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MGM National Harbor 7 THINGS NOT TO MISS
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June 1–7, 2017
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W HA T TO DO
AF T ER DARK By JASON R. LATHAM
From left: Modest Mouse and Jermain Dupri
THURSDAY 1 EXPERIENCE: Downtown Grand hosts its weekly sum-
mer Old School by the Pool party on the rooftop Citrus Grand Pool Deck. Enjoy R&B hits presented by KOAS Old School 105.7 FM. If they’re taking requests, I want to hear René & Angela’s “I’ll Be Good.” 7 p.m., free, downtowngrand.com
HEAR: Grammy nominee and Texas Chainsaw 3-D actor Trey Songz brings Tremaine the Tour to Brooklyn Bowl at The Linq Promenade, with an assist from singer Mike Angel. 8:30 p.m., $40–$45, brooklynbowl.com
And this is huge: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees The Yardbirds play Vinyl. 8 p.m., $39, inside Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, hardrockhotel.com DANCE: Make it a late evening with Dillon Francis at Intrigue Nightclub inside Wynn Las Vegas. 10:30 p.m., $25–$45, intriguevegas.com
FRIDAY 2 SEE: After three botched jobs in a row, DC Comics
calls on Wonder Woman to save its cinematic
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universe. If anyone can do it, it’s Fast & Furious vet Gal Gadot. Godspeed, Diana. Theaters, showtimes and ticket prices vary, fandango.com. Check out our review at vegasseven.com/wonderwoman EXPERIENCE: The World Series of Beer Pong tourna-
ment begins at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino. This is the 12th year the event has been held in our fine city. If you want to watch, grab yourself a single or three-day spectator pass to the preliminaries and finals on Sunday. $20–$50, bpong.com/WSOBP The Artisan is hosting Happy Hour Jazz at its pool with $5 drink specials, live performances and DJ Lankston from 91.5 FM. 6 p.m., free, artisanhotel.com
HEAR: More than two decades removed from
its Sixteen Stone debut album, and Bush is still rocking. See Gavin Rossdale and company at The Foundry inside SLS Las Vegas. 9 p.m., $40–$45, foundrylv.com
Or join country star Randy Houser on the sand as Mandalay Bay’s Concerts on the Beach series rolls on. 9 p.m., $41, mandalaybay.com And The Smith Center welcomes Broadway singer Morgan James to its Cabaret Jazz venue. 7 p.m., $39–$55, thesmithcenter.com DANCE: Jermaine Dupri has been doing his thing for
more than 30 years now. The legendary producer/ performer headlines at Tao nightclub inside The Venetian. 10:30 p.m., $23, taolasvegas.com
There’s double-barreled action on the bill at Omnia Nightclub inside Caesars Palace, as Calvin Harris takes the stage with support from Generik. 10:30 p.m., $30–$50, omnianightclub.com And speaking of two-fers, Australian DJ duo
Stafford Brothers takes over Nightswim at
Encore at Wynn Las Vegas’ Surrender Nightclub. 10:30 p.m., $25–$35, surrendernightclub.com
SATURDAY 3 HEAR: Grab a chair or picnic blanket and join
saxophonist Eric Darius for Jazz in the Park at the Clark County Government Center Amphitheater. 7 p.m., free, 500 S. Grand Central Pkwy., clarkcountynv.gov/parks Brooklyn Bowl welcomes Modest Mouse with Morning Teleportation. 8 p.m., $55–$58, at The Linq Promenade, brooklynbowl.com Cannery Casino Hotel in North Las Vegas hosts Peace Frog: A Tribute to The Doors. 8 p.m., $9, cannerycasino.com And 96.3 KKLZ Junefest 2017 kicks off at the Sunset Station Outdoor Amphitheater with REO Speedwagon, Don Felder and Martha Davis and the Motels. 5 p.m., $33–$103, stationcasinosevents.com LAUGH: Blue Collar Comedy star and failed 2016 pres-
Bush
SLAP ON THE SUNSCREEN IT’S (POOL) PARTY TIME As you head out this weekend, remember the No. 1 rule: No running by the pool. Drinking, dancing, jumping, drinking, hugging, kissing, drinking—all of those are acceptable. Have fun out there!
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FRIDAY 2 David Schmitt and Tommy Cooperman sound like a couple of IT guys from a Saturday Night Live skit, so that’s probably why they perform under the awesome moniker BREATHE CAROLINA. See them at Rehab Beach Club inside Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. 11 a.m., $10–$20, rehablv.com
idential candidate (for real) Ron “Tater Salad” White is performing at The Mirage. Yes, he likes to be called Tater Salad. 10 p.m., $65–$89, mirage.com DANCE: It’s going to get loud inside Jewel Nightclub when
sisters Miriam and Olivia of Nervo take the stage. 10:30 p.m., $20–$30, inside Aria Resort & Casino, jewelnightclub.com
Elsewhere, DJ Que is spinning at 1 OAK inside The Mirage. 10:30 p.m., $20–$30, 1oaklasvegas.com Big Sean is back at Drai’s Nightclub on the roof of The
Cromwell. 10:30 p.m., $30–$50, draisnightlife.com
And Diplo returns for another residency round at XS Nightclub. 10 p.m., $30–$50, inside Encore at Wynn Las Vegas, xslasvegas.com
SUNDAY 4 EXPERIENCE: Hyde Bellagio embraces the pirate life-
style with its Walk the Plank party. Suggested attire includes: wardrobe suitable for buccaneers, chambermaids, deckhands, scallywags, swashbucklers, pirate wenches and castaways. That pretty much covers the pirate spectrum. Yo ho, yo ho! 6 p.m., $26–$38, inside Bellagio, sbe.com/nightlife/locations/hyde-bellagio HEAR: Gonzo (the musician, not the Muppet) brings
roots-reggae-soul style to Brooklyn Bowl, with guests Aloha Radio and Dubbest. 7 p.m., $10, at The Linq Promenade, brooklynbowl.com DANCE: Grab your board shorts and bikinis, because
after it don’t. 7 p.m., $5, cosmopolitanoflasvegas.com After the movie, head up to Marquee Nightclub for DJ Vice and the third annual Halfway to Halloween Party,
which is an excellent excuse to wear a costume for the evening. The theme is ’80s classic horror films, so think Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, Chucky, the miner from My Bloody Valentine, Ricky from Silent Night, Deadly Night, Joe Spinell from Maniac—how about this, just message me if you need a suggestion. 10:30 p.m., $23–$32, at The Cosmopolitan, marqueelasvegas.com LAUGH: Undercover Brother star Eddie Griffin is back for another round of residency shows at Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. 7 p.m., $79, riolasvegas.com DANCE: RL Grime requests the honor of your presence at XS Nightclub. 10 p.m., $20–$30, at Encore at Wynn Las Vegas, xslasvegas.com
TUESDAY 6 TASTE: It’s Taco Tuesday at Rockhouse inside the
Grand Canal Shoppes. That means 10 different types of tacos can be yours for $1.50 each. Pair them with $5 tequila shots and $7 margaritas. Inside The Palazzo, therockhousebar.com
DANCE: Don’t eat too much or you’ll split your pants
grooving at Omnia Nightclub. You don’t want to embarrass yourself in front of Lil Jon. 10:30 p.m., $20–$40, inside Caesars Palace, omnianightclub.com
Alesso is playing Nightswim at XS. 10 p.m., $40–$60, inside
Encore at Wynn Las Vegas, xslasvegas.com
And BORGEOUS gets the call at Hakkasan Las Vegas inside MGM Grand Las Vegas. 10:30 p.m., $20–$30, hakkasanlv.com
MONDAY 5 EXPERIENCE: Get wet and have a good time at The Cosmo-
politan’s Dive In Movies at Boulevard Pool. This week, the hotel is screening Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore, which still holds up, even if most of his films that came
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WEDNESDAY 7 EXPERIENCE: The Wet ’n’ Wild water park hosts Senior High Grad Nite. Seniors can buy tickets in advance
using the promo code “GR AD,” and be sure to bring a school ID for entry. $15–$20, 7 p.m., 7055 S. Fort Apache Rd., wetnwildlasvegas.com SEE: Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather turned 45 this
year, and Turner Classic Movies is bringing it back to theaters as part of its Big Screen Classics series. 7 p.m., theaters and ticket prices vary, fathomevents.com
Or, catch another DJ duo, SUNNERY JAMES and RYAN MARCIANO, at The Cosmopolitan’s Marquee Dayclub. 11 a.m., $18–$32, marqueelasvegas.com Meanwhile, SOPHIA LIN doesn’t need any backup. She’s holding it down just fine at The Venetian’s Tao Beach. 11:30 a.m., $14–$23, taolasvegas.com
SATURDAY 3 Flamingo Las Vegas is in a throwback state of mind, with MYA performing at the resort’s Go Pool. 9 a.m., $15, gopoolvegas.com DJ/producer MORGAN PAGE is on tap for the sun-soaked crowd at Mandalay Bay’s Daylight Beach Club. 11 a.m., $20–$30, daylightvegas.com Life Is Beautiful vet AUDIEN plays to the rooftop crowd at Drai’s Beachclub. 11 a.m., $20–$40, draisbeachclub.com And after bringing Omnia Nightclub to its feet on Friday night, CALVIN HARRIS will be back behind the decks at MGM Grand’s Wet Republic. 11 a.m., $50–$125, wetrepublic.com
SUNDAY 4 Speaking of DJs pulling night/day shifts, DIPLO will be just a few hours removed from his XS Nightclub appearance when he takes the stage at Encore Beach Club on Sunday. Wake up with him. 11 a.m., $20–$30, at Encore at Wynn Las Vegas, encorebeachclub.com Adult film star KISSA SINS hosts a day at the Sapphire Pool and Dayclub. Remember to keep your eyes to yourself. Noon, $20, sapphirepoollv.com
DJ GREG LOPEZ plays Bare Pool
Lounge at The Mirage. 11 a.m., $10–$20, barepoollv.com
And Rehab welcomes BORGORE to the party. 11 a.m., $20–$40, at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, rehablv.com –J.R.L.
CliQue
Bar & Lounge [ LOUNGE TOUR ] By KAT BOEHRER Photography TOMO
Your Host Brittany Bertich As marketing manager at Clique in The Cosmopolitan, located on the casino floor, Bertich heads promotional efforts and programming. She describes the venue as a step up from your average bar, but without the extreme volume and flashy crowd of a nightclub. “If you’re looking to dance, have a good time and [share] great conversation, it’s the ideal place to go,” she says. “The vibe is fun, exciting and sexy, with a classic throwback feel.”
Drinks and Snacks Of the 14 specialty cocktails and shooters on Clique’s menu, Bertich suggests the Benny Blanco. It consists of Casamigos Blanco tequila, pineapple chili shrub, Velvet Falernum, lemon and seltzer. She says that bottle service is available for wine and Champagne, but for spirits, Clique offers a tableside mixology cart where drinks are created for each customer on the fly. “We have our mixologist come over with the mixology cart, and they create the drink right in front of you. They explain the history of the drink and how the ingredients come together,” she says. As for the bites, Bertich says, “My favorite food option, without a doubt, is our Clique Signature Wings.” The lollipop-style wings come with tried-and-true favorites: celery, carrot sticks and blue cheese or ranch dipping sauce. Bertich also recommends Bill’s Spicy Tuna from the menu, which involves a yummy mix of crispy rice and ponzu sauce.
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Mix It Up The space isn’t just for tourists, either. Bertich encourages locals to come out with their “cliques” on industry nights to hang with other Vegas residents and enjoy well-crafted drinks and great company. She also points to Clique’s annual industry event, Master of Mixology, as a must-experience party. “We have mixologists throughout the city compete head-to-head to win a trip to [cocktail festival] Tales of the Cocktail, which takes place in New Orleans.” This year’s winner was Melissa Lybrook from Marquee Nightclub.
Playlist “Our format is open—anything but electronic or house. So it’s all ’90s hip-hop, ’80s classics, rock ’n’ roll, alternative and Top 40,” Bertich says. The venue hosts both DJs and live performers, depending on the night. Find DJ Stretch manning the decks or Rein Garcia putting his own twist on live music. Clique is the perfect spot for those looking to listen to music that’s different from the usual fare in the Strip’s big-room nightclubs.
Clique Bar & Lounge Inside The Cosmopolitan Mon.–Fri. 4 p.m.–3 a.m. Sat.–Sun. noon–3 a.m. Food served from 4 p.m.–1 a.m. cliquelv.com facebook.com/cliquelv Instagram: @thecliquelv
Save the Date #MyClique Mondays DJ Stretch June 5, DJ Neva June 12, D-Miles June 19, Kid Conrad June 26 Unplugged Tuesdays and Thursdays Wise June 1 and June 29, Taj June 6 and June 20, Rein Garcia June 8 and June 27, Cass Rios June 13 and June 22, Street Folk June 15 For the full events calendar, visit cliquelv.com/events
June 1– 7, 2017 vegasseven.com
LAS VEGAS BY THE HARBOR SEVEN DON’T-MISS MOMENTS AT MGM’S NEW CASINO-RESORT IN MARYLAND By MELINDA SHECKELLS
NATIONAL HARBOR, MARYLAND, MIGHT SOUND AS disparate from Las Vegas as Springfield, Massachusetts. But thanks to new casino developments from MGM Resorts International, both cities are now more like us than ever before. (MGM Springfield will open in September 2018.) The $1.4 billion MGM National Harbor debuted in December with a spectacular art collection, a restaurant roster to be rivaled and an assortment of luxury stores plucked straight from the Strip. Guests arrive to the property after a 40-minute ride from Dulles International airport. National Harbor is situated in a location touching all three major parts of the Potomac region: across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge from Alexandria, Virginia, adjacent to Prince George’s County, Maryland, and south of Washington, D.C. At first glance, it will all seem so familiar. The entry of MGM National Harbor provides a view of its own Bellagio-like Conservatory, a 15,000-square-foot floral attraction created by designer Ed Libby that changes seasonally. Expect to find a packed casino on any day or night and a large influx of tourists from Asia, with 16 Macau-style baccarat tables and 3,300 state-of-the-art slot machines, in addition to high-limit gaming, poker and other table games. Chefs José Andrés, Marcus Samuelsson, and Bryan and Michael Voltaggio all have bustling restaurants with unique concepts that embrace the flavors of the region. Andrés, a longtime resident of D.C. known for bringing modern Spanish cuisine to the palates of American diners, offers the simply titled Fish, with fare true to Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay. Standouts include the tuna tartare, made tableside with Parker House rolls, egg yolk, mustard sauce, anchovies and shoestring potatoes, and José’s lobster roll, with butter-warmed lobster, celery and mayonnaise espuma. Celebrity-chef restaurants are only part of the portfolio. When casual hunger strikes—even late at night—hit the numerous food stalls that make up National Market. Pappas Crabcakes gives a taste of the most popular local cuisine: the lumpy and plump crabcake. Zizi’s Pizza is an original concept featuring New York–style pies using executive chef Jason Johnston’s grandma’s recipes. Another attraction, for both locals and visitors is the 3,000-seat theater, which hosts many of the same residents that hit Las Vegas, including Bruno Mars, Cher and Ricky Martin. When you have 24, 48 or 72 hours to spend east, here are the seven don’t-miss highlights from a stay at MGM National Harbor.
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DINNER AT VOLTAGGIO BROTHERS STEAKHOUSE
Natives of Frederick, Maryland, brothers Bryan and Michael Voltaggio are at the helm of the casino-resort’s steakhouse. The design of the restaurant, which unfolds throughout numerous rooms, mimics the decor of their childhood home. Find a perfectly cooked steak as well as a cocktail list that reads like a timeline of drinking history.
EXTERIOR AND SPA BY TRACEY BROWN; STEAKHOUSE AND CORNER SUITE BY ROBB SCHARETG; “CINDERELL A SHOE” PHOTO BY SEAN KELLY; SJP BY ESV PRODUCTIONS LLC
THE HERITAGE ART COLLECTION
MGM Resorts International is known for its dedication to the arts, and its impressive visual collection is on display throughout its properties worldwide. At National Harbor, more than a dozen acquisitions are known as the Heritage Art Collection and are representative of artists and materials found in the area. A few of the most significant include the first permanent public work by musician Bob Dylan called “Portal,” a sculpted iron archway. The 26-foot by 15-foot custom-welded gate is made of found objects and adorns the west entrance of the casino. Two of the most significant installations at National Harbor belong to artist Liao Yibai, whose work addresses the theme of the Chinese obsession with material goods. Take note of “Fighting Cash” in the main entry leading from the casino porte cochere to the Conservatory; and “Cinderella Shoe,” in the shopping promenade.
A CORNER SUITE
When it comes to a good night’s sleep, you can’t go wrong with a corner suite featuring floor-to-ceiling windows in a nearly 1,000-square-foot space. Coupled with impressive views of the Potomac River, Washington Monument, Capitol Building, Old Town Alexandria and National Harbor, the bedroom comes to a sharp, narrow point, which is a great place for a galactic-looking selfie. One of the room’s most unique features is the adjustable lighting in the bathroom mirrors, also prime for photo taking. This suite has a separate living room. Overall, the 24-story building has 234 guest rooms and 74 suites, including Presidential and Chairman accommodations.
IN-ROOM DINING FROM MARCUS
They call it farm-to-bed. This is the only place in the world where you can have food from chef Marcus Samuelsson without leaving the confines of the covers. The Ethiopian-born, Sweden-raised, Samuelsson knows comfort food, and, as the name dictates, it is best eaten while comfortable. The breakfast signature is The Egg, an open-faced fried chicken biscuit sandwich topped with gravy. Don’t skip the buttery grits.
And there’s no need to call room service when done, the food carts at National Harbor have Tray Tracker, a real-time alert technology that eliminates manual cart discovery. When the cart is placed outside the door, a hidden receiver in the doorbell picks up the signal and sends a message to an online portal that monitors and manages room service deliveries.
DRINKS AT FELT
Opposite page, from top: Exterior, dining room at Voltaggio Brothers Steakhouse. This page, top, from left: Liao Yibai’s “Cinderella Shoe,” spa entrance, corner suite. Below: Chef Samuelsson’s fried green tomatoes and oysters, SJP shoe boutique.
Las Vegas’ Clique Hospitality manages both Blossom Cocktail Lounge and Felt, the hub of MGM National Harbor’s nightlife. Craft cocktails are served from a custom-designed cart. In addition to the DJ action inside, there is a stunning patio with a fire pit for late-afternoon and evening fun.
FACE TIME
The Spa & Salon, with 11 treatment rooms, offers couples’ suites, hydrotherapy and a Vichy room within the confines of its minimalist two-story design. The emphasis is on mind, body and spirit wellness versus over-the-top ornamentation. French skin care company Clarins created the treatments for the Spa & Salon.
SHOP JUST LIKE IN VEGAS
Popular Las Vegas men’s boutique Stitched Lifestyle has a store that is a twin of its Las Vegas location in National Harbor’s retail promenade, booze lockers and all. Washington Nationals star player and Las Vegas hometown hero Bryce Harper is a customer. Actress and shoe queen Sarah Jessica Parker opened her first stand-alone retail store at National Harbor and will soon bring her second location to Bellagio. Shop the rows and rows of confection-colored shoes, which will make any woman swoon. 7
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FRI, JUNE 2
SAT, JUNE 3
BOYS NOIZE
WALE JUNE 9
JUNE 24
JUNE 10
JUNE 11
DEE JAY SILVER
JAMIE IOVINE
JUNE 30
JULY 7
JUNE 15
JUNE 16
JUNE 18
KEVIN HART JULY 8
REHAB@HRHVEGAS.COM | 702.693.5505 | HARDROCKHOTEL.COM | REHABLV.COM /REHABLV #REHABLV
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JULY 9
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[ EAT THIS ]
MIDNIGHT MUNCHIES
By KIMBERLY DE LA CRUZ Photography KIN LUI
HIT UP THESE SEVEN SPOTS FOR NOCTURNAL NOSHING There’s no reason to stumble out of a bar, concert, late shift or any of the other after-dark activities Vegas has to offer and wind up home with an empty stomach. Avoiding 3 a.m. calls to exes, staying up a little longer to catch up on Netflix and prepping for that morning meeting you can’t miss is so much easier with a stop at one of these late-night joints.
PEPPERMILL FIRESIDE LOUNGE
The Peppermill (2985 Las Vegas Blvd. South, peppermilllasvegas.com), so close to big Strip resorts you could almost walk there barefoot, stilettos in hand, is arguably the most popular round-the-clock restaurant in Las Vegas. The lounge can make you feel like cozying up to whomever you’re out with that night, ready to catch a second wind for Round Two. The atmosphere is extra Vegas, with extensive cocktail and food menus to match.
Peppermill’s menu includes comfort-food favorites such as Reuben sandwiches and French toast, as well as a wide selection of fun cocktails.
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SIEGEL’S 1941
Feeling mobster-fancy in the middle of the night? Stop by Siegel’s 1941 (inside El Cortez, elcortezhotelcasino.com), named after Bugsy Siegel, for some prime rib 24 hours a day. Inside El Cortez Hotel and Casino, the Americanfare cafe is popular among locals and tourists. The restaurant’s tufted red leather booths, sounds from the casino floor and classic old-school Vegas menu hearkens to another era.
VICKIE’S DINER
Just north of the ever-changing Arts District, beneath the country’s tallest freestanding observation deck, stands something a little less conspicuous but just as relevant and famous—Vickie’s Diner (1700 Las Vegas Blvd. South, vickiesdiner.com). All day every day, diners can enjoy soda-fountain eats such as biscuits and gravy, open-faced rib eye sandwiches, and liver and onions at off-Strip prices, even though it’s right on the Boulevard. Grab a seat at the bar after a long night and eat all the things you’re not supposed to.
SECRET PIZZA INSIDE THE COSMOPOLITAN
Tucked down a narrow hallway sans signage inside The Cosmopolitan (cosmopolitanlasvegas.com), nosh on Secret Pizza’s low-key Italian offerings until 5 a.m. The unsuspecting black sign with white-tile letters that looks like it could be in a skating rink snack bar does not match the menu items it lists. Judging by the regular wait to get in, crowds know this is one of the best slices in town.
EL DORADO CANTINA
Nothing makes you feel like “Man, I’ve gotta fill up on chips and guac before I eat an entire plate of Mexican food” like watching women in amazing shape, wearing bikinis, do the splits around a stripper pole. Vegas, baby. Adjacent to Sapphire Gentlemen’s Club, you’ll find El Dorado Cantina (3025 Sammy Davis Jr. Dr., eldoradovegas.com), open 24 hours a day. Tableside guacamole, salads and small bites are just some of the Mexican dishes you can get your energy from for a long night of beyond PG entertainment.
FRYKING AWESOME
If you feel like starting or ending your night with good street food, good people and good music, make your way east on Fremont Street to The Bunkhouse Saloon’s front yard, where you’ll find the Fryking Awesome cart. Saddle up on a wooden picnic bench and grub on favorites such as hand-cut fries with homemade ketchup, barbecue tacos, soups and sandwiches crafted by chef Eric Scott, known among Downtowners as Sweat Michaels. He’s cooking for you Monday, Thursday and Friday, from 10 p.m. until Downtown shuts down.
With the main ingredients roasting before your eyes, you know the al pastor tacos at El Gordo are going to be fresh.
TACOS EL GORDO
Sure, you can drive through any fast-food restaurant that has a word rhyming with “yell” in its name. But why would you, when Tacos El Gordo (tacoselgordobc.com) is serving up authentic Tijuana-style tacos, mulas and sopes through its window until 2 a.m.? A craving for beef tongue after dancing at the club may sound strange, but it’s delicious, and at least you’ll know what the meat’s made of. There are multiple locations across the Valley, and the one at the intersection of East Charleston Boulevard and South Bruce Street is ready for you, Downtowners. June 1– 7, 2017 vegasseven.com
[ DON’T MISS ]
WHEN YOU HEAR
COREY FELDMAN, YOU KNOW IT’S COREY FELDMAN
The singer/actor kicks off his summer tour in Vegas with a message of positivity By JASON R. LATHAM
You don’t forget Corey Feldman’s voice.
Not after you watch The Lost Boys every day after school for a year and memorize his “That’s not an ordinary piece of paper!” speech from License to Drive. That’s the voice on the other end of the phone right now. When the former child actor calls, I’m watching a YouTube video of him performing “Cry Little Sister” from The Lost Boys soundtrack to a crowd in Omaha, Nebraska. “It’s a very difficult song,” he says, no doubt hearing the video in the background. “It kind of needs the right setting.” It needs the right audience of Lost Boys fans too, and Feldman is pushing himself to make his rendition memorable. Backed by a quartet of lingerie-clad musicians he refers to as “the Angels,” he screams the titular refrain into the microphone, to which they respond almost as if in a trance—“Thou shall not fall.” The lyrics are as familiar as Feldman’s vampire-slaying Edgar Frog character in the now 30-year-old horror comedy. What may not be familiar is the sight of the movie star behind a microphone, despite the fact that he’s been a singer for nearly as long as he’s been an actor. “The very first recording that I have is the 1988 single “Something In Your Eyes” from Dream a Little Dream,” he explains. “As a little kid, my very first pop hero was Shaun Cassidy,” Feldman says, laughing. “[Cassidy] was cheesy pop, but I was 7 so don’t hold it against me.” Graduating from Cassidy to KISS, Styx and Journey, the actor—who had yet to break through with The Goonies and Stand by Me—began writing his own lyrics at 13 in the style of another ’80s legend, “Weird Al” Yankovic. “The way that I taught myself to write was creating my own parodies,” he says. “And after I’d written a handful of those, I took it upon myself to write my first song.” Those early attempts led to “Something In Your Eyes,” which Feldman still has on vinyl, despite it never being officially released on the Dream a Little Dream soundtrack. His well-documented substance abuse problems were a setback to his musical career, he admits, adding, “all of the material that I recorded between ’89 and ’91 all just kind of disappeared.” The lessons learned from those experiences can be heard in the music that followed, in songs such as “What’s Up With the Youth” and “Take a Stand.” Angelic 2 the Core, the 2016 debut album from his band Corey Feldman & the Angels, is about “the battle of good and evil and the fact that I feel we live in very dark times.” “Through it all, we need to remember our place in the spiritual realm,” he says. This month, Feldman’s group (which includes his wife, Courtney) will launch an ambitious 40-city Angelic 2 the U.S. summer tour, with its first stop June 9 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino’s Vinyl showroom in Las Vegas (8 p.m., $25–$100). The “Cry Little Sister” performance, recorded in March, is from a mini-tour that “was kind of a warm-up to get the band learning such a large amount of material in such a short amount of time,” he explains. When the band hits the road they’ll be pulling tracks from Feldman’s albums and films, and even the occasional cover, creating what he describes as a “time-travel kind of feel.” But he promises that audiences won’t see the same show twice. “We’re going to create chapters,” he says. “We do a couple of songs from Lost Boys, we might have a Rock ’n’ Roll High School section, or an acoustic part, or maybe a section where I just play an instrumental by myself.” Feldman’s on-stage theatricality, Michael Jackson-esque dance moves—“[Jackson] is where I found my style, before that I wasn’t a dancer,” he says—and the Angels costumes are likely to play better in a darkened club than they did last fall on the brightly-lit set of the Today show. He brings up the incident without prompting and dismisses the “flack” and
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negativity that his performance received on social media. But he doesn’t dismiss it angrily, nor does he take a defensive stance. The only takeaway from the Today show performance: “Everyone up there is doing a multitude of jobs, and I am extremely proud of each and every one of them,” he says. And that’s when it becomes apparent that Corey Feldman isn’t asking anyone to validate his music career. Here’s a guy who grew up in the spotlight and has had every detail of his personal life run through the tabloid grinder. He’s still standing and still singing. “[My music] is about love and life, it’s always been a positive message,” he says. “Even going back to the songs from Rock ’n’ Roll High School Forever.” And when did he realize with confidence that he’s made the transition from Corey Feldman the actor to Corey Feldman the singer? “I’ll let you know when I get there.”
The First Rock ’n’ Roll Vampire Flick with Teenagers Corey Feldman on The Lost Boys turning 30
In July 1987, The Lost Boys resurrected a classic horror villain—the vampire—at a time when Freddy and Jason dominated Hollywood’s slasher scene. The film succeeded with style, a killer soundtrack and comic relief in the form of Corey Feldman’s vampire slayer Edgar Frog, a role he would reprise in two sequels, 2008’s Lost Boys: The Tribe, and 2010’s Lost Boys: The Thirst. “There was really nothing like [The Lost Boys] before that time,” Feldman says. “Everything outside of that was either a comedy with George Hamilton [Love at First Bite] or Christopher Lee [Dracula] horror. “They really created something original and one of a kind and I think that’s why it lingers. It was the first rock ‘n’ roll vampire flick with teenagers.” 7