This was the year of the trombone solo.
That’s how I’ll best remember this topsy-turvy turning of the calendar, as 2011 is ushered out of the showroom as if part of a trombone-led parade at Frankie Moreno’s show at the Stratosphere. Moreno’s trombonist is Caleb McKee, a person I’d not known even a year ago, but who has performed dozens of trombone solos in shows I attended in 2011.
Nathan Tanouye of the Celine Dion, "Vegas! The Show" and Santa Fe & the Fat City Horns was another busy trombonist this past year. He’s called “The Trombonist to the Stars,” and he’s good for a couple of searing ’bone solos in the Santa Fe shows each Monday at the Palms.
Why celebrate the trombone, as it is such a random instrument? That’s why, really: It’s random. If you find yourself witness to, say, a half-dozen trombone solos in Vegas in a given week — baby, you are livin’ right. At least in my view. This year I actually set an over-under line on how many trombone solos I would experience each week, at 6 1/2. Most often, I hit the over. A bunch of us got into the charting of trombone solos, and we have created a Twitter hashtag — #Trombonesolo — to communicate about this under-appreciated instrument.
I’ll take more of the same in 2012. Why the heck not? As we look back, cue up one more trombone solo:
He turns 70 in January, he has suffered knee and back problems in recent years and has seriously limited vision, and yet … Steve Wynn spent the holidays skiing in Sun Valley, Idaho.
A commercial that saw no role for Zach Galifianakis: Seeking a man to model Vegas dapper/swagger, Diddy recruited Matt Goss for a set-in-Vegas TV ad hawking Ciroc vodka.
They don’t cover “Good Vibrations,” but maybe they should: One reason Human Nature decided to record their December concert special for PBS at Paris Las Vegas instead the Human Nature Theater at Imperial Palace is because the floor at IP shakes during their performances.
He’s a true maverick, holding court, running the court, finishing the break and living other hoops metaphors: I met Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban at Cosmopolitan in January. When I told him I was a journalist in Las Vegas he said, “I’m sorry.” Then he offered a shot of tequila, which I declined. But he sure is a fun guy to hang with for, say, 20 minutes.
Sighting of the Year: British theoretical scientist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking at Tao.
What Riviera Comedy Club has in common with Madison Square Garden: Andrew “Dice” Clay has headlined both. Buoyed by his appearance as himself in “Entourage,” Dice has signed a deal at Riviera that has him performing two weekends a month through 2012.
Random Celebrity Elevator Encounter of the Year: “Sopranos” star and wine connoisseur James Gandolfini. My dear friend and radio co-host Tricia McCrone and I ducked into an elevator with Gandolfini at the Foundation Room at Mandalay Bay during the after-party for the premiere of “Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour” at Mandalay Bay Events Center. He grinned when I said we had a common friend in Vegas: Michael Severino of Southern Wine & Spirits.
What made Gandolfini chuckle: The story that younger tourists who take Mob Tours in Vegas often ask about the famed Mafia family, the Sopranos, under the mistaken impression that the family depicted in the great HBO series was real.
In other news, William Shatner accuses a rising thespian of “overacting”: Auditioning for a spot on “The Voice” in April, “Fantasy” vocalist Lorena Peril was told by judge Christina Aguilera that she was “over-singing” her rendition of “Proud Mary.” Peril once portrayed Aguilera in the since-closed “American Superstars” production at Stratosphere.
Universally recognized as one of the city’s hippest hotels: The renovated Royal Resort on Convention Center Drive, just east of the Strip.
Confab of the Year: The Killers’ Brandon Flowers lunching with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney at Palm Restaurant at the Forum Shops at Caesars.
Inanimate Performer You Would Most Likely Spot at Piranha Nightclub: Terry Fator’s newest puppet, Berry Fabulous.
An indication of why the Sahara closed: A week before owners SBE Entertainment announced the storied, desert-themed resort would close, a long line of guests at the registration desk toted coolers and shopping bags stuffed with snacks. They looked not at all like a group about to shop and dine and spend disposable income at the hotel.
What might be the last word you hear on this issue: In a profile that appeared in the August edition of GQ, Jerry Lewis said of his commitment to helping children suffering from illness: “I understand naysayers. His kids. But they are mine, and I am too far into it to step back.” The MDA had announced Lewis would not be part of its annual telethon, was no longer its national director and held a boiled-down version of the show without him in September.
Not enough work in Vegas lounges for these Vegas lounge greats: Dian Diaz, for years one of the city’s best live vocalists and performers, has bolted for Florida as Hyde Nightclub has taken over her former haunt, Fontana Lounge, at Bellagio. And Lena Prima, vocalist daughter of lounge legend Louis Prima, is off to New Orleans. Each moved out within about a month of each other.
An indication that the honeymoon is, indeed, over: Sixteen days after marrying Barry Herridge at A Little White Chapel in Las Vegas, Sinead O’Connor announced the couple were splitting up.
Manilow: Live at the Hilton!: The 2011 home of two of the more ill-fated productions in the city, “Triumph” and Steve Wyrick’s latest attempt at reinvention (before both closed, of course), the Las Vegas Hilton turned nostalgic by hosting a going-away party for former showroom headliner Barry Manilow. This shindig was staged as Manilow closed his run at Paris Las Vegas and preps for a new home at Harrah’s.
Maybe they were concerned about being confused with a chain of pancake houses: Officials who decided to rename the Hilton LVH — for Las Vegas Hotel — blew a glaring opportunity to hearken to the hotel’s history. Returning the name to the International would have been commendable. Inspired, even.
You might be asking, “Hey Johnny, what is the latest on the Vegas impressionist front?” Tireless performer and active Vegas scenester Greg London put his show at Shimmer Cabaret on hiatus for a quick tuneup and is back Jan. 3 for a week, then works four nights a week through the middle of February. Meanwhile, British vocalist/comedian/impressionist Jonathan Clark has signed at Riviera and starts an open-ended run there on Jan. 19. His nights are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Clark, you might remember, has been working mightily to obtain a proper work visa to perform in Vegas. He’s been a hit in such hamlets as Blackpool, England (the Las Vegas of England, as some refer to it) and on the Royal Caribbean cruise line.
Wheeled Performers of the Year: The Skating Aratas of “Absinthe,” and, now, “V — The Ultimate Variety Show” at V Theater at Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood. This specialty act was the focus of accusations and countercharges of “poaching” between “Absinthe” producers and V Theater proprietor David Saxe.
The coolest hangs in the city: Here we go again, street urchins: Santa Fe & The Fat City Horns on Mondays at the Lounge at the Palms, Frankie Moreno on any of his nights (Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays) at Stratosphere, Lon Bronson on alternate Thursdays at Ovation at Green Valley Ranch. Rising scenes are Rick Faugno at Shimmer Cabaret on Fridays (I am hoping he adds dates, too), and the following …
A great reason to visit the Smith Center for Performing Arts on a monthly basis: Clint Holmes opens his monthly shows at Cabaret Jazz inside the Smith Center the weekend of April 6-7.
Generally speaking, this is a really danged funny project: Former Mayor Oscar Goodman is fast-witted and highly animated in his Vegas-based courtroom show (think Judge Judy meets Vegas), which he taped a few weeks ago at the International. I mean, Las Vegas Hilton. LVH, actually.
Best Show That Closed in 2011: “Echoes of the ’60s” at V Theater.
If you had told me this on Jan. 1, 2011, I would not have believed you: That the Tropicana would be cutting loose Nikki Beach as a club operator after just four months, that the heavily hyped Mob Experience would be undergoing a major overhaul while it is mired in crisscrossing lawsuits, that Brad Garrett would be leaving the hotel for a better business opportunity at MGM Grand, that highly regarded former President Tom McCartney would be leaving the hotel and would wind up at Cosmopolitan, and the lone open-ended production show entering 2012 at the former Tiffany Theatre (now Tropicana Theater) would be indefatigable drumming ensemble Recycled Percussion.
And yet, something to keep an eye on at the Tropicana: The new nightlife haunt replacing Club Nikki, RPM Nightclub, which claims to be redefining Vegas nightlife under the helm of longtime Vegas club executive Richard Wilk (the hotel’s VP of nightlife) and Vice President of Food, Beverage and Retail Tom Recine. The hotel closed the club temporarily this month to make over the space in time for its New Year’s Eve weekend parties (including an NYE event starring Mary J. Blige), and the Trop has announced this week a none-too-ambiguous event titled STARFKR Wednesdays, where DJ Hollywood makes his debut at the unveiling party on Jan. 4.
As part of the nightlife experience, Seth Yudof of UD Factory is staging an interactive club party strewn with costumed performers and artists and characters and such. Yudof has a history in such productions: For a month in 2005, Yudof and then-business partner Doug Leferovich put on this sort of late-night, interactive production, called “Exotique,” at RA at the Luxor. That’s the club that eventually became LAX. As I wrote at the time, “Exotique” was a “Eurotainment”-fashioned circus of cross-dressers, magicians, impressionists, seminude body painters and other oddly fascinating performers. This should be lively, to say the least.
One bright, shining moment: UNLV’s football team (which finished 2-10) kept pace with powerhouse Boise State (which finished 12-1) in the first half of its Nov. 5 Mountain West Conference game at Sam Boyd Stadium, trailing just 21-14 before falling, 48-21.
Show that merits its own full-time Kats Report bureau and beat reporter: “Absinthe” at Caesars Palace.
Why I love Penny Pibbets: The line from “Absinthe,” “Don’t you sexually harass me! And by ‘don’t,’ I mean, dooooo!’ ”
Warmest CD of the Year: Santa Fe bandleader Jerry Lopez’s Tejano release, “Mis Raices,” a collection of songs written by his father.
The best idea he has had in a long time: Having booked Dick Cheney, to promote his newly released memoirs, on “The Tonight Show,” Jay Leno invited Carrot Top to appear directly after, and perform Cheney-based prop material about 5 feet from the former veep. “This is awkward,” said the Topper, “because he’s sitting RIGHT THERE!”
How Kirk Kerkorian gave the Andre Agassi Grand Slam for Children staff and volunteers a year off: By donating $18 million to the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education at this year’s gala event at Wynn Las Vegas. That pushed the total take to a staggering $26.1 million, relieving the need for such a fundraising event in 2012.
Walk like a man, sing like a man: Travis Cloer of “Jersey Boys” suffered a potentially career-damaging vocal injury onstage. “I hemorrhaged one of my vocal cords,” is how he described it. This happened during a show just as he finished singing, “Walk Like a Man.” Cloer finished the performance, then missed three weeks while undergoing therapy to treat the condition, during which time he was directed by his doctor not to speak.
Some moments are better left unreported: As the LVCVA’s “What Happens Here, Stays Here” advertising campaign was being finalized, Jeff Candido, who along with writing partner Jason Hoff developed the phrase, happened a T-shirt with the slogan “What Happens in Lake Havasu, Stays in Lake Havasu” during a quick trip to the Arizona resort community. Stricken momentarily, he and his wife, Sophie, decided to say nothing about this shirt, lest they risk torpedoing the entire project.
Donny Osmond is talking of a new TV project? Yep, and I have to believe this will be a game show.
One reason to be excited about this anniversary: Brandon Flowers once worked there as a bellman: On Dec. 21, Gold Coast celebrated its 25th birthday.
What’s all this talk of a giant tongue on the 18th hole? Kiss by Monster Mini Golf opens in March at Harmon Avenue and Paradise Road.
If you ever have a chance to do this, take it: On Oct. 25, I joined the Moreno band for their last show at the Lounge at the Palms, typing up an account of what it's like to be onstage, from the stage, with a 1940s Smith-Corona typewriter. Somehow, in 2011, that only seemed fitting.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWithTheDish.
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