Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Weekend Rewind: Downtown sounds, Vince Vaughn, Olivia Pierson and more

Vince Vaughn

Joseph Sanders/Spiegelworld

Vince Vaughn visits “Absinthe.”

The last few days were packed with some of the biggest concerts to ever hit Las Vegas, including the closing shows of Janet Jackson’s “Metamorphosis” residency at Park Theater, the first weekend of Def Leppard’s new show at Zappos Theater and the multi-day, hard-rocking Psycho Festival at multiple venues at Mandalay Bay. But one of the most memorable musical events of the weekend was the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center’s five-year anniversary show, which kept a fun-loving crowd outdoors and out late. The lucky ones spent hours listening to music while keeping cool in the DLVEC pool. Venue owner and downtown casino mogul Derek Stevens popped onstage to get the audience riled up for strong sets from singer and songwriter Alice Merton, Los Angeles pop-soul band Fitz and the Tantrums and anthemic rockers Young the Giant. Fitz vocalist Noelle Scaggs took a break between songs to express her love of the Vegas restaurant scene, specifically the nearby Esther’s Kitchen, before the group rolled through its hits and material from an upcoming album. The Young the Giant closed the show with a powerhouse set that alternated between singalong and dance party. It was a tremendous way to mark a special occasion for one of the city’s most unique venues.

Jackson’s last Park MGM residency concert was Saturday night but the pop superstar stopped in at two of the resort’s night spots post-show on Friday, taking dancers and crew members to Juniper Cocktail Lounge and On the Record speakeasy and nightclub. The OTR dancers even dropped a choreographed number set to one of her hits during the afterparty.

Also on Friday night, actor Vince Vaughn visited Caesars Palace to take in “Absinthe” and share a few snappy one-liners with the Gazillionaire after the show.

Olivia Pierson, star of E! network hit “Relatively Nat & Liv,” partied at the Palms over the weekend to celebrate her 29th birthday. It began with dinner at Scotch 80 Prime Friday with sister Sophia and cousin and co-star Natalie Halcro and continued at KAOS Nightclub where Marshmello was in command from the DJ booth and fellow model and reality star Nicole Williams joined the party. The group kept it going Saturday for KAOS Dayclub, where pro skateboarders Leticia Bufoni and Nyjah Huston also enjoyed the music and atmosphere at the city’s biggest club.

Emmy-winning actor Darren Criss from “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” and his wife Mia Swier caught the Cosmopolitan’s comedy show “Opium” on Saturday night with friends Lauren Lopez and Joey Richter from L.A. production “The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals.”

Of course, last week’s MAGIC convention brought many celebs to Las Vegas. Iconic actress Jane Fonda made an appearance on Tuesday, as did actress Jaime King and famed socialite and fashion designer Nicky Hilton. R&B group En Vogue performed during MAGIC’s packed-house happy hour opening night on Monday.