Lounge Lizards unite: Vintage Vegas is still alive and well

By John Katsilometes

Saturday, July 2, 2011 | 3:41 p.m.

It was during a performance dubbed “Vintage Vegas” that Chris Phillips made a vintage Vegas comment.

Speaking of the different audiences attending the Electric Daisy Carnival at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and those watching his standard-driven production at Ovation at Green Valley Ranch Resort, the Tweety-topped vocalist said, “Out there, everyone’s taking ecstasy. Here, everyone’s taking Ex-Lax.”

Ba dum bum!

The carnival that is Zowie Bowie has pulled up stakes, for the time being, finishing its run in an arbitrary sort of way on Sunday night before a near-capacity crowd at Ovation. First, I’d heard the act was dissolving because of a personal breakup of Marley Taylor and bandleader David Perrico. However, the stated reason after talking to the principals at Sunday’s show was that Station Casinos simply wanted to scale back its investment in shows at Ovation.

So, it’s bye-bye Birdie time for Phillips, who said from the stage that he is in serious talks with reps from a showroom on the Strip. The options are limited for a Zowie Bowie “Vintage Vegas” resurrection on the Strip, at least one that would give the show a chance at long-term success. Maybe the Riv. Maybe Imperial Palace’s showroom. Whatever; the window on Phillips’ dream to headline on the Strip and sing Old Vegas-era standards seems to be inching closed, even as he has tirelessly battled to find a suitable home for the big-band show since the act arrived in Vegas to open Rocks Lounge at Red Rock Resort in 2006.

Vintage Vegas, in spirit, does live on in the city, though. I caught up with a genuine throwback artist at M Resort’s Ravello Room. It’s a tucked-away venue, sort of a hybrid between a small showroom and expanded lounge. It seats about 350, and Tuesday night the room brimmed past capacity as Mark O’Toole ably crooned selections from his new release, aptly titled “The Crooner.”

Why all the fuss? Good question. I’d never heard of O’Toole until a few months ago, when Kelly Clinton nudged me in the direction of Bootlegger Bistro, where none other than actress and stage performer Sally Struthers was helping host a show featuring O’Toole. Struthers and O’Toole are close friends, and the former Gloria Stivic from “All in the Family” cried as she introduced O’Toole to the audience jammed into Bootlegger that night.

The vocalist has quite a story, performing for more than two decades in Las Vegas before being diagnosed with cancer in 2007. He has survived Stage IV non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which nearly killed him, and has returned for an open-ended engagement at the M that is a true-blue ode to Old Vegas.

In that spirit, O’Toole’s appearance was preceded by an over-the-top video that was at least five minutes too long but a good laugh anyway. Those paying tribute included Kelly Clinton Holmes (as Wayne Newton, Elvis and herself); her husband, Clint Holmes; Frankie Scinta, Rick Faugno of “Jersey Boys,” Dennis Bono and Lorraine Hunt Bono; Rita Rudner, and Carrot Top. O’Toole was introduced by Clint and Kelly and performed with the energy and appeal indicative of a man who genuinely feels lucky to be alive.

Vintage Vegas is happening this weekend at the Suncoast, where Clint Holmes headlines tonight and Sunday. The terrific singer is the rare Vegas-based performer to wow a reviewer from The New York Times. Holmes should be performing somewhere in residency in Las Vegas.

Holmes reminded people of his vocal power and stage presence during his performance at Golden Rainbow’s “Ribbon of Life” benefit at the Paris last Sunday, which drew a standing ovation among the 1,100 in attendance.

Vintage Vegas. It’s still out there, but you have to find it. Sometimes it’s sitting right next to you. That happened at the O’Toole show, when I walked up the aisle toward the bar and noticed, seating on a displaced bar stool, former Supreme Mary Wilson. She is just finishing a headlining run at the Riviera, and I caught her show this week. She is a smooth performer with a rich voice, still, at age 67. But the audience was not strong, maybe 100 in the house, if that.

Nonetheless, Wilson and her backing band performed as if they were playing for several thousand, unleashing a string of Supremes hits and even unexpected numbers -- Sting’s “Fields of Gold” among them.

Look at it as a way to set the table for future engagements, and remind those who really study entertainment in this city what Vintage Vegas is all about.

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow "Kats With the Dish" at twitter.com/KatsWithTheDish.