Extreme Elvis Belinda Carlisle

Thursday, March 06, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Go: Where to Go, What to Do & Why

By James P. Reza

Tabu, the new lounge in the MGM Grand, opened with two over-capacity VIP parties on Thursday and Friday evenings. Tabu is billed as an "ultra lounge," implying that it is one of those hip, modern drinking rooms populated by glitterati who would rather converse over a subdued acid jazz/electro-lounge soundtrack while sipping expensive cocktails than shake their Bebe-covered booties on a throbbing dance floor. First appearing in the mid-'90s (Washington D.C.'s 18th Street Lounge was among the pioneers), this updated bar concept then spread across Europe and America, eventually making it to Las Vegas--late, as usual. The Venetian's departed Velvet Lounge and the (still-open) V Bar were arguably the first of the type locally, though each eventually succumbed to the conceit of trying to please everyone all the time.

Tabu seems ready to lure away all those pretty party people (at least until Risque opens at Paris in the coming weeks) with a multimillion-dollar design that is at once modern and comfortable. The mostly competent staff are attractive almost to a fault, many having migrated from other top nightspots in town. If you aren't eager to bankroll bottle service for a booth, the square bar dominating the main room offers plenty of elbow room. A smaller second bar is in an intimate adjunct off the main room. And adding to the trend of playfully sexy bathrooms, neither is marked by any signage, leaving many to be in the wrong place at the right time.

Though it has many of the proper characteristics for a successful lounge, Tabu also entertains many of the faults that have challenged (or doomed) similar nightspots. A velvet rope and a cover of $15 (to drink $9 cocktails!) is clearly designed to perpetuate the (original) Studio 54 myth of exclusivity. Pricey bottle service remains a requirement to sit anywhere other than a barstool (though in one abandonment of prevailing practice, you only have to buy the bottle--not the host as well). And though Friday night started in the proper aural vernacular--Thievery Corporation and St. Germain played just loud enough--by the middle of the night, sounds had switched to overly loud and predictable house music. Blech. As long as Tabu remembers that it is not a dance club--it is an ultra lounge!--it may hold the attention of those paying the bills.

Back in the day

If reading the previous paragraphs left you confused, frightened and longing for a long-ago era when ultra was just a laundry detergent superlative, settle down. People like you are still considered when booking entertainment into the valley (in fact, perhaps too often). This week, one-time naughty new waver, longtime polished pop princess, and sometimes leading lady for the '80s sensation the Go-Gos, Belinda Carlisle bounces back to Vegas with a gig at Boulder Station. Wow. That hurts. See her Saturday (March 8, 8 p.m.; 432-7777).

Everybody needs a little time away. Everybody, it seems, except perennial perennials, Chicago. Once essentially the house band at Caesars Palace, Chicago is now the equivalent at the Stardust, jumping in at every opportunity when Wayne Newton is off Wayne Newtoning somewhere else. A prolific, horn-driven, jazzy rock band, Chicago has released 50 albums of new and live material, and owns an emotive pop sound that effortlessly transcends the decades. This go-round it will be in town Wednesday through Saturday (March 12-15, 8 p.m.; 992-7970).

Too f'n hip

The self-consciously cool among you (and, of course, you know exactly who you are) will undoubtedly already have your tickets to see the queen of alt.comedy Margaret Cho this week. How could you resist her new tour posters aping the iconic Che Guevara image? How could you not like her concert film The Notorious C.H.O. (itself an aping of the Notorious B.I.G.), which was filmed in Seattle and is therefore overloaded with hipster cred? How could you not piss yourself hearing tales of her Korean mother asking Cho what an "ass master" is? Resistance to the Cho army is futile. See her at the Hard Rock's Joint on Saturday (March 8, 8 & 11 p.m.; 693-5066).

Meanwhile, back at The Beach...Yes, this marks the first time the Beach nightclub has ever been mentioned here. This is an issue not taken lightly. But the fact that both Extreme Elvis and the Extra Action Marching Band are appearing this week practically demand coverage of the 24-hour frat house. Extreme Elvis is well...imagine Elvis during his fried banana sandwich, jumpsuit-tight-as-latex, will-he-survive-this-concert era. That, friends, is Extreme Elvis. Uh huh. Now, the Extra Action Marching band. Hmm. How do you say Drumline meets Burning Man? How do you imply Frankie Goes to Hollywood on acid? How do you describe "majorettes" in leather and fishnets gyrating in an overtly sexual--but still very artistic--manner while a man screams through a bullhorn? This gig is going to scare away half the people who are at The Beach. The bad half, of course, leaving room for the rest of you, who are going to smirk and say, "Oh, I saw the Extra Action Marching Band roaming the streets of the Castro many years ago..." Whatever. See them now (with Elvis) on Tuesday (March 11; 731-1925).

It's Friday again

"Hey. I'm going to some exhibit openings this weekend. Wanna tag along? Exhibits, as in aht. Yup, it's that First Friday thing again over there in that artsy districty place in downtown. Huh? Downtown. You know, the center of the city? Where it all began in 1905? Yeah, yeah...neon, yeah. You'll have to fire up the SUV to get there. Yeah, the Arts Factory is having a bunch of openings, including the CAC's 14th Annual Juried Show (free hummus and wine!), plus stuff at the Funk House and neighborhood restaurants are open late with live music and everything. Yeah, I know it sounds like a real city, whatever that means. It's happening Friday, from 6 p.m. on. After 10 p.m., the funky DJ crew of Chez Bippy (John Doe, Bazooka Joe, the rest) are throwing down The Get Back at the Saloon. It's gonna be way cool. No, there are no gates or anything, so you won't need to be buzzed in. Just check it out. Okay, see you there. Later."

James P. Reza is the editor of the Best Places-Las Vegas guidebook. E-mail nightlife, cultural event & dining tips to jpreza@lvcm.com. Deadline is the Saturday prior to publishing.