Minaj first performer to get booed at T-Mobile
It didn’t take long for Nicki Minaj to top the list of firsts for the new T-Mobile Arena.
One night after the arena opened, Minaj went into the books as the first performer booed in the new venue.
She established a record for tardiness that may last a while: Her show started an hour and 35 minutes late.
“They opened the doors at 8 and the concert was to start at 9,” said a male fan, who asked for anonymity. “The crowd started booing at 10:15. That’s pretty unprofessional.”
Sadly, Minaj chose not address it with another arena first – the first apology by a headliner for a long delay.
Three years ago, as an “American Idol” judge, Minaj was 13 minutes late for a live taping of the top 10 performances episode.
Host Ryan Seacrest opened that show by saying, “Say hello to three of your four judges who made it here on time.”
Minaj blamed it on traffic congestion.
She’s notorious for her diva behavior. There were reports that she showed up during “Idol” auditions from an hour to two hours late.
Other T-Mobile firsts:
Axl Rose, frontman for Guns N’ Roses, recorded multiple firsts: the first for having Dave Grohl’s throne flown in so he could perform while seated. When Rose broke a bone in his foot last week at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, Grohl, frontman for the Foo Fighters, loaned the chair to Rose, who performed with his foot in a black boot propped up on a foot stool. Grohl famously used the throne after injuring a leg during a fall from the stage while performing in Sweden. No word on whether the throne flew first class. Rose also receives the inaugural Show-Must-Go-On award.
Brandon Flowers, frontman for The Killers, and Dan Reynolds,Imagine Dragons frontman and fellow Las Vegan, performed on stage together for the first time on T-Mobile Arena’s opening night. They collaborated on “Jenny Was a Friend of Mine.”
While emerging pop star Shamir of North Las Vegas was technically the first artist to perform on opening night, the first performer was country star Martina McBride, who did a mini-concert March 31 in a full dress rehearsal to work out the bugs.
T-Mobile Arena became the first major venue in town to offer a made-to-order poke bar, a hot trend out of Los Angeles by way of Hawaii.
Here are some first-week food and beverage numbers that include menu items served in the luxury boxes: 948,000 fluid ounces of draft beer, 668 pounds of live lobsters, 290 pounds of beef tenderloin, 844 bottles of Patron’s tequila brands and three bottles of Louis XIII cognac, priced at about $3,000 per bottle.
THE SCENE AND HEARD
Hollywood producer Scott Steindorff tells me he’s developing a one-hour drama series about millenials who usher in a new boom in Las Vegas. Steindorff was the executive producer of the NBC series “Las Vegas” that aired from 2003 to 2005 … Bon Appetite served up some fake news in its “Shameless Plugs” section. It stated chef Bobby Flay had replaced Adam Rapoport as editor-in-chief. Not so. Just another lame April Fool’s joke.
ON THIS DAY
April 11, 2008: Angry that his girlfriend, Veronica Grabowski, had been eliminated from the Miss USA pageant at Planet Hollywood, Luxor headliner Criss Angel flips the bird on national TV. Then he confronted a local entertainment columnist and warned him not to write another word about him “or you’ll need an eyepatch over your other eye.”
April 12, 1987: After a concert in Las Vegas, U2’s Bono and The Edge strut down Fremont Street, playing, singing and hugging passers-by as they film the video of the band’s hit “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”
SIGHTINGS
Dallas Cowboys ownerJerry Jones and dethroned cycling legend Lance Armstrong at Crush restaurant (MGM Grand) for Top Ranked Boxing’s after-party following the Manny Paquiao-Timothy Bradley WBO welterweight championship fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena … Riker Lynch of the American rock band R5, with family and friends at Tao Asian Bistro (Venetian) on Saturday… DJ Pauly D and girlfriend/singer Aubrey O’Day, chatting with Britney Spears’ manager Larry Rudolph and his fiancé Jen Barnet among the crowd at the grand opening of XCycle fitness studio at Boca Park. Barnet, former makeup stylist for Spears’ and Rudolph’s assistant, is operating the fitness center … Singer Frankie Scinta and comedy legend Rich Little, making a surprise appearance on the stage at the Italian American Club on Friday.
THE PUNCH LINE
“The New York primary is fast approaching and Ted Cruz today stopped in Brooklyn to tour a matzo bakery. But he still didn’t see as many crackers as Donald Trump does at his rallies.” – Seth Meyers.
Norm Clarke’s column appears Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He can be reached at 702-383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find more online at www.normclarke.com. On Twitter: @Norm_Clarke
