Thursday, Aug. 7, 2008 | 2 a.m.
When Herman Matthews finishes drumming behind Tom Jones he’s pumped and ready to keep playing.
That’s exactly what Matthews and some fellow band members will do at a couple of late-night gigs at the Bootlegger.
Jones tonight will begin a two-week engagement at the MGM Grand’s Hollywood Theatre. After the Welsh singer’s shows on the next two Saturdays, Matthews and Friends (the name of their away-from-Tom Jones band) will play for free at the South Las Vegas Boulevard restaurant from about 11:30 p.m. until the wee hours of the morning.
Jones may drop by, or he may not.
“If Tom wanted to come out and join us, he would be most welcome,” says Matthews, who has worked for Jones for six years. “But if he doesn’t, that’s OK.”
Odds are he will. He’s a late-night guy and after his performances he often pops up at local clubs to do a little impromptu vocalizing, sometimes till dawn.
Matthews’ band has seven members — six of them are also in Jones’ 11-piece band. Matthews’ band features guitarist Brian Monroney (Jones’ musical director), saxophonist Kenny Anderson, keyboardist Frank Strauss, bassist Ric Fierabracch, trombonist Mike Turnbull and trumpeter Bill Churchville, the only band member who’s not in Jones’ backup band.
Matthews doesn’t do a late-night gig with his group everywhere they perform, but he says in Vegas it’s convenient.
“We’re there for two weeks at a time without a break, so I had an idea to get the guys together to do something else, play the music we want to play,” he says. “It is jazz, but my kind of jazz,” says the Houston native, who has been drumming since the age of 7. “Being from Texas and being the kind of drummer I am — a meat and potatoes kind of guy — I work from the ground up. The musicians are improvising over my groove, a soul, grass-roots kind of thing that’ll make you feel good. Sort of like the Jazz Crusaders (a ’60s group that fused jazz, pop and soul).”
Matthews has worked extensively with Kenny Loggins, Stevie Wonder, Richard Marx and Tower of Power. When he isn’t with Jones he might be found with Jim Belushi and the Sacred Hearts Band, in the studio or working other gigs.
But Jones, at 68, is a tireless performer who works 32 weeks out of the year, so Matthews doesn’t have a lot of down time.
“He’s wonderful, a great guy to hang with,” Matthews says. “Of all the vocalists I’ve worked with, he’s one of the best.”
Matthews decided to do a jazz gig at the Bootlegger because of its Old Vegas feel.
“That appealed to me,” he says.
Details: Herman Matthews and Friends, 11:30 p.m. Saturday and Aug. 16; Bootlegger, 7700 S. Las Vegas Blvd.; free; and Tom Jones, 8 p.m., through Aug. 20; Hollywood Theatre at the MGM Grand; $92.40; 891-7777
Sharing the Royal Resort
Impressionist Larry G. Jones inches closer to the Strip this month when he opens at the Royal Resort — an estimated 100 feet east of Las Vegas Boulevard.
The impressionist, who performed at Fitzgerald’s on Fremont Street for several years, makes the move Aug. 18. His celebrity voices include Tina Turner, Axl Rose, Randy Travis, Cher, Elton John, Tom Jones, Barry Manilow, the Temptations, Wayne Newton and Neil Diamond.
The host of the show will be Brian Hoffman, who performs a tribute to Red Skelton that includes Skelton’s seagulls Gertrude and Heathcliff and country bumpkin Clem Kadiddlehopper.
Larry G. Jones and Hoffman will share the Royal Resort’s cozy showroom with magician Dixie Dooley. The 53-year-old magician and Houdini-like escape artist is celebrating 30 years as a Vegas act.
Details: “Superstar Voices in Concert” starring Larry G. Jones, 9 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays, $24 to $34, (800) 595-4849, lasvegasacts.com, and Dixie Dooley, 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, $19.95, 457-8448, houdiniexperience.com, both at Royal Resort, 99 Convention Center Drive
Around town
Julian Marley, son of reggae legend Bob Marley, performs poolside Friday at the Hard Rock Hotel. His latest release, “A Time and Place,” is described as “an organic fusion of root reggae and breezy jazz sounds.” (9 p.m. Friday, Hard Rock pool, $22, 474-4000, ticketmaster.com) ... Local advertising and media folks will try their hand at entertainment at a benefit for Safe Nest, an agency that provides help for victims of domestic violence. The Advertising Community Talent Show has been entertaining Las Vegas for 10 years. The show is composed of the members of the Southern Nevada advertising community. (A.C.T.S. Benefit, “Partners in Crime,” 6 p.m. Aug. 15, Fiesta Rancho, $20, 631-7000, clubtequilalv.com)
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