Over the past few days, The Kats Report Bureau has written from haunts such as Va Bene Caffe at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, the pressroom at Rock in Rio USA and Northside Cafe at SLS Las Vegas.
Aside from the entertainment booked in relation to the Rock in Rio duel weekends, SLS is fired up about its Foxtail Pool parties. The old Sahara aquatic retreat is barely recognizable as SLS pulls in its star DJs for sun-splashed parties.
This weekend the lineup is Borgore on Friday, R3hab on Saturday and Danny Avila on Sunday. They hit the stage at 10:30 a.m., and the cost is $30 for guys and $20 for females, with hotel guests typically receiving a 50-percent discount.
I padded around the space recently and found it sufficiently groovy, with cabanas ringing the pools and blackjack offered in the shade. Foxtail is an effective counter to the gigantic poolside fortresses on and off the Strip.
Although you likely will not find a New England Patriots tight end and his highly populated entourage hosting a Saturday afternoon pool party. At least not yet.
More ripples from the scene:
Chloe Crawford
• Chloe Crawford, the Playboy Playmate who also is a member of “Fantasy” at the Luxor and serves as the assistant for magician husband Murray Sawchuck at Sin City Theater in Planet Hollywood, is becoming a hit in her native England.
Crawford has fairly recently developed an adept magic act and over the weekend appeared on “Britain’s Got Talent,” the U.K. version of the U.S. hit “America’s Got Talent.”
In her televised appearance, Crawford made herself and her motorcycle (ostensibly a gift for the show’s creator and lead judge, Simon Cowell) disappear and reappear inside the show’s studio. Crawford earned four passing marks, and an astonished expression from Cowell, and is still alive in the show.
• On the topic of Sin City Theater, the ever-percolating entertainment haunt on the P.H. mezzanine is the focus of chatter that “Crazy Girls” producer Norbert Aleman might well be taking on an ownership role.
His show moves in May 20, having been delayed a week after the disappearance of its costume and stage props (including the giant, spongy, pink phallus, the loss of which is nothing short of a civic tragedy).
Murray’s afternoon show and the Sin City Comedy & Burlesque show are to remain, regardless of whether club owner John Padon works a deal with Aleman.
• On the topic of what we find funny, a new club is in the offing at Flamingo Las Vegas. Tentatively dubbed “X Comedy,” the production is to be the newest show in the Angela and Matt Stabile empire.
“X Burlesque” continue to roar along, having celebrated its 13th anniversary last week, and there is room for a new show in Bugsy’s Cabaret as funny man Vinnie Favorito has scrambled from that venue.
The Stabiles leapt on the chance to produce a show under the “X” brand, and expect John Bizarre and his wife, Nancy Ryan, to co-host a lineup of comics that will include Piff the Magic Dragon and his pup, Mr. Piffles; Dennis Blair, who opened for George Carlin for 20 years; and prop adventurer Joe Trammel.
The targeted opening for the new club, which helps fill the void left by the closing of Riviera Comedy Club, is June.
• As he continues his run of performances at the Smith Center’s Cabaret Jazz, Frankie Moreno has paid tribute to The Beatles, Frank Sinatra and assorted crooners, country music, 1950s oldies and the best of Motown. Still to come are nights devoted to legends including Elvis, James Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis, Mozart and The Bay City Rollers.
Wait. That’s not right. No Rollers. And no beach balls, either, sad to say. The batting of balls was a highlight of country night, but the concept shattered (along with a few glasses) by the end of the evening.
Moreno has been working like crazy to keep these shows as designed: A full performance of songs his band and he have learned expressly for that week’s show without using charts.
As Clint Holmes noted when he joined the show last week, singing a chilling rendition of “What’s Going On,” this is an extraordinarily challenging task. The shows are wildly fun, and know that we likely won’t see any stretch of performances quite like this 12-week series.
Moreno is still looking around for a permanent Las Vegas venue, a fluid process given the city’s turbulent market. But there is at least one out there to be … plucked. Probably just a matter of when.
• A taping of a roast for Brace Land, one of the cast members of Showtime’s “Gigolos,” is set for Wednesday afternoon at Alexis Park. This should be a heck of a thing, as comic Shayma Tash and “Sexxy” at Westgate Las Vegas star and producer Jennifer Romas are among the roasters. Tash is a relentless roaster, and Romas is involved in the series as Brace’s girlfriend.
• As Joey Fatone has left his recent run playing the role of club operator Dennis Dupree in “Rock of Ages” at the Venetian, the show has welcomed a big name in cast member Eric Jordan Young. His principal role is as the mayor of L.A., and he’s also billed as an “ensemble” player in this acutely talented cast.
Young most recently rolled out his autobiographical production “Shakin’ ” at Sin City Theater in December. Mr. Young is just loaded with talent. “Rock of Ages” caught a break with his availability.
• David Perrico is celebrating the third anniversary of Pop Evolution on Wednesday night at Cabaret Jazz. It’s been a wild ride for Perrico, whose Pop Evo act opened May 11, 2012, at South Point Showroom.
The crew has since been featured at Lounge at the Palms, the opening of The D Las Vegas on Fremont Street and the Stratosphere. He’s launched his Pop Strings outfit at Rocks Lounge in Red Rock Resort and taken up M.D. duties for “Alice — A Steampunk Concert Fantasy” at Vinyl in the Hard Rock Hotel (we’ll be writing more of the next appearance for the “Alice” show May 20, which is a fundraiser for dancer Lauren Clark, who is battling breast cancer).
There were some skeptics about Perrico’s approach, given that Pop Evo is filled with 20 or so musicians who are otherwise really busy, but the band powers along. Catch them at Cab Jazz. Expect a full range of happy sounds.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.
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