PurrView #63 - New/Old Downtown

Something's happening in Downtown Las Vegas... The air of a revamped, yet classic and glitzy, Rat Pack Vegas is melding with a cultural and artistic renaissance. This area (north of the Strip) is rousing to life with boutiques, art galleries, consignment shops, bars and cafés popping up left and right.

As a Downtowner living right in the mix of everything, I get to see the new, fresh developments unfold before my eyes. Here are a few of my fave Downtown elements that are breathing new life into this thriving neighborhood:


Zappos - relocating in 2013!

This top-notch online apparel site is moving its headquarters from Henderson, Nev., to the old site of Las Vegas City Hall (400 Stewart Ave.). The move is sure to be a catalyst for a community-focused opportunity-rich Downtown... Hey Zappos! Can I have a job?? With  how close I live, I'll never be late!  ;)
Check out DowntownProject.com to see what else Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh and his team have in store for the neighborhood!


Eat. - 707 Carson Street @ 7th

In addition to the palate, this "breakfast & lunch joint" brings freshness to all of a Downtowner's senses. With fresh and local ingredients, urban-themed art (including work by Krystal Ramirez), a contemporary ambience, dope tunes, and a friendly staff spearheaded by owner, Chef Natalie Young, you might think you've been beamed to a different city. Well, it's not a different city—it's the new Downtown LV, and Eat. knows what it's all about.
Check out EatDTLV.com.


 Art Square - 1025 South First Street

Located smack-dab in the middle of the Arts District in "Old Downtown" is Art Square. At this creative hub, you'll find the Brett Wesley Gallery, the Josephine Skaught Salon,  Artifice Bar, Cockroach Theatre, and the First Street ArtGarden which features the work of locals such as Luis Varela-Rico (who, you might recall, origami-bombed Downtown last year) and pop-art talent, Giovanni Morales.
Check out ArtSquareLV.com for a plethora of Vegas Art spectacles and info!


Fremont East District - Las Vegas Boulevard & Fremont Street

Head to Fremont East for the less crowded, less pretentious, less pricey and less ridiculous side of Vegas nightlife. You've got  Downtown Cocktail Room (downtempo, lounge-y house music), Beauty Bar (everything from punk to funk), Griffin (indie music jukebox, hooray!), Commonwealth (speakeasy-ish newcomer), Vanguard (for the mature hipsters), Insert Coin(s) (for the gamers and hip-hop heads) and so much more. Also highly recommended is Emergency Arts, where you can pick up a coffee, grab a sandwich, take in some art exhibits, or even check out the Burlesque Hall of Fame.

Keep up on Downtown goings-on at DTLV.com!

~Meow~

Pennies

PurrView #62 - Vegas Style Exhibit

 (UNLV Professor Dierdre Clemente sitting at Liberace's rhinestone piano)

 

 

A current exhibit by UNLV graduate students takes a dazzling look at the over-the-top fashions that have made Vegas Vegas.


Check out Look Back in Glamour—my article on the exhibit for Vegas Seven magazine.


~Meow~
Pennies



(photography by Andrew Sea James for Vegas Seven magazine)

PurrView #61 - Hollis Fingold Telephone

I have a landline at my new apartment in Downtown Las Vegas. Some of you might ask, What’s a landline?                                                                           Well, it’s a telephone that is not mobile. It’s a nod to the past that I absolutely love, so I decided that I wouldn’t just pick up any V-Tech or Sony cordless phone at Walmart.

 I wanted something old, something with a soul, something that was essentially obsolete but still proudly served its function, something that’s been places and seen things long before falling into my hands. I'm often amazed at how the things we want and desire come to fruition. After talking about wanting an  old, unique phone for weeks, I didn’t find this phone; this phone found me  ...  at Savers. It wasn’t even on the shelf yet. The thing grabbed my attention from inside an inventory cart. Thank God I saw this funky piece of functional art when I did because a few UNLV hipsters and etsy-looking-people fixed their gaze on it as I proudly stood in line to pay. Happy Birthday to me! And kudos to the artist,

                                    Hollis Fingold, whoever you are...

~Meow~

Pennies

PurrView #60 - RZA - The Man with the Iron Fists

It's been almost two decades since 36 Chambers, but Wu-Tang Clan founder Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known simply as the RZA, hasn't skipped a beat. After two previous attempts to create the perfect martial arts film, the RZA's motion picture dreams have come true. Besides a current concert tour, he's had his hands full—er, should I say fists?—with writing, directing, starring in, and scoring the soundtrack for the latest Quentin Tarantino flick, The Man with the Iron Fists. In theaters November 2, the bloody Kung Fu joint was filmed over 150 days in and around Shanghai, China and features a tantalizing cast that includes Russell Crow, Rick Yune and Lucy Liu. And the cherry on top? The RZA teamed up with gorno director Eli Roth on the screenplay. I caught up with the rap icon turned filmmaker during his recent visit to Vegas...

You wrote, directed and scored the soundtrack for The Man with the Iron Fists. How does it feel to have completed your first film? How did you make it happen?

It feels really good to complete this film. It’s very self-fulfilling and rewarding. Of course I’m still nervous until the rest of the world sees it and weighs in on my work. That’s how it is with anything you do, I guess. You want people to like it. I didn’t do it just for myself. But yeah, this is a good moment for me right now. With Wu Tang I saw the path. With this, I didn’t see the path, I found the path and I was confident. 

What do you have to say about your transition from purely making music to film making?

The transition for me was a natural one. It wasn’t strenuous, awkward or weird. But sometimes when you’re young you have a lot of negligence in you. Now I think that I’ve grown as a man, a gentleman and an artist. I've become a real man, like Daniel Craig/James Bond type of man. That’s the kind of pristine man I’ve grown into.

Why did you decide to retain the Rza moniker in filmmaking?

I think I’ve identified myself already [as Rza], so I just remain to be me in the midst of this environment. I found myself and I’m going to remain myself.

What is your favorite Kung Fu movie?

I can never say what my favorite is. But for people who want to get into the genre, my suggestions are The Five Deadly Venoms. That movie’s been one of the biggest inspirations for me regarding the imagination and how far you can take this kind of a movie. Also Master Killers, which is also called 36 Chambers, is another great movie if you’re breaking into the genre. Seven Grand Masters—in that, you have a man who walks around the country, traveling by foot to fight other men to prove he’s the best, and there are no guns involved. This particular guy uses his hands. Even if his enemy’s got a sword, he uses his hands. To me, that’s the epitome of a man. We live in a world where, especially the neighborhood where I grew up, we use guns to settle disputes. With a gun, you may not live to fight another day; and the person that shoots you goes to jail. In a fair fight, the best man wins or you go home with a butt-whooping and you get yourself better.

How did you and Eli Roth partner up?

We first met at Quentin Tarantino’s house in L.A. He shows movies at his house and invites people over. One night he invited me and Eli was there. We watched some movies together and talked about them and we just got along. We’ve been friends for about eight years now.

What do you do when you’re in Vegas?

I’ve gotten in trouble here, but I’m not going to reveal the crazy stories. Most people know Vegas for gambling, partying and strippers, right? But there’s a lot of beauty here and I’m seeing a lot of art. Gza, my cousin, he’s the one that told me to go see La Reve. He was like, “Yo, the shit they’re doing is like martial arts mixed with gymnastics mixed with some shit you can’t explain!” As far as arts & entertainment, I think Vegas made its way into the top 10. I didn’t see The Lion King on Broadway. I saw it here.

Be sure to check out The Man with the Iron Fists soundtrack, featuring Wu-Tang Clan, Wiz Khalifa, The Black Keys, Kanye West, Corrine Bailey Rae, Flatbush Zombies and more... yes, more...

~Meow~
Pennies

PurrView #59 - Super Cr3w

Way back in 2000, Vegas b-boys from three crews—Battle Monkeys, Full Force Crew and Knucklehead Zoo—formed a separate union and fittingly dubbed themselves Super Cr3w. The America’s Best Dance Crew champions will throw an anniversary party to celebrate 12 years of breakdancing brotherhood. You wanna battle? The event will feature a two-on-two dance competition with a $2,000 cash prize. But if you’d prefer to just watch two renowned dance troupes contend in the breaker circle, Super Cr3w and Skill Methodz will battle it out exhibition style. Members of both crews have previously worked together on dance movies such as You Got Served, but this will be the first time the two ensembles battle each other full squad. “We [both crews] have mutual respect for one another outside the circle,” Super Cr3w member Ronnie Abaldonado says. “But in a battle, it’s war!” Here’s your chance to see who’s serving who at Hard Rock Café on the Strip at 4 p.m. October 27.

Check out my event preview at VegasSeven.com.

~Meow~

Pennies



PurrView #58 - Raise the Roof

LowBrow Art Gets High

If you have a taste for pop surrealism and divey atmospheres, you’re in luck. Raise the Roof is a “ceiling art gallery” event held every last Friday of the month at Dino’s Lounge. August 31 was the third installment of the art-gallery-meets-dive-bar event.

Phillip Limon—Raise the Roof co-curator and owner of First Friday staple, Cornerstone Gallery—removes four standard drywall tiles from the ceiling of Dino’s every month.  Limon and co-curator, Jayo, select a different local artist to paint-up each tile. Every final Friday of the month, they return the four tiles to the ceiling and reveal one every hour at the unique art event. Wondering what kind of art we're talking here? “We want to support lowbrow art in the city,” Limon said. 

Adding to the overhead repertoire that began with tiles by Jayo and local ink artist, Christian Wiltse, featured artists for August included Mike Hall, Das Frank of Redemption Tattoos and DJ Tambe of Bad Apple. Outside, King Ruck of Slum Beautiful mural company threw up live graffiti. Inside, DJ Magic spun hip-hop, rock and old school jams. Art originals, prints, T-shirts and tattoo gift certificates were on the raffle/sales table as well. 

“Raise the Roof is welcoming, it's inviting and it's old school,” Limon said. "It will take up to Winter 2013 for completion." And when the decked-out tiles (all 90 of them) are raised to the ceiling, they not only become pieces in an art exhibit, they also become part of Dino’s.   

Raise the Roof, Every last Friday of the month, 6-10 p.m.; Dino’s Lounge, 1516 S. Las Vegas Blvd.

~Meow~
Pennies

PurrView #57 - Moment of poetry: "Less Sad"

Check out Therese Borchard's "10 Tips to Mend a Broken Heart"

"Less Sad"

There's something weighing heavy on my chest

An emptiness, an aching felt in my throat, within my breast

Another waking day, each one gets a little easier

But always a lingering shadow are thoughts regarding him

My relentless, nagging wonder of where he's at and where  he's been

A genuine concern about what kind of state he's in

A part of me hoping he's doing well, doing fine

A part of me hoping he feels my pain, multiplied a hundred times

My mind telling me to move on: it ran its course

My  heart taking the brunt: feeling as if it's been cursed

Another waking day and melancholy still abounds

But I know that soon... peace will be found

For every day I feel this weight on my chest getting lighter

Soon, I'll feel the pain in my throat and breast getting looser—

not tighter

And soon I'll be able to take the good, leave the bad

To know that as long as I keep calm and carry on

The feelings I feel will be less

and less

sad.



~Meow~

Pennies