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Thursday, January 29, 2004 Go: Where to Go, What to Do & Why
By James P. Reza
Night owls hibernating during the relatively slow post-holiday period have but a few weeks of slumber remaining, as evidenced by this week's increasingly interesting schedule and bolstered by a peek ahead to March, when ticketed entertainers once again beckon nearly every night of the week. Of course, resourceful party people (like those in town for the ski and snowboard convention) have never been short of options. During January, the busiest month of the year for dining in the resort corridor, relentless folks-on-the-go have been finding the action at restaurants and bars. Chef Kerry Simon and Elizabeth Blau's stylish Simon Kitchen & Bar (693-5000) seems to be hitting its stride with new manager Troy Neuenburg (formerly of Delmonico and Panini) putting a capable style and smiling face in place at the Hard Rock's lively A-list eatery, while Wolfgang Puck's Spago (369-0360) has some tasty new menu items in its Forum Shops "sidewalk" cafe, plus a reality television camera trotting behind the servers. Party hint: A dining receipt from any Puck eatery--Trattoria del Lupo, Chinois, Postrio, Puck Cafe or Spago--gains no-cover admission for your entire party to OPM nightclub. On the bar and club tip, the Paris resort's Risqué (946-4589) continues to lead the way in defining the post-megaclub '90s with its intimate mix of lounge, bar and dance floor. Promoters Clique Entertainment and Spundae have teamed up at Risqué for a Thursday house music promotion appropriately titled Desert Sessions. The once ultra-hip Baby's, originally set to shutter New Year's Eve, has extended its dying run though the end of January. Insiders say the all-new venue replacing Baby's is headed up by the big names responsible for Bellagio's Light. Those seeking an as-yet-undiscovered slice of style should check out the lobby bar at the oh-so-chic new THEhotel at Mandalay Bay (632-7777). With its tasteful modernist bent and the deliberate feel of a pricey boutique hotel in San Francisco or New York (the staff sports style straight off Fifth Avenue), THEhotel has "W" written all over it. The intimate lobby bar is the perfect place to sip a Manhattan with someone special, while billiards and a nearby coffee/pastry bar round out the offerings. Alt.style rages on at downtown's Ice House Lounge (315-2570), where Friday DJ events from Chez Bippy continue to show strong. That said, last weekend's popular '80s night, Burning Down the House, was plagued by electrical issues as style-rockers The Killers managed a set in the dark, which only slightly discouraged the packed House. As one observer put it, "The Ice House isn't wired for this kind of thing. They thought they were going to be a fancy restaurant, not a live music venue." Perhaps, but plenty of nice restaurants hold after-hours parties without power failures.
The best medicine Fans of random acts of humor will enjoy the return of Drew Carey & the Improv All Stars to Las Vegas, this time taking over the MGM Hollywood Theatre Thursday through Sunday (Jan. 29 & Feb. 1, 9 p.m.; Jan. 30-31, 8 & 10:30 p.m.; 891-1111). Carey, host of the British television import "Whose Line Is It Anyway?," plays a great foil to the off-the-cuff antics of his co-stars. Meanwhile, Beacher's Comedy Madhouse returns to launch its weekly run at the Hard Rock Hotel on Super Bowl Eve Saturday (Jan. 31, 8 p.m.; 693-5000). Along with the usual cast of naughty dancing girls and raunchy comics comes special guest Artie Lange (who, last time in Vegas with "The Howard Stern Show," emerged the surprising victor in a promotional one-on-one basketball game in the Hard Rock parking lot). The wager-loving Lange obviously thought this the perfect opportunity to earn back the bucks he stands to lose in the sports book.
Eclectic electric Live music bookings are all over the map this weekend, starting Friday with the geriatric disco-funk of Kool & the Gang at the Silverton (Jan. 30; 263-7777). How old are these purveyors of dance and perfecters of the wedding song? The band is wrapping up its fourth decade, and if you ask us, that's a few too many ladies nights... Wearing his age much better is the still-to-be-reckoned-with thin white duke, David Bowie, who comes to the Hard Rock's Joint with Macy Gray on Friday (Jan. 30, 8 p.m.; 693-5000) in the first of two glamorous gigs (the pair return Feb. 6). Difficult to ignore and impossible to categorize, Bowie has played with (if not invented) a dozen genres of rock and alt.rock, even toying with pop along the way. A low Vegas moment came in the 1990s when, opening a Thomas & Mack gig for Nine Inch Nails, Bowie was inexplicably booed and pelted with water bottles by the ignorant young'uns who thought Trent Reznor could have existed without Ziggy Stardust. Bowie has so far been pleasing tour fans this go-round, pulling set lists from his 35-year repertoire of hits. On Saturday, the next generation of rugrats will have plenty of reason to jump around and toss water bottles at House of Blues punk-pop fest featuring Mest, Home Grown, Fall Out Boy and Madcap (Jan. 31, 6:45 p.m.; 632-7600). It's an increasingly rare HOB all-ages show and tickets are only $12.50, so plan your date night now, kids.
Testosterone weekend Gotta lotta emotion coursing through your nether regions, the kind that makes your moods swing, your hair grow and your neighbors hide their daughters? The kind that has your guidance counselor using words like "volatile," "hostile" and "aggressive"? Then pull out a pen, Sir Jocks-A-Lot. We're gonna plan your weekend. On Thursday, you and your alt.metal brethren are going to check out the all-ages House of Blues show from Mushroomhead, Dope, 40 Below Summer and Twisted Method (Jan. 29, 6:45 p.m.; 632-7600). Then, I.D. willing, Saturday you're going to swing by the Aladdin Theatre for the (heh) Performing Arts to drool over the Miss Hawaiian Tropic 2004 Semifinals (Jan. 31, 785-5555). If those words were too big for you, check this: tan hotties in thongs (none of that "boy short" crapola here). And, Vin Diesel, as if that weren't MTV enough for ya, the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to the Mandalay Bay Events Center Saturday (Jan. 31; 632-7777). Ultimate fighting, for the uninitiated, is essentially a street brawl, without weapons, contained in a cage, until one of the sweaty, something-to-prove participants suffers a serious injury or calls for a gynecologist. Sounds fun!
Sensitive types, listen up Ultimate fighting and alt.metal not your gig? Never fear; we have something for you too. The Chieftains, for instance. Critically acclaimed and five-time Grammy winners, The Chieftains are one of the world's most popular traditional Irish folk and Celtic bands. They perform Saturday at UNLV's Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall (Jan. 31, 8 p.m.; 895-2787). Also Saturday, UNLV MFA grad Julianne Homokay and Asylum Theater presents a staged reading of her new play "Friends, Lovers" at the Winchester Center Theatre (Jan. 31, 2 p.m.; 455-7340). And finally, the Clark County Parks & Rec Department launches The Celluloid Closet film series this week, also at the Winchester Center (Feb. 4, 7 p.m.; 455-7340), with Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman's namesake documentary focusing on the history of homosexuality in cinema. Future films in the series, continuing through March 10, include Parting Glances, Beautiful Thing, Urbania and Big Eden.
James P. Reza is the editor of the Best Places-Las Vegas guidebook. E-mail nightlife, cultural event & dining tips to jpreza@cox.net. Deadline is the Saturday prior to publishing. |
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