A little water can grow a city.
Over the years, we’ve worked together to conserve billions of gallons of water. And yet our community is still continuing to fourish. Proving a little water can go a long way. So let’s continue to stay water smart, Southern Nevada. Learn more at snwa.com. The Southern Nevada Water Authority is a not-for-proft water utility.
DIALOGUE CONTRIBUTOR’S NOTE Shedding Light on Ivanpah over the years, journalism has led Brooke Edwards Staggs to a manhunt in Las Vegas, a political rally in New York and a fshing village in Accra (the biggest city in Ghana). For Vegas Seven’s sixth-annual Eco Issue, Staggs turned her attention to the middle of the Mojave Desert, where she set out to solve the mystery: What is that sea of mirrors drivers see off Interstate 15 just outside of Primm (see Page 22)? The answer turned out to be a little more complex than she anticipated. “When I frst started to report on the Ivanpah solar facility, I didn’t expect to fnd so much confict,” says Staggs, a Southern California-based freelance writer and periodic Vegas Seven contributor. “But massive projects like this one have left the environmental world divided over whether the clean energy they produce is worth the impact they have on the surrounding habitat.” With two more solar projects now under construction near Ivanpah, Staggs notes this confict likely won’t be resolved anytime soon.
➜
OUR SITES TO SEE AN ARTIST AT WORK
Local artist and art deco expert Heather Hermann is expanding her creative reach to Boulder City with a restoration project. When she’s not working on that, “The Duchess of Deco” is creating paintings rooted in the glamorous, geometric designs of the 1920s and ’30s. See some of her work at DTLV.com/Hermann.
EX-JOCK TACKLES TECHNOLOGY
Former NFL player Gerome Sapp made a splash at South By Southwest with the launch of Ginx—a locally based new app that amps up social media hashtags— and already some big brands have been eyeing the entrepreneur’s patentpending technology. Find out more about Sapp’s app at DTLV.com/Ginx.
REBEL CATCHES ON
UNLV wide receiver Devonte Boyd’s initial goal last season was simple: He just wanted to start. Now, the sophomore-tobe has become the Rebels’ top target. RunRebs. com contributor Danny Webster reports on Boyd’s rise and what the former Basic High School star expects for next season at RunRebs.com/Boyd.
HOW TO RENT ON THE CHEAP
It can be difficult to find a decent place to rent in these parts—especially an affordable, decent place. But if you’re considering a move Downtown, you can actually find a variety of properties for less than the median Las Vegas monthly rate of $1,190. Pj Perez takes you on a tour at DTLV.com/UrbAppeal.
FACEBOOK: /VegasSeven TWITTER: /7Vegas INSTAGRAM: /VegasSeven
EVENT
GOVERNOR’S GALA
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UPCOMING EVENTS • April 19
AFAN’s 25th annual AIDS Walk [AFANLV.org]
• April 25
The Animal Foundation’s 12th annual Best in Show [AnimalFoundation.com/Show]
PHOTOS BY TEDDY FUJIMOTO
April 16–22, 2015
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VegasSeven.com
Something (or somebody, rather) has got to give, right? That’s what happened April 9-11 at the 15th annual Governor’s Black-Tie Invitational. The festivities kicked off with the Governor’s Gala at Southern Highlands Golf Club with a dinner presented by Four Seasons and a variety of auctions. Among the more than 600 guests were executives from several Las Vegas-area businesses, who helped raise nearly $900,000 for the Southern Highlands Charitable Foundation. The foundation supports such partners as the Southern Highlands Boys and Girls Club, Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation, Children’s Heart Foundation and Opportunity Village. One of the weekend’s highlights was when Governor Brian Sandoval presented the Philanthropists of the Year Award to Las Vegas Sands Corp. and its president and COO, Rob Goldstein.
April 16–22, 2015
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VegasSeven.com
TOWERS OF POWER At Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, more than 300,000 computer-controlled mirrors beam concentrated sunlight up to a trio of 459-foot-tall power towers.
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Does it finally make financial sense to convert your home to solar power? We investigate. By K U R T C . R I C E
April 16–22, 2015
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VegasSeven.com
➜ For me, the thought of using the
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sun’s asphalt-melting energy to power my air-conditioned cocoon, light up my big screen and chill my beer is a dream right up there with putting a human colony on Mars. Unfortunately, for the last several decades, photovoltaic (PV) solar power hasn’t been economically feasible for singlefamily homes, and thermal solar power is only workable in larger-scale plants such as the one in Ivanpah just south of Primm. But advances in the effciency of PV solar-technology production and manufacturing have gradually put rooftop solar within budgetary range. So I recently set out to fnd answers to some elusive questions. For instance: Would going solar make me energy independent? How much would it cost? And, most importantly, how many beers could I chill at once? First, some general info about Standalone PV solar power systems: They’re actually pretty simple. Panel modules mounted on your roof convert available sunlight into a 12-volt DC power stream, similar to that produced by a car battery. That power is then converted to standard household 120-volt AC power by an inverter that’s connected to your home’s electrical system. Because power stops fowing at night or on cloudy days, a standalone system also requires batteries. Now, I’m not a Doomsday Prepper, nor am I particularly motivated to drastically alter my lifestyle to address climate change. Really, I am fne with the almost 12-cents-per-kilowatthour, uninterrupted supply of electricity provided by NVEnergy. But I am curious if going solar would help reduce my annual $1,500 in electric bills. How much would it run me to cut the NVEnergy cord and generate my own beer-cooling power? I ran a quick calculation for my 2,600-square-foot Henderson home using numbers from August, when I burned through 1,634 kilowatt hours, the most of any month in 2014. My low-usage winter months require an average of only 500 kilowatt hours. But if I didn’t want to cut back on energy consumption in the summer months and wanted to generate and store 100 percent of my power using PV solar, I would need to generate nine kilowatts of peak power on demand to make it through those triple-digit days that chain smoke their way through July and August. I wouldn’t need most of that power for most of the year, but again, in this scenario I would be “off the grid” and
totally reliant on solar power generated solely on my property. This puts my solar requirement for the year at the high end of residential, off-grid units. My cost for such a system (not including shipping, racking or installation): nearly $30,000, if I ordered off the shelf. But that $30,000 price tag doesn’t include maintenance costs. Solar systems are generally considered extremely reliable; power-cell modules are normally warrantied for 20 years, over which time power production falls off slowly. However, invert-
I recently set out to find answers to some elusive questions: Would going solar make me energy independent? How much would it cost? And, most importantly, how many beers could I chill at once?
at night, on cloudy days or, in Vegas, pretty much any day in July or August. Staying connected eliminates the need for battery storage and means you can buy a system that takes care of your average use. In such instances, NV Energy uses “net metering” to give you credit on your bill for the power your panels generate. That credit helps offset the cost of pulling power from the grid when your energy demand is high and your panels can’t keep up. But PV equipment and installation still isn’t cheap, even with federal tax incentives and local-utility rebate programs. Most solar installation companies offer fnancing as well as something called power-purchase agreements, in which they install panels on your home but retain ownership and sell you the power generated by their panels at a predictable rate—a rate that’s not particularly enticing. For example, at SolarCity—the biggest solar outft in the Valley—the 20-year fxed power-purchase agreement runs 13 cents per kilowatt hour while NVEnergy is currently charging me 11.6 cents per kilowatt hour. Translation: Solar still isn’t making much sense to me. To try to penetrate the cost confusion, Solar-Estimate.org, an unaffliated consumer and solar trade information site, offers an online estimator that uses the Department of Energy’s PVWatts software tools to generate a rough cost-beneft analysis. The calculator takes into account currently available local and federal tax incentive and rebate programs, but makes no guarantees about the continuing availability or applicability of those programs to your situation. For my home, Solar-Estimator came in at an installed cost of $34,000 before incentives, if I wanted to stick with a nine-kilowatt net-metered system. Incentives bring the purchase cost down to about $22,000, which is nearly identical to buying electricity straight from the grid. On the other hand, if I went with generating only 50 percent of my peak power, I would cover most of the months of the year and cut my after-incentives cost to $14,000. A leasing option was estimated to cost about $150 a month for the 100 percent system and $93 a month for the 50 percent system. But in the latter case I would still be buying at least half my power from NV Energy, so my monthly bill from them would ramp up. To see if I was hitting at least close to actual costs, I called SolarCity. Their phone-quote numbers came in about the same as the online solar estimator. Given that my average electric bill is $125 a month, the only reason I would go through the headache of vetting bids, wading through contracts and ultimately installing a solar power system would be to do my bit for the environment. To quote the SolarCity sales rep: “You’re not going to get rich off of it, but it can help a little.” Frankly, I just want to keep my beer cold.
ILLUSTRATION BY RYAN OLBRYSH
A Heated Internal Debate
ers—widely considered the weak link in the solar chain—are only warrantied for fve years. Even with good luck, I would almost certainly have to shell out the $8,000 it would cost to replace it at least once before the solar panels required replacing. That pushes the 20-year cost of my system (without installation) to $38,000—the equivalent of 25 years of paying my current NV Energy bill. Without compromising my current energy usage, it’s clear that shifting to solar under these circumstances wouldn’t make economic sense. Then again, few people who rely on solar power for their homes ever completely detach from the grid—that’s a radical move normally reserved for cabins, survivalists’ bunkers or anywhere there is no available public utility. Most suburban solar homeowners remain connected to the existing major utility infrastructure, pulling power the old-fashioned way when their PV system can’t keep up—such as
NIGHTLIFE
The recent Miami Music Week was a big one for you. Did you get to choose everyone on the lineup for your “My House” party?
Yeah, I choose. The pool party was all my friends: People like Nervo, Tom Staar. I enjoy their music and play their music in my sets. Chris Lake, who opened, is a friend of mine as well. I closed the stage at Ultra, so that was pretty crazy.
What’s the most special thing that’s happened to you on the road?
When I performed in New Zealand, there was a party of 5,000 people. I thought I was walking into a festival, so I asked the promoters, “Who else is playing at this party?” And he’s like, “It’s your party.” And I only had two songs on the radio for that past year. I turned the music down, and the whole crowd was singing. I’m on the other side of the world in New Zealand, and it hit me: Wow, this is insane. What’s your favorite part about visiting new places?
You explore the world. I do a job that not a lot of people can do, you know? You’d think you’re going to get tired, but you never get tired. You’re always in a different country, meeting different people. It’s amazing.
April 16–22, 2015
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VegasSeven.com
Do you have any special rituals when you go to work in the studio?
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No, I have to get my ass in there, that’s what I have to do. Which is hard in Miami, because I have the sun and the beach. But I have no ritual. If it’s a remix or an original, it can start a different way. But there’s one thing that I impose on the engineers: Put the phones away, because you get distracted. What type of music do you listen to when you’re not working?
Rock ’n’ roll. I lis-
ten to Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, Nirvana, Soundgarden. What’s your go-to track to rock the dance floor?
In my sets, it’s my song “Love Again.” It’s starting to do very well on the radio, so when I drop the record, the crowd gets hyped up and starts singing it. I look forward to playing that song in my set. Why did you choose to go with Marquee for your residency this year?
I like the club very much. To me, it’s a very well-designed club for DJs. The vibe, the lighting, the sound. And I love the family—it’s like a family. Jason [Strauss] and the whole Marquee team are very nice to me. Other than the music, what’s your favorite part of the production there?
It’s a show every night. There’s always something happening during my set. There’s the choreographed dancers coming out of this big LED wall, the light guy is on point, the stage manager is on point. I don’t have to worry about anything. The people in charge of the cryo and the confetti blasts are doing it at the right time during the right songs at the right moments. What’s your favorite part about coming to Vegas, other than playing your shows?
The restaurants. [Vegas] has the top restaurants in the world. I love to eat on Sundays when I play there, because Sunday is my cheat day. The Cosmo has amazing restaurants; from Milos to STK and Scarpetta— which is one of my favorites. So what’s your favorite dish?
The best spaghetti tomato sauce in the world, to me, is at Scarpetta. And the duck foie gras ravioli is insane. You have to try it. It’s amazing.
Share the right moments with Cedric Gervais.
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NIGHTLIFE
PARTIES
VEGAS BEER & MUSIC FESTIVAL Foxtail @ SLS [ UPCOMING ]
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See more photos from this gallery at SPYONvegas.com
PHOTOS BY TONY TRAN
April 16–22, 2015
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VegasSeven.com
April 17 Thomas Gold spins April 18 Michael Woods spins April 19 Stafford Brothers spin
NIGHTLIFE
PARTIES
MARQUEE DAYCLUB The Cosmopolitan [ UPCOMING ]
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See more photos from this gallery at SPYONvegas.com
PHOTOS BY TONY TRAN
April 16–22, 2015
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VegasSeven.com
April 17 M!ke Attack spins April 18 Tritonal spins April 19 Politik spins
DINING
“The cost might add an extra 10 or 15 percent on the fnal bill, but, he points out, ‘at the end of the day, you’re going to save it on medicine.’” {PAGE 56}
Restaurant reviews, news and seven not-to-miss sips at UNLVino
For the People
PublicUs takes us farther east on Fremont By Al Mancini
Daily coffee specials, fennel-dusted ahi tuna and orzo salad.
VegasSeven.com
| April 16–22, 2015
PHOTO BY JON ESTRADA
MY FAVORITE NEIGHBORHOODS IN MOST LARGE
cities tend to be the ones that are just on the edge of gentrifcation—the areas just a few blocks away from the heart of the action, where you still have to walk past people or places that might make you nervous. This, I’ve always found, is where the truly interesting things are happening, fueled by creativity that hasn’t yet been crushed by a massive infux of corporate cash. That’s how I felt recently walking east on Fremont Street, past Atomic Liquors and the Bunkhouse and crossing 11th Street. Banked by long-abandoned motels to the north and a string of newly developed but still-unoccupied storefronts on the south, I fnally arrived at Downtown’s latest culinary hot spot, PublicUs. PublicUs is yet another quick-casual spot where you order at a counter and take a number to your table to await service. The main dining area is dominated by a series of sleek modern communal tables that appear to seat about 10-12 people each, with trees protruding through their centers. There’s also a side area with a series of low-to-theground two-tops with stools that seem more designed for kindergarten children than adults. The crowd during my visits has varied in age from twenty-somethings to young families to seniors, but it also featured all of the tattoos, dreadlocks, beards and multicolored hair you’d expect in this neighborhood. The single-page menu has plenty to offer. It starts with a trio of sandwiches. Next up are eight “specials,” which are really the restaurant’s only full entrées. They’re followed by some “proteins,” which as the name suggests, includes such things as ahi tuna, chicken breast and grilled fank steak served in a simple preparation, without sides. (Those same proteins are included in the “specials” section with more thought behind them.) All of the above are made to order, and preparations can be slow. If you want some-
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Vegas chefs turn their backs on hormones and antibiotics By Al Mancini
April 16–22, 2015
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VegasSeven.com
IT WAS MORE THAN EIGHT MONTHS AGO
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that I sipped a margarita on the patio of Mandalay Bay’s Border Grill and listened to Mary Sue Milliken espouse the virtues of meat and poultry that are free of hormones and antibiotics. The topic wasn’t new to me—in many ways she was preaching to the choir. But Milliken (much like her business partner Susan Feniger) is someone who is always eager to educate those who talk food with her. The fnances of factory farming aren’t diffcult to understand. Pumping an animal full of hormones and/ or antibiotics can help it grow larger, and prevent disease outbreaks associated with the deplorable conditions common to modern factory farming. But the effects are unsettled and controversial. Animal hormones have been blamed for everything from
cancer to the early onset of puberty executive chef Mathieu Chartron in girls. And the food of antibiotics says. “So why would I give my guests in our food environment has trigbad chicken?” He insists that all of the gered similar health fears. chicken, beef and veal on his menu “We don’t know everything that is raised naturally, and all of his fsh these residual antibiotics in the aniis caught in the wild. The cost might mals and in the water add an extra 10 or 15 table and the soil does percent to the fnal to us,” Milliken says. bill but, he points out, “But our dieticians say “at the end of the day that it kills everything you’re going to save it in your gut, and that on medicine.” creates obesity.” That cost of conThat’s just one of verting to antibioticthe many reasons and hormone-free why Border Grill and meats is also unmany other top Las settled. At Yardbird Vegas restaurants are Southern Table & Bar, opting to use animals where they use freeraised naturally. range chickens raised – Mathieu Chartron, “I don’t eat bad without hormones chicken,” Guy Savoy’s Guy Savoy executive chef or antibiotics, chef
“I DON’T EAT BAD CHICKEN, SO WHY WOULD I GIVE MY GUESTS BAD CHICKEN?”
Todd Harrington admits his product costs three times as much as massproduced birds, but says the taste is far better. Over at the Stratosphere, chef Rick Giffen recently switched to using an all-natural product for the lollipop chicken wings in his lounge and saw the raw price rise from about $3.30 a pound to $3.80—but says that increase was offset by labor costs he saved thanks to better preparation. In the meantime Milliken, who supports federal regulations barring the use of certain artificial substances in food, feels the price increase could be reduced to “a couple of cents a pound.” And it’s a price she’s more than happy to pay. “People should be able to feel they can trust a product when they buy it,” she says of the overall American food supply. “And at this point they can’t.”
ILLUSTRATION BY JON ESTRADA
DINING
Going Natural
DRINKING
Go Green—Napa Green! From top to bottom: 2011 The Hess Collection Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 19 Block Mountain Cuvee, Mt. Veeder ($38); 2012 Honig Vineyard & Winery Cabernet Sauvignon ($45); 2012 Chateau Montelena Winery Cabernet Sauvignon ($53); 2012 Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay ($36.50); 2011 Hagafen Cellars Cabernet Franc ($39); 2013 St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery Sauvignon Blanc, Dollarhide Estate Vineyard ($35); and 2012 Jericho Canyon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon ($100).
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fcation. Napa Green certifed wineries produce more than 4.5 million cases of wine each year, and last year prevented 3.5 million pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. However romantic, winemaking is still an industrial agricultural process. The responsible practices of Napa Green certifed wineries and vineyards help ensure that the riches of the Napa Valley will be around for wine enthusiasts to enjoy now, and many vintages into the future. To fnd all participating wineries, visit NapaGreen.org.
April 16–22, 2015
➜ You actually can be ecologically responsible while drinking well … if you select Napa Green certifed wines. Created in 2004 by the Napa Valley Vintners association and more than 20 industry, community, government and nonproft partners, this third-party program has been certifying the Napa wineries and vineyards that make environmental conservation a top priority. To date, more than 75 wineries and 61,000 acres of land (including 17,000 acres of vineyards) have been certifed, with thousands more awaiting offcial certi-
VegasSeven.com
By Xania Woodman
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MUSIC The Grouch & Eligh play Brooklyn Bowl on April 20.
[ SOUND PROOF ]
SO MANY STYLES From weed rap to avant-garde, now’s a good time to be a rap fan in Vegas By Zoneil Maharaj THERE ISN’T A MORE DIVIDED MUSICAL GENRE
than hip-hop. Indie fans bicker about the mainstream; conscious rap fans dislike Southern trap rap; stoners are too high to notice that Wiz Khalifa’s only talent was knocking up Amber Rose. But these next couple of weeks should satisfy every sect. First up is J-Live on April 17 at the Bunkhouse. Although the show is free, I’d pay top dollar to see the New York emcee spit. He’s dropped nothing but gems since his lyrically masterful “Braggin’ Writes” in ’95. It still holds up 20 years later, and his new material is just as strong. The former middle school teacher is still kicking wisdom: just listen to “Money Matters” or his cry for human rights, “I Am A Man (American Justice),” from his recently released His Own Self. The Grouch & Eligh and Zion I bring their California cool to Brooklyn Bowl on April 20. The trio has been making music for the everyman as solo artists, duos or part of larger collectives since the early “aughts.” For the uninitiated, the Grouch is anything but—a laid-back, peaceful brother who raps about health and parenting; Eligh is a master of melodic fast-rap and imaginative storytelling; and Zion I, now a one-man act since the departure of producer Amp Live, is known for his eclectic styles. I’m expecting them to be onstage at once so they can move fuidly from classics such as the Grouch’s “Simple Man” and Eligh’s “Chronic” to Zion I and the Grouch’s “Silly Puddy.” Start rolling your blunts now— Curren$y brings his audio dope to Hard Rock Live April 23. The former No Limit soldier and Cash Money millionaire has a genuine good time
onstage, just vibing out to his own music and smoking weed with fans. Although the New Orleans spitter has dropped countless free mixtapes with his signature chill, jazzy sound, his latest, Pilot Talk III, was released exclusively on USB for $100 and comes with clothing, exclusive videos and a print of the artwork. Because I’m a broke journalist, I’ve had to resort to streaming so I’m eager to hear it on a solid sound system. Though JMSN isn’t hip-hop, the alt-R&B producer and singer has some serious rap cred, snagging several backing vocal spots on Kendrick Lamar’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City and collaborating with The Game and Ab-Soul. His voice has been compared to Justin Timberlake and his sound to The Weeknd, but he’s far more ethereal. His self-titled sophomore release showcases lush arrangements and smooth, atmospheric production. “My Way” needs repeat listens to appreciate its intricacies, and “Addicted” will get you hooked when he performs it April 26 at Beauty Bar. Perhaps even further from the center of hip-hop are Canadian artist Buck 65 and Floridian Astronautalis. The two underrated talents are rooted in rap but have such vast infuences and creativity that their music sounds more like indie-rock and talking blues. Fans of mature rap will nod their heads in agreement rather than to the beat when Buck performs “Love Will Fuck You Up.” Catch them at the Bunkhouse on April 27. Got new music or upcoming shows? Holler at Zoneil.Maharaj@wendohmedia. com or @zoneil on Twitter.
A&E
MOVIES
GENIUS IN THE BACKGROUND Celebrating the secret stars of rock ’n’ roll By Kenneth Turan Tribune Media Services
TO BEACH BOYS’ BRIAN WILSON, “THEY WERE
the ones with all the spirit and all the know-how.” To Nancy Sinatra, they were “unsung heroes.” To Herb Alpert, “an established groove machine.” To celebrated songwriter Jimmy Webb, they were “stone cold rock ’n’ roll professionals.” If the history of rock music means anything to you, you know the individuals in question could only be the Wrecking Crew, a legendary group of Los Angelesbased studio musicians. Though their story has taken decades to reach the screen, it has been worth the wait. Providing backup on hundreds if not thousands of songs, the Wrecking Crew was responsible for the musical DNA for many of the anthems that ruled the airwaves from the 1960s through the early 1970s that it makes your head spin. That list includes the Phil Spectorproduced “Be My Baby,” the Beach Boys’ “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” the Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” the Byrds’ “Mr. Tambourine Man” and Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’.” If you listened to the radio during that period, these musicians created your world. Which is one reason why The Wrecking Crew has taken so long to appear. A version of it played at flm festivals in
2008. For it to be shown in commercial movie theaters, however, hundreds of thousands of dollars of licensing fees had to be paid for the use of those hit songs. Until that money could be raised (via donations and a Kickstarter campaign, as it turned out) this movie could not be seen. The Wrecking Crew was a fuid group, but key among them was Tommy Tedesco, a.k.a. “The King of L.A. Session Guitarists.” Tedesco’s son, director Denny Tedesco, made putting this flm together a yearslong labor of love. Though a few of the resulting personal moments feel extraneous, Tedesco's heritage gave him special access to producers and musicians, and he has used it well. Tedesco began flming in 1996, when his father was diagnosed with cancer; seven of the people whose memories he recorded, including his father’s, have since died, making this genial, unpretentious flm an invaluable record of a kind of rock golden age. The Wrecking Crew contains its share of surprises, including that many of these individuals came from a jazz background and didn’t necessarily care for rock, at least at frst. The Wrecking Crew started to get a reputation inside the music business
In session: A legend is born in anonymity.
after Spector used the musicians as the key component of his celebrated Wall of Sound. That success so impressed Wilson (he recalls pulling off the road and stopping his car the frst time he heard the Ronettes’ “Be My Baby”) that, once his Beach Boys compositions got more musically complex and the group’s touring commitments grew, he used the Wrecking Crew to anonymously record the tracks for the Beach Boys albums. That kind of clandestine work became the Wrecking Crew’s bread and butter. The musicians recorded for The Association, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, and with the exception of former studio musician Roger McGuinn, they recorded for the Byrds on their breakthrough cut "Mr. Tambourine Man," which, McGuinn recalls, made everyone else “livid.” Though Wrecking Crew alumni Glen Campbell and Leon Russell went on to
April 16–22, 2015
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SHORT REVIEWS
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Broken Horses (R) ★★✩✩✩
Broken Horses is a loose English-language remake of the Mumbai-set 1989 crime saga Parinda. Anton Yelchin and Chris Marquette play long-separated brothers, Jake and Buddy. In the prologue, their sheriff father (Thomas Jane) is shot and killed, and we see Buddy taken under the wing of the local crime boss named Julius Hench (Vincent D’Onofrio). In Parinda, one of the brothers speaks of “rotting away in America.” The remake suggests a movie made by the Parinda character while he was stuck out West without much to do.
Desert Dancer (PG-13) ★★✩✩✩
This “true story” of a dancer longing to express himself in a fascist theocracy finds its surest footing in vivid scenes of interpretive dance. It’s only when Afshin (Reece Ritchie) attends university in Tehran, Iran, that he runs into like-minded artists and friends. Elaheh (Freida Pinto) crashes into Afshin’s life, making him want to attempt a public performance. The backdrop here is Iran’s abortive “Green Revolution,” the youthquake that threatened the theocratic regime. It’s the performers and their arresting “message” dances that make Desert Dancer worth its sand.
The Longest Ride (PG-13) ★★✩✩✩
In this Nicholas Sparks romance, Scott Eastwood (son of Clint) plays a rodeo star, Luke, who gets bucked off a bull. At the rodeo, is Sophia (Britt Robertson). Their first date ends when they help a car-accident victim Ira Levinson (Alan Alda). As he’s pulled from the wreck, Ira mutters something about “the box,’ which in a Sparks movie means: a stash of correspondence the heroine will soon be reading aloud, when the elder character isn’t doing the reading in voice-over. We have two love stories singing to each other across the decades.
solo careers, most were content with musical lives outside the spotlight. Some of the flm’s best moments are brief biographical segments on key members. We meet ace drummer Hal Blaine, one of the busiest in rock history, and we learn that Tommy Tedesco played the opening notes on the theme for TV’s Bonanza and that saxophonist Plas Johnson did the same for The Pink Panther. Perhaps the most intriguing member of the Wrecking Crew was its only female, bassist Carol Kaye. She demonstrates how she souped up the bass line for Sonny and Cher’s “The Beat Goes On.” Once the singer-songwriter model became the norm, the Wrecking Crew’s star began to wane. But seeing this flm makes it clear what its members accomplished in their prime. The Wrecking Crew (R) ★★★★✩
By Tribune Media Services
Furious 7 (PG-13) ★★★✩✩
Avenging his brother’s death as depicted in the previous Furious, Jason Statham’s character is a Special Ops assassin out for blood. Kurt Russell joins the ensemble as a Mr. Big man who assembles the street racers (Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges) for the heist of the surveillance device known as “God’s Eye.” Walker died in a car accident in late 2013, mid-filming. His scenes were completed using doubles And the undertow of the farewell, of friends parting, can be felt throughout the film.
Woman in Gold (PG-13) ★★✩✩✩
Helen Mirren is the best reason to see this disappointingly shallow chronicle of Maria Altmann, the Jewish World War II exile who waged a lengthy legal battle to regain rightful ownership of Gustav Klimt’s “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I,” along with other Klimt paintings. Seized by the Nazis, along with the wealthy Altmann family’s other effects, the painting ended up in Vienna’s Belvedere Palace gallery on display after the war, according to the portrait subject’s wishes. But was the Klimt really the subject’s to bequeath?
The Salt of the Earth (PG-13) ★★★✩✩
This compelling new documentary about photographer Sebastiao Salgado is a moving account of one man’s global exploration, and how ecological awareness and a desire to go home again repaired his soul after seeing and processing so much inhumanity. Codirectors Wim Wenders and Juliano Ribeiro Salgado (the photographer’s son) linger on certain canvases of catastrophe or human suffering while darting off others. Is what we see grief porn or an epic, career-long study in the best and worst we can find on Earth?
Home (PG) ★★★✩✩
A Girl Like Her (PG) ★★★★✩
Serena (R) ★★✩✩✩
Get Hard (R) ★✩✩✩✩
Jim Parsons of The Big Bang Theory voices Oh, the sweet misfit alien who belongs to the Boov race distinguished by squiggly little legs and fealty to idiot ruler Captain Smek (Steve Martin). The Boovs are wimps, perpetually relocating around the universe to avoid being attacked by the Gorgs. It’s not easy being the teenage girl named Tip (voice by Rihanna) when your mother (Jennifer Lopez) is alien-abducted and relocated. Home brings Tip and Oh together; they become friends and hit the road to find Tip’s mom.
Bradley Cooper plays a Depression-era timber baron racing to clear-cut the mountains before the feds it into the Smoky Mountains National Park. His loyal aide (David Dencik) may forgive; his mysterious, superstitious hunting guide (Rhys Ifans, creepy) may understand. Then Serena (Jennifer Lawrence) a Westerner who grew up in timber wealth, crosses his field of view. Cooper and Lawrence get to do things on horseback, swing an ax and play intimate scenes that they’ve never had the chance to show off onscreen. They don’t create much heat.
The mockumentary style is often used for either horror or comedic purposes. But director/writer Amy S. Weber has something else in mind for the format in the gripping A Girl Like Her. The conceit is that high school sophomore Jessica Burns (Lexi Ainsworth) is coaxed by fellow student and videographer Brian (Jimmy Bennett) to wear a spy camera to chronicle the harassment she suffers at the hands of the campus’ main mean girl (Hunter King). Ainsworth and King are excellent, anchoring what could have been a gimmick in a grim reality.
Hobbled by a nervous, insecure editing rhythm and a total lack of slapstick finesse, Get Hard does the people onscreen no favors. Will Ferrell plays James King, a stuffy hedge-fund wizard with a duplicitous gold digger fiancée (Alison Brie) and a lifetime of unexamined prejudices. Framed and arrested for fraud and embezzlement, King hires car wash manager Darnell (Kevin Hart), whom he mistakes for a hardened ex-con, to school him in prison survival and sexual assault prevention in a 30-day runup to San Quentin.
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SEVEN QUESTIONS
actor friends and I did the takes them on this journey. Session Series. We’d contact The reactions are different a bar and say, “Hey, I’m goeach night—that’s the highing to bring 10-15 of my actor light for me. On a personal buddies, and we’re going to note, it’s coming to work with do a cool cabaret. You guys 19 killer performers. It’s remind?” And they didn’t mind, ally a locker room mentality because we’d fll their bar on where all the guys bond and a Monday or Tuesday night. you’re on the same team. It’s And so you’d see guys on the same in the theater where prime-time television come you share the stage with these out and sing with a band. guys and girls, and you end When we got out here, we up becoming family. fgured that would be the format, but by adding the charity What’s next for you? element to it, it really gave it a I’m constantly auditiondriving force. ing for film and television When you tell people their [roles]. The goal is to get $20 is going to go to SAFEback to California. A sitcom House or an animal shelter, is the ultimate goal. We’re they’ll go. And then they see taking pretty big steps getall the talent that ting there. I fly this town has to into L.A. and offer, and they’re take a meeting MONDAYS DARK like, “Wow.” The and fly right 8:30 p.m. April 20, No. 1 comment back, and I $20 ($30 at door) we get is that this don’t miss the Vinyl at Hard Rock, is the best value work. I’ve got a MondaysDark.com. in Las Vegas, great relationbecause I get to ship with Rock see Frankie Valli of Ages that if (portrayed by Travis Cloer something does come up, I and Graham Fenton in Jersey can take a little hiatus. Boys) in a way that I’ve never Vegas is home, has been for seen him before, or the [arttwo years, and as long as the ists] from Cirque du Soleil in show is running I’m commita way I’ve never seen them ted to staying with it, unless before. It’s intimate. You’re it just becomes too much of a up close, you’re sitting next confict for a new project. to half of the performers who come out of the audience and As a Canadian who played hockey come up and do a thing. It’s through your teens (including been really rewarding. a brief stint as a goaltender in
The Mondays Dark creator on the roots of his philanthropy, the appeal of his Rock of Ages character and the prospect of the NHL in Vegas By Paul Szydelko
April 16–22, 2015
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VegasSeven.com
You launched Mondays Dark, a showcase of Vegas performers that helps a different charity each month. How did it begin?
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When Rock of Ages started we were dark on Mondays, so that’s where the name came from. I wanted a way to give back because in Vegas [performers are] treated like pseudo celebrities, and I don’t mean that in an arrogant way. People really appreciate when performers show up to events. We’d be invited to all these charity events, and my wife and I
thought, “Let’s throw parties, get everybody together from all the shows and we’ll partner with a different charity every month.” For some entertainers, charity is something they have to do, but you approach it differently. Why?
I consider my parents angels. They’re always helping people. Every time I’d come home from school, whether I was in grade school or high school, my mother or my dad would be on a new committee helping somebody.
We take a lot of things for granted, especially as performers. We have ups and downs, and you’re going from one gig to the next. I knew right away when we got [to Las Vegas] that this was a special opportunity that my wife and I had been given, and we wanted to make the most of it. We live and breathe Mondays Dark now and try to help as many people as we can as long as we can. Have you ever done anything like this?
When I was in L.A., some
It’s because somebody’s paying to come see me, to escape the BS that they’re going through—whether you’re struggling fnancially or somebody’s sick or there’s a war. You come in to our show for two hours, and you’re going to forget about all your problems. And if I don’t do my job, then you have a hard time forgetting about your problems. That’s a big part of Mondays Dark, too. Even though we’re there for a really serious reason, we put a twist on it so we really want you to have fun, forget about everything for a while and know you’ve just made a great donation to an amazing cause. Besides the mullet, what do you like about your character, Lonny?
I get to interact with the audience every night. I’m the only character who breaks the fourth wall and addresses the audience, welcomes them and
the Canadian Hockey League), what do you think about the NHL potentially coming to Vegas?
Very excited. I’m on the Founding 75 group, and I’m doing my best to help it. With my father purchasing a CHL franchise from the Esposito brothers in the late ’80s (the Soo Greyhounds of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) and [seeing] the business side of hockey, the strongest thing going for Vegas getting a team is the [arena]. It takes a lot of pressure off of [prospective owners] Bill Foley and the Maloofs, because they don’t have to spend any of their money to build a facility. They can focus on the business side of things and working with the NHL. Look at what [new arenas] did in Anaheim, L.A. and San Jose. Those teams are incredibly successful, and their fan base will come to Vegas. We have a huge Canadian contingency who’ll support the team. ... For people who live here who haven’t seen a professional game live, once you do at that level, you’ll be blown away.
PHOTO BY ELIZABETH BUEHRING
Mark Shunock
The acts for Mondays Dark change monthly, but how do you keep Rock of Ages (featuring guest star Joey Fatone through April) fresh after 800 shows?