360 Vegas

E-427: Idiot Proof

Random Vegas
Cirque Du Soleil celebrated “O’s” 11,000 performance this week, bringing you over a decade of acrobatic shrinkage
Twitpic of the week
This week’s winner by @_GrandpaD captures something you don’t often see from neon signs in Vegas, scale.  Here we see maintenance doing the lords work replace neon tubes in the signage.  By doing so, we get a perspective that is rarely seen in this new world of LED signage.  This sign is massive and if they ever close, I really hope the Neon Museum has the inside track to not only save but display this, one of the most beautiful neon signs in Las Vegas
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360 Vegas Vacation 12
Universal Studios Vegas

360 Vegas Reviews: Rouge

Let’s talk about Rouge at the Strat. (And it’s Rouge as in “blush,” not Rogue as in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”)So when Rouge was announced earlier this year, I was definitely interested. It’s probably no secret at this point that I’m a horn dog, and like my Vegas shows to be titillating. I also believe that what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, and out of a sense of fairness I once took my wife to a male review; something I probably won’t ever do again. It’s not so much watching the men dance that I have a problem with, it was all the screaming. Why do women feel the need to shriek like banshees during these shows? He’s not going to fuck the loudest one in the room! So for the sake of preserving what’s left of my already terrible hearing, I’m opting out of male reviews for the future.  That being said, I’m willing to bet that a decent looking dude could park himself at the bar outside the Thunder From Down Under Theater around 11:30 at night, and it would be like shooting fish in a barrel. This is just a theory, but if it happens to work out for a listener, you’re welcome. Just don’t be creepy.Anyway, I digress. Rouge bills itself as a male and female topless show, and ‘The Sexiest Show in Vegas.’ We recently decided to check it out and see for ourselves. First, Rouge is at the Strat. This is not a place we’ve ever spent much time, because it’s the Strat. You kind of need a specific reason to go there.  Now that we had a reason, we ventured over to see it.
The Mad Max reboot is really weird.
Some words about the showroom.  It’s on the 2nd level, almost directly above where you line up to take the elevator up to the skypod. When we entered, an usher did the typical “let’s see your tickets so we can walk you to your seats” thing, but it was kind of weird because they had performers spread all through the audience; including right next to these ushers. The performers were dressed in these really extravagant costumes - probably the best costumes of the whole show - and they were kind of leering at us in a way that was probably meant to be sexy?  Honestly it kind of threw me off, because I’m trying to show the usher my ticketing information on my phone, but I’m also looking at this person in a leather corset who’s next to me licking their lips. I mean, normally that’s not a bad thing, but I felt like my attention was kind of pulled two different ways.We found their showroom to be a decent space, with a big variety in seating, including the booth tables that seem to be a disappearing part of Vegas entertainment. I had a “preferred seating” table, which consisted of four chairs around a small half circle table. I was hoping that we would have the table to ourselves, because “Stranger Danger” but a couple that I’m pretty sure were a hooker and her John were seated next to us shortly after. She got paid for her time and treated to a show. Lucky gal…  (Side note: they did end up leaving before the show was over.  When that meter’s running, I guess you can’t waste too much time on passive entertainment when more active forms await.)
This fuckin' guy...
Let’s talk about the show itself.  There’s an emcee, who struck me as kind of a poor-man’s Gazillionaire (from Absinthe).  He seemed like he was trying to come across as this vaudeville showman but his jokes, phony French accent, and porn-stache made a lot of the humor land in more of a sleazy way rather than a naughty way. It’s a fine line, I know.The show has several vignettes or sections. There’s a running bit they go back to a few times throughout the show with this married couple who are unsatisfied because they’re bored with their bedroom life and apparently aren’t communicating about it. So I guess the show can be viewed as a journey through their exploration of kinks, because by the end, everyone’s fucking and happy and fucking happy.My biggest issue with the show is that for me, some of these vignettes work, and some of them don’t.  There’s a whole French Aristocracy section, where the women wear these big Marie Antionette style dresses with corset tops, and it’s funny because they turn around and the backs are open so you can see their asses. The men are wearing pantaloons from the same time period, and there’s cut-outs in the back so that each ass-cheek sticks out of its own cheek hole. I get that it’s trying to be balanced (Here’s woman-ass. Now here’s man-ass) but it ends up looking ridiculous. Maybe that’s my straight male privilege talking, but my wife thinks it looked pretty dumb too.
You've been on my mind for a while now
The other wierd-as-fuck bit was a whole horse vignette, where performers had on bridles and shoes that looked like hooves. I am not making this up. I was too busy WTF-ing through this whole portion to be the slightest bit aroused.That’s not to say that it’s all bad.  There’s some sections that work really well, like a bondage section and a striptease portion in which performers in business suits watch while another performer pole dances. Perhaps there’s some realism here, if we want to get serious for a minute. A couple exploring their sexuality together is probably going to find some things along the way that don’t work for either or both of them. Maybe the show’s recurring married couple tried French aristocracy horse porn, and it didn’t work for them, but found something else that did? I think that Rouge - by featuring a cast of both men and women, and by having all these different types of content - is trying to say, “hey, there’s something for everyone. Find your something.” And while that’s certainly true, and I’m never going to judge what consenting adults choose to enjoy together, I don’t necessarily want to be presented with every other kink as part of my entertainment. No offense, horse-people. You do you.
I am both frightened and aroused.
No discussion of an adult review show in Vegas is complete without talking about the eye-candy. I know there’s more discussion these days about what is and what isn’t acceptable in these types of discussions, but I think that when you’re paying to see a show in which you know people will be removing their clothes with intent to arouse, then objectification is an inescapable part of that transaction. (How’s that for a sentence!?)  So I’m going to objectify. I found all of the women pleasant to look at. There’s a variety of race and body types. Remember that all of these people are young professional dancers, so if you like them super-thicc, you won’t be finding any of that here.  Which brings me to another issue.  I asked the wife if she enjoyed the male eye-candy, and she was fairly indifferent. In fact, she says she found the women more attractive, and she doesn’t swing that way. Rouge also has professional dancer-types for the male roles who tend to be shorter and leaner. These men are not the same types that you would see in Thunder From Down Under or Magic Mike Live. Those tend to be bigger dudes.  Now again, not everyone likes the same thing, but in my opinion, Rouge might appeal to more women if the men were less dancer-type and more bodybuilder-type. Hell, even consider staying with the theme of the show and mix it up a little with some of both. I also recognize that I’m completely out of my element here and this is pure speculation.
Okay, on to the Audience Fuckery Factor, or A.F.F.  As a member of the audience how much do you have to worry about being fucked with by the performers?  Some people don’t mind a little audience participation, some people are mortified if a microphone is pointed in their general direction. Here's the Audience Fuckery Factor for Rouge in a nutshell: if you sit in the front half of the theater, there is a good chance you may be singled out. At one point, Emcee Sleazeball walked through the audience and asked audience members what their favorite position was. There was a guy in a cowboy hat in the front row who was repeatedly picked on throughout the show. Also, if you wear a cowboy hat and sit in the front row, you're kind of asking for it. He seemed like a good sport.I was trying to best summarize how I felt about Rouge.  I think they’ve set an audacious goal by attempting an adult review show for just about everyone, even if they don’t quite succeed.  What it ultimately came down to for me was, would I see it again? I’d see Fantasy, X-Burlesque, and X-Country again. I don’t think I’d see Rouge again.  This isn’t because it had dudes in it, it’s because so much of it didn’t really land with me or my wife at all. There’s a lot of great entertainment in Las Vegas, so why waste time with entertainment that doesn’t do it for you?  Which I guess, in a way, is what Rouge is about.If you decide to check it out, Rouge is dark on Mondays. Showtimes vary and some nights have 2 shows. Tickets start at $4 and we always appreciate it when you click the Vegas.com referral link here or on the website. 
      You can find Josh on twitter @vegasjaydubs

E-426: False Start

Random Vegas
It’s been reported that the Adele store ad Caesars Palace makes between $120 – 160k every day its open (Vital Vegas)
Twitpic of the week
 
Lined up like they were taking a year book photo of their class, this week’s winner by @summacorp captures the Thunderbird road sign like marquees are seldom seen, to scale. By taking pictures in front of the sign you can really see just how big they were in relation to a person. Part of the magic of Vegas marquees is this overwhelming awesomeness of these signs. The only thing that would have made this picture cool is if it was in color instead of black and white. But we aren’t complaining. Thanks to the UNLV Special collections department for preserving the history of the city unlike any other city in the world
News
Foreshadowing the Queen B
Little Miss Nasty

E-425: Natural Selection

Random Vegas
The International, better known as the Hilton and currently known as Westgate, was specifically designed to attract families and conventioneers
It offered a supervised youth camp of sorts to keep the kids occupied so the adults could do what they wanted
Twitpic of the week
It’s been considered the worst eye sore in Vegas history, similar to its predecessor the Landmark.  The big blue building known as Fountainbleau, then various other names as new ownership groups attempted to rebrand the property while not making any actual progress to finish the project, is now officially the Fountainbleau again.  Its progress to completion is easily visable to the eye and once again, north strip has a pulse.  Signage has been installed and the original owners are once again the driving force behind this project.  @meltzVegaspicture shows progress and the signage reinforces that she is coming in the 1st quarter of 2023.  Led by the people who dreamed her up, its exciting to know that the original visionaries are at the wheel again, 15 years after breaking ground on the project.
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Natural Selection
MIrage/Hard Rock Details
360 Vegas Winter Vacation 2023

PCP - Evolution of Fremont E-2

Premium Content Preview
www.patreon.com/360Vegas
 

E-424: Lava Lamp

Random Vegas
NYE 2022-23 will have fireworks launched from 8 strip resorts.  They are Aria, Caesars Palace, MGM Grand, Planet Hollywood, The Strat, Treasure Island, Venetian and Resorts World.  It will take five days for 66 pyrotechnicians to install the fireworks (RJ)
Twitpic of the week
In a city where mega resorts rule the landscape, never has a property done so much with so little.  4.4 acres is all the land that Cosmopolitan resides on.  Granted, it cost as much as a mega resort with a 3.9 billion dollar price tag but still.  Its clear the future of the strip is in properties like this and Cromwell, boutique hotels doing more with less.  @maverickhelicaptures the property in ways only it can.  Seriously need to get off our ass and take a helicopter ride around the city
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Brew Dog Opens
Goodbye Banger

E-423: Black Religion

Random Vegas
The Neon Museum offers tour scripts in several languages: Chinese, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish
The scripts are printed on reusable plastic booklets that visitors can borrow for free then return (VitalVegas)
Twitpic of the week
It was really inevitable.  How can the city claim to be the entertainment capital of the world and not have sports in the list of available options?  We are halfway there with the addition of the hocky and football.  Just basketball and baseball to go to complete the collection so many cities around the states have.  When and where is still up for debate but close to the strip is a solid bet.  @Maverickheli highlights sports addition to the famous skyline.  Las Vegas is finally becoming what it has coveted for so long, respect as a legit big city.
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DivAdele
Slingshot Terrorism
Hard Rock Evolution

360 Vegas Reviews - Wayne Newton

So before I get into this review, a few disclaimers: 
If you told me a few years ago that I would actually make an effort and spend my own money to see Wayne Newton perform, I would have laughed at you. A lot.
If you told me even a few months ago that I would not only see Wayne Newton perform, but also (spoiler alert!) enjoy it enough that I would recommend that others go see it, I would wonder what you were on. 
     Now, to be fair, I like crooners. But when I say that, I mean that I like the Rat Pack. To me, a pleasant evening is cooking dinner with Sinatra and Martin on the stereo and a glass of bourbon within reach. If I could see any concert ever in history, it would be Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack performing one of the Summit shows in the Copa Room at the Sands while they filmed the original Ocean's 11. But I have never considered myself a Wayne Newton fan.
What brought me to see Wayne Newton recently was what the kids call the FOMO, the Fear Of Missing Out. Like it or not, Vegas is synonymous with change, and like it or not, the legacy of Wayne Newton is inextricably woven into Vegas forever. So even if I did not consider myself a fan of Wayne Newton, I had to admit that he was a living Las Vegas legend, and someday (maybe sooner than we would like) the chance to see that legend perform in the flesh might be gone. As a fan of Vegas and a frequent patron of Vegas entertainment, I almost felt what can best be described as an obligation to see Wayne Newton perform.  
 
"To my left is where we keep the TV."
      If you’ve been living under a proverbial Las Vegas rock and don’t know who Wayne Newton is, he is also known as Mr. Las Vegas, and has been performing on Las Vegas stages and throughout the rest of the world for more that 60 years, beginning in the late 50s at the Fremont Hotel. He’s the guy that tried to woo Helen Griswold away from Clark in Vegas Vacation. When I first started making regular trips to Vegas, Newton was performing at the Cleopatra’s Barge theater at Caesars Palace. When El Dorado took over Caesars Entertainment, they closed several shows and moved Wayne over to Bugsy’s Cabaret at the Flamingo. As shows began to open up post-pandemic, Wayne Newton’s production was delayed; first due to back surgery last year, and again due to a positive COVID diagnosis later on. Since the man is now 80 years old, I was really beginning to feel like I needed to make an effort to see him as soon as possible. 
 
      As I mentioned before, Wayne Newton, Up Close and Personal is now performing at Bugsy’s Cabernet, which is a small venue located in the center of the Flamingo gaming floor. The venue is also used for X-Burlesque, but you enter the theater through different doors for the different productions, making it seem like they are different venues and that the tuxedo-wearing, living legend isn’t sharing a performance space with a titty show. The size of the theater was a plus for me, because the small room ensured that we could see him well. It truly was “Up Close and Personal.” 
      As we waited in line to get into the theater, we couldn’t help but wonder what we were getting into. We’re in our mid-forties, but we were by far the youngest people in line. Was everyone here for Wayne Newton, or had we accidentally stumbled across the Matlock Fan Convention? Ha ha! Old people… 
      When most of the audience was seated, a woman stood up in front and introduced herself as the hostess. She essentially instructed us to stand up and applaud when Wayne sang his final song of the evening. I’ve seen a lot of shows, but I’ve never been told that I need to give a standing ovation. This irritated me, but it was quickly forgotten. The curtains opened, the 3-piece band began to play, and the man himself stepped out and began to sing. 
      Okay, so I’m just going to cut to the chase here. His voice is not great right now. Don’t get me wrong; he sings better than I do. It’s not awful to hear, but we’re a long way from the gravel mixed with maple syrup sounds he had in the past (for example, in Vegas Vacation). I was actually fine with this, because he’s still an incredible showman. You can tell when you see him live that he has cultivated the art of interacting with the audience. He was pointing at people in the audience he recognized, smiling and waving hello between lines of his songs. This is what I wanted! This is what I paid to see: that old school, still a small town, anyone-can-show-up feeling of old Vegas lounge and dinner shows. At one point, he stops the show to acknowledge his friend in the audience, impressionist Rich Little, who currently performs at the Tropicana. Newton reminisces about their long friendship, and times performing together decades ago at the Frontier. It reminds me of Dean Martin saying hello to Lucille Ball in the crowd at the Copa Room. It’s not the same level of celebrity, but it's the same kind of warmth and familiarity that’s tough to find in live entertainment.  
      The show itself is structured like VH1 Storytellers. Newton sings a song, then tells a story. He plays a video of himself playing an instrument at age 15, then demonstrates that he can still deftly play the same instrument. Fun fact: Wayne Newton can play 13 different instruments, but cannot read music. He plays by sound.  
 
Wayne Newton: Original Blue Man Group member
      It’s pretty clear that the “questions from the audience” are pre-arranged, and that’s okay. It keeps the show on rails. Newton’s stories include a confrontation with Elvis when it turned out they were dating the same girl, a last-minute recording session with Glen Campbell of the legendary “Wrecking Crew” when they both happened to be in England, a prank played on Dean Martin, and the warmest memories of his friendship with Frank Sinatra. It seemed like Newton regarded Sinatra as not only a great friend, but also a mentor and father figure. I couldn’t help but think of the “you shook Sinatra’s hand” lines from Ocean’s 13. Here, standing in front of me on the stage, was a man who really had “shook Sinatra’s hand.” I began to see Wayne Newton not only as a living Vegas legend, but also as a link to these other Vegas legends that were so important to me and this town that we love. There is also a really cool semi-live duet with a Rat-Pack member that I won’t spoil here. As I said before, I entered the room under a sense of obligation, but I was now absolutely enthralled. 
 
      Speaking of enthralled, the number of elderly women collectively but only figuratively losing their shit because they were getting to see Wayne Newton was both hilarious and fascinating. If I should end up at a Justin Timberlake concert in my late 70’s, will there be women of my generation going insane and throwing their Depends at him on the stage? We can only hope… I honestly was not mentally prepared for the women who were going nuts because he sang a certain song. Picture all these geriatric groupies, eyes closed and hands waving slowly in the air like members of a mega-church, and this is all because Wayne Newton is singing “Red Roses for a Blue Lady.” 
      Something else I want to mention is the cool montage at the beginning of the show which showed all the Vegas marquees over the years with Wayne Newton’s name on them. Newton began his Vegas career at the age of 15, performing 5 shows a night at the Fremont. He had to leave the property between sets, because as a minor he wasn’t allowed to hang out there. Since then, he has headlined at the Stardust, the Desert Inn, both MGM Grands, the Frontier, the Sands, Caesars Palace, and was even an owner of the original Aladdin. Over the years, he has performed over 30,000 shows in Vegas and released more than 100 albums. 
      I’ve started including the A.F.F., or Audience Fuckery Factor in these reviews. That is where we discuss how much you need to worry about being accidentally included in the show. I think I can safely say that unless you know Wayne Newton personally, or unless you count being asked to take part in a standing ovation, the A.F.F. for Wayne Newton, Up Close and Personal is minimal. He’s not going to Ellen Griswold you, people. 
      To sum up our experience, I still don’t think of myself as a Wayne Newton fan per se, but I definitely have a much greater appreciation and respect for him. He shook Sinatra’s hand, he’s a Las Vegas treasure, and absolutely deserves a standing ovation; no prompting necessary. 
      At the time of this review, Wayne Newton, Up Close and Personal is live at Bugsy’s Cabaret at the Flamingo at 7:00 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. Tickets start at $86, and we always appreciate it when you click the Vegas.com referral link here or on the website. 
      You can find Josh on twitter @vegasjaydubs