Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
emcees and while she'll let anybody up, you can tell immediately how worthy she
thinks you are by whether or not she lets you sing more than one song.
Needless to say, this ain't the place to try karaoke for the first time, but a lot of
talented performers do come here hoping to be discovered (can't say whether that
works). If you want to sing, get here early—there can be up to an hour-long wait
to hit the stage (go up to the front to choose your song and get on the list). Also
be ready for a crowded bar scene, as the place gets packed; if you want to sit in
comfort, make a reservation, but get ready to order some food, too, as the tables
are reserved for diners.
On the third Sunday of every month,
Suede Lounge
(4640 S. Paradise Rd. #4;
%
702/791
-
3463; www.piranhalv.net/suede; Sun and Wed 6pm-3am, Thurs-Sat
6pm-5am, Celebrity Showcase is 3rd Sun of month at 10:30pm; AE, DISC, MC, V)
has its own karaoke session, except here the focus is on show tunes rather than
standards and rock (as at the Bootlegger). Who's performing? Usually the casts of
whatever Broadway show happens to be in town, and they jam the place, so get
there early. All are welcome, but those of a less-tolerant ilk should know that this
is a gay bar. (What do you expect? It's show tune night.)
Vegas may also be the only place in the U.S. where karaoke isn't confined to
crooning. On Wednesday nights beginning at 10pm, magicians take over
Boomers Bar
(3200 N. Sirius Ave.;
%
702/368
-
1863; daily 24 hr.; AE, DISC, MC,
V).
More of an unofficial seminar than a performance, magicians come from all
over to exchange trade secrets, practice tricks on one another, and impress any
muggles who might wander in. Lance Burton and Siegfried and Roy have been
known to drop by and mingle with the other talented and lesser-known lovers of
trickery. On Sunday nights, the open mic is taken over by aspiring comedians.
MACHINE GUN FUN
It's still the “Wild West” in Nevada, as far as guns are concerned. Las Vegas law
doesn't require that gun owners get a “carry permit” for their weapons, as so many
other areas do. Gun clubs are popular, as are shooting ranges, and there are shoot-
ing competitions somewhere in the greater Vegas area most every weekend. To get
a taste of this trigger-happy life, you can do what many locals (and tourists) do,
and spend an afternoon with an AK-47 in your mitt. Hard to believe, but there
are several ranges in town where just about anyone can walk in, choose a machine
gun, pick a target (and they have all kinds, from simple bulls-eyes to life-size
portraits of Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, and other baddies) and—bam,
bam, bam, bam, bam—blow it to pieces.
I have to admit it's a huge rush. And I'm a person who'd never touched a gun
before I went to Vegas and wish that gun control laws were stronger. But there's
something about shooting a machine gun that feels at once Zeus-like and like
holding a raging tiger in your arms. It's a very powerful and absolutely terrifying
feeling, kinda like that sensation you get when you're at the edge of a tall build-
ing or cliff and you start to imagine, half-wistfully, what it would be like to just
jump off (oh, don't close the topic—we've all had those weird, heart-pounding
fantasies, right?). As Chris Irwin, an owner of one of the ranges in town put it,
“People can't believe they're allowed to do something they've only seen before in
the movies. It's like Disneyland to them.”
