The Headlinerz Are Here

FREE April 27–May 3, 2017 « A SLICE OF NAPLES AT HEARTHSTONE / ERICH BERGEN RETURNS TO THE SMITH CENTER »

THE HEADLINERZ ARE HERE GORILLAZ, MUSE, CHANCE THE RAPPER: A PEEK AT LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL 2017’S MUSIC LINEUP—AND MUCH MORE

DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS • SEPTEMBER 22-24, 2017

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SAT, JUN 10

THU, OCT 5

FRI, MAY 26 ....................... PILOT HOLDINGS PRESENTS WU BAI AND CHINA BLUE FRI, JUN 23 ........................VANS WARPED TOUR PRESENTED BY JOURNEYS

FRI – SUN ............................PSYCHO LAS VEGAS 2017 FEATURING AUG 18 – 20 KING DIAMOND, THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE, ACE FREHLEY, GOJIRA, SWANS, NEUROSIS, MAGMA, SLEEP, MELVINS, CARCASS + OVER 70 MORE

FRI, JUL 14 ..........................PRINCE ROYCE – FIVE TOUR W/ LUIS CORONEL

SAT, AUG 26.......................YESTIVAL: YES, TODD RUNDGREN & CARL PALMER’S ELP LEGACY

SAT, JUL 22.........................THIRD EYE BLIND: SUMMER GODS TOUR

SUN, AUG 27.....................THE AUSTRALIAN PINK FLOYD SHOW

THU, JUN 15.......................BASSRUSH MASSIVE

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS SILVERSUN PICKUPS, OCEAN PARK STANDOFF

FRI, AUG 4..........................SLAYER

THE BEST SIDE OF THE MOON 2017

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS LAMB OF GOD AND BEHEMOTH

FRI, SEP 15 ..........................FRANCO ESCAMILLA

WED, AUG 9...................... PRIMUS WITH SPECIAL GUEST CLUTCH

SUN, OCT 1 ........................APOCALYPTICA

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ON THE COVER

CAMERON CALLOWAY

FRI MAY 19

THE GROWLERS CITY CLUB SPRING TOUR 2017

FRI & SAT, MAY 5 - 6

MY NEIGHBORHOOD EP RELEASE SHOW W/ THE LIQUE, BRITTANY ROSE, KIARA BROWN MIX 94.1 PRESENTS

THU MAY 25

P O O L S I D E AT T H E J B L S O U N D S TA G E

FRI MAY 26

IAN BAGG

FRI MAY 26

P O O L S I D E AT T H E J B L S O U N D S TA G E

LUKAS GRAHAM

HIGHLY SUSPECT

THU JUN 1 FRI JUN 2

THE YARDBIRDS THE PROTOMEN W/ 3D6, TIME CRASHERS

COREY FELDMAN

FRI JUN 9

& THE ANGELS

SUBURBAN LEGENDS & PILFERS

THU JUN 15

T PRESENTS

THU, MAY 11

THU JUN 22

PHORA YOURS TRULY 2017 TOUR

FRI JUL 14

SHOOTER JENNINGS

W/ BE LIKE MAX & THE SOCIAL SET

DAMIEN ESCOBAR

THE HEART & SOUL TOUR

LESS THAN JAKE POOLSIDE AT THE JBL SOUNDSTAGE

FRI JUL 21

KONGOS

THU JUL 27

TAKING BACK SUNDAY

FRI AUG 4

TURNPIKE TROUBADOURS

POOLSIDE AT THE JBL SOUNDSTAGE

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL 2017 THE LINEUP ANNOUNCEMENT ISSUE Downtown’s premier music and arts festival will host Gorillaz, Mark Ryden, Bill Nye and many more.

W/ EVERY TIME I DIE, MODERN CHEMISTRY P O O L S I D E AT T H E J B L S O U N D S TA G E

W/ MOTHER MOTHER

FRI, MAY 19

Read Vegas Seven right side up and then flip it over and start again with Seven Nights, featuring after-dark entertainment and the week’s nightlife happenings.

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FRI-SUN

RAIDING THE ROCK VAULT PERFORMANCES SAT - WED

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SEVEN NIGHTS Lorde and six other artists’ album releases bring a different kind of buzz to Life Is Beautiful Music & Arts Festival.

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Photography BRENDAN WALTER

TABLE OF CONTENTS

APRIL 27–MAY 3, 2017 TO DO

36 Rising to the Occasion

13 24/7

What to do around the clock.

BY SHANNON MILLER

14 Hearts, Warts and All

Authentic Neapolitan pies? The proof is in the dough.

BY MARISA FINETTI PLUS: Viva

Las Vegans

David Sedaris tells it like it is.

BY GENEVIE DURANO

16 Who the Hell Is Paul Lynde?

Michael Airington pays tribute to the legendary actor.

BY LISSA TOWNSEND RODGERS PLUS: The

Deal, Erich Bergen

FEATURE

20 Super Humanz

Damon Albarn talks Gorillaz’s new album, visiting Vegas for the first time and the end of the world.

38 Ask a Native

Before luxury resorts, the Strip was home to the humble motel.

BY JAMES P. REZA

39 Lucky No. 7

The first music festivals we ever attended.

BY WENDOH STAFF

FLIP SIDE

Seven Nights

BY ZONEIL MAHARAJ

What to do after dark.

23 Meet the Headliners

BY JASON R. LATHAM

A breakdown of Life Is Beautiful 2017’s music lineup.

[Nightlites] Everyone Deserves a Bottle

BY ZONEIL MAHARAJ AND JESSIE O’BRIEN

Tao Group unveils V.I.We service for ballers on a budget.

24 Read the Fine Print

BY CAMILLE CANNON

BY CAMILLE CANNON

[Pool Tour] Rehab Beach Club

26 Deviant Fantasies

Hard Rock’s original daylife party returns for its 14th season.

Festival alum who’ve hit it big.

Mark Ryden to bring pop surrealism to Crime on Canvas.

BY KRISTEN PETERSON

28 Life Is Hilarious Comics grab the mic for the second year.

BY UNA LAMARCHE

30 Lights! Camera! Action!

Behind the scenes of Life Is Beautiful’s 2017 lineup announcement film shoot.

BY MARK ADAMS KISS HEADS PHOTOGRAPHY KRYSTAL RAMIREZ

CONVERSATIONS

PLUS: The

Science Guy is back.

TASTE

OUR SITES TO SEE

VegasSeven.com Seven Sips of Sparrow + Wolf Brian Howard’s new restaurant will officially open its doors mid-May. Get a preview of what you’ll be sipping at vegasseven.com/sevensips.

BY JASON R. LATHAM

[In Case You Missed It] Viva Las Vegas Twenty years and still hopping.

BY LISSA TOWNSEND RODGERS

[In Case You Missed It] Downtown Battle Ground The Rhyolite Sound makes off with a festival lineup spot.

BY NICOLE CORMIER

[Now Hear This] On-the-Way Albums Seven artists dropping new tunes on the way to Life Is Beautiful.

DTLV.com First Friday South Relaunch Arts District president Derek Stonebarger is relaunching First Friday South, an offshoot of the monthly art walk, as a way to bring more people to the businesses on Charleston Boulevard. Read the whole story on DTLV.com.

RunRebs.com The Challenge Ahead UNLV’s new athletic director, Desiree ReedFrancois, has a lot to fix once she takes over on June 1.

BY ZONEIL MAHARAJ

35 Small Bites

The Goodwich’s egg salad sandwich, Rosallie’s almond croissant.

BY KIMBERLY DE LA CRUZ, MARISA FINETTI

PLUS: A year of Intrigue at Wynn Las Vegas

SpyOnVegas.com The Hookup Find upcoming events, see highlights from the hottest parties, meet the DJs and more.

April 27–May 3, 2017 vegasseven.com

9

PHOTO OF THE WEEK Photography KRYSTAL RAMIREZ Mr. Piffles on the set of the Life Is Beautiful 2017 lineup announcement short-film shoot.

Ryan T. Doherty | Justin Weniger President Michael Skenandore Chief Financial Officer Sim Salzman Vice President, Marketing and Events Keith White Creative Director Sherwin Yumul Graphic Designer Javon Isaac Technical Director Herbert Akinyele Controller Jane Weigel

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VEGAS SEVEN 701 Bridger Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89101 702-798-7000 Vegas Seven is distributed each Thursday throughout Southern Nevada. © 2017 Vegas Seven, LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without the permission of Vegas Seven, LLC is prohibited.

Publisher

Michael Skenandore Editorial EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Melinda Sheckells MANAGING EDITOR, DINING

Genevie Durano SENIOR EDITOR, LIFESTYLE

Jessi C. Acuña ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Mark Adams EDITOR AT LARGE

Lissa Townsend Rodgers EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Shannon Miller EDITORIAL INTERNS

Daphne-Jayne Corrales, Heather Peterson Senior Contributing Editor Xania V. Woodman (Beverage) Contributing Editors Michael Green (Politics), David G. Schwartz (Gaming/Hospitality) Art CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Benjamin Ward SENIOR DESIGNER

Cierra Pedro STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Krystal Ramirez Online DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL CONTENT

Zoneil Maharaj EDITOR, DTLV.COM

Jessie O’Brien WEB EDITOR

Amber Sampson CONTRIBUTING WRITER, RUNREBS.COM

Tyler Bischoff Production/Distribution DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION/DISTRIBUTION

Marc Barrington ADVERTISING MANAGER

Jimmy Bearse Sales BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

Christy Corda DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL SALES

Nicole Niazmand ACCOUNT MANAGER

Brittany Quintana, Mimi Tran ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Robyn Weiss DIRECTOR OF SALES, BILLBOARD DIVISION

John Tobin

CITRUS SUMMER SERIES ALWAYS FRESH. ALWAYS FUN. BEGINNING MAY 4TH

THURSDAY

GROOVE WITH US

FRIDAY

DANCE WITH US

SATURDAY

ROCK WITH US

SUNDAY

SALSA WITH US

Live Music. Fresh Cocktails. Rooftop Parties.

No cover. Doors open at 7PM

TO DO

Peter Pan

What to do around the clock in Las Vegas

By Shannon Miller

THURSDAY 27

Park on Fremont just initiated new hours and a new

menu featuring items such as Samurai Teeter Tots covered in soy caramel, sriracha aioli and toasted seaweed, and the Turkey Bacon “Avo-Philly” sandwich.

11 a.m.–11 p.m. Mon.–Fri., 10 a.m.–11 p.m. Sat.—Sun., 506 Fremont St., parkonfremont.com

Author Dave Eggers was just in town for American Dreams: A Festival. Today, a film adaptation of his book The Circle, starring Emma Watson and Tom Hanks, opens in theaters. Showtimes and theaters vary, fandango.com

UNLV Opera Theatre performs scenes on the theme of Girl Power: Celebrating Women in Opera. 7:30 p.m., $8–$10, Lee and Thomas Beam Music Center at UNLV, unlv.edu

Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. celebrates

The Writer’s Block Book Club zeros in on a sci-fi selection this time with Octavia Butler’s Kindred, in which a modern black woman involuntarily travels back in time to the antebellum South. 6–7:30 p.m., 1020 Fremont St., thewritersblock.org FRIDAY 28

Who wants to “party like it’s 1999”? Experience Las Vegas’ long-running Prince tribute show, Purple Reign. 9 p.m., $34–$77, Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino, westgatedestinations.com Winchester Cultural Center Headliners present

Charlotte’s Web, a stage-adaptation of E.B. White’s

PHOTO BY REJEAN BRANDT

and Fashion Show at the Four Seasons Hotel.

Noon–2:30 p.m., $150, dfssnv.auction-bid.org

heartwarming (and heartbreaking) story of farm animals, friendship and the fleeting nature of life.

6 p.m., $8, 3130 McLeod Dr., clarkcountynv.gov

Dress for Success Southern Nevada provides gently used professional clothing, a network of support and career development tools to help women achieve economic independence. Attend the nonprofit’s fifth annual Road to the Sun Champagne Luncheon

National Superhero Day by giving real-life superheroes—firefighters, police officers, military and first responders—complimentary admission to the immersive attraction at Treasure Island. 10 a.m.– 10 p.m., stationattraction.com SATURDAY 29

Do you appreciate fine wine and great beer? Enjoy just that, plus live music and delicious bites, at The District’s Wine and Brews fest. The epicurean outing benefits Spread the Word Nevada, a children’s literacy nonprofit. 5–8 p.m., $25, at Green Valley Ranch, shopthedistrictgvr.com Where can you see penguins, monkeys, wallabies and champion Arabian horses in Las Vegas? Only at the home of Mr. Las Vegas himself. Wayne Newton’s Casa de Shenandoah opens its gates for two-hour Animal Adventure Tours. 10:30 a.m. Saturdays only, $15–$20, 3310 E. Sunset Rd., 702-776-8462 Local indie outfit the Big Friendly Corporation plays The Bunkhouse Saloon with support from Blair and Chani and the Steady Extras. 9 p.m., $5, 124 S. 11th St., bunkhousedowntown.com

Peter Moruzzi, author of Havana Before Castro: When Cuba Was a Tropical Playground, explores

the rivalry between 1950s Las Vegas and pre-Castro Havana over the title of “Monte Carlo of the Americas.” Did we mention the discussion also features a whiskey and rum tasting? 1 p.m., $40, The Mob Museum, themobmuseum.org SUNDAY 30

UNLV’s Nevada Conservatory Theater teams up with local community theater troupe the Rainbow Company to present Peter Pan. See what they do with this timeless tale of believing in magic and (never) growing old. 7:30 p.m., $28–$33, Judy Bayley Theatre at UNLV, unlv.edu It’s Day Two of the Las Vegas City of Lights Jazz Festival, which means more chart-topping and

award-winning jazz and R&B talents: Ro James, Lalah Hathaway, Anthony Hamilton and more. 2–9 p.m., $100 per day, Clark County Government Center Amphitheater, 500 S. Grand Central Pkwy., yourjazz.com Theatre in the Valley puts on Art of Murder, a play about an artist who sinisterly awaits the arrival of his art dealer at a countryside estate in Connecticut. 2 p.m., $10–$15, 10 W. Pacific Ave., Henderson, theatreinthevalley.org MONDAY 1

Precious star and Empire actress Gabourey Sidibe’s memoir, This Is Just My Face: Try Not to Stare, hits shelves today. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $25, hmhco.com

April 27–May 3, 2017 vegasseven.com

13

24/7

THE DEAL BY ANTHONY CURTIS

Local photographer Jon Rouse artfully captures rare firearms, ammunitions and explosives in the exhibit Primer: Art of Weaponry, now on display at Centaur Art Gallery. 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Mon.–Sat., 4345 Dean Martin Dr., centaurgalleries.com L.A. Witch brings its indie punk to Beauty Bar, with a medley of psychedelic rock by the Acid Sisters and garage sounds from Indigo Kidd. 8 p.m., $8, 517 Fremont

St., beautybarlv.com

WEDNESDAY 3

Enjoy signature cocktails, delicious fare and live music from Patrick Dodd “Nash Vegas” at the Parlour Bar at El Cortez. 6-10 p.m., 600 Fremont St., elcortezhotelcasino.com In Global Warming: Hoax, Doomsday or What?, experts Michael Shermer and James Taylor attempt to clear the air of confusion surrounding climate change.

6:30 p.m., Windmill Library Performing Arts Center, 7060 W. Windmill Lane, register at scifest.vegas

TUESDAY 2

Singer-songwriter Jacob Metcalf pleasantly keeps you on your toes with surprising instruments, riffs and rhythms at The Bunkhouse Saloon. 9 p.m., $5–$8, 124 S. 11th St., bunkhousedowntown.com

Looking for more stuff to do? Go to vegasseven. com/calendar.

Brio Tuscan Grille at Tivoli Village celebrates its sixth anniversary with a Buy One, Get One Pasta special. Arrive with a guest—or just really, really hungry.

11 a.m.–10 p.m., 420 S. Rampart Blvd., brioitalian.com

Acid Sisters

By Genevie Durano

Hearts, Warts and All David Sedaris tells it like it is In nine books of essays, humorist David Sedaris has written about his life and the people in it. His subject matter ranges from picking up litter on the side of the road to the preponderance of snot in China to a sister’s suicide. He has a gift for recounting the ordinary and finding its absurdity, but never with malice or cynicism.

Sedaris’ upcoming book, Theft by Finding, is a series of diary entries culled over several decades.

And despite seeming so prolific—in addition to being an author, he’s also a regular contributor to The New Yorker and This American Life—essays don’t spill out of him as one would think. “I write a lot of things that wind up not working,” Sedaris says.

“I never expect anything to work out. The trick is knowing when to give up.”

Sedaris’ brand of humor, as fans know, falls squarely in the self-deprecating camp. In decades of observing and writing about human behavior, what hard-won wisdom has he gleaned? “I’m not a very wise person.

My book is, I don’t know, it’s like 700 pages long, and there’s not a single bit of wisdom in it. You would think that there would be, because it’s 25 years of keeping a diary. Can’t count how many juvenile jokes are in it, but there’s not one word of wisdom.”

Another hallmark of Sedaris? That deadpan tone.

The genius of his prose is how well it lands on the page, so that you often find yourself laughing out loud. As any good comedian knows, it’s all about timing and brevity, something Sedaris learned early in life. “I think economy is part of the reason, because there were so many children that, if you were going to tell a story, you had to learn to do it quickly.

You had to get in and get out, and you had to make it good or somebody else is just going to butt in and do the job for you,” he says.

So isn’t it an incredible stroke of luck for a humorist to have been born into a large family? “I think it was just that abortion was illegal. I really think that’s it,” he says.

See? Funny as hell. 7

An Evening With David Sedaris The Smith Center Thursday, May 4, 7:30 p.m.

Tickets: $49—$59 thesmithcenter.com

Watching the Wheels FOR GAMBLERS, WHEELS ROCK!

One of the most successful slots of all time is Wheel of Fortune. Not because of the branding power of the game show, but because of the function of the wheel itself: A spinning wheel is the perfect way to capture a player’s attention and generate excitement as the process plays out.

Obviously, you’re getting added value any time you’re spinning for something, but how do you determine what that value is?

If it’s a physical wheel that’s spun by hand, it’s pretty simple: Add up the value of all the possible prizes and divide by the number of slots. The Emerald Island casino in Henderson has a “Wheel of Cash” on which members can earn spins through various promotions. As the name suggests, it’s an all-cash wheel, with prizes ranging from a low of $10 to a high of $100. One slot pays $100, one pays $50, four pay $25, six pay $20, 16 pay $15 and 22 pay $10. That adds up to 50 slots with a total of $830 in monetary prizes. Hence, the average value of a spin is $830/50, or $16.60 (even though you’ll win less than that—a $10 or $15 prize—on 76 percent of your spins).

That’s a nice perk if you happen to get it.

It gets a little more complicated when you have to assign values to the prizes.

The last time I was in the Four Kegs bar they had a promotional wheel with 10 slots paying $50, $25, $10, $5, $5, a stromboli, a medium pizza, an order of wings, an appetizer and a T-shirt. In a case like this you can use posted prices for the food, but what’s a T-shirt worth?

That’s a subjective thing, so just assign your own number. Maybe a Four Kegs T-shirt is worth $20 to you, but I’d call it about six bucks. Plugging in $6 for the T-shirt, $13 for the stromboli, etc., you get a prize total of $149 divided by 10 slots, which is another good average of $14.90 per spin.

Where it gets funky is with the virtual wheels, such as the aforementioned Wheel of Fortune or the automatic wheel spins you get for hitting the card of the day in the local bars. These wheels can’t be hindered in the same way, because the probability of a spin landing on the $1,000 slot is far below the 1-in-10 that the wheel portrays. With virtual wheels, the only thing you know for sure is that the average is something higher than the lowest payout, which is usually $10 on bar wheels. Based on information I’ve gleaned over the years, you’re safe assuming an average value of about $12.50 on these.

Knowing the average value of a wheel spin can lead to more sophisticated analysis of a game or promotion, or maybe just give you a better idea of what to expect when your turn comes up. 7 Anthony Curtis is the publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor and lasvegasadvisor.com.

ACID SISTERS BY FILTHY MOUTH CREATIVE; DAVID SEDARIS BY ROBERT BANKS

TO DO

TO DO

Who the Hell Is Paul Lynde?

This isn’t his first time at the rodeo …

Comedian Michael Airington pays tribute to the legendary actor By Lissa Townsend Rodgers They say imitation is the sincerest form

of flattery, and sometimes it’s damn good entertainment, too. In The Paul Lynde Show, veteran comedian Michael Airington pays raucous tribute to Lynde, whose lengthy career included the Broadway and Hollywood versions of Bye Bye Birdie, the sitcom Bewitched, the game show Hollywood Squares and voices on cartoons like Charlotte’s Web. Lynde’s snarky, campy persona and outrageous double entendre filled ’70s prime time and brought a gay sensibility to a crowd that wasn’t quite sure what it was seeing, but laughed anyway.

Airington captures his subject down to the slightest mannerism but also creates Lynde the character—and makes him engaging, endearing and

It was a dream to come back and be in Vegas. I was here as a kid, in 1981. I was one of the youngest stand-up comedians in America. I was 15 years old, I got discovered by Mel Tillis, and then I was opening for Rosemary Clooney for two summers. I was just a little baby doing impressions.

Wayne Newton, he kept on saying, “Why do I know you? Why do I know you? I know I know you.” I [said], “Wayne, I was a kid. I used to open, I used to go on between Dottie and Mel Tillis, across the street at the Frontier. I would come across the street and they would sneak me into the Copa. I got to watch you perform, and I met you a few times.” He said, “Oh, my God.”

The longest journey starts with a single theater ticket …

Everybody does a Paul Lynde impression. I mean, even Michael Feinstein does a Paul Lynde impression in his act. It’s just one of those crazy voices that is just funny. He’s one of the biggest stars in the ’70s.

Once you hear the voice, you know who it is.

I’d seen Frank Gorshin do Say Goodnight Gracie, which was the one-man show about George Burns. I saw the final show at the Helen Hayes Theater, came out and [said], “Oh, my God, I can do a show like this with Paul Lynde,” and that was the beginning of the thought process. It was a 13-year journey from the time I came up with the idea. I’ve been through crazy investors, three incarnations of the show, went through the recession, and it has evolved.

Lynde was a groundbreaker, even if many didn’t quite acknowledge it …

In 1976, he was one of the first people on the cover of People magazine. I have the actual magazine. There he is—and then there’s this picture of him with this beautiful man: “Not only is Mark his hairdresser, but he’s also his suitemate on the road.” [Laughs] Even when I was touring with it, after the show a lot of older gay men will come up and [say], “You took me back to a time where I knew I wasn’t alone. Paul Lynde had to have been one of us.” That’s how I came up with the line, “I think I made the world a safer place for sissies.”

Like Lynde, the show draws a wide audience …

The millennials like it; they’re laughing their asses off. What’s funny is funny. One of the bartenders— he’s 25—and his exact words, “I don’t know who the fuck Paul is, but oh, my God, I can’t stop laughing.”

Somebody came up to me yesterday and said, “I got tears when you say goodbye to Peter Marshall, and we do the whole ‘I am what I am’ at the end.”

Straight couples that come up to me and [say], “You took us back to our teenage years.”

Here I am, full circle, back in Vegas, and this time I’m a headliner. We got here, and I’m still pinching myself when I go out onstage. 7

The Talented Mr. Bergen The actor returns to The Smith Center to host the Heart of Education Awards and perform two engagements By Jessi C. Acuña

E

rich Bergen, the former star of Jersey Boys—both its Las Vegas production and Clint Eastwood’s film version—recently revealed in People magazine that he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2013. Now in remission, the 31-yearold says he underwent surgery and chemotherapy, but speaking to him, you wouldn’t know the funnyman ever had a scare.

When asked why he’s returning to host the second annual Heart of Education Awards, which honors CCSD teachers for outstanding commitments to their students and schools, on April 29 at The Smith Center, Bergen jokes, “Community service for jail!” In actuality, Smith

16

April 20 –26, 2017 vegasseven.com

Center president and CEO Myron Martin had asked Bergen to host last year’s inaugural event (“Clearly, Neil Patrick Harris must have turned down the gig,” Bergen says), well before the details had even been hashed out.

“He’s just a really nice and talented guy,” Martin says. “He did such an amazing job the first year; teachers loved him. I just had to have him come back.”

The Madam Secretary actor—the show was recently picked up by CBS for its fourth season—is expected to perform at the event, but the occasion is reserved for teachers and their guests only. But no need to fret: In addition to emceeing,

The Paul Lynde Show Windows Showroom at Bally’s Las Vegas Mon., Wed., Sat.–Sun., 2 p.m. & Thurs., 4 p.m., Tickets start at $43 plus tax and fees, caesars.com/ballys Erich Bergen Cabaret Jazz at Smith Center, Sun., 1:30 p.m. & Mon., 7:00 p.m.

Tickets start at $39, thesmithcenter.com/ event/erich-bergen/

Bergen will perform a medley from the Great American Songbook at Cabaret Jazz April 30 and May 1.

That is, if he makes it.

“It depends on how late the Heart of Education Awards goes on Saturday night,” he says. “Once we go past a certain time, I start to have a drink. I don’t care if I’m working or not. We start with a matinee on Sunday, so it’s going to be a gamble.”

These engagements are a follow-up to last year’s sold-out run of Erich Bergen LIVE! “We’re doing some great new songs, some classics. It’ll also include some of the classics that I’ve been doing in my concerts for years, and, of course, some Jersey Boys stuff. I’m going to be doing some George Michael music, too,” he says.

“I have some of the best musicians in Vegas. If you hate me—and there’s a chance that you do—at least come to hear the band.” 7 To learn more about the Heart of Education Awards and to hear more from Bergen and Martin, check out vegasseven.com/bergenreturns.

ERICH BERGEN COURTESY OF WARNER BROS. PICTURES INTERNATIONAL PUBLICITY

drop-your-Bloody Mary funny even to those who aren’t familiar with the original. After runs in Los Angeles, San Diego and Palm Springs, The Paul Lynde Show makes the move to Las Vegas. Airington talked to Vegas Seven about how it’s been a “full circle” journey.

Leslie, Age 13

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

ST. JUDE

AN AFFAIR

ART

OF THE

SATURDAY, MAY 6 6:00PM RED ROCK CASINO RESORT & SPA in the Red Rock Ballroom

Join us for a black-tie evening of exquisite dining, complete with premium wine, spirits, and cocktails. Enjoy live entertainment and a one-of-a-kind auction featuring custom artwork by local artists, as well as exclusive St. Jude patient artwork, all while supporting the mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®: Finding cures. Saving children.®

Tickets and Sponsorship Opportunities Available at Stjude.org/lvgala or call 702.341.2903

Life Is Beautiful 2017 Gorillaz are coming to Las Vegas for the first time ever. 2016’s Grammy winner for best new artist, Chance the Rapper, will return. English rockers Muse will bring their dizzying live show to the streets of Downtown. And that’s just the top of an eclectic bill that features more than 70 acts, along with comedy, interactive art installations, a group art exhibit featuring the work of Mark Ryden, Tara McPherson and Shepard Fairey and much more.

Last year saw more than 137,000 attendees trod the festival footprint. Who’s ready for more?

(EDITOR’S NOTE: LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL IS OWNED BY VEGAS SEVEN’S PUBLISHING COMPANY, WENDOH MEDIA.)

April 27–May 3, 2017 vegasseven.com

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SuperHumanz With the world in chaos, Gorillaz’s

DAMON ALBARN and his band of animated misfits are here to save us

By Zoneil Maharaj

It’s been seven years

since we last heard from Gorillaz. A lot has happened in their animated world— members were kidnapped, one was left for dead and demons were slain—but a cartoon fantasy was no match for what’s transpired in real life. Things make about as much sense in our world as they do in theirs, which makes now the perfect time for the two to sonically collide again. The virtual band returns April 28 with Humanz—a frenzied party record to help us cope with the chaos—and a U.S. tour that brings them to Las Vegas for the first time ever during Life Is Beautiful. Frontman Damon Albarn, who co-created Gorillaz with artist Jamie Hewlett, chats with Vegas Seven from his London studio on how the new record came together, why he loves collaborating and what he’d be listening to if the world were to end.

Why the name Humanz? I needed something that was snappy that drew in all the ideas on the record, and also had a bit of humor about it. Originally we started off with the name Transformer, but my daughter thought that was a really naff name and that people would think that we were, like, trucks that turned into robots. I was obviously referencing Lou Reed, but the idea of transition about us—humans changing at the moment, everything in change, the world in change— that was the idea.

I read that when you were working on the record, you told your collaborators to envision a worst-case scenario where Trump gets elected. Yeah, it was like a cartoon fantasy: “Imagine if a reality star became president of the United States. How would you feel on that night if that happened?”

That sense of uncertainty and chaos, really.

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LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL 2017

energy that once one amazing singer leaves the stage, another one comes on. It’s a totally different approach and a different sound. The momentum gathers during the evening, and I love it. Also, I don’t have to do all the work, which is even better.

Now that it’s a reality, has that changed the meaning of the album? No. If you put it on, I suppose it should sound now-ish. It’s not about Trump at all. I wanted to set it in the near future because when you write a record, it’s not going to manifest itself until a year [or] a year and a half later. That was the reasoning behind that, and I thought that was the most intriguing narrative we could explore in the context of what I wanted to do.

Let’s say—very hypothetically— that the world is coming to an end. What are you listening to right before that nuclear warhead strikes? [I’m] listening to the birds—if there were birds singing—or the sound of a breeze in the trees or water running—just something really elemental. Because that’s where we come from, and I suppose if it’s the end, I would like to be as close to the beginning as possible.

Gorillaz has always been a very collaborative project; Humanz is no different. What do you look for in a collaborator? I never have a real agenda when I start as far as who I’m going to work with. The spaces get filled one way or another. ... Once someone’s interested in working with us, I might have three or four tunes that they could potentially work on, and then we just let them choose the one that they feel the most akin to.

It’s very free the way we work. I always have to take the attitude that if it doesn’t work with someone, I can always do it, but it just happened that on a lot of these tunes the ideas worked out, so I wasn’t needed. I didn’t feel I needed to overstay my welcome a lot of the time, you know? I’m comfortable being somewhat of a curator.

My entry to your music was through Gorillaz, because I was a big hip-hop head and huge fan of Del the Funky Homosapien and Dan the Automator. Out of curiosity, what’s your relationship with hip-hop? I think I can

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recognize the good from the bad. I’ve always got an open ear, but I’m not trapped in that world by any sense.

My taste is utterly eclectic, and I can go from one thing to another very easily and not feel like I’m losing sight of stuff. I embrace all music, really, so my relationship with it is the same as it is with all music.

You and Noel Gallagher have had a famous rivalry in the past, but you guys got into the studio for “We Got the Power.” What was that experience like? Really great. I love working with Noel. He’s very funny; he’s got a very different way of approaching recording than me. But that’s the great thing about collaborating and producing, you just learn so much about how other people [work]. You think that the way you do it is the only way, but it just isn’t. Everybody’s got a different approach to it, and I love that. ...

What I respect and like about the way he works is he’s very melodic and his voice is super accurate. Once he’s established what he’s singing, he will nail it every single time.

You’ve only done one official solo album (2014’s Everyday Robots). It seems you prefer more collaborative projects. I don’t really see it like that. Gorillaz is as much a recorded thing as a live experience. In a way it becomes an awesome thing when you see it live, because it’s just this conveyor belt of

WAIT FOR IT

You have your hand in multiple projects. When you’re writing songs, how do you decide: “This is a Gorillaz song,” or “This is a Rocket Juice & the Moon song”?

It’s just what I’m working on at that particular moment. Sometimes there are tunes that could go either way. If you want to be really simple about it, for example, I’m recording next month with the Good, the Bad & the Queen, and that’s a completely acoustic thing. There are some keyboards, but it’s more like piano and a Hammond organ. Whereas Gorillaz is, and especially this time around, it’s just completely electronic—there’s no acoustic instruments at all. That in a way sets the parameters that define something, and also lyrically as well. The Good, the Bad & the Queen is a very different set of imagery I’m trying to create to. Gorillaz is a very different world, you know?

There was a bit of a rift between you and Jamie Hewlett a while back. What brought you back together? We worked together almost continuously for almost 10 years, and we needed a bit of a break.

No big deal.

I feel like you guys took a huge risk with Gorillaz, mashing all these different genres together and then saying, “Fuck it, let’s just be an animated band”—and it worked. Did you think it would become this big? If I stopped and thought, “Does this make any sense?” it probably wouldn’t. I never really worry about that. I just let it go wherever it goes.

It’s very anarchic, really. All the sum of its parts make up something unique, but if you took any individual bit, you’d go, “Oh, well, that just doesn’t make any sense.” I’m just hoping no one expects it to make sense.

Humanz, the follow-up to 2010’s The Fall, should more than make up for the seven years of limbo Gorillaz fans have been in. Available April 28 on Warner Bros./Parlophone Records, the album contains 20 tracks (plus a six-song bonus disc for the deluxe edition). It’s packed with guest features—Grace Jones, Noel Gallagher, Pusha T and many more—and boisterous beats. It’s club-ready, with songs like the house-y “Strobelite” featuring Peven Everett and the electric “Charger” with Jones. But even bouncy cuts like “Ascension” get bleak, with Vince Staples rapping: “This the land of the free / Where you can get a Glock and a gram for the cheap / Where you can live your dreams long as you don’t look like me.” Leave it to a cartoon band to talk about some real-life issues.

I think that’s the beauty of it.

I hope so. That’s a modern thing anyway—nothing feels like it makes sense anymore.

On the production end, what separates the Humanz live show from previous Gorillaz tours? I’ve really gone for funk this time. I’m heading toward Earth, Wind & Fire; that’s my ultimate destination.

This is the first time Gorillaz will perform here. Why now? Well, we were asked. I don’t think we’ve been asked before.

Are you looking forward to playing the festival? Yeah, I think our visual light show and animation will fit perfectly into the neon of Las Vegas.

There are several acts on the festival lineup who appear on Humanz—De La Soul, Kali Uchis, Vince Staples, Pusha T. Should we expect them to jump onstage with you? Absolutely. I’m trying to bring as many people that I can. It’s a ludicrous thing logistically to try and get all these people in the same place all the time. Hopefully the vibe is great and people want to be part of it. It’s not possible for me to buy people’s attendance—they have to want to come. Most of the time that’s the way it goes, but people are busy so you have to accommodate that as well. Because of the way [the show] is set up, we can do things in multiple ways without losing any of its magic.

You’re doing your first-ever 2-D animation live interview (which aired April 20 on YouTube Live).

How is that going to work? People around the world can talk to the characters in real time, and they will be on their screen as 2-D characters moving, reacting. … It’s really, really, really state-of-the art stuff, and it might go terribly wrong.

Are you and Jamie voicing the characters? No. 2-D and Murdoc.

They exist, don’t they? 7

GORILL AZ DAMON & JAMIE PHOTOGRAPHY LINDA BROWNLEE

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL 2017

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL 2017

By Zoneil Maharaj and Jessie O’Brien

MEET THE 2017 LINEUP CHANCE THE RAPPER “Merry Christmas Lil’

LATEST Mama” (mixtape; Dec. RELEASE 21, 2016) Performing at the White House,

MOST donating $1 million KNOWN to Chicago schools FOR ... and being an all-

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“Let Me Out” ft.

Pusha T and Mavis Staples (April 6, 2017)

BLINK-182

His dad worked for DID YOU the Obama KNOW ... administration.

SURPRISE GUEST(S) WE’RE HOPING FOR

What if Childish Gambino popped up and they performed songs from that EP the duo was supposed to drop three years ago? We can dream ...

THE XX

“Green Light” (March 2, 2017)

“Home Is Such a Lonely Place” (April 18, 2017)

Having sunshine in a bag.

Being a vampire.

“All the Small Things,” from the band’s 2000 For being every hiphit album Enema of ster’s favorite band. the State.

Because it’s the band’s first time playing Vegas, and several guests on its upcoming Humanz album are also playing the festival.

Because we’ll have an excuse to sing “Royals” in public.

Because nostalgia.

And Travis Barker’s skills on the drum set (and his sick tats).

According to an interview with Zane Lowe, frontman Damon Albarn’s got more than 40 Gorillaz recordings that didn’t make the cut for Humanz.

She has synesthesia—a rare condition/ superpower that causes senses to blend together, such as tasting colors or seeing sound.

The band used to have four members, Former member but apparently, they Tom Delonge believes didn’t need two in aliens. guitarists and kicked one out.

around swell guy.

Because we want to WHY WE’RE see if he can top his EXCITED 2015 Life Is Beautiful performance.

BREAKING DOWN THE FESTIVAL’S BIGGEST PLAYERS

All of the contributing artists on Humanz— Grace Jones, Noel Dracula.

Gallagher, Danny Brown, Benjamin Clementine, etc.

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Frontman Matt Bellamy smashed 140 guitars on the band’s 2004 tour.

The band’s name isn’t pronounced “managment.”

They’re currently on tour with Thirty Seconds to Mars. Maybe Jared Leto will make a festival landing?

Frank Ocean—so the band can perform his remix of that song from 10 years ago ...

If you got a sense of déjà vu after reading the lineup, there’s good reason. Several standouts from the past four festivals are coming back to Downtown.

HIP-HOP: 11, 14.8%

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Drones (album; June 5, 2015)

WHICH LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL ALUMNI ARE RETURNING THIS YEAR?

HERE’S A QUICK LOOK

GG

MGMT

ROUND 2

WHAT YOU’LL HEAR BY GENRE

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Because this set will be an opportunity to hear an intimate sound on a huge stage.

We hope DJ/producer Jamie Smith breaks out into a short solo set, and that Young Thug pops up to spout his skittery gibberish on “I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times).”

A PIECE OF THE (MUSICAL) PIE at the types of acts that will play across four stages. Electronic lovers are in luck, as the majority of artists can be found behind the decks. On the flip side, country fans shouldn’t miss local outfit and Battle of the Bands winners the Rhyolite Sound—they’re the only artists representing old-school outlaw.

Total acts: 74.

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CHANCE THE RAPPER: 2015, AMBASSADOR STAGE PRETTY LIGHTS: 2013, AMBASSADOR STAGE HAIM: 2013, HUNTRIDGE STAGE ZHU: 2016, TROUBADOUR STAGE MILKY CHANCE: 2014, DOWNTOWN STAGE TYCHO: 2014, AMBASSADOR STAGE CAPITAL CITIES: 2013, AMBASSADOR STAGE BIG GIGANTIC: 2013, HUNTRIDGE STAGE RAC: 2014, HUNTRIDGE STAGE

Read the Fine Print Six Life Is Beautiful alums who’ve since hit it big

By Camille Cannon

TWENTY ONE PILOTS Years: 2013, 2015

At their February 2017 Las Vegas tour stop, Josh Dun and Tyler Joseph played to nearly 9,000 fans inside the soldout Mandalay Bay Events Center. But on the afternoon of October 27, 2013, you could easily approach either side of Life Is Beautiful’s Ambassador stage and watch the 2017 best pop duo/group performance Grammy winners exhibit their now-signature jumps and flips.

It was that unforgettable performance that gave the world a widely circulated photo of Joseph, seemingly floating atop the outstretched hands of festivalgoers.

It’s no wonder Life Is Beautiful brought them back in 2015 after the release of Pilot’s platinum-selling album, Blurryface, for a rousing nighttime set.

G-EAZY Years: 2014, 2016 When the Oakland-raised rapper (born Earl Gillum) was first announced on the 2014 lineup, he had just begun to garner major radio play. He’d scored impressive opening slots on Lil Wayne and Drake’s respective tours, but it wasn’t until “I Mean It” dropped in spring 2014 that his name really started to percolate. After the October 2015 release of his soaring single, “Me, Myself & I,” featuring Bebe Rexha, 2016 saw major moves for Gillum: an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, collaborations with Chris Brown and Britney Spears, a mini-residency at Drai’s Nightclub and headlining status at Life Is Beautiful. The surest sign he’s “made it?”

Gillum, along with Bay Area cohort Kehlani, recently contributed “Good Life” to The Fate of the Furious soundtrack.

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April 27–May 3, 2017 vegasseven.com

ALESSIA CARA Year: 2015

Pegged by Spin as an “emerging artist” on the 2015 bill, Alessia Cara had already begun to turn heads with her alt-bubblegum anthem “Here.” The promising Canadian singer played in the blazing, early-afternoon sun. She has since followed “Here” with several successful singles, opened stadiums for Coldplay, was named “new artist of the year” at the 2016 American Music Awards, played Saturday Night Live and recently reached over 100 million Spotify streams for “Stay,” her collaboration with 2013 festival performer Zedd.

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL 2017

HALSEY Year: 2015

As often as you probably heard “New Americana,” Halsey’s hazy ode to rebellious youth that launched her to national airwaves in the summer of 2015, it was nothing like the Chainsmokers’ smash “Closer,” released in July 2016, which featured the singer’s sultry vocals. According to Billboard.com, “Closer” is the first song on record to ever spend its first six months on the Billboard Hot 100 (with 26 of those weeks in the Top 5).

Halsey is wisely taking advantage of the buzz, having released her latest single, “Now or Never,” in April, before her second album, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom, drops in June.

GALANTIS Years: 2014, 2016

A quick glance at Galantis’ spring calendar shows a nighttime set at Coachella, two sold-out shows at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom, several dates at Marquee Nightclub for its #SeafoxSafari residency and an Ultra Music Festival set played to tens of thousands of fans. The Swedish production duo, comprised of Christian Karlsson and Linus Eklöw, has done pretty well for themselves since their 2014 Life Is Beautiful debut. Even cooler? The evidence of their rising success is captured by their go-to photographer, Las Vegas’ own Dalton Campbell.

CATFISH & THE BOTTLEMEN Years: 2014, 2016

Billed last of all the 2014 national acts (and right before the locals) on the 2014 poster were British rockers Catfish & the Bottlemen. The group’s first album, 2014’s The Balcony, had debuted at No. 10 in the U.K. and later sold over 1 million copies, but it wasn’t even released in the United States until January 2015. Catfish & the Bottlemen’s second album, The Ride, proved their staying power, which propelled the band to a Life Is Beautiful return in 2016—with much higher positioning on the lineup poster.

April 27–May 3, 2017 vegasseven.com

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WHEN FANTASY MEETS THE DARK AND DEVIANT MARK RYDEN BRINGS HIS PECULIAR SURREALISM TO CRIME ON CANVAS

By Kristen Peterson Art courtesy of Mark Ryden and Paul Kasmin Gallery

I

f you’ve ever landed on the subverted decadence of artist Mark Ryden’s automaton diorama “Memory Lane” on YouTube, you wouldn’t be blamed for bingewatching the self-operating machine on repeat. The mythical dreamscape playing out in a handcarved, 8-by-10-foot carriage, set to the music of the showy 1890s hit “Daisy Bell,” is like diving headfirst into the dark and hilarious.

Whether a fan of pop-surrealism or not (Ryden has been dubbed “the godfather of the lowbrow style”), the beautiful absurdity of the functionally dysfunctional village where dolls of all shapes and sizes, line up for meat and ride around in gilded carriages is beautiful, head-scratching wonderment. Two identical Abraham Lincolns ride tandem on a bicycle and skeletons pass by in moving vehicles of various contraptions in an embellished world hued dusty pink.

Featured in the artist’s 2014 Gay Nineties West exhibit, “Memory Lane” perfectly encapsulates Opposite page: “Fur Girl.” what Ryden’s This page (clockwise from paintings are top left): “Queen Bee,” about. He’s the “Anatomia,” “Incarnation.” artist who gave giant painted eyes to porcelain-faced girls

in dresses amid surreal landscapes marked with peculiar symbolism. A favorite of Juxtapoz magazine, his CV also includes designing album covers for Michael Jackson (Dangerous), Red Hot Chili Peppers (One Hot Minute) and Aerosmith (Love in an Elevator).

As one of over 65 artists featured in Life Is Beautiful’s now-annual Crime on Canvas exhibit (where all works of art are for sale), Ryden’s work will soon be in Las Vegas, alongside Shepard Fairey, Amy Sol, Casey Weldon, Shag and Eric Joyner, in the show curated by the founders of the M Modern and Shag galleries.

Although Ryden says he’s still figuring out what he’ll be doing for the exhibit, he assures that there are a lot of exciting ideas. No surprise there, given his background. In addition to paintings with snow yaks, meat, Abraham Lincoln, Katy Perry and bunnies and deviant fantasyland– meets–children’s book themes, he designed the extravagantly bizarre costumes and sets for American Ballet Theatre’s Whipped Cream production.

When asked about his loyalty to playfulness in a dead-serious career, Ryden says, “Only a person of limited consciousness thinks play is just for children.

“Playfulness and imagination are the foundation of creativity. Of course, imagination and fantasy are absolutely essential for a person’s well-being and depth. It is vital, not only as an escape from work, but as the basis of creation and invention.”

In that creative space, Ryden finds an outlet for that which irks him.

Known for working out of his subconscious and not always having a clear-cut

reason or intention for the elements in his work, he manages to detail our estranged relationship with nature and the deep symbolism of trees (in religions and mythology) in his body of work titled The Tree Show. A meat eater who considers the inhumane operations of the meat industry and “the horror” connected with it, meat is a recurring theme in his work—but he identifies himself as an observer, rather than a preacher.

“I do feel we abuse our natural world for profit in a profound way,” Ryden says. “We mistreat—downright torture—the animals we use as food, and this is terribly wrong. Though I don’t necessarily use my art as a platform to communicate judgment,

these ideas may work their way into my imagery, but in a more subtle [and] underlying way.”

But there is nothing subtle about the style in his oeuvre. In fact, there’s a fairly long list of artists now working in Ryden’s style—sometimes creating completely derivative works.

“I can’t succumb to the frustration of that,” Ryden says. “I realize there is a bigger dynamic going on, much more than a single person can own. A spirit of the time, a Zeitgeist is at work, part of the collective consciousness.

“However, there are specific artists who definitely cross the line with outright plagiarism. I’m not going to name names, but they know who they are.” 7

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LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL 2017

THE SCIENCE GUY COMETH

Las Vegas’ March for Science saw many fans of Bill Nye, who returns to the festival to headline the Ideas program “Science serves every one of us. Every citizen of every nation in society. ...

Science brings out the best in us. With an informed, optimistic view of the future, together we can—dare I say it—save the world!”

So said Bill Nye as he addressed the crowd at Washington, D.C.’s March for Science on April 22.

The TV host, author and cultural icon was an honorary co-chair of the event, which drew enormous crowds across the nation.

And at Las Vegas’ own March for Science event, Nye’s influence and presence was everywhere. A stenciled portrait of him was the highest-bid item in the happening’s art auction, and his face adorned numerous signs: one was a caricature of Bill next to the statement “Don’t deNYE the facts,” while another read, “Free to good home (or White House): vintage Bill Nye the Science Guy VHS tapes! Complete series!”

A bearded man watching his kids draw in chalk on the sidewalk remembered watching Bill Nye the Science Guy as a kid. “He made it exciting. All of those shows: Bill Nye, The Magic School Bus, Mr. Wizard’s World, Beakman’s World. It was all about curiosity.”

A young guy wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with a Shepard Fairey–style image of Nye (one of several in the crowd), enthused, “I love Bill Nye. He taught me about the atmosphere, about evolution.

As a kid, I was looking to be entertained, but at the same time I got educated.”

His friend nods, grinning.

“And he had that dope theme song: Bill! Bill! Bill!”

The dope theme song is back on Bill Nye Saves the World, mixed into a beat-heavy track

by Tyler, the Creator. Nye’s new Netflix series (which debuted April 21) is aimed at adults rather than kids—it’s still got the hands-on experiments and playful attitude, but in the service of serious and some-

times controversial issues such as global warming, vaccines and overpopulation. The show has a wide range, as correspondents including comedian Nazeem Hussain and model Karlie Kloss cover issues such as the role of women in India’s STEM revolution and how technology is being used to combat the sinking of the city of Venice.

But at the center of it is Nye, on a set that’s part scientist’s lab, part superhero’s lair—the site of demonstrations and panels, as well as a segment titled “Bill Needs a Minute,” in which Nye takes off his impartial scientist hat and preaches the gospel of how science saves. “My parents, both of them were in World War II. They didn’t want to be, but they showed up, they had a worldwide problem, and they solved it. We can do this, people!

Let’s get to work!” 7

By Lissa Townsend Rodgers Photography Krystal Ramirez

COMICS GRAB THE MIC FOR A SECOND YEAR Unlike some desert festivals that feature camping, naked bicycling or, say, lighting things on fire, Life Is Beautiful has found its niche as a unique mashup of rock concert, TED Talk–style lectures, art installations and gourmet fare.

And this year, for the second time, it’s throwing a comedy club into the mix.

“Integrating comedy into music festivals is a trend that is growing at an extremely rapid pace,” says Paul Chamberlain, who, with Crapshoot Comedy, is producing Life Is Beautiful’s three nights of laughs on the heels of the May debut of its Crapshoot Comedy Festival, also in Downtown Las Vegas.

In Chamberlain’s view, humor and music are a symbiotic pair, enjoying a Casablanca-style beautiful friendship that can thrive if handled with the proper care. “Best-case scenario, it’s a wonderful integration of another art form that goes hand in hand with music,” he explains. “What Life Is Beautiful has given us the latitude to do … is truly curate a group of comics who perfectly match the vibe of the upstart, up-and-coming, high-growth potential of the festival.”

That is to say, you might not instantly recognize any of the names—yet.

And that’s entirely intentional. Chamberlain has painstakingly selected eight established and emerging comics from across the country—as well as a special group of homegrown talents—who are juuuust poised on the brink of mainstream success. You may have seen them on Conan (Solomon Georgio, Dulcé Sloan), The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (Jo Firestone), Tosh.0 (Ryan O’Flanagan), Adam Devine’s House Party (Matthew Broussard) or MTV’s Mary + Jane (Scout Durwood). You might have heard them on WTF with Marc Maron (Mike Lawrence) or read about

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an act in Variety’s “Top 10 Comics to Watch” article (Vladimir Caamaño).

Between them, they’ve written for Inside Amy Schumer, guest-starred on New Girl and The Mindy Project, and won countless stand-up competitions both on- and off-screen. In fact, after this year’s roster had already committed to Life Is Beautiful, Comedy Central announced its half-hour specials for 2017—both Jo Firestone and Solomon Georgio made the cut. Not that it’s going to their heads.

“I live in Los Angeles,” says Georgio, who will be making his first-ever trip to Vegas for the festival. “It’s easy to be humble about [career success] when you see A-list movie stars get harassed at a farmers market on the regular.”

Last year, the festival’s inaugural comedy component taught producers how to make it even better in 2017. Since Life Is Beautiful is known primarily as a music, art and culinary event, attendees don’t always expect to stumble into a stand-up crowd; performers have to be attention-grabbing in as little time as possible. “I love doing shorter sets,” Georgio says. “It trains you to make jokes that have more impact within a time constraint.”

The lineup of comics skews young and media-savvy, possessed of quick wits delivered with brevity that Dorothy Parker would dream of. They have more in common with the festivalgoers themselves than with arena-filling superstars (for the moment, at least)—and that’s also intentional. “Instead of going for the typical names you would see at a concert, we [have] people who wanted to come to Life Is Beautiful,” Chamberlain says. “They would literally buy a ticket.”

From left: Luckily—at least this Matthew year—they won’t have to.

Broussard, Scout Durwood, Dulcé Sloan.

—Una LaMarche

®

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL 2017

LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION! Behind the scenes at the Life Is Beautiful lineup announcement film shoot

By Mark Adams Photography Krystal Ramirez

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL 2017

T

here’s a lot of saving to do when planning to attend a major music festival. Save the dates on your calendar and hold onto a couple vacation days at work. Save up funds to enjoy without looking at bank account balances.

Stow away fun fashion finds to wow when the day to slip on that wristband finally comes. Most importantly, though, there’s energy to be saved—you have three days of walking around a sensory-overload musical playground ahead of you, and it’s probably a good idea to get some rest before crossing the festival threshold.

That’s the idea behind the Life Is Beautiful music festival lineup announcement short film, in which an elderly gentleman wakes up to a glitzy Vegas fantasyland—complete with a striptease from a burlesque beauty, colorful circus props and costumed performers, as well as a troupe of acrobats and aerialists performing tricks that make one’s heart race—after being coaxed out of a self-inflicted, yearlong hibernation following his experience at the festival’s 2016 installment.

“You’ve got this 78-year-old man—even he went to the festival and loved it,” says Ryen McPherson, creative director of Critical Focus, the production company behind the short film. “It was about the idea that the festival is for everybody, and … the things that matter as you get older. How much [do] you care about those things, and to what extent are you willing to go to show that? In this guy’s case, it was going to sleep for an entire year so he can be ready.”

The festival started its tradition of sharing the lineup via video in 2013, and this is the fourth video Critical Focus has helmed. While each flick has been unique in concept, characters and production, they all seem to share one quality: spectacle.

“Life Is Beautiful has always been fun to create things for, because it has so many different components, so many different things you can pull from it,” McPherson says. He adds that this year, he wanted to make the work more cinematic—to tell a story while sharing a badass roster of headliners.

“I like to set things up where, [in] the initial moment, you [say] ‘What the hell’s going on? There’s a dead guy in a room and there’s a doctor,’ and then it starts to build into something really pretty.”

This year’s film was shot exclusively at LOVE Theater in The Mirage, and features performers from headlining productions up and down the Strip. In addition to cast members from each Cirque du Soleil show (which is fitting, considering Cirque’s longtime participation in Life Is Beautiful), the video also stars Melody Sweets of Absinthe, Piff the Magic Dragon (and his Chihuahua sidekick, Mr. Piffles), Carrot Top, Louie Anderson and the Blue Man Group—many of whom have also participated in past years of the festival.

While McPherson says it took two months to shoot last year’s video, the logistics of assembling the long list of Strip talent required the entire 2017 project to be filmed in one day.

“We needed to bring in the best talent we could find from Las Vegas and cover that theater in cameras,” McPherson says. “It was, by far, one of the most ambitious things I’ve ever done professionally, given the amount of time we had and the [level] of expectation.” 7 Visit vegasseven.com for more behind-the-scenes action.

Photography Andrea Walter

VIVA LAS VEGANS

By Diana Edelman

Mexi-Vegan, Top Your Own (Cinnamon) Bun and a Juice Bar Spreads Its Roots

GOODWICH BY CIERRA PEDRO; ROSALLIE LE FRENCH CAFÉ BY KRYSTAL RAMIREZ

If you’re like most of the vegan community and have been missing the popular family-owned Pancho’s Kitchen (5201 W. Charleston Blvd.), we’ve got good news. The Mexican restaurant has (finally) reopened after doing the farmers markets for the better half of the past year. Housed in a new spot just six miles from its old haunt, Pancho’s Kitchen is back and better than ever. The restaurant serves up breakfast, lunch and dinner and has an entire vegan menu of delicious Mexican eats. Start your day with some chilaquiles with vegan cheese and sour cream or nosh on the huevos rancheros. If you’re more of a lunch/dinner Mexican-food junkie, head there later for your fix in the form of tacos, tamales, burritos, enchiladas, nachos and much more.

There’s even vegan Horchata. Swoon.

Need to get that sweet-tooth fix? If you’re in the northwest side of town, the vegan goodness keeps on coming.

Cinnaholic (cinnaholic.com), an all-vegan (shhh, don’t tell your non-vegan friends) and cholesterol-free cinnamon bun shop, recently opened its newest location at 7920 W. Tropical Pkwy. in Centennial Hills. We dig this spot for its createyour-own cinnamon rolls with an abundance of options. Our current favorite: cotton candy frosting (yup, you read that right), fresh raspberries, marshmallows and raspberry jam drizzle. Also new for spring: mango and pineapple.

Finally, Fruits & Roots Cold Pressed Juice Bar + Wellness Kitchen (fruitsnroots.com) has started construction on its third location in town at Blue Diamond Road and Decatur Boulevard. The space is larger than the flagship location (7885 W. Sunset Rd.), and includes a plug-and-play dining room with complimentary Wi-Fi and USB outlets, as well as a drive-thru. It is also expanding its plant-based options on its current menu, which features wraps, soups, salads, bowls and more. Fruits & Roots also has some sweet juices and wellness shots, plus a vegan Caesar salad with a homemade “Rawmesian” cheese (a take on Parmesan) that is dreamy.

The new location opens this summer. 7

SMALL BITES

TASTE

comfort Food

With a Twist

Take a bite of nostalgia with The Goodwich’s rendition of the classic egg salad sandwich. “It’s so simple but delicious,” Joshua Clark, owner and chef, says. Made with a touch of curry, pickled onions and crispy chorizo, it’ll take you back to the good ol’ days while giving you an appreciation of modern improvements with every mouthful. “It’s a sandwich that so many people can relate to,” Clark says. Familiar foods reimagined for the adventurous palate are showing up on many Las Vegas menus, including at Cheffini’s, where you can get a hot dog with a fried quail egg, or at Evel Pie, where rattlesnake sausage is a pizza topping.

This is comfort cuisine that only gets better with time. (900 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Suite 120, thegoodwich.com) –Kimberly De La Cruz

Les Croissants?

The most incredible almond croissants

Oui!

are made with love. One perfect bite starts with a decidedly satisfying nutty crunch of almond slivers, followed by layers of buttery bliss. Jonathan Pluvinet, owner of Rosallie Le French Café (6090 S. Rainbow Blvd, rosallie.com), is the real deal, a baker from the Old World (he’s originally from the south of France) now bringing his delicacies to the desert. Pluvinet faithfully re-creates the pastry by using ingredients close to home, such as French butter from grass-fed cows and French flour. He makes his own almond flour to create the luscious almond cream filling, resulting in a flaky croissant that pairs perfectly with a latte. Also available stuffed and drizzled with chocolate, it’s guaranteed to make a Francophile out of you. –Marisa Finetti

April 27–May 3, 2017 vegasseven.com

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Rising to the

Occasion

F

latbreads of sorts, crafted with dough and baked in a hearth, may date back to ancient times, but 18th-century Naples is the birthplace of pizza as we know it today. Renowned chef Enrico Sautto and his family have been making pizza Napoletana, since 1870. Today, he can be found in front of Hearthstone Kitchen & Cellar’s large ovens demonstrating the mastery of his trade and skillfully rolling dough by hand.

Sautto, whose family owns the oldest pizzeria in Naples, began his culinary career 34 years ago. He says he was encouraged to make the traditional pie in the U.S. by visitors to the region who fell in love with the distinctive pizza style.

After spending time on both coasts—from Miami and Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles—Clique Hospitality owner Andy Masi and partner and executive chef Brian Massie caught wind of Sautto and tapped him to become the face behind Hearthstone’s pizza ovens.

Approaching the set of dark, rustic hooded pizza ovens, Sautto says the hearths are from Naples, pointing out that a true Napoli pizza oven is domed on the interior rather than flat. “The stone [baking surface] has small holes and is this thick,” he says, showing a 3-inch width with his fingers.

The Hearthstone pizza starts with an elastic dough baked in an oak-burning oven at 900 degrees Fahrenheit to create a round or semiround, raisedrimmed pie, which serves as the perfect tableau for a variety of toppings.

Armed with a secret dough recipe that has been in his family since the 19th century, Sautto has made Hearthstone the only restaurant in the Valley to feature this most distinct Italian taste. On the menu you’ll find “D.O.C.” next to the pizza listing, which stands for denominazione di origine controllata, a guarantee that an ingredient is from a certain region in Italy. In Sautto’s pizza, the Bufala mozzarella is from the Campania region.

After a tour of the kitchen, the chef arrives at the table bearing two Margherita pizzas. “On the left is the way Americans like to eat it; on the right is how we make it in Napoli,” he says. Both pies have the same classic ingredients—a light treatment of tomato sauce, cheese and basil. The biggest differences are the location of the pizza in relation to the fire in the oven and the cooking time in the 900-degree heat: 60 seconds for the Italian style and 90 seconds for its American counterpart.

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AUTHENTIC NEAPOLITAN PIES? THE PROOF IS IN THE DOUGH

By Marisa Finetti Photography Krystal Ramirez

The reason for the difference is that the American palate prefers a little drier center and a crispier crust, Sautto explains. There is also a greater degree of charring underneath, compared to the subtle browning of an authentic Neapolitan pie, which appears thinner and has a wetter center (though rest assured, it’s cooked all the way through). Ultimately, Sautto makes it how guests like it.

For heartier appetites, Sautto creates pies with more toppings, including the Abe Froman, which has garlic sausage, mozzarella and chili flakes; the Carbonara, with bacon, arugula, ricotta and a poached egg; and the Truffle Chicken Pizza, with roasted garlic ricotta, Gouda cheese, bacon and chives.

The chef is known for incorporating his Italian charm and family traditions into every dish that leaves his ovens. Neapolitan pizza is a source of local pride in Naples, and the chef loves nothing more than sharing this passion with pizza lovers everywhere. We are lucky to have such authenticity without having to travel to Italy. 7

TASTE

Certified Delicious There are organizations such as the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN) that ensure pizzerias follow the artisanal traditions of an authentic Neapolitan pizza.

The criteria include: A Wood-Burning Oven

Pizza Napoletana must be cooked in a wood-fired dome oven operating at roughly 800˚F.

Proper Ingredients

Only all-natural, non-processed ingredients such as Tipo 00 pizza flour, San Marzano tomatoes, Bufala mozzarella, fresh basil, salt and yeast are used.

Proper Technique

The pizza dough must be kneaded either by hand or with a low-speed mixer. No mechanical dough shaping is allowed (i.e., using a dough press or rolling pin). Baking time should not exceed 90 seconds.

Happy Hours Indeed Pizza specials are offered on the $6 daily happy hour menu, along with a range of bar fare such as pigs in a blanket, mini Hearthstone signature burgers, oysters, steak tartare bits, jalapeño hummus, sliders and deviled eggs. Draft beer and house wines are also $6. And for those who can’t make it to the regular happy hour, the “reverse happy hour” on Saturdays from 9–11 p.m. has all the same offerings.

April 27–May 3, 2017 vegasseven.com

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ASK A NATIVE

CONVERSATIONS

Of Motor Hotels & Neon Before luxury resorts, the Strip was home to the humble motel

By James P. Reza

L

Photography Brian Jones/Las Vegas News Bureau

ike much of the Southwest, Las Vegas truly came into its own during the post-World War II era, an optimistic moment when the automobile was king and road trips were the thing.

Images of the midcentury Strip depict long driveways leading to low-slung casino resorts sprawling with deep setbacks, elegant porte-cochères and acres of free parking. Ah, classic Vegas!

But Las Vegas also sported its share of midcentury motor hotels (hence, “motel”) and motor courts. Common across the American Southwest and throughout California, these quaint, inexpensive bed-downs allowed road-trippers to roll up, check in and park directly in front of their room. What these properties lacked in posh amenities they often tried to make up with stylish, quirky neon signage beckoning weary travelers with promises of air conditioning, color TV and, for the lucky ones, a pool surrounded by parking-lot asphalt.

Bringing together the aesthetic of old Las Vegas with that of modern Palm Springs, the Strip was peppered with such motels, including the Algiers at the north end, the Mirage (later called the Glass Pool Inn for obvious reasons) at the south, and the Desert Rose near the middle. The portion of the Boulevard between Sahara Avenue and Fremont Street held a heavy concentration of these motels: Many of them remain in various stages of remodel

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or decay, but most of the neon is sadly gone. Some of the better preserved ones are Fun City Motel and Holiday Motel, which still have their neon intact, and the Alaska, which continues on as the Sin City Hostel (sans neon), but looks much as it did in 1949.

One of my favorites was the Yucca Motel, whose intricate sign was topped with a neon recreation of a blooming yucca plant. The flower was a hand-bent nest of glass neon tubing that was truly amazing when lit. When the motel was demolished in 2011, its sign was still operational, so it was sad to see it sitting dim and forlorn in the Neon Museum tour. Thankfully, the Yucca is slated as the next sign to be restored and relit (along with the Steiner Cleaners sign), just in time for summer visits to the museum.

It’s wonderful that such a gorgeous neon sign is headed for restoration, but it does beg the question: With all of these intact midcentury motels, where is the commercial effort at restoration?

With the boutique hotel craze showing no signs of slowing, returning these motels to their Googie glory for the hipster crowd would seem a natural move, particularly with the demographic the nearby Downtown area is attracting.

Have a question or comment about Las Vegas past, present or future? Send them to askanative@vegasseven.com

LUCKY NO. 7

CONVERSATIONS

We asked the WENDOH Media staff:

What was the first music festival you attended?

Photography Aaron Thompson “My memory is a little shaky, but I think Extreme Thing 2002 at Desert Breeze Park was my intro to music festivals. I was 14, rocking studded belts and wristbands, waiting for boys in bands to throw their picks/drumsticks and swooning over Daryl Palumbo from Glassjaw.” –Cierra Pedro, senior designer “The first Lollapalooza in 1991, with Siouxsie and the Banshees, Body Count and Jane’s Addiction. All day in the rain ruined my brandnew Paul Smith sweater—and it was amazing.” –Ben Ward, creative director “I was really little and we were living in San Francisco at the time when my parents took us to the Bread & Roses Festival of Music in 1980.

My uncle was a grip in Oakland and Berkeley and hooked us up with tickets. We saw Van Morrison, Herbie Hancock, Etta James, Mose Allison and other musicians dropped in like Joan Baez. Howard Hesseman was the emcee. I don’t remember much except good music and lots of pot in the air: Maybe that’s why my brothers and I had a lot of laughs!” –Kara Nichols, payroll/human resources manager “It was X107.5’s Our Big Concert back in the late ‘90s when it was a daylong event at Sam Boyd Stadium. Props to my mom for allowing me to attend a music festival with friends and no adult supervision at age 12.” –Jessi C. Acuña, senior editor, lifestyle “The Hard Summer Music Festival in Los Angeles, 2013. Both of my friends took Molly, and I snuck in a bottle of sunscreen filled with flavored vodka.” –Ellie Morrissey, marketing coordinator, Life Is Beautiful Music & Art Festival “Rock the Bells in Concord, California, in 2006. I had just launched my own music website and got hooked up with a press pass to see acts like Wu-Tang, Mos Def, Living Legends and more. The highlight, though, was going backstage to interview Immortal Technique—a very angry dude, if you’re unfamiliar—who threatened: ‘If you misquote me, I’ma find you and I’ma fuck you up.’

As he was eating a chocolate chip cookie.” –Zoneil Maharaj, director of digital content

“My first music festival was a Vegas treasure cut short known as Vegoose in 2007. I saved $80 to watch Daft Punk live alongside my cousin. We pretty much lost our minds and I achieved a checkmark on my bucket list.” –Mauricio Morales, marketing manager, Corner Bar Management

April 27–May 3, 2017 vegasseven.com

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