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Go: What to Do, Where to Go & Why

By James P. Reza

Welcome to the pre-spring blues, friends. What does that mean for you and yours? Absolutely nothing. We're scrounging over here, digging deeply for some--any--recommendations to satiate your nightlife desire, and it's not easy. Thankfully, next week gets much better, with a full roster of live music and lounge openings and other things that go bump in the night.

However, last Saturday did manage to put the MGM's new velvet-roped hotspot Tabu through its paces, with a capacity crowd packing the joint through the early-morning hours. What was destined to be a relaxing, upscale "ultralounge" looked more like a frat house disaster by 2 a.m., as staff scrambled to whisk away broken bottles and glasses, spilled drinks stained the new carpeting, and the bar had evolved into an impromptu dance club complete with trendy hotties writhing on the concrete tabletops. That's all very kosher if you're a dance club, but the atmosphere and physical space inside Tabu does not lend itself to such Shark Club-like shenanigans. Kudos to the staff, however, which always seemed able to remain above every disaster in the making, even the over-the-top-of-her-limit gal who was spilling liquor and hitting random people in the head. Shame on you.

Yes, Virginia, there's a

local music scene

By the time the pickings for headlining bands gets this slim, we've already bent an ear to local music to get our mojo working. Huh? Local music? you ask. Oh, you mean lounge stuff? No, we do not. We mean local music: rock, alternative, hip hop, folk, the usual stuff. And Tuesday nights at the Palms' Palapa Lounge is always good for an after-work chill with the weekly Acoustic Asylum, where Las Vegas' best go unplugged for your pleasure.

Local music may never have had it as good as this Friday, when the House of Blues hosts the lvlocalmusicscene.com CD Release Party (March 21, 7 p.m.; 632-7600). Celebrating the release of volume four of the music CD series, which includes cuts of local bands from Las Vegas, L.A., San Diego and Denver, the all-ages concert will feature Vegas bands Clockwise, Slow to Surface, Ill Figures, One More Weekend and September Star. Tickets are only $5, and CDs will also be available for a cut rate of five bucks.

American idols

It's not very often we herald the Las Vegas lounge here at GO, so you know this is a special week. A slow week. A week in which even lounge nut Richard Cheese has taken his campy Lounge Against the Machine out of Sunset Station for some down time. But if you are in need of some good, inexpensive live entertainment to hold you over until Cher comes back, we're here to give you the lounge lowdown. Believe it or not, there's some good stuff happening, if you know where to look.

Remember the Beatles, those mop-haired Brits who changed rock forever, who played Vegas at the long-demolished Convention Center Rotunda back in the day, who went from pert pop stars to drug-addled hippies and back again? (Well, some did.) We're not sure which Beatles-era members of local tribute band The Fab ascribe to, but we do know they offer a damn good live rendition of the foursome (Tuesdays, Sam's Town Roxy Lounge; 454-8020).

Those desiring a performer who covers more than old pop, or who just want to settle in with a properly mixed martini at one of the city's nicest lounges, should press their pants and get to the Bellagio's lovely Fontana Lounge, where Jimmy Hopper--supported by a talented band and a beautiful bevy of backup babes--belts out everything from Sting to Neil Diamond, much to the delight of the still-sexy fortysomethings who populate the smallish dance floor. Hopper has commanded the room for years, and shows no sign of stopping now. See him every night except Sunday and Monday (693-7722).

Meanwhile, Hopper's former Fontana-mate Vargas was recently signed to a year-long contract at Bally's newish Indigo Lounge, where he performs with his band The Swank Set (nightly except Wed.-Thu., various times; 739-4111). With a swagger and a smile, Vargas is the quintessential performer, a man too young to recall the glory days of the Vegas lounge he re-creates so well.

Big time

There is a little more going down than just the small stuff this week. Big band's biggest band, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, swings its way to town on Saturday night (March 22, 7:30 p.m.; 992-7970), ready to raise the roof of the Sam's Town Live arena. Currently directed by Larry O'Brien, the orchestra has existed since 1939 (only 3 1/2 years under Miller himself) performing hundreds of shows worldwide each year. Though swing has long lost its pop culture luster, that only means the hardcore (old core?) fans will be out and ready to jump, jive and wail.

And finally...we're sorry, but we cannot think of Celine Dion without imagining the absurd "Saturday Night Live" impersonation of her doing the "Star Search"/"American Idol" big vocal ending with a hand lifted to the sky. Dion, who had a showroom (the Colosseum) built for her at Caesars Palace, opens her pricey permanent pop diva engagement (well, as permanent as any) on Tuesday (March 25, 8:30 p.m.; 731-7333). From what we understand, exiting the show is a pedestrian and vehicular disaster, so maybe you should have dinner afterward and wait for the crowds to thin.

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.