Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

John Payne, ‘Rock Vault’ settle it down; 1923 summons DJ duo in official ‘relaunch’

Raiding the Rock Vault

Mona Shield Payne / Special to the Sun

John Payne and Robin McAuley perform with other band members during rehearsal for “Raiding the Rock Vault” in the LVH Theater at LVH on Wednesday, March 6, 2013.

‘Raiding the Rock Vault’ at LVH

Howard Leese, center, performs with other band members during song rehearsal for Launch slideshow »

The Kats Report Bureau at this writing is settling back into VegasVille after an overnight trek to L.A. for the announcement of the latest burst of Rock in Rio USA acts.

Post-event, I hit the Laugh Factory in Hollywood, where veteran standup Dom Irrera was hosting his Tuesday night show, “Ball Busters.” It’s a talk-show format, with a rotation of standup comics performing 15-minute sets. On Tuesday, one of those comics was Iliza Shlesinger, terrifically funny in her turn onstage before sitting with Irrera for a quick interview. The two talked of ventriloquists, and Irrera zeroed in on Planet Hollywood headliner Jeff Dunham. “He has an attitude. He has puppets, and he has an attitude. Listen, you either have an attitude, or you have puppets. But you can’t have both an attitude and puppets. That’s not how it works.”

Irrera is at Laugh Factory at the Trop from April 9-12. Shlesinger returns to Lipshtick at Venetian’s Sands Showroom on May 2.

More from the vault, and the “Vault,” and also a well-known speakeasy:

• The lawsuit filed by John Payne against his former “Raiding the Rock Vault” collaborator Sir Harry Cowell and officials with the former operators of LVH has been settled. This deal was finalized in December, Payne said last week during the red-carpet walk at the Canon USA Customer Appreciation Reception/National Center for Missing & Exploited Children benefit fundraiser at Bellagio.

A member of the latest lineup of Asia, Payne declined to specify what the financial settlement turned out to be. He was cut loose from the show in May and filed suit in July, alleging copyright infringement and slander and claiming he was owed money for his royalties and performances. Payne and Grammy Award-winning producer David Kirshenbaum wrote the show’s original script. Cowell, a longtime friend of Payne’s when the two moved to Las Vegas, is the show’s lead producer.

“Rock Vault” opened at LVH in March 2013. It moved to Tropicana Theater in December, sharing that venue with Jan Rouven’s magic show “New Illusions.” Payne has been shopping a rock show of his own around town over the past few months. He also has met with officials at Westgate Las Vegas, who purchased LVH from Goldman Sachs in July, to clear the air and make sure there are no fractured relationships. Westgate was not named in the original suit. It also happens to have a big theater with no resident act or show.

1923 Bourbon & Burlesque by Holly Madison

Holly Madison arrives at the grand opening of 1923 Bourbon & Burlesque by Holly Madison at Mandalay Bay on Thursday, May 1, 2014, in Las Vegas. Launch slideshow »

• The chasm between Holly Madison’s vision and the current incarnation of 1923 Bourbon & Burlesque at Mandalay Bay has not been more evident than in the new promotions being announced this weekend at the speakeasy. Holly’s imprint is all but gone from this nightspot, this much can be said.

Instead, the club is embarking on a “relaunch” weekend Thursday through Saturday with a rolling “Gangsters Party” each night (or, the singular “Gangster’s Party” if the club’s social media posts are to be trusted). Of particular interest is the show set for 9 p.m. Friday. Making their debut at the club is the Las Vegas DJ/performance act HardNox, the duo of Danny Boy and Jimbo (or brothers Dan and Jim Kehoe).

These self-styled gangstahs are the resident 1923 club hosts beginning this weekend, when their new single, “In Vegas,” is to debut. That dance track was co-written by Brett Feinstein, manager at Sapphire Gentlemen’s Club, where HardNox has previously headlined. STK, UFC, Dana White, Robin Leach, Hakkasan, Marquee, EDC, Jabbawockeez, Criss Angel, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Frank Sinatra are all name-checked in this audio Las Vegas celebration.

This, in a club that opened with Skye Dee Miles singing “Minnie the Moocher” while backed by a burning live band. The calendar has flipped, but the club is still 1923 and has a fresh start with this party pair. Expect EDM and hip-hop to be played in the one-time burlesque hall. As Jimbo says, “We tell everyone we are the guys a venue calls to turn their party up!”

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

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