1. Track #1: Arte Museum @City Center on The Strip
There are many rabbit holes in Vegas to escape the madness of the day. You can feel like a teenager without responsibilities at the Pinball Hall of Fame. You can bask in luxury at the classic English afternoon tea at the 23rd-floor Tea Lounge of the Waldorf Astoria.
Or you can go for a mind massage at the two-story, east Asia-originated Arte Museum.
I spent 90 minutes here experiencing blissful serenity. I wandered around multiple exhibitions in mirrored rooms where the giant walls are alive with map-projected digital art highlighting “Eternal Nature.”
I stood in front of an “infinite waterfall.” Waves crashed toward me, with the Northern lights in the distance, in another room. I walked through a surreal forest and, elsewhere in this 30,000 square-foot playground, saw endless “star raindrops” in a room with twinkling lights and paper art lanterns.
Here, I was safe from the world’s horrific daily news feed.
I also bathed for 30 minutes in the magnificent sound and light displays in “The Garden” and enjoyed art “reflecting the golden age of Korean painting.”
On the way out, I skipped ordering tea in the darkly lit surreal space dubbed Tea Bar as I was more than content to simply float away into the night.
2. Track #2: “Jersey Boys” @Orleans Hotel and Casino
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons were not invited into the cool kids club until their 1990 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Broadway premiere of “Jersey Boys” in 2005.
Their ‘60s songs like “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” and “Dawn (Go Away”) were neither heady nor musically challenging. But no matter—they delivered multimillion-selling hits with titanic harmonies and lyrics celebrating teenage romance.
Plus, their handsome looks, Italian American roots, and New Jersey style made them stand out.
“Jersey Boys,” which has returned to Vegas at the off-Strip Orleans Hotel and Casino, shines a light on all this, with 27 of the group’s hits integrated throughout. This full-scale production is solid and convincing, with one wonderfully harmonized musical number after another.
But what gives the show its dramatic sophistication is the dark narrative about how the rigors of road life and financial music biz horrors were constantly pulling the group apart.
The show makes you wonder why anyone would still want to be a pop star. And yet, amazingly, 89-year-old Frankie Valli is still touring. You can catch him at his ongoing residency at The Westgate Resort and Casino, with shows listed through October 26.
3. Track #3: Fiorella @Durango Casino & Resort
Thanks to James Beard award-winning chef Marc Vetri, the Italian soul of Philadelphia is alive and well in Vegas. He now has three restaurants here: the glamorous Vetri Cucina on the 56th floor of the Palms; the high-end-but-still-casual Osteria Fiorella at Red Rock Resort; and his latest, Fiorella, a separate restaurant in the Eat Your Heart food hall at the Durango Casino & Resort.
Walking into Fiorella—a “replica” of his thriving Philly pasta bar specializing in daily hand-made pasta—it’s easy to be charmed by the gold-colored chandeliers and an old-school tiled floor.
The fluffy house-made focaccia bread (ordered separately) and ample “Little Gem Salad” (with boquerones and croutons) set us up nicely for two pasta dishes: the garganelli (short, ridged tubes of fresh egg pasta) with basil-almond pesto and Parmigiano, and the tagliolini with lemon and poppy seed that’s topped with prosciutto.
Inventively imagined and executed creations like these dishes raise the culinary bar.
4. Track #4: The Black Crowes, Pearl Theater @Palms Casino Resort
Right out of the gate in 1990, The Black Crowes were an unbeatable combination of rock & roll grit, soul power, and engaging songcraft. On the first of their two-night stand during Super Bowl weekend at the acoustically stellar Pearl Theater, the band’s co-founders, brothers Chris and Rich Robinson—along with longtime bassist Sven Pipien and newer members—were as authoritative as ever in a hits-loaded set.
The Crowes were confident enough to open the show with a sturdy new song, “Bedside Manners,” and later dialed in another new one, “Wanting and Waiting,” from their upcoming album ‘Happiness Bastards.’
It was terrific to watch the band sink their teeth into the hits. But it was more fascinating to hear them perform deep cuts like the joyously snide “Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution” and the inflammatory “Gone.”
In the latter song (from 1994), Rich’s guitar work skillfully stuttered, and Chris’ lyrics—“C’mon and remove me/Dilated and burned”—daringly embraced self-torment in this age of self-care. To wrap things up, Chris gave Vegas a shoutout onstage before the band fittingly played set-closer and deep catalog gem “Virtue and Vice.”
5. Track #5: The Arts Factory @Arts District
It’s been said that there are not enough art galleries in the Arts District amid all the retail stores, restaurants, and bars. The area even has the buzzy craft beer-driven Brewery Row (perhaps that’s a memo you didn’t receive).
So why not support the galleries that are currently there? You could start by visiting the long-standing two-level building on E. Charleston known as The Arts Factory—home to over 30 artists and art galleries, plus the 18bin bar/restaurant.
I dropped in on a quiet weekday afternoon, separate from the crowded monthly First Friday event that supports many local artists and surrounding galleries. Creative artistry is definitely percolating at the Factory’s galleries like Screaming Demon Art, Art Wavy Studio, and Sliding Door Studio.
It’s also worth stopping into Forever Flowers by Gigi and picking up one of veteran artist/florist Gail Trull’s beautifully dyed or painted wood flower bouquets that last forever (if you take care of them).
Since opening her space here, Trull has further developed her artwork by painting on canvases and she’s on track to create murals on the walls here. “This whole building just inspires me to create,” she says.
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