Fred Armisen to lead Las Vegas Punk Rock Museum tours
It was the Ramones who once said, “Walking down the street, trying to forget yesterday.”
But it is all about tomorrow at the Punk Rock Museum.
Fred Armisen, Damian Abraham and the fabled hobby horse Alonzo figure prominently in the burgeoning rock-attraction’s plans.
Armisen and Abaham are hosting upcoming tours at the museum at 1422 Western Ave. Armisen hosts exclusive guided tours at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. July 23, followed by a livestream event on “Turned Out A Punk,” the punk podcast hosted by Abraham.
Armisen and Abraham are in the rotation of well-known punk figures to lead museum tours. I spent a wondrous afternoon in April with my new buddy Eugene Hutz of Gogol Bordello.
Abraham will also host guided tours July 24 at 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. followed by another livestream on “Turned Out A Punk,” including a walk-through of the museum with Mike “Fat Mike” Burkett. On 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. July 25, Abraham leads two more tours, followed by a final livestream on his podcast at the museum.
Armisen has an ongoing connection to VegasVille as a former member of the Blue Man Group, from its Chicago company. Armisen started his career in the Chicago, post-punk band Trenchmouth.
Armisen gained national fame and acclaim in 11 seasons on “Saturday Night Live” and is co-writer and co-star of IFC’s Emmy-nominated series “Portlandia,” co-starring with 2022 Cinema Unbound Award honoree Carrie Brownstein.
Alonzo, conversely, is hosting nothing but is drawing a crowd at Triple Down Saloon, which opens to the general public 7 p.m. June 28. The bar’s permanent, public hours are 7 p.m.-2 a.m. The saloon will continue to be open to museum visitors from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. The bar has been open only to paid museum visitors since opening in March.
Alonzo is the horse that graced P Moss’s Double Down Saloon in New York City about 15 years ago. Moss brought him back to Vegas and auctioned him off for a cancer benefit for Cindy Funkhouser, the late First Friday co-founder and Arts District pioneer.
The pony passed through a couple of owners, ending up at an antique store on Main Street. Brian Armstrong, a Vegas construction professional and Double Down Saloon in Las Vegas patron, then bought the horse.
Armstrong has kept it in his home for about 10 years, then sold it back to Double Down, which has now loaned it to Triple Down.
“And here we are,” Moss says. “Alonzo is living large. He’s been in Triple Down since Day One and everyone is fawning all over him. He’s a hit on Instagram (@tripledownvegas), as everyone remembers Alonzo.” Oh, and the horse is operational, but not plugged in, covered in stickers and all saddled up.
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.