7
MARIJUANA MIXTAPES WIZ KHALIFA MAKES MOVES IN THE CANNABIS INDUSTRY
#DTLV
WHERE TO GO DOWNTOWN DURING LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
FREE September 21–27, 2017
W H A T TO D O
AF T ER DARK By JASON R. LATHAM
Left: Miley Cyrus; Top: Kings of Leon
FRIDAY 22 SPLASH: In a couple of weeks, Rehab Beach Club
will close out its season. At least we can still enjoy
Breathe Carolina in the Friday afternoon sun-
shine. 11 a.m., $10–$20, at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, rehablv.com
EXPERIENCE: Get a seat for the live pay-per-view of
Ring of Honor: Death Before Dishonor XV wrestling event at Sam’s Town Live. If you miss your chance, there’s another national television taping on Saturday night. 6 p.m., $36–$58, inside Sam’s Town Hotel & Gambling Hall, samstownlive.com HEAR: T-Mobile Arena hosts this year’s iHeartRadio
Music Festival, with a Friday–Saturday lineup
that includes Coldplay, Chris Stapleton, Kings of Leon, Harry Styles and Miley Cyrus. 7:15 p.m., $169–$823, t-mobilearena.com And up at Red Rock Resort’s Rocks Lounge,
Richard Cheese & Lounge Against the Machine
put the swing into your favorite pop hits. 8 p.m., $39–$64, stationcasinosevents.com
SATURDAY 23 EXPERIENCE: If you’re a fan of Mel Brooks’ classic
Young Frankenstein, catch the final performance
of the musical based on the movie at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park’s Super Summer Theatre. 7:05 p.m., $15–$20, 6375 Highway 159, supersummertheatre.org
EXPERIENCE: Food trucks, artists, street games and
DJs will pack Third Street outside Downtown Grand for the monthly Third Thursday on 3rd event. Why should you go? There will be “last call” tickets for the Life Is Beautiful Music & Art Festival available. 7 p.m., downtowngrand.com HEAR: While you’re Downtown, swing by Beauty
Bar for a double-barreled ’90s live music fix, starring the Toadies and Local H! That’s not to be missed. 8 p.m., $20, 517 Fremont St., beautybarlv.com
September 21ñ27, 2017 vegasseven.com
Or stroll on over to the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center and catch Miller Lite’s free music concert series, Conciertos Originales, featuring Latin Grammy winners Banda Los Recoditos. Entry is free and first come, first served. 7 p.m., dlvec.com LAUGH: Support the local comedy scene at Hard Rock Goes Bonkerz at Hard Rock Café. Tonight’s headliner is Las Vegas Comedy Festival winner Kathleen Dunbar. 7 p.m., $15, hardrock.com DANCE: Mandalay Bay’s Daylight Beach Club stays open late for another Eclipse party, and they’ve got Ja Rule lined up, too. 10 p.m., $20–$40, daylightvegas.com
HEAR: Brooklyn Bowl hosts motherfreakin’ Danzig
with opening acts Deafheaven, Vamps and 3TEETH. Rock on. 6:30 p.m., $35–$50, at The Linq Promenade, brooklynbowl.com
DANCE: Don’t let it get too late or you’ll miss hip-hop trio Migos at their Drai’s Nightclub residency on the roof of The Cromwell. 10:30 p.m., $40–$60, draisnightlife.com
And Travis Scott checks in for the night at Hakkasan Las Vegas. 10:30 p.m., $25–$40, inside MGM Grand, hakkasanlv.com
MILEY CYRUS BY LIAM HEMSWORTH
THURSDAY 21
INDUSTRY EDITION THU, SEP 21
FRI, SEP 22
REHAB PRESENTS
SUNDAY SCHOOL SUN, SEP 24
DJ ENVY SUN, SEP 24
REHAB@HRHVEGAS.COM | 702.693.5505 | HARDROCKHOTEL.COM | REHABLV.COM
/REHABLV #REHABLV
TUESDAY 26 SUNDAY 24 SPLASH: Starting to feel like sum-
mer’s long gone? That’s exactly why Wet Republic invented its Endless Sundays party. Get down there and party with DJ/producer NGHTMRE. 11 a.m., $25–$40, at MGM Grand, wetrepublic.com
EXPERIENCE: Smart is sexy. Get in
on the pub quizzes at Aces & Ales’
Geeks Who Drink party at their
northwest location. 8 p.m., 2801 N. Tenaya Way, acesandales.com
DANCE: Julian Jordan plays Omnia
Nightclub, with DJ Shift manning the decks in Heart of Omnia. 10:30 p.m., $20–$40, inside Caesars Palace, omnianightclub.com
DANCE: If you slept in and missed your
chance to enjoy a dayclub party, your bathing suit will still be good for XS Nightclub’s Nightswim, featuring the legendary David Guetta. 10:30 p.m., $40–$60, xslasvegas.com
WEDNESDAY 27 EXPERIENCE: Andiron Steak & Sea at
SPLASH: Pretend it’s still the weekend
and drop by Bare Pool Lounge at The Mirage for its weekly industry party featuring Joseph Gettright. 11 a.m., $10–$20, barepoollv.com
HEAR: TriCounty Terror plays a free show at Beauty Bar. The band is billed as “five sexy, savage, whiskey-shootin’ ladies from Texas.” Say no more: We want to go. 8 p.m., 517 Fremont St.,beautybarlv.com DANCE: Don’t you want to have a good
story to tell people at work on Tuesday? Of course you do! So why would you miss DJ Vice at The Cosmopolitan’s Marquee Nightclub? 10:30 p.m., $18–$32, marqueelasvegas.com
Top: David Guetta; Bottom: Lost Kings
September 21ñ27, 2017 vegasseven.com
en’s empowerment and benefiting Communities in Schools. The event features a fashion show presented by Dillard’s and interactive beauty bars by Sephora. 5:30 p.m., $125–$2,500, stylewithacause.com DRINK: Hyde Bellagio hosts Unwined
Wednesdays with half-off select
bottles and glasses of wine. There’s your reason to go, enjoy. 5 p.m., bellagio.com
DANCE: If you need more than wine to
unwind, relieve your stress with L.A. DJ duo Lost Kings at Surrender Nightclub’s Nightswim party. 10:30 p.m., $25–$35, inside Encore at Wynn Las Vegas, surrendernightclub.com 7
DAVID GUETTA BY ELLEN VON UNWERTH
MONDAY 25
Downtown Summerlin hosts Style With a Cause, celebrating wom-
By LISSA TOWNSEND RODGERS Photography DANNY MAHONEY
SMOKING THE COMPETITION WIZ KHALIFA
OWNS THE RAP GAME AND THE WEED GAME September 21ñ27, 2017 vegasseven.com
WIZ KHALIFA may be a chart-topping,
award-winning rapper, but his reach extends beyond that. Musically, he’s collaborated with everyone from Rick Ross to Fall Out Boy, kicked off his own Taylor Gang Ent. record label and released a bevy of mixtapes and remixes. Furthermore, Wiz is on his way to becoming a mogul in the blooming cannabis industry, with his own Khalifa Kush marijuana strain and Weed Farm mobile game. “I totally think that me and a lot of other hardworking celebs are responsible for moving things forward, just because we are good examples for all the great things pot can do,” Wiz says. Much like other famed smokers such as scientist Carl Sagan, entrepreneur Steve Jobs and fellow hip-hop hero Snoop Dogg, cannabis has not held Wiz back from international success. And, of course, weed is now adding to his achievements. Khalifa Kush is sold in three states and locally at Reef dispensaries—where Wiz has been known to stop by to pick up supplies and say hello to fans of all of his work. “I did not really ever think about having my own strain of weed. It’s really kind of cool that that has happened,” he says. “The process was really just me trying to find the best weed in the world that I like, and it turns out a bunch of other people like it, too.” They like it enough that Reef can sell out of Khalifa Kush within 24 hours. Music and marijuana combine in Wiz’s “Weedmixes,” a line of remixes he has been releasing as appetizers for folks hungry for his Rolling Papers 2 album to hit. But it’s more than that: “The weedmixes are just fun as heck. It’s something that I always did before I got my record deal. I feel like it is my responsibility to the weed community to remix popular songs but just strictly talk about weed on them,” he says. He’s also combined cannabis and gaming with Wiz Khalifa’s Weed Farm, in which aspiring moguls can grow their own crops—and their own businesses. “Weed Farm came along because me and everybody that I’m around loves pot. There were a lot of good opportunities in the tech space and I figured we might as well make something that is true to us,” he says. Wiz also points out that he’s releasing updates this week to fit with Las Vegas’ new recreational market. “The [game’s] Vegas tournament is gonna be crazy for sure.” Of course, that’s not the only Vegas-related thing Wiz is up to this week, as he hits town to headline Life Is Beautiful Music & Art Festival. “I can’t wait to do the festival. I love festivals. All different types of people listening to different kinds of music,” he says, “Some people could give a shit less and some people are there ’cause they love it. So it’s always a good dynamic.” But, after he’s done performing for the masses, what does Wiz do when he’s in the entertainment capital of the world? “I’m just happy that you can smoke weed and not get in trouble for it. That’s what I like to do in Vegas.” Wiz Khalifa Saturday, 11:35 p.m., Ambassador Stage.
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T H E I VA L T S E F S L FE E By JESSI C. ACUÑA
Here’s the skinny on where to get the Life Is Beautiful vibes beyond the festival gates
W
September 21–27, 2017 vegasseven.com
hether you plan to attend Life Is Beautiful Music & Art Festival or not, here are some rocking spots to check out as the spirit of the event takes over Downtown September 22 to 24.
W Las Vegas For an early start, check out Thursday night’s Lapus Music Showcase at the Wet Deck from 8 p.m.–1 a.m. for $10. The W is a partner with Hotels for Hope and Life Is Beautiful, the Living Room bar is expected to be chock-full of attendees pre- and post-festival. 2535 Las Vegas Blvd. South, wlasvegas.com
Commonwealth Starting at 2 p.m. Friday through Sunday, projectors and TVs throughout the bar air the Yahoo! Life Is Beautiful Live Stream of selected acts. In the evening, DJs take the rooftop stage beginning at 10 p.m., with guest performer Ella Vos on Sunday night. 525 Fremont St., commonwealthlv.com
Evel Pie Grab a slice, get a brewski and roll to the back patio at Evel Pie, which is hosting bands starting at 10 p.m. on Saturday night. With group names such as Lethal Injection, Life’s Torment and the Bitters, the free show is the antidote to flower crowns and hula-hoops. Plus, it’s open until 4:20 a.m. 508 Fremont St., evelpie.com
Festival season may be nearing its end, but football season is just picking up speed. Stop by the California to take advantage of its football-season beer specials, including $3 Shock Tops and Goose Islands. Buckets start at $15, and with plenty of bars showing the games, it’s an ideal pre-festival stop for football fans on Sunday. 12 E. Ogden Ave., thecal.com
September 21–27, 2017 vegasseven.com
PHOTO BY ANDREW SEA JAMES
California Hotel & Casino
Stand Out in a Sea of Cutoffs
Plaza Hotel & Casino As an official hotel for the festival, the Plaza is going to be popping round-the-clock. From pool parties Saturday and Sunday to late-night bites and DJs Under the Dome nightly, it’s the spot to get in on the action. Plus, Tokimonsta performs a free set on Saturday at the Plaza Events Center (doors open at midnight). 1 N. Main St., plazahotelcasino.com
September 21–27, 2017 vegasseven.com
Downtown Grand The Capital Cities Saturday pool party is at capacity, but there are plenty of other reasons to swing by the Grand. That includes $1 PBRs and the Freedom 2 Brunch experience for $20, which offers live entertainment and an all-you-can-eat menu as well as a bottomless Bloody Mary bar for an additional $10. Local musicians take over Freedom Beat on Friday and Saturday nights from midnight to 3 a.m. 206 N. 3rd St., downtowngrand.com
PL AZA BY KEY LIME PHOTO; ATOMIC STYLE LOUNGE BY KRYSTAL RAMIREZ
Festival trends come and go. So what’s in the forecast for this year’s Life Is Beautiful? Our money is on mood hair color. Bold pastel hues have been a mainstay in salons for some time now, but the color-changing dye that goes from one shade to the next with a variation in temperature is the next evolution. Available only during Life Is Beautiful weekend, Atomic Style Lounge is offering the service for $60, which includes a blowout. Like that mood ring from junior high school, purples turn to pinks and greens to yellows, for example. And thanks to the heat of the Las Vegas sun, the mood hair color is sure to make that mane a talking point at the festival. The dye works best on blond hair or layered over light to medium pastel colors, and fades after a wash. But if you really want to go all out, Atomic is also offering glitter boobs. That’s right: adornment for your breasts. For $150, a body painter decorates the chest area with cosmetic glitter, gemstones and highlighters with optional pasties to go with the design. No shame in freeing the nipple to let the girls come out and play. Glitter accents for the face and body as well as hair roots and beards are also available. 1237 S. Main St., atomicstylelounge.com –J.C.A.
Park on Fremont Temporary grass extends the patio garden into the parking lot for musicians, including Jessica Manalo and Cameron Dettman, to play from 1–4 p.m. each day. There’s also a braid bar, art and chalk installations and games. Have a $7 Wild Tonic Kombucha while you’re at it. 506 Fremont St., parkonfremont.com
Gold Spike
7th & Carson The newest addition to the Downtown scene, 7th & Carson is taking full advantage of its close proximity to the festival entrance gates, starting with 11 a.m. brunch Thursday–Sunday. There’s also a keg party on its patio during the weekend, and DJ After School Special plays a set Friday night at 8 p.m. 616 E. Carson Ave., Suite 110, facebook.com/7thandcarson
Inspire With $3 PBRs, $5 margs and $5 Bloody Mary’s, Inspire is a good option for pre-gaming (noon–4 p.m.) or checking out the live stream, which begins at 5 p.m. The Fremont spot also offers rooftop afterparties and ideal views for people-watching throughout DTLV. 107 Las Vegas Blvd. South, inspirelasvegas.com
September 21ñ27, 2017 vegasseven.com
Gold Spike has you covered with a Life Is Beautiful Live Festival Simulcast starting at 5 p.m. Music sets and Q&As from CBS Soundhouse (11 a.m.–6 p.m. daily) in the Real World Suite are also being aired live throughout the venue. Festival afterparties include DJs and an express line for those with wristbands from the fest. Entrance is free. 217 Las Vegas Blvd., goldspike.com
[ NOW POURING ]
MORE THAN JUST
‘THAT ’70S BAR’
CORDUROY USES ITS SMART, NOSTALGIC MENU TO TRANSCEND TIME AND PLACE By XANIA V. WOODMAN
For this child of the late 1970s, mere
mention of the word corduroy conjures memories of a shorter, chubbier version of myself toddling down the hall of our apartment building, the groovy wales of my navy, cordovan or mustard cords singing “Vooop! Vooop! Vooop!” as I went. It’s a good memory, with all the accompanying warm fuzzies. Corduroy, Downtown Project’s latest venture, elicits similarly sentimental feelings. It would, however, be incredibly lazy to just label the Fremont Street watering hole a ’70s/’80s–themed bar and call it a day—it’s so much more nuanced than that. The beverage program created by former Oak & Ivy lead mixologist Chris Gutierrez layers its considerable crafty virtues beneath a nonchalant veneer of throwback cool. They’re all here for the taking: pinkie-up classics, thoughtful original creations, nostalgic shooters, heritage beers and more complex brews like sours and gose. “The No. 1 thing I’m shooting for here is to be able to serve everybody,” Gutierrez says. And, considering the bar’s situation at the heart of Fremont
September 21–27, 2017 vegasseven.com
Photography KRYSTAL RAMIREZ
East, he is assured to do exactly that. “So, beyond this era that we’re hanging out in, my goal is to be able to not have to turn you down for whatever it is that you might like. Your order could read like this: ‘I’ll have a PBR, an Eagle Rare Old Fashioned, a Sex on the Beach and a Yamazaki 12, neat.’ And my goal is to be able to execute that.” Boasting a backbar stocked with everything from the workaday shot to the luxury dram, Corduroy is as likely to become a destination bar and an industry hang as it is already a crowd catchall. Feeling peckish? Irreverently flipping the bird at your house-made burrata and locally harvested microgreens, Corduroy’s humble eats come fresh from the microwave. We former latchkey kids can revel in Banquet potpies, ham-and-cheese Hot Pockets, taquitos, corn dogs, chips and pickles. So comfortable is Corduroy in its own skin, in fact, it’s almost as if the bar that took over this little slice of East Fremont Street frontage in early August has always been there. Indulge me, will you? Maybe, just maaaybe, Corduroy actually opened
60 years ago—stay with me, now!—and just stuck around. Bartenders at the Corduroy of the late 1950s prepared de rigueur classics, a strong hangover from epochs past: the Old Fashioned, Manhattan, Aviation and Stinger. They slid dad beers down the 22-foot-long bar for cheap. Enlivened (or consoled) by a wooden jukebox with a deep, sonorous sound, Corduroy and its guests stuck it out through all the highs and lows of the ensuing decades. Eventually, the bar was talked into offering the hot new thing: vodka, served with ginger beer in a copper mug, and it took off. Today, you’ll have two on-draft mules from which to choose, vodka or rye, made with Gutierrez’s own ginger beer recipe. Our fantasy Corduroy sailed into the ’70s and ’80s on a glittering cloud of Aqua Net and a raft of suspicious white powdery substances (now strictly limited to the powdered soap in the restrooms). Barman Vedo Pitnjakovic fell for the menthol-cool sounds of Captain & Tennille and never looked back. Gutierrez wore out his VHS tape of Cocktail, and by the early ’90s, Corduroy’s bar program
NAME: Corduroy SERVING: Classic
and original cocktails as well as craft and lowbrow beers in an irreverent, high-energy environment that borrows liberally from the rock ’n’ roll scene of the ’70s and ’80s. OPENED: August 5, 2017 WHO’S BEHIND IT: Downtown Project DID YOU KNOW: Upstate New Yorkers, rejoice! Corduroy is the only bar in the city to offer Genesee Cream Ale on draft. LOCATION: 515 Fremont St. HOURS OF OPERATION: 4 p.m.–4 a.m. Wed.–Fri., noon–4 a.m. Sat.–Sun. CONTACT: 702-553-2548 FACEBOOK: facebook.com/corduroydtlv TWITTER: twitter.com/corduroylv INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/corduroydtlv
September 21–27, 2017 vegasseven.com
hit its stride. Now, from the Harvey Wallbanger or Sex on the Beach (served, I’ll add, in a Capri Sun–style pouch) to “the Three Teas” (that is, the Long Island, Tokyo and Adios Motherfucker), Gutierrez isn’t just slinging, he’s using today’s highest quality products to rewrite a little beverage history. So let’s have a round of Screaming Vikings (Cheers fans will get that Easter egg), a Stag Party (yes, a Jägermeister cocktail) or a Kentucky Wildcat (like a Colorado Bulldog but more Southern). Every recipe has an incredible backstory—all you have to do is ask. Keep it simple with a boilermaker—a shot of Evan Williams Bourbon or Old Overholt Rye with a mini Miller High Life or a pony glass of draft Genesee Cream Ale—and take it for a wander through the long, narrow space. You might find yourself in a sunken conversation pit or a little wall nook bathed in evocative B-sides coming from that vintage AMI jukebox. Continue past the lounge with its multiplayer video game console and try going through some as-yet-unmarked doors to find the smoking room … or the mop closet. It’s easy to ignore Corduroy’s more modern appurtenances, such as the lightbox (bring your squad, your smartphone and your shades), the selfie mirror and the DJ booth: Just have another boilermaker and marvel at the bubble wall instead. Returning to 2017 from my little booze-fueled reverie, I find it fitting that Corduroy should be sandwiched between The Griffin and Beauty Bar, across from Evel Pie, just down the way from Commonwealth and the Laundry Room, and around the corner from Downtown Cocktail Room and Mike Morey’s Sip ’n’ Tip. This quintessential neighborhood bar is a vital piece of the East Fremont puzzle. But rather than stand out from the pack, all shiny and new, Corduroy arrives perfectly broken-in like your favorite old pair of jeans—utterly timeless. Get the complete rundown on Corduroy’s cocktail offerings and their backstories at vegasseven.com/sevensipscorduroy.