The Road to Somewhere | Vegas Seven Magazine | July 16-22 2015 by Vegas Seven

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 Camille Cannon SENIOR WRITERS Steve Bornfeld, Geoff Carter, Lissa Townsend Rodgers CALENDAR COORDINATOR Ian Caramanzana EDITOR

SENIOR EDITORS

SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Melinda Sheckells (style)

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Michael Green (politics), Al Mancini (dining), David G. Schwartz (gaming/hospitality)

ART

Ryan Olbrysh Cierra Pedro Anthony Mair, Krystal Ramirez

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

GRAPHIC DESIGNER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS

VEGASSEVEN.COM

Nicole Ely Herbert Akinyele ENGAGEMENT EDITOR Zoneil Maharaj SENIOR 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 EXECUTIVES Alyse Britt, Robyn Weiss

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR DIGITAL SALES MANAGER

INTERNS

Will Carter, Kayla Dean, Shannon Kelly, Rachel Kerr, Aric Lairmore, Brent Martelli, Erik Shallenberger

Ryan T. Doherty

| Justin Weniger

Michael Skenandore VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING AND EVENTS Kyle Markman DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS Michael Uriarte CREATIVE DIRECTOR Sherwin Yumul MARKETING MANAGER Maureen Hank PRESIDENT

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, 302 East Carson Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89101 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.

EVENT

THE GOOD FIGHT

UPCOMING EVENTS • July 18

Third annual TopSpin Charity Ping Pong Tournament [TopSpinCharity.com]

• July 24

12th annual Adam & Eve Charity Love Fling [NewVistaNV.org]

PHOTOS BY THOMAS TRAN

July 16–22, 2015

VegasSeven.com

Who says nothing good can come from fighting? On July 11, as part of the UFC International Fight Week festivities tied to UFC 189, more than 950 runners took to the streets to raise money for Three Square food bank in the second annual UFC Ulti-Man 5K run. UFC Hall of Famers Forrest Griffin and Matt Hughes cheered on participants (including UFC president Dana White) as they tackled UFCinspired training moves at three fitness stations and traversed the Fremont Street Experience. Sponsors included MusclePharm, Reebok, Rachel’s Kitchen and Real Water. In all, more than $7,000 was raised for Southern Nevada’s largest food bank.

GETTING THERE

ILLUSTRATION BY RYAN OLBRYSH

July 16â&#x20AC;&#x201C;22, 2015

VegasSeven.com

With Uber set to drive back into town, we ponder the question: Might the ride-sharing goliath start a (much-needed) transportation revolution? B Y N I C O L E E L Y

➜ There are many factors to

consider when determining if ride sharing is a good ft for a city. Is the population base big enough to support it? Is the area mostly suburban, or does it have a bustling urban core? Are there other viable (and reliable) public transportation options? We size up four American cities that have banned Uber and put them to the test.

“we’ve sold the idea to the country and the world that the only way to move is in a car,” Josh Westerhold says. More than two years ago, Westerhold was sitting in a Harvard classroom when his ears perked as he listened to a lecture about Tony Hsieh’s efforts to revitalize a struggling neighborhood. Bitten by Hsieh’s Downtown Project bug, Westerhold soon landed in Las Vegas, eager to fnd his niche among the foodies, techies and entrepreneurs. With a background in business and urban planning, he latched on with Project 100, which would eventually become Shift, a car-sharing startup that planned to offer locals an alternative to owning a car. “Probably the best way to get from Downtown to Henderson is to drive a car,” Westerhold says. “But getting from PublicUs [at Fremont Steet and Maryland Parkway] to El Cortez, it’s silly for you to take a Tesla. How can we right-size that need?” Unlike ride-sharing apps such as Uber, Shift promised to offer a full “package of mobility” where a monthly membership could not only buy you access to rides, but also to cars, bikes, even trollies. Local and national media were quick to laud Shift and Las Vegas for being on the forefront of revolutionizing traditional metropolitan transportation. Hsieh set a record with the largest order of Teslas, which were to make up

Anchorage, Alaska

Panama City Beach, Florida

San Antonio, Texas

Eugene, Oregon

POPULATION DENSITY:

171.2 per square mile.

650 per square mile.

3,300 per square mile.

3,572.4 per square mile.

AVAILABLE MASS TRANSIT:

MASS TRANSIT: Bus system.

A bus system called People Mover.

Buses, trollies and bike rentals.

IS IT A GOOD FIT? No.

IS IT A GOOD FIT? Yes.

Buses, car sharing and a circular trolley that serves the downtown area.

Anchorage does attract tourists, but the city’s sprawling population puts more emphasis on car ownership, and the demand for ride sharing is not as high.

While there might not be as many people living in Panama City Beach, their tourism industry is sizeable. So in addition to serving residents, ride sharing could offer affordable options for visitors.

IS IT A GOOD FIT? Yes.

In addition to a dense population base and limited transit options, San Antonio is one of the nation’s top 20 convention destinations, giving the city all the ingredients that would make ride sharing popular.

While Eugene does have the highest population density of these four cities, it’s a quintessential college town (home to the University of Oregon) with little tourist traffic to drive enough demand. –NE

VegasSeven.com

To Uber or Not to Uber?

Las Vegas, of course, is not San Francisco, New York, Chicago or Boston. Nor is it Bismarck, North Dakota, or Omaha, Nebraska. Rather, Las Vegas is the unique blend of big city meets small town—a place with about 5 million fewer residents than the Bay Area, but one that serves more than twice the amount of yearly tourists as San Francisco. Which explains why our cabbies rake in more than 2 million trips per month, with the majority of those fares going to and from the Strip and McCarran International Airport. During its brief run here in October, Uber chose to focus on underserved neighborhoods that are tucked away from mass transit, rather than compete with taxis on the Strip or at the airport. That strategy may or may not change when Uber and other ridesharing services—having fnally been given the green light by state lawmakers during the most recent Legislative session—resume service around Labor

SOLVING THE COMMUTE

part of the startup’s feet. News spread that Shift was going to offer Smart cars, and a trolley with their logo emblazoned on its side stood watch on a corner at First Friday, reminding festivalgoers that more was to come. While Uber and Lyft were both bred in the densely populated Bay Area, Shift was unique in that it approached alternative transportation from a sprawling suburban perspective. Services such as Lyft or Zipcar have been aimed at people in New York City or Boston or San Francisco who can and want to live a car-free lifestyle, rather than those who live in car-dependent cultures. Says Westerhold: “We were building for the Denvers and the Birminghams and the Atlantas and the Houstons of the world.” At least that was the idea … until Shift shut down earlier this year after ditching plans to expand to other cities. Founder Zach Ware went on to become a venture capitalist, while Westerhold departed the Downtown Project and is now looking for a job that would allow him to continue pursuing his goal of changing the way people move in cities. With a $10 million price tag, Shift was one of Hsieh’s biggest investments in Las Vegas. And one of his biggest missed opportunities. In retrospect, Shift took a wrong turn when it targeted a hard-to-fnd passenger: one who lives and works Downtown, and only needs a car for groceries or a trip to the airport. What Westerhold’s team failed to account for were some very entrenched behaviors supported by strong demographic statistics, such as this one: Las Vegans older than 25 spend an average of 24.6 minutes commuting to work, according to City-Data.com. With a plethora of free parking and scarce public transportation options, most of us prefer to own cars instead of braving triple-digit heat at a faraway bus stop.

PANAMA CITY BEACH BY ROB HAINER; EUGENE BY JOSHUA RAINEY

From San Francisco to Las Vegas to Berlin, the taxicab industry has protested the rise of Uber, and with good reason. In the fve years since its initial launch in San Francisco, the ride-sharing startup has grown to be one of the highest valued private companies in the world, and its sights are set on global domination. But before the frst Uber driver pulled out of his driveway, its founders had just one goal: solve the taxi problem in San Francisco, where hailing a cab is about as pleasant an experience as being on hold with your cable company. As Uber grew, so did its impact on metropolitan transit. In September, the San Francisco Examiner reported that the city’s average per-month cab trips plummeted by 65 percent in two years. That was followed by a report in The New York Times that the sales of taxi medallions—the system used to limit the number of operating cabs—showed declines of about 20 percent in New York, Chicago and Boston. All fngers swiftly pointed to Uber.

Day. But as the relaunch nears, two obvious questions continue to hang in our searing desert air: When it comes to Las Vegas, whom should Uber serve? More importantly, how might Uber and similar ride-sharing companies change the future of transportation in our Valley?

July 16–22, 2015

One half of my brain is in full panic mode. The other half is frantically sifting through various backup plans. Thirty minutes from now, I’m supposed to be turning of all my electronic devices, with my seat back and tray table in their full upright and locked positions. But right now, I’m in the lobby of my apartment, listening as the dispatcher apologetically taunts me. His estimated arrival time is 10 minutes. That was two hours ago. Ah, anxiously waiting for the cab that will never come—it’s become something of a Las Vegas tradition, one that ranks up there with scorching summers and bottle service, only it’s more intolerable. So it’s no surprise that those most excited for Uber’s return to the Valley are the residents who are tired of being stood up by local taxi companies. It’s also no surprise that those who view Uber as the devil reincarnated are said taxi companies.

Essentially, Shift was building for a city that didn’t yet exist. And while many were initially excited about the concept, in the end most said, “This is why it won’t work for me.” But Uber could change that.

THE LAST MILE it’s a brisk, sunny day in san francisco, perfect for Fleet Week and the Blue Angels and barbecues and lots of drinking. A bus takes me south on the Golden Gate Bridge until I hit the Presidio, a somewhat secluded Army post-turnedresidential neighborhood nestled in a forest of pine, cypress and eucalyptus. Once I’m off the bus, I pull up apps for Uber, Lyft and Sidecar to compare rates for the fve-minute drive down to Cris-

tem, one that will work in tandem with and improve our mass transit. “You can’t build your way out of congestion,” Quigley says. “Our roadway infrastructure can only accommodate a certain number of vehicles rationally. … Even taxicab [drivers] will tell you that they cannot effciently handle the number of people that we need to accommodate as we continue to grow.” For some time, there has been talk of the RTC constructing light rail or offering rapid bus transit along the Maryland Parkway corridor, from Downtown all the way to the airport. Such talk has mostly been met with a mixture of opposition and skepticism, but thanks to the excitement swirling in Uber’s wake, Quigley is noticing a shift in public opinion. “It’s time to take off the blinders about ‘What’s in it for me?’ and start talking about how to keep Southern Nevada

July 16–22, 2015

VegasSeven.com

“It’s time to take off the blinders about ‘What’s in it for me?’ and start talking about how to keep Southern Nevada as the premiere destination for travel and tourism.”

sy Field, a route barely touched by the fngers of municipal transit and a destination too crowded to fnd parking. Within minutes, a Sidecar driver appears at the corner where I’m standing. It makes sense that San Francisco is the epicenter of ride-sharing apps. The city boasts a density of 6,266 people per square mile, and public transportation comes in the form of trains, buses, subways and ferries. Here, ride sharing becomes complementary to the existing transportation, just another way to complete the trip from Point A to Point B. “We’re seeing ride sharing as a solution to our last-mile problem,” says Alicia Trost, communications department manager for Bay Area Rapid Transit, the popular rail system that has been serving Bay Area residents since 1972. Translation: People might prefer to take public transportation, but opt to hop in their cars because the distance between their house and the nearest station isn’t walkable and/or the station offers limited park-and-ride spots. Uber and the like now fll that gap, easing congestion by taking more drivers off the roads. In Las Vegas, where rapid transit can’t keep pace with the city’s rapid growth, the last mile is even more of an issue. Tina Quigley, general manager for the Regional Transportation Commission, sees ride sharing as a step toward a more convenient sys-

as the premiere destination for travel and tourism,” Quigley says. “With that comes a very hardy conversation about mass transit.”

ON TO THE FUTURE thirty minutes from now, i’ll be scrolling through Vice.com as I wait to board my fight. But right now, I’m listening to M83’s “Midnight City,” luggage snug in hand, zipping down Maryland Parkway via light rail. I pull up Uber to rate the driver who took me to the transit station (fve stars, because he had a bowl of candy on his middle console). Las Vegas is now on par with other international destinations when it comes to mass transit. A vast system of trams and rail snakes through and under the Valley like a series of rivers. Zipcars and Lyfts and, yes, even taxis buzz to every corner. The average wait for a pickup is only 10 minutes, easy for desert rats even in the dead of summer. Traffc congestion is down. Tourism is up. More people have more money in their pockets, now that they’ve ditched their car payment. All thanks to Governor Brian Sandoval’s signature on a bill making ride sharing legal. Hey, I can dream, can’t I?

RIDE ALONG

A true-and-false test about the Uber experience

I need a smartphone to use Uber.

I have no idea who will pick me up.

True. In order to summon a driver, you must launch the Uber app on your iPhone or Android.

False. While you might not personally know your driver, once the app confirms your pickup, his or her name, license plate, phone number and rating will appear on your phone.

I have no idea how much my ride will cost. False. Once you establish your pickup location, a fare approximation will appear on your phone. However, weather and traffic can affect the final fare.

I need cash to pay the driver. False. The experience is meant to be cashless, so the fare is processed electronically on your smartphone.

I need cash to tip the driver. False. Gratuity is included in the fare.

Uber drivers don’t go through background checks. False, sort of. Uber does subject its drivers to background checks, but many critics argue that they’re not as thorough as those conducted by taxi companies. When confronted with legislation both nationally and internationally that would require more stringent background checks, Uber has fought aggressively against the measures.

Uber will pick me up at the airport or at my hotel on the Strip. False, but could become true. When Uber launched in October, drivers were not allowed to pick up at the airport or on the Strip. However, company officials are currently in talks with casino owners and McCarran officials about access.

Uber can be less expensive than a taxi. True. Since Uber is not subjected to the same regulations as taxi companies, it can adjust its rates based on demand. It has been known to drop rates below that of competitors.

My driver and I are covered by auto insurance provided by Uber. True. Uber has commercial liability insurance that will cover a passenger during a ride, but Uber does not cover drivers while the app is running and they search for passengers. Several companies are now offering products to cover that gap, and recently passed laws that set insurance standards for drivers.

I should quit my job and become a full-time Uber driver. False. Many are romanced by the idea of making your own hours, but you should think twice before giving up your day job. One Philadelphia journalist went undercover as an Uber driver in May, and found that, after subtracting expenses (gas, insurance, etc.) and the 28 percent that Uber takes, she ended up earning $9.34 an hour—well under the average taxi driver wage of $30,000 a year. –NE

NIGHTLIFE

GTA performs at XS in 2013.

mejia: It’s called Death to Genres 2. The last EP we put out, [Death to Genres], came out a few months ago. That one was more electronic dance music, overall. But [the new EP] is real chill, the kind of stuff that’s accessible to everyone. For the past few months, we’ve been working with a bunch of different songwriters and producers. It’s a whole other vibe from the frst one.

July 16–22, 2015

VegasSeven.com

What is it that inspires you guys, especially for this EP?

toth: One of our inspirations has always been Pharrell and N.E.R.D. We’ve been listening to a lot of stuff from the early 2000s. We listen to the radio a lot, and it really inspired us, seeing what works for them and trying to incorporate that into what we’re doing. We’ve also been trying to expand a little on it, and trying to put more vocals into our songs. With which vocalists are you’re working?

mejia: We’ve been working mostly with songwriters, and we’ve been working with a girl from the San Fer-

“We don’t want to overdo it ... A lot of people do fulllength albums and many of the songs end up getting [ignored] and swept under the rug.” – MATT TOTH nando Valley, Sam Bruno. The last EP, we had Sam on that one. We’ve also been working with rapper Stoppa. Through them, we’ve been learning how to write more radio-accessible music, but put our touch on it. Do you rely on the vocalists for the lyrical aspect? Or do you like to do it yourselves?

mejia: Matt and I are producers, frst and foremost. toth: We’re terrible at writing. Was completing this work a major goal of yours?

toth: A lot of the goals we’ve had in the past, we’ve hit, as far as major festivals and stuff like that. Now we’re trying to put out a body of work, like

an EP, that has a lot more thought and work put into it than just music. There are going to be some surprises there. Can you explain that?

mejia: We’re trying to come up with a story for the EP. Throughout the entire EP, there’s going to be a story that’s being told. We’re still in the process of writing it, but it’s all going to be in a certain order that tells that story. You also have a “remix EP” for Death to Genres coming out soon. What does that mean?

toth: We had a bunch of our friends remix all the songs from our frst EP, and we’re looking to put that out in a few weeks. We have people like Crook-

ers, Falcons, Kill the Noise … They all did remixes, and it’s kind of all over the place. Do you decide who does which remix, or do you leave that up to the record label?

toth: The label has some suggestions. [But] we ask these guys personally to do it. So you’ve got the EP thing down; do you ever plan to create a full-length album?

toth: From the looks of this one, I think it’s getting close to that. This album has 12 tracks, 10 tracks, something like that. We have like 20 songs that are pretty much done. And probably 50 [unfnished] ideas that are still there, so it could defnitely be done. We don’t want to overdo it, because we realized that a lot of people do fulllength albums and many of the songs end up getting [ignored] and swept under the rug. How do you get in the zone to make music in the studio?

toth: We like incense. Nag Champa. That’s it? You just light incense?

mejia: We also [play] Mario Kart.

PHOTO BY DANNY MAHONEY

Tell me about your new EP coming up in the fall.

F R I

JUL

CA LVI N SAT

JUL

H A R R I S

N E RVO SUN

JUL

A B OVE T U E

JUL

B E YO N D

K R E WE L L A

A B O V E

JULY TICKETS

VIP

R E S E R VAT I O N S

B E Y O N D 19

OMNIANIGHTCLUB.COM

702.785.6200

NIGHTLIFE

PARTIES

TAO BEACH The Venetian [ UPCOMING ]

See more photos from this gallery at SPYONvegas.com

PHOTOS BY AMIT DADL ANEY

July 16–22, 2015

VegasSeven.com

July 17 Javier Alba spins July 18 Eric D-Lux spins July 19 DJ C.L.A. spins

NIGHTLIFE

PARTIES

FOXTAIL SLS

[ UPCOMING ]

See more photos from this gallery at SPYONvegas.com

PHOTOS BY AMIT DADL ANEY

July 16–22, 2015

VegasSeven.com

July 18 Gareth Emery spins July 24 Stafford Brothers spin July 25 Rebecca & Fiona spin

Bring It to the Table

Preparing Sonoma Berries at Sonoma Cellar in Sunset Station.

Rounding up the city's spectacular tableside preparations By Al Mancini

GUACAMOLE

Guacamole may be the most popular tableside preparation available today. At Hecho en Vegas, your waiter scoops out the avocados and mixes in salt, fresh squeezed lime juice, cilantro, onion, tomatoes and both serrano and jalapeño peppers

If you and your entourage just can't get enough foie gras, check out the massive tableside presentation at Michael Mina: The chef starts in the kitchen with a grade "A" lobe of Hudson Valley foie that weighs approximately 1¾ pounds. He seasons it with salt and then sears, bastes and roasts it until medium rare, at which point it's carted to your table where it's presented, carved and served with seasonal accompaniments. For an idea on just what a beast this dish is without shelling out the $210 price tag, check out Mina Group's video: vimeo. com/54508745. Michael Mina in Bellagio, 702-693-8199, Bellagio.com. STEAK TARTAR

Each of the four tartars at Bazaar Meat (traditional, beef with oysters, salmon and beefsteak tomato) is hand-cut to order. But for the full tableside experience, you need to order the traditional. That mixture of beef, mustard, egg yolk, HP Sauce and anchovy gets the full cart treatment. And if you want to watch any of the others prepared, you'll need to sit at the tartar/carpaccio bar. $24, Bazaar Meat in SLS, 855-7617757, SLSLasVegas.com. SEA SALT-CRUSTED MILOKOPI

One of the great joys of dining at Milos is that you can pick your own whole fsh from their in-house market, most of

SONOMA BERRIES

which has been fown in that day, fresh from the Mediterranean, and enjoy it in any of a number of delicious preparations. But the crown jewel of this program is the milokopi encrusted in sea salt to keep it moist as it cooks. The fsh arrives at your table entirely entombed in thick salt, which the server removes before de-boning the fsh and serving it to you and your party. Functional and fancy. $57 per pound, Estiatorio Milos in the Cosmopolitan, 702-698-7930, CosmopolitanLasVegas.com.

A seasonal spin on the classic tableside dish, Cherries Jubilee, Sonoma's chef substitutes seasonal fresh berries. On a recent visit, these included raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and strawberries. They're placed into a cart-top pan of butter and brown sugar. Chambord and Grand Marnier liqueurs are added one at a time, each producing a spectacular fame that lights up the dining room. As a fnal touch, sprinkled cinnamon sparks and crackles. Finally, the entire mixture is served atop vanilla ice cream. $12, Sonoma Cellar in Sunset Station, 702547-7777, SunsetStaton.sclv.com.

CREPES SUZETTE

While it isn't on the menu, Alizé offers this traditional French dessert on request, although you have a better chance if you ask for it when you make your reservation. The actual crepes are made in the kitchen. At your table, the server will melt butter and sugar almost to the point of caramelization before adding orange juice. As it reduces, the crepes are rolled through the sweet mixture and then folded into quarters. Finally, orange zest and Grand Marnier are added, producing a fame. The fnal sauce is poured on the crepes, which are then topped with vanilla ice cream. $20, Alizé in the Palms, 702-951-7000, AlizeLV.com.

VegasSeven.com

PHOTOS BY ELIZABETH BUEHRING

Since it was Caesar salad that got me started on my quest, I decided to return to the Downtown classic, Hugo's Cellar in the Four Queens, which was the last place I'd encountered tableside Caesar in this town. Unfortunately, a few years ago, the Southern Nevada Health District barred restaurants from cracking a raw egg at the table in the traditional fashion. Instead, they now prepare the Caesar dressing in the kitchen with a coddled egg. But the salad cart remains, arriving at your table packed with romaine lettuce, 10 accompaniments and three dressings, which your waiter still mixes to order right in front of you. $19, Hugo's Cellar in Four Queens, 702-385-4011, HugosCellar.com.

FOIE GRAS

SALAD

at the table. He then mashes it all into a beautiful, thick guac. Amazingly, the entire process takes less than 90 seconds. So don't blink, or you'll miss all the fun. $10 per person, Hecho en Vegas in MGM Grand, 702891-3200, MGMGrand.com.

July 16–22, 2015

DURING A RECENT VACATION, WHILE

dining at a gorgeous high-end restaurant, the people at the table next to me ordered Caesar salad, which their waiter proceeded to prepare for them on a cart at their table. I realized at the time that it had been a while since I'd had a salad, or anything else, prepared tableside. There was a time, of course, when such preparations were the very defnition of elegance. But their popularity has faded over the decades. Undeterred, however, I set out to fnd some remaining vestiges of this old-school dining tradition. And I was pleasantly surprised by how many I was able to locate. Here are just a few of the dishes you can watch a server prepare at cart next to your table around the Valley.

A&E

CONCERT

ALBUMS WE'RE BUYING 1 Between the Buried and Me, Coma Ecliptic

2 Cradle of Filth, Hammer of the Witches

3 Meek Mill, Dreams Worth More Than Money

4 A$AP Rocky, At.Long. Last.A$AP

5 Breaking Benjamin, Dark Before Dawn

6 Yes, Like It Is: Yes Live at Mesa Art Center

Dropkick Murphys Turned Fremont Street into a Giant Pub Sing-Along The Fremont Street Experience, July 10 The opening accordion bagpipes heard on “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” is one of the most popular punk rock intros in the past 10 years. When New England’s Dropkick Murphys played the song in front of hundreds of Irish fans in town this weekend in support of Dublin-born MMA fighter Conor McGregor for UFC 189, the explosion of energy could’ve been heard in Henderson. Vocalist Ken Casey led the band on “Tessie,” which played like an old-fashioned

7 The Rolling Stones, Sticky Fingers

pub sing-along as the sea of green T-shirts raised glasses to the sky. The melodic tin whistles and mandolin solos of Tim Brennan and Jeff DaRosa on “The State of Massachusetts” complemented the crashing of drums and guitar riffs that normally dominates the band’s sound. Dropkick Murphys put on an incredible performance that made you wish you were Irish … at least for that night. ★★★★✩ – Brjden Crewe

8 Slightly Stoopid, Meanwhile … Back at the Lab

9 August Burns Red, Found in Far Away Places

[ ALBUM REVIEW ]

Meade Ave., From the Ashes (self-produced) From the Ashes is quite the ambitious debut from local quartet Meade Ave. The concept album provides 13 cuts of adrenaline-soaked mayhem chronicling the hard-rock/metal outfit’s history, from inception to today. The chugging riffs and big hooks of “In the Beginning …” and lead single, “Born Again,” pay homage to the band’s influences, such as Godsmack and Disturbed. “Born

10 J. Cole, 2014 Forest Hills Drive

Again” nicely captures the band’s knack for writing sweet licks. I’m particularly fond of the slower “Threads of Fate,” which has a driving guitar riff reminiscent of Megadeth’s “Symphony of Destruction,” with the exception of vocals. That being said, I enjoy singer Jeff Bowling’s abrasive growl, which is sprinkled throughout, much more than his clean singing. Nonetheless, this

According to sales at Zia Record Exchange at 4503 W. Sahara Ave., July 6-12.

HOLDING ONTO WHAT’S GOLDEN Jurassic 5 broke up in 2007, reunited for Coachella in 2013 and dropped “The Way We Do It” in 2014. But when the group plays Brooklyn Bowl on July 16 ($35-$85), you can expect lots of classic tracks such as “Concrete Schoolyard.”

YOUNG KING COLE Three consecutive No. 1 albums? Check. An ambitious world tour? Check. This is J. Cole’s canvas, and he’s painting it exactly how he wants it. J. Cole’s Forest Hills Drive tour arrives at Axis on July 18 ($41-$200) with special guests Big Sean, YG and Jeremih.

ON SALE NOW Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers combine their special blend of indie rock, alt-country and roots music with good humor and a party atmosphere— about what you’d expect from a band with its own brand of tequila! The group plays House of Blues on Sept. 5 ($29).

DROPKICK MURPHYS BY GLENN BROGAN

July 16–22, 2015

VegasSeven.com

is a promising debut album for a group of local shredders. ★★★✩✩ – Ian Caramanzana

MUSIC Las Vegas’ Hassan plays the Bunkhouse on July 17.

[ SOUND PROOF ]

YOU KNOW OUR STEEZ Beauty Bar celebrates Gang Starr, Hassan attacks Bunkhouse and J. Cole takes us home By Zoneil Maharaj BEAUTY BAR COMES WITH A FULL CLIP JULY

17. Legends Never Die, a promotions company that also hosted tributes to J. Dilla and Big L, celebrates the life and legacy of hip-hop pioneer Guru, the rapping half of Gang Starr. The East Coast icon whose name doubled as an acronym for Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal died from cancer in 2010 at the age of 48. Though the rap game has changed considerably since Guru’s peak years in the ’90s, he’s still regarded as one of the best lyricists to ever do it. With a distinct voice and monotone delivery, he kicked socially aware rhymes and imparted wisdom on songs such as the Dizzy Gillespie-sampling “Manifest,” staying-true anthem “Mass Appeal” and the cautionary “Discipline.” He also masterminded a four-part jazz-rap series, Jazzmatazz, which featured everyone from Donald Byrd and Roy Ayers to Herbie Hancock and Jamiroquai. To do him justice at You Know My Steez—A Gang Starr Tribute & Guru Born Day Celebration, DJs will spin the duo’s classics with groovy, progressive instrumental band Brother Mister re-creating DJ Premier’s beats. Live artists will also pay homage. Although there won’t be birthday cake, they’ll be giving out copies of DJ Dielekt’s Guru mix. If you’re Downtown, you’ve got a couple more options that night. Las Vegas’ own Hassan celebrates the release of his new EP, Da Fat Mamba, at the Bunkhouse. The hulking emcee is agile on the mic, spitting sharp-witted and hilarious rhymes as displayed on last year’s Fat, Black and

Awesome. Joining him at the venue are Northtown’s Trade Voorhees, local punk outft Alex & His Meal Ticket and Austin blues-rock band The Sideshow Tragedy. Also on July 17, Madchild of underground Canadian crew Swollen Members rocks LVCS (with too many openers to name). Long before Drake, the raspy emcee helped put America Jr. on the rap map with 1999’s Balance. He hit a dark period and battled addiction later on, but he returned in 2012 with Dope Sick, sober but still as vicious as ever. If you wanna swim up to the mainstream, you can catch J. Cole’s Forest Hills Drive Tour July 18 at the Axis at Planet Hollywood with Big Sean, YG and Jeremih. That’s basically half of the people you hear all day on the radio. While I’m not a huge fan of Big Sean, I love YG’s ratchet ignorance. And J. Cole’s one of the more thoughtful voices on the airwaves. He’s not without his faws—Born Sinner was about as exciting as watching fies eat turds. Thankfully, he fnally found his footing on last year’s 2014 Forest Hills Drive, shining on introspective and humble cuts such as “Apparently” and “Love Yourz.” Even if you don’t wanna go to the concert, your girlfriend will probably drag you there. Last and certainly least: Former White Girl Mob member Lil Debbie hits Beauty Bar on July 25. Just look up her music videos—her ass cheeks will say more (or less) than I ever could. Got new music or upcoming shows? Holler at Zoneil.Maharaj@ wendohmedia.com or @zoneil on Twitter.

A&E

MOVIES

TEEN SCREAM A high school play gets deadly in this found-footage fick By Michael Phillips Tribune Media Services

AT THE END OF THE LAST CENTURY, THE BLAIR

Witch Project popularized the notion of idiots in horror movies flming every second of their own imminent demise. A deliberately unpolished subgenre was born: found-footage horror, cheap to make (with some higher-budget exceptions, Cloverfeld among them), proftable in a fash. The latest of these is The Gallows, shot for a buck-eighty-three in Fresno, California, by the writers-directors Chris Lofng and Travis Cluff. Picked up by Paranormal Activity and Insidious producer Jason Blum and distributed by Warner Brothers, this minimally clever addition to the existing pile of scares, fright and videotape doesn’t seem likely to become a Paranormal Activity-type phenomenon. Then again, neither did Paranormal Activity. Lofng and Cluff have a couple of sound ideas in their favor. The Gallows is set mainly inside a Nebraska high school, in and around a cavernous auditorium after hours, in the dark. There’s something innately scary about the locale—the hopes and dreams of the stage colliding with the supernatural. The story concerns a fatally

Cassidy Gifford re-creates the horror of high school theater.

ill-advised revival of a play. Anyone who has endured an especially bad stage revival or two over the years may go into The Gallows screaming, as I did. Eighty minutes later I came out shrugging, but time and the opening weekend will tell how the target audience responds. The movie begins as most foundfootage horror movies begin: with found footage that has become forensic evidence. It’s 1993, in nondescript Beatrice, Nebraska. We’re watching camcorder tape of opening night of a play called The Gallows, which appears to be a gory variation on the theesand-thous realm of The Crucible. The stage is dominated by a scaffold and a noose. “They did a great job on the gallows!” a voice behind the camera says. One prop malfunction later there’s a dead young actor, a lot of screaming, and a jump cut to 2013. Despite

sensible school board objections the drama department has decided to remount the play, this time with a star football player in the role of the boy to be hanged. Reese Mishler plays the fedgling actor, also named Reese; his co-star, a devoted drama student, is played by Pfeifer Brown. Belligerent, unsympathetic jock Ryan (Ryan Shoos) hatches a plan to break into the school at night and, with the help of Reese and Cassidy (Cassidy Erin Gifford, daughter of Kathie Lee and Frank Gifford), trash the set. The spectre with the noose has other plans. Sample dialogue: “What the hell is going on?” Sample dialogue in your head: “And why the hell is the one with the camera still flming?” Such is the hurdle you must get over with every found-footage horror movie. Lofng and Cluff certainly know the found-footage ropes, and the tropes;

SHORT REVIEWS

July 16–22, 2015

VegasSeven.com

Minions (PG) ★★★✩✩

The yellow characters introduced in Despicable Me as the subordinates to the villainous Gru take center stage. The film gets bogged down when the group decides they need to find an evil boss to lead them. Kevin, Bob and Stuart (all voiced by Pierre Coffin) set out to find that leader. Their quest takes them to London in 1968. They end up in Europe because they believe their new boss should be the wicked Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock). She’s become the world’s leading supervillain with some help from her mod husband, Herb Overkill (Jon Hamm).

Self/less (PG-13) ★★✩✩✩

In the fantasy-thriller Self/less the fantastical plot device is a body-switching process called “shedding.” You buy a new, longer life in a younger person’s body. Ben Kingsley plays Damian Hale, a Manhattan tycoon who beats cancer by hooking up with a biogenic company run by Matthew Goode. Early on Hale gets zwooped into the body of a new human vessel (Ryan Reynolds). When Kingsley’s character turns into Reynolds, his memories are no longer strictly his own. The new Hale experiences flashes of another life, a different past.

Magic Mike XXL (R) ★★★✩✩

Magic Mike XXL comes up a little short next to the original. This time the jokes are heavier, though a surprising percentage of them work anyway. It’s an amiably ramshackle road-trip movie, with the guys reuniting for a male stripper convention in South Carolina. Alums include BDR (Joe Manganiello); aspiring actor Ken (Matt Bomer); Tarzan (Kevin Nash); Tito (Adam Rodriguez); and Tobias, the emcee (Gabriel Iglesias). The trip includes stops in Florida, for a drag routine at a gay bar, and Georgia, where an old flame (Jada Pinkett Smith) now runs a strip club.

we’ll see if their next project reveals a little more imagination. Each time we’re in the presence of the demonghost (there’s one in every high school drama department), The Gallows cranks up the predictable metallic KLAAchonnnggg sound effects, to the point that you wonder: Is this the frst flm to be directed by the Law & Order gavel? The cast is tiny, so that when you realize Lofng and Cluff are playing a game of And Then There Were None, it’s a pretty short game indeed. Brown fares best among a blandly characterized lot. Stupidly, The Gallows was given an R rating by the MPAA ratings board, though the activity is relatively bloodless. This, I suppose, is the MPAA’s way of making up for all the PG-13 blockbusters laden with violence deserving of an R. The Gallows (R) ★★★✩✩

By Tribune Media Services

Terminator Genisys (PG-13) ★★✩✩✩

Sgt. Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) tells of the nuclear devastation and the rise of the machines in voiceover, focusing on the three billion killed off on Judgment Day 2017. The narrative starting point is 2029, with the human resistance being led by Reese and his mentor, John Connor (Jason Clarke). Thanks to time travel, we’re soon back in ’84, and then in 2017, on Judgment Day eve. Sarah Connor, the tank-topped Mother Courage of the revolution, is portrayed by Emilia Clarke of Game of Thrones.

MARKETPLACE

$9.95 Month to Month Join the NEW Name in Fitness! 5 Las Vegas Locations: Las Vegas Northwest/ Las Vegas South/ Las Vegas Centennial/ Las Vegas Aliante/ Las Vegas Southeast

702-529-2139

MARKETPLACE

SEVEN QUESTIONS

JERSEY BOYS

In Paris Las Vegas, Tue-Sun, $53-$185, JerseyBoysVegas.com.

ment— hearing myself sound the same way and saying lines and just not connecting. This is where yoga comes in. Bikram yoga is 26 postures in a series. You’re teaching the same thing with similar dialogue every day and a lot of time to the same students. To be really in it and connect with the students— with the characters—is a whole different ballgame. They both help each other. The yoga helps me in the show, and the show helps me in the yoga. It helps concentration, determination, focus, self-control and patience. Left to my own devices, I’d get up in the morning and go, “Screw this. This hurts; that hurts. I have two torn rotator cuffs, I have a double hip replacement. I’m like lawn furniture left out in the rain, for Chrissake.” But the only time I’m not really in that pain is when I go through the pain [of yoga] to kill the pain. I don’t feel right unless I do it. How did you get involved in yoga?

The longtime Jersey Boys performer on alter-ego Bob Crewe, how yoga changed his life and an onstage slip of the tongue By Paul Szydelko

July 16–22, 2015

VegasSeven.com

You’ve played the role of producer Bob Crewe in Jersey Boys since it opened in Las Vegas seven years ago. What about that character appeals to you?

I love his creativity and that he’s so multifaceted. He was such a genius. Not only was he a writer, but he had an incredible ear for sound and sound production and managing and [how he would know what would be a hit]. And he was also very spiritual and astrological—he made a lot of decisions based on where the moon and sun were. I also believe in that. He had an incredible ability to match everybody and bring them all together—all four guys [in the Four Seasons] had different ideas, and he was able to morph them and make them work together.

Crewe was gay but usually discreet about his sexuality. Your portrayal is more flamboyant. How much leeway do you have?

Some of it’s my choice. They do watch how far it goes. As an actor, it’s very easy to go over the top. A lot of those lines can be interpreted to be snarky. And they’re not. He was very elegant and was a gentleman. I have some license, but I know they don’t want me to go too far, and nor do I. The director comes in and says, “You have to think of this as a play with music. This is not a musical comedy, so you have to be very careful of going over that line. Last year’s Clint Eastwood-directed movie didn’t have the critical or commercial success the stage play has had. Any

opinion as to why?

The show is so well directed that it’s more like a movie than the movie was like a movie. The transitions are so seamless onstage that the lights never really go down—it’s always going, it’s always moving. The movie didn’t do that, and the movie didn’t capture the sound of the music. [In the play] the story is the star; the music becomes almost secondary. People go not expecting to hear a story. The sound of the music and impact of the music in the movie were lost; they didn’t use the technology that they could have— somehow it was very fat. Seven years in, how do you keep it fresh night after night?

My biggest fear is not being in the mo-

When did you go all in and become a certified instructor?

I was auditioning for the ensemble of the original company of The Producers, and it got whittled down to where I was at the very end of it and put all of my eggs into it—I wanted it so bad. And it didn’t happen by a hair, and I remember being so completely devastated. I thought, “This is not right: I should not be this upset about this one thing to where it’s really destroying me. There has to be something else.” That’s when I decided to go [through] the training— let me look somewhere else now for a little bit. Not that I was dropping show business at all, but I thought, “There’s gotta be more.” What has been your worst gaffe onstage?

Sometimes your tongue gets tied. Last night another character asked, “When?” And my line was, ”When Mercury’s in Taurus.” I tripped up and said, “When Mercury’s in ki-taurus.” And some of the guys backstage thought I said, “clitoris”!

PHOTO BY KRYSTAL RAMIREZ

John Salvatore

I started it 15 years ago in New York. I was on the StairMaster in the gym, and a girl (a dancer in the business) said, “You should try this yoga. I know you love to sweat.” I went, and the room is heated up to 105 degrees and at 40 percent humidity. She was right; I got hooked right away. I felt like I was on another planet. I was blown away by it on so many levels. Through the body my mind calmed down. I have been sober for 22 years now and in the mind sometimes of [those] afficted, there’s a lot of chatter. So yoga calmed that chatter down a little bit. I went, “Oh, this is it. I get this now.”