Gordie Brown takes another shot at downtown Las Vegas
You might remember the days of “Downtown” Gordie Brown, twice over.
Get ready for the third installment.
The veteran impressionist headliner is returning to Golden Nugget Showroom on Feb. 11 in a show titled, “Lasting Impressions.” He’s set to perform at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays under a six-week deal.
The hotel will continue its popular “52 Fridays” headlining series, meaning the showroom will feature live entertainment four nights a week.
Brown closed a two-year run at Hooters in September, as that hotel was turning over to OYO Hotel. He was most recently a headliner at Golden Nugget from 2009-16; he also performed at the showroom from his arrival in Las Vegas in 2004-06.
Brown has also headlined The Venetian, in the room now known as Sands Showroom that is the Human Nature’s Vegas venue. His run there lasted less than a year, with Brown vacating for V Theater at Miracle Mile Shops, and once more back to Golden Nugget in 2009.
The veteran showman also spent a few months at Sin City Theater and The Cabaret at Planet Hollywood in 2017, prior to taking on Night Owl Showroom at Hooters.
Having ended his managerial partnership with Vegas agent Chip Lightman, Brown has been in something of an entertainment limbo since closing at Hooters. This fall, he reportedly in talks to develop a show at Notoriety at Neonopolis before he was hit with an epiphany — contact the owner of Golden Nugget, Tilman Fertitta, directly.
“I texted Tilman and told him what I had in mind, and he agreed and thought it would be great to see me again at the showroom,” Brown says. “I’ll do the show that I do, with some updates, like Sam Hunt, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran.”
Brown will work without a band — a departure from his original series at Golden Nugget, when he played off his backing musicians. He’ll continue with his rapid-fire characterizations of such famous figures as Jack Nicholson, Paul Simon, Neil Diamond, Tom Cruise, Bill Clinton, Mike Tyson, Neil Young, Willie Nelson and Johnny Mathis, among many others.
Brown chuckled when asked about his rehearsal schedule. “No, I already know my act. Just give me a spotlight and a good sound setup, and I can walk onstage and do what I love to do.”
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.