DIGITAL TONY: The Forum at Studio 54

Don’t miss this monthly event

Antonio Llapur

Except for a brief stint in Hell-A after college, I've lived in Vegas my entire life. When I was little, the entertainment on the Strip was limited to showgirls, washed-up celebs and Siegfried and Roy. Now that I'm grown up, the washed-up celebs have turned into multi-million-dollar headliners, Siegfried and Roy are hilarious cartoon characters, and showgirls have given way to wacky, French Canadian contortionists.


MGM just announced that KA, a new, Asian-flavored Cirque du Soleil show, will debut at the resort this holiday season. I've always wondered what French-Canadian clowns doing kung fu would look like.


The huge marketing push started last week, and even Studio 54 got into it Sunday when its monthly Open Forum party took on an Eastern flair. In addition to music from Uberschall—a dynamite drum-heavy rock combo featuring musicians from the Blue Man Group—DJ Javier Alba and a host of other Strip performers, Open Forum played host to a four-girl karate act (because there just aren't enough martial arts in the club scene) and a wild ballet that looked more like an ancient ritual than dance.


The ballet was odd and made little sense, but it's not really supposed to. It's meant to be gorgeous and primeval—something to look at. The mixture of the DJ, rock drums and guitars, ballet and modern dance, and psychedelic sensibility made for a beautiful balance of the classical and modern. I don't know if this is the direction KA is going in, but I wouldn't mind, just as long as there's plenty of kung fu.


Now, if you Google my columns for the past year or so, you'll notice a nice plug every month for Studio's Open Forum. Why, you ask? For one, it's always free for locals. Second, it's really artsy and I like that. I'm not all about nightclubs and Paris Hilton jokes. When I'm not doing the Digital Tony thing, I'm a deadly serious filmmaker, an artist. When I see other artists donating their time to enrich your aesthetic lives, and a club with the foresight to present an evening like this, and without charging the target audience, you'd better believe I'm going to do whatever I can to see it succeed. Next month, spare a few hours Sunday and check it out. You'll be pleasantly surprised.


I'm Antonio Llapur, and I approve this message.




Party for a good cause



Don't miss this Thursday at the Palms' Ghostbar. It's Nina's Night Out, a fund-raiser for the Rape Crisis Center, and hosted by the town's sexiest anchor, Channel 3's Nina Radetich, with performances by Uncle Kracker and The Calling. Tickets are $50 general, $75 VIP. Doors open at 7 p.m.



Antonio Llapur walks softly and carries a big club. E-mail him at
[email protected].

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