Go: Where to Go, What to Do & Why

By James P. Reza

Thirteen years ago this week, I was writing my debut column for the launch edition of SCOPE magazine, arguably the valley's first alternative newspaper. At the time, local bands (Mark Huff, the Opera Beggars) and the local music scene were strong enough to warrant a band feature every issue. The nightclub scene wasn't, though Ken Jordan and "Scottee X"--their move to L.A. to form the internationally renowned Crystal Method years away--were DJing rave nights at a University District club called Brewsters.

Squeaky clean Green Valley was cultivating a reputation as the valley's cultural heart with art fairs, coffeehouses, bookstores and public art--notable in a city whose first Starbucks, first Borders and First Friday were still years away. Hair salons, locally owned record stores, head shops and vintage clothing boutiques made up the bulk of the (admittedly thin) advertising. Writers were found in record store employees, radio DJs, students--anyone who could string words together in a semi-journalistic, much more colorful manner than that of the staid dailies. The paper was a libertarian/culture dog upstart lashed together by too-few energetic souls, and looked everything like it.

Things changed quickly. That year, Bally's had booked shows by the Cult, the Violent Femmes, and the B-52's into a large convention hall, buying advertising that marked the earliest corporate support for alternative publications in Las Vegas. "The Edge" (KEDG) radio station came online. And in late 1992, another alt.paper, the Las Vegas New Times, published its first issue.

The race, now on, became a ridiculously expensive one to run. By 1998, the New Times had become CityLife and, in an effort to preserve the role it chiseled out for itself, SCOPE partnered with the publishers of the Las Vegas Sun, who eventually morphed it into the Las Vegas Weekly. Just over two years later, the Mercury appeared, and suddenly, a metropolis of barely 1.5 million had three weeklies--overkill by any count. The inside joke was that Las Vegas had one exceptional alt.weekly spread amongst three mediocre ones.

Now, as we prepare to enter a new period following a dramatic "market adjustment" (the impending folding of the Mercury into CityLife, a move that pits the two dailies against one another for domination of the weekly market), the game is to change yet again. But for those of us who have made a Vegas career--a Vegas lifestyle--from telling you what you should do, where you should go and why, we realize that almost all change is good. Thus, the busiest entertainment week in months greets us, and on we go.

The good stuff

The Reverend Horton Heat has been coming to Vegas since--well, since the mid-1990s, at least--preaching his brand of performance psychobilly to eager audiences ever since. The Reverend returns to save Sin City with Supersuckers and Trainwreck at the House of Blues on Thursday (March 17; 632-7600). Then, two days later, the legendary Bob Dylan returns as well, coming to the Aladdin Theatre for a single, angst-ridden performance on Saturday (March 19; 785-5000). And, in the last of this old school triumvirate, Motley Crue rocks two shows at a Joint that was still more than a decade away from opening when the Crue last played Vegas (March 20 and 27; 693-5000).

If there is anywhere in town where name-brand electronica DJs can still pull the punters, it's nightclub Ice. This Saturday, Ice welcomes Fatboy Slim and Nick Warren (March 19; 699-9888)--two producer/DJs who commanded global attention during the late 1990s. Now that most nightclubbing in Vegas has degenerated to an early 1990s vibe (i.e., guys standing in the middle of the dance floor, cradling bottled beer), it's hard to guess how long the dance scene will survive.

Still, there's one dance scene that will persist, and performers like Savion Glover will see to that. The tireless Tony Award-winner and film star credited with saving tap dancing by modernizing it and making it interesting to younger audiences, Glover once slung sweat to an exclusive audience at the VIP opening of the Armani store in the Forum Shops oh-so-long ago. Monday's audience at UNLV's Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall is certain to be bigger, but Glover's performance no less electric (Mar. 21; 895-2787).

French kiss

We here at Go headquarters remain dedicated to uncovering those less obvious gems of the urban experience that might otherwise go unnoticed. There's no point in telling you where the newest FourBucks has opened--you already know that--but there is great joy in sending you to places like Ambiance (454-3020; 3980 E. Sunset Road), a newish French bistro in the heart of "old" Green Valley. Tiny yet comfortable, Ambiance is family-owned and operated by two French expats, and the three-meal menu bravely makes no concessions to American demands. I've lunched here twice in the past week, once enjoying tuna and cucumbers, another savoring cheese and tomatoes, both served on fresh-baked baguettes, accompanied by frites and a (separately ordered) espresso. To say they are among the best sandwiches (and lunch values) in the city is to understate the experience. Everything tastes as fresh as possible, and nothing compares to the joy of eating handcrafted bread. Enjoy, au revoir, and hope to see you on the other side.

Native Las Vegan James P. Reza has been writing professionally about his Las Vegas experiences since 1990, and yet never tires of it. E-mail the author at jpreza@cox.net.