Gallery Au Go-Go Returns

"After a much needed hiatus Gallery Au Go-Go is back in action!..."

That's the news coming from the Las Vegas Community's Journal, courtesy of Cydniey.

Which is great news. The gallery often has edgy shows that stray away from safe, abstract, contemporary works, loads of booze and free food, and the best mix of people of any gallery in town. It's nice to see them returning to the fray, and mixing it up in the local art scene.

"...The place is remodeled and if you've been there before you won't recognize the joint, if you haven't, come see why we were voted "Best Art Gallery " in the Review Journal's Readers Poll 2003. The Gallery has always pushed the envelope in unique and sometimes controversial shows as well as being one of the only venues for true "lowbrow" art and showcasing our city's incredible talent. I look forward to the next 6 months of events and thank all of you for your support in the past and future. Dirk Vermin

Sat. July 31st "The It's Too Friggin' Hot Midnight Garage Sale and Social" Come join some of your best friends as they try to sell you their crap. Interested vendors call me to reserve booth space. Show starts at 12 am 'till ? Music with DJ Rob Ruckus. (Bring tables)

Fri. Aug 6th "HooDoo VooDoo" (the Art of Dirk Vermin) Join me for First Friday at my one man art show in Studio 25 (a Five Finger Miscount Production{in the The Arts Factory}) for more info call 380-3223 or go to First Friday. This is downtown in the Las Vegas Arts District.

Sat. Aug 21st GALLERY AU GO-GO GRAND REOPENING!!! "Smoke 'Em If Ya Got 'Em-Cigar Box Art Show" Artists from Las Vegas and So. California are participating. Come and pick up a cigar box (or find your own) and do whatever you want creatively to make them "art", there are no rules. Call me for more info. This Show will travel to Pomona Arts District on Sat. Sep. 11th.

Sat. Oct. 30th "Noche De Los Calaveras" (night of the skulls) This will be our Halloween extravaganza art show and party. More info to come.

Sat. Nov. 13th "EYES" (The Art Of Jennifer Spear) A one woman art showing featuring one of Las Vegas' most talented artists. All the pieces will be close-ups of celebrity eyes, absolutely beautiful. This will be a classy event so behave and dress accordingly.

Sat. Dec. 18th "TATTOOS AND TRASH 3" This third annual event has caught national attention for my humble little PussyKat Tattoo Parlor. While last years featured tattoo artists from all over the country, this years will exclusively concentrate on west coast talent.

Most of the shows run from 8 pm - midnight. For more info call Dirk at 419-5681. (Dates and times are subject to change)"

Rob Ruckus B-Day Report

"I AM RUCKUS, I PLAY IN BANDS, I SILKSCREEN STUFF, AND I MAKE THE WORLD A SAFER PLACE."

Las Vegas man of many bands, Rob Ruckus, had a birthday. It was a quiet affair with a few friends, a small, smoky bar and "20 SHOTS" of Crown Royal. The man himself tells the tale, in all capital letters. It's a story only he could tell.

"...I WAS FUCKED UP. I GOT NUDE FOR MOST OF THE SET AND AT ONE POINT WAS AT THE BAR SCREAMING SOMETHING INTO THE MIKE AND THROWING PEOPLES DRINKS IN MY FACE. I GUESS A FIGHT BROKE OUT WHILE THERE WAS A PIT IN FRONT OF US PLAYING, AND STEVE JOHNSTON, AND RUDY AND TURBO AND OTHERS WERE INVOLVED IN, DRINKS GOT KNOCKED ALL OVER WARRENS SHIT. TURBOS GIRL THREW A DRINK IN WARRENS FACE AND HE HAD TO GO TO HOSPITAL AFTER. ME AND DIRK DID ALOT OF HUGGING. SWEATY MAN HUGS. AND I'M SURE SOME OTHER SHIT HAPPENED BUT I DONT REMEMBER..."

SantaCon Followup: Santa Sez. "Ho, Ho, Ho, There's No Snow..."

... and yet Santas and Elves made a night of it for SantaCon Vegas, a CacophonyNV event. With the success of last Friday, hope springs eternal for their next venture, a Zombie Attack Drill Day, to "highlight the need in our national security budgeting for zombie preparedness."

The following quotes and reports come from Santas that made it to SantaCon Vegas. Someone who was very good took the following photos and more and is sure to be rewarded this coming Christmas. Additional pictures may be found on the Santa Rampage page at VegasArtists.org.

PETA should take comfort knowing the new monorail took over reindeer duty for that night.

"While breaking to answer the call of nature, Elvis haphazardly stumbled onto Santa. Elvis appeared disturbed by the sight of Santa in the way that some people are spooked by the sight of circus clowns. He tried to run away from Santa. Being a huge fan, Santa wanted a picture with Elvis and no one back at the North Pole would believe that Santa met Elvis without one! With elves in tow and a blur of red, black, and white, Santa bounded after the King in hot pursuit. Santa got his picture, and though Elvis was eventually manipulated by holiday cheer into posing, a mental note was made to put Elvis on the "'Ain't gettin' jack'" list.

"While enjoying his beverages... ...Santa heard a sound he had never heard before... ...It was real, live, rock and roll music played by a real, live rock and roll band, right in the middle of the casino floor! ...he was thoroughly inebriated and ready to get his groove on. As he stumbled to the stage and started to shake it, tourists, casino workers, and the band members themselves pointed and laughed, then grew confused as Santa started multiplying on the dancefloor right before their very eyes! But the holiday spirit was too strong, and the spectators soon became participants. The dancefloor was packed with Santas, elves and tourists and though Santa's cheap suit was soaked with sweat, he still had enough juice for one last song... as the band tore through "Old Time Rock & Roll" with grins plastered across their faces, the singer offered her microphone to the crowd at the choruses as Santa gathered around the mic and belted out that old time "HO HO HO!!!!" along with the tune. Even if Mr. Bob Seger himself created a chorus of clones, he would have nothing on Santa's version!"

Metallica and Weezer = =w=eezTALLICA!!!!

A band that does Weezer and Metallica, now that's some kind of monster. But that's just the band that great_teacher_r over on Las Vegas LiveJournal is talking about.

"This Wednesday at the Starbucks in the Best in the West Shopping Center (2190 N. Rainbow Blvd) will be the first ever live performance of the musical stylings of
=w=eezTALLICA!!!!

7 PM.
Come see us play.
And help us go through college by tipping us.
And enjoy delicious delicious Starbucks!
So tasty.
So good.

Anyways it's something to do.
Oh blessed blessed free publicity space."

I Don't Know Much, But I Know I Love... Michael Moore

"'Ms. (Linda) Ronstadt was hired to entertain the guests of the Aladdin, not to espouse political views,' the casino said...

...A statement issued by the Aladdin said Ronstadt had been 'escorted out of the hotel' just after her performance and said the performer would 'not be welcomed back.'"

Pro-Michael Moore statements got the singer kicked out of the Aladdin Casino & Resort Saturday night. Reuters has the evening's tale of the audience's reaction: polite discussion, orderly exiting of the arena and praising the singer for exercising her right to free speech, NOT!

"...Ronstadt's comments drew loud boos, and some of the 4,500 people in attendance stormed out of the theater. People also tore down concert posters and tossed cocktails into the air.

'It was a very ugly scene,' Aladdin President Bill Timmins told The Associated Press. 'She praised him and all of a sudden all bedlam broke loose.'"

One would have thought she would have had a handle on the political predilections of her fans. Oops.

However, Mr Moore has words of thanks to the singer, and the mandatory indignant-letter-to-corporate-defiler-of-free-speech up on his website, to Aladdin President Bill Timmins.

New York Film Fest in Vegas, and Tropicana Cinemas

The New York Film and Video Festival is looking to introduce Big Apple attitude throughout the US, and Vegas is one of their stops. The NYC-based fest will be in town for 7 days, from July 20th through the 27th.

Like CineVegas, the festival will be shown at the Brenden Theatres in the Palms Casino. In addition to the movie viewings, there will be seminars with locals such as Jeanne Corcoran (Nevada Film Commission) and John Marsh (Professor at the Community College of Southern Nevada) There will also be, of course, afterparties at a myriad of bars and clubs throughout the city.

When you tire of being bumped into by imported New Yorkers (Whatchulookngnat?!!!!), head over to the Tropicana Cinemas, who are putting up the most eclectic movie schedules the city has seen. While The Trop has a typical selection of slightly aged movies like "13 Going on 30", "Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed", and "Laws of Attraction", it's the Special Events movies that warrant attention:

The Rocky Horror Picture Show
A Clockwork Orange
This Is Spinal Tap
Cheech & Chong's "Nice Dreams"
Tommy
Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon

This last movie deserves special note because Pouncy over at Vegasgoths is the reason it's showing in the first place.

"If you have a movie that you want to see, that you haven't seen in a few years, just ask Scott. He can get anything. Just because I asked, they played 'The Wall' last week, and they are going to play 'The last Dragon' in August...

So sayeth Pouncy."

Amen, now go see a movie.

Christmas Comes Early, Notification Comes Late

"No force on earth can stop one hundred Santas!"

The Bellagio is to be Ground Zero for a Vegas exercise in SANTA RAMPAGE. The task, a bit of culture jamming or Santarchy!, with Santas and Elves making themselves present, is to confuse and befuddle the tourists around the Bellagio. The Santas and Elves should be lurking about the fountains on Friday, July 16th, starting at 8 pm.

An email on the LVarts mailing list, attributed to The Las Vegas Burningman Crew and Las Vegas Community Artists Group, has a simple list of rules for proper Santa/Elf decorum.

1. You MUST be dressed as a Santa, Mrs. Santa, or an Elf to attend,
simply putting on a Santa hat and showing up does not cut it, you
need to be in costume. YES it's going to be friggin' hot, so bring
some water as well.

2. You are expected to be fully self sufficient, that is, you will
need drinking money and personal supplies; this is not a free ride.

3. DON'T MESS WITH LITTLE KIDS. Kids take Santa VERY seriously, and
nothing says "please kick my ass dad" like making a little kid cry.
Don't do it! In fact, you are expected to bring little toys/gifts to
hand out to people as we make our way up & down the strip. Bring a
few pieces of charcoal to hand out to grumpy people too. Cheap
trinkets can be purchased online from places such as this
http://www.orientaltrading.com
or at your local Toys-R-Us

4. Don't mess with the cops or security. If we are asked to leave a
particular location we need to do it, with no hassles promptly and as
a group.

5. Stay together: `No force on earth can stop a hundred Santas', but
there's a lot of forces that can stop one or two, because believe it
or not, not everyone loves Santa. There's power in numbers, use it.

6. No one is in charge, when asked "what are you guys doing" the
answer to almost every question is "I'm Santa" or just "Santa."

While it's pretty assured that this Santarchy event won't be as well attended as the NYC based SantaCon 2003, one could hope that Vegas has the lights to attract more St. Nicks in the future.

And apologies for not getting this post put out earlier, as planned on.

I Hear Those Things are Awfully Loud... It Glides as Softly as a Cloud.

Monorail!

Yes, the much maligned Robert N. Broadbent Las Vegas Monorail is open. To find out about Robert N. Broadbent, read this entry of the Review-Journal's three-part series chronicling 100 people who had major impacts on Las Vegas over the city's first century.

But wouldn't you rather read about Kim Pedersen, who built a monorail in his backyard.

Photo from Mavromatic

Vegas Show Leads to Talk of Museum Reform

The skepticism that the Vegas Monet show was met with has led to... something, but what?

The Association of Art Museum Directors has taken the Bellagio-PaperBall/Museum of Fine Arts, Boston collaboration as a starting point for discussions about museum reform. An Art Newspaper article touches upon the group's concerns and sees a correlation between the current corporate investigations and a Senate investigation involving nonprofit organizations.

"...The Paperball exhibition of the MFA's Monets was discussed at AAMD's last two meetings, with Malcolm Rogers, director of the MFA, addressing the membership on each occasion. Ms Gaudieri believes the exhibition 'doesn't go beyond our guidelines'. It did, however, spur an internal inquiry about how to regulate the commercial aspect of members' activities. 'It's part of a larger issue we are going to try and grapple with in the coming year or so,' says Ms Gaudieri.

'AAMD is concerned about potential ethical conflicts arising between art museums and for-profit organizations,' says Peter Morrin, director of the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, who has just completed his term as president of AAMD. 'Several of our committees will be looking into this issue,' he says.'"

The AAMD's pdf document Revenue Generation outlines a collection of questions to answer the question, "Whazzup with your museum???"

Are traditional funding strategies consistent with the museum's standards of
quality and integrity?

Does the economic climate necessitate the creation of additional revenue
streams?

Are prospective revenue streams consistent with the museum's mission,
collection and programs?

Are the motives and means of a prospective revenue stream consistent with the
terms of a museum's non-profit 501(c)3 status and its charter?

Once again, it seems Vegas is being critiqued indirectly, that its embrace of moral ambiguity has made it unworthy of a show of this caliber. But, then again, there is no other city that has quite the need for such an arrangement, others having cultural institutions that would have provided such a show. It's a shame that the AAMD doesn't offer guidance to help foster a place in Vegas that would prevent this being an issue again. But most major cities managed to create home-grown institutions, and a lack of these places seems to validate some views that Vegas is incapable of nurturing cultural outlets. The fact that the Las Vegas Performing Arts Center website no longer functions is proof that the city is in dire need of even some of the most basic big city cultural offerings.

Battle of the Bands and Nudie Girls and Boys at the Stardust

Local Sin City Grind Girl Rue is currently exhibiting a selection of photos in conjunction with the LifeStyles Con at the Stardust Hotel and Casino. Posting on the LVarts Yahoo group, Rue says...

"...some of my photographs, actually my Mood Of The Room series, are on exhibit this weekend at the Erotic Art Show at the Stardust put on by the LA based Erotic "X-Art" Gallery ... ...The Art show is on display tomorrow July 9 10am to 7pm and Saturday July 10, 10am to 7pm and the show goes on tour for a while..."

It's unclear if the paid admission to the alternative-life themed convention is required to see the displayed works.

From the rocking desk of Rod Bedford, it's the 2004 WorldFolk's Annual Battle of the Bands (B.O.B.)...

"Blam! Its that time again kiddies! Time for another "B.O.B." Battle Of the Bands show!

Up next is Matteo's Underground, 1305 Arizona St., on Saturday, July 10th., nestled in the quiet, little town of Boulder City (30 minutes from downtown Las Vegas) The show kicks off at 8 P.M. with MJ & Hipshot at the "B.O.B." Showcase on the patio outside (all ages), then at 9 P.M. things heat up downstairs at the Underground with Deadburn, Last Rites, OMS, & Extaza in the "B.O.B." Battle Of the Bands competition must be 21! Admission is free to both stages! Bands from Seattle, Los Angeles, New York City, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Hollywood, Tracy, Phoenix, Phoenix, Roseville, and St Paul are competing for cash and prizes in WorldFolk's (the folk stands for people) 6th Annual "B.O.B." Battle Of the Bands Festival! The Festival concludes with the finals on Saturday, October 2nd at the Cannery Casino & Hotel. There will also be a "B.O.B." Musician's Conference on Friday, Octorber 1st & Saturday, October 2nd. The Musician's Conference will also be at the Cannery.

First place prize in the "B.O.B." Battle Of the Bands Festival is $1000 cash from the "B.O.B." Piggy Bank, $1200 in gear from Morley Pedals, $500 Gift Card from Sam Ash, Studio Time from Moonlight Mastering Studio in Burbank, CA and Strings for a year from Dean MarkleyStrings, oh yeah, we almost forgot, $100 worth of big ass burritos from Chipotle, some grub for after band pratice! Winner takes all! No second, or third place prizes, with more prizes to be announced!!! Its Vegas Baby!!!

If you would lilke to register your band for the competition, play the Patio Showcase, volunteer, judge or sponsor, please email or call us at: 702-353-8178.. Thanks!!!

"B.O.B." really is a good boy!

"B.O.B." & Friends
WorldFolk/"B.O.B."