The vibe of Vegas is happening in an organic sort of way

Scott MacIntyre plays with the Blind Center of Nevada Bell Choir. Photo by: Megan Ruth Stay

Lon Bronson performs at Ovation at Green Valley Ranch. Photo by: Courtesy

The Santa Fe and the Fat City Horns horn section. Photo by: Bobby Gladd

Jerry Lopez. Photo by: Bobby Gladd

The Lon Bronson All-Star Band performs at Ovation at Green Valley Ranch. Photo by: Courtesy

Frankie Moreno @ Golden Nugget

There was a ripple of activity at the entrance of Mandarin Oriental’s 23rd-floor Mandarin Bar late Saturday night. The hubbub was caused by “American Idol” Season 8 contestant Scott MacIntyre, recognizable for his sagebrush-ian mound of curly hair and also for the cane he uses to navigate his path.

Across the bar, leaning slightly over a synthesizer, Frankie Moreno halted and said, “Whoa! We’ve got a celebrity in the audience!”

MacIntyre, who is sight-impaired, and his wife of three weeks, Christina, took a seat just feet from where Moreno and his six-piece band had set up. Smiles stretched across the musician’s faces, as none of the performers expected MacIntyre to show up at this unscheduled gig.

“If you want to come up and do something, just give us a thumb’s up, and we’ll do it,” Moreno said, alerting his band on the fly that there would likely be an unannounced guest star joining the fray shortly. Minutes later, Christina led her husband to the band, where he took Moreno’s spot and belted out “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” and “Mandolin Rain.” The usually muted and mellow lounge, typically home to jazz performances, was slammed by then, the audience roaring over MacIntyre’s unexpected drop-in.

It seemed so random, but it wasn’t. This sort of thing has been happening pretty frequently in Las Vegas lately.

The way MacIntyre shows up to a Frankie Moreno show at Mandarin Oriental is no fluke: He was the featured performer earlier in the evening at the Blind Center of Nevada gala at World Market Center. At the risk of just throwing my own evening headlong into this tale, this is where my “Kats With the Dish” radio co-host Tricia McCrone, KLAS Channel 8 anchor Paula Francis and I were emceeing an event where 470 guests filled the 16th-floor banquet hall.

It was a wildly entertaining event, at least for us, and (inside joke alert), if you have not yet eaten your sorbet, please do so now.

During the program, Moreno sent text messages saying he was performing an off-the-radar show at Mandarin Oriental and to come on down after the Blind Center event. This information wound around our table to Blind Center officials who told MacIntyre that if he wanted to find a cool hang in Vegas on a Saturday night, to join this merry troupe.

Now would be a good time to mention that MacIntyre, who lives in Scottsdale, had never been to Las Vegas before Saturday.

“This is incredible,” he said after performing with Moreno and posing for photos. “Is it like this every weekend?”

“It can be,” I said.

I’ve written about the Old Vegas vibe before, and it is out there. The feel of intimate live performances that hearken to the hep-cat era of The Rat Pack and Louis Prima and Keely Smith is out there in this city. It’s not necessarily trumpeted (pun unintended), but there is some dynamite live entertainment being showcased regularly all over this city.

My favorites are obvious to anyone who follows me on Twitter. Mondays and Tuesdays are that enclave of coolness, The Lounge at the Palms. Santa Fe and The Fat City Horns -- 16 pieces all charging in the same direction -- open the curtains to the room at 10 p.m. for a show that costs a mere $7. Moreno and his band, with three horns and as many strings, set up 10 p.m. Tuesdays, also for a $7 cover. (Moreno’s opening acts, most recently Los Angeles singer/songwriter Laura Warshauer and a really polished band new to Vegas, Avalon Landing, are worth an early arrival.)

Also, earlier on Mondays, is Kelly Clinton Holmes’ open-mic showcase at Bootlegger Bistro, Lorraine Hunt Bono’s haven of Vegas history.

Moreno usually performs for free at Ravello Lounge at M Resort on Fridays and Saturdays, running from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.; and on Thursdays, he’s usually at Mandalay Bay’s Mizuya Lounge (no cover there, either). But he’s often prone to quick bookings, which is how you might find him at Mandarin Oriental on a Saturday night.

More intriguing, there also are some continuing discussions that would land Moreno in a showroom at a so-far undisclosed location. The Undisclosed Location Resort Casino. Nothing signed yet, though.

There’s more, so much more, to enjoy out there. On Thursday night, Lon Bronson’s All-Star Band filled (or overfilled) Ovation at Green Valley Ranch for a show with members of Tower of Power, a live performance recorded for an upcoming Bronson release. Bronson’s All-Star Band, a Vegas powerhouse for more than 20 years, plays on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month, no cover.

These shows typically spill into the late hours, meaning entertainers who are finished with their own performances stop in for a look-see, or even to join the fray, as MacIntyre did with Moreno. Santa Fe is famous for luring entertainers in the audience onstage. Michael Grimm, who sat in with the band before winning the “America’s Got Talent” title, is an example. Clint Holmes leapt onstage last month. Carlos Santana keyboardist Freddie Ravel also has joined the band onstage, last year when they were at Tropicana’s Tiffany Theater. Santa Fe’s audiences are so heavily populated with accomplished musicians, if band leader Jerry Lopez asked each one to the stage to perform, the shows would last six hours.

The list of those who have joined Bronson, too, is lengthy, and starts with the Tower of Power players. Penn Jillette once sang “Come Together” with the band at Ovation. Over the years, those who have joined Bronson include Fee Waybill of The Tubes, Joe Walsh, Sheena Easton, Weird Al Yankovic, Huey Lewis, David Cassidy, Joe Pesci, Dave Attell, David Lee Roth, Jeremy Piven and Terry Gilliam.

More recently, Moreno’s invite for violin virtuoso Joshua Bell two years ago at Rush Lounge at Golden Nugget helped ignite a partnership that led to the duo recording “Eleanor Rigby,” which drew the attention of Sony Records executives. Moreno is now recording an album for Sony, which makes his lounge shows all the more organically gratifying. Gordie Brown adds some manic impressions to many of Moreno’s shows. Chris Phillips of Zowie Bowie is often in the audience, and Moreno joined Z.B. onstage at Red Rock Resort last week for a ragtag cover of “Superstition.” Heavy metal icons Vinnie Paul and Paul Shortino, ever-present Vegas scene-stealers, follow the Moreno clique around town. Also, Moreno’s band spent years as the touring and studio band for Air Supply, and during that time Graham Russell (the tall one from Air Supply) was glad to sit in. Or, rather, stand in.

Some moments you just can’t script, like when L.V. Hilton Shimmer Cabaret impressionist Greg London and L.V. Hilton Theater illusionist Steve Wyrick showed up to a Moreno show at The Lounge a couple of weeks ago. Moreno had just days earlier seen London’s show but has not seen Wyrick’s show (which is rumored to be closing at the Hilton any time now, which might be the most predictable outcome in the history of Las Vegas entertainment).

The duo walked in, late in the show, with London taking a spot by standing at stage right, just a few steps from Moreno’s guitarist, Russ Letizia. London hung there for a couple of songs, nodding as the band jammed away, then strode onstage unannounced toward Moreno at the piano.

Moreno joked that London had a great show at the Golden Nugget, to which London responded, “Wait! You think I’m Gordie Brown!” The back-and-forth went on a bit longer before Moreno said, “Sit the (expletive) down! When I was at your show, I didn’t walk onstage and start talking into the microphone!”

As London departed, he turned back at Moreno, who pointed at him, and the two laughed.

You can’t script this stuff, and the vibe so difficult to attain is happening organically. The city’s reputation as The Entertainment Capital of the World was forged in such moments, which you cannot manufacture. Swagger is an elusive quality, and Las Vegas has it, still.

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at twitter.com/KatsWithTheDish.