Las Vegas entertainer marks 55th anniversary

The Kats! Bureau at this writing is venerable Vegas vocalist Renee Hale’s “Renee’s Las Vegas Legends” afternoon variety show at Red Rock Resort. Hale is celebrating her 55th anniversary of performing in Las Vegas.

Remarkable. Hale’s premiere was in 1970 at the Frontier Hotel with Ray Anthony and the Bookends. There seems to be no social media coverage of this show.

Las Vegas portrait artist Neal Portnoy is co-host, dealing prints and cracking wise. “If you smell Magic Markers all day long, you’ll end up like me.”

Hale, whose sister is Vegas dance pro and hospitality dignitary Jodi Fonfa, just told a story about seeing Liza Minnelli and Judy Garland perform a 3 a.m., unbilled show at the Flamingo lounge. Chris Phillips of Zowie Bowie, who opened the room in April 2006, is among the guests, joining Jordan Lee and Brooke Wilkes.

No cover. At 2 p.m., first Tuesday of every month. If you guessed that this is a favorite hang among locals in Summerlin, bingo! (And that’s just across the casino.)

Vegas Trump ends term

John Di Domenico’s inspired run as Donald Trump on “The Howard Stern Show” has ended. Di Domenico said Tuesday his portrayal has faded away, unannounced. It became apparent in October 2023 Stern’s team was looking for a different means to present Trump than Di Domenico’s “long-form” portrayal.

Austin Nasso, who gained a following on social media with his Trump act, had been ducking in and out of the show with his quick-shot bits.

“We were coming out of the summer, and Austin had been doing Trump, along with me,” Di Domenico said. “Austin is just a super-talented young impressionist. They really liked what he was doing, popping in and out.”

Di Domenico premiered on the program in June 2020, seemingly out of nowhere. Stern had caught an online clip of Di Dominico/Trump the previous March, bragging about his “perfectly negative” COVID test.

Di Domenico blazed through his first live interview with Stern, who had asked about mail fraud in the upcoming election. Di Domenico blamed children for rigging the election. “They are selling the ballots, and they are laundering the money through the lemonade stands, and the newspaper routes. I mean, these kids are doing TikTok and WhatsApp and mail fraud.”

Di Domenico is fine to shelve the act. He is happy not to be in character at 5 a.m., as Trump, in his tiny home studio. Di Domenico is busy on the corporate circuit, as Trump, along with Dr. Phil, Austin Powers, Guy Fieri and many others. On Election Night, Di Domenico busted in on Carrot Top’s show, as Trump, and the place came apart.

But Di Domenico might put away Trump forever, post-Stern. He has his own solid stand-up act outside of his impressions. It’s really good, and the direction he needs to embrace to expand beyond Trump.

Di Domenico’s time with Stern was a genuine score, lifting him to a national audience.

“I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have been on the show,” Di Domenico said. “It was an honor to have been with Howard so many times on air. I was exclusive for three years and it was great.”

Arm waves, stage smoke and live music

This weekend was sprint, even for this Noah Lyles of columns.

First up, Friday, was 50 Cent at PH Live. A forceful performance as I leaned against the metal barrier in the GA section, waving off stage smoke and experiencing some heavy low end (from the sound system). A uniquely Las Vegas-tinged rap production. I hope Fitty comes back. Next time I’ll warm up the right arm to wave back at him.

Afterward, I caught David Perrico and the Raiders House Band at Front Yard at Ellis Island. It was the band’s 17th and final appearance of the NFL season, their shows coinciding with the Raiders’ regular season schedule.

The venue’s lights, sound and operations are all dialed in for this rowdy, big band show. It’s a killer hang and there is every indication the show will return next season. The Raiders struggled to buy a win this year, but the team’s band is unbeaten.

Saturday, I caught Perrico with the Lon Bronson Band at Myron’s, as he was filling in on a night when the lineup was dealing with illness. Bronson and Perrico are massive talents, friends for years.

The Bronson band is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year and has sold out Myron’s since opening in 2013. That decision to play then-Cabaret Jazz saved the Bronson band.

Sunday, of course, Perrico was on stage at Allegiant Stadium, closing out the band’s fourth season.

There should be some award for playing Ellis Island, Myron’s and Allegiant Stadium on consecutive nights. Maybe in the next Kats! Awards …

Just win, baby

The Raiders’ band has its first offspring among its membership. Married couple and band mates Otto Ehling and Chandra Meibalane have announced they are expecting a baby boy in April.

Ehling plays keys, Meibalane violin, and they both play keytar.

Forget dating apps, single folks. Find a keytar.

The May play

Watching Lucie May perform is like taking a match to one of those Ground Bloom Flower fireworks. Watch out for the sparks.

May brought her latest Luciefr shock-rock rock show to the OG Sand Dollar Lounge on Polaris and Spring Mountain. Highlights included the Runaways’ “Cherry Bomb” and Blondie’s “One Way Or Another,” with guitar and vocal great Roni Lee (of ‘70s punk-rock outfit Venus and the Razorblades, and who has performed with Joan Jett).

A British punk practitioner, May broke out some Flogging Molly and also did some Irish dancing on a branded, wooden platform. She had some new Irish shoes, so gotta break ’em in. Catch May whenever you can, especially if you are into energy of the kinetic variety.

Cool Hang Alert

This is where we plug a member of the GoGos at one of the coolest nights of original music in VegasVille. Gina Shock, the fabulous ’80s rockers’ drummer, is the featured guest at The Composers Showcase of Las Vegas at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday at Myron’s at the Smith Center. Co-founder and host Keith Thompson has carved the second half of the show for guest vocalist Julian Miranda, who has great L.A. ties and is presenting Shock.

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 X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.