Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Matt Goss still riding waves at Barge; Claire Sinclair, Sabina Kelley toggle sultry in ‘Pin Up’

NBT and Matt Goss at the Smith Center

Leila Navidi

Matt Goss watches dancers rehearse before his sound check during rehearsal with Nevada Ballet Theatre at the Smith Center in Las Vegas on Wednesday, May 2, 2012.

Matt Goss at London's Royal Albert Hall

Caesars Palace headliner Matt Goss performs at Royal Albert Hall in London on Oct. 21, 2011. Launch slideshow »

The Kats Report will be moving in a mobile fashion shortly, heading to meet up with The D Las Vegas chieftain Derek Stevens at the hotel’s Longbar. This is where dreams come true, and in December the flamboyant Stevens made a $20,000 bet on Michigan State at the Golden Nugget.

The futures wager meant that should the Spartans win the NCAA title, which is a long shot, of course, Stevens would win $1 million and Golden Nugget owner Tilman Fertitta would win a year’s supply of Rolaids.

Onward:

• Quick quiz: Over the past six months, Steve Wynn and Jerry Lewis have been in the audience (on different nights) at which Caesars Palace show?

Matt Goss at The Gossy Room at Cleopatra’s Barge.

Goss took his fifth anniversary at the oddly designed and moated music enclave that also last week hosted the roaring “Absinthe” fourth-anniversary party. Every so often, I hear murmurs that the Barge will be disassembled (and, likely, dried out) in favor of a new concept, but the Goss show continues to power along like a Beneteau luxury yacht. Maybe it’s time to stop overthinking that room and show. It’s a fun hang, and Goss has never seemed more comfortable and confident onstage than he was Friday night.

The production’s original producer, Robin Antin of Pussycat Dolls, was in the audience. Goss pointed her out and noted that their professional partnership had ended but that they remain friends. Goss has shuffled his musicians over the years and recently dropped one of his backup singers (just one was onstage Friday), but the show is still musically great and Goss still ably fits the role of Las Vegas crooner. We sang along and also smiled at the onslaught of Dirty Virgins in showgirls’ costumes who descended on our table. You know it’s a great night in VegasVille when you are plucking white feathers out of your suit …

Claire Sinclair + Sabina Kelley

Claire Sinclair (Nice in white) and Sabina Kelley (Naughty in red) rehearse for Launch slideshow »

• The dual headlining appearance by Claire Sinclair and Sabina Kelley in “Pin Up” at the Stratosphere was an exercise in fascination. Kelley is billed as a guest star, which she is through April 12, but she is without a doubt a co-star of the show in this limited engagement. Kelley performs several solo numbers in the “Naughty & Nice” concept, with Sinclair assuming the “Nice” role (and dang, she wears the halo well).

Known for her role as a judge on “Best Ink” on Oxygen, Kelley boasts an impressive following, form and performance background as a former member of the “Jubilee” cast. She took a striptease solo in the show’s sofa scene and also took over the October number as the witch who spins a big spoon around a caldron and (spoiler alert!) produces a green-shirted Ryan Kelsey.

The turnout for Thursday’s show was legitimately strong, boosted as it was by the large collection of rockabilly types in town for Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend (Sinclair and Kelley are popular among rockabilly devotees).

The contrast between the two visually is obvious, as Kelley’s body is a canvas of tattoos, while Sinclair has never been inked. What producers and the two stars need to establish in these co-headlining appearances is that this is still Sinclair’s and she is the month-to-month star, in the show’s calendar format and also through the year.

Summoning such a powerful presence as Kelley makes that a challenge, but as long as the box office is abuzz, it is a noble effort.

• Raja Rahman is sometimes asked if he is really playing piano onstage. His answer is some version of, “I studied at Julliard, so, yes, I play live.” No tracks for this artist, known as half of the Jarrett & Raja music-and-magic team that appeared on “America’s Got Talent” three years ago.

Putting his classical chops on full exhibition, Raja is fronting “Raja and Friends in Concert” at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Clark County Library Theater. The performance is a unique sponsorship among Make-a-Wish Southern Nevada, Nevada Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts and Southern Nevada Music. Joining Raja (pronounced “Raja!”) are some righteous artists: violin great Dee Ann Letourneau of “Steve Wynn’s Showstoppers” and first chair of the L.V. Philharmonic; Grammy-nominated violinist and arrangers Ralph Farris, who has served as music director for Roger Daltrey and is an original member of “The Lion King” orchestra on Broadway; and cellist Dena Massaro of “O” at Bellagio.

Expect performances of Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata, Chopin’s “Revolutionary” Etude, Dvorak’ “Dumky” Trio and Hindemith’s Sonata No. 4 for Viola and Piano, among other pieces.

The music you hear will be live, too. They don’t teach tracks at Julliard School.

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.

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