A few quick shots as I continue to experience, struggle with, and ultimately relish the jet lag I am suffering after being out of the country, and out of my head, for 10 days:
• Just before heading out of town, I caught a woman worth keeping an eye on: Sherry St. Germain. She’s tearing it up on Saturdays at The Lounge at the Palms (where dreams come true). I’d first seen her several months ago, summoned to the stage during one of Frankie Moreno’s sets, and 10 seconds into her first violent run across the piano keys, the woman sitting next to me asked, “Who is she?” A woman with unbridled talent for singing and performing, is the short answer.
St. Germain came to Vegas from Canada (her father, Ray St. Germain, is a noted radio and TV personality who once ran for public office in Winnipeg) and is one of the original musicians and vocalists in “Viva Elvis” at Aria. Backed by a tight, frills-free, three-piece band dubbed the Lost Vanguards, St. Germain breaks free of the stage and sprints around the Lounge whenever the mood strikes her, not above hitting the bar in search of a fellow entertainer to join her mid-show. She seems chronically restless while seated behind the piano, whipping her hair in a circuitous frenzy and heating up the stage as if channeling either Joss or Sly Stone. It's a fine way to end a Saturday night and start a Sunday morning. Shows are at 11 p.m., or sometimes later, and the cost is $5. Check her out, I say.
• Unfortunate news from our Bon Vivant Bureau: Monti Rock III is hospitalized, as we learned in an e-mail sent overnight by a Rock associate. A longtime Vegas scene-stealer, self-promoter and interpretive artist, MRIII is suffering from dehydration, exhaustion and a blood infection and is being treated at Mountain View Hospital. His most recent public appearance was March 4 as host, for a night, at the return of “Evening at La Cage” at Riviera. A man who boasts, “I have no act, baby,” Rock turns 70 on May 29.
• A name to know, quickly, as it pertains to Vegas is David King. The British producer of “Spirit of the Dance” and “Dancing Queen” production shows who has interests in Myrtle Beach, N.C., and Branson, Mo., is bringing versions of both shows to New York-New York. The new venue is Broadway Theater, being constructed in the space where Rok Vegas once did business (and this is a shining example of a nightclub closing that you’d forgotten was even open). “Spirit” is a variation of “Riverdance” and “Lord of the Dance” Irish dancing showcases, where the feet are fleet and the arms pinned to the sides. The show opens Tuesday and is slotted at 4 p.m. The ABBA show is nightly at 8 and opens mid-May; both shows are dark Mondays, and the starting ticket price is $49.95 (absent fees).
As bubbly as a freshly corked bottle of Dom, King said during this week’s episode of “Kats With The Dish,” both shows would swiftly sell seats at the 300-seat theater, which is also the space where Rita Rudner debuted in Las Vegas more than a decade ago. An entity called the Irish Tenors (and that group should satisfy the worldwide need for themed tenor acts) boost “Spirit of the Dance,” and we like live vocals. “Dancing Queen” also employees a “dynamic” cast of dancers, says King. But both shows are fueled by canned music, which is often as uplifting as a sack of whey. Nonetheless, if King is selling it, we’re at least browsing.
• Back-to-back summer bookings we’re already geared up for at the Smith Center’s Reynolds Hall: Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers on Aug. 22, followed by the now-official announcement of Brody Dolyniuk’s Symphonic Rock Show on Aug. 24.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWithTheDish.
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