINK OF CAULIFLOWER we think of the neglected, boring white forets that somewhat resemble broccoli, but which don’t even enjoy that much-maligned cruciferous vegetable’s moderate fame. No more. Today’s caulifower is done hiding in the shadows of its prettier sister and is letting its freak fag fy—whether on the side, in a sandwich or as a main attraction.

57

A&E

“This is Flo Ziegfeld World—top hats to tap shoes, from downbeat to curtain. You couldn’t ask for more sight-and-sound bling for your buck: a 31-piece orchestra, sumptuous sets, elaborate costumes and sparkles and spangles in spades.”

SHOWSTOPPER {PAGE 65}

Movies, music, stage and a Ramone reviewed

PHOTOS BY JON ESTRADA

By Pj Perez

IT’S EASY TO TAKE ARCHITECTURE FOR GRANTED. It’s all around us, as ubiquitous as the air we breathe, and for the most part, it doesn’t call attention to itself.

As we traverse the thresholds of houses, offces, shops, restaurants and bars, most of us likely give little thought to the people, processes and ideas that inform and create those very spaces we occupy, day in and day out.

“People might go into a building and feel good, but not know why,” says Greg McAloney of W.H. Steele Co., a California-based building products distributor.

The rain screens that McAloney’s company provides for the construction industry are among the materials and products on display through February 28 as part of Refecting + Projecting: 20 Years of Design Excellence, an exhibition at UNLV’s Marjorie

Barrick Museum. It showcases the winning projects in the American Institute of Architects Nevada Design Awards from 1994 to 2014, presenting them chronologically in the form of sketches, computer renderings and scale models.

“We’ve seen them year by year, but we’ve never pulled them all together,” says David Baird, curator of the exhibition and director of the UNLV School of Architecture. “That’s what makes this exhibit so special.”

The projects featured in Refecting + Projecting include some Vegas landmarks: PGAL’s design for McCarran International Airport’s third terminal, inspired by Nevada’s natural geometric rock formations; magician Penn Jillette’s funky, modern residence, designed

by Carpenter Sellers Del Gatto Architects to include a

|

This UNLV exhibit explores the past, present and future of architectural design

January 8–14, 2015

Building Blocks

VegasSeven.com

The rapid evolution of architects’ desks: from the analog desk of the ’90s to the digital workstation of the future (inset).

59

A&E 60

theater, gym and lap pool; and Gensler’s execution of light artist James Turrell’s groundbreaking Akhob installation at CityCenter, which explores the Ganzfeld “total feld” perceptual deprivation effect.

“Every architect is different,” Baird says. “People think of architecture like hiring a plumber. But each frm is really unique. They use different tools. Every project has a different location and site.

They adapt to the environment and adapt to clients’ needs.”

A number of designs on display earned honors despite never making it off the drawing board. Among those are the original design by assemblageSTUDIO for the Mesquite Heritage Museum and Art Center, and the proposed 73-story Summit luxury condominium tower designed

by JMA Architecture Studios.

“To me, it’s a testimony to the strength of the work,” Baird says of the unbuilt award winners. “You don’t win an award like this without substantial ideas that inform your work.”

Refecting + Projecting not only shows the award-winning projects and the materials used to produce them, but also three offce vignettes offering a behind-thescenes look into a designer’s tools, techniques and processes, and how they’ve changed over the course of the exhibit’s timeline. The “1990s” example, created by assemblageSTUDIO, is a simple, metal fle desk, covered almost entirely with manual drafting implements: notebooks, sketches, pencils, X-acto knives, plywood. The present-day space, created by Gensler, is less cluttered, featuring two laminate desks upon which paper and pen yield mainly to dual arrays of computer monitors, keyboards and pressuresensitive drawing tablets.

The third workspace, created by UNLV School of Architecture faculty members Jonathan Anderson and Josh Vermillion, is designed to represent the potential future of the feld. Atop an austere steel desk is a collection of tools and constructs that look like they belong in a robotics

lab, including an Arduino board, which can be programmed to talk to actuators and motors, which is used to create responsive environments.

“There are a number of ways in which we’re trying to think of the built environment being smarter,” Vermillion says.

“The car you drive probably has about 200 or 300 different sensors in it. But when you look at a building, it’s really dumb by comparison. We’re not doing a very good job right now of thinking about how these technologies can be embedded in the built environment in a performance sense, in an aesthetic sense, in a fun sense—all of those things are possible.”

Much like other forms of creative expression, architecture has been moving into the digital age. Just as contemporary musicians record on digital audio workstations and illustrators “paint” with styluses, architects are now using 3-D printing, laser cutting and even device programming. One of the examples on the “future” workspace consists of a Microsoft Kinect motion sensor connected to a computer to map a basic digital skeleton from a user. Vermillion says it represents the idea of data input without the need for a device such as a keyboard, but rather using gestures in space—kind of like the tech seen in movies such as Minority Report and Iron Man. “In a way, thinking back to what we were trying to do 20, 30, 50, 100 years ago, I don’t think we’ve lost that,” says Vermillion, who teaches a foundation course in digital design tools. “I think we can get closer to engaging with materials, how things are made, testing them out, outputting them, and really completing that feedback loop. All these tools are just here to enhance the fundamentals of design, in a very 21st-century way.”

Also at the “future” workstation is a construct created by Anderson that’s about 6 feet tall and looks like an overgrown, minimalist Tinker Toy. It resembles a piece of abstract sculptural art, and indeed, Vermillion says that Anderson’s

“had several of these in museums,” but the skeletal construct also serves a practical purpose—or at least represents one.

“That’s what these technologies open up for us,” Vermillion says. “We can begin to tinker and experiment at full scale at our garage, offce or living room. The idea that you can just be tinkering, 3-D printing things, start to assemble it, and learn some lessons the hard way so you don’t have to learn the $40 million hard way.”

Pointing out a 3-D printed cube composed of twisting, melded ribbons sitting on Vermillion and Anderson’s futuristic workstation, Baird suggests that digital tools are inspiring creativity. “These tools allow us to do things that we couldn’t even conceive of doing by hand,” Baird says, citing the Frank Gehry-designed Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health as an example. “How do you do that without a computer?”

Even Vermillion, whose academic focus is on the integration of technologies such as robotics and automation into building design, recognizes that architectural design’s future lies in the convergence of the organic and the digital.

“It’s important to draw and sketch and be able to think with your hands and record things,” he says. “That’ll never change. I’ll be at a restaurant with a cocktail napkin and a pen. But it doesn’t stop there. Being able to leverage computation in some sort of smart way is going to become the norm. Design is one of those things where more and more people are beginning to see the value in it.”

REFLECTING + PROJECTING

UNLV’s Marjorie Barrick Museum 4505 S. Maryland Pkwy., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon-Fri, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Thu, noon-5 p.m. Sat, through Feb. 28, 702895-3381, UNLV.edu/BarrickMuseum.

➜ In connection with Reflecting + Projecting, the Barrick Museum is hosting a series of presentations that will expand on topics related to the exhibition. All presentations are free and open to the public, and begin at 5:30 p.m.

Printing Futures: Exploring 3-D Printing (Jan. 22). UNLV assistant professor Jonathon Vermillion will discuss the usage and impact of 3-D printing technology in the world of building design.

Robots and Sensing Architecture (Jan. 28). Vermillion expands on the ways technology is making buildings smarter.

Sketching Architecture (Feb. 5).

EV&A Architects, Inc. CEO Edward A. Vance shares his freehand drawing techniques and designs.

Closing Ceremony and Panel Discussion (Feb. 18). Las Vegas Art Museum board chair Patrick Duffy facilitates a discussion on the past, present and future of architectural design.

PHOTOS BY JON ESTRADA

January 8–14, 2015

|

VegasSeven.com

Architecture on display and a model of McCarran Airport’s Control Tower.

CONCERTS

Justin Timberlake Wows Once Again MGM Grand Garden Arena, January 1

Justin Timberlake is a damn good entertainer. His 20/20 Experience World Tour has been so popular that it’s lasted nearly two years, making

A&E

six stops in Las Vegas alone. The Experience was already in fine form when I saw it in November 2013, but knowing that the final two shows would be filmed, I wondered what might change. Would there be over-the-top visuals? Guest appearances? Nope and nope, because JT doesn’t need that. ¶ The 33-year-old showbiz veteran delivered a mesmerizing and polished pop performance. His vocals evoked the gamut of emotion, producing a sexy growl on “Rock Your Body,” sweet falsetto on a slowed-down “My Love,” and authoritative confidence on “Cry Me a River.” All the while, he slayed his choreography, executing hip shakes, body rolls and floor glides without a hitch. He was smooth, but never stale, ad-libbing expletive-laced greetings (“Vegas, shake yo’ ass!”) in between serenades. The master showman commanded the audience with intoxicating swagger and charm, keeping us on our toes and our feet for almost two and a half hours. ★★★★★ – Camille Cannon

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga Created a New Year's Classic The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan, December 30

It was the platonic ideal of New Year’s Eve parties: an elegant theater with chandelier garlands; a big band (22 musicians onstage, not counting the two stars); ladies in furs and sparkles; gold confetti; flowing Champagne; and, most importantly, jazz standards sung by a legend and a pop star. ¶ Tony Bennett, 88, and Lady Gaga, 28, lived up to the ideal. Bennett played himself.

Gaga—in a rotating ensemble of retro, flamboyant gowns and wigs—played a character mash-up of Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minnelli, Ella Fitzgerald, Cher and Jessica Rabbit. Their chemistry— part gently lecherous great uncle and part professional mutual admiration—simmered. ¶ Gaga’s rich singing voice shined in a way it never quite does as a pop star. But with the focus on classic standards (“Anything Goes,” “Cheek to Cheek,” “The Lady Is a Tramp”) and Bennett solos (“Smile,” “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”), it was firmly Bennett’s show. When Gaga did solo (“Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye”), it was an effort to re-create that perennially lost golden age of yore. This was great for a night that was as much about reliving Old Vegas glamour, but the evening would’ve been or “Born This Way.” While it was cool to see Gaga go old school, it would’ve been ever cooler to see Bennett go new. Beyond that one missed opportunity, it was an enchanting evening of American classics with that rich big-band sound. And perhaps,

January 8–14, 2015

|

VegasSeven.com

“The Best Is Yet to Come.” ★★★★✩ – Cindi Moon Reed

62

FULL NELSON Willie Nelson issued two albums in 2014: Band of Brothers, which featured nine original tunes, and December Day, which he recorded with his touring band. Expect a generous smattering of both when Nelson plays a pair of shows at House of Blues Jan. 9-10 ($111-$145).

FOGHAT ROLLING IN “Slow Ride” may be the only Foghat song you know, but that doesn’t make them a one-hit wonder.

Fans will point to their blistering cover of Willie Dixon’s “I Just Want to Make Love to You” as further enticement to see Foghat at the Golden Nugget on Jan. 9 ($39-$61).

ON SALE NOW Former White Stripe Jack White has enjoyed success as a solo artist (Blunderbuss and Lazaretto were bestsellers), and his label Third Man Records showcases the past and the present. Catch a glimpse of genius when White plays Brooklyn Bowl on Feb. 4 ($65-$70).

TIMBERL AKE BY GLENN BROGAN; BENNET T AND GAGA BY ETHAN MILLER

improved by a jazzy rearrangement of Gaga’s own “Poker Face”

Drake’s Protégé PartyNextDoor Makes a Short yet Sweet Vegas Debut Hard Rock Live, December 30

It was the first destination on his PND Live world tour. But it wasn’t his only first that night: OVO Sound’s young phenom PartyNextDoor

The

HIT LIST TARGETING THIS WEEK'S MOST-WANTED EVENTS

By Camille Cannon

made his first live appearance in Las Vegas to a sold-out crowd. This only increased the hype surrounding Party, who comes off a string of sold-out performances promoting PartyNextDoor TWO. Despite his mere 45 minutes of stage time, Party still impressed. He blazed through “Welcome to the Party,” “Right Now,” “Make a Mil,” “Over Here,” and “Break From Toronto” before slowing it down for “TBH.” Meanwhile, fans shouted out lyrics line for line.

Party further displayed his prowess by hyping the crowd with stream-of-conscious slow jam “Persian Rugs,” as fans recited: Persian Rugs, but she’s from Nicaragua/Thought you was Persian love/Are we turning up/Or are we wasting time?

After a brief DJ interlude of the top five hip-hop

boss Drake. Unfortunately, because of technical difficulties, the OVO chairman was unable to join his protégé for the finale. ★★★✩✩ – Herb Akinyele

[ READING ]

His Life as a Ramone Is Worth Reading About You know a book is rock ’n’ roll when not one but two cars catch fire in the course of the narrative. You know it’s punk rock when two cars catching fire aren’t even important plot points. Nope, it’s just one of the many insane things that happen when you join the Ramones. You might also encounter rioting Italian teenagers, groupies literally throwing drugs at you, Johnny Rotten, John Lennon and a wet, angry Ed Asner. It’s all in Punk Rock Blitzkrieg: My Life as a Ramone (Touchstone, $28, out Jan. 13) by Marky Ramone with Rich Herschlag. Marky joined America’s original punk band in

PARTYNEXTDOOR BY ALEX ANDER ZAYAS

1978, just in time for End of the Century, their album with Phil Spector and their appearance in the cult film Rock ’n’ Roll High School.

Marky may eat bugs and throw money out the window, but he comes off as the most normal Ramone, compared to Joey, the lead singer with obsessive compulsive disorder and hygiene issues; Dee Dee, the bass-playing, drug-huffing inadvertent poet; and Johnny, the fascist asshole guitarist. Perhaps this is because, unlike his brothers in Keds, Marky Ramone came to the band with a solid background as a musician, playing professionally since high school. Thus, the book also includes tales of his pre-Ramones days with NYC new wave act the Voidoids and his brief tenure in trannypunk Wayne County’s band. For fans of old-school punk, vintage New York City or drummers of all stripes, Punk Rock Blitzkrieg has more than one good story to tell. – Lissa Townsend Rodgers

ELECTRIC EDUCATION Some of our city’s most recognizable art is the neon signage that lines our streets.

It’s only right you get enlightened at Spectacular: A History of Las Vegas Neon at Clark County Library on Jan. 8. You’ll hear the stories behind the bulbs and learn the ways in which the Neon Museum is saving signs from destruction. LVCCLD.org.

THE WAY THEY PHIL We trust the Las Vegas Philharmonic when it comes to classical music.

They’ve selected Bulgarian violinist Bella Hristova to headline this season’s Rising Star Concert, the purpose of which is to “showcase the talents of an internationally rising star.” See Hristova with guest conductor Rei Hotoda on Jan. 10 at The Smith Center. LVPhil.org.

VENI VIDI DA VINCI January 15 is your last chance to see Da Vinci: The Exhibition at the Venetian. More than 20 fine art studies are on display, in addition to 65 life-size invention replicas.

You don’t know Leonardo until you’ve perused his works up close and personal.

Venetian.com.

VegasSeven.com

single, “Recognize,” which features his OVO

HE SAID SHE SAID Las Vegas Little Theatre rings in the new year with Rumors by Neil Simon Jan. 9-25.

The comedy is set at a 10th anniversary party for the New York deputy mayor and his wife, where (spoiler alert) the first guests to arrive find the mayor with a bullet to the head. That flesh wound is where the fun begins in this farce, though, as the guests attempt to sort out what happened. LVLT.org.

|

“FWU,” “Options,” “Bout it” and his most popular

January 8–14, 2015

club tracks, Party closed out the show with

63

MUSIC

Bone Thugs-nHarmony.

[ SOUND PROOF ]

SEE YOU AT THE CROSSROADS Bone Thugs-n-Harmony perform 1995 classic E. 1999 Eternal in its entirety and Sweater Beats takes us to Cloud City

By Zoneil Maharaj I’M NOT ENTIRELY SURE WHAT BONE THUGS-

n-Harmony have been up to for the last 15 years. Bizzy went crazy. Fleshn-Bone got locked up a of couple times. They did a video with Phil Collins. I don’t usually get excited about seeing fading stars onstage, but their January 18 show at Brooklyn Bowl is one for nostalgic heads.

Taking it back 20 years, the fastrapping quintet will perform 1995’s seminal E. 1999 Eternal in its entirety for the frst time ever. The Cleveland rap group’s full-length debut produced two of their biggest hits: the mournful “Tha Crossroads” and welfare party anthem “1st of Tha Month.”

While their lighter moments were the most celebrated, E. 1999 was wickedly dark, not just because of its violent themes; the album art featured cryptic text and occult imagery. I probably shouldn’t have been listening to it as an 11-year-old. I’m gonna have fun trying to rap along to “Die Die Die” and “Mo’ Murda.” Cypress Hill’s B-Real opens, for added old-school favor.

While Bone gets top billing for me, they’re not the only acts to catch in coming weeks.

Channeling Billy Crystal, local underground emcee Charlie Madness kicks off his City Slickers tour with Snap Murphy, Mr. P Chill and DJ Uppercutz at Hard Hat Lounge on January 9. The man’s been grinding, recently dropping videos for “Live It

Up” and “End Times,” with an album due out next month. With a $5 cover and $5 beer-and-shot specials, you might just have your Friday night fgured out.

Speaking of underground rap, Los Angeles subterranean stalwarts Dilated Peoples return to Las Vegas, this time to the Fremont Country Club on January 16. Last year’s Directors of Photography—their frst album in eight years—was a handbook for authentic hip-hop, marked with the same boom bap sound and sharp wordplay that put them on the map in the early 2000s. Their summer performance at the Boulevard Pool proved the trio is still as tight as ever, with emcees Evidence and Rakaa keeping heads nodding and DJ Babu delivering a surgical scratch session.

Despite my love for true-school hip-hop, I’m mostly looking forward to partying with New York’s Sweater Beats, who brings his lush and airy beat work to Beauty Bar on January 22. The future bass producer is making a name for himself with his Cloud City EP, a small collection of crisp post-EDM tracks that lean heavy toward electro-R&B. He’s crafty with keys and synths. Let’s see if he can command his DJ duties just as well.

Got new music or upcoming shows?

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

STAGE

THE GREAT WYNN WAY Casino mogul’s Broadway hit parade is hit and miss

PHOTO BY JOAN MARCUS

YES, THIS IS STEVE BORNFELD’S SHOWSTOPPER

reviewing Steve Wynn’s ShowStoppers.

Har-dee-har-har. Now ...

As a Broadway-reared native New Yorker, perhaps I carried unreasonable expectations into this Great White Way compendium at the Encore Theater, showcasing an array of showboating production numbers.

Except they’re not all showboaters, so the disconnect between the title’s promise and the show’s delivery—and overuse of some musicals while skipping obvious others—is disconcerting.

Visually, this is Flo Ziegfeld World— top hats to tap shoes, from downbeat to curtain. You couldn’t ask for more sight-and-sound bling for your buck: a 31-piece orchestra, sumptuous sets, elaborate costumes and sparkles and spangles in spades.

Yet audiences might scratch their noggins over Wynn’s conception of “showstoppers” and not even recognize several that never escaped their individual musicals to dent the larger public consciousness.

ShowStoppers is backed by nearly 30 singer-dancers and fronted by powerhouse performers Andrew Ragone, Randal Keith, David Burnham, Kerry O’Malley, Nicole Kaplan and Lindsay Roginski. Highlights are considerable: the playful “Anything You Can Do” (Keith, O’Malley); seriously fashy “Cabaret” and “Willkommen” (featuring appropriately creepy Ragone); a roof-rattling “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” (by roof-rattler O’Malley); an electric “Razzle Dazzle” (Ragone redux); and ShowStopper’s genuine showstopper, Chicago’s “Cell Block Tango” (led by sizzling Roginski, a veteran of the Broadway version). Another big-ticket tune, “One” from A Chorus Line, was marred by a sloppy line opening night.

That tunes are presented out of story context matters just as little as if they comprised a PBS concert. Great Broadway songs sell themselves as

self-contained gems, except from many Stephen Sondheim musicals in which they’re more narratively intertwined. However, a couple standalone Sondheim-ers—raucous “Comedy Tonight” or trenchant heartbreaker “Losing My Mind”— would’ve acknowledged his genius.

In interviews, Wynn said he wouldn’t mind “exhausting” audiences. While there are wow moments, they don’t amount to exhaustion. Modulating the repertoire with change-of-pace picks is fne, but will anyone but theater hard-cores swoon over “Little Brains, a Little Talent” from Damn Yankees when “Whatever Lola Wants” is more beloved? Same for under-the-radar “The Game,” rather than “(You Gotta Have) Heart.”

With the caveat that obtaining rights for certain inclusions can be diffcult, why cram in three numbers each from Cabaret and Chicago and ignore “America” from West Side Story or “To Life” from Fiddler on the Roof? Or sidestep across-thepond contributions, sacrifcing spinetingling “Do You Hear the People Sing” from Les Misérables or something Andrew Lloyd Webber?

One wonders whether, by favoring enjoyable but secondary “Put On Your Sunday Clothes” and “Elegance” from Hello, Dolly! over “Before the Parade Passes By” and the title song, the creators/Wynn are less into providing recognizable faves for casual musical theater fans than parading their Broadway-insider IQ. And if obvious options are considered clichéd, these talented folks could reinterpret them with creative snap.

Quibbles over choices are unavoidable with a gargantuan selection pool, and the lineup will likely be regularly refreshed. Still, the initial balance is off in ShowStoppers, at least to the Broadway fan who hangs out here in Showstopper.

A&E

MOVIES

ONCE UPON A MUSICAL

A baker (Corden) and a witch (Streep) meet in the woods.

This adaption of a Broadway classic ofers star-studded fairy tale magic

By Michael Phillips Tribune Media Services

IN THE GENERATION SINCE INTO THE WOODS

opened on Broadway, the entertainment world has recycled a forest’s worth of fairy tale-steeped mythology for mass consumption. For years, composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim’s 1987 fairy tale mashup, written with librettist James Lapine, has hacked its way through the thicket of Hollywood development. And the movie now before us?

Here’s a relief: It’s good.

It’s also a little harried. The stage version always was heavily plotted verging on chaos, and director Rob Marshall tends to push the camera too close to the bustle. But it works. It’s full of wit and feeling, guided by strong performers clearly devoted to the material and to Sondheim’s sparkling craftsmanship.

In creating the stage show, Lapine and Sondheim combined several fairy tales, particularly those of the Brothers Grimm. To the tales of Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk and Little Red Riding Hood, they added new characters, chief among them a baker (James Corden in the flm, terrifc) and his wife (Emily Blunt, also terrifc).

Their desire to have a child has been forestalled by a curse laid on them by

the witch next door (Meryl Streep).

Streep kills it and has serious fun with Sondheim’s intricate patter songs. To undo the curse, baker and wife venture into the woods in search of four objects: a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn and a slipper as pure as gold. Anna Kendrick shines as a conficted Cinderella; Chris Pine has the great fortune to sing (with fellow prince, played by Billy Magnussen) the hilariously egocentric duet “Agony.” Daniel Huttlestone portrays the giant-slaying Jack, with Tracey Ullman as his testy, careworn mother. Christine Baranski goes to town and back again as Cinderella’s stepmother. It’s a large ensemble, constantly in motion.

Everyone’s wishes come true in Into the Woods, but the price is steep. Jack slays the giant, but the giant’s wife craves revenge. Cinderella gets her

prince, but the prince is a charming cad and at one point dallies with the baker’s wife. (“This is ridiculous/What am I doing here/I’m in the wrong story!” she talk-sings in romantic dismay.) Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford) runs afoul of the vaguely lascivious Big Bad Wolf (Johnny Depp, outftted like a zoot-suited menace), and after being eaten and then rescued, she sings “I Know Things Now,” in which Sondheim equates Red’s ordeal with an uneasy awakening leaving her both “excited” and “scared.”

Into the Woods is a diptych. Act 1 ends with happily ever after but a portent of doom. Act 2 is laden with consequences, the deaths of key characters and, in the end, an acknowledgment that community responsibility must be heeded, and everyone must share in the joy and the hard work of living.

I wish the flm were 10 or 15 minutes

January 8–14, 2015

|

VegasSeven.com

SHORT REVIEWS

66

Big Eyes (PG-13) ★★✩✩✩

For Big Eyes, director Tim Burton cast four of the biggest eyes today. Two of them belong to Amy Adams, who plays painter Margaret Keane, creator of huge-orbed waifs mysteriously popular but credited to her scoundrel of a husband. The subjects and themes of Big Eyes are plentiful: the appeal of kitsch; the strictures of marriage in the 1950s and ’60s; the whims of taste; and the Keanes themselves, whose power struggle animates this bright but curiously flat movie. Big Eyes settles for a pastel set of emotions lost in a primary color world.

Unbroken (PG-13) ★★★✩✩

Laura Hillenbrand’s 2010 nonfiction account Unbroken described Louis Zamperini, the Italian-American who competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics and, in World War II, became an Army Air Corps bombardier flying missions over the South Pacific. In Angelina Jolie’s film version, Unbroken makes for a grueling experience, which is not quite the same as a memorable one. At too-convenient dramatic junctures, the screenplay darts back into flashbacks of Zamperini’s youth, when we should really be sticking with the crisis at hand.

Mr. Turner (R) ★★★★✩

Mike Leigh’s excellent Mr. Turner asserts its rightness and sureness in the opening shot. It’s a beautiful film, and not merely that. This is the past brought to life, and Timothy Spall—whose first close-up as J.M.W. Turner follows the opening shot— makes the act of seeing and sketching a quietly compelling one. Mr. Turner covers a quarter-century in Turner’s life. Happy, or sad? It’s too complicated to say, and without a speck of pomposity Leigh’s film—one of the year’s best—honors its subject in all his tetchy ambiguity.

longer; as is, it’s a tightly packed 124 minutes, but there’s some connective tissue missing between the material’s violent mood swings. Marshall’s camera eye is more functional than inspired, and too often he contents himself with scrambling after whoever’s singing while skipping or running or arguing. He’s not one for careful composition. Sondheim has said the Sondheim show this most closely resembles is A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, with its multiple storylines crisscrossing and converging just so. But with Into the Woods it’s not merely comedy tonight; it’s comedy tonight plus tragedy tomorrow. The Sondheim melodies are meant to be skittish, the way Carl Stalling’s music for the old Warner Brothers cartoons kept changing direction, delightfully.

And then, just when the survivors of the story need it most, along come the songs “No One Is Alone” and “Children Will Listen” to reassure the frayed nerves of both the storybook legends and the paying customers.

Into the Woods was a natural for the movies, with its transformation scenes, its jump-cut-friendly storytelling, hopping from one set of characters to another and back again. The movie works best whenever Corden and Blunt, performers of nearly limitless appeal and sweet-natured vulnerability, take the story back from their cohorts, though Kendrick is no less beguiling. I wish I could say Marshall is a savior of the screen musical, but in truth, though he scored with Chicago, his flm version of Nine wasn’t much better than his nonmusicals Memoirs of a Geisha and Pirates of the Caribbean 4.

Into the Woods brightens the record.

Into the Woods (PG) ★★★✩✩

By Tribune Media Services

Top Five (R) ★★★✩✩

Chris Rock plays Andre, a comic turned filmmaker. The New York Times assigns a feature writer, played by Rosario Dawson, to shadow Andre for a profile. Subject and interviewer thrust and parry all around New York. Both are recovering alcoholics.

Zigzagging through flashbacks to Andre’s drinking days, Top Five marshals a wealth of comic talent in the supporting ranks. Kevin Hart, Tracy Morgan, Cedric the Entertainer and Romany Malco spice their scenes, and everyone from Jerry Seinfeld to Adam Sandler to Whoopi Goldberg pops in as well.

Annie (PG) ★✩✩✩✩

The risks taken by co-writer/director Will Gluck begin with pulling Annie out of the 1930s and plopping it down in contemporary Manhattan. Living in foster care in Harlem, the girl formerly known as “orphan” (each time she’s called that, she retorts, “I’m a foster kid”) is played by the confident Quvenzhane Wallis, of Beasts of the Southern Wild. The overall vibe of this folly is curdled and utterly blasé; it’s a 118-minute foregone conclusion, finesse-free and perilously low on the simple performance pleasures we look for in any musical, of any period.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (PG-13) ★★✩✩✩

Bilbo’s barely in this one, but Evangeline Lilly and Orlando Bloom are attractive in close-up, and true to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Battle of the Five Armies is treated to at least five separate endings so we know that Jackson isn’t kidding: The trilogy’s really ending; the long march is over. I did find the logistics of waging battle on a frozen river entertaining. But, honestly, if it weren’t for Ian McKellen’s masterful Gandalf, a wellmade tough sit of a trilogy capper would’ve become a challenge of Tolkien proportions.

Exodus: Gods And Kings (PG-13) ★★ ✩✩

What do the entrails say about Exodus: Gods and Kings, director Ridley Scott’s ambitious retelling of the Moses story, the exodus from Egypt, the burning bush, the frogs, the boils, the hail, the commandments, the Red Sea crossing and the rest of it? Not bad, they say. Christian Bale is Moses, raised as Ramses’ brother and protector and eventual adversary. How you respond to the totality of Exodus: Gods and Kings will, I suspect, relate directly to how you responded to Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood from 2010.

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (PG) ★★★✩✩

This film rates as more determinedly heartfelt than the first and not as witty as the second (and best). It closes out this effectsdriven, family-friendly trilogy with three separate farewells. The most bittersweet parting involves the late Robin Williams. The third farewell is to the series itself, anchored

by Ben Stiller as night guard Larry, here upgraded to museum evening events planner, animatronic division. It’s a hectic pileup, but at least in its final laps it takes the time to say its goodbyes more or less properly.

The Imitation Game (PG-13) ★★★✩✩

As mathematician, code-breaker and martyred gay icon Alan Turing, one of the most ill-served heroes of World War II, Benedict Cumberbatch goes to town—discreetly—in The Imitation Game. Director Morten Tyldum adheres to the tradition of uncomplicated, well-acted biopics about complicated makers of history. The movie is entertaining and, at the same time, extremely nervous about going over the heads of the average moviegoer, to the point of boiling down its code-breaking technicalities to watery generalities.

Wild (R) ★★★✩✩

Cheryl Strayed’s 2012 memoir Wild has become a swift, solidly built movie capturing most of its author’s most interesting baggage—the weedy tangle of regrets, the reckless bumper-car behavior borne of grief. I can’t unread the book, which I love. I can only offer my feelings about this film, a showcase for a pareddown and very fine performance from Reese Witherspoon, in relation to its source.

Screenwriter Nick Hornby (About a Boy, An Education) creates a dense interweave of flashbacks to Strayed’s past life.

5th Annual

WINTER BEER FESTIVAL

Jan. 16th - 18th @ Nellis Enjoy 60+ of the rarest & coolest beers on the planet!

ANCHOR  BALLAST POINT  BEACHWOOD BBQ BLACK MARKET  BOOTLEGGERS  BRUERY  CISMONTANE DESCHUTES  DOGFISH HEAD  DE DOLLE DUBUISSON FRERES  EVIL TWIN  FIRESTONE WALKER GOOSE ISLAND  HET ANKER  HOPARAZZI MODERN TIMES  MOYLAN’S  MONKEY PAW NEW BELGIUM  PIZZA PORT  RIP CURRENT ROUGH DRAFT  SCLOSS EGGENBERG  SIERRA NEVADA SMOG CITY  STONE  STRAFFE HENDRIK TENAYA CREEK  TROIS DAMES VAN HONSEBROUCK N.V.  WIDMER

3740 S. Nellis Blvd. | 702.436.7600 | near Sam’s Town @acesandales | @acesandalestenaya

MARKETPLACE

MARKETPLACE

MARKETPLACE

BETTING

AND THEN THERE WERE TWO …

Oregon, Ohio State roll into championship game red hot—both on the feld and at the betting window

GOOD NEWS: WE’RE A WEEK INTO THE NEW

year, and I still haven’t broken a single resolution. See what happens when you refuse to make any resolutions? Hey, I fgure I disappoint enough people over the course of 365 days; I don’t need to add myself to the list. Now, if I were to have set a couple of personal goals for 2015, they undoubtedly would’ve been to 1) continue my Cal Ripken-esque streak of being kale-free (that’s a lock!); and 2) be something other than mediocre with my handicapping.

Seriously, 122 picks into this football season, I’m three games under .500 in the NFL and two games over .500 in college. My bowl performance was the defnition of average, as I nailed my frst three college bowl selections, then went 6-8 the rest of the way.

That’s right: I’m bringing a 9-8 bowl record into the College Football Playoff championship game, which means you’ll see Harry Reid doing treadmill endorsements before you’ll see me correctly predict the outcome of the Ohio State-Oregon showdown January 12. (Cut to all the Buckeyes and Ducks fans sweating as profusely as Andy Reid when he brushes his teeth.)

Without further delay, let’s fnd out which team gets the kiss of death, while also breaking down the four NFL Divisional playoff games.

Oregon (-6½, 75) vs. Ohio State (in Dallas): Oregon had the more dominating semifnal victory, dusting defending champ Florida State 59-20 in the Rose Bowl. But the Buckeyes had the more impressive victory, knocking off top-ranked Alabama 4235 in the Sugar Bowl, rallying from a 21-6 second-quarter defcit—behind a third-string sophomore quarterback.

Speaking of quarterbacks, the Ducks clearly have the superior signal caller in Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota. But on the fip side, Ohio State has the better coach in Urban Meyer, who is chasing his third national championship in as many tries.

Both teams are 13-1, with the Buckeyes riding a 12-game winning streak and Oregon on a nine-game roll.

Stunningly, the Ducks have covered in each of those nine victories (all as a favorite), while Ohio State is “just” 8-4 against the spread during its hot streak. So, advantage Oregon, right?

Not so fast. The Buckeyes are 3-for-3 as an underdog this year, winning outright each time. Then there’s this: According to The Gold Sheet, Meyer is an astonishing 13-2 ATS as underdog going back more than a decade to his

MATT JACOB

time at Utah. He’s also 34-9 ATS when he’s had more than a week to prepare his troops (4-0 this season).

The verdict: As much as I respect Meyer—as a coach, that is; not as a person— I can’t get past the fact he’s going to the well one more time with a raw, third-string quarterback against a underrated defense that just made Jameis Winston look like ... a third-stringer. So, with all due apologies to Phil Knight and the Ducks faithful … Oregon 48, Ohio State 33 Patriots (-7, 47½) vs. Ravens: Facts are facts: New England struggles against Baltimore. The teams have split their last six meetings, with the Ravens going 2-1 (3-0 ATS) in three playoff matchups.

Tom Brady’s QB rating in those three postseason clashes: 56.3. Meanwhile, in his last fve playoff games, Joe Flacco is 5-0 SU and ATS with 13 TDs and zero interceptions. Ravens 24, Patriots 23 Seahawks (-11, 40) vs. Panthers: Although the Seahawks are 3-0 against Carolina over the past three regular seasons, they were hardly dominant, prevailing 16-12, 12-7 and 13-9. But here’s the catch: All three of those contests were in Carolina.

This one is in Seattle … in January … against a team that’s won six in a row by the combined tally of 134-39!

Seahawks 19, Panthers 3 Packers (-6, 53) vs. Cowboys: Dallas is 8-0 on the road. Green Bay is 8-0 at home. Dallas has just two playoff wins since 1996. Green Bay is 1-3 in the playoffs since winning the Super Bowl in 2010 (and that victory came against a Vikings team quarterbacked by Joe Webb). The tipping point? I think Aaron Rodgers’ bum leg is hurt worse than anyone is letting on. Cowboys 27, Packers 24 Broncos (-7, 54) vs. Colts: Peyton Manning’s career playoff record: 11-12. Manning’s playoff record minus the 2006 championship season: 7-12, including 2-4 in the last six.

Manning’s throwing arm right now: noodle-like. And I’m getting a full touchdown? I love these annual January gifts from the oddsmakers.

Broncos 31, Colts 28 Bowl Record: 9-8 (1-1 Best Bets).

Season Record: 60-61-1 (29-32-1 NFL; 31-29 college; 6-10-1 Best Bets).

The [cult 1985] movie is fun, but this is even more fun. I play the dean of the medical school, and in the second act, it happens right there onstage: I get torn to pieces and reanimated as a zombie. Then I’m lobotomized under the control of Dr. Carl Hill, who has been beheaded, so he needs a body. So he’s walking around carrying a head the whole act. It’s about 90 percent sung through, very little dialogue.

Looking back: Before you received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Jesuit Rockhurst College, you were expelled from the University of Notre Dame for earning —is this true—a 0.00 GPA?

That actually wasn’t my cumulative. I was rockin’ a solid 2.0. But my frst semester of my junior year, I moved off campus and didn’t think it through. It was winter, I had no way to get to campus, I didn’t have a car. Consequently, I cut a lot of classes and didn’t go to exams. I had one of those burnout moments.

It might have been a separation thing, consciously or subconsciously, from my dad. If I had any courage, I would have done something signifcant like burn a draft card. I took the passiveaggressive route and funked out of my dad’s alma mater.

January 8–14, 2015

|

VegasSeven.com

Your showbiz roots are as an improv comedian with The Second City in Chicago, where you’re from.

So your academic comeback in economics didn’t take?

78

George Wendt Norm! on being a zombie, funking out of college and wearing Milk-Bone underwear

By Steve Bornfeld

I was a clueless young man, frankly. An idiot. But does anyone actually major in what they’re going to do? I thought I would try something I didn’t hate, and the only thing I could think of was The Second City. It looked like young men and women goofng up on stage. So when money ran out when I was backpacking in Europe, I called the box offce and inquired about the workshops.

I was completely green. I had no theater background in high school or college or community theater. I walked in cold to The Second City workshops in 1973, and for the frst time in my life, I applied myself to something.

You’re known as a comic actor, but are you still most comfortable doing improvisation?

I kind of lost touch with improv.

That’s hard to do when all my best friends, including my wife [actress Bernadette Birkett, who played the voice of Vera, Norm’s

RE-ANIMATOR: THE MUSICAL

Through Jan. 18, Troesh Studio Theater, $44, 702-930-8113, TheSmithCenter.com.

never-seen wife in Cheers], do it on a regular basis and they love it.

But I got so spoiled by having tremendous writers on Cheers that I hung up my improv shoes until quite recently. We did a comedy festival in Ireland and I went with a bunch of old Second City people, and it was great. It’s scary as heck, kind of like skydiving. It’s the apprehension that’s killing you in the plane on the way up— although I’ve never skydived.

Name your favorite Norm-isms.

It’s like “Stairway to Heaven”—it’s a great song but everyone’s sick of it. The gold standard would seem to be, “It’s a dog-eat-dog world and I’m wearing Milk-Bone underwear.” That seems to be the universally most loved, and I can’t disagree. But there’s under-theradar ones, like: “What’s shakin’, Norm?”

“All four cheeks and a couple of chins.”

Or: “Beer, Normie?”

“Sure, Coach, but stop me at one.”

Then I glance at my watch and go, “Make that 1:30.”

Does anyone yell Norm! when you walk onstage?

It’s happened. Thankfully, not that much.

Would you want to do a sitcom again?

Indeed. I am doing a sitcom again. It’s a new show on TBS called Buzzy’s [from Will & Grace creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick]. It’s a workplace ensemble comedy in a barber shop/hair salon, and I’m the geezer, I’m Buzzy. I think we’ll be on in the summertime.

Is there a typecasting downside to playing an iconic TV character?

I’m very happy for it. I don’t hear about the [roles] that got away [because of it]. When I do get cast in things, it’s usually not [as] an out-of-work accountant who sits at a bar, but there’s probably big movies that won’t consider me because of my association with Norm. That hasn’t stopped people like Woody [Harrelson] or John Goodman, who was Dan Conner [on Roseanne] as long as I was Norm.

But they’re more talented guys.

What’s the one word that helped Wendt land the part on Cheers?

Read the full interview at VegasSeven. com/Wendt.

PHOTO BY DOMINIC CHAN/WENN.COM

SEVEN QUESTIONS

You’re performing here in ReAnimator: The Musical, as you did in the original 2011 Los Angeles production. It’s campy and gory—the first few rows can expect blood splatter. Some of it is yours, isn’t it?