By John Katsilometes
As Ronnie James Dio once wailed, “It’s like a rainbow in the daa-a-a-a-rk!” Which has little to do with the following note, aside from the application of the lyrical noun “rainbow.”
On March 25, the Rainbow Bar & Grill in Las Vegas closed. Club co-owner Jerry Greenberg locked up after the last patrons shuffled out the door. At the time, Greenberg said he was looking for a location with a bit more parking, and noted that the club suffered financially because roadwork on that piece of asphalt – which lasted about seven months – effectively clamped off the bar’s entrance.
So maybe the Dio song was prophetic after all – this Rainbow was in the dark.
Greenberg never announced, officially, where his iconic club might relocate, but said he was in talks with a major hotel and was also surveying a site on the west side of the Strip. Rumors were that he would land on Industrial Road/Dean Martin Drive, paired (so to speak) with the gentlemen’s club Scores as part of a little grownup-targeted small strip mall (as it were) at that location.
It didn’t happen. The Rainbow, whose Sunset Strip location in L.A. is legendary among rock ’n’ roll types, re-opened on April 21 – at its original location on Paradise Road. There was no strobe-splashed reopening gala; the club’s return to operation was described as “pillow soft.”
This week, Greenberg explained, “We basically got an offer to move the place, we had somebody we thought was ready to move in (to the Paradise location), but everything got f ---ed up. Basically we got over the hiccup and we’re back open after renovations.”
You likely won’t notice those renovations. No Planet Hollywood-like makeover here. Greenberg ordered a new coat of paint, some new photos of rock stars, and “fixed a couple of things.”
It’s no stretch to say Greenberg is glad the road expansion on Paradise and Harmon is finally finished. “The road work killed us,” he said. “I don’t want to tell you what we lost over seven months.” So we’ll just remain … in the dark.
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One day in 2002 – Aug. 20, to be exact – I took a call from Laura Herlovich of PR Plus. At the time I was editor of the Accent section of the Sun and Herlovich’s agency represented The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel. She tipped me off to a young artist performing that night at the small concert hall. “I don’t care if you write about him or not, you have got to see this guy.” So I took in the show and was struck by the guy’s voice, virtuosity on the guitar and his sense of humor onstage. One line, “I would gamble if jackpots were something I could use. Like, if I get three cherries in a row, I should get a new pair of shoes.”
Nearly five years later we note Herlovich’s keen eye (her affiliation with the venue notwithstanding). The artist was John Mayer, in his first Vegas appearance, and he was fantastic. He’s won a stack of Grammies and released two more acclaimed albums since that night, and is selling out arenas these days. Tonight he is performing at the 12,000-seat Mandalay Bay Events Center. Ben Folds opens in one of the summer’s more intriguing billings.
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A beautiful evening paired with Dollar Beer Night led to a rare site at Cashman Field – a long line of baseball fans (or, in most cases, fans of cheap beer) waiting to buy tickets to see the Las Vegas 51s. A crowd of 6,300 took in the 51’s 3-0 loss to the Fresno Grizzlies (Fresno righty Chris Begg threw a masterful three-hitter that most of the imbibing crowd either didn’t notice or appreciate). It was a late-arriving crowd, no question. I waited in line for 45 minutes to catch one hour of action, as the antiquated Cashman with its four ticket booths still fails to adequately handle large walk-up crowds. And the concession stands on the left-field line ran out of peanuts, which is akin to a church running out of communion hosts.
Or maybe I am overreacting …
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Order of Cheese: Richard Cheese & Lounge Against the Machine, in its first Vegas appearance in three years, is at AJ's Steakhouse at the Hard Rock Hotel on Sunday night. The show is sold out. Cheese (real name, Mark Jonathon Davis) has made a career of portraying a Vegas-centric lounge act giving contemporary rock songs a swingin’ treatment (the Cheese repertoire includes “Fire” by Jimi Hendrix, “Suck My Kiss” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and “Somebody Told Me” by Vegas’ own the Killers). I saw these guys about eight years ago at the now-defunct Venus Lounge at the Venetian (which is now Tao, brown cow) and became a fan immediately.
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Gilley’s might be leaving Frontier (well, not “might” – it will have to close before the hotel itself closes in July) but it won’t leave Las Vegas. I’m hearing a popular locals’ hotel chain is interested in keeping the mechanical bull bucking in Vegas.
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Before the end of his current and final term, Mayor Oscar Goodman has instructed his staff to completely eradicate all the mementos in his City Hall office. After taking a look at all the photos, caricatures and bobbleheads of Goodman, that project might not be finished by the time Goodman leaves office (figuratively and literally) in four years.
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Vegas moment: A car parked outside Cashman Field on Dollar Beer Night, with nine Miller Lite cans stacked as a pyramid on its hood.
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In our gift shops: A designer scratching pad (suitable for cats, and owners with odd grooming habits) at Lush Puppy at Mandalay Place goes for $40.
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Release me: A release for KidFuelT says the beverage is “the world’s first vitamin-enhanced beverage.” Maybe so, but I think you might want to reconsider using “fuel” in the title of a beverage. Kerosene Kool-Aid, anyone?
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Plate in my head: There is one reader who has submitted about 50 vanity plates in the last three weeks, and I am grateful this person is not operating a CAT bus. One of her submissions is W8FNO1, on a silver Dodge Ram.
Fabulous Las Vegas appears daily (well, almost) at this Web site. John Katsilometes can be reached at 990-7720, 812-9812 or at [email protected]