Arts & Entertainment - Las Vegas Sun

Chris Morris

Grifﬁn’s here and she’s lettin’ it fly: COMEDY: And she’s just been dying to see her wax figure; Fri, Jul 3, 2009 (2 a.m.); By Joe Brown; Emmy-winning, Grammy-nominated comedian Kathy Griffin was immortalized in Las Vegas on Thursday night with her own wax figure at Madame Tussauds at the Venetian.

Strip performer is eBay high bidder for Elvis ring: Saturday, July 4, 2009; By Jerry Fink; Pete “Big Elvis” Vallee, who performs at Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Casino on the Strip, was eBay’s high bidder this week for a ring designed by Elvis Presley.

Jay-Z lights up Las Vegas, lives life to the max: MUSIC: Rival NFL players unite for performance, party at Palms; Saturday, July 4, 2009; By Melissa Arseniuk; They say music unites us all and Jay-Z did just that last night, as a handful of NFL rivals put aside their professional differences and took in the rapper’s performance from the same VIP box at the Palms.

Technicians’ toil to spell fireworks spectacular: Fourth of July: Station Casinos puts finishing touches on annual celebration; Friday, July 3, 2009; By Amanda Finnegan; For Grucci’s of New York, 1,500 man-hours will boil down to a mere nine minutes Saturday night. The first family of fireworks has spent the last four days atop nine Station Casino rooftops in the hottest temperatures of the year preparing for the Fourth of July fireworks display. The show will be a tribute to American musicians.

Holiday weekend brings celebs to Las Vegas: CELEBRITY SIGHTINGS: LeBron James, Jay-Z, Jamie Foxx, Audrina Patridge among those expected; Friday, July 3, 2009; By Melissa Arseniuk; It’s the Fourth of July and that can only mean one thing: star-studded party time in Las Vegas.

Don’t expect to get a peek at latest ‘Peepshow’ star: STAGE PRODUCTIONS:; Friday, July 3, 2009; By Jerry Fink; The two newest additions to “Peepshow” — former Playboy model Holly Madison and Broadway star Shoshana Bean — are sharp contrasts.

Poker players party Playboy-style: WSOP: Pros Roland De Wolfe, Neil Channing and Tony Bloom among the party-hardy, poker-playing crowd at the Palms; Thursday, July 2, 2009; By Melissa Arseniuk; Professional poker players packed into a Playboy-inspired suite at the Palms last night and raised their glasses in celebration of World Series of Poker’s imminent main event.

Tropicana hosting salsa music and dance festival: Thursday, July 2, 2009; By Sarah Feldberg; While the Strip prepares to celebrate Independence Day this weekend, the Tropicana will be moving to a decidedly Latin beat. From July 2-4, the hotel and casino is playing host to the Sixth Annual Las Vegas Salsa Congress, a music and dance festival that brings together salsa fans, professionals and wannabes for two days of workshops, three nights of shows and a weekend-long dance party.

Revisiting the building blocks of their career: ARCHITECTURE:; Thursday, July 2, 2009; By Kristen Peterson; It’s 100 degrees. Everyone is sweating.

‘Painter of Light,’ not right: art:; Thursday, July 2, 2009; By Joe Brown; Thomas Kinkade, the “Painter of Light”(TM) who describes himself as “America’s most collected artist,” recently rendered Las Vegas in a painting that went on sale this week.

Annual Damboree Celebration bringing town together: Boulder City:; Thursday, July 2, 2009; By Torey Van Oot; The early settlers of Boulder City knew how to throw a party. “We, all the families, made sure to have celebrations and events to bring us together. Those first years were a struggle,” Erma Godbey, one of the city’s first settlers, wrote in her memoir about the early 1930s.

Despite bad economy, annual Damboree sees no cutbacks: Thursday, July 2, 2009; By Torey Van Oot; Organizers of the Boulder City Damboree say the festival’s celebration coffers have remained strong, despite the dwindling economy. “We didn’t make any cuts this year. We were very fortunate in that respect,” Damboree Committee Chairman Roger Hall said.

Letter from Mayor Tobler: Damboree a time to celebrate BC: Thursday, July 2, 2009; Roger Tobler, Mayor of Boulder City; Independence Day is a time of strong traditions and deep patriotism in Boulder City. One of the things I’m most grateful for and that brings me the most pride in our community is that we take the time to work, celebrate and remember — together.

BC Veterans Pilot Group helping Damboree take off: Thursday, July 2, 2009; By Jinae West; Before retired Air Force pilot Mike Smith took off, he smiled into his headset and said, jokingly, “You know, I haven’t had much experience doing this.” The engine of his RV-7/7A airplane roared. “Just 45 years,” he said.

Miss Boulder City to make first appearance at July 4 parade: Thursday, July 2, 2009; By Jinae West; Michelle Coe said her friends jokingly refer to her as “Miss B.C.” or “Miss Boulder City.” “It’s like they’re making fun of me, but I won’t take that,” Coe said, smiling. “I just proudly nod my head and say, ‘Yes, I am.’”

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The Kats Report: LV Phil 'Spectacular' at Springs Preserve was great -- for the music: A couple of big screens on either side of the stage was a meager replica of the actual fireworks blasting across the valley.

The Kats Report: It's the fourth, it's the Phil, but it is not fireworks: The LV Phil has moved from Hills Park to Springs Preserve, and the show is "green," with lights replacing pyrotechnics.

Joe Brown: Kathy Griffin carted off Las Vegas stage: Now, here's the thing: Say you're Emmy-winning, Grammy-nominated comedian Kathy Griffin, and you've just unveiled your own wax figure at Madame Tussauds the night before ...

‘Love’ is constant, ‘Love’ is stunning: At last, a Vegas show that restores your virginity.

‘Zumanity’ sates the senses: Maybe “Zumanity” isn’t Cirque du Soleil’s best-selling resident show on the Vegas Strip.

‘Ka’ is an adventure for the eyes: What would contemporary Las Vegas be without Cirque du Soleil?

‘O’ is elegant watersport: How do you follow an act that forever changed the face of entertainment in Las Vegas?

'Mystere': First Cirque a Treasure still: “Mystere” is Cirque Classique. The first Cirque du Soleil spectacle to make a permanent home on the Las Vegas Strip, it’s still No. 1 in ...

Illusion is elusive in Angel's 'Believe': No wonder. That — among its many, more obvious failings — is the fatal flaw at the heart of “Criss Angel: Believe.” There’s just no ...

A show stuck in time: There are thousands of hardworking showbiz people in Las Vegas. But the hardest jobs may belong to the five musicians who have to stand behind ...

‘The Lion King’ brought to life: Before even taking measure of the uncompromised quality of “The Lion King” as a theatrical experience, it’s worth noting that the arrival of this Disney-produced ...

'Peepshow': Topless revue has lots of form, scant function: At last, Las Vegas has a strip club you can take your wife to. Or your girlfriend. Or your “delivered to your room” date for ...

David Copperfield: Older, humbler, better: While a pair of ladies of a certain age are dominating the Colosseum at Caesars, across the street, David Copperfield and Tom Jones are turning ...

Danny Gans: Here, he’s Mr. Close Enough: Mention Gans anywhere else in the country and you’ll likely be answered with a puzzled look. How did this genial guy, a singing impressionist, become ...

Carrot Top: Anything for a laugh, and his frenetic formula works: Bratty, juvenile, sophomoric — and oddly lovable — Carrot Top’s got you even before you can get used to that face, with more jokes compressed ...