Richard Abowitz
This One’s for You
Barry Manilow’s ‘15 Minutes’ continues with a new album, a gig at Paris and a way to help students follow in his footsteps
Barry Manilow in person has the same heart-on-sleeve sentiment and, even more, the boyish earnestness that he offers his audience each night. He energetically talks about how fantastic iPhone’s standard recording app is for capturing sound (“It’s great. It is called Voice Memo, right? That’s what we use!”), and then effortlessly transitions into a detailed explanation of his offer to the public to trade used instruments for tickets to his show at Paris. Manilow donates the instruments to school music programs.
Read More »Re-use, Recycle, Remix
Exploring musical innovation in a time when no note is forgotten
Play a game with yourself: Pick any contemporary performer and see if you can explain the music to a stranger more easily by listing three new acts or comparing the sound to three much older acts? Any exceptions?
Call it the Pandora Revolution.
Read More »King of Kings
Guitar legend and Las Vegas fixture B.B. King dishes on his musician peers
B.B. King claims residency in Las Vegas. He also has a club that bears his name that opened in November at The Mirage. Still, don’t expect to find him lounging at home. At 84, King still tours much of the year, including two shows Aug. 16-17 at the B.B. King’s Blues Club. Vegas Seven caught up with him and collected some stories from the blues god about his fellow musicians:
Read More »Fashionistas producer on trial
Former Las Vegas show producer and pornographer John Stagliano is being tried on obscenity charges this week in Washington, D.C. The charges stem from the distribution of two of his movies by mail, and a trailer for a movie on his website. If convicted, he faces up to 32 years in jail and a $7 million fine.
Read More »Monkey See, Monkey Do
A new improv show at the Palms combines Twitter, tarot and celebrity
The troubled economy has created a unique paradox in Vegas entertainment: There is an excess of stages and showrooms that need filling, yet never has there been a smaller budget to do so. Now there's room for the little guy to take artistic risks.
One such experiment is Matt Donnelly’s Executive Monkeys at the Palms Lounge. It’s a mash-up between improv, stand-up and—since this is Vegas—celebrity.
Read More »Of Girls and Gambling
Two new female-penned memoirs show the spectrum of gambling, from addiction to ecstasy
When you get past the absurdity of the euphemism “gaming,” you quickly accept that gambling is woven into the fabric of Las Vegas life. From grocery stores to the local bowling alley, gambling is omnipresent. Spend enough time living here, and you’ll meet someone with a gambling problem and/or you’ll see a friend develop one and change into an addict before your eyes.
Read More »Fixing a Hole
Cheap Trick fills the niche of Beatles nostalgia, whether they like it or not
For decades Cheap Trick were the most Beatles-influenced group not named Badfinger. According to singer Robin Zander, even before his group began doing a Beatzles tribute: “I knew the material inside and out since I was such a big fan of The Beatles.”
Read More »The Beat Goes On
A vinyl record store is the newest (and oldest) addition to Emergency Arts
The unmistakable sound of a needle tasting vinyl and digging into a groove may be forgotten to some—and unknown to others. But it’s an integral part of The Beat Coffeehouse, precious enough to render vivid the otherwise inauspicious occasion of hearing Side Two (another lost sensation) of The Who’s lamentable 1981 vinyl release, Face Dances.
Read More »Whip It Good
The authentic icons of the fake, Devo, are best known for their S&M-tinged video hit “Whip It” and their equally synthetic, jerky take on the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction.” Among the first few music videos of the early ’80s, the clips brought Devo a surprisingly huge pop culture status and endless play on the then-new channel MTV. Meanwhile, discerning fans loved Devo’s sly mélange of New Wave, Kraftwerk and punk influences with an Ohio scene flair (Pere Ubu, Dead Boys, Pretenders).
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Show your stag horns for Silverton’s summer concerts
Among summer concert series, Silverton’s gets little attention compared with competition such as Mandalay Beach, a splashier venue (literally) that can afford bigger names. The anti-wave pool, Silverton’s space channels the Old West, with stag antler chandeliers, chairs lined up on a flat floor and a stage setup that recalls a high school gymnasium.
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