A&E
Let's Go Crazy
As Prince gets ready to rock The Joint, take a look back at The Purple One through the years
April 25th, 2013
What can one possibly say about Prince at this point in time? The artist formerly known as The Artist—scheduled to play four shows over a two-day stand at The Joint, April 26-27 ($55-$95)—has reportedly been pouring himself into his live performances of late, reportedly playing two-hour sets loaded with classics and covers. Read more »
Bookini
Heart Joins Hilarity in New Sedaris Collection
April 24th, 2013
I know David Sedaris is a funny writer, and you should know it too. Since the publication of Barrel Fever (Little, Brown & Co., 1994), he’s kept readers and live audiences howling at his comic misadventures and wry observations. Remember Sedaris’ stint as a department store elf at Christmas? How about his essays on life in France, where he and his partner, Hugh, lived before relocating to England? Sedaris is the real deal. He’s not just concerned with being witty and tickling funny bones; he has a way of sharing the truth that’s as artful as any fiction writer. Sedaris creates an honest connection with his readers—a genuine bond. Read more »
Reading
In Memoir, Astor Heiress Details Impoverished Mansion Upbringing
April 24th, 2013
There is almost nothing about Alexandra Aldrich, a direct descendant of John Jacob Astor, our nation’s first multimillionaire, that gives away her aristocratic roots. She is shy and unassuming. She drives an old Subaru and wears ankle-length skirts that would be less at home in a four-star restaurant than they are in the Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Crown Heights, New York, where she now lives. In a world of Paris Hiltons, Aldrich is not your typical heiress. Then again, your typical heiress doesn’t grow up dirt-poor in a storied, nearly two-century-old mansion. Read more »
Hot Ticket
See The Free Daniel Bedingfield Show at Any Cost
April 24th, 2013
When I saw Daniel Bedingfield perform last July at M Resort, I expected a little self-aware contrition from the “Gotta Get Thru This” singer, something in his demeanor that would acknowledge that although the BRIT Award winner has sold 4 million albums since 2001, the world has moved on from his brand of highly calculated pop. Read more »
Soundscraper
City of Las Vegas Hosts Colorado Rockers
April 24th, 2013
Denver indie-rock band Snake Rattle Rattle Snake slithers into Centennial Plaza at the Historic Fifth Street School (401 S. Fourth St.) at 6:30 p.m. April 27. (Local act American Cream opens.) If the school seems an odd venue to host a free rock show, that’s because it is. How did it happen? Read more »
Showstopper
'Priscilla' Will Bring a Different Gay Vibe to the Strip
April 24th, 2013
Consider that the de facto moniker of the Venetian. Once home to the mondo-melodrama of Phantom—The Las Vegas Spectacular, it will soon house twin camp-fests when Rock of Ages is joined by Priscilla Queen of the Desert—The Musical, which will sashay into the property for an 11-week run beginning June 18. Read more »
Stage
Signature Accomplishment
Staving off extinction, this theater company exemplifies gumption in the era of Smith Center razzle-dazzle
April 23rd, 2013
What’s wrong with this Broadway-level, professionally polished, premium-$129-per-ticket picture: Tony lays dying. Maria kneels over him. Rival gang members encircle them. Smoke from a prop gun hangs in the air. West Side Story is reaching its shattering, heartbreaking climax and … Read more »
Back to the Money Shot
With two TV shows and some cancellation battle wounds, young comedy vet Whitney Cummings returns to standup
April 23rd, 2013
After two successful turns on the Comedy Central Roasts of David Hasslehoff and Donald Trump, Whitney Cummings dropped not one, but two sitcoms in September 2011—2 Broke Girls, which she co-created and co-produces; and the eponymous Whitney. Read more »
Music
Tour Buzz: Prince, Iamdynamite and Kendrick Lamar
April 22nd, 2013
THE MAN FROM MINNESOTA: What can one possibly say about Prince at this point in time? The artist formerly known as The Artist—scheduled to play four shows over a two-day stand at The Joint, April 26-27 ($55-$95)—has reportedly been pouring himself into his live performances of late, reportedly playing two-hour sets loaded with classics and covers. (Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune wrote that Prince played both Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough” and, puzzlingly, Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” during a September concert.) Read more »
Music
Concert Review: Danzig
House of Blues, April 17
April 22nd, 2013
It could be said that old hardcore punk rockers don’t die, they just start metal bands. In the case of Glenn Danzig, after forming the legendary horror punk band The Misfits and following that with the death metal band Samhain, he established the eponymous Danzig with a debut album and tour in 1998. Twenty-five years later, the performer nicknamed “Evil Elvis” fittingly kicked off the band’s 25th anniversary tour in Las Vegas. Read more »
