Reckless in Vegas, alt rock with a Rat Pack vibe, takes a swing at Downtown Grand

By John Katsilometes

Published Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014 | 2:58 p.m.

Updated Friday, Oct. 10, 2014 | 12:30 p.m.

Not sure if “Drive My Car” is in the Reckless in Vegas repertoire. We’ll find out soon enough, when the swankified power trio debuts at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Mob Bar. But that would be a good song to sample for the hot-running triumvirate booked by Downtown Grand overlord Seth Schorr.

The vocalist for Reckless in Vegas, or RIV for short, is Michael Shapiro. He’s based in the Bay Area these days, as is the band itself, but he has genuine Las Vegas underpinnings. Long ago, he worked as a valet in a Las Vegas hotel-casino, and he paid for his first guitar with tips made from that job.

The hotel in which Shapiro worked? Lady Luck. Or what is today the Downtown Grand.

So it is serendipitous, and appropriate, that a band named for Las Vegas with a Vegas attitude is playing a hotel in downtown Las Vegas run by a guy who is all about classic Vegas. Reckless in Vegas is playing three shows at Downtown Grand: Saturday night’s and also performances at Picnic on Oct. 18 and Oct. 25, free shows that are set for 8 p.m.

Schorr really digs this band, important because he’s the one with the power of the purse, and says he hopes they take off as the signature entertainment attraction at Downtown Grand. But he was not immediately sold on luring an act outside Las Vegas to the hotel he runs in the city’s core.

“About six months ago, I was getting emails about them, with a You Tube link online, and I was thinking, ‘Really? I don’t know,’ ” Schorr said in a phone conversation this week. “But then I went to see them play in San Jose, saw them live, and they have a great persona onstage, great shtick, and they have been real professional musicians for decades. They are a nod to the past, but they can stay relevant and new.”

The band’s sound is a result of taking classic songs, such as “Luck Be a Lady,” “The Beat Goes On,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” and “It’s Not Unusual” and pouring in a few gallons of rocket fuel. The band is described, casually by Schorr and in its official press material, as The Rat Pack meets Green Day. The hardened backbeat and vocal quality Shapiro do remind of that great Bay Area band.

And there also is some Huey Lewis-classic rock flair, too, and that’s no accident. The bassist is Lewis’ longtime band member Mario Cipollina, who was with the band throughout its hit-making heyday in the 1980s. The drummer is Ryan “Dr. Fu” Low, the band’s heartbeat and also a very good singer.

Schorr is fired up to fire up the band’s debut Saturday night.

“This is one of the most exciting things we’ve seen here, and I think a game-changer in Las Vegas,” Schorr says. “I saw this band for two solid hours, I knew every song, and they were delivered in a very cool way. I’m hoping we have a permanent home here for these guys, but we need to test it first.”

Good idea. But it’s obvious by watching RIV’s video presentation that these guys are wicked players and acutely stylish. One highlight is a mash of Sammy Davis Jr.’s “Mr. Bojangles” with riffs by Jimi Hendrix.

Really, what’s not to love?

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.