Santa Fe hails Cabaret Jazz; Vince Neil has but one New Year’s resolution

By John Katsilometes

Saturday, Dec. 26, 2015 | 11:57 p.m.

Here’s how staying in VegasVille during the holiday works at The Kats Report Bureau. I just texted Jerry Lopez of Santa Fe & The Fat City Horns to see if he had time to talk about the band’s upcoming gig at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts.

His answer was, in effect: “I’d love to, except I’m about to hit the stage with ‘Vegas! The Show.’”

Oh.

Lopez also is bandleader for that production at Saxe Theater at Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood. The Santa Fe gig is the focus at the moment, as Lopez’s renowned 16-piece band is hitting Cabaret Jazz for the first time on Monday night (show time is 10:30 p.m., and the venue is sold out, but keep checking TheSmithCenter.com day of, as seats do open up).

This booking has been a long time to arrive, about since the Smith Center opened in March 2012. Initially, Lopez had voiced concerns that a band of 16 pieces might create some reverberation action in the relatively small venue. Cab Jazz seats 240 for a show such as Santa Fe’s. But over time, big bands have filled the room with sound that is full without being overwhelming — though David Perrico’s Pop Evolution band is one where you might want to pack earplugs. And, also, wear them.

Lopez, however, has had informal discussions with Smith Center President Myron Martin about how and when to feature Santa Fe, a Las Vegas entertainment institution whose history dates to 1975. Over the past several weeks, Lopez has been in the audience for Composers Showcase of Las Vegas and a performance by Reckless in Vegas. Lopez and Martin swapped ideas at Composers Showcase a couple of months ago, and Santa Fe has made it into the venue just in time to mark Santa Fe’s 40th year in town.

But why this particular Monday night? Because South Point has an event long booked for its showroom. Santa Fe moved into that venue over Labor Day Weekend and has found an opening to hit Smith Center without having to cancel.

It’s a major milestone for the venue and band, an exciting moment for Cab Jazz in particular as it continues to lure top artists in the Las Vegas entertainment scene (you’ll read about another of them later in the column). Lopez says, or texts, that the setlist will be less laden with originals and lengthy solos. “We don’t want to scare any newcomers,” he says in a joking sort of way. There’s nothing to be scared of with these cats. They are the real deal, 40 years on.

• On the topic of texts — and if you have not been in text with me since I’ve been on a quasi-sabbatical, consider yourself lucky — there’s this exchange with Vince Neil of Motley Crue:

Me: “Do you have any New Year’s resolutions you’d like to share?”

Vince: “Yeah. I’m giving up Motley.”

Nice.

But Sunday night is the finale for the Crue as it closes out its nearly 35-year career at MGM Grand Garden Arena. The Crue, or “Motley” as Neil himself terms the band, has played many memorable shows in VegasVille. They closed the original Aladdin Theater for the Performing Arts in November 1997, a rollicking performance in which Mick Mars was corralled by a fan rushing the stage (I have an alibi) …

The Crue also closed the original Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel in February 2009, a whale of a show that came off without the guitarist being tackled, but Tommy Lee’s trusty handheld camera caught some wild kitties in the audience as Neil yelped, “We are a white trash circus!” That show closed with the comparatively calm “Home Sweet Home,” and if the Crue — sorry, Motley — ever decides to reconvene, it should be here. But not in 2016. Vince Neil has a resolution to keep.

• Returning to the topic of the Smith Center, Frankie Moreno plays his final show of the year at Cabaret Jazz on Tuesday night. Moreno has been traveling all over the world — his tour schedule has been boundless ever since he left the Stratosphere about a year ago. When he has not been on the road, Moreno has consistently sold out Cabaret Jazz over an artistically ambitious, 33-show schedule where no two shows have been alike.

From the stage last week, Martin told the audience, “Frankie Moreno will always have a home at the Smith Center.” That was a reference to an upcoming deal involving Moreno on the Strip, but nothing more was revealed other than he will be performing monthly in 2016 at Cab Jazz, regardless. As we say, more will be revealed.

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