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T A B L E
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The Beverly Theater
The Writer’s Block
Photos by Steve Marcus dfskjdhfksjhdfkjshkdjfhk (Courtesy)
COVER STORY
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The Beverly Theater and the Writer’s Block make space for arts to thrive Downtown and beyond. COVER ART Photo illustration
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WEEKLY Q&A Ivory Star Productions’ John Bentham brings boutique shows to the Rio.
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SPORTS The Golden Knights have an uphill climb before their season opener.
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NEWS The Center has acquired two nonprofits helping people living with HIV.
ART Scrambled Eggs art collective mixes up Vegas’ gallery scene.
MUSIC Twin Temple delivers its “unabashedly Satanic” brand of doo-wop at Area15.
FOOD & DRINK Carolina’s Mexican Kitchen is every bit as good as it looks.
Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats bring doom metal to Area15, bicycle lovers gather at Pedal Fest at Floyd Lamb Park and more happening this week. Want More? Visit lasvegasweekly.com.
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SUPERGUIDE THURSDAY SEPT 17 COME FROM AWAY Thru 9/19, 7:30 p.m., Spring Mountain Ranch, supersummer theatre.org.
DO IT ALL
DISNEY’S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Thru 9/20, 7:30 p.m. (& 9/199/20, 2 p.m.), Reynolds Hall, the smithcenter.com. MASTERS OF MIXOLOGY COMPETITION 6 p.m., Cabinet of Curiosities, thecabinetlv.com.
SANTANA 7 p.m., & 9/199/20, 9/23-9/24, House of Blues, ticketmaster.com. SLAUGHTER TO PREVAIL With Rev3rent, 8 p.m., Pearl Theater, axs.com.
FRIDAY SEPT 18 DAVVN 8 p.m., Swan Dive, dice.fm.
WYNN REVELRY Thru 9/20, times vary, Wynn, lasvegasrevelry.com.
HYBRID MINDS 10 p.m., Substance, eventim.us.
LUCKY ACES WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL INVITATIONAL Thru 9/20, times vary, Orleans Arena, ticketmaster.com. EAGLES 8:30 p.m., & 9/19, Sphere, ticketmaster.com.
HUNTER HAYES 7 p.m., & 9/18, Myron’s, thesmithcenter. com.
SAMMY HAGAR 8 p.m., & 9/19, 9/23, Dolby Live, ticketmaster.com. IHEARTRADIO MUSIC FESTIVAL With BTS, Benson Boone, Cardi B, more, 7:30 p.m., & 9/19, T-Mobile Arena, axs.com. MARC ANTHONY 9 p.m., & 9/19, BleauLive Theater, ticketmaster.com.
Courtesy/The Smith Center for the Performing Arts
S U P E R G U I D E
WEIRD AL YANKOVIC With Puddles Pity Party, 8 p.m., MGM Grand Garden Arena, axs.com.
AMERICA 8 p.m., Resorts World Theatre, axs.com. SCORPIONS 8 p.m., & 9/21, 9/23, 9/25, PH Live, ticketmaster.com. THE ISLEY BROTHERS 8 p.m., Pearl Theater, axs.com. KEYSHIA COLE 8 p.m., Encore Theater, ticketmaster.com. DARIUS RUCKER 8 p.m., Sandbar at Red Rock, ticketmaster.com. BEAR MCCREARY 7:30 p.m., House of Blues, ticketmaster.com. SEVENDUST & THEORY OF A DEADMAN With Return to Dust, 7:30 p.m., Bel-Aire Backyard, axs.com. CARDI B 10 p.m., On the Record, ontherecordlv.com.
UNCLE ACID & THE DEADBEATS Imagine an eldritch wizard astride a dragon, emerging from some deep cosmic abyss: Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats would be the scene’s soundtrack. These British psych-doom legends channel early Black Sabbath with fuzz, deep riffs and plenty of their own proto-metal execution. Early into its career, the band held tight to its anonymity, allowing the music to speak for itself while drawing endless curiosity. But now, you’re invited to succumb to the almost unsettling noise and lean into the band’s horror cult-like lyricism alongside fellow doom metalers. And you’d be remiss to not give the Italian opening act Messa your ears as they draw forth their own spell of scarlet doom. 7 p.m., $40+, the Portal at Area15, area15.com. –Gabriela Rodriguez
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MUSIC
PARTY
ARTS
SPORTS
L A S V E G A S W E E K LY
FOOD
COMEDY
MISC
SATURDAY SEPT 19 LAS VEGAS LIGHTS VS. HARTFORD ATHLETIC 7:30 p.m., Cashman Field, lasvegaslightsfc.com. AFAN BLACK & WHITE PARTY 8 p.m., Kaos Nightclub, afanlv.org. AUTUMN PLANT SALE 9 a.m., Springs Preserve, springspreserve.org. FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH With Cody Jinks, Eva Under Fire, 6:45 p.m., Michelob Ultra Arena, axs.com. WORLD OF WARCRAFT: 20 YEARS OF MUSIC 8 p.m., Resorts World Theatre, axs.com. ANTHONY HAMILTON With Musiq Soulchild, 8 p.m., Theater at Virgin, axs.com. STARBOMB With DJ Commander Meouch, 7 p.m., Brooklyn Bowl, ticketmaster.com. JO KOY 8 p.m., the Colosseum, ticketmaster.com. Courtesy
PEDAL FEST Celebrate the beginning of fall and all things cycling at the Southern Nevada Pedal Fest. Hosted by Southwest Bikes and the Southern Nevada Mountain Bike Association, the day brings together enthusiasts of all levels for a day of riding on scenic mountain bike and gravel trails at Floyd Lamb Park. Attendees can enjoy watching the Gravel Criterium Race, participate in guided rides, check out demonstration bikes and workshops, and take advantage of on-site bike maintenance, a beer garden, food trucks and other vendors. 9 a.m., free, Floyd Lamb Park, eventbrite.com. –Shannon Miller
ADAM HAWLEY 8 p.m., Side Lawn at Sunset Station, ticketmaster.com. CHOIR BOY With Foliage and Spelling Hands, 9 p.m., Backstage Bar & Billiards, eventim.us. CASH CRAWFORD 10 p.m., Stoney’s North Forty, tixr.com. PURE SINALOA 10 a.m., Palms Pool, palms.com.
KATHY GRIFFIN 8 p.m., Criss Angel Theater, ticketmaster.com. MOJO BROOKZZ 10 p.m., Palazzo Theatre, ticketmaster.com. STEVE AOKI 11 a.m., Omnia Daylub, taogroup.com. TIËSTO 11:30 a.m., LIV Beach, livnightclub.com. BLOND:ISH 11 a.m., Palm Tree Beach Club, taogroup.com. PARADISE FEVER TAKEOVER 11 a.m., Rouge La Plage, rougeroomlv.com. BOOTS ‘N BEATS COUNTRY EDM POOL PARTY 8 p.m., Bel-Aire Backyard, axs.com. SNOOP DOGG 10:30 p.m., Hakkasan Nightclub, taogroup.com. MARSHMELLO 10:30 p.m., Encore Beach Club, wynnsocial.com. LOUIS THE CHILD 10:30 p.m., Omnia Nightclub, taogroup.com. KAS:ST 10 p.m., Discopussy, tixr.com. DJ PAULY D 10:30 p.m., Marquee Nightclub, taogroup.com.
F O R M O R E U P C O M I N G E V E N T S , V I S I T L A S V E G A S W E E K LY.C O M .
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SUPERGUIDE SUNDAY SEPT 20
MONDAY SEPT 21
MONDAYS DARK .00005K MARATHON Not a runner? There’s still a “marathon” for you. Las Vegas’ premier variety show for a cause, Mondays Dark, is throwing “the most achievable athletic event in human history.” The challenge? Being somewhere by noon and making it through a very short race. “You show up, you walk, you get a medal. That’s it. That’s the race. Also, there’s free beer,” says Mark Shunock, Mondays Dark executive director, in a concise statement. After the grueling workout, stay for a Raiders watch party, food trucks and a surprise halftime performance. Start training now! Or not. Noon, $30, the Space, thespacelv.com. –Shannon Miller
PARTY PUPILS: YACHT HOUSE 11 a.m., Marquee Dayclub, taogroup.com.
LAS VEGAS ACES VS. SEATTLE STORM 6 p.m., Michelob Ultra Arena, axs. com. VEGAS ROCKS MAGAZINE MUSIC AWARDS 7:30 p.m., Orleans Showroom, ticketmaster.com. GOLDEN TIKI SKULL ISLAND POP-UP 7 p.m., Taco Escobar, tacoescobarlv. com. GEOFF TATE’S OPERATION MINDCRIME 7:30 p.m., Theater at Virgin, axs.com. S U P E R G U I D E
BELMONT With Super Sometimes, Public Works, 5 p.m., Grey Witch, dice.fm.
Photos courtesy
GET THE LED OUT 6:30 p.m., Brooklyn Bowl, ticketmaster.com. SPECTRUM 6 p.m., Myron’s, thesmithcenter. com. DAYBREAKER SOBER MORNING DANCE PARTY 9 a.m., Omnia Dayclub, taogroup.com. SHIMZA 11:30 a.m., LIV Beach, livnightclub.com. DJ FRANZEN 10:30 p.m., Tao Nightclub, taogroup.com.
EXHIBIT: DESERT PEOPLES: WORDS FROM ANCESTORS Thru 11/19, Mon.-Thu. 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Las Vegas City Hall Grand Gallery, lasvegasnevada.gov. EXHIBIT: BEYOND THE FENCE: ARTWORK BY ROBIN STARK Thru 11/24, Mon.-Fri. 1-5 p.m., Nevada Humanities Program Gallery, nevada humanities.org. LYLE THE THERAPY GECKO 7 p.m., Wiseguys, wiseguyscomedy. com. JOSH SNEED With Jimmy McMurrin, Rudy Pavich, thru 9/23, 8 p.m., Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club, mgmgrand.com. TRIXX Thru 9/27, 8 p.m., LA Comedy Club, bestvegascomedy. com. KATY MONROE 7 p.m., Maxan Jazz, maxanjazz.com. VICE 10:30 p.m., Marquee Nightclub, taogroup.com.
DO IT ALL
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MUSIC
TUESDAY SEPT 22
PARTY
ARTS
PCL CHAMPIONSHIP: LAS VEGAS AVIATORS VS. TBD Thru 9/24, 7:05 p.m., Las Vegas Ballpark, ticketmaster.com. THE MIDNIGHT With Bonnie McKee, 7 p.m., Brooklyn Bowl, ticketmaster.com.
COMEDY
MISC
LUCKI With Sk8star, 8 p.m., Theater at Virgin, axs.com. JIMMY JAM & TERRY LEWIS 8 p.m., & 9/25-9/26, Voltaire, ticketmaster.com. TWIN TEMPLE With Frankie and the Witch Fingers, 7 p.m., the Portal at Area15, area15.com.
BRASS QUEENS 7 p.m., Myron’s, thesmithcenter. com.
JONATHAN KARRANT 7 p.m., Myron’s, thesmithcenter.com.
ROTTENNESS With Recorrupter, 8 p.m., the Griffin, dice.fm.
NATALY AUKAR 7 p.m., Wiseguys, wiseguyscomedy. com.
MIKEY FRANCIS 10:30 p.m., Omnia Nightclub, taogroup.com.
LOOK AHEAD
FOOD
WEDNESDAY SEPT 23
CHARLOTTE SANDS 7 p.m., the Wall at Area15, area15.com.
LAS VEGAS ACES VS. LOS ANGELES SPARKS 7 p.m., Michelob Ultra Arena, axs.com.
SPORTS
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TWO FRIENDS 10:30 p.m., Encore Beach Club, wynnsocial.com. CHRIS GARCIA 10:30 p.m., Marquee Nightclub, taogroup.com.
SATURDAY SEPT 26
S P OT L I G H T E V E N T
30TH ANNUAL WÜRST FESTIVAL The 30th annual Würst Festival returns Saturday, September 26, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Bicentennial Park in downtown Boulder City. Hosted by Sunrise Rotary, the day features more than 4,000 brats, sausages and hot dogs, food trucks, beer and margaritas, plus live music and entertainment. Car enthusiasts can check out hundreds of vehicles at the Würst Dam Car Show while shoppers browse up to 40 antique vendors. The festivities also include a lively live auction from 4 to 6 p.m. featuring vacation packages, sports memorabilia, automobiles and more. Proceeds benefit Sunrise Rotary’s community projects, including the alcohol- and drug-free All Night Graduation Party for Boulder City High School seniors. bcsr.org/wurst-festival/ *Spotlight events are sponsored F O R M O R E U P C O M I N G E V E N T S , V I S I T L A S V E G A S W E E K LY.C O M .
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Ivory Star Productions’ John Bentham brings boutique shows and brunch fun to the Rio BY BROCK RADKE he Rio Hotel & Casino has been undergoing significant changes since pandemic-era new ownership took over, and the latest update is adding extra dimension to one of the most diverse entertainment lineups at any Las Vegas resort. It already boasted Penn & Teller, The Empire Strips Back, WOW – The Vegas Spectacular and the Comedy Cellar before Ivory Star Productions brought some boutique shows to the off-Strip spot, and now a venue refresh has set the stage for even more fun. John Bentham, founder and producer, launched Ivory Star more than two decades back, bringing a creative array of shows to multiple casinos. At the Rio, Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding and Faaabulous! The Ultimate Drag Brunch Show have been satisfying audiences for months, but renovations at The Venue have created two separate showrooms capable of additional immersive entertainment experiences. This month, Ivory Star is introducing Punk Rock Brunch and Haunted Brunch, offering more bang for your brunch buck and live stage experiences you won’t find elsewhere. Bentham took a break to talk with the Weekly about the value of these kinds of shows and the overall entertainment landscape.
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Q + A
more, coming to town and being more frugal because of the economic times. But when big shows close, it takes big dreams to replace them. Sometimes that’s how incredible dreams come to fruition.
What is it about the Rio and this revamped venue there that make the space a great fit for your shows? They have a vision for the property and want to bring back some of the incredible things the Rio always was about. There’s not a lot of spaces where you can do boutique shows in casinos, especially with a food component. That kind of hearkens back to a day in Vegas that used to be all about combining food and shows and entertainment, and just having fun. We saw these spaces and envisioned how it could be a whole lot more. You founded the company in 2003. How has the entertainment landscape in Las Vegas changed, especially with this size of show, in the 20-plus years since then? It’s changed several times since I moved here in 1999. Entertainers were still getting guarantees from casinos then, but that was starting to die down, and it was start-
Photos by Wade Vandervort
ing to change into four-walls and two-walls and all those variations (where a producer rents the venue for the show). We’ve seen it go from entertainment being the lifeblood of a casino to just one of a dozen amenities casinos have. I think there’s still tremendous value in casinos having entertainment—it helps drive traffic and keeps people on their property, but there are so many more choices now. Some high-profile production shows have closed recently. Does that indicate a bigger shift to other forms of entertainment, or is this all part of a typical cycle? I hope it’s part of a cycle where we constantly reinvent ourselves. You’re seeing it on Broadway, too, where shows come and go and no one makes money because they’re so expensive to develop and sustain. It’s definitely a hard time for entertainment in Vegas with a lot of competition and people just holding onto their dollars
Do these challenging economic times create an opportunity for more affordable entertainment like your shows? When people come to town, there’s 24 hours in the day and they want to maximize their time. Brunch shows and things to do during the day that are entertaining bring a great value, and all our shows are going to be value-based. There’s a really good brunch that’s curated for the show, specialty menus and drinks that fit the theme and don’t break the budget. At Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding, it’s a four-course Italian feast,
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homemade focaccia and salad and a pasta course, fresh vegetables and a protein course and wedding cake for dessert. With the show it’s a two-hour experience, all that for $70 to $80. You also produce Glittering Lights at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, one of the Valley’s great holiday traditions. That seems like a full-time job by itself. Glittering Lights is such a devotion of love from our team to the city. It takes so much time and we never stop creating and thinking about Glittering Lights, year-round. And it’s come to mean so much to so many, so we take it very seriously. But moreover it has become a real source of funding for Speedway Children’s Charities and the benefits of that organization impact so many people.
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Digging into the messy world of pottery is more meditative than you think BY AMBER SAMPSON My experience with pottery goes about as far as the infamous wheel-throwing scene in Ghost, with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. When I disclose this to Gina “G” Sfarzo, who’s leading tonight’s wheel-throwing workshop at Common Ground Pottery, she laughs. “If Patrick Swayze came up behind me and messed up my flow, he and I would have an issue,” says Sfarzo, a potter of 16 years. But that joke gets at something real. “It’s meditative just being able to create with your hands and take it slow,” she says. “Pottery is a lot of patience. You cannot rush anything.” Half-expecting the clay-smudged cinematics of a Hollywood film, instead, I find something closer to therapy. For two hours, I’m forced to be more present than ever. My mind quiets as I fixate on this messy affair. Spinning cold, wet clay demands total attention, from my thighs down to my feet, which control the electric pedal. It’s almost like an animal—soft yet firm, wobbling under your fingers, resisting my will. And then something incredible happens. I relinquish a bit of control, and suddenly that stubborn clay starts to respond to my hands, rising and settling into its form. The tactility grounds me. But the absorption isn’t just internal. It’s social, too. Others at their wheel-throwing stations laugh, share tips and show off their creations. It’s a celebratory space for us beginners. We’ve tamed the muddy beast and now we’re enjoying our spoils. “The biggest thing for me is the community,” says Sfarzo. “I love teaching. I love working with people one-on-one or in big groups.” She says there’s nothing more rewarding than creating something with your hands that can live beyond the studio. Perhaps it’s a vase. A coffee cup. Or a bird feeder. At Common Ground Pottery, all of those creations are possible. The studio offers ceramic wall-hanger classes, ramen bowl workshops, kids clubs and more. And with its new Southwest location opening on September 19, there are even more ways to get involved. By the end of the night, I’m covered in mud—and so are all my new pottery friends. We all talk about taking Common Ground’s four-week courses, where you learn to throw, trim, Animal House Pottery carve and glaze creations from start to 3355 Clayton St. #44, finish. Few hobbies force you to slow 702-752-9560, down like pottery. But I’ve never been animalhousepottery.com. in more of a rush to return. Clay Arts Vegas 1353 Arville St., 702-375-4147, COMMON GROUND POTTERY clayartsvegas.com.
Other places to perfect your pottery
10895 S. Eastern Ave., #160, 725-254-5094, commongroundpottery.com. Wednesday-Monday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Oasis Pottery 5160 S. Eastern Ave. #D, (702) 409-1358, oasispottery.com.
Keep it tight.
Anchor your upper body by locking your thighs in for extra support and keeping your elbows tucked in as the clay molds within your grip. Become one with the machine.
esy urt Co
Easy does it.
Take it easy on the electric pedal. Place it sideways to give you more control and strive for a medium speed to avoid your clay spinning out of alignment—and into someone’s hair.
Embrace the imperfections. Expect that clay to fight back. Apply pressure and soft touch where necessary. Mistakes are mostly fixable, and those imperfections are what make pottery unique.
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C O V E R
S T O R Y
Wade Vandervort
The Writer’s Block and The Beverly Theater hold down the center of a cultural community
BY GEOFF CARTER There’s a bustling cultural district at Sixth Street and Bonneville Avenue. So, so much going on. It’s where you’ll find the city’s most visually unique and well-curated book shop. A purpose-built theater specializing in independent, international and repertory cinema. A small café offering coffee, pastries and a selection of art magazines and literary journals. A music venue with a state-of-the-art sound system … Okay, it’s just two places: The Writer’s Block and the Beverly Theater just next door, but the line between them is fuzzy. They share a benefactor in Beverly Rogers. Authors visiting Writer’s Block often do their readings in the Beverly’s auditorium and its second-floor event space, the Segue. The book shop supplies books for filmmaker events at the Bev. That much crossover? It’s a district. Calling it. If you haven’t yet been to either, this is the best time of year to experience this bustling corner. Fall is when the businesses of the Beverly District build, and generously reward, their ever-growing cultural community. Here’s how they do it.
The Writer’s Block interior by Wade Vandervort; magazine section by Steve Marcus
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“Publishing really activates in the fall,” says Writer’s Block co-owner Drew Cohen. “There’s more big releases and authors on tour.” As always, Writer’s Block is harvesting that bloom. New titles from Tananarive Due, Barbara Kingsolver, Audrey Niffenegger and more are coming to their shelves. Two New York Times-bestselling authors have readings scheduled: V.E. Schwab (October 6) and Stephen Graham Jones (October 16). And several Vegas-made authors will come to Writer’s Block to discuss their desert-inspired works, including Krista Diamond (September 25), Nicholas Russell (September 18), Erin Singer (October 2) and Claire Vaye Watkins (October 9). But it’s fun to go to Writer’s Block without intending to purchase anything at all. Since relocating from its original Fremont Street location in 2019, this book shop and “artificial
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bird sanctuary” has only become more densely stocked, more wonderfully labyrinthine and more populated with avian impostors. The King Pigeon will answer your written questions. The Baron, the real-life shop bunny, will acknowledge your presence or he won’t. And at every turn is a constant reader, perhaps even one you know. Or would like to know. They’re book club buddies you haven’t met, or the kind of tourists you’re happy to see outside of their lane. “I often say that I think some people are in Vegas against their will, for somebody’s bachelor party or whatever. They’re not Strip people. They’re artsy, and they like indie stores like ours,” says co-owner Scott Seeley. “We’ve done our best to provide a unique experience for them, both aesthetically and with Drew’s curation of the books.”
Seeley, who built out much of the interior of Writer’s Block himself— like he did for multiple locations of 826, a nonprofit dedicated to developing young writers—isn’t as visible around the shop as Cohen is from day to day. But like his partner, and many other Writer’s Block employees, he hosts some of the shop’s micro-focused and quirky book clubs. Queer as B**k members read and discuss LGBTQ literature; Tabletops and Tomes is for role-playing gamers; Book Lovers fittingly addresses romance; Drama Book Club plays on the page. You can probably guess what Lewd Lit is about. Seeley’s book clubs, the Bourbon Book Club (books with whiskey pairings) and the Big Book Club (featuring the thick, “important” books you likely haven’t read) are two of the shop’s most long-lived. Long enough
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There, Seeley teaches them bookfor Seeley to recognize it’s not just binding under somewhat heightabout bourbon or books. ened circumstances: He tells the “Bourbon Book Club’s been around kids that his boss, The Baron, will for 12 years now. I hear all the time fire him if he doesn’t make 30 or from members of the book clubs that so books by noon. Cohen provides they seek those out so they can meet The Baron’s hectoring voice over like-minded literary people. We get speakers, in a “grotesquely a lot of folks who’ve been inaccurate pan-Eastern coming to the same book THE WRITER’S European accent.” clubs for years and years,” BLOCK Naturally, the kids write, ilSeeley says. “We talk about 519 S. 6th St. lustrate and bind their books, the books for about an hour, #100, 702550-6399, and Seeley’s job is saved. Then and then we just hang out thewritersblock. he introduces them to the real for another half-hour, 45 org. MonBaron, who is floppy-eared minutes. You can see people day-Thursday, and just plain adorbs. But to clicking, not just talking 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Cohen and Seeley, the real about the books, but talking Friday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. magic isn’t in pulling a rabbit about their lives, bonding. out of a spat. It’s in making And I know they often will go kids want to imagine, to out to dinner together after.” create, to write. To inspire the next Fall is also when Writer’s Block generation of author readings. welcomes school field trips. “I like to remind the kids that Students gather in the Codex, the a lot of the things they love start shop’s event and maker space. with writing—their video games, their movies, their TV shows, their cartoons. Everything starts with a script or with a story,” Seeley says. “And we remind them that it’s fun. It’s fun to read. It’s fun to write. We’re not scrutinizing their grammar; we’re not doing any of that. It’s more important to just try to inspire them to want to do it.” LEFT Scott Seeley, left, and Drew Cohen, owners of The Writer’s Block, in their bookstore in Downtown Las Vegas on August 25. (Photo By Steve Marcus)
Store exterior courtesy
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C O V E R
The Beverly Theater’s schedule is always packed solid, but from Labor Day through Thanksgiving, they’re nearly cine-maxed beyond imagination. Last fall, in addition to their dense lineup of independent, international and classic films, they screened shorts from the Sundance Film Festival; debuted Don Hertzfeldt’s Animation Mixtape, an offbeat animation anthology presented by the Beverly’s own distribution company, Ink Films; and dug up a second year of The Wake, their October scary movie fest, packing 50 films into 31 days.
S T O R Y
“We very much are like a teaching theater in that our staff, our production assistants, they all have to know how to do several things at once,” says creative director Kip Kelly. “You have to meet the industry standard of whatever event you’re pulling off at any given time. They need to pull off a film screening, the next day pull off a Q&A, a rental the next day, and then an author reading.” “We have so many moving pieces,” says Alexi Harber, the Beverly’s general manager. “We have at least two concerts coming up; we have weddings and private events; we also have The Wake,
which is probably our busiest month. It’s like a blur, now through the end of the year.” I’d absolutely love to know what the Beverly has planned for those autumn blur months, but Harber and Kelly can’t tell me much. They confirm The Wake is returning but can’t yet reveal which films are screening. And they can say that San Diego’s Foxtide is playing a live show on September 19, and Portland duo New Constellations on October 25. That’s it and that’s all, because unlike similar film houses and venues, which plan months ahead, the Beverly’s advance
scheduling rarely exceeds a fourweek window. “People ask, ‘What do you have coming up next month?’ And I don’t know yet,” Kelly says. “It’s harder to do it this way. It’s easier when a studio who wants a clean screen for three months says, ‘This is all you can play.’ We’d be like, ‘Great, we’re done for the next six months.’ But if we’re committed like that, we can’t do any of the things that make us so nimble.” Nimble is the Bev’s preferred operational state. The theater’s staff adjusts its programming and operations to its community in close to real time. When
THE BEVERLY THEATER 515 S. 6th St., 702-660-3906, thebeverly theater.com. Daily, hours vary.
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BELOW The Beverly Theater’s Kip Kelly, left, creative director, and Alexi Harber, general manager. (Photos by Steve Marcus; Theater room photo courtesy)
inflation motivated us to ditch streaming services, they offered complimentary movie tickets for every dollar of every canceled subscription. When the governor invoked his name to get out of a traffic ticket, the theater offered free admission to anyone who said “I’m Joe Lombardo” at the door. The Beverly seeks to respond to every cultural moment, clocking our joys, frustrations, hopes and anxieties, and responding to them with entertainment. “We’re always creating, always trying to find new ways to introduce things to Las Vegas. And I
think that’s part of the excitement,” Kelly says. “It’s like Alexi says: There’s something new going on here every single day, but what else can we come up with? What else can we invent? Not everything works, but inventing stuff is kind of the juice here.” One such invention is Final Girl Film Club, which Harber created with the Beverly’s marketing manager Ivy Ergunes, a monthly film club aimed at women only—“though we also welcome everyone.” (Kelly interjects to ask how much tickets are for men, and she deadpans, “Five thousand dollars. It’s called the
male tier.”) The next FGFC, Black Swan, alights on September 24. “Really, it’s a thing where a bunch of women can come and watch a film together, then we all hang out upstairs at Segue,” she says. “We also partner with [film podcast] Blockbuster Wives; they do an awesome job moderating a discussion.” “A lot of young women patronize the Beverly Theater, as much as the film bros do,” Kelly says. “[Alexi and Ivy] wanted a place for girls to come ... without being silenced by large [Christopher] Nolan fans who want to have sidebar conversations and mansplain
the cinematography of everything.” But there’s also room at the Bev for those dudes to talk Nolan. Ample room also for the horror stans, and the documentary junkies, and those who never dreamed they’d see the likes of Funeral Parade of Roses or the 1966 Batman on the big screen. The Beverly District has room for everybody, bookworms to film geeks. And it’s in its season. “Fall is the best time of the year here,” Harber says. “We have so many people coming every single day, and the connectivity is just palpable.”
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Fall arts & entertainment preview 2026
This season’s top concerts, festivals, theater and art shows B Y L A S V E G A S W E E K LY S TA F F
CONCERTS
iHeart Radio Music Festival iHeart’s
annual music showcase returns with some serious star power as BTS, Cardi B, Benson Boone, The Smashing Pumpkins and Zara Larsson take center stage, alongside special performances by Major Lazer and Stella Lefty. September 18-19, T-Mobile Arena, axs.com. –Amber Sampson
Lucki Chicago alt-trapper Lucki
broke through the underground with the May release of his fourth studio album, Dr*gs R Bad. Vibe to his atmospheric beats and woozy delivery when his Bad Influence tour rolls through Vegas. September 23, Theater at Virgin, axs.com.–Tyler Schneider
Life Is Sh-- Festival
When all else fails, Life Is Sh-- is there to catch us. Year 14 returns with a slew of bands, poets, a fresh collaborative zine and the community partnerships that continue to hold up the longest-running local DIY fest. September 26, Dive Bar, badmoonbooking.live. –Gabriela Rodriguez
Metallica Most retire in their 60s.
Not Metallica. Their groundbreaking 24-show Sphere residency juggles an alternating pair of distinct nightly sets, offering ample reason to dust off the ol’ saddle and hop back on the lightning. Select dates October 1-March 13, Sphere, ticketmaster.com. –TS
Wu-Tang Clan
Two years removed from Wu-Tang’s Vegas residency, every surviving member of hiphop’s royal court will convene in Sin City for perhaps the last time during their Final Chamber tour, with help from Mobb Deep. October 3, T-Mobile Arena, axs.com. –TS
Turnstile
Baltimore hardcore quintet Turnstile continues to defy the Grammy-winning mold, tapping genre-bending support from alt-rapper Vince Staples, Sacramento hardcore agitators Trash Talk and local screamo outfit February in a Vegas stop benefiting the Nevada Homeless Alliance. October 15, The Amp at Craig Ranch Regional Park, wethebeat.com. –TS
Boy Harsher
Charli XCX
Courtesy
We know her, we love her: Charli XCX is this generation’s foremost musical chameleon. Her Music, Fashion, Film tour sees the British sensation embrace rock, surrounded by the genre’s most formidable influences. October 23, MGM Grand Garden Arena, axs.com.–GR
Darkwave fans will soon descend as Boy Harsher, the Massachusetts-based electronic duo, pushes beyond the genre’s conventional boundaries. Driven by minimal and chiseled instrumentation, its sound is gripping and hypnotic, enticing crowds to display their footwork. October 20, House of Blues, ticketmaster.com. –GR
Anthony Hamilton with Musiq Soulchild (September 19, Theater at Virgin); Twin Temple with Frankie and the Witch Fingers (September 23, The Portal); Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (September 23-October 3, Voltaire); Social Distortion (September 25, the Chelsea); Art Garfunkel (September 25, Reynolds Hall); High Stakes Festival (September 25-26, the A-Lot at Area15); Foo Fighters with Queens of the Stone Age (September 26, Allegiant Stadium); Isaiah Rashad (September 26, Brooklyn Bowl); Dominic Fike (September 26, Theater at Virgin); Breaking Benjamin (October 2, Michelob Ultra Arena); Diana Ross (October 2-4, Encore Theater); The War on Drugs (October 2, Pearl Theater); Jack White (October 2, BleauLive Theater); Lynyrd Skynyrd (October 3, Pearl Theater); Brandon Flowers (October 5-6, Encore Theater); Empire of the Sun (October 9, PH Live); Salt-n-Pepa, En Vogue and TLC (October 9, BleauLive Theater); Dinosaur Jr. (October 9, Brooklyn Bowl); Undertale (October 10, Resorts World Theatre); The Wallflowers (October 10, Zouk Nightclub); Schoolboy Q (October 17, Brooklyn Bowl); The Las Vegas Philharmonic: Beethoven (October 17, Reynolds Hall); Logic and G-Eazy with Juicy J (October 18, BleauLive Theater); Weezer with the Shins, Silversun Pickups (October 23, T-Mobile Arena); Jim Henson’s Labyrinth In Concert (October 25, Pearl Theater); Chief Keef (October 29, Brooklyn Bowl); Yandel (October 29, PH Live); Ricky Martin (October 30-31, BleauLive Theater); Doja Cat with Latto (October 31, T-Mobile Arena); Jodeci (October 31, Pearl Theater); The Psychedelic Furs (November 6, Zouk Nightclub); Danny Elfman with the Las Vegas Philharmonic (November 13-14, Resorts World Theatre); Lisa (November 13-14 & 27-28, the Colosseum); Hook in Concert (November 14, Reynolds Hall); Katseye (November 14, MGM Grand Garden Arena); Neon City Festival (November 22-24, Downtown Las Vegas).
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Scream’d: The Final Encore
It appears this is our last chance to catch the game-changing unauthorized musical parody of the iconic 1996 slasher film. If you haven’t seen this ultra-fun romp, you’ll need to catch one of these final performances to fully appreciate the show that helped define the current era of Vegas theater. Thru November 21, Majestic Repertory Theatre, majesticrepertory. com. –Brock Radke
Carmina Burana & Serenade
S TAG E
Courtesy/ The Smith Center for the Performing Arts/ Emilio Madrid
OH, MARY! GIVES THE SMITH CENTER A SHOT
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Actor, comic and playwright Cole Escola thought up the central idea of Oh, Mary! way back in 2009: What if Mary Todd Lincoln, First Lady of the United States until the April 1865 assassination of her husband Abraham Lincoln, was a depressed, mercurial alcoholic obsessed with performing on the cabaret stage? It took 15 years—and according to Escola, no research whatsoever—for them to realize their vision, and less time for audiences and critics to fall for its antic lunacy. The touring Oh, Mary! comes to the Smith Center as a Tony award-winning smash hit that’s still drawing capacity crowds on Broadway, and MTL’s showbiz assault just won’t quit. The title role, originated by Escola, has drawn a who’s-who of comic performers—Tituss Burgess, Jinkx Monsoon, Maya Rudolph and Hacks’ Megan Stalter, among other names—and Las Vegas is following suit: Drag superstar Alaska is our Mary, and J. Harrison Ghee, a Tony winner for their performance in Kinky Boots, plays a somewhat less-than-honest Abe. “Because it’s not historically based … I get to just come in and make choices, and that’s the fun of it,” says Ghee. “It is truly a silly filter on these people you think you know.” The story—related “through the lens of an idiot,” according to the play’s official website—is just plain wild. He’s trying to end the Civil War and keep Mary Todd sober (unsuccessfully; at one point she quaffs paint thinner); she’s impatiently enduring his meddling while plotting her showbiz comeback. Hijinks, as they say, ensue. “The circumstances are ridiculous, but this is these people’s reality, and so the entire audience gets to come into a moment that is just happening,” Ghee says. “You get to kind of be voyeuristic in this way of being like, oh, I’m dropping in on this moment, and you’ve got to just get on the ride and go.” October 6-11, Reynolds Hall, thesmithcenter.com. –Geoff Carter
Nevada Ballet Theatre opens the new season with all the music, dance and vocals that will fit onstage with the iconic cantata Carmina Burana (with choreography from Nicolo Fonte), plus George Balanchine’s moonlit beauty Serenade, set to the music of Tchaikovsky. October 2-4, Reynolds Hall, nevadaballet.org. –BR
The Phantom of the Opera
Phantom is special here because of the long, successful run of a different version at Venetian. The Smith Center’s Broadway Series brings the classic Andrew Lloyd Webber musical back to town for 16 thrilling shows during spooky season. October 21-November 1, Reynolds Hall, thesmithcenter. com. –BR
The Book of Mormon
Broadway is back on the Strip thanks to the Venetian, and The New York Times’ “best musical of this century” is a pretty big get. The deeply irreverent, outrageously beautiful nine-time Tony winner is welcome here any time. November 4-15, Venetian Theatre, ticketmaster.com.–BR
Beauty and The Beast (Thru September 20, Reynolds Hall); Rumberas Show (September 25, Vegas Theatre Company); Stick and Bunny (September 26, Vegas Theatre Company); A Public Fit: You Will Get Sick (September 25-26, Clark County Library); Nevada Conservatory Theatre: Big Love (September 25-October 4, Ham Fine Arts Black Box Theatre); Cringe (October 3-November 1, Vegas Theatre Company); UNLV Dance: Golden Glow (October 2-3, Judy Bayley Theatre); Elf the Musical (November 24-29, Reynolds Hall).
L A S V E G A S W E E K LY
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VISUAL ARTS
Fall arts & entertainment preview 2026
Photo by Christopher DeVargas
Las Vegas Book Festival
The Renaissance Man
In Perry Porter’s exploration of Black muses in The Renaissance Man, all the paint applied to the canvas harmoniously portrays inspiring icons like Grace Jones and legendary figures like Annie Christmas. Thru September 22, West Las Vegas Library, thelibrarydistrict. org. –Shannon Miller
Neither Here Nor There
Manny Perez explores culture and identity in Neither Here Nor There. The artist’s Puerto Rican heritage and his family’s Korean roots converge in the American desert to create a unique and introspective exhibit. Thru November 15, West Charleston Library, thelibrarydistrict.org. –SM
Crecer/Nunai
Named after words that mean “to grow,” Crecer/Nunai explores the overlapping experiences of Latinx and Indigenous communities. The joint exhibition features works from Avis Charley, Brian Martinez, Xochil Xitlalli and more. Thru November 21, Nuwu Art Gallery, nuwuart. com. –SM
The 25th annual Las Vegas Book Festival returns to Downtown’s Historic Fifth Street School in celebration of the storytellers who make reading such an indelible joy. This year’s headliners include graphic novelist Tony Weaver Jr., Queen Sugar novelist Natalie Baszile, YA fiction authors Ayana Gray and Vanessa L. Torres, urban fantasy writer Clarence A. Haynes, romantasy bestsellers Kimberly Lemming and Meghan Le Fay, and Yasmin Angoe, who penned the critically acclaimed thriller, Her Name Is Knight. Meanwhile, The Nevada Independent’s Jon Ralston will discuss his latest book, The Game Changer: How Harry Reid Remade the Rules and Showed Democrats How to Fight, with local reporter Steve Sebelius. Dozens of other speakers will also take the stage. And stick around for Nevada Humanities’ Spark Youth Poetry Competition, where Clark County students will present three original poems to a panel of judges for a cash prize. October 17, 401 S. 4th St., las vegasbookfestival.com. –AS
Courtesy
Isaias Hiram Urrabazo: The Return (Thru November 30, Sahara West Library); Lara Tomlin: NY/NJ/NV (Thru December 6, Summerlin Library); Krishn Amrit: Mona Bambha (Thru November 22, Whitney Library Gallery); Jamie Zepeda: La Salida del Sol (Thru October 20, East Las Vegas Library); Rachel “Ray” Jackson Shabazz: Lucid Dreams of a Vivid Wilderness (October 20-January 10, Spring Valley Library); Facing Change: Mexican Masking Today (October 23-May 22, Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art); Krystal Ramirez: More (October 23May 22, Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art); Sasan N. Chegini: Ingress: A Photopoetry Exhibition (October 23-May 22, Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art); Ali Fathollahi: Between Two Terms (October 23-May 22, Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art); Rahima Schwenkbeck: Signs of Us (November 5-January 30, Sahara West Library); Rita Schoonmaker: Desert Vibes (November 24-January 24, Whitney Library); M.S. Miller: Sights, Dreams and Memories: Works on Paper (Thru November 29, Windmill Library).
MORE!
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N E W S
IN THE NEWS
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NEVER FORGET
The American flag sits at half-staff during a 9/11 commemoration event at New YorkNew York Hotel & Casino on September 11. Since the day of the attacks 25 years ago, many first responders have left letters, flags and shirts at the base of the Las Vegas replica Statue of Liberty. The items were donated to UNLV Special Collections and Archives at the commemoration event. (Photo by Wade Vandervort)
TRANSPORATION
Waymo offering rides to public, expanding autonomous services in Las Vegas Waymo has started offering autonomous ride-hailing service in Las Vegas to public riders, the company announced today. Initial routes are available on the Strip, to Allegiant Stadium, parts of Spring Valley and the east side. Officials say the range will be gradually expanded. “Las Vegas and its neighborhoods are evolving rapidly, and expanding smart, clean transit options is essential for our city’s future,” Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley said in a statement. It is the first time the service is available to the public in Nevada. The company earlier this month started public rides in San Diego, Denver and Tampa, Florida. Last year, Waymo brought a small fleet of vehicles piloted by trained, human autonomous specialists to test on Las Vegas roads. Data gathered in Las
Vegas was used for improving the company’s self-driving technology deployed in other cities. The company trains vehicle fleets through a process it calls “cross-country testing,” by which it takes a small group of cars equipped with Waymo Driver— its autonomous driver technology—to cities across the country. Human drivers control the vehicles manually to help the Waymo technology gain context of its operating area, then the vehicles begin driving autonomously once enough data is gathered. Waymo, a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet, is backed by a fleet of roughly 3,500 robotaxis nationally. It has surpassed 20 million trips and provided around 500,000 paid rides per week across its existing markets. Waymo is one of several companies in Las Vegas aiming to spread driverless vehicle technology throughout
Southern Nevada. Last month, the Nevada Transportation Authority announced that it had unanimously approved applications from Elon Musk’s Tesla Robotaxi, Waymo and Aviari Services—a Carson City-based subsidiary of Uber—allowing them to charge for rides around Las Vegas. Tesla is being allowed a fleet of up to 5,000 fully autonomous vehicles during the first year, while Waymo and Aviari were granted no more than 1,000 in the same time frame. NTA officials said the approvals are subject to compliance with requirements established by the agency before vehicles are placed into service, such as providing vehicle inspection documentation, getting insurance, maintaining inspection, maintenance and repair records and reporting crashes and other events. –Grace Da Rocha
ELECTIONS
“Here in Nevada, we will continue standing up for states’ constitutional authority to administer elections and for the ballot access eligible voters deserve.”
–Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to block mail ballot restrictions proposed by the U.S. Postal Service in response to an executive order issued by President Donald Trump. The proposed restrictions would require states to turn over lists of voters approved to receive mail ballots. The U.S. Postal Service would then deliver mail ballots only to people on those lists.
ENTERTAINMENT
BRITPOP ICONS OASIS COMING TO ALLEGIANT STADIUM The British rockers responsible for “Wonderwall” and other ‘90s hits have announced a highly anticipated tour that will stop in Las Vegas for three dates. Oasis has announced the Oasis Live ‘27 tour will hit Allegiant Stadium August 20, 21 and 24. The 38-stop tour marks the band’s second tour since their reunion and first tour since the release of the Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger documentary in September. Fans can register for tickets at oasisinet.com. –Staff
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H E A L T H
C A R E
The Center looks to cultivate a new era of support for LGBTQ Nevadans after historic merger BY TYLER SCHNEIDER
A
ny 40th anniversary is a big deal, but the milestone is especially significant for storied LGBTQ-centered healthcare and service organizations that have had to overcome decades of stigma and funding gaps just to stay open. In Nevada, this landmark moment hits even harder for the state’s oldest and largest AIDS service nonprofit, Aid for AIDS of Nevada (AFAN). Best known for throwing major annual fundraising events like its upcoming September 19 Black and White Party, the organization also recently experienced the biggest structural shift in its 40-year history. On July 22, The LGBTQ+ Center of Las Vegas announced that it had officially acquired both AFAN and Golden Rainbow, a nearly 40-year-old affordable housing nonprofit serving individuals living with HIV and AIDS. Dubbed a “historic partnership,” The Center looks to integrate the organizations’ various programs and services into a “unified system of care” to increase LGBTQ Nevadans’ access to healthcare, housing assistance and financial services. The Center CEO John Waldron says he first Courtesy
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started discussing the idea with longtime AFAN executive director Antioco Carrillo back in 2019 before the pandemic put a pause on that momentum. Things started heating up again after Golden Rainbow joined the conversation a year and a half ago. “We all came together to look at how we could take advantage of The Center’s infrastructure—which was more robust than what AFAN and Golden Rainbow have—and use that to strengthen and build both of them up while all of us worked under one umbrella,” Waldron says. WHAT CHANGED? Once leaders from all three organizations approved the merger, Waldron says The Center’s Board of Directors assumed sole responsibility for managing the full network. He notes that AFAN and Golden Rainbow will both maintain their existing identities and missions, adding that no staff members lost their jobs in the transition. Their total employee count is now over 100. Credited with shepherding AFAN through some difficult periods since becoming its executive director in 2012, Carrillo has taken up a newly created role as Chief Housing and Integrated Health
Officer, where he will oversee aspects of all three brands. “The goal was not only to bring all of the programs together, but also to set in place some sort of sustainability for the future,” Carrillo says. “We were competing for sponsors and doing all those things that every other organization does, which can be very taxing and leave limited resources for clients. Part of the strategy was to eliminate as much of that redundancy as we could and bring those funds back to clients.” The acquisition is the latest chapter in what’s been a busy few years at The Center. Just last year, it opened the Gavin J. Goorjian Community Health Center as a one-stop location offering general primary healthcare and wraparound services related to HIV prevention and treatment, reproductive health, hormone replacement therapy and more. With a vastly improved healthcare network in place, Waldron says The Center then turned its attention to boosting its affordable housing footprint—now centralized under Golden Rainbow’s domain. “When we started to look at some of the obstacles [clients] face, we were looking, of course, at the social determinants of health. And one of the key barriers is housing. It’s challenging to get somebody
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healthy if they’re dealing with housing insecurities,” Waldron says. The plan is to leverage new and existing grants to bolster the affordable housing Golden Rainbow can provide as part of The Center. Waldron says early goals include developing new housing units, improving on The Center’s existing youth housing program and maximizing an early partnership with the Campus For Hope—a 900-bed comprehensive homeless services campus under construction at Charleston and Jones boulevards—when it opens in 2028. WHY NOW? Despite the growth, The Center wasn’t immune to the very same funding challenges that AFAN and Golden Rainbow have grappled with in recent years—much of which was driven by cuts from the Trump Administration’s Department of Government Efficiency and adjacent Congressional budget adjustments, the nonprofits’ leaders say. “Nonprofits across the country are facing threats to our existence,” Waldron says. “And we know that’s not just an LGBTQ thing, but the LGBTQ community has come under
extra scrutiny and threat. All of our LGBTQ organizations in town have been affected in one way or another.” He says two of the biggest hits to The Center’s balance sheets include losing $800,000 in annual HIV funding, plus $600,000 in SOAR Grant funds they’d previously utilized for opioid prevention. “Despite the challenges, we are very stable. But when that funding goes away, the need doesn’t,” Waldron says. “People don’t stop showing up looking for testing, support, primary health care or pharmaceuticals, and our mobile clinic still has to be out on the road.” He credits major donors like Valley-based Engelstad Foundation and Helmsley Charitable Trust with helping The Center absorb some of the losses. The two contributed a combined $4.7 million to help build the $8.2 million Gavin J. Goorjian Community Health Center, a boost Waldron says helped free up resources elsewhere.
Global entertainers perform during the Black and White Party (Courtesy ERA Photography & Video)
L A S V E G A S W E E K LY
Antioco Carrillo (Courtesy ERA Photography & Video)
UPCOMING EVENTS The new-look AFAN is now preparing to host its 40th Black and White Party at KAOS Nightclub and SOAK Pool at the Palms Casino Resort on September 19. The celebration will feature live performances from Morgan McMichaels of RuPaul’s Drag Race, the cast of Fantasy and DJ Lexto, among others. Beyond that, other annual AFAN events like its AIDS Walk and Blue Christmas will also continue under the new regime. Meanwhile, The Center will host its Building Bridges 2 Health HIV Health and Wellness Summit on October 22 and its flagship fundraising gala, The Honorarium, on November 6. Finally, Waldron reveals that Golden Rainbow’s long-dormant Ribbon of Life is being revived after the Tropicana’s implosion ended its decades-long run—though a date hasn’t been set. Carrillo hopes to see all of them benefit from the same success and longevity that the Black and White Party has enjoyed for decades. “The Black and White has a personality of its own—no one planned it, it just took an organic form,” Carrillo says. “Nobody ever thought this event was still going to be here 40 years later, and I think that’s a testament to how the community has supported our organization.”
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S P O R T S
Four pressing questions as the Vegas Golden Knights open training camp ahead of Year 10
Rasmus Andersson
CAMP QUERIES BY CASE KEEFER
The Vegas Golden Knights are coming off a run to the Stanley Cup Final and celebrating the start of the franchise’s 10th season as training camp opens September 16 at City National Arena. That doesn’t mean it’s all positive vibes and smooth sailing into the season opener on September 29 at T-Mobile Arena against the Chicago Blackhawks. There are several things they need to address over the next couple weeks to be fully prepared for the season. How will they score enough? Just when fans thought the Golden Knights had gotten past this discussion, it’s surfacing again heading into Year 10. Scoring droughts helped precipitate Vegas’ early playoff exits in 2024 and 2025, but never really struck during the most recent run to the cup final. But Pavel Dorofeyev was a big reason for that offensive success and he’s no longer on the team. The Knights traded him to the New York Rangers for a haul of draft picks when it became clear they would not be able to meet their former third-round
pick’s long-term financial expectations. It’s no minor loss, considering Dorofeyev is 15th in the NHL over the last two seasons with 72 goals. With Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner each on eight-year contracts worth a total of more than $200 million, much of the burden should fall on the two superstars, but they’ve never been shoot-first players. Marner went on a goal tear in the playoffs while Eichel had a couple similar stretches during the regular season, but they’ve never done it simultaneously. That may need to change.
General manager Kelly McCrimmon expressed confidence, pointing out that Dorofeyev’s climb came only after the team let Jonathan Marchessault walk in free agency two years ago. Perhaps Dorofeyev’s exit can hasten the breakout of a young player like Braeden Bowman or top organizational prospect Trevor Connelly. Will the goaltending bounce back? The Golden Knights sat 28th out of 32 teams in the NHL last year in goals saved above expected. Goalie play was their Achilles heel all year. Carter Hart shored up the weakness throughout most of the Western Conference playoffs but then imploded by giving up 24 goals in six games of the Stanley Cup Final. The starter coming into last season, Adin Hill, had his worst campaign since joining the Knights in 2022 with an .871 save percentage, 3.04 goals against average. But both goalies are back and go into the season as a tandem that McCrimmon says puts the Golden Knights in, “great shape at the position.” That’s possible if they both play up to their potential, but if Hart and Hill pick up where they left off last year, the truth will be the polar opposite. Can Rasmus Andersson live up to his contract? The Knights’ biggest offseason addition wasn’t signing anyone new. It was a retainment, as they extended Andersson with a seven-year, $59.5 million contract. Vegas traded for Andersson at last year’s trade deadline after the rightshot defenseman spent nine years with the divisional rival Calgary Flames. If Andersson plays like he did during his last four years with the Flames, then the extension is reasonable if not a bargain. But based on his 55-game sample with VGK between the regular season and playoffs, it looks like an overpay. Andersson, known as
a better offensive defender, scored only seven goals in the span and posted troubling defensive metrics. He became a liability in the cup final, making a handful of mistakes including a couple costly turnovers. But Andersson acknowledged he wasn’t happy with his performance and McCrimmon predicted he would “settle in and probably play a little more comfortably,” now with the extension done. Will Ryan Craig provide stability? Memories of last season are destined to age gracefully. It hurt falling two wins short of claiming a championship for the second time in four seasons, but getting to the Stanley Cup Final for the third time in franchise history despite a midseason swoon was a major positive. It just took so much negativity to get there. The late-season firing of 2023 cup-winning coach Bruce Cassidy was incredibly polarizing, even as the players alluded to locker-room discontent. Interim fill-in John Tortorella did an admirable job in relief, but couldn’t fully shed his cantankerous tendencies and cost the Knights a second-round pick by skipping a postgame news conference. All the controversies were nothing new to this team. For all the on-ice success, the surroundings for a decade have all too often made for a chaotic sideshow. Perhaps the coach to change all that is Craig, who’s been with the organization as an assistant from day one. He spent the last two seasons as coach of the Henderson Silver Knights, but McCrimmon and company have groomed him for the Golden Knights job from the beginning. Five coaches in 10 years is an extremely high clip for a team that’s been as dependable as Vegas. Maybe Craig is the one to stop the constant turnover.
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
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ISAAC QUEZADA
ANNY AYALA ORTEGA
NAYELI ESCALANTE
GEOVANY URANDA
SAM GANADOS
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Out frame Scrambled Eggs art collective is creating space for emerging artists through opportunity, exposure and experience
ALEXYS QUEZADA BRIAN MARTINEZ
LALA LOPEZ-MEDINA
DAISY SANCHEZ
EMMANUEL MUÑOZ
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SCRAMBLED EGGS scrambled-eggs.xyz
BY GABRIELA RODRIGUEZ There is something inherently paradoxical about building an institution without a building. Yet, for Scrambled Eggs, a Las Vegas-based art collective founded by Emmanuel Muñoz in 2022, impermanence has become both circumstance and methodology. Its exhibitions materialize in local galleries, libraries, studios and community spaces, exposing the viewer to undiscovered artists. The collective’s transience speaks to a broader condition of Vegas’ cultural landscape, where artistic histories can become obscured as quickly as physical spaces disappear. “Very little feels permanent here,” Muñoz says. “We’re a city that loves tearing its buildings down and
not feeling remorse about it. I actively try to make the mission of Scrambled Eggs something that feels like we’re working toward making this a little bit more sticky.” Muñoz first encountered the mechanics of exhibition-making while studying architecture at UNLV and working at the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art. Handling artwork and working alongside artists gave him an education in the institutional side of things. It also revealed an absence. “There were not a lot of spaces for those younger emerging artists that had never shown work in a gallery before,” he says. That scarcity of exhibition opportunities for up and comers became a push for
action. “I had been following a lot of artists and their work through a screen, and so I had this hunger to see it in person,” Muñoz explains. “I decided I’ll just figure out a way to do it myself.” Scrambled Eggs arose from that impulse, developing into a platform for BIPOC artists and practices rooted in communities and subcultures that can exist outside conventional artworld visibility. Since then, the collective has grown to 11 members and has hosted more than 20 shows, ranging from solo presentations to group exhibitions featuring more than 15 artists. Its exhibitions have occupied spaces like Gather House on Fremont Street, The Grotto at Sahara West
All photos by Anny Ayala Ortega / courtesy Scrambled Eggs Collective
Library, NuWu Art Gallery and Kaleidoscope Studios in the Arts District. And recent programming has expanded into community events, including Art Sesh at Third Street and Art Jam at NuWu Art Gallery. The temporary nature of these shows has become part of Scrambled Eggs’ curatorial identity. But beneath that is an insistence on building a foundation for art that stays, even as Vegas’ identity so rapidly changes. With its recent fiscal sponsorship tied to The Holland Project nonprofit in Reno, those goals grow closer every day. While researching Las Vegas’ art history during his time at the Barrick Museum, Muñoz encountered remnants of an artistic infrastructure that had largely vanished. Former institutions and galleries are long gone, leaving younger artists with little continuity. Scrambled Eggs resists that through documentation, knowledge-sharing and opportunities for artists to see their work treated with professional care. They can create “without fear of censorship,” he adds. “Being a voice for those underrepresented voices and those younger artists that just need a break, need an opportunity to just see their work on the wall,” Muñoz says. “A lot of people’s work is made in their bedrooms or on their kitchen tables. Getting it out of that kind of environment and seeing in a different light, changes your whole view of why you make art and what art is capable of doing.”
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TWIN TEMPLE ON BRINGING “SATANIC DOO-WOP” TO AREA15 BY TYLER SCHNEIDER I start a call with the married couple behind the “Satanic doo-wop” band Twin Temple by asking how they’re doing. “Most evil,” guitarist Zachary James answers. “How are you?” “Somewhat evil,” I reply with a grin. “And quite well.” These early pleasantries already betray the assumptions one might make after hearing that they were recently dropped from a pair of July shows supporting neo-traditional country singer Charley Crockett on account of their “Satanic imagery.” The duo was working through tour logistics over tea when the initial email from their former agent arrived. Vocalist Alexandra James reread it 10 times
in disbelief—figuring, like many, that Crockett was already well aware of their occult themes. Their top tracks include “Lucifer, My Love” and “Satan’s a Woman,” after all. “We are unabashedly Satanic and very upfront about it. That’s kind of a core part of the imagery we explore as artists,” Alexandra says. “We were pretty surprised, but we’ve come to accept that we’re very divisive. We’re disruptors. A lot of people don’t like what we do, and that’s the path we’ve chosen, for better or worse.” While they’d faced plenty of backlash since forming in LA in 2017, this incident instead yielded a “groundswell of support.” Rock legend Jack White even took to Instagram to offer them an opportunity to open for him in Hollywood
TWIN TEMPLE With Frankie and the Witch Fingers. September 23, 7 p.m., $36+. The Portal at Area15, area15.com.
on September 29. Within 24 hours, they’d officially added the date to a fall tour that also has them opening for Misfits founder Glenn Danzig. The exposure may have been a blessing in disguise. Weeks later, The Daily Show called and invited them on as guests. But could they fly upside down crosses onstage? “They’re like, ‘We’ll make them for you,’” Alexandra says. “That made me so f---ing proud to be an American—that there’s still spaces that are unafraid to present different viewpoints.” Amid what Alexandra describes as “a weird, wicked Cinderella story,” Twin Temple is also gearing up for the October 9 release of third studio album Doomed Lovers. Produced by Grammy-winning producer Shooter Jennings—who also happened to work on Crockett’s most recent album, Clovis—and recorded with a 37-piece orchestra in Bulgaria, the album is described by Zachary as “an expansion and elevation” of their sound. “We’re really lovers of late ’50s and early ’60s classic American music. It was fun to really get into the weeds and experiment to reinvent these sounds that we all loved,” he says. “The obsession just went deeper.” Vegas fans can experience the band’s theatrical, countercultural tones firsthand when Twin Temple performs at Area15 on September 23—a fitting stop for a venture that Alexandra says has always been rooted in feeling like an outsider. “When I started discovering underground cultures—punk, horror, the occult—I found like-minded people. That community was a lifeline for me,” she says. As for the Satanism? It’s more philosophical than religious. “We don’t want to proselytize or convert. We sort of abhor dogma in all forms,” Alexandra explains. “Like, I appreciate that my grandma was Catholic. I remember the bloody Jesus above her door and all the magic, mystery and gruesome saints. That all fascinated me as a kid, and so I really wouldn’t knock anyone for pursuing religions, beliefs or philosophies that interest or help them.” “We’re just doing what gets us off,” she adds. “And I think everyone should have the right to do whatever gets them off, too.”
Courtesy/Travis Shinn
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The Oddities and Curiosities Expo returns to World Market Center with a macabre showcase of alternative subculture
Michelle and Tony Cozzaglio
BY GABRIELA RODRIGUEZ
musically alt gradually became the foundation For those with an appetite for the unusual for the expo Michelle envisioned. and the mildly unsettling, the Oddities & Curi“Tulsa, while it’s a small city, had a pretty cool osities Expo is practically a buffet. alternative scene. Nowadays it’s thriving and Taxidermied specimens, bones, pinned it’s amazing to see, but a lot of other places still insects, vintage medical equipment and other don’t have that,” she says. “I love to go to what I macabre finds will fill the World Market call underdog cities. ...It’s more special to me to Center on September 19-20, as the be able to bring our creation to a smaller traveling expo returns to Las Vegas in place. That just feels really meaningful.” THE ODDITIES its ninth year. The Oddities & Curiosities Expo is & CURIOSITIES EXPO The expo that fellow curio collecthe ideal segue into spooky season, September 19tors Michelle and Tony Cozzaglio bringing together hundreds of vendors 20, 10 a.m., $16+. founded has been marked by increasand artists from across the country World Market ingly large crowds, stranger items alongside tarot readings and endless Center, oddities andcuriosities and a growing community of people photo ops. Every half hour, sideshow expo.com. with a penchant for the peculiar. performances also add another layer Michelle, a self-described weird kid, of theatricality to the expo. grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she “You can find someone doing some found her sense of belonging within the punk crazy stuff on stage, swallowing swords, walking and hardcore music scenes. Though she sported on glass, doing classic stunts like that. Somecolorful hair and tattoos and found kinship times we have magic. Sometimes we have crazy within the alternative community, she says a juggling. But it’s definitely old circus sideshow scene for the particular tribe she gravitated vibes,” she says. toward didn’t exist yet. For those who prefer to get hands-on with Before the Oddities & Curiosities Expo, the their curiosities, the two-day Las Vegas stop couple founded the Punk Rock Flea Market in offers classes hosted by Sleeping Sirens, 2012, which eventually evolved into something a specialist taxidermy group founded by ghastlier. What started as a marketplace for the Heather Clark. Attendees can participate in a
Photos courtesy Oddities & Curiosities Expo/ Boulevard Trash Entertainment
raccoon taxidermy class on Saturday or choose between a sunset moth or scorpion habitat during Sunday’s entomology classes. On the surface, the expo may seem like a big excuse for weirdos to unite and nerd out over their favorite eccentricities. That’s certainly part of it, but it’s also a cherished gathering place where punk, hardcore, metal and goth subcultures converge with artists, collectors and the merely curious. Many visitors leave with preserved specimens, antiques, macabre artwork or handmade jewelry in tow, even if they didn’t expect it. “It’s important to me to bring the community together in each city because of me wanting that when I was younger,” says Michelle. “It honestly just brings out anybody. It’s morphed into exactly what I dreamed it could be.”
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Photos by Wade Vandervort
Carolina’s Mexican Kitchen serves up scratch-made Mexican comfort food rooted in family tradition BY GABRIELA RODRIGUEZ There are two kinds of restaurants that dominate your social media feed: the ones that photograph beautifully and the ones that actually taste as good as they look. Carolina’s Mexican Kitchen, which has spent plenty of time in the first category, actually fits comfortably in the second. At the center of it all is Carolina Alvarado, a selftaught cook whose path to becoming a restaurateur began, somewhat improbably, with marriage. Growing up, she helped her mother, aunt and sister in the kitchen, mostly with supporting roles like chopping, peeling and pulling apart ingredients. “After about six months of dating, little by little I started asking my mom, ‘How do I do this?’ Once I got the hang of it, I started experimenting in the kitchen,” she says. The first dish she really nailed was chiles rellenos. CAROLINA’S “That’s actually the first MEXICAN thing I cooked for my husKITCHEN band. I think that’s why he 4450 N. Tenaya proposed,” she jokes. Way #155, Alvarado began teaching 725-272-0771. herself to re-create the Daily, dishes she grew up eating, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. drawing from her family’s Michoacán roots. She
started filming the process for social media, where her cooking found an audience. Bobby, her husband and a full-time muralist, saw how much joy she found in the kitchen and eventually encouraged her to leave her accounting job and take the restaurant dream seriously. Before Carolina’s opened its brick-and-mortar location in 2023, the concept operated as a pop-up inside Grinds 2 Da Max, a beloved local Hawaiian joint. Within three months, its popularity made the next step fairly obvious: finding a permanent kitchen. These days, the restaurant’s social feeds are an ongoing exercise in temptation, with queso fundido stretching from the plate, camarones a la diabla still sizzling as they hit the table and birria egg rolls snapped in half, showcasing a crisp shell. But the appeal is more substantial than the scroll-stopping stuff. Carolina’s is a scratch kitchen, and its menu is free of seed oils—a choice Alvarado says grew from wanting more people to feel comfortable eating there, including pescatarians, vegetarians and vegans: “We got such an overwhelming amount of people saying thank you and telling us all these health benefits, and that just pushed me to be completely seed-oil free.” The menu is rooted in the food Alvarado knows,
with dishes like carne en su jugo, quesabirria and taco trios among the regular favorites. But she makes sure to add bi-weekly specials appear, such as mole and albondigas soup, when inspiration, or perhaps a personal craving, strikes. Indulgence is necessary here, and the housemade flan and key lime pie are non-negotiables. As are Bobby AKA Papa’s craft cafecito specials, from champurrado lattes to cortaditos. Carolina’s Mexican Bobby and Kitchen is, in the end, evCarolina Alvarado ery bit as good as it looks. This is a spot where family, comfort food and ambition are served alongside every plate. “I tend to believe in people more than I believe in myself most of the time,” Alvarado says. “So I’m just grateful that people believe in me and my vision, and that they enjoy my food.”
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Commitment to craft sets Abel’s Bagels apart BY SHANNON MILLER A little bit of intention goes a long way, especially when it comes to bagels. That’s the philosophy at Abel’s Bagels, a New York-style breakfast, bagel and juice shop opened in the southwest Valley in 2022. For the past four years, Abel’s has been raising the bagel bar with its demonstrated commitment to using fresh, often organic ingredients and making bagels the old-fashioned way—hand-rolling, long fermentation, boiling and baking in house. “I feel like the corporate bagel places taste a little too corporate, and there are a lot of corners that are cut. Those are the places that
might be using frozen dough and steaming and baking,” owner Nick Pace says. “You’re getting a bagel that’s really dense, really chewy, and it almost becomes like a chore to eat it.” The advantage of hand-rolling and long fermentation, he adds, is better texture and flavor versus dough that has been rolled by a machine or frozen. In addition to varied bagel flavors and cream cheese options, classic deli sandwiches like chicken salad and egg salad are also available, but they’re not typical. Take the tuna salad bagel ($13), with sushi-grade tuna, Kewpie mayo, celery, red onion, lettuce,
tomato, sumac and homemade relish. Juices and smoothies ($10) and acai bowls ($13) should not be skipped over, as they descend from the freshest recipes from Pace’s successful Long Island-based Nook’s Organic juice bar. “We take this classic recipe [and] kind of put a little bit of a classy spin on it, so it’s elevated,” he says. Pace is working on spreading his ethos of intention with Abel’s Bagels franchises, the first of which is set to open later this year on Sahara Avenue and Fort Apache Road. The new location will be larger and expand the restaurant’s production and catering capabilities, he says. “I love to express love through food. My goal is, I just want people to be happy,” Pace says.
Photos by Wade Vandervort
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“DOING I.T. WORK” BY FRANK LONGO
HOROSCOPES WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 17 BY ROB BREZSNY ARIES (March 21-April 19): Realities you’ve been oblivious to will soon pop into view as lingering emotional numbness thaws. At first, it may feel like an overload of sopping wet data. But if you slowly metabolize this influx, the apparent chaos will weave itself into a luminous web of understanding. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Peruvian farmers cultivate diverse potato varieties because each thrives in different soils and climates. By planting many types at once, they ensure some crops flourish regardless of conditions. Apply this to your life in the coming weeks, Taurus. Diversify your efforts and plan multiple small initiatives rather than depending on a single expectation. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Many organisms survive harsh conditions through dormancy, remaining viable for years until cues like water or light signal favorable conditions. Then, they rapidly resume growth. I suspect you will experience a comparable upsurge in the coming weeks, Gemini. A project or aspiration that seemed inert may suddenly reawaken and reignite. CANCER (June 21-July 22): Novelist Kurt Vonnegut advised doing something that scares us every day. While usually unwise for security-seeking Cancerians, the coming weeks warrant a departure from our typical rhythms. We can fortify our long-term safety through more frequent encounters with unpredictable episodes that rouse our hidden reserves of courage. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The Greek goddess Harmonia presided over blending opposites into balanced beauty. In her work, tension produced elegant unity rather than conflict. I’ve appointed Harmonia to be your guardian angel in the coming weeks, Leo. Previously unhealable rifts and divisions are now swayable by the collaborative efforts of you and the goddess. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): While now is a time when vices are likely to sow chaos, you are reading this in a genteel publication and are almost certainly a person of high integrity. Therefore, I dare you to tap into your raw animal energy. It’s time to experiment with the wilder aspects of your deep self.
2020 KING FEATURES SYNDICATE ACROSS 1 Trumpet’s cousin 7 Many a golf instructor, for short 14 Certain soup legume 20 Beethoven’s Third, familiarly 21 Ibuprofen alternative 22 Of horses 23 Reveal secrets in the same way that Martin or McQueen does? 25 Most darling 26 Actress Marisa 27 Mass. hours 28 Extreme aversion to carnivals? 30 Falafel bread 32 Stinking 34 Naturalist Irwin 35 Ad slogan of a light bulb that never burns out? 40 Baby’s estimated time of arrival 42 Rubs clean 43 Mean mutt 44 Artery-opening tube 46 -- -Seltzer 47 Solemn vow 50 Vertical-lift aircraft painted in rainbow shades? 56 Turns sharply 58 Dove sounds 60 Puppy bites 61 Streamlined, informally 62 Twisty curve 63 “-- do for now” 65 Primitive calculators 67 Sweet, as candy 69 “This is a Saturday, so your claim that today’s a spring holiday is false”?
73 Certain dyed fabrics 75 Rapscallion 76 Canadian Plains native 77 Used a chair 80 Opposed to, in dialect 81 Young 22-Across 82 “In that case ...” 84 Ordinary Joe 86 Thinking really hard? 90 Starting from 92 Tons of time 93 Small and shiny, as eyes 94 Tax Day mo. 96 Electrical unit 98 Map-filled books 102 Result of a door being hit forcefully? 105 Macbeth or Macduff’s title 106 Large influxes 109 Ode or haiku 110 What held up playwright Joe’s pants? 112 Chubby 113 Some wind instruments 118 Soviet leader Khrushchev 119 Material poured into casts to mold car components? 123 Leveled (out) 124 Withdraws from a union 125 Actor Ted 126 Chilled out 127 Hurriedly 128 Extras DOWN 1 Boston NBA player, in brief 2 Often-twisted cookie
3 Be a drifter 4 Sneaker giant 5 Solar or lunar event 6 Mai -7 He waged the Gallic Wars 8 “Trial” for a future atty. 9 Big name in pkg. delivery 10 Tiny amount 11 Usually pick over others 12 Foe 13 Old baseball great Buck 14 Walesa of Solidarity 15 Be virtually the same as 16 Went out and gathered pecans, e.g. 17 Spanish for “Earth” 18 Newspaper extra 19 Live and -- (1973 James Bond film) 24 Very low-carb diet, informally 29 Trucks that compete with U-Hauls 31 “In that case ...” 32 Law & Order: -33 Ford make until ‘11 35 Lace together 36 French city 37 Absorbs the experience 38 Pre-1917 Russian ruler 39 Canyon effect 41 Pop’s bro 44 Cut through 45 Such that shreds are created 48 Human rights org. 49 Turnpike, e.g. 51 By wagering 52 Magazine unit 53 52-Down designed to be ripped out
54 Show fallibility 55 -- G. BIV 57 In ill health 59 Serenaded 64 How- -- (manuals) 66 A/C meas. 67 ND-to-LA dir. 68 4x4’s, in brief 70 Hue 71 Big name in surround sound 72 River of Italy 73 “Ka-POW!” 74 Census info 78 Italian “love” 79 Firmed (up), as muscles 81 Second-best category, at times 83 Rabbit cousin 85 -- Crunch (cereal brand) 87 No-show 88 Director Ang 89 Census info 91 Get dim 95 HP or Acer products 97 Tablet for jotting notes 98 Penitent one 99 Flourish 100 Hanukkah pancakes 101 Put holy oil on 102 Affix 103 Meager 104 Explorer Hernando de -107 Cola giant 108 Actor Tim 111 Anti-DUI gp. 112 Mile’s 5,280 114 Wedding ring 115 Roughly 116 Prince Harry’s alma mater 117 IRS IDs 120 Island locale 121 NFL goals 122 Med approver
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): The Real You and Semi-Real You have been embroiled in a subtle but heroic showdown with the False You. While I’m rooting for your authentic selves to emerge victorious, don’t crush the False You—it has sometimes served a valuable purpose. Afterward, give the Semi-Real You a modest place in your repertoire, as it also proves useful. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Hummingbirds are the only birds capable of sustained reverse flight, granting them access to nectar that forward-only fliers miss. Treat this as a metaphor, Scorpio: Your success won’t always come from advancing. Consider returning to supposedly finished conversations and extracting value from sources you’ve already passed by. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In chemistry, a tiny amount of a catalyst can accelerate reactions and dramatically transform how quickly elements combine without being consumed. Your own catalytic powers are currently at a peak, Sagittarius. Be careful where you point that potency, and make sure you really want to change what you’re capable of changing. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Even harmful microbes adapt to survive, often evolving into gentler strains that allow their hosts to live longer. Let this be a metaphor for handling your dark moods and odd compulsions. Befriend the mild, manageable versions of these states. Over time, the destructive versions will lose ground and fade. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Some dinosaur herds traveled with vulnerable members in the center, protected by stronger individuals on the perimeter. Borrow this dinosaur wisdom in the coming weeks, Aquarius. What vulnerable projects or relationships deserve to be shielded? Use your strength to guard what’s tender and growing. Be a shepherd and a defender. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Seekers visiting Hawaii’s Coconut Island for its ancient healing powers had to participate in awakening the magic, often by swimming around it three times. This mirrors your current situation, Pisces. You are close to a source of renewal, but you must coax out its full strength with your ingenuity.
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