Celebrities in L.V.: Van Morrison, French Montana, Daniel Tosh, Kris Allen, Niki Scalera
With the arrival of legendary Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison on the Strip, you’d be forgiven for thinking that rock and roll has taken over our entertainment scene. Add the fact that Sir George Ivan Morrison was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and bestowed the Order of the British Empire for his achievements and charitable causes, and rock has gone royal.
Maybe Tenors of Rock, the U.K. quintet who began its yearlong residency at Harrah’s Showroom on Wednesday, will be next to kneel before The Queen’s sword? If you haven’t started watching “The Crown” on Netflix yet, maybe it’s time you did to understand the pomp and circumstance of my homeland.
Britain’s Dame Shirley Bassey, now celebrating her 80th birthday, has had a six-decade career of remarkable vocal power hits including the James Bond themes to “Goldfinger,” “Diamonds Are Forever” and “Moonraker.” She’s not appearing here this weekend, but the talented and gorgeous Niki Scalera is at Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center with “Bassey & Me.”
Ex-“Jersey Boys” conductor Keith Thompson leads her eight-piece band. Niki, who’s been a soloist with Las Vegas Philharmonic, was featured in “Peepshow” at Planet Hollywood and was an original cast member of “We Will Rock You” at Paris. Now she’s set to wow solo in this two-weekend cabaret appearance directed by Las Vegas’ own Broadway veteran Randy Slovacek.
As the gigantic World of Concrete prepares to cement (thank you, Don Chareunsy) Las Vegas as the world’s capital of entertainment and conventions, it’s all about the music. We’re laden with musicians this weekend, and that’s even before R&B singer Keith Sweat starts his romantic run at The Flamingo on Tuesday.
Two events that override the overabundance of music on our charts this weekend are The World Curling Championships at The Orleans Arena through Sunday and three nights of Otakon Sumo Wrestling at Planet Hollywood. So follow along with our score, which we affectionately dub Robin’s Royal Rundown:
FRIDAY, JAN. 13
MUSIC
Van Morrison, in the first photo, is at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace for two days.
Styx & Don Felder are at The Venetian for two days.
Blood Sweat and Tears is at Golden Nugget Showroom.
Atlantic City Boys is at South Point all weekend.
Oliver Heldens & Friends is at The Joint at The Hard Rock Hotel for two days.
Canadian rocker Randy Bachman is at The Orleans Showroom for two days.
Dennis Wise’s “King for a Night” is at Santa Fe Station.
The Lon Bronson Band is at Cabaret Jazz.
Lil’ Elmo and The Cosmos are at The Orleans for two nights.
Wolfcreek is at Sam’s Town for two nights.
In-a-Fect is at Aliante.
Chris Zemba & The Late Shift Band is at Joker’s Wild Casino for two days.
Royal Electric featuring Frank Sidoris & Robert Zarkanian is at Hard Rock Live! on the Strip.
Sock Hop is at Suncoast.
COMEDY
Daniel Tosh, in the third photo, at The Mirage for two nights.
OF SPECIAL NOTE
Tickets are on sale for Dude Ranch & The Girl, a Blink-182 tribute rock show, on Feb. 24, Adelita’s Way with Letters From the Fire, The Black Moods and Conflict of Interest on March 2 and Sammy J with Jordan T and Analea on April 8 all at Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas at The Linq Promenade; Charlie Wilson at MGM Grand on March 10; Chris Stapleton on March 30 and A Perfect Circle from April 7-8 at Pearl at The Palms; and Carlos Santana’s just-added May, September and November dates at House of Blues at Mandalay Bay.
Disney on Ice’s “Worlds of Enchantment” is at The Thomas & Mack Center all weekend.
Otakon Sumo Wrestling is at Planet Hollywood all weekend.
Zoology is at Downtown Las Vegas Events Center.
The WFG Continental Cup of Curling is at The Orleans all weekend.
PARTY PATROL
DJ Atom E is at Bond at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas for two nights.
SATURDAY, JAN. 14
MUSIC
Niki Scalera’s “Bassey & Me” is at Cabaret Jazz.
The Las Vegas Philharmonic is at Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center.
Excision and The Paradox & Friends are at Vinyl at The Hard Rock Hotel.
“American Idol” winner and singer-songwriter Kris Allen, in the fourth photo, is at Suncoast.
“Hotel California: The Original Eagles Tribute” is at Texas Station.
The Fab is at BBLV.
COMEDY
Ashima Franklin is at Aliante.
OF SPECIAL NOTE
Pro BMX rider Ricardo Laguna hosts the 13th Annual Helmet Giveaway at Jaguar Land Rover with Clark County School District Police Department.
PARTY PATROL
French Montana, in the second photo, is at Marquee at The Cosmopolitan.
SUNDAY, JAN. 15
MUSIC
Falling in Reverse and Issues are at HOB.
Chris Zemba & The Late Shift Band is at Sam’s Town.
PARTY PATROL
Thomas Jack is at Marquee Dayclub Dome.
DJ Spair is at Bond.
We’ll be back Sunday with a preview of the extraordinary photos of Mario Basner going on exhibit at Tivoli Village, plus our Q+A with Keith Sweat. Later in the week, porn princess Jessica Drake previews the 2016 AVN + Adult Entertainment Expo.
