Kats talks The Bandstand on Fox 5
The Kats Report Bureau at this writing is Patio Bar at Flamingo. This happen-by watering post is where Sin City Brewery once stood along the marble promenade to the Monorail and parking garage. I am sitting on red vinyl sofas provided by the fine folks at Ketel One, which is the first name in … red vinyl sofas, I guess. And vodka, too.
Why am I borderline loitering at Patio Bar? Well, Saturday marked Donny & Marie's final Flamingo performance of 2015. They are out of town through the holidays and January, returning to the stage at Donny & Marie Showroom on Feb. 9. The duo are honored to be depicted in wax form at Madame Tussauds Las Vegas at the Venetian in 2016.
Their sitting reportedly required three hours apiece, with the Madame Tussauds team taking about 300 measurements. Later, we will quiz D&M about those measurements. Or not.
Piff the Magic Dragon and Mr. Piffles.
Elsewhere in the Flamingo, you know who is firing this place up, exhale-wise and ticket-wise? Piff the Magic Dragon. His soft opening Monday night at Bugsy’s Cabaret drew an audience of 125 paid and just about a dozen comps. That seems modest, but the room seats only 180, and as the marketing gains momentum around the hotel, Piff should be in good shape for a strong run at the property. The box office results of those who have appeared on “America’s Got Talent” varies — some, such as Terry Fator, can build impressive Strip residencies through their experience on the show.
Piff’s act, an acerbic mix of magic, comedy and (yes) a few dog tricks, heated up “AGT” TV audiences. I wasn't in the room to review the show, just to hang with the scenesters, but Piff’s show is droll, inventive and expertly executed. Blurb away. I’m a fan.
More from here, there and everywhere.
• “The Love Boat” soon will be making another run. That’s what Jack Jones told me, directly, in person, during a visit at a suite at the Rio a few days back. Jones sang the theme to that TV series and on Dec. 3 is joining a cast reunion for the 50th anniversary of the Princess Cruise line.
I am asking the same thing you are: Is Charo on this cruise?
The cruise will take Jones out of play during the celebration of the 100th birthday of one of his singing inspirations, Frank Sinatra, on Dec. 12. Jones has recorded an album paying tribute to the Chairman, titled “Seriously Frank.” Jones first encountered Sinatra when Jones was a student at University High School in West L.A.
Bob Anderson and Jack Jones.
A fellow student made the connection, offering, “Hey, Jonesy, what are you doing at 3 o’clock? Want to see my dad sing for the school?” That person was a friend of Jones’, name of Nancy Sinatra, who took Jones to a Sinatra performance at a school benefit. From that moment forward, Jones was all in and built a career out of evoking the same hip-cat vibe as Sinatra.
“Frank could really swing,” Jones said. “He was a wonderful swing, jazz-esque singer. He was cool. He had a tough-guy image, but he was really caring, too. He had a kind of gang attitude, and he could be belligerent, but that was a way for him to keep up his image. He was certainly never boring.”
Fit and silver-maned at 77, Jones is forever a very easygoing sort. He remembered advice that he’d received a long time ago, to toughen up his image.
“It was said to me in, my career many years ago, ‘It might not hurt you if you punched a couple of photographers in your life,'” Jones said, laughing. “Maybe. I don’t know, I just never had it in me. But Frank did.”
The album is a treat, by the way. Find it on iTunes and at JackJonesMusicStore.com.
• As I walked through the Linq Promenade on the way to the Flamingo, I happened upon Las Vegas entertainers Geechy Guy (comic) and Michelle LaFong (comic with puppets) lined up for the game show “Paid By the Second,” being recorded in a big white box next to the Linq fountains.
This is a “talent-based” game show, according to reports here and there, where the entertainers have three minutes to entertain a live audience before somehow being halted.
The performers are to be paid by the second, and therein lies the tension. I think that also was true of “Surf: The Musical.”
Anyway, no network or schedule has yet been disclosed for “Paid By the Second.” But as I walked by, the monitors beaming the show to passers-by showed a woman sliding a nail into her nose ... that took a few seconds. Predictably, someone — maybe it was Geechy — called out, “She nailed it!” Yet another reason to love this city.
• Something to watch for in the blizzard of activity on the Strip in the first few months of 2016 is a revamping of Britney Spears' “Britney: Piece of Me” residency at Axis theater at Planet Hollywood. Not a major overhaul or renaming, but an update is due for Spears, her blistering band and tireless dance troupe.
And we are still awaiting a positive reinforcement on a return of Pitbull to Axis in 2016. Love that guy, maybe even enough to shave my head again if St. Baldrick’s comes calling.
• Great line from Penn Jillette at Thursday night’s Camelot at the Magical Forest fundraiser at Opportunity Village’s Oakey Boulevard campus. A supporter of O.V. for many years, the trimmed-down Jillette told the audience, “I have worked so hard for Opportunity Village in the past year, I’ve lost more than 100 pounds.” That’s in the neighborhood of true: Jillette has lost that much weight and has worked his butt off (but not in fact) for the organization.
The annual gala dinner and auction honored Joyce Sherman-Nelson and Jim Nelson and Don Ross. For those who are skeptical about Las Vegas’ Christmas spirit, a tour of the Magical Forest is in order. And hit the Ethel M Cactus Garden too. Both mark the holidays in a uniquely Las Vegas way.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.
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