June 2, 2009
"She's Back!" So shouts the poster in the lobby of the Bootlegger Bistro on South Las Vegas Boulevard. Yes, Kelly Clinton is back, hosting her "Open Mic Cabaret" every Monday night. It's the best show deal in town, and the pizza's not bad, either. Continue reading »
Loading ...March 2, 2009
Why is it that the things we love in life are sometimes the ones we neglect most? I love jazz – always have – and I've been a member of the Las Vegas Jazz Society for nine years. And yet I never went to one of their concerts until two weeks ago. But what a concert it was – soulful, uplifting, joyful, creative – everything I love about jazz, and less than 20 minutes from downtown. Continue reading »
Loading ...February 13, 2009
Las Vegas isn’t as young and flashy as it sometimes seems. In fact, the Valley is home to some old houses that began life in very humble circumstances. Take the houses in Henderson Townsite, for example. Built during World War II for workers at the Basic Magnesium plant, the "dismountable" houses were meant to survive the war effort – and not much longer. But most of them are still standing. I own one, and I love it. Continue reading »
Loading ...December 8, 2008
Jazz is an art form that crosses many boundaries, and many jazz lovers say they see colors and images when a great jazzman plays. So it is perhaps not surprising – though no less thrilling – to find that when a jazzman paints, you can hear music. That happened to me when I visited the art studio of longtime jazz player Thurman Hackett, who has recently taken up residence in Las Vegas. Continue reading »
Loading ...November 17, 2008
What? You didn't make plans for Nevada Day? Sure, this state holiday, now observed on the last Friday in October, often catches folks by surprise. But don't let another year go by without checking out the annual open house at Castillo del Sol, Lonnie Hammargren's peerless house of wonders on Sandhill Road. You know the place – the one with the Statue of Liberty's arm sticking up over the cinderblock wall. The rest of the place is just as … odd. Continue reading »
Loading ...November 13, 2008
Great news! Norm Clarke has a new book out!
"Norm Clarke's Vegas Confidential: Sinsational Celebrity Tales"
Norm Clarke has been a part of my Las Vegas experience since I arrived here in 1999. We “met” the first time I opened the Las Vegas Review Journal and caught sight of the black eye patch on page three. I admit, my first impression was, “OMG, how silly. A celebrity gossip column gets higher billing than local news.” But it didn’t take me long to understand that celebrity gossip is local news in Las Vegas. Continue reading »
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