‘Mutant’ bluegrass set to reappear on Vegas scene

By Jerry Fink (contact)

Friday, April 4, 2008 | 2 a.m.

The Pickadillos are a local “newgrass” group that calls its music “mutant bluegrass that rocks.”

I experienced the group — which put a contemporary twist on the traditional American genre — about two years ago at the Freakin’ Frog, a hangout across from UNLV on South Maryland Parkway.

Almost everyone who heard the group was impressed with the vitality of the music, whether a bluegrass fan or not.

The Pickadillos fell off the Vegas music map about a year ago.

For those who have been wondering what happened, you can find out April 17 when they join a lineup of acoustic entertainment at the House of Blues for Michael Soli’s weekly showcase, “Acoustic Strip.” Doors open at 8:45 p.m. Admission is free.

Pickadillos founder Steve Harder-Kucera moved to Las Vegas from Santa Rosa, Calif., about six years ago. He says the Pickadillos have many new members but the sound remains awesome.

Fator factor

Ventriloquist, singer, comedian and impressionist Terry Fator bucks the trend of adult entertainment in Las Vegas with his family-friendly show.

He’s at the Las Vegas Hilton three days each month — the next engagement is April 23-25.

You won’t see any topless puppets or hear off-color jokes. It’s just Fator and his cast of dummies who do impressions of singers such as Etta James and Roy Orbison.

His popularity doesn’t seem to have waned since he won the $1 million jackpot on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.” (Fator got more TV exposure on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” on March 17.) Every performance is packed with enthusiastic fans.

He’s loving it. No one seems to be enjoying himself more onstage than the native of Mesquite, Texas, who spent 32 years playing the county fair circuit before making the big time.

His comedy is a little on the corny side and he is a decent-but-not-great singer, but he is an extraordinary ventriloquist and impressionist — and his combined talents make for a unique show that seems fresh every time you see it.

Fator doesn’t cut corners. He and Winston the Impersonating Turtle and Emma Taylor and Walter T. Airdale and the rest of the crew aren’t alone up there. He has a six-piece band backing him when he sings and, to close the show, a chorus line of showgirls who remind us that this is, after all, Las Vegas and not Mesquite, Texas.

Jazz buzz

Keep your ears open for a new jazz supper club scheduled to open in early May. Chicago transplant Regina Edwards is renovating the space formerly occupied by Cafe Nicolle, 4760 W. Sahara Ave.

The Caylix Jazz Supper Club will feature a house band and local vocalist Tony Terry. Edwards also plans to bring in national headliners to perform.

Edwards says she has signed Chicago artist Terisa Griffin to be a guest headliner for the club’s first six months.

The soon-to-open club is a little off the beaten path — in a shopping mall on the northeast corner of Sahara Avenue and Decatur Boulevard, but fans have been finding their way there for years.

The renovation will pop your eyes out. Very elegant.

New Borders

Texas Gov. Rick Perry will be at the new Borders bookstore at the Town Square shopping center today.

Perry will be signing his book, “On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts Are Worth Fighting For.”

It’s all part of the grand opening of the store, in the shopping center near South Las Vegas Boulevard and I-215. Festivities run from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. today through Sunday. Other authors will be on hand to sign their books, including John Huddy (“Storming Las Vegas”), in addition to musicians, magicians, candy sampling and contests.