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Dave Chappelle’s piano performance delights Delilah

Updated July 13, 2021 - 8:39 pm

The pianist who looked like Dave Chappelle at Delilah at Wynn Las Vegas on Friday, was.

We had heard of Chappelle’s appearances at the supper club’s namesake in L.A. He also performed, with no advance billing, after his sold-out show at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Friday. Fellow headlining comic, podcast king and UFC announcer Joe Rogan and rap superstar/frequent XS Nightclub headliner Drake also appeared onstage. Just to watch, as I understand.

Chappelle’s favored number is “Round Midnight,” the Thelonious Monk classic. Chappelle played the song in his 2005 movie “Block Party,” and has also performed a rendition at SF Jazz Center. The comedian has also played “Misty,” the 1954 Erroll Garner jazz standard; and the first movement of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” at Erykah Badu’s birthday party at House of Blues in L.A. in February 2011.

Chappelle was also at Delilah on Saturday, when Justin Bieber hopped onstage for a set.

The name checks continue to roll in from Delilah’s series of opening parties from Wednesday through Saturday. Superstar DJ Steve Aoki was in the club (chatting, not performing); rocker Jared Leto; actor Mel Gibson; Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield; model/socialite Kendall Jenner; reality-TV icon Kourtney Kardashian; actress Dorothy Wang (“Rich Kids of Beverly Hills”); rap star Tyga; Wynn Las Vegas CEO Matthew Maddox; and h.wood Group co-founders John Terzian and Brian Toll. Tack that assorment on to the list previously posted and published.

Toll crystallized the club’s vibe during a side conversation Thursday.

“Our best customers and closest friends are going to be people who are tired of nightclubs,” the nightlife exec said. “We still want to be out, we still want to spend money, but we don’t want loud music, we don’t want people bumping into us, we don’t want that experience. But if still want a great place to get a drink and get some great food at 11 or 12 o’clock, this is where to do it.”

Brooks loves it

Garth Brooks was still riding high Monday after his show Saturday at Allegiant Stadium. It was loud, folks. Take it from the man amid the din.

“That was one of the loudest crowds I’ve ever been in,” Brooks said during his Studio G Facebook live stream Monday afternoon. “I don’t think it was the crowd. It was the joy of the crowd. The building was just so loud … It was a train wreck, but it was the most fun train wreck I’ve ever been in. It was a blast.”

He added that Allegiant is the finest new stadium in the country. As he said, “The Death Star, they call it, checks all the boxes.”

The Cabaret revival

“Menopause The Musical” has set a July 22 return to Harrah’s Cabaret, and comic mime Tape Face is moving into the venue July 23. Those shows join “X Country” in the venue’s three-production roster. “X Country,” the Stabile Productions show in the 10 p.m. slot, owns the distinction as the first ticketed show in a Strip resort to return during the pandemic reopening. That momentous event was in October.

“Menopause” is the anchor show, running 8 p.m. nightly (dark Sundays) with additional matinee performances at 4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“Menopause” producers Alan and Kathi Glist report the show is selling well already, even though you have to drill to broker sites to find information. The show has been onsale for a little more than a week. The production opened at Shimmer Cabaret at Las Vegas Hilton (now Westgate Cabaret at the Westgate) in 2005, then moved to Luxor’s Atrium Theater in 2009 prior to moving to Harrah’s in 2015.

“We are so encouraged by the response, considering we have not done anything other than a Facebook post to get the word out,” Alan Glist said Monday. “We’re going back to a Broadway-style schedule, eight shows a week, to meet demand.”

Tape Face, starring the comic artist Sam Wills, says his move from House of Tape at Harrah’s is permanent. The show will move to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays in its new home. Wills had been performing at Harrah’s Showroom during the pandemic reopening. But the comic says, “We are beyond excited to have outgrown the 180-seat House of Tape venue.”

Wills designed that room himself, using more than 70 rolls of gaffe tape throughout the venue. But the Cabaret room seats 300 and is, in fact, a move upstairs, to the hotel’s second level.

Wills customized his production in Harrah’s Showroom by seating 100 mannequin heads in the front section. Maybe a few dummies can make the trip to the Cabaret. It’s a shame to waste that shtick.

Banachek signed

Banachek, the Vegas mentalist who over the years has worked as a consultant for Criss Angel and Penn & Teller, opens his first residency show at The Strat Theater on Aug. 4.

Banachek’s “Mind Games Live” holds the 4 p.m. daily (dark Tuesdays) slot in the 600-seat venue, with tickets onsale 10 a.m. Tuesday. Banachek has made several national-TV appearances, and is a regular on Rogan’s highly rated podcast.

The move is the latest at The Strat from Adam Steck’s SPI Entertainment company, which now runs the theater. Magician Xavier Mortimer has just opened at The Strat, and the “MJ Live” Michael Jackson tribute will continue to perform before it spins free at the end of the year.

Koast is back

Meteorologist Chloe Koast has returned to KSNV Channel 3 after a 26.5-day hiatus (her own specified timeline) for health reasons. Koast was back on the 3 p.m. news cast after a departure she has posted was due to intense stress. Veteran Vegas broadcaster Jerry Brown has been filling in during Koast’s absence. Brown was among the station’s layoffs in March, but brought in from the weatherman’s bullpen. As it happens, he was on the air when the record-setting, 117-degree temperature hit Las Vegas on Saturday. He also reported the 117-degree scorcher in July 2005. As he says, “It was déjà vu.”

Cool Hang Alert

Column fave Kenny Davidsen celebrates his 10th anniversary in Las Vegas on Saturday night at Don’t Tell Mama at Neonopolis. Davidsen was a regular performer at Mama’s Manhattan club when owners Minh and Joanna Pham convinced him to move to Vegas. The night runs 8 p.m.-3:30 a.m., no cover. Perhaps there will be cake.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.

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