PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE OBSERVER MEDIA GROUP

Vegas Seven, 302 East Carson Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89101

Vegas Seven is distributed each Thursday throughout Southern Nevada

c 2015 Vegas Seven, LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without the permission of Vegas Seven, LLC is prohibited.

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PUBL ISHERMichael Skenandore

EDI T ORI A LEDITOR Matt Jacob

SENIOR EDITORS Paul Szydelko, Xania Woodman

A&E EDITOR Cindi Reed

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Camille Cannon

SENIOR WRITERS Steve Bornfeld, Geoff Carter, Lissa Townsend Rodgers

CALENDAR COORDINATOR Ian Caramanzana

SENIOR CON T RIBU T ING EDI T ORMelinda Sheckells (style)

CON T RIBU T ING EDI T ORSMichael Green (politics), Al Mancini (dining),

David G. Schwartz (gaming/hospitality)

A R TCREATIVE DIRECTOR Ryan Olbrysh

GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Jon Estrada, Cierra Pedro

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Anthony Mair

V EGASSE V EN.COMDIRECTOR OF DIGITAL MEDIA Nicole Ely

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Herbert Akinyele

ENGAGEMENT EDITOR Zoneil Maharaj

SENIOR WRITER, RUNREBS.COM Mike Grimala

ASSISTANT WEB PRODUCER Amber Sampson

PRODUC T ION / DIS T RIBU T IONDIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION/DISTRIBUTION Marc Barrington

ADVERTISING MANAGER Jimmy Bearse

DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR Jasen Ono

S A L ESBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Christy Corda

DIGITAL SALES MANAGER Nicole Scherer

ACCOUNT MANAGER Brittany Quintana

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Alyse Britt, Robyn Weiss

IN T ERNS

James Cale, Kayla Dean, Rachel Kerr, Aric Lairmore, Brent Martelli

Ryan T. Doherty | Justin Weniger

PRESIDENT Michael Skenandore

VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING AND EVENTS Kyle Markman

DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS Michael Uriarte

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Sherwin Yumul

MARKETING MANAGER Maureen Hank

FIN A NCEVICE PRESIDENT Rey Alberto

ASSISTANT CONTROLLER Donna Nolls

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT Linda Nash

HUMAN RESOURCES COORDINATOR Kara Dennis

LAS VEGAS’ WEEKLY CITY MAGAZINE | FOUNDED FEBRUARY 2010

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DIALOGUE

FACEBOOK: /VegasSeven TWITTER: /7Vegas INSTAGRAM: /VegasSeven

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

As expected, our story about the rising costs of parking Downtown (“The Buck Stops Here,” May 7) didn’t sit well with readers. Here’s a sampling of comments collected from VegasSeven.com:

Downtown is becoming too popular, so they are raising prices sky high to drive people to the free parking on the Strip! Good strategy, guys! Whose idea was it, Chief Wiggum’s? –Bill Eller Guess

Fuck Downtown. I just paid $7 to park for two hours and 15 minutes. I’ll just park in garages and gladly pay the smaller fee. This isn’t Seattle or New York. – Brian Stevens

A lady told us [it would cost] $20 to park in her lot across from Heart Attack Grill, and we laughed in her face. Went around the corner and paid at the meter. If the burgers don’t kill you, the thought of paying $20 to park sure will. – Danyel Rhoads

OUR SITES TO SEE

GET HAPPY

DOWNTOWN

Looking for a new happy-hour spot to kick it after work? DTLV contributor Jessie O’Brien has the scoop on all the best spots Downtown to drown your sorrows while not breaking your bank. Visit DTLV.com/HappyHour.

WALKING AND TALKING

By now, you’ve probably heard the hit song “Shut Up and Dance” from Cincinnati indie-rock band Walk the Moon. What you likely didn’t know was the song almost didn’t make the album. The group’s members discuss that and offer other insight into the making of their new album at VegasSeven.com/WalkTheMoon.

EDM TO LIB

As founder of Insomniac and the man responsible for bringing Electric Daisy Carnival to Las Vegas, it seemed only a matter of time before Pasquale Rotella got involved in Life Is Beautiful. And that time is now. Rotella shares his company’s plans to curate an EDM-specific stage—and, by the sounds of it, a heck of a lot more—at VegasSeven.com/Rotella.

A BEAUTIFUL VIDEO

Life Is Beautiful has always been about more than just the music. For instance, it’s also about art. So what better way to unveil this year’s music lineup than with a series of murals spray-painted atop some of Downtown’s most famous buildings? Check out a visual tour of some of the artists you’ll see this fall at VegasSeven.com/LifeIsBeautiful2015.

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COACHES VS. CANCERBasketball may be their forte, but from May 17-19,

more than a dozen of the nation’s top college

coaches traded the hardwood for the fairway

as part of the eighth annual Coaches vs. Cancer

Las Vegas Golf Classic. North Carolina’s Roy

Williams and Oregon’s Dana Altman were among

the more than 230 golfers who took aim at the

Shadow Creek and Southern Highlands golf

courses. UNLV coach Dave Rice also attended

the weekend-long event, as did former UNLV

and current Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger. Post-

round festivities took place at MGM Grand, with

performances by Human Nature and Larry the

Cable Guy. In all, an estimated $500,000 was

raised for the American Cancer Society.

UPCOMING EVENTS • May 23 Badass Dash [BadassDash.com] • May 30 6th annual Homeless Youth in the Alley bowling tournament [Bowlathon.net]

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Have you taken a photo that captures

the spirit of Las Vegas this week?

Share it with us at Moment@VegasSeven.com.

Cowboy DownPhoto by Mike Stotts

First off, save all the “Ah, isn’t that cute!” and “Hey, at least he tried!” crap. I don’t need your stinkin’ pity. Besides, you’re not getting the whole picture here. You see, out of frame is a clock that says 16 seconds; that’s twice as long as a professional bull rider is asked to hang on—and I drew the Bodacious of sheep! (Google it.) One more thing: I’ll argue to the death that this mutton bustin’ at the annual Elks Helldorado Days is just as diffcult as anything those NFR chumps have to endure. See any saddle on my ride? Rope in my hands? Spurs on my boots? Thought so.

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@thomaslennon Technically the Mötley

Crüe biography is a

scarier story than any of

the Harry Potter books.

@AndyRichter In lobby of our hotel

in Vegas I bought my

daughter an ice cream

& the man insisted I

take the receipt. “Just in

case,” he said.

@realjeffreyross My heartfelt con-

dolences to Lucille.

#RIPBBKING

@MrGeorgeWallace This must be very

jarring for Tom Brady,

who hasn’t had anything

go poorly for him since

1986.

@drewmagary I feel terrible, but when-

ever I think of B.B. King

I think of Silly Hat Era

Bono. Lousy Bono.

@pennjillette It’s not faint praise

to say B.B. King was

“nice”—he was. I’m lis-

tening to his music now,

and it’s not “nice!” All

the gonads in the art!

@ConanOBrien Look for me in the cred-

its of the new Entourage

movie. I was “Lead

Fedora Wrangler.”

@shanecomedy In Vegas surrounded

by a bunch of very

well-dressed walking

overdraft fees.

@jondaly I am a handsome DJ and

I’ve got it made. Look at

my suit. I’m in Vegas this

weekend at the Wynn.

See my billboard? Dope

right? I’m the best!

@SarahKSilverman First Ben E King, then

B.B. King ... PLEASE be

careful, Burger King

LAS VEGAS FOUND itself this week at the intersection of music and tragedy in a way that wasn’t

at all unexpected—yet, when it happened,

you still kind of weren’t prepared for it. Nothing can prepare you for it, really, no matter how much logic tells you that it’s inevitable.

Yes, Taylor Swift put the kibosh on the Yahoo! live stream of her May 15 Rock in Rio set. Fans around the world were devastated, leaving them no other option but to publicly consume Taylor Swift, profess their love for Taylor Swift, angrily shout down anyone who dares criticize Taylor Swift and fnd out where Taylor Swift might be at any moment so they can try to sneak into Taylor Swift’s hotel room by hiding underneath the table cloth on a room-service cart.

Wait, it gets worse: Not only was the city home to Rock in Rio for a second straight week, but we got the Billboard Music Awards on May 17, making Vegas the undisputed home of every terrible song that’s going to dominate the rest of the

summer. That doesn’t even take into account Ed Sheeran headlining Ti-ger Jam at Mandalay Bay on May 16. Our deepest apologies, America.

The Billboard awards had newly minted Vegas headliner Mariah Carey in the fold, but Carey freaked out show producers when she didn’t show up for dress re-hearsal the day of the show—just a few days after she canceled a show at Caesars Palace because of bron-chitis. She had a doubleheader that night, with the Billboard perfor-mance followed a few hours later by her Colosseum show. Although if Carey’s plan is “back-to-back shows with bronchitis in order to deliver a performance worse than Rockefell-er Center in December,” it shows her troll game is in rare form.

The one really good thing to come out of Rock in Rio’s pop weekend was that John Legend got called in to pinch hit after Sam Smith bowed out with a vocal cord hemorrhage. We say “good thing” not necessarily because of anything to do with John Legend, but because he brought wife (and Billboard Awards co-host) Chrissy Teigen with him to town. The couple posted up at Hakkasan

Nightclub’s restaurant on May 15 with friends. Rita Ora was also there, and it had to be tough for her fall to No. 2 on the list of women in the room guys are trying to secretly take pictures of while their wives and girlfriends aren’t looking.

Then there’s B.B. King, whose death at 89 wasn’t a surprise, but was still a big ball of suck. (See Page 71 for more on the blues legend and longtime Las Vegas resident.) The Memphis Grizzlies did the super classy thing and offered a tribute before their Game 6 playoff elimination tilt against the Golden State Warriors on May 15—which the Grizzlies lost, 108-95. King must’ve been a big Steph Curry guy.

The one bright spot in all of this is that Daniel Platzman and Ben McKee of Imagine Dragons scoped out the third of “Weird Al” Yankovic’s fve shows at Planet Hol-lywood on May 14. Yankovic signaled the Vegas band truly arrived when he recorded “Radioactive” parody “Inactive” on his most recent album Mandatory Fun. The Killers only made one of Yankovic’s polka medleys. If you’re keeping score at home, that puts the Dragons way in the lead.

Share your Tweet! Add #V7.

Hitting the Low NotesOur city was the center of the music universe last week—

mostly for all the wrong reasons

By Jason Scavone

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to be perfectly honest, Life Is Beautiful 2015 had us at the head-liners: local superstars Imagine Dragons, Grammy-winning rap-

per Kendrick Lamar and living legend Stevie Wonder. We admit it: Our minds are a teensy bit blown.

But the good stuff doesn’t end there. This year’s Life Is Beautiful lineup comes tantalizingly close to embodying the timeworn slogan “Something for everyone.” There are chart-topping acts (Duran Duran, Hozier); alt-rock powerhouses (Weezer, Metric, Death Cab for Cutie); game-changing hip-hop acts (Run the Jewels, Atmosphere); down-and-dirty rockers (Against Me!, Royal Blood); Electric Daisy Carnival favorites (Major Lazer, Madeon); hot indie acts (Best Coast, Future Islands); and more than a few artists that defy categories (Lindsey Stirling, Thievery Corporation). It even marks a homecoming for two additional Vegas acts: The Killers’ Brandon Flowers, who’s revisiting the festival as a solo performer, and Shamir, one of Vegas Seven’s Intriguing People for 2015 whose star as an R&B shape-shifter is rising on a wave of unrivaled critical acclaim.

The complete lineup for the September 25-27 festival remains a work-in-progress; several more acts will be announced during the summer. And orga-nizers have yet to reveal the headliners of the arts, culinary and speaker pro-grams. (Disclaimer: Wendoh Media, now a co-producer of Life Is Beautiful, also publishes Vegas Seven. And we know as much about the lineup at this point as you do.) Still, it’s tough to imagine anything as incredible as seeing Stevie Wonder playing his music for a festival crowd amid the lights of Downtown.

Somehow, we suspect Life Is Beautiful is working on moments that will top even that one.

Perfect HarmonyThe following acts are confirmed for the Sept. 25-27

Life Is Beautiful in Downtown Las Vegas.

For ticket information, visit LifeIsBeautiful.com.

Stevie Wonder • Imagine Dragons • Kendrick LamarDuran Duran • Hozier • Weezer • Major Lazer

Death Cab For Cutie • Brandon Flowers • Kygo • AtmosphereTwenty One Pilots • Porter Robinson (live) • Thievery Corporation

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros • Metric • DJ SnakeAWOLNATION • Walk the Moon • RL Grime • Run the Jewels

Rebelution • GRiZ • Future Islands • SOJA • Royal BloodMadeon • Glass Animals • Lindsey Stirling • Clean Bandit

BADBADNOTGOOD & Ghostface Killah • Best Coast • Robin SchulzThe Green • TCHAMI • SZA • Against Me! • Dan Deacon • Meg Myers

Cashmere Cat • New Politics • Tommy Trash • Two GallantsRyn Weaver • Yellow Claw • Shamir • What So Not • Big Data

Elle King • JAUZ • Saint Motel • BØRNS • X Ambassadors • Klingande • Halsey SALVA • Leikeli47 • The London Souls • Kaleo • Giraffage

Mija • Andra Day • Mercer • Parade of Lights • Night Terrors of 1927Peking Duk • Jared & The Mill • MIICS • Mercy Music

Indie rock, hip-hop, EDM, R&B, hot up-and-comers and a bona fide living legend—Life Is Beautiful 2015 strikes a diverse chord

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➜ When I first heard Kendrick Lamar’s 2010 mixtape Overly Dedicated, I wouldn’t have guessed that the good kid from Compton, California, would become one of the most praised voices of this generation. Not that I wasn’t immediately impressed. He was lyrically deft with a depth and message that challenged rap standards—all surefire ways to earn yourself a spot in the bargain bin next to Dead Prez and Immortal Technique. Yet, somehow, K.Dot managed to hijack the industry, turn an anti-drinking song (“Swimming Pools”) into a chart-topping smash, light a fire under the asses of his peers and shift the culture of his genre—all while snagging a ton of awards and honors. (Memo to the Grammy committee: Don’t fuck up the Best Rap Album award this year.)

If you’re debating the top five emcees, dead or alive, Kendrick should rank no lower than No. 3—and that’s only if you’re being respectful of the dead.

While Kanye was a name of contention during last year’s Life Is Beautiful lineup reveal because of his arrogance and extravagance, Kendrick is the antithesis—a humble everyman who lives in a $500,000 home, raps about the homeless and isn’t afraid to smile in photos.

Complain about the lineup if you must, but know there isn’t a better rapper for this year’s festival than Kendrick Lamar. A more effective use of your time would be to get familiar with the following essential tracks, while I keep my fingers crossed in hopes they make his set list:

“Untitled” (unreleased). Before Kendrick’s hotly anticipated To Pimp a Butterfly came out in March, fans got what they thought was a preview of the album in December when he and an ensemble band delivered the powerful final musical performance on The Colbert

Report. (Colbert joked: “Keep in mind: Paul McCartney, R.E.M., Jack White and Nas were your opening acts.”) In this song, Kendrick shares conversations with an Asian man who advises him to meditate, an Indian man (Native American, I’m assuming) who tells him to invest in land/real estate, a black man who reprises the adage that “nookie is power” and a white man—a record label executive—who wants Kendrick to “put a price on my talent.” The Internet exploded in response … but the song didn’t end up on the album. An interview later revealed that the thing was never recorded at all; it was intended to live in that one moment. Hopefully, it’ll be

resurrected onstage Downtown.Verse from “Control” (promotional single

for Big Sean’s Hall of Fame). Kendrick Lamar may have been a featured guest on the track—another that was never made available for purchase—but he made the song, overshadowing Big Sean and Jay Electronica, and twisting a lot of rappers’ panties. In his three-minute verse, Kendrick calls out a dozen of his contemporaries (I got love for you all but

I’m tryna murder you niggas) and claiming I’m

Makaveli’s offspring, I’m the King of New York. The song sparked countless “diss” responses, but it did its job by forcing others to step up their games. Big K.R.I.T., J. Cole, Big Sean, Tyler and Wale—all of whom were named on the record—dropped their strongest works after “Control.” Coincidence? I think not.

“How Much a Dollar Cost” (from To Pimp a

Butterfly). A reminder for myself and anyone else who sidesteps the blatant homeless problem Downtown, this Christian-leaning song details a run-in with an incessant beggar. Kendrick continually refuses to give him a single penny. In the final few bars comes the plot twist: The homeless man is God. Cheesy? Yes. But next time you’re spending $10 on your limited-keg Imperial IPA and admiring those neat murals Downtown, maybe don’t be a dick to the dude sleeping behind the utility box.

“u” and “i” (from To Pimp a Butterfly).

These two songs stand in direct contrast with one another—the former dreary self-loathing, the latter a flourish of self-love. Although they appear nine tracks apart on the album, they’d pair perfectly in a live setting, transitioning from a dark fit of depression to the rousing funk of the Isley Brothers-sampling radio hit. I can already picture thousands of us shouting in unison: I love myself!

“m.A.A.d city” (from good kid, m.A.A.d

city) x Imagine Dragons “Radioactive” mash-

up. The only time I’ll sit through “Radioactive” is when watching a clip of it at the 2014 Grammys. That’s because 20 seconds in, lead-Dragon Dan Reynolds is interrupted by yawk! yawk! yawk! Kendrick surprised everyone with the unlikely collaboration, mixing his autobiographical opus “m.A.A.d city” with the rock hit. Already pulsing with urgency, the track took on a monstrous new life thanks to the hometown Dragons. It was a welcome to the New Age, indeed. With both acts headlining this year’s Life Is Beautiful, I can’t think of a better closer.

Brought to You by Adrenaline and Good RapIf you don’t yet appreciate the talents of Kendrick Lamar, you soon willB Y Z O N E I L M A H A R A J

T I C K E T S & V I P R E S E R V A T I O N S | O M N I A N I G H T C L U B . C O M | 7 0 2 . 7 8 5 . 6 2 0 0 |

C H U C K I EM A Y 3 1

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NIGHTLIFEYour city after dark, photos from the week’s hottest parties and meet the hardest working Bunny behind turntables

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T HeartbreakersThe EC Twins broke onto the scene, and then someone

broke into their house—Allister tells all

By Kat Boehrer

ONSTAGE, U.K. TWINS MARC and Allister Blackham are known as the EC Twins. Until recently, their main mission was to bring the craziest parties to the craziest club kids. Then they decided to lock themselves away in the studio to focus on writing a hit song. Now they’re doing double-time as producers and DJs. These days, the duo only comes out of the “stu” to set soundtracks for such events as Foxtail Pool Club’s Memorial Day party on May 25. We recently caught up with Allister to discuss the Twins’ rise in popularity and the crazy adventures along the journey.

Why do you keep coming back

to Las Vegas?

Las Vegas has a special place in our hearts. When we frst came to America, the frst city we cracked was Los An-geles, and then we decided to go to Vegas. Everybody told us that we couldn’t play Vegas. [They said that] if you did a good show one week and then came back the following week, the crowd would be completely different, because it’s all tourists, its transient. So you couldn’t get a regular crowd. However, me and my brother, we saw it quite differently.

How so?

We saw that if you went there and did a big show, the people would go back to Texas, New York, De-troit, Germany, England, wherever, and they’ll spread the word about how much fun they had listen-ing to house music and electronic music in Vegas. And we could make Vegas a hub in America for house music; that was our plan.

It’s a different crowd ev-ery time you go there. The challenge of playing Vegas is what we love. And also the all-you-can-eat buffets.

Marc and Allister Blackham will invade Foxtail on Memorial Day.

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See more photos from this gallery at SPYONvegas.com

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TRYSTWynn

[ UPCOMING ]

May 23 Suits for No Reason with Jermaine Dupri

May 28 Alie Layus spins

May 29 DJ Excel spins

[ THE CHEAT SHEET ]

Your Memorial Day Weekend Party GuideWho cares if summer officially starts on June 21? The weather’s warm enough, and you’ve got a long week-end on your plate, so let’s take full advantage of it. You’re gonna need a name for this perfectly epic string of parties, so let’s call this one the Me-morial Day Fleek-end!

FRIDAY, MAY 22

Kick off the holiday weekend with an all-day bender at Mandalay Bay. First, progressive house giant Morgan Page spins at Daylight. The producer turns 34 next week, so wish him a happy birthday before he hits the road, will ya? (At Man-dalay Bay, 11 a.m., DaylightVegas.com.) Grab a quick snack and stick around to catch Henry Steinway, a.k.a. Clockwork, at Light. He’s been touring nonstop under the moniker of his trap project, RL Grime, since he dropped 2014’s Void. He’s finally playing as Clockwork, so maybe he’ll bless us with some new electro-house goodness. (In Mandalay Bay, 10 p.m., TheLightVegas.com.)

SATURDAY, MAY 23

You’re probably already exhausted, but pound a Red Bull, because your weekend is just getting started. Gear up for a live performance from Kesha. The singer recently started performing again after she left rehab because of an unhealthy body image. Now she’s hitting Rehab to perform. Nice. (At Hard Rock Hotel, 11 a.m., RehabLV.com.) With all this partying, you’re gonna want to ask for forgiveness. Thankfully Scott “Lord” Disick is in town for his 32nd birthday. The road to salvation begins at 1 Oak. (In The Mirage, 10:30 p.m., 1OakLasVegas.com.)

SUNDAY, MAY 24

Gareth Emery mans the decks at Fox-tail Pool Club. The English trance DJ/producer welcomed a daughter March 13, but he still makes time to spin. Show him how America parties on this holiday weekend. (At SLS, 10:30 a.m., FoxtailLasVegas.com.)

MONDAY, MAY 25

Your weekend has been leading up to this: Skrillex and Diplo bring the party to XS for a Memorial Day extravaganza. The two teamed up to drop one of the hottest dance albums of the year, Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack Ü, and will play the Gumball 3000 festival to-gether May 30 at MGM Resorts Village. So they’re sure to play bangers off the album, along with their own hits. (In Encore, 10:30 p.m., XSLasVegas.com.) - Ian Caramanzana

See more photos from this gallery at SPYONvegas.com

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REHABHard Rock Hotel

[ UPCOMING ]

May 22 Our Heroes benefit concert with Joe Nichols

May 23 Rehab Saturdays with Kesha

May 30 Flux Pavilion spins

EMBRACE THE BEST TIME OF DAY AT SUNDOWNThe magical moment when day meets night is the impetus for a new party on the Strip. Sundown Sundays at Daylight beach club at Mandalay Bay is visually rich, musically sweet, and sublime in mood and tone—and even better for the working class, it starts at 4 p.m.

“Las Vegas has some of the most inspiring sunsets, and with a time gap between pool parties and nightlife we saw a great op-portunity for this kind of sound,” says Zee Zandi, vice president of brand development and enter-tainment for Light Group. “Also, the setup at Daylight could not have worked any better since the sun sets directly behind the stage, making for an amazing in-troduction to our Sundown DJs.”

On the roster is the best of underground house music, such as DJ/producer Guy Gerber, who played the April 26 open-ing. DJ Brett Rubin warmed up the crowd, and was joined by trumpet player Rico DeLargo for a blend of electronic and brass. Week 2 welcomed Nic Fanciulli with guests Eddie MacDonald and DJ Stellar. Each week, the headliner takes the stage while the clock on the large LED screen counts down to sunset.

“I am a fan of all the artists on the roster, which is what inspired me to book them for this party,” Zandi says. “Each DJ will bring a unique vibe and sound to the pool that I think people are really going to like. I am looking forward to seeing them play in this new element.”

During EDC weekend, there will be a special Thursday edition of Sundown on June 18, which will include the first Las Vegas performance by Duke Dumont. Then on June 21, expect an early Sundown leading up to EDC that will include a back-to-back set by Carl Cox and Loco Dice.

“It’s always important to introduce new sounds to our market,” Zandi says. “Some of these artists are already big around the world, so it really is a matter of giving people the opportunity [here] to experience this music.” – Melinda Sheckells

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Restaurant reviews, news and a ‘clean cocktail’ menu that takes the dirty work out of cutting calories

“It’s not like we’re a PT’s trying to be a tiki bar.

We’re a tiki bar that just happens to have gaming

if you sit down at the bar.” {PAGE 64}

Fusillioro with lamb ragu at Lago.

Lago Is a Must Sea

The third time’s a charm

for chef Julian Serrano

By Al Mancini

JULIAN SERRANO PROBABLY DIDN’T NEED A THIRD LAS Vegas restaurant. The Spanish-born chef made a name for himself in Las Vegas with Bellagio’s fne French restaurant Picasso, which after 16 years can still hold its own against the Paris masters who came to town years later. With his eponymous Aria restaurant, he returned to his roots and gave this city its frst taste of high-end tapas—another huge success. But he apparently wanted to expand his repertoire. That brings us to Lago, where he’s applying the Spanish shareable small-plates model to Italian food, something I can’t recall seeing elsewhere nearby. And just weeks after opening, he’s already knocking it out of the park.

Lago replaces Osteria del Circo in a prime piece of Bellagio real estate between Le Cirque and Hyde nightclub that has one of resort’s best views of its famed fountains. Thanks to a complete remodel, the space looks larger than its predecessor, and now offers outdoor patio seating on the man-made lake. The main color scheme is stark white and bright blue, making it feel more like Miami or some other beach town than Las Vegas. And while the long, wide bar area separates the more formal rear dining area with its lake views and the front lounge that opens onto the casino foor, both spaces are more casual and a bit louder than any of Bellagio’s other waterfront restaurants.

Lago’s two-page menu is divided into 16 sec-tions, so it’s tough to know where to begin. But since this is Italian food, I’ll start with the piz-zettes and pastas, both of which are outstanding across the board. The former feature nice chewy crusts that works well whether they’re topped with simple fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil, or drenched in creamy ricotta and piled high with slices of salty speck. My favorite pasta so far has been the delicate cylinders of light-as-air gnocchi flled with sharp blue cheese. But I also loved a rich red-wine risotto with burrata cheese and small morsels of sardegna in a tomato and pork sauce, as well as fusilli in a mildly gamey lamb ragu with a touch of ricotta foam.

Seafood dishes have also been great. An as-sortment of fresh crudo (raw fsh) was delicately seasoned with citrus, as well as individual

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Golden OpportunityBranden Powers' new bar brings tiki to Chinatown

By Al Mancini

WHEN BRANDEN POWERS TOLD ME IN DECEMBER that he was planning to open a tiki bar, I really didn’t know what to expect. Sure, I’d been to Frankie’s Tiki Room. But until that moment, Frankie’s and Disneyland’s Enchanted Tiki Room were about the extent of my exposure to tiki culture. So when Powers—a former consul-tant for Hard Rock Hotel, Sony Music, Capitol Records and Matador Records—sent me his The Legend of the Golden Tiki in preparation for my tour of the space, I was a little blown away.

Powers’ fctitious manifesto, which runs about 700 words at present, will serve as the blueprint for the 4,000-square-foot bar, the Golden Tiki. It tells the tale of a pirate named William Tobias Faulkner, who stole an enchanted golden tiki from a volcanic island inhabited by mermaids and Cyclopes, only to be driven mad by it. Along with the tale, Powers sent me a list of the features from the story that he plans to incorporate into four themed areas in the bar: Headhunter Village, Mermaid Cove, Pirates’ Lair and the Golden Tiki itself. Thus forewarned, I headed out one recent morning to tour the space on Spring Mountain Road.

The chosen location, which was previously home to the bar Little Macau, now bears little resemblance to Powers’ tiki tale. But as Pow-ers walked me through it, it was obvious he could see all the details in his mind’s eye.

“This will be all lava rock and little puffs of steam,” he says, pointing to the entrance area. “And there will be an idol here that might be projected—or it’ll just be a voice—that will serve as a greeter.” And a little farther in, “There will be a hostess stand here, and a merchandise area.”

Next, he shows me where he’s planning the waterfall; Headhunter Village, with shrunken heads depicting local celebrities; and the mer-maid cove, where ladies can pose for selfes on a giant clamshell. Among the decorative items he’s already secured are a ghost ship and goblet from Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion. The roof will be a star-flled sky with LED freworks. And, of course, there will be a talking Golden Tiki.

One thing that hasn’t been decided is where the stage for bands will go. But Pow-ers knows what kind of music he’ll feature: “Lounge and exotica as much as possible thrown in with punk rock, surf guitar, gothic surf, soul, R&B, rare groove, trip-hop and acid jazz. For late night, maybe some tropi-cal house music; maybe for early morning, [something] chill and ambient.”

If the end result is even half as detailed as its creator describes, the Golden Tiki could turn into a serious off-Strip drinking destina-tion for tourists. But Powers is extremely dedicated to locals. He’s planning a second, private entrance with valet parking. And he wants to create VIP pendants for regular cus-tomers that entitle them to various specials.

Gaming will be available, but Powers doesn’t want it to be the bar’s main appeal. “It’s not like we’re a PT’s trying to be a tiki bar,” he says. “We’re a tiki bar that just happens to have gaming if you sit down at the bar.”

All the aspects are expected to be in place in time for a mid-July opening. Ultimately, Powers hopes he’ll be successful in add-ing something new to the local drinking landscape. “It’s good for Vegas to have more alternative things,” he tells me as we com-plete our tour.

Sounds good to me, as long as he guaran-tees that my head and mohawk will be the same size coming out as they are going in.

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I used to love and why I write songs in the first place.

I fipped out over the Beatles and the Kinks from the mid-’60s. So when I started writing songs, I wanted to write songs like that, with structure and parts. The songs that were com-ing out when I frst started writing, in the late ’80s, were terrible, horrible, jammy songs that I could not relate to at all. I wanted to write short songs, I wanted them to be melodic [and] catchy all the way through, not just one little part in the song.

Is the song, “Weird Boy Next Door”

actually about anyone?

It had a genuine inspiration. I had the melody, I was trying to write the words and I didn’t know what I was going to write about. Then I hear all this yelling and banging from next door, my dog is afraid and I’m like, “What the hell is going on?” I peek outside over the fence … and my next-door neighbor was hitting the side of his garage with a baseball bat and screaming at the top of his lungs—at nobody. I was so pissed off. So I just locked my door and I literally wrote the whole song in a few minutes about him. I don’t know if he knows, I hope he does. He’s a total dick.

You’ve played Punk Rock Bowling before,

but you’re a little less aggressively punk

than a lot of the bands.

It’s funny because we have both kinds of music. We have really super-poppy music and really scream-y loud raucous music, too. I like to play the pop for the crowd that seems like it’ll like the punkier stuff. I’m usu-ally surprised. It’s weird: Sometimes people will slam dance to the poppi-est of songs.

JUSTIN SANE

singer and guitarist of Anti-Flag

(6:10 p.m. May 23).

Anti-Flag have deployed punk rock in the service of political awareness for nearly two decades. The band has played the Republican National Convention and Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, as well as recording songs in support of Pussy Riot and Michael Brown Jr. The Pittsburgh band’s album, American Spring, will be released this month.

American Spring will be your 10th

album. Did you think you’d make it

this far?

When the band started, I always believed there would be a band 20 years later. As long as I was alive, I would be doing Anti-Flag and play-ing this kind of punk rock. ... But as far as 10 records, that is pretty surprising to me, and it’s a pretty awesome accomplishment. It’s excit-ing to think that we’ve created that much music and made that many statements and been able to connect with people.

The Internet and technology have changed

how people protest. How has that affected

your music?

A big part of the reason we named this record American Spring was in relation to the Arab Spring and the way that young people used technology to mo-bilize and organize and inspire each other to fght for a positive change.

“Sky is Falling,” [is about] drone strikes. Empathy is so important, and that’s something the song really speaks about. I encourage people to put themselves in the shoes of somebody who lives with the constant threat of drone strikes. … Amnesty Internation-al has fled a report saying that the U.S. has killed many, many hundreds push-ing thousands of civilians. So they’re not surgical and they don’t keep us safe because every time you kill a civil-ian, we turn people against America. … Ultimately, it’s about protecting the interests of multinational corpora-tions and a very small elite of political people and wealthy people. For their

sins we all pay.The record cover is the Muslim

woman: A Middle American Fox News viewer would look at that woman and think “terrorist, suicide bomber.” On the other side we have the image of a cop—a lot of punk rock kids, they look at that and think, “racist.” … When you can challenge people’s idea of how they view others, that’s when you can make changes that lead to a positive outcome.

Has touring the world sort of proven

that message?

One of the main ideologies of Anti-Flag is that we’re not the color of our skin or religion, straight or gay, we’re not nationalities, we’re not fags, we’re not weapons. We’re human beings, and we need to see each other accord-ingly. Traveling around the world has really driven that message home—you fnd that average people around the world actually have a lot more in com-mon with each other than the politi-cians who dominate our governments.

Isn’t this going to be your first Punk

Rock Bowling?

The very frst year Punk Rock Bowling started, I remember Mark Stern call-ing me and going, “Hey, dude, we’re doing this thing called Punk Rock Bowling, you should come play!” It never worked out. But I’m so pumped we’re fnally going to play. I’m fucking so bad at bowling, but I’ll probably get drunk and bowl at some point.

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PUNK ROCK BOWLING

May 23: Rancid, the Mighty Mighty

Bosstones, TSOL, Anti-Flag, etc.

May 24: Refused, Murder City Devils,

Turbonegro, the Muffs, etc.

May 25: Dropkick Murphys,

Agnostic Front, the Swingin’ Utters,

the Business, etc.

Entrance is at Seventh Street and

Stewart Ave, day passes are $45,

PunkRockBowling.com.

Justin Sane (third from left) is committed to Anti-Flag's

political style of music.

5 Flights Up (PG-13) ★★✩✩✩The cinematic charms of Diane Keaton and

Morgan Freeman are no match for the hell

that is the New York real estate market in

this middling comedy about getting old,

downsizing and running up against real

estate agents, hagglers and looky Lous.

Retired teacher Ruth (Keaton) and painter

Alex (Freeman) put their apartment on

the market, and, in turn, visit open houses

looking for a place where they can move.

It’s all rather stale, with Keaton stuck on

half-speed, and Freeman waiting for her to

be the funny one.

The D Train (R) ★★✩✩✩Jack Black plays Dan Landsman, the

awkward lump nobody remembers. Even

now, helping organize his high school’s 20th

reunion, the once-“cool” kids don’t invite

him for beers. But then a late-night Banana

Boat commercial gives him an epiphany, a

vision of Oliver Lawless (James Marsden),

the bronzed, semi-bearded god of their high

school. If Dan can get Oliver to commit,

maybe more classmates will “like” their

Facebook page. And Black, aging out of his

irrepressible nerd-cool persona, earns our

sympathy but few laughs.

Far From the Madding Crowd (PG-13) ★★★✩✩This adaptation of the 1874 Thomas Hardy

novel tightens the focus on the relationship

between farmer-heroine Bathsheba Ever-

deen (Carey Mulligan) and her suitor, sheep

farmer Gabriel Oak (Matthias Schoenaerts).

Everdeen’s life becomes complicated by the

dashing-yet-weaselly soldier Frank Troy

(Tom Sturridge). The third gent in her life is

the older man next door, prosperous bache-

lor William Boldwood (Michael Sheen), who

pines and bides his time while Everdeen’s

life proceeds along Destiny’s path.

Lambert & Stamp (R) ★★ ✩✩

This alternative history of The Who is an

eye-opener. James D. Cooper’s film, built

around two British filmmakers who took

over management of the band and led them

to the top, posits that they were basically a

cinema experiment that went right. Chris

Stamp, and Kit Lambert were assistant

directors in early ’60s film who longed to

direct and sought out a band that would be

suitable for their exploration of mods and

rockers. The chronology isn’t neat, and for

all the interviews and performance snip-

pets, this isn’t a stand-alone history.

Iris (PG-13) ★★★✩✩She was never a model or magazine editor,

but Iris Apfel is a New York “fashion icon.”

That Apfel achieved this status, with her vast

collection of couture accessories earning a

Metropolitan Museum of Art show followed

by newspaper profiles and magazine covers,

well into her 80s, is what makes her rise

worthy of Iris, one of the last documentaries

of the late Albert Maysles. He followed the

now ninety-something Apfel as she bounced

around Manhattan, giving talks, supervis-

ing makeovers and getting dolled up. Apfel

never comes off as eccentric, just singular.

I Am Big Bird (Not Rated) ★★✩✩✩No negative thoughts, words or deeds

intrude upon I Am Big Bird, Dave LaMattina

and Chad Walker’s documentary about Caroll

Spinney, the man behind the voice, walk and

soul of the beloved Sesame Street character

for the last 45 years. But as endless proces-

sions of friends and colleagues attest to

Spinney’s genius, and the filmmakers wallow

in behind-the-scenes imagery, they fail to

fully capture the actual art of puppeteer-

ing, with woefully few substantial excerpts

from the show itself. Fans will delight in this

treasure trove of intimate moments.

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What was your impression of Las Vegas’ music

scene when you moved here from Michigan in 1990?

I remember thinking that, as a songwriter, Las Vegas hadn’t been “done” yet. I had these poetic notions of becoming the Lou Reed of Las Vegas, writing songs about hookers and all that shit. I did open-mic nights at Café Espresso Roma, but there wasn’t any work for anyone who was into audio; [there were] no studio jobs. The best you could hope for was being a casino soundman. So I ended up working at a tree nursery.

But you kept your hand in music, right?

I got married and had children, so it went on the back burner. But that luckily coincided with the home-studio revolution. As consum-er-recording gear and computer-recording gear became available to people at my level, I started building my own little home studio.

I looked for bands that I wanted to work with—A Crowd of Small Adventures, Hungry Cloud, Holding Onto Sound, Twin Brother, Wyatt McKenzie. A young Brandon Flowers came over to my house, in 2001, I think. I start-

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Ronald CorsoThe owner of 11th Street Records and National Southwestern

Recording on how to rev up the local music scene,

a recent famous customer and vinyl’s revival

By Geoff Carter

ed making records for local bands, and by 2007, I began to get a little bit of local press for it. That led to Downtown Project fnding me.

How did that meeting go?

I got a call from (former DTP music team leader) Ashton Al-len, who was on a fact-fnding mission about the local music scene. His frst question was, “What could Downtown Proj-ect do to help cultivate the music scene in Las Vegas?’” My answer to him—and he’ll tell you the same thing—was this: “Where are you from?” He said, “Florida,” and I said, “The frst thing they can do is quit hiring people from Flori-da to help our music scene.”

That was the beginning of what has grown into a very warm friendship. And at one point over drinks, I said, “I’m in the process of opening a little specialty vinyl store.” And he kept saying, “What if we could combine [it with a studio]?” And I came up with this business model, where the studio only has to pay for the square footage that it oc-cupies. And here we are.

What inspired the studio’s

classic feel?

I’m a big fan of mid-20th-century classic recording studios. You’ve seen all those black-and-white pictures of the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Johnny Cash and Elvis mak-ing records? I wanted to build a studio like those black-and-white pictures, but in color. Something like the old, great studios—Sun, EastWest, United, RCA, Capitol—with their acoustic tile, checker-board foors, big windows … I wanted to make an homage to that golden age—no lava lamps, no black-light posters, just a good-sounding room that’s big enough for a band to play in comfortably.

Studios used to be a place for capturing performances, you know? More like a photo-graph of a band playing. Then they became laboratories, where it was more like paint-ing. You’d put a layer on, then put another layer on, then another. That’s cool; a lot of brilliant music gets made that way. But I like having a studio where people can play music together in a room, and cap-ture those human moments.

Richard Branson recently visited

the record store and studio.

What was his reaction?

His frst words when he walked in were, “Oh, what

fun!” He looked almost wist-ful. I like to think he had a twinge of nostalgia: “Boy, my life would be much simpler if I could just hang out in a record store.” His empire be-gan with a record store. You never know where life’s go-ing to take you. He has a very big, awesome, complex life, and his reaction—“Oh, what fun!”—was very telling.

Aside from offering only vinyl,

what sets your record store

apart?

I tried to correct the things that I didn’t like about record stores. I don’t segregate by genre. The point of spend-ing time in a record store is spending time in a record store. I want to slow down the process a little bit. If you’re a metal guy, you’re still going to have to look at jazz records.

You’re in what Downtown

Project once hoped to make a

“music block”—Bunkhouse, the

forthcoming Wheel House and

you. What does that area need to

become a music mecca?

Rehearsal spaces for bands. A hotel marketed toward tour-ing musicians or resident artists. Tour-van rental for locals. You’ve got to travel to gain new audiences, and that’s a fnancially prohibitive thing for a lot of bands. If I were to expand, I’d move into mastering and cutting. I’d love to have a short-run press-ing plant that could do short runs of vinyl by local bands.

Vinyl has made a surprising

comeback. What makes LPs

sustainable in an era of

streaming music?

Streaming music doesn’t sat-isfy. It doesn’t scratch the itch. It shows in the music that the music industry is putting out now—music for people who don’t really give a shit about music, because so much of it fucking sucks. I hate to sound like a cranky old man, but think about what was going on in the 1970s, when record companies were tak-ing gambles on Lou Reed and Iggy Pop. These people made music that created social movements and emotional reactions in people. You’d almost think it was a con-spiracy, killing off the power of that music.

Vinyl is the way to buy mu-sic for people who really do care about it. Those are the people who walk through the door and go, “Wow.” Nobody does that when they open iTunes.