Columnist Jerry Fink: Avenue’s high hopes realized at Stratosphere

Friday, Oct. 5, 2001 | 7:52 a.m.

Jerry Fink's lounge column appears on Fridays. Reach him at 259-4058 or jerry@ lasvegassun.com.

Most Las Vegas lounge entertainers look beyond their audience and see in the background a roomful of slot machines.

Avana Christie's distractions are a little more dramatic -- helicopters hovering outside the window with passengers staring in at her: car wrecks, traffic jams, house fires, lightning.

"We see just about everything that happens anywhere in Las Vegas," she said.

Christie is half of the duo Avenue -- the other half is Girvin Denole. For the past 15 months the popular entertainers have had an eagle's eye view of Las Vegas from the 107th floor of the Stratosphere. She is the lead vocalist. He sings and plays keyboard.

The city surrounds the duo like an ocean. At night waves of light stretch to the edge of every horizon, creating the most intoxicating view of Las Vegas imaginable.

Almost everyone who dares to take the ride to the top of the tallest tower west of the Mississippi River is awestruck by the view. Words are inadequate to describe the feeling that one gets while sitting in the lounge that almost touches the clouds, staring through the wall of windows.

"The view is entertaining in its own way," Christie said.

"It never gets old," Denole said. "It's inspiring."

One of the things it inspires is romance.

"It's a very romantic spot," Denole said. "A lot of romanticizing goes on here."

"It's the most romantic spot in Las Vegas," Christie said.

While Avenue can play it all -- jazz, blues, R&B, samba, raggae, rock 'n' roll, standards -- it tends to soften the sounds to enhance the romantic mood inspired by the altitude.

"We play a little bit of everything," Christie said. "The difference up here is that we know when to tone it down because of the romantic atmosphere."

Where there is a chance for romance, there are pickup lines -- old ones, new ones, corny ones, smooth ones.

Want to make a wish upon a light? There are billions to choose from. How about naming a star after that special lady?

"You don't want to know all the lines we've heard up here," Denole chuckled.

Christie said she was nervous the first time she rode the elevator to the top.

"I have to be honest," she said. "I was just a little bit scared when I first started. Heights are not one of my main things. A lot of people won't come up here because of the height.

"But where we stand onstage helps me. We aren't too close to the windows."

Below the lounge, on the 106th floor, is the rotating Top of the World Restaurant.

Above the lounge is the observation deck. Above the deck, more than 900 feet off the ground, is a roller coaster that makes the lounge tremble when the cars race around the 865-foot track.

And above the roller coaster is Big Shot -- the ride that takes you up an additional 160 feet in two seconds and then drops you to the platform.

Some Stratosphere visitors come for the rides, some for the restaurant and some for the music. They all come for the view.

"We have a flowing crowd in the lounge," Denole said. "We're actually playing for the restaurant, but toward the end of the night it's more of a party atmosphere because we are playing for the lounge."

Before playing among the stars, Denole and Christie were performing in the Orchid Lounge at Mandalay Bay. Before that they played at casinos all over town.

"Here's a little trivia for you," Denole said. "We played the last week in the Sands before they blew it up. We were scheduled to perform there on the last day, but they canceled all the entertainment to blow it up."

The Sands was imploded in 1996. They arrived in 1995.

"It took us three months to get started because we didn't know anybody," Christie said. "But since we got started, we've been working constantly ever since."

In addition to performing, Denole writes music and produces for other artists. He and Christie recently completed the CD "Avana is On" for Itty Bitty Soundz of Las Vegas.

Denole and Christie have been musical partners for more than 10 years. They put their act together in Atlanta, which was their base for gigs all over the world.

"We played at some amazing places, especially in Japan," Denole said, "but it's hard to top this."

After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, the Stratosphere closed briefly.

"The whole city slowed down," Denole said. "However, here at the Top of the World it was only a couple of days and then it picked right back up."

He didn't feel threatened by the terrorism on the other side of the continent.

"Man, this is Las Vegas. It has no strategic value. You bang the Stratosphere Tower and you only kill a restaurant, and that ain't going to change the world."

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