Vegas rocker Sidoris eager for 1st visit to Allegiant Stadium

Frank Sidoris has achieved rock star status, but he’s still driving himself to his Friday show at Allegiant Stadium.

“Hey, I’ve done it before,” the Las Vegas guitar great says. “It will be like old times.”

Sidoris, born and raised in Vegas, plied his craft at small clubs and lounges across the city. Friday night, it’s a much more impressive setting as Sidoris performs with Wolfgang Van Halen’s raging Mammoth WVH outfit. The band is opening for Guns N’ Roses and will forever go down as the first rock band to ever play the Las Vegas Raiders’ home stadium.

The Death Star, as we call it, has only added life to Sidoris’ new band.

“This has been really great, really fun,” Sidoris said during a phone chat Wednesday from San Jose, California, where the tour stopped at SAP Center. “Every show has been off the hook. The Guns fans have been incredibly receptive. They’re chanting Wolfie’s name. It’s been so cool.”

Mammoth WVH is touring behind its debut album, which is a sonic blast in the Van Halen tradition. Sidoris’ favorite moment is what he calls “the heavy breakdown” in “Stone.”

That tune happens to be the last name of Vegas Golden Knights star Mark Stone. Sidoris paid tribute to his hometown NHL team by parading through “The Shark Tank” in San Jose while wearing a VGK T-shirt and then posting the moment on Instagram while standing in front of the Sharks’ logo.

“I had to represent,” Sidoris said. “I couldn’t miss the opportunity.”

It is a long way from Sidoris’ original band, Saint Rose, which opened for Steel Panther at the House of Blues and also ground it out at Vince Neil’s Dr. Feelgood’s Rock Bar & Grill (now Count’s Vamp’d rock club) on West Sahara Avenue.

The last time we saw Sidoris perform in Vegas was alongside fellow rocker Franky Perez at now-closed Cleopatra’s Barge at Caesars Palace in January 2020 (Sidoris joins Raiders bandleader David Perrico as musicians who have performed at Allegiant with ties to the Barge).

Prior to that show, Sidoris had been touring with Slash ft. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators. The guitarist thus has hard-rock brethren in iconic bands Guns N’ Roses and Van Halen.

“I have always been fortunate to tour, but I have always come back to Las Vegas,” Sidoris said. “I like being back into my old routine of coming in, finding coffee places, exploring cities, playing the show.” Musically, he allows, “A lot of this has been relearning my muscle-memory skills.”

Of course, locals on the Vegas entertainment scene have long known Sidoris’ mom is original “Crazy Girls” cast member Angela Stabile, who along with Matt Stabile, founded Stabile Productions (producers of the “X” adult residencies and also Piff the Magic Dragon). His father is longtime Vegas casino worker Frank Sidoris, most recently part of the Resorts World Las Vegas team.

The younger Sidoris has been running the Allegiant Stadium show through his mind since the tour date was announced in June.

“I feel it will be surreal, to put it lightly,” the guitarist said. “To be born and raised in Las Vegas and play this show is a big deal and a big honor.”

‘Satisfaction’ for Santanas

Carlos Santana had a tribute ready for the late Charlie Watts during the guitar great’s return to the stage Wednesday. Santana pointed at his drumming wife, Cindy Blackman Santana, and the band leapt into “Satisfaction.”

“This is for Charlie Watts!” Santana called out. The crowd loved it, especially the thundering percussion from Blackman Santana. The band packed the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in its return, as Carlos’ first words to the crowd were, “Eighteen months and 24 days. We missed you!” Likewise, believe it.

FlyOver underway

I had an early run-through of the FlyOver attraction at the Showcase Mall on the Strip on Tuesday afternoon. I took the simulated flight over the Western United States, gliding above the Grand Canyon, Zion and Arches national parks, Lake Tahoe and the Strip. You do experience the feeling of flight, and also the sense of the Old West towns and the ocean spray.

Jack Fenn, a former Cirque du Soleil and Blue Man Group executive, is betting that the $40 million-$45 million attraction will draw a lot of families as well as adults to its Strip location. You just need to be 40 inches tall to ride. The flying commences Sept. 9.

When you are driving from @SantanaCarlos show and you encounter @RealCarrotTop on Frank Sinatra Drive … #VegasVille #RINow @reviewjournal pic.twitter.com/ScCgGNFX9K

— John Katsilometes (@johnnykats) August 26, 2021

Great Moments in Social Media

I ran into Carrot Top, or more accurate he nearly ran into me, along Frank Sinatra Drive as I left the Santana show and he was riding shotgun with assistant Jeff Molitz at the wheel. I recorded a half-minute of video at the stoplight at Jay Sarno Way. Groundbreaking, multimedia journalism, I tell you.

The prop comic actually missed a show Aug. 14, when he stepped on a scorpion at his Las Vegas home. Topper is playing Rolling Stones songs in his show as a rule, and he now is paying tribute to Watts in his show-closing scene.

Cool Hang Alert

“Glitz & Glam” brunch has launched at STK Steakhouse at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Roger & Roco featuring Christina Amato opened the series Sunday. This weekend it’s the DJ violinist Marlon Dasoul.

Amato and Roger Gangi and Roco will alternate weekends through September. Amato has appeared at STK, pre-pandemic, and has most recently performed vocals with Zowie Bowie. The brunch runs from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. No cover for this ambient entertainment, provided as you dine.

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.