Old Vegas is HAPPENING: Tony Sacca, with Frank Sinatra's longtime music director, Vincent Falcone. Photo by: John Katsilometes
He agreed to this in an off-handed sort of way.
Sing the songs of Frank Sinatra, he was asked? Sure. He'd be honored.
With Sinatra's longtime music director, Vincent Falcone, directing? No problem, love it.
Working from Sinatra's own original charts? Got it. He knows them well, at least well enough for a one-off performance.
With the entire Las Vegas Philharmonic? Absolutely, dial it up.
"Then I thought, 'What did I get myself into?'" says Clint Holmes, who performs with Falcone and between 40 and 50 members of the LV Phil at 8 p.m. Saturday at UNLV's Ham Hall. "I'm singing Sinatra's songs with the original charts with Vinnie Falcone ... it's kind of daunting."
Holmes should be up for the task, though. He usually is. What's planned for SinatraFest '10 is a night of the Chairman's music, much of it familiar but some not so much.
"I'll be singing about 20 of Sinatra's songs, 'It Was a Very Good Year,' and 'The Lady is a Tramp,' the classic stuff," Holmes says. "But we'll also be doing some more obscure Sinatra stuff people might not be too familiar with. There's a beautiful arrangement of 'Something,' the Beatles' song, he really liked, and 'Just the Way You Are' by Billy Joel.'"
Passionate about keeping his late collaborator's music fresh and relevant, Falcone has embarked on several Sinatra revival-style shows and productions over the past decade.
"This music is worthy of being kept alive," Holmes says. "If you look at Michael Bublé, for example, he does a lot of Sinatra-esque stuff, so it's still viable as an art form and in current music. It's timeless stuff and can be made current, absolutely."
Holmes says he plans on honoring the original charts while putting his own mark on the songs. "I'll be respecting the imprint (Sinatra) put on all of his music, but I'll also be doing it my way," Holmes says.
He can't resist adding, "So to speak."
Mayor Oscar Goodman and City Councilman Ricki Barlow, far left, formally open the Vanguard Lounge with owners Andrew and Jennifer Wheatley. Photo by: John Katsilometes
Clip job(s)
"I've tried the hash! ... Wait! I mean, the food!" Mayor Oscar Goodman said Wednesday afternoon while hanging out in front of Maharaja Hookah Café. Goodman dealt the shtick with his reliably pinpoint comedic timing. The line drew a spirited laugh from City Councilmen Ricki Barlow and Steve Ross and the dozens of downtown-ites assembled to watch the mayor cut it up (Dayvid Figler, Brian Paco Alvarez, Michael and Jennifer Cornthwaite, Alex Epstein, and El Cortez GM Mike Nolan were among the onlookers).
A man who knows his way around the trifecta, Goodman cut the ribbons at three new businesses to open on Fremont East. (A piece of advice: Invest in some new, oversize scissors for these events. The giant pair the mayor's been using during his tenure have finally dulled.)
The well-suited Goodman ignored unseasonably high temperatures to amble over to Vanguard Lounge and Azul Tequila. He was offered a ride in the OscarMobile SUV, but declined. "Let's walk it," he said to the ever-present marshals who escort him on such public events — one of these officials was carrying a cigar protected by a plastic bag in his side pocket, for Goodman's post-event smoke.
Maharaja, at 506 Fremont Street, is a kind of Paymon's Mediterranean Cafe for the downtown set, and one of the few businesses on Fremont East that offers interesting cuisine. Vanguard Lounge, at 516 Fremont Street, is an inviting, unpretentious nightspot that describes its own décor as "modern industrial." Works for me. Cool spot, chic like the type of nightspot you'd encounter in downtown San Francisco, and a good fit with Fremont East anchors Downtown Cocktail Room and Griffin.
Azul Tequila, on 115 N. Seventh St. behind El Cortez, is versatile and a lot larger than it seems from the outside.
The club has retractable doors for indoor-outdoor patronage (similar to in-and-out feel of The Club at the Cannery), with the live entertainment staged outside. As I mentioned to Goodman, if he wants to hang out at Azul Tequila, he'd better start betting on soccer. The original futbol was played out on every monitor Wednesday.
Afterward, the mayor crowed, "Success breeds success. We've had DCR and Griffin, and now three more businesses. This is going to be a very hip place. You can walk it, and as much as I love the Strip, you can't walk it like you can Fremont East." He batted back questions about the future of the Plaza, saying the hotel closed its rooms for good reason — renovation — but it remains that those rooms and the darkened hotel towers at Lady Luck and Binion's (whose casino is still opened) have not helped generate confidence in downtown Las Vegas.
No matter. Goodman talks of opening his own Fremont East speakeasy once his third and final term ends. He promises, "It'll be the place to be!"
I want to be a bartender at this place, Mayor Oscar's Gin Joint or whatever it's to be called. ...
Angel takes wings
In the wake of the official announcement that Angel Management Group was acquiring Pure Management group (and nice work by Ubiquitous Robin Leach for uncorking this news last week), AMG Chief Executive Officer Neil Moffitt took some quick questions via e-mail.
My e-mail, in this instance.
To paraphrase, Moffitt declined to specify how and where AMG would expand its growth. This comes from the news release announcing the AMG takeover of PMG, which noted, "With a proven track record for successful venue operation, management and promotions, AMG will accelerate its growth to further provide guests with top-notch experiences."
Other than the supper club XOXO, an indoor-outdoor party venue the company says will open at an undisclosed location on New Year's Eve, nothing is being discussed publicly. There are no name changes planned, either, for all those former PMG-owned club entities, including Pure at Caesars Palace.
Paul Nassif and Adrienne Maloof. Photo by: Courtesy
Sister acts
Adrienne Maloof, sister of Phil, Gavin, Joe and George Maloof, is a cast member of Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," scheduled to debut at 10 p.m. Oct. 14. This is the latest in the line of "Real Housewives" Bravo shows, which include the "Real Housewives" of New Jersey, Orange County and, I think, Pahrump.
In a news release issued by the Bravo PR team, Adrienne is described biographically as "a savvy, 'no-nonsense' business woman" who moved to Beverly Hills from Albuquerque, N.M., 15 years ago. She should also be known as the person who warned her brother George from naming the Palms "The Breeze," which she red-flagged as the name of a line of indoor tanning products for women. Women who want to look like they live in Beverly Hills, ironically enough.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats.