Matt Goss throws it down on the Strip; Vinnie Paul to be honored
The Kats! Bureau at this writing is the Matt Goss show at 1 Oak Nightclub at The Mirage. The Gossy is in fine form, flawlessly voiced and effectively fragrant.
The Gosster is back from an extended trip to his native England, riding the crest of the new doc “After the Screaming Stops.” The film has been released this month in the U.K. still awaiting word on when it will be out in the U.S. The story centers on the oft-tumultuous relationship between the Goss twins — Matt and Luke Goss — and their ride with the British boy band Bros.
The long and short, the guys were torrid-hot for a couple of years in the late-1980s, then cratered, lost their riches, squabbled, regrouped and returned to action with a pair of shows at London’s 02 Arena in August 2017.
One review from overseas — a positive review — said it was the best music movie since “This is Spinal Tap.” Maybe someone is missing the point of satire here, but the film is supposed to be dang good.
The Gossy remains an overseas sensation; he’s still trying to fully capitalize on that fame at 1 Oak. Bros were not nearly as famous in the U.S. as they were in Great Britain (this country was sort of covered in the boy-band era).
But I’ll tell you what, The Goss-A-Rator’s stage show — fueled by his seven-piece band and enlivened by the Dirty Virgins dance troupe — is a killer Vegas hang. The song that kicks it all off, “All About the Hang,” has it right. This is the vibe that put the city on the map in the first place.
Paul to be honored
Nearly five months after his death in Las Vegas, heavy-metal legend Vinnie Paul is being honored at 9 p.m. Sunday at the place where he spent his final night — The Golden Tiki.
Club Managing Partner Branden Powers is developing a permanent display honoring Paul, who is already memorialized with his own shrunken head at the nightspot.
“Vinnie was a good friend of ours and had a lot of friends in Las Vegas,” Powers said. “He brought a lot of energy to our club and was just a sweet, sweet guy. We consider him part of our family.”
Paul was certainly a frequent visitor to the Polynesian-themed club in Chinatown on Spring Mountain Road. He stopped into the club to see Dino & The Sharps the night before he was found dead of a heart attack in his Las Vegas. A big fan of entertainment talent in all of its forms, Paul also caught Goss’s show that week.
Sunday’s event is no-cover, open to the public and — we expect — high in volume, as Mr. Paul would have preferred.
A new “Comedy Lineup”
“The Comedy Lineup,” now headed by veteran funny person John Caparulo, has moved from Harrah’s Showroom to House of Tape at that same hotel. The new show runs 10 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays.
Tom Green is no longer in the lineup. He left in mid-October, about the time the production left the showroom. Green is reportedly working on a revised version of “The Tom Green Show,” which vaulted him to fame in the mid-1900s. He has no dates in Vegas at the moment.
Stabile Productions, founders of the “X” lineup of adult revues and producers of Piff the Magic Dragon at Bugsy’s Cabaret at Flaming, has snapped up “The Comedy Lineup” from UD Factory. Matt and Angela Stabile have a solid track record of producing hit shows on the Strip and are excited about presenting Caparulo in a room that’s already home to a great comedy act, Tape Face, who designed the venue himself.
Down under, for real
“Thunder From Down Under” and Australian Bee Gees have moved from their second-floor showroom at Excalibur to the former Lynryd Skynyrd BBQ & Bar space on the casino floor (the Skynyrd joint closed in September 2012 after a nine-month run).
The shows’ move happened Friday. The 275-seat venue is the temporary home for both shows as the upper-level showroom is gutted, pulled apart and renovated for — we say unofficially, still — the arrival of magician Hans Klok next spring. Klok is rich. He’s big in Europe. And he has dreams on the Strip.
What he said …
A little more than four years ago, I had a lengthy meeting with Steve Wynn in his office at Wynn Las Vegas. Deep in that conversation, we talked about the Wynn Country Club. It was a hot topic, then and now.
At the time, reports abounded that Wynn was planning to wipe out the golf course for something spectacular, aquatic and with a more universal appeal than striking golf balls. But Wynn ensured, ““I made a decision that I was going to use the golf course and its wonderful environment to continually raise my prices and exploit the uniqueness of these 4,800 rooms. While I’m alive, I will never, ever develop the golf course. It is there to stay.”
Of course, in 2016, Wynn took a mulligan and announced development what was then called Wynn Paradise Park. And, last week, the Paradise Park Lagoon plans were officially spiked. The 18-hold course is back on the table. The Wynn course will be where you can take any number of mulligans, and a place that is — for now — here to stay.
Steph on the run
Column fave Stephanie Calvert pulled an only-in-Vegas shift Saturday afternoon. Beginning at 2 p.m., she performed four 45-minute sets with the ’80s novelty band the Whip Its at Harrah’s Carnaval Court. She then bolted to Golden Nugget for her show with Starship featuring Mickey Thomas. Calvert, a genuine rock-belter, says she never warms up her voice. No kidding. Who has time?
Cool Hang Alert
Ashley Fuller has taken up the 8 p.m.-midnight slot on Saturdays at Piazza Lounge at Tuscany Suites. The show is “Standards and Soul.” Fuller, who performed in “Jubile,” is currently still a cast member in “Alice” and a swing in “Opium” at the Cosmopolitan. The band his helmed by her husband and music director Aaron Fuller. There is no cover for this hang, and the Fullers are a couple to support.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
