08.31.12 · 6 PM

Casting challenge is born for ‘Peepshow,’ post-Holly Madison; Liberace theater set is tearfully moving

Ever since touching down in the city nearly four years ago, Holly Madison has worked tirelessly to be known as Miss Las Vegas. Whenever city officials needed a celebrity to pose at the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign or portray a new-generation Miss Atomic Bomb, Madison was the first call out. Now Madison is becoming Mommy Vegas, as she is entering her second trimester of carrying her first child. My colleague, the Ubiquitous Robin Leach reported this officially Tuesday ... Read more...

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08.29.12 · 3:15 PM

Even in closing, ‘Viva Elvis’ produces some amazing stuff

On Tuesday night, I attended “Viva Elvis” with that rare figure: a Las Vegas resident who was entirely uninitiated with Cirque du Soleil. This person had never seen Cirque before, ever. A Non-Cirquean, if you will. We watched the show roll out, and it was a pretty rockin’ good time. As we shuffled out, I asked, “How did you like your first Cirque show?” Her response: “It’s amazing all the stuff they do!” It is amazing all the stuff they ... Read more...

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08.28.12 · 2 AM

No ‘Prince Harry Suite’ at Wynn; ‘Candelabra’ love scene; Vegas Rocks! gets ceremonial

Let’s take a rake to the scene, eh? • In the face of reports from Britain, first by the Daily Mirror, that a woman who partied with Prince Harry at Wynn Las Vegas is planning to sell her story (and accompanying video and photos) for $1 million, Wynn officials say there are no plans to advertise or market the infamous abode of revelry as the Prince Harry Suite. Hey, maybe Abode of Revelry would be a suitable name, too. Regardless, ... Read more...

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08.27.12 · 6 PM

Hal Prince: ‘Phantom’ fading because Las Vegas audiences won’t open the ‘book’

Six years ago nearly to the day, Hal Prince was in the same place, in spirit and in fact: Seated under a glorious chandelier in a multimillion-dollar theater at the Venetian, talking about the grandeur of “Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular.” “I remember being in here before, before it all started, and everyone was wondering if we’d be open in time,” Prince said earlier this month during what would be a send-off interview about the closing of the amped-up ... Read more...

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08.26.12 · 6:40 PM

Fiery, orchestral ‘Symphonic Rock Show’ proves to be Brody Dolyniuk’s crowning moment

Brody Dolyniuk strode onstage at Reynolds Hall in the Smith Center for the Performing Arts on Friday night and stopped, gazing up and around the packed music hall. If he didn’t say “wow,” his halted gait fairly shouted that reaction. A long career of playing for a couple hundred devotees at Las Vegas taverns and hotel-casinos had led to that moment, and the silver-suited Dolyniuk was up for it. Long familiar to local rock fans as the frontman of Yellow ... Read more...

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08.25.12 · 2 AM

Taylor Hicks clicks with GOP in Tampa as deal with Bally’s looms

A Strip headliner is set to perform at the Republican National Convention. But whether Taylor Hicks will be a former Strip headliner by the time he takes the stage in Tampa, Fla., is still to be determined. Around Vegas, Hicks’ involvement in the Republican National Convention’s closing night has been the subject of speculation and musings and whatnot for about a week and a half. The gig at Tampa Times Forum was finally made official Friday by the Republican National ... Read more...

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08.24.12 · 6 PM

Rebranding of the Palms has turned Joe Magliarditi into a quick-change artist

It’s easy to track the recent upgrades at the Palms and deduce that the hotel is aggressively courting the ladies. The latest evidence of the hotel embracing its feminine side is its partnership with The ONE Group, resulting in the pan-Asian restaurant Xishi, (pronounced “zai-she”), which is to replace Little Buddha when that restaurant closes in 60 days. Xishi is named for the one of the “Four Great Beauties of Ancient China,” and it’s a name that should prompt a ... Read more...

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08.24.12 · 2 AM

Steve Martin’s comedy-bluegrass performance is steeped in good fun

I remember as a kid, the first time I played “Let’s Get Small,” listening with astonishment as Steve Martin picked the strings of a banjo in the album’s opening moments. When I heard the album start with him playing the instrument, I thought, “What!?” It seemed so out of place, needless, and surprising to hear the twang of a banjo on an album that was supposed to be a live stand-up show. But then Martin sang the tune, “Ramblin’ Guy,” ... Read more...

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08.23.12 · 6 PM

Naked Prince Harry photos prompt the question: What is an invasion of privacy, exactly?

The BBC came calling on Wednesday, asking about the big news of the day in Las Vegas. Britain’s public service broadcaster and leading source of news was not inquiring about President Barack Obama’s visit to our city (North Las Vegas, actually) in the teeth of a tight re-election campaign. Nor were BBC officials especially interested in the heavy rains that rendered many of our major roadways unnavigable. At issue was the photographed nakedness of the third in line for the ... Read more...

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08.21.12 · 7:10 PM

Post-98 Degrees reunion, Jeff Timmons in talks with Steck; Ellie Smith teens up — er, tunes up — for another anthem

When you have a 98 Degrees tattoo on your right biceps — as does Jeff Timmons — you are sort of beholden to the brand. So it made sense that Timmons has been eager to reunite the 1990s boy band — or rather, former boy band — for an appearance on the “Today” show last Friday and a spot on the bill at last weekend’s “MixTape Festival” in Hershey, Pa. It was the first live performance by the 98 Degrees ... Read more...

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08.20.12 · 9 PM

As an artist and performer, Phyllis Diller used every card in the deck

Rita Rudner well remembers the cards she received in the mail from Phyllis Diller. “I always looked forward to getting a card from Phyllis,” Rudner said during a phone interview Monday afternoon. “I loved them, because they were was always Phyllis Diller originals.” Meaning, the notes were written inside original, card-sized paintings. Diller was a groundbreaking comedienne, yes. But she was an accomplished painter, and a great pianist, too, among her many talents. “She was so talented, and had so ... Read more...

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08.20.12 · 6 PM

Brody Dolyniuk ready to show the Smith Center a rockin’ good time

We’re a long way from the Railhead. Brody Dolyniuk spent more than a decade cranking out classic rock tunes at such Vegas haunts as the Railhead at Boulder Station, where a couple hundred devotees would thrust their fists skyward to such jaunty gems as Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train,” AC/DC’s “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” and Van Halen’s “Hot For Teacher.” Dolyniuk and his band, Yellow Brick Road, build a rock-solid following by toiling at the Railhead, Ovation at Green Valley ... Read more...

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08.20.12 · 2:01 AM

A booker’s tale: How Danny Zelisko snuck into a Yes show and wound up booking … Yes

It seems everyone who grew up in the rock industry has a Bill Graham story, and Danny Zelisko has one, too. This yarn is the story of Zelisko’s life, or maybe the opening chapter. It could well make a great movie, or at least a top-selling rock song, and took place in the summer of 1972 in Berkeley, Calif. Zelisko, who today runs Danny Zelisko Presents in Phoenix and this year has been contracted as the chief booker for shows ... Read more...

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08.17.12 · 6 PM

Bagatelle is an Olympian project — so why not invite Olympic athletes to the beach?

Jonathan Segal is blessed with a sunny disposition, the ideal personality to run an entertainment company. But he’s not uniformly cheery all the time. Segal sometimes lapses into the doldrums, and when he’s in a dour mood, he turns to music. The difference with Segal is the entertainment center on which he plays that music: the vast sound system at Bagatelle Beach. “I’ve been playing a lot of Robbie Williams lately,” says Segal, who has plugged his iPhone into the ... Read more...

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08.15.12 · 5:07 PM

A peek inside Criss Angel’s tricked-out, 60,000-square-foot box of magic

Seated on a bench in front of a stage where a line of dancers in leather and lace gyrate to house music is a guy wearing a ball cap sideways on his head. Around his neck is an oversize clock. He is master magician Lance Burton, dressed as Flavor Flav. Just a few feet away, nearly crawling across the bar, is a slightly built guy ordering a cocktail. He also is wearing a ball cap askance, and a big clock ... Read more...

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08.14.12 · 4:27 PM

‘Absinthe’ now a permanent (or at least open-ended) fixture on the Strip

“Absinthe” is sort of like the game of baseball. Not for the excessive use of pine tar, but because of its very structure. Baseball is expected to be finite, lasting a total of nine innings. But baseball fans know that the game sometimes lasts longer, sometimes far longer, than those nine innings. Theoretically, a baseball game can last forever. Same with “Absinthe,” as we have learned just this week. “Absinthe” is about to become a permanent show at Caesars Palace. ... Read more...

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08.13.12 · 1:43 PM

Seeds for GNR residency at the Joint planted on NYE; Celine glides past technical glitch in 100th show

Hard Rock Hotel officials weren’t kidding when they said that the New Year’s Eve performances by Guns N’ Roses were something of a test to see if the band could withstand a longer series of shows at the Joint. It was made official today that Axl Rose’s latest incarnation of GNR will play a dozen shows — wait, make that a dozen “mind-blowing shows,” as the news release promises — from Halloween through Nov. 24. Halloween revelers note: The Oct. ... Read more...

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08.10.12 · 6:30 PM

In orchestrated move, David Itkin set to leave L.V. Philharmonic before new season

Whether his wand is magic is open to discussion. But David Itkin has effectively orchestrated his ouster from the Las Vegas Philharmonic, and it’s happening sooner than expected. L.V. Phil President and CEO Jeri Crawford confirmed Friday afternoon that Itkin will not take part in the 2012-13 season. On June 2, the Philharmonic announced, following a 15-0 vote among its board of trustees to seek a replacement for Itkin, that the music director of five years would be leaving the ... Read more...

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08.10.12 · 6 PM

Blue Woman Group? Not quite, but ever-evolving Blue Man Group is increasingly androgynous

The very title of Blue Man Group indicates how the production bearing that name can be altered. You could make the Blue Men red. You could add or subtract the number of Blue Men onstage. You could instill non-Blue Man characters to the show. You could introduce a woman to the Blue Man cast. Some of that will happen when the show opens in October at the Monte Carlo. Not the coloring of Blue Man Group to red. That would ... Read more...

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08.10.12 · 11 AM

Norm Macdonald muses on ‘SNL,’ his mastery of Twitter

Norm Macdonald is possibly the most acerbic of “Weekend Update” hosts on “Saturday Night Live,” not a small feat when that list includes Chevy Chase and Dennis Miller. It also is not a small feat when you consider that Macdonald has never been much of a news junkie. His brother, Neil, is a journalist who works as a reporter for CBC News, Canada’s leading news agency. But Norm does not take sides in political debates simply because he’s not engaged ... Read more...

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08.9.12 · 6 AM

Taylor Hicks gives it a go at Indigo; Trop’s ‘Show Off Sundays’ a popular Sunday hang

We’ve reach a rarefied circumstance in Las Vegas when one of the city’s master entertainers breaks from a performance at the city’s new performing arts center to call out to a new friend — who happens to be a champion of “American Idol.” On Sunday afternoon, Clint Holmes, dazzling a couple hundred fans at Cabaret Jazz at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts, threw the spotlight over to Taylor Hicks, who became famous for winning “Idol” by earning the ... Read more...

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08.8.12 · 2:48 AM

‘Surf the Musical’ to close after just six weeks at Planet Hollywood

Time to pack up the boards, kids. A little more than a month after opening for previews and three weeks after its gala premiere, “Surf the Musical” has announced that it is closing at Planet Hollywood. The production’s cast and crew were notified Tuesday evening that the show would close after next Wednesday’s performance. It was a quick ride. “Surf” opened for previews June 29, a week later than intended, and its formal unveiling at Peepshow theater was July 17. ... Read more...

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08.7.12 · 7:30 PM

Faith Hill and Tim McGraw at the Venetian: Enjoy ‘em while ya got ‘em

It did not take Faith Hill long, just two sentences, to instill a little perspective into the proceedings. “I’m so excited,” said Hill upon the announcement that her husband, the ever-hatted Tim McGraw, and she would perform at the Venetian Theater from December through April. “This is thrilling for us to be part of this extraordinary experience for this limited time.” There it is: Limited. For a couple married for 15 years, the Hill/McGraw “Soul2Soul” engagement is not a long-term ... Read more...

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08.5.12 · 1:49 PM

EWF blows out the Joint; Adrian Zmed’s Thai wedding plans; Amazing Johnathan eyes new haunt

As the band played at high volume and danced with untrammeled energy, the aisle leading to the staged repeatedly filled with fans craning to be close. Many held iPhones aloft. They waved and pumped their fists until a security official in a black T-shirt threw a damper on the fun and led them back to their seats. This happened over and over, and I felt bad for the security detail, who was sweating in the warm music hall and shaking ... Read more...

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08.3.12 · 6 PM

Visitors awestruck at Justice Entertainment Group’s memorabilia collection

It’s tempting to refer to this fortress of artifacts as a trip down Memory Lane, but it is so much more than that. The offices of Justice Entertainment Group represent a crisscrossing trip across the Memory Interstate Highway System. The JEG headquarters at the Hughes Airport Center in Las Vegas are filled with thousands of treasures amassed by music and entertainment veteran Susan Joseph and her partner, famed concert promoter Dick Klotzman. JEG expanded to Las Vegas two years ago, ... Read more...

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08.2.12 · 5:49 PM

Acting like a kid is the bassline of Earth Wind & Fire’s Verdine White

“Boogie Wonderland” is where Verdine White has discovered the Fountain of Youth. The forever stomping, strutting, wild-haired bassist for Earth Wind & Fire is 61 years old. He turns that age, coincidentally, on the day of this interview. “My phone’s been blowing up,” White says during a chat in some down time before EWF hits the stage at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, Calif., just west of San Jose. “It’s ringing every two seconds. Started at 5 o’clock this morning, ... Read more...

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08.1.12 · 3:23 PM

Liberace film seeks people to act (naturally); chance meeting with Diceman at Peppermill

After some light blogging over the past few days (blame it on the chronicles of a European tour that is the cover of Las Vegas Weekly this week), it is high time to run the rake across the scene: • Are you especially adept at milling about in a candid sort of way? If so, a casting director for the upcoming HBO movie “Behind the Candelabra” might be interested in hiring you as an extra for the film, which is ... Read more...

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Featured Cocktail

Cocktail of the Week Jun 12, 2013
by Sabrina Chapman

The Lion’s Tail cocktail at Embers is a spicy classic reimagined for summer

Refreshing, peppery and adventurous; those are the words that instantly come to mind upon first sip of the Lion’s Tail ($9) at Embers Grille & Spirits. This vintage cocktail, which ...
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