BRETT’S VEGAS VIEW
Date: Jan. 30, 2022
KATY PERRY ADDS DATES TO HER RESORTS WORLD RESIDENCY
With rave reviews and demand for Katy Perry’s new Las Vegas residency, “Katy Perry: PLAY,” at the brand-new 5,000-seat Resorts World Theatre, 16 more show dates have been added from May 27 to June 11 including Memorial Day Weekend and July 29 to Aug. 13. Tickets went on sale on Saturday, Jan. 29, the same day Perry returned to “Saturday Night Live” for her fourth appearance as musical guest.
“Katy Perry: PLAY” premiered at Resorts World on Dec. 29 with a larger-than-life campy show with kitschy visuals. Opening night featured her first live performance of “When I’m Gone,” a collaboration with Grammy®-nominated producer/dance artist Alesso. Praised as “a spacey electro-pop dance track” by “Rolling Stone,” the track went straight to No. 1 on the U.S. Dance Shazam chart. The official video for “When I’m Gone” premiered during halftime of the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship, marking the only time ESPN ever dropped a global music video within a live broadcast across its networks.
Perry will return on Feb. 27 to “American Idol” for her fifth season, hosting with her co-judges, and the kickoff the show’s 20th year.
CAVIAR BAR HAS OPENED AT RESORTS WORLD
For his first West Coast venture, Michelin-starred chef Shaun Hergatt’s Caviar Bar recently opened its doors at Resorts World. The luxurious interior and intimate atmosphere create a true jewel box with seating for 105 guests in an upscale setting for dinner, which is available daily from 5 p.m. to midnight.
Modern design elements feature an aesthetically pleasing color scheme of black, gray, white and hints of gold. Russian influences are seen throughout the space with patterned fabric-covered walls, diamond-guided doors, elegant bar top and dramatic ceiling. The Caviar Bar logo is playfully presented throughout the venue’s décor.
A dynamic menu of fresh seafood dishes incorporates seasonal ingredients, in addition to international caviar selections. The caviar offerings provided by Chef Hergatt’s Caspy Caviar include proprietary world-class selections of Kaluga, Golden Ostera and Classic Sevruga, served with house-made blinis, crème fraiche and chives. Guests can choose to order a tin to start or incorporate the caviar into the rest of the menu, which includes a selection of house-cured meats, fine cheeses, fresh seafood dishes, bites, large plates and more.
DWIGHT YOAKAM PLANS CONCERT AT M RESORT
Country star Dwight Yoakam will headline poolside at the M Resort at the M Pool on Saturday, April 30 at 8 p.m. and kick off the resort’s 2022 outdoor concert series. Tickets start at $20. M Resort’s concert series will continue throughout the summer with additional dates and talent to be announced.
Yoakam has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide. He is a 21-time nominated, multiple Grammy Award winner with 12 gold albums and nine platinum or multi-platinum albums. Yoakam is a recipient of the prestigious Artist of the Year award from the Americana Music Association and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in the Songwriter/Artist category.
The artist has also starred in many films such as “Sling Blade” in 1996, where he was the ill-tempered, abusive live-in boyfriend, as a psychopathic killer in “Panic Room” in 2002, a police detective in “The Minus Man” in 1999, and sheriff in “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada” in 2005.
‘MJ LIVE’ MOONWALKS TO TROPICANA
“MJ Live,” the award-winning Michael Jackson tribute concert, is moving from the STRAT where it had played since opening there on March 30, 2015, to its new home at the Tropicana when it opens on Monday, Feb. 7. Performances will be nightly except Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m. with tickets starting at $57.50.
“MJ Live,” which highlights Jackson’s music, is joining fellow tribute shows “Purple Rain” honoring Prince and “Legends in Concert,” the longest-running show on the Strip, in the Tropicana Theater.
As the world’s No. 1 Jackson tribute show, “MJ Live” recreates the Gloved One’s electrifying stage show from iconic dance moves like the moonwalk to timeless hits such as “Bad,” “Billie Jean,” “Thriller” and “Beat It.” The spot-on show with a special Jackson 5 segment also features special lighting and effect, back up dancers and a live band.
‘MARRIAGE CAN BE MURDER’ FINDS NEW HOME THE ORLEANS
The interactive longest running dinner show in Las Vegas, “Marriage Can Be Murder,” which ran for years at the D and was displaced due to renovations, has a new home. The “killer” comedy dinner show is now holding its who dun it show at The Venue at The Orleans with performances Thursday-Sunday. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and tickets start at $78.94 with a three-course meal included. The menu offers selections like Fowl Play, Dead Meat, or Meatless Mayhem.
A magic ingredient to this show is husband and wife team, Eric and Jayne Post, producing and acting in it. They’ve been married more than 30 years and instinctively know how to adlib. The show is improv comedy with a theme. Ultimately no two shows are alike because of the unpredictable element being the audience, who inadvertently creates disinformation along the way.
There is a murder, maybe more, during the evening and it’s up to the audience to help find the guilty party.
WAYNE NEWTON’S SHOW IS RELAUNCHED AT THE FLAMINGO
Mr. Las Vegas, Wayne Newton after nearly two years is back on the Strip with his “Wayne: Up Close and Personal” show in the 200-seat intimate Wayne Newton Theater inside Bugsy’s Cabaret. New select dates for his show are set monthly through June.
Newton achieved “headliner” status on the Strip for the first time in his early career at the Flamingo in the 1960s. At age 79, Newton as both and entertainer and local has many fascinating stories to tell dating back to his beginning at the Fremont’s Carnival Lounge in 1959 with his brother. Newton interacts with his audience, performs some favorite songs and shares personal career highlights through songs, film clips, anecdotes and Q&A.
LETTERKENNY LIVE!’ WILL HEADLINE AT THE COSMOPOLITAN
The stars of the popular award-winning Crave and Hulu original series “Letterkenny” have announced their return to the stage for the first time since March 2020 with an amended U.S. tour schedule for the 90-minute comedy experience “Puppers Golden Lager Presents Letterkenny Live!” The live event will visit The Cosmopolitan on Saturday, April 2 and feature nine of the cast members along with never-before-seen sketches and more.
Exclusively available for streaming on Hulu in the United States, “Letterkenny” revolves around the dustups Wayne (Keeso) and his pals get into with their small-town rivals. For the hicks, skids and hockey players of Letterkenny, getting your ass kicked is a legitimate concern on a day-to-day basis.
HARD ROCK WILL CHANGE THE STRIP’S LANDSCAPE
Hard Rock International (HRI), the legendary hospitality and entertainment company, is acquiring the operations of The Mirage from MGM Resorts International. Through the acquisition, Hard Rock plans to build an iconic Guitar-shaped Hotel like the one existing in Florida where The Mirage now stands and do away with the Volcano on the Strip. HRI will pay $1.075 billion in cash for the operating assets of The Mirage, subject to customary working capital adjustments.
Prior to 2020, HRI had no previous involvement with the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. HRI purchased the licensing and naming rights for Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas in May 2020 and vowed to bring the iconic brand to the Las Vegas Strip when the right opportunity presented itself.
The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2022, and then everyone can watch the changes.
NEW OWNERS FOR THE PALMS MAKE HISTORY
By becoming the new owners of the Palms, the San Manuel Gaming and Hospitality Authority (SMGHA), an affiliate of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, makes history as the first Native American tribe to own and operate a Las Vegas casino resort. The property is temporarily closed until the new owners reopen it this spring. Recruitment for more than 1,000 positions ranging from casino, operations, hotel management, food and beverage along with supervisor positions is underway. In addition to the casino, Palms includes more than 700 hotel rooms and suites, multiple casual and upscale dining options, meeting and convention space, a 2,500-seat theater, pool and spa, and Palms Place condominiums.
‘ASE: AFRO FREQUENCIES’ OPENS AT BELLAGIO GALLERY OF FINE ART
“Ase: Afro Frequencies,” a multi-sensory digital art exhibition presented by ARTECHOUSE in collaboration with Afro-Surrealist visual artist Vince Fraser and poet Ursula Rucker opened at Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art and will run through April 18. Viewing is daily 10 a.m.–6 p.m. with last admissions sold 30 minutes prior to closing.
Tickets are $18 for adults; $16 for Nevada residents; and $15 for seniors 65 and older, students, teachers and military. Children 5 and younger are free.
ARTECHOUSE, a pioneer in the field of experiential art, creates and produces innovative technology-driven exhibitions, expanding the possibilities of art and how we experience it. This exhibit takes visitors through an immersive, interactive journey, celebrating the historical, social and cultural aspects of the Black experience through the artists’ lens, and brought to life in a new digital interactive context. Designed around the Yoruban philosophy of ase (pronounced ah-shay), meaning our power to exact change, this exhibition features installations inspired by West African traditions, presenting them as symbols of Black culture and hope. The exhibition features 14 distinct encounters, each immersing the visitor in understandings of rebirth, bringing historical frameworks to life.
The debut of “Ase: Afro Frequencies” at Bellagio comes on the heels of the exhibit’s incredible inaugural success at ARTECHOUSE in Miami where it was named “Best Exhibition” in Time Out Miami’s “Best of the City 2021 Awards.”
BOESKY X MCQ PRESENTS HAAS VEGAS! AT THE JUHL
Michele C. Quinn of MCQ FINE ART in collaboration with Marianne Boesky Gallery, NY is presenting a pop-up exhibition of the Haas Brothers, entitled HAAS VEGAS! -an immersive exhibition of fine art and design objects from the Texas born /Los Angeles based twin brothers, Nikolai and Simon Haas. The exhibit will run Feb. 16-March 25, from Thursday-Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. at the Juhl at 353 E. Bonneville Ave., use 4th Street entrance.
From beginning as furniture designers, the Haas Brothers eclectic use of design and materials has spurned arbitrary artistic boundaries and hierarchies, creating a playful and provocative world that merges art, fashion, film, music, and design. Their work explores aesthetic themes related to nature, science fiction, sexuality, and psychedelia in materials that range from brass, porcelain, and fur to highly technical resins and polyurethane. Individual figures come to life with their playful personalities and energetic presence.
RESTAURANTS OFFERING GALENTINE’S DAY BRUNCH
Let’s start with what Galentine’s Day is. It is formed by a blend of gal and Valentine’s Day, making it into a day in which women celebrate their female friendships. The new holiday debuted in a 2010 episode of “Parks and Recreation.” That’s right: Galentine's Day—a day for women to celebrate their friendships with their lady friends.
A couple restaurants are embracing the holiday on two different dates. Bottiglia Cucina & Enoteca, located at Green Valley Ranch in Henderson, will offer brunch with bottomless rosé and a live DJ for Galentine’s Day on Sunday, Feb. 13 for $25. Hearthstone Kitchen & Cellar, located at Red Rock in Summerlin, will offer brunch with bottomless rosé and a live DJ for Galentine’s Day on Saturday, Feb. 12 for $25.
LITTLE VEGAS CHAPEL CELEBRATES NATIONAL WEDDING MONTH
The 2022 calendar has gifted Las Vegas wedding chapels with significant dates this February. Taking advantage and celebrating February, which is National Wedding Month is the Little Vegas Chapel downtown at 1330 S. 3rd Street. They are also embracing several numerically popular significant dates among engaged couples when choosing a date to seal their love, including 2/2/22, Valentine’s Day (2/14), 2/20/22 (the only palindrome date in M/DD/YYYY format in 2022), and 2/22/22.
For available bookings, the chapel is offering a special $222 Two-gether Forever Wedding Package which includes a traditional ceremony and wedding music; two songs of choice; red and pink bouquet and boutonnière; professional photography; four digital images; unity candle ceremony; officiated license or ceremony certificate; up to six guests; witness provided if needed and camera phones allowed. The package after tax is $232, not including ministers fee at $60.
DAYLIGHT BEACH CLUB WILL OPEN ON MARCH 4
DAYLIGHT Beach Club, located at Mandalay Bay, will open the 2022 daytime pool season on Friday, March 4 and be open Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The venue offers a 50,000-square-foot space including a 4,400-square-foot main pool and two additional private pools for cabana guests.
DAYLIGHT will return with the ultimate weekend party with Fridays and Saturdays featuring Top 40 music from some of Las Vegas’ hottest DJs. The weekend will continue to heat up with the return of the best hip-hop party on the Las Vegas Strip, “LIT Sundays.” Partygoers can expect DJ sets and live performances from some of the most legendary hip-hop artists.
THE BEATLES™ LOVE™ CAST SHARE TRIBUTE ROOFTOP PERFORMANCE
In celebration of the recent 53rd anniversary of The Beatles’ final concert on the rooftop of their Apple Corps building in London, The Beatles™ LOVE™ by Cirque du Soleil is sharing a special tribute video featuring their own special rooftop performance. Filmed atop The Mirage, the vibrant video stars 27 LOVE cast members performing to “Get Back” (LOVE Version). Filming the once-in-a-lifetime performance required two drones and four cameras and was completed in just two-and-a-half hours. Fans can view The Beatles LOVE cast’s rooftop performance video on YouTube.
Cirque du Soleil also takes fans behind-the-scenes to give a look at the filming process with an exclusive making-of video. Filmed to accompany the LOVE cast’s rooftop performance video, this featurette shows the planning process and dance rehearsals for the special performance, with commentary from LOVE’s Senior Artistic Director, Tim Smith. To view the behind-the-scenes video, visit YouTube.
LEE LANIER’S HAS ‘BOLD & BEAUTIFUL’ SOLO SHOW
Local artist Lee Lanier’s solo show “Bold & Beautiful” featuring 19 large-scale paintings is being presented by Sahara West Library through March 5, with a closing reception on Feb. 17 from 5-7 p.m. This is two years after he opened his first art gallery, Lee Lanier Paints, in the Arts Factory in the Las Vegas Arts District with an option to visit a VR (virtual reality) version of his gallery on his website for free.
Lanier has painted a series of public murals in the Las Vegas area. Lanier is a contemporary figurative and narrative painter breathing new life into historical, literary, and mythological characters. Stylistically, he fuses Renaissance tableau and 20th century advertising illustration. Lee worked professionally as an animator for more than 30 years, spending time at Walt Disney Studios and DreamWorks.
ABOUT TOWN NEWS
Last year was a challenging one but Gino Ferraro, chef and owner of Ferraro’s Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar across from Virgin Hotels on Paradise Road, weathered the storm and was named the Desert Companion 2021 Restaurateur of the Year.
The Lunar New Year Parade with floats, elaborate costumes and traditional lions, will take place on Saturday, Feb. 5 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The parade starts at Fourth Street and Gass Ave. and will head north on Fourth Street to Ogden. The family-friendly after party celebration will be Downtown at The Arts District.
