Much has been made of the $40 million in art lavished upon CityCenter. Virtually all of it is stunning in isolation but how does it work in context? CityLife dispatched me on a mission to evaluate CC’s many installations. As with so many things about the metaresort, it’s a case of great concept, muddled execution.
If you can come to Las Vegas during one of Garth Brooks‘ residencies and if you can get a ticket (much easier said than done), the pudgy, guitar-wielding guy in the baseball cap is now the must-see attraction on the Strip. It took four tries but Steve Wynn has finally struck gold in the Encore Theatre. I wouldn’t say the extraordinary level of audience involvement is worth the ticket price alone … but it comes close. Their love for and rapport with this man is quite something to behold.
Those who have been stridently insisting that Wayne Newton‘s pipes are just a tad rusty ought to have their ears cleansed with Brooks’ wide-ranging and expressive voice. Semi-retired or no, he’s still in very fine fettle. And if you’re particularly fortunate, you’ll get not-inconsiderable added value in the form of Trisha Yearwood. Studio recordings do not do justice to the amplitude of her instrument. She mostly employs it with delicacy — a discretion made all the more effective by the obvious raise-the-rafters power that Yearwood is holding in abeyance.
If you’ve an interest in the politics of Nevada, there’s a new blog in town (Of Note Nevada) that promises to be worth reading. Penned by former Jim Gibbons aide-de-camp Josh Hicks, it takes a measured tone toward issues which normally prompt hysteria in these here parts. If you’re looking for a middle ground between, say, Hugh Jackson on the left and Chuck Muth on the right (the R-J bloggers and editorialists are too far off in Cloud Cuckoo Land to be relevant), Hicks looks like the man from headquarters.
A patient fellow: The sunbather pictured above is Mr. Bit, my surviving Norwegian Forest Cat (born 1993). He’s undergoing surgery today for gingivitis. The poor fellow could lose as many as six teeth. He’s also having some of his gum tissue sent out for a biopsy, so keep your fingers crossed. He’s a crotchety, profane, reclusive old cuss of a kitty and we love him all the more for it (perhaps because his cranky disposition mirrors my own). By the way, souvenirs of two Strip shows are visible in the photograph. Can you find them?
Sending good thoughts to Mr. Bit!
My late Russian Blue, Chuck, lost six teeth at age 12 and came through fine.
Hopefully, Mr. Bit will pass with flying colours. (jesus he’s a big sucker!) Is there a good mixture of sculpture and paintings? Being the good tourist I am, I plan to give it the one over next visit.
Good luck to Mr. Bit, hope he has a quick recovery.
Mr. Bit lost five teeth but appears to be making a speedy recovery. He acted all doped-up while he was still at the vet, only to turn into a frisky bundle of fur as soon as he got in the car. What a con artist!
EDC, I’d say the mix leans heavily toward sculpture and pottery. Maybe somebody decided that collecting paintings was Steve Wynn’s “thing.”
Definitely will not see Garth. Don’t enjoy him; never did. HOWEVER, if his wife, Trisha Yearwood, were playing on the strip, I’d probably be a permanent fixture in the audience. Although I’m sure in the minority here, but I think Wynn booked the wrong part of the duo.