Music
Pop Aspirations
Don’t call David Johansen a punk—the New York Doll is anything but
June 16th, 2011
“It was like falling off a bicycle,” David Johansen says about restarting the New York Dolls in 2004 at the behest of no less a fan than Morrissey. “We’ve been doing this longer than the original band. It just feels right. Read more »
Soundscraper
The Great Outdoors
June 16th, 2011
Sunscreen? Check. Sunglasses? Yep. Outdoor live music? Frickin’ duh! I mean, what the hell’s the point of the other two things? So grab protection and consider my fun-in-the-desert-sun suggestions below in order to cure your summertime blues. Read more »
Concerts
Tour Buzz
June 16th, 2011
Bruno Mars & Janelle MonaePanic! at the DiscoIncubus, Butthole SurfersBob Dylan, Further Read more »
Concert Review
Reggae in the Desert
June 16th, 2011
With the weather cooperating June 11 for the annual Reggae in the Desert festival at the Clark County Amphitheater, it left no doubt as to why the event is thriving in its 10th year. Read more »
Concert Review
Deftones
June 16th, 2011
There’s more to the Deftones than White Pony. Sure, that 2000 album may have been the last mainstream blip on the radar of the commercial masses for the hard rock/metal band, but with a balanced combo of old favorites and new material, their June 11 show at The Joint proved they’ve still got it. Read more »
Concert Review
Cake
June 16th, 2011
Alternative-rock sweethearts Cake schooled their audience on tree identification and rocking out during their June 11 tour stop at the Cosmopolitan’s pool. Perhaps it’s fitting that while promoting their latest studio album, Showroom of Compassion, they turned the venue into something akin to a showroom, a classroom. Read more »
Music
(Local) CD Reviews
Deadhand, Number 3 Pencils EP and Sugar in the Tank
June 16th, 2011
Deadhand, Deadhand (Self-released); Number 3 Pencils, Number 3 Pencils EP (Self-released); The Lucky Cheats, Sugar in the Tank (Rankoutsider) Read more »
Music
Hot Salsa
Percussionist Michito Sanchez heats up Mandarin Bar
June 9th, 2011
If you haven’t treated yourself to the evening view of the Strip from Mandarin Oriental’s 23rd-floor Mandarin Bar, do it now, because there is serious (and free) live music going on. Four nights a week, the top jazz and salsa artists in Las Vegas are performing in this posh, secluded and acoustically first-rate hot spot. But it’s Saturday night that has me seriously pumped, because that’s when Michito Sanchez and his salsa band, Trio Caribe, take the stage, delivering a couple of sets of Latin-infused jazz and standards from 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Read more »
Music
Blowin’ It
Why trumpeter Vince DiFiore didn’t always feel integral to Cake
June 9th, 2011
Being the lone trumpet player in an alt-rock band seems to be a willful act of irony. Sure, the Rolling Stones often tour with a horn section, but Cake is about as far from cocky blues-rock as you can get. Guitarist Xan McCurdy refuses to use reverb; drummer Paulo Baldi’s kit attack is as arid as Death Valley; bassist Gabe Nelson plods along like a sure-footed dinosaur; and frontman John McCrea’s voice can best be described as a vivacious bari-monotone. Talking via phone with Vince DiFiore, who has blown trumpet for the band since its inception in 1991, even he seemed unsure at first how a quirky style could result in radio-friendly hits. Read more »
Soundscraper
Deadhand draws new cards
June 9th, 2011
An insanely forceful underground Vegas band is poised to break through in a big way. But first they had to kill themselves off in order to be born anew. Read more »
