The Succulent Wife's Favorite Things

Scoot Coupes: The FUN-EST Way to view the Strip

This was so much fun… We rented these brand new Scoot Coupe vehicles the other night and “pranced” around the Las Vegas Strip and Fremont Street (aka Downtown Las Vegas). We took the kids and some friends.

Each three wheeled Scoot Coupe seats two. Our whole group created quite the parade with its seven coupes following in a neat row. We instantly became an instant attraction on the Strip.

The most memorable part of our ride was the unobstructed views that we had from the mini vehicle. No roof, no windshield to block the view. The Strip never looked so glorious. I guess that you would get this same view from a motorcycle or a regular scooter too, but since I don’t ride either of those, I never got to see the city from this new “close-up” angle. And, for having gone up and down Las Vegas Boulevard too many times to count, it’s only in riding this little vehicle that I got to notice landmarks and things that I had never seen before.

The Scoot Coupes are small little things but they feel zippy. They have all the trappings of a safe vehicle: turning signals, lights, a LOUD horn and seat belts.  Oh, and the 30 MPH speed limit reinforces the safety aspect. You can’t go crazy in these. We felt safe and, with all the attention we were getting, we also felt kinda hip! I also felt like a kid. And my kids felt like… kids having a blast.

I would recommend this to anyone in any age group. I would especially recommend going at night to get a full sense of the lights that illuminate the Strip. Here’s where to go to rent the little machines:  Scoot City. Rentals are 1 hour for $49.00, 3 hours for $99.00 and 24 hours for $249.00.
 
Have fun!!!

 

Espresso Culture & Cuisine – A rare true café in Las Vegas…

In any other town, this delightful little café might be just that...a delightful little café. Here, in Las Vegas it’s actually a real gem. Indeed, this restaurant café (bordering Henderson) is independently owned. That’s almost an anomaly in this town that works on chain restaurant formulas. And if it’s not a chain, then the restaurant is owned or operated by a corporation, most likely a casino. So, in the rare instance where I stumble upon a place that is owned and cared for by REAL people, I just want to shout and dance.

But, aside that endearing attribute, the Espresso café offers a symphony of reasons as to why you’d want to hang out there. Super friendly staff for starters. Free WiFi, bien sur (seamless connection with plenty of power plugs). Fun décor with a mix of seating arrangements to suit your specific purpose at the time of visit: the LeCorbusier (copies, shhhhh) chairs were perfect for an early Saturday morning coffee-and-paper routine with my husband, while the tables and chairs where my choice for a business rendez-vous later in the week. There is also a little sofa nook that seems to be the most prized area.

The coffee is Illy (they invented espresso you know?) which in itself gives the place an official stamp of approval. No regular drip here. Only the espresso machine is used and you can have an Americano if you want the drip alternative. Anything lighter than that and you’ll want to go to Coco’s down the street (ugh!). Espresso makes serving coffee an experience with every cup presented on its own little tray, with all the coffee accoutrements, anise biscotti included. Food stuff is mainly paninis and salads. There is live music on certain nights and that’s where the culture bit comes in.

Love it. This is my new neighborhood hangout.

PS: find it at 9555 S. Eastern Av, Las Vegas, NV, 89123 - 702-243-4559. I’m not sending you to the website ‘cause it’s an insult to the café. You’ll need to find that on your own!!!

Las Vegas Show Review: Second City Was Second Rate

I’ll keep this one short, ‘cause really, I’m not that much into spending a lot of time tearing something up. That’s just not very rewarding to me. But still, I must share about my disappointment with the Second City performance at The Flamingo Hotel, Las Vegas.

Second City bills themselves as improv comedy troupe, but really, there was hardly any improv at all. Mostly sketches. The Second City website proclaims “Sin City’s favorite improv comedy troupe launches sixth season of side-splitting laughs”. Huh? Our group’s few and far between laughs were incidentally prompted by the painful attempts of the comedians to keep a straight face during certain skits. The few short minutes where actual improv took place were good but too rare.

I do believe that the actors that went on that night are truly talented. My favorite was Katie Neff, who might actually look like a normal person off stage when she isn’t contorting her features into some painful expression. She was quite the bundle of energy. Unfortunately for the group of them, the sketches did not do them justice. They were “professionally” executed, and transitions were excellent, but the problem was that most sketches were ultimately boring or did not touch on that all important “nerve”. It just did not resonate and fell flat.

So, my bottom line recommendation for this show is that unless you are a talent scout searching for new comedic talent, you might not want to attend unless the show is comp-ed. And even then, when you think about all the other great venues in town, why waste time on mediocre sketch comedy?

Besides that, the Flamingo is a lamentably boring property, stuck somewhere in 1985. I don’t understand. With all the razzmatazz of surrounding hotels and casinos, you’d think that The Flamingo would have thought about stepping up their game, no?

Not wanting to stick around the uninspiring premises for our après-show drink, we walked 2 minutes to the Barbary Coast. This hotel & casino is also definitely stuck in time, but at least it has a patina and an indescribable tacky charm. We sat at Bill’s Gambling Hall Saloon listening to a decent jazz band. The best part? Our drink tab for four totaled an astounding $14 (our reflex was “what? Did they forget a zero?”) and, even at our no-longer-a-spring-chicken tender age, we were still the youngest ones on the premises. That part felt great!!!

A JOLLY GOOD TIME: SPAMALOT AT THE GRAIL THEATRE, WYNN LAS VEGAS - Las Vegas Show Review

Well, to start, let me admit that I not a Monty Python follower. I have “accidentally” seen a few scenes from some of their movies and skits but have never actively sought them out. Men seem to be disproportionately attracted to Monty Python humor. All my ex-boyfriends and now my husband and son are big fans. My daughter and I… we could take it or leave it. Yes, I’m definitely more the historical novel type than historical (hysterical?) farce type. 

Anyhoo, it is still with some enthusiasm that I made my way to the Grail Theatre at Wynn Las Vegas for my very first Spamalot performance. Not having seen the productions in other cities, I won’t be able to tell you how this one compares. But we do know that the Las Vegas show has been cut down to 90 minutes and has no intermission. It goes without saying that the Vegas hotels want their guests in the casino, not in the theatre.

Like all good Las Vegas theatre venues, the Grail Theatre’s lobby has been planned to “get you in the  mood” of the event before you are even seated. This one does it quite successfully with various collages and vintage images (yes, we can call them vintage at 35+ years) of Monty Python characters. I enjoyed the humorous interpretations of historical artifacts that line the walk to the theatre. I wasn’t the only one taking photos (see the "Knight Mare" and the "Trophy Wife" at left). This was entertaining from the get-go. The bar, called the Snack-a-Lot, runs with the theme and you can buy giant drinks in Holy Grail goblets. Themed souvenir glasses, that’s just so ... Las Vegas.

We find our seats. The live orchestra is practicing. Love a live orchestra. That’s always a good sign that a production is taking itself seriously… Not sure if seriously is the right adjective here, but you get the gist.

And so, the parody begins, with plenty of puns and song and dance. And our analysis begins as well: how much of this show will be exactly like the movie? I’m happy to report that, contrary to all advertising (see the show’s own promotional blurb), not all of the show was ripped off from the Monty Python and the Holy Grail movie. In fact, a large portion of the show was different. For one, this show is a musical. And there are many other new scenes and new concepts in “character development”. For instance, we find out that Lancelot is gay and breaks out in this wonderful Carmen Miranda type routine. Loved it. I also loved the Fiddler on the Roof spoof and the ridicule of the French soldiers.

I usually don't enjoy slapstick and easy,obvious humor, but I found myself – gasp – laughing out loud on several occasions. I guess that the cleverness of the humor is why Monty Python endures so well. No one is immune to their mockery and that’s what makes it perfectly acceptable. It’s the universal put down.

Aside from the obligatory “What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas” reference, this production was a delight. Great performers, dancers, sets and costumes that are supporting great material.

I would highly recommend it, wherever you might find yourself. Not knowing any better, I was quite pleased with the Las Vegas version!

Pamela Anderson Saves the Day for Magician Hans Klok - Las Vegas Show Review

I was invited to see the “Hans Klok – The Beauty of Magic” show just a few days ago. I had never heard of Hans Klok before, but since he managed to snag Pamela Anderson, the Grande Dame of Silicon, as his special assistant, I thought he must be, well… somebody?

Many Las Vegas shows have little substance. So I went, with little expectations, equally ready to be delighted or to roll my eyes.

I like this Las Vegas theater where Hans Klok performs. It’s smack in the center of the Miracle Mile mall at the new Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. I’ve seen a few shows in that theater and found that there is hardly a bad seat in the house. We entered to theater accompanied by music which was probably meant to evoke the eerie sounds of a horror house B-movie. I guess that this is presumed to set the mood for drama, fear and awe. To get us on the edge of our seats before the performance even begins. Right. The visual: a set of huge (inflatable) hands on either side of the stage, each grabbing round video screens. The effect was interesting and the screens quite helpful for close up views, ‘cause no one wants to miss Pamela…

Show begins. Hans appears, under the sound to thunder cracking, jumping out of a smoke-filled glass cage. His manicured blond mane shining under the spotlights. I just know that someone told him that his hair was one of his greatest assets and that he needs to play it up. He does, running his hands through it every 15 seconds.

And so, with The Hair, the posing begins, during one disappearing act after another. But there is no Pamela, as Hans makes sure to clarify for us. Not for a while yet anyways, he assures us. So more posing, dancing and disappearing acts. I wish he did not dance. I felt uncomfortable looking at all this posturing. Same kind of discomfort as when I watch the exaggerated acting on telenovelas. Yewwww! 

The obligatory dancers are featured too. They’re actually not bad at all, some of them professionally trained, you can tell. Their costumes are well designed, but someone (me) needs to let them know that the bad, bad wigs are just not cutting it. The choreography? We don’t need to get into that, do we?  The dancers are given some “supporting” roles, but mostly, they provide filler-entertainment, lots of it. Not sure why, since we all know that Hans, proclaimed as the fastest magician in the world, doesn’t need all that time to change costumes backstage.

There is a loose storyline that portrays a “Hans” as a little boy (a child actor with another horrid wig and a permanent-dictated-by-the-director look of awe on his face) learning about magic through his father and traveling the world to perform. Well, something along those lines…

Through their travels, they end up in Paris with the Eiffel tower as the backdrop, Flamenco dancers and an evil queen witch ready to guillotine Hans. Huh? Alright, going along for now, though there is still no Pamela.

Why the interest in Pamela, you ask? No, I have never even watched a single episode of Baywatch nor have I ever followed details of her career or family life. I guess that it was just plain morbid curiosity. When she does appear, in the teensiest costume, I can’t help but be jealous. She looks quite fantastic. Not a single dimple of cellulite. Not one! A couple bruises that are attributed to the illusion tricks. The only imperfections discernible from the third row. So not fair!

More disappearing acts ensue, in varying contraptions each time, some times featuring Pamela who doesn’t yet seem quite as ease with this new role. Unfortunately, Pamela or not, none of the illusions are new. We have all seen it before. However, Hans does have the courtesy to credit several magicians for the tricks that he is replicating. Among them are Houdini, Harry Blackstone and Kevin James who also shows his art in Las Vegas.  But Kevin James is not quite as pretty as Hans Klok, nor does he have Pamela as an assistant. Therefore, he does not get his own show. Well, that might just be my theory.

All in all, although there is hardly any original material in the entire show – to the point of predictability - it was still, somehow, a good show... for a magic show. I did roll my eyes, but I also appreciated the talent. Hans is a professional and every illusion was performed to perfection. He is indeed amazingly fast and seems genuinely proud and excited after each illusion he performs. That’s very cute. And if nothing else, the show makes for good eye candy. Hans is pretty. The dancers are handsome, even sexy, as are the assistants. And then there is Pamela. For all of her 12 minutes on stage, she is clearly the draw for 90% of the audience members . Blond ditz or not, she’s the one with the magical power to save Hans Klok from vanishing into the pool of Las-Vegas-performers-who-never-quite-make-it. Where would this show be without her, I wonder. 

If you catch the 7:00pm show, it makes for a fun, light pre-dinner show that will certainly get you in the mood for all things Las Vegas: in-your-face kitschyness, big boobs and big hair, sprinkled with a good dose of magic dust. Children under 8 not allowed.