Go: Where to Go, What to Do & Why

By James P. Reza

One afternoon last week, I was basking in the warm afternoon sun, enjoying a relaxing lunch at the Coffee Pub (367-1913) with a colleague and discussing the nature of what we pretentious oldsters call "The Scene" in Las Vegas. For the most part, the club scene is stagnant, the local music scene on hold (especially with the Huntridge Theatre closed for a lengthy and substantial remodel), and the coffeehouse culture dominated by cold, corporate pretenders. There is no honest, cohesive growth activity to note except for the arts-focused First Friday (more on that later) and the seemingly ever-exploding, often big-buck dining scene. In other words, the situation appears ripe for a groundswell of upstart local activity, ranging from the underground to the more commercial opportunities that fall below the radar of those chasing the way-too-obvious franchise chain/celeb chef/condo tower dreams.

Oddly, this rather broad swath of conclusions was given legs at two Saturday events, the first being the private grand opening of Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba (298-1211), the new tapas eatery in the Fashion Show Mall and an outpost of the original Chicago location. The food (Spanish small plates) was wonderful, the smiling service never faltered despite the high-maintenance VIP crowd and the interior design was impressive. With all that going for it, particularly with its Strip-side outdoor seating, Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba is sure to quickly register on the in-dash radar of the see-and-be-seen crowd.

But of course it will. Lettuce Entertain You, the folks (and the money) behind Mon Ami Gabi (946-4433), are responsible for this joint, and--cheers to them--they do nothing halfway. But it's the money (from both ends of the equation) and the amazingly high level of expectation it fosters that challenges so many experiences in Las Vegas. The unassuming strip-mall storefront of Quinta Belina (227-9191) may have some of the best Mexican food in town, but with new gastronomic palaces like the MGM's Diego (891-7777) opening, who would know?

And in regard to the local (all-ages) music scene, thank the gods for the return of Summerlin's Lift Ticket Concert Series (a.k.a., Loud Bands at Smoothie King) on Sept. 18 (www.liftticketlasvegas.com); without it, there would be only the occasional all-ages show at the House of Blues to keep things going until the Huntridge reopens.

And speaking of the House of Blues, last Saturday's show by Chris Isaak illustrated a weakness of the our music scene as a whole. In any other city, Isaak's renowned shows might rightfully be well-populated by stylin' rockabilly types. Here, it was mostly guys who tuck their polo shirts into their jeans and call it a night. In this respect, our pop-driven city, awash in mediocrity, is suffering a sore lack of style.

Hey Mistah DJ

Odd, then, that we host the thrice-yearly MAGIC fashion trade show, which returns this week, doubling up with Labor Day weekend to reawaken the scrappy club scene. Adding to the wow factor of the club-centric weekender is the unexpected return to Ice Las Vegas (699-9888) of local DJ/promoting legend Michael Fuller. Some of you may recall Fuller was part of Ice's pre-opening team that departed under less-than-ideal circumstances very early on. Ice has refocused its vision, now partnering with English club brand Godskitchen to keep hope alive for Vegas electronica fans. This weekend alone lists DJs Scooter & Lavelle (Sept. 3), Little Louie Vega (Sept. 4), and the return of Paul Oakenfold (Sept. 5)--a nice lineup even back in the day.

The House of Blues capitalizes on the MAGICians' favor of clubbing with a long Friday of hip hop (Sept. 3; 632-7600). The party jumps off at 6:30 p.m. with the all-ages Vinyl Combat US Finals DJ Battle, featuring World Famous Beat Junkies and DJ Quest. Then, at 11:30 p.m., the House goes 21+ with the Brand New Hip Hop Classic Showcase, featuring Lord Finesse & Diamond D, DJ Jazzy Jeff, MC Skilz, MC Supernatural, Beat Junkies. Then, Sunday at Ra, it's NYC vs. LA with DJ Spinbad and DJ Felli Fel (Sept. 5; 262-4000), while Club Rubber returns to the Palms the same night (Sept. 5; 942-7777).

Rockit

We love Orange County. We love ska. So it follows that we might dig OC skasters Less Than Jake. And we do. They skank it out with Funeral for a Friend and Autopilot Off Thursday at the House of Blues (Sept. 2; 632-7600). Less sure are we about Bruce Willis and the Accelerators. Sure, we liked 12 Monkeys, but we had totally disposed of the memory of "Moonlighting" until the bio tipped us off. That, and the fact that tickets to the Accelerators' two shows (Sept. 3-4; 385-7111) in the (admittedly intimate) Golden Nugget Theatre Ballroom are $75 a head; hell, that's Dogstar money. With seats to Sunday's Mandalay Bay Events Center performance by MTV VMA stars Usher and Kanye West commanding $90 at the top end, we are left to wonder who's buying these tickets. Not us, compadre.

And it's certainly not the same crowd lined up to relive their '90s/Lollapalooza/ industrial-metal fantasies with Ministry and My Life with the Thrill Kill Cult Tuesday at the House of Blues (Sept. 7; 632-7600). We remember Ministry for the crazy, impromptu Lord of the Flies fire-encircling mosh pit during Lollapalooza 1993. Wanna make Alain Jorgensen angry? Ask him about the band's first, synth-dance album, With Sympathy.

Once again, back is the incredible

There's a host of reasons we could cite as to why we love First Friday--art, art chicks in glasses, really nice guys who cannot/won't kick our asses, walking around downtown, the Get Back. But all that is just the very pleasant window dressing. The heart of the matter reaches back to the beginning of this column: First Friday fosters a sense of community that isn't corporate, cold or forced. In other words, it's an example of what locals do when they aren't shuffling cards or parking cars. You can hide in your carefully manicured, painfully sterile suburb if you like, but if you dig a real scene populated with real people, come check out First Friday (www.firstfriday-lasvegas.org). Yeah, they have valet parking.

Native Las Vegan James P. Reza has nothing against the suburbs; he even visits there once in a while, when stricken with the urge to feel like an extra on a movie set. E-mail the author at jpreza@cox.net.