Monday, April 2, 2007 | 7:12 a.m.
On April Fools' Day, George Wallace had the best "gotcha" of all.
"April Fools! Sly Stone showed up!" Wallace said with a loud laugh on Sunday, which was not just April Fools' Day but a day after Wallace beat the odds by booking the latest version of Sly and The Family Stone for a performance at the Flamingo Las Vegas Showroom. The one-out performance followed Wallace's usual 10 p.m. (or in this case, 10:30 p.m.) stand-up act at before a packed house of about 500.
Amid widespread skepticism that the performance would not transpire, Stone did show up as promised, sauntering onstage after his band played a four-song medley and moving like a bedazzled praying mantis. Stone, still mischievous at age 64, dressed for the occasion, donning a black sequined suit with black platform shoes and red heels, a red sequined shirt, a black belt with a giant rectangular plate reading "Sly," a black stocking cap, a neck brace and big, white Dolce & Gabbana shades.
That neck brace was not for show, and is a serious concern. Ken Roberts, Stone's original manager who worked with the artist from 1968-74, said during the show that for the past two years Stone has had a growth on the back of his neck that has gone untreated because Stone fears visiting a doctor. Thus, he was hunched over like a question mark and appeared uncommonly frail.
Nonetheless, Stone stayed for about half an hour, poking at the synthesizer and running through many of the band's funk anthems, including "Stand," "Family Affair," "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" "If You Want Me To Stay" and "Higher." His voice was strong and he seemed charged up at the experience, even moving to the edge of the stage to greet his amped-up fans.
According to Roberts, it was Stone's first Vegas show since a 1972 appearance at the Las Vegas Convention Center . Stone's long history of cocaine addiction, erratic behavior and arrests stemming from a combination of the two had reduced him to a virtual recluse for two decades. But Wallace doggedly pursued the artist, primarily through Stone's sister and backup vocalist Vet , to perform in the same capacity as have Jerry Seinfeld, Cedric the Entertainer, Chris Tucker and Earl Turner, among others, as part of Wallace's showcase.
Of course, Stone is a special case, and Wallace kept track of the funk master until the rest of the band hit town Saturday afternoon. One source said Wallace spent much of Saturday telling a hung-over Stone jokes to keep him pacified, but Wallace said he was only making sure the performer was "kept comfortable" in his suite.
NoteMart
Anniversaries of note in "Mystere" at Treasure Island. Aerial cube artist (which looks great on a resume, I'm told) Paul Bowler celebrated 10 years in the show on Friday. Saturday was guitarist Bruce Rickerd's 55th birthday. More impressive, Rickerd has not missed a single performance in 6,305 shows, the only cast member to achieve that feat. ...
Beverage servers at the Flamingo Showroom are proud that they were able to talk management into offering 1-liter bottles of Fiji water for $5. It used to be the little 11-ounce bottles were sold at that price, which irked a lot of show-goers. But the mark-up is still significant: The official Fiji Web site is selling cases of 12 1-liter bottles for $26.50, or $2.21 a bottle. ...
A reader with item eyes spots a plate on a grey Infiniti: TAXXPRT.
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