Britney Spears, David Lucado and Larry Rudolph, Spears’ manager, at Cirque du Soleil’s “One Night for One Drop” on Friday, March 22, 2013, at Bellagio.
The Kats Report Bureau is recalibrating after a wild stretch where I rambled around at an array of events beginning with Eric Jordan Young’s surprise birthday party at Distill in Summerlin (formerly Agave) on Saturday afternoon. Said the nonplussed subject of affection, “I am blown away! Look at my head! It is sweating!”
Cast members from Young’s former production, “Vegas! The Show,” and his current show, “Rock of Ages,” turned out to show the love. Young is part of the company moving from the Venetian to the Rio for a Jan. 25 opening, and that cast is simply stacked. Among those in the room were the omnipresent Lonnie, Mark Shunock, who hosted a wild second anniversary of “Mondays Dark” at the Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel on Monday night.
More about M.S. and “M.D.” to follow shortly, but first:
• A man with a holiday-esque surname, Larry Rudolph, has signed the female vocal group Fifth Harmony to a management contract. Rudolph is the manager of Britney Spears, of course (and again), whose fame-laden list of clients also includes Miley Cyrus, Avril Lavigne and Steven Tyler.
I have only recently come to know Rudolph, who works out of his headquarters in Las Vegas, which I feel is a great place for him to conduct business. He’s certainly a dynamic sort who appreciates good Mexican food.
As for Fifth Harmony, the group is a product of “X Factor,” formed in 2012 for that series and has since released a top-selling album, “Reflection,” in February. The lineup of Ally Brooke, Normani Hamilton, Dinah-Jane Hansen, Camila Cabello and Lauren Jauregui has since toured the U.S. behind that release.
Rudolph’s management company, Maverick, is a consortium of nine heavyweights in the music-management industry and operates under the Live Nation umbrella. That company books shows at Planet Hollywood’s Axis theater, where Spears shakes and shimmies on a regular basis. It’s very early to say how Fifth Harmony works into the Rudolph dynamic, whether at Axis or anywhere else.
More about that venue after the next bullet …
• One of the real revelations of this year, which is nearly over, according to my Official Penny Pibbets Calendar, was the residency of Pitbull at Axis. I am encouraged to hear that Pitbull is indeed set for a spring return to that theater.
• An online report created a ripple across the pond of VegasVille entertainment overnight: Bruce Springsteen was reportedly set for a performance at the Joint next March. Hard Rock Hotel spokespeople have since said that is not happening. Nonetheless, I am not ruling out a date or multiple dates at a Las Vegas arena, specifically Las Vegas Arena, for his upcoming “River Tour.” Springsteen has not played Las Vegas since a 2002 appearance at the Thomas & Mack Center on his tour of “The Rising.”
• On the topic of the Joint, and some entertainment that has happened there, we return to “Mondays Dark”:
The night featured a holiday number by Human Nature, a traipse through nostalgia starring the effervescent Debbie Gibson and The Baron of the Universe lifting a pair of 70-pound weights with his nipples. So it was an atypical sort of presentation for “Mondays Dark” at the Joint, but the second anniversary was a smash, with somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,400 folks turning out to support one of the coolest and most impactful (first time I’ve used that word) charity events in VegasVille.
Also taking part: Gordie Brown; Louie Anderson; Rockie Brown; Paul Shortino with Stephanie Calvert of “Raiding the Rock Vault” with REO Speedwagon guitarist Dave Amato; Chris Phillips of Zowie Bowie (who had a real shine on, facially, and more about that later); LouLou D’Vil (the significant other of the aforementioned Baron, both new to Las Vegas from Helsinki, Finland); Travis Cloer of “Jersey Boys”; Ruby Lewis of “Paramour” on Broadway (opening in April) and currently Human Nature’s holiday show at Sands Showroom at Venetian; all backed by music director Kenny Davidsen and his assemblage of expert musicians.
Of all these entertainers, the person who caused a real stir backstage (or upstairs stage) was Gibson. Everyone wanted time with Debbie, who was for a time Deborah, now back to Debbie. She’s a charmer, that one. Shunock, as Lonnie, makes a fleeting reference to Gibson in “ROA,” and including Gibson was a game-day decision. She performed “Electric Youth,” to great response. Another highlight was Shortino blasting Led Zeppelin’s “Ramble On” and Brown lighting up “It’s a Man’s World.”
So many highlights. Another great moment backstage was the group of performers crowding around the Big Monitor to watch D’Vil’s performance. She crept along the stage to such consequence that she wound up with a scraped knee, further reinforcement that The Baron and her enrich the burlesque scene and the scene in general.
“Mondays Dark” reboots Jan. 25 back at Vinyl. As Lonnie would say, it’s bitchin’-boss.
• On the topic of charity action, the Seventh Annual Marine Corps Toys for Tots show is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Orleans Showroom. David Perrico and his Pop Strings ensemble are the house band. Also in the mix: Gordie Brown of Golden Nugget; Phillips, still fighting the good; Murray Sawchuck; Neil Diamond tribute artist Rob Garrett; Pop Strings vocalists Eric Sean and Naomi Mauro; Elvis tribute artist Justin Shandor; Italian American Club mainstay Chadwick Johnson; “Alice” founder and a swing in about 30 percent of the shows around town, Anne Martinez; leggy dancer Lora Kelsey (as Santa, it says here); Tuscany songstress Laura Shaffer; longtime Las Vegas lounge ace Art Vargas; celebrity spokesman and actor Robert Nash; vocal group These Guys; and, get ready for it, Gene “Poo Poo Man” Anderson from Parliament/Funkadelic. Poo Poo Man turned up at Lounge at the Palms the other night to share the stage with Pop Strings, and that turned into quite the disco-rama.
Also appearing is the man heading up the effort, L.J. Harness of Cadillac of Las Vegas, which is sponsoring the production. And the night’s non-entertainment function is filled by yours truly, introducing the show with some sort of heartfelt verbosity.
A toy of $20 value, or money equaling $20 in value, is all that is needed for admission. I am honestly wondering if there might be a toy and bicycle shortage among Las Vegas stores, as we’ve had so many toy drives in this city. Read on for more about one of the biggies …
• Chet Buchanan and his teammates at KLUC 98.5-FM set records for money raised and bicycles donated in the 17th annual KLUC Toy Drive in the parking lot of NV Energy on West Sahara just west of Jones. The event closed Monday at 10 a.m. The results: Buchanan raised $430,315 and collected 5,783 bikes during his 12 days living on a 30-foot scaffold above the traffic, toys and bikes.
The toys and bikes have been hauled to HELP of Southern Nevada headquarters on East Flamingo Road and delivered to families in need. More than 3,000 families and 55 charities are benefiting from this rite of winter.
• For some intense holiday celebration action at Cabaret Jazz, check out Philip Fortenberry and Kristen Hertzenberg this weekend. This really is a heartfelt holiday performance, which is probably why they named it “Holidays From the Heart.” The shows are set for 2:30 and 7 p.m. Saturday; tickets are $26 and $36 and available at the Smith Center Box Office, (702) 749-2000 and TheSmithCenter.com.
Hertzenberg played Christine in “Phantom — The Las Vegas Spectacular,” and Fortenberry is associate M.D. at “Jersey Boys.” A note about these two: Before I ever knew Fortenberry, Hertzenberg remarked to me, “Philip is so talented, it’s scary.” This was about eight years ago before a performance of Composers Showcase at The Liberace Museum, where Fortenberry performed a tribute to the great pianist and showman. Hertzenberg, too, is one talented individual and long a favorite in town even after she moved to Houston this year.
Expect holiday numbers from the duo’s 2011 release, also called “Holidays From the Heart,” including “Christmas Time Is Here,” “Go Tell It On the Mountain,” “Silent Night,” “I Pray on Christmas” and “Oh Holy Night.”
The show should pack a holiday punch, and for more on that topic, read further …
• The afore-referenced Phillips pulled me aside before “Mondays Dark” and said, “OK, look at my face. Do you notice anything wrong?”
“Not especially,” I said.
He asked me to look closely at his right eye, and beneath a thick layer of pancake makeup I did notice swelling. Then Phillips showed me a photo on his phone that looked like he’d just gone 13 seconds with Conor McGregor: His right eye was nearly black with bruising, and his eyebrow showed a not-insignificant cut.
What happened: During Zowie Bowie’s performance Friday night at Rocks Lounge, Phillips was leveled by a flailing right hand from singer Nieve Malandra. She spun around with her microphone hand and — whack! — cracked Phillips across the face.
“I need a good cut man,” Phillips said Friday.
I’ll say this for my buddy who has headlined that room for nearly 10 years: He can really take a punch.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy