Go: Where to Go, What to Do & Why

By James P. Reza

Should we stay or should we Go? In a blink of post-election blues, several Canadian companies have set up shop to assist "forward-thinking Americans" who are looking to relocate north. On the surface, it's a tempting thought to many progressives, particularly since Toronto was just named the most multicultural city on the planet by the United Nations.

The CNN.com article about these Canuck start-ups features this quote from one of the company heads: "We strongly encourage Americans to stay and build a culture in line with their values. In other words, stay and fight." Replace "Americans" with "Las Vegans" and it seems I've been fighting that battle for 15 years.

Just last week, I had a gin-fueled discussion with a pair of forward-thinking friends threatening to sell their wonderful centrally located Vegas home (suddenly worth twice what they owe), ditch Vegas and secure a plot of land outside Portland. (How very 1990s of them!) They just can't take it anymore, he said; plus, he can still deal poker near Portland. The "progressive" state of Oregon just passed a same-sex marriage ban, I said. Yes, that's true, he said. We'll never get Vegas to where we want it if the good souls keeps abandoning it, I said. Keep talking, he said. We are all valuable links in making Las Vegas a better place, I said. Keep talking, he said. Stay and be a part of the urban-based cultural renaissance, I said. I'm getting tired, he said.

Who among the population of local culturati hasn't felt that way about Vegas at one point or another? Even I've harbored a pestering desire to skip town and move to (of all places) Southern California since I was in high school. Of course, my California dream was based on the iconic California of the 1960s, which, by the time I was old enough to chase it, was already fading into a Technicolor memory of surfboards and googie architecture, of an elegant Hollywood and beach blanket booty.

During high school, Southern California informed those of us who, with the typical juvenile disillusion of self-importance, thought ourselves too hip for Vegas. We marveled at the creaky beachside burger joints, the deeply tan, sun-blond babes in impossibly small beachwear, the surf punks and movie stars, all careening together in some massive theme park that seemed less like life and more like a permanent vacation (sort of like Vegas now). We, on the other hand, were stuck with the polyester Las Vegas of the '70s. Swank was dead, the mob was dying, and most of middle America was standing on a street corner in Vegas gazing up at all the purty lights while sporting oversized graphic T-shirts and elastic-waistband shorts. Pigs in mud.

Today, with the notable exceptions of a few small pockets (and that big blue drink we call the Pacific Ocean), Southern California and Las Vegas have merged into one big swath of off-ramp suburban sameness. Summerlin is Irvine with casinos and the Strip, once a place where risk-taking was a religion, is more and more acting like its namesake, the Sunset Strip, with overbearing expectations of immediate success, the insulting LaLa Land attitude and the conceit of velvet ropes at seemingly every portal.

If one is to believe old-school ruckus rouser George Carlin (a longtime fixture at the MGM Grand), his brand of countercultural humor is too "dark" for modern corporate sensibilities in the Red State America to whom bloated casino players must successfully appeal. Carlin reported on "The Tonight Show" recently that in 2005 he'll to be taking his act to the Stardust, a classic Vegas casino (Frank Rosenthal's joint, remember?) where, presumably, Carlin's mainstream-challenging observations will draw those for whom Zumanity's notorious, now-deleted Man Kiss read more like premeditated Puritan titillation than theatrical envelope pushing.

Early in our city's Californication, populist fave In-N-Out Burger made just about everyone happy. Recently, the trend extended to Mandalay Bay with Sunset Stripper-chic Forty Deuce and the Forum Shops expansion with the hipper-than-necessary Sushi Roku/Boa Steakhouse, the former charging a $150-per-person bar tab for a seat to watch old Vegas-style burlesque, and the latter opening last Saturday night at the Forum Shops expansion with an overflowing "VIP" crowd of 3,000, a third of whom were reportedly flown in from SoCal, the operation's base. Welcome to Los Vegas, Las Angeles! I'm living there, but it ain't what it used to be.

Here we are now, entertain us

Those of you tuning in because you expect the Mercury's arbiters of taste to tell you how to schedule your Palm, relax. Here's a few things to keep you busy until next week. X-107 radio's annual Holiday Havoc returns to UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center Thursday with Korn, The Used, My Chemical Romance and Magna-Fi (Nov. 18; 739-3287). The same night, the pop-friendly neo-soul of Macy Gray will play the House of Blues for a less-than-expected tariff of $22.50 (Nov. 18; 632-7600).

In further signs that Generation X is reaching back-pain age, "intimate" and "acoustic" are words increasingly used to describe shows by bands in that demographic, Collective Soul and Godsmack among them. Collective Soul performs the, ahem, intimate Golden Nugget showroom, inhabited recently by everyone from Staind's Aaron Lewis to Tony Bennett, on Friday and Saturday (Nov. 19-20; 385-7111), while Godsmacks it down at the House of Blues Tuesday (Nov. 23; 632-7600). Hey, if it's too loud, you're too ol...never mind.

In da clubs...Tabu welcomes Italy's Digital Boy (Nov. 18; 891-7183), while Donald Glaude spins at Ice-Las Vegas on Saturday (Nov. 20; 699-9888). Meanwhile, Venus--the Shag-designed old Vegas-styled club at the Venetian where classic burlesque first made a go about three years ago, and, sadly, failed miserably--has finally given up, closing for a complete remodel into a new venue expected to launch in December. The neighboring Tiki Bar, however, remains open, with nightly themes that include Martini Monday (with retro lounge music) and Tiki Tuesday (featuring Hawaiian Exotica and reggae).

That Tiki Bar is where you might find all the tattooed cats from the Rockabilly Rod Reunion, easing out of a weekend chock-full of vintage hot rod show cars, vintage drag racing, pinup girls and rockabilly (Nov. 18-21, at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway; click to www.rockabillyrodreunion.com) Check out the cars on Saturday, and check out the sounds at the Cannery, featuring the Riptones and Paul Galaxy & The Galatix, Friday and Saturday (Nov. 19-20; 507-5700). Stay cool, daddio.

Native Las Vegan James P. Reza wonders when someone will open a stylish, upscale bar for locals that bans bottle service, velvet ropes and video poker. E-mail the author at jpreza@cox.net.