A&E
Music
The Sunshine Also Rises
All-woman Vegas band is generating some heat on the music scene. Can it propel them all the way to Canada?
May 7th, 2013
Heidi Guinn, a guitarist for Vegas-based indie band Dusty Sunshine, arranges this gang of colorful, handmade clay fridge magnets on the coffee table. A bowl of spaghetti with a fork, a bright sunflower with leaves, a green cowboy boot with a tiny spur, and most with the band’s name in little rolled clay letters. Far from truck-stop trinkets, these were unique works of art. “It takes me about five hours to make each one of these and I’ve never seen any other band do anything like them,” she says, beaming. “They go for $5 each, and they always sell out.” Add in the cost of materials and Guinn is at it for less than a buck an hour. Read more »
TV
Girls ... With Children
Once you pop out a kid, it’s hard to fit into pop culture
May 7th, 2013
I started thinking about moms in American pop culture, ironically, while watching an episode of Girls. Specifically, it was the scene in which two of the series’ (platonic, female) twenty-something protagonists bond by way of a shared bath. My first thought was, I have never casually bathed with a friend while discussing my relationship problems. My second was, I would literally pay someone if they could guarantee me a bath that no one else would try to climb into. You see, I have a toddler. He is there when I bathe. He is there when I pee. He is always there, like another limb that just happens to lurch around independently of the rest of my body. And he has changed everything. Read more »
Tour Buzz
Tour Buzz: The Rolling Stones, Foreigner and Steely Dan
May 6th, 2013
THE LIKELY LADS: Brand-spanking new music comin’ at ya! The Rolling Stones are scheduled to play at the MGM Grand on May 11 ($150-$750). A quartet of fresh-faced lads from London, the Stones meld disparate influences—blues, rock, psychedelia, even a hint of disco—into an aggressively seductive sound that one can only describe as “Rolling Stones-like.” Perhaps you’ve heard their hit singles “Satisfaction,” “Brown Sugar” or “Start Me Up,” or maybe you’ve seen the band’s guitarist Keith Richards in a cameo role in the Johnny Depp Pirates of the Caribbean movies—but in any case, they’re on their way up. People are talking about the Rolling Stones, wondering they’re going to do with the next 50 years of their career. And after they’ve played this big deal, headlining Vegas show, their long-awaited stardom will surely come. Read more »
Concert Review
Concert Review: Kottonmouth Kings
Hard Rock Café on the Strip, May 3
May 6th, 2013
“Psychedelic hip-hop punk rock” is how Orange County, California-based Kottonmouth Kings like to describe their music. As the veteran band brought the Fight to Unite tour to Sin City, T-shirts and tattoos were prominent among the multi-generational fans at the Hard Rock Café. Read more »
Concert Review
Concert Review: Maps & Atlases
Beauty Bar, May 4
May 6th, 2013
Frontman Dave Davison’s modestly charming commentary on the ability to play outside after 1 a.m. set the mood for a pleasant evening. He was right: Playing outside after midnight is largely unheard of around the country, especially in Chicago, where most of the members of Maps & Atlases are from. With the very first song, the Midwest crew established themselves as technically masterful yet not overly serious. Their new album, Beware and Be Grateful, has received mixed reviews because of its shift toward catchier hooks and away from calculated technicality. Read more »
Concert Review
Concert Review: Viva Ska Vegas
Henderson Events Plaza, May 4
May 6th, 2013
Checkers and plaid and mohawks and mods amid a sea of bright red lipstick made up the look of the audience gyrating to the ferocious keyboard riffs, blaring trumpets and choppy electric guitar strums at that this year’s Viva Ska Vegas. Read more »
Movies
Iron Man 3 Offers Enough Fun to Keep Series Alive
May 3rd, 2013
A little too much and a little not enough, director and co-writer Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 nonetheless has everything Disney and Marvel need to keep the Avengers superhero constellation shining and regenerating well into the 23rd century. Read more »
Virtual Gallery Hop: May Edition
Get an advance look at art that will be featured during this month's Preview Thursday and First Friday art walk
May 2nd, 2013
CAC
After 25 Years, Contemporary Arts Center Gets New Directors and Newfound Maturity
May 1st, 2013
Walking into Contemporary Arts Center in January, you would have seen something unforgettable: a 42-foot-long inflatable nude self-sculpture with Sharpie-scribbled body hair and eyeglasses. The giant air-puffed nylon doll was part of New York artist Benjamin Entner’s Ego Sum, a show that referenced historical statuary and asked viewers to reconsider three-dimensional representation. ... With, you know, balloon figures of a naked dude in tube socks. Ego Sum was thoughtful, compelling and made people smile. It symbolizes CAC at its most successful. Read more »
