The Las Vegas City Council voted Wednesday to give exclusive rights for two years to a Baltimore developer to come up with a plan for an arena, entertainment district and casino-hotel on a 20-acre site that includes the current City Hall.
Five things I know about Bob Dylan: He’s the voice of a generation. He’s written more great songs than I can remember. Some of the best versions of his songs were done by other people. He’s always on tour (his “Never Ending Tour” stops Sunday in Las Vegas). And Bob Dylan is weird. I gave up trying to figuring out what he’d do next — or why — early on. For years I’ve just been sitting back and enjoying the ride. If you are of a certain age, Dylan is a touchstone and his songs chronicle the phases of your life.
Some things do get better with age. Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood had a ball Saturday night – and they took 18,000 fans at the MGM Grand arena along for the ride.
NASCAR has an instigator and his name is Kyle Busch. Although the stock car sanctioning body will never admit it was right for him to smash the Gibson Les Paul custom guitar he received for winning last weekend’s Federated Auto Parts 300 into tiny bits (and pieces) in Victory Lane, it sure was a lot more interesting than watching somebody named Ricky or Rusty getting up there and thanking his sponsors.
Coco honored Koko Thursday night. Coco Montoya, who always draws a full house when he’s playing blues night at the Railhead at Boulder Station, stopped two songs into his set to say he was dedicating the night’s performance to Koko Taylor.
Carlos Santana really could make this “residency” thing work. After seeing Carlos and Co. blow through an almost two-hour set Thursday night that left me wanting more, Santana seemed an inspired choice for the first extended residency at the new Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel.
The Allman Brothers Band turned back the clock Sunday night at Red Rock. The band, touring to celebrate its 40th anniversary, put on a two-set, two-plus-hour show that reaffirmed its place in the musical firmament.
Eartha Kitt died on Christmas Day. She was 81. The news took me back to San Quentin Prison on a New Year’s Day. Eartha Kitt was playing a concert at the California prison and I was a young reporter.
Firefighters contained a blaze that raged for an hour today atop the Monte Carlo casino in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip. At least 13 persons were injured.