Las Vegas Road Trip: Day Three

Feb 17, 2005- Permalink

Day three was going to be a busy one for us. We had received an email on day two asking if we could squeeze in a performance by Clint Holmes. We were scheduled to see Rick Thomas at the Tropicana in the afternoon, Clint Holmes at Harrah’s at 7:30 and George Wallace at the Flamingo at 10pm. Since Vegas is all “go, go, go” that schedule didn’t seem like a stretch.

We decided we’d grab breakfast at the Tropicana and headed there by taking the monorail from the station at Harrah’s. This was actually a test run for our upcoming Saturday night in which we have to make it from Mystère at Treasure Island to Folies Bergere at the Tropicana with little time to spare and no desire to sit in busy weekend Strip traffic. The monorail is fast and quiet and not too expensive. It runs from the Sahara at one end of the Strip to the MGM Grand at the other.

We arrived at the Tropicana quickly and grabbed our comps for The Magic of Rick Thomas and Saturday’s Folies Bergere. We then headed off to Calypsos for brunch. The food was good and the service fast.

The Magic of Rick Thomas is a family-friendly afternoon show and as such there were quite a few kids in the audience. Thomas is an athletic, six foot four magician who moves with a grace that comes from his years of competitive ballroom dancing with his sister. The show has a fast tempo and moves quickly from sleight of hand tricks to bigger illusions involving tigers and motorcycles. Thomas frames many of his segments with stories about growing up and his audience participation moments never seem patronizing. For a while, Vegas went after families with its rollercoasters and other attractions, but in recent years has made the move back to catering to the free-spending singles crowd with more erotic shows and a party atmosphere. Thomas’ show is an oasis for the Vegas visitor that still brings the children with them. His jokes aren’t off-colour, his lovely assistants are sexy in the girl-next-door fashion, and his illusions will have the young magicians in your family begging for a magic kit. Throughout his show, Rick Thomas stresses the importance of following your dreams. It’s a positive message that we don’t hear often enough. (Update: Thomas moved his show from the Tropicana to the Stardust. The Tropicana’s afternoon magic slot is now filled with Xtreme Magic starring Dirk Arthur.)

Rick is now at the Stardust: Thursday through Tuesday, 2 p.m. & 4 p.m.

After a quick bite it was time to head off to Harrah’s to see the Clint Holmes performance we had been invited to the day before.

The word “best” gets tossed around Clint a lot. He’s been named “Best Kept Secret” by Las Vegas Life Magazine, and “Best Singer” (two years in a row), “Best All-Around Las Vegas Performer” and “Favorite Male Las Vegan” by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. When we sat down for the show, we weren’t greeted by topless showgirls or massive sets, but rather by a singer and an 11-piece band that genuinely love working together. Holmes jokingly introduced a “medley of my hit”, his one Top 10 recording “Playground In My Mind (My Name Is Michael).” He says having one hit used to bug him until he realized that he had one more hit than most of the audience.

Holmes’ voice is amazing and he moves from genre to genre with ease. The son of a British opera singer and an African-American jazz musician, Holmes says, “My mom taught me how to sing correctly, and my dad taught me how to enjoy it.” While talking about his family, Clint introduces a song that touches upon the problems of an interracial marriage in the Fifties. He also showed a short video of his mother singing “Summertime” from Porgy & Bess. Suddenly, he leapt into the audience and ran to the booth in front of us. His mother, now in her eighties, was in the audience that night. She stood up and sang a bit more of the song. Holmes beamed as she performed.

The band, led by his college buddy, Bill Fayne, features R&B legend Ronnie Foster on the Hammond B3 organ and Jerry Lopez on lead guitar. The band jammed on a wide range of material from older classics to modern pop and the mood was loose. Many Las Vegas shows dazzle with the money spent on sets and costumes. Clint Holmes’ show shines with the pure talent and love for music everyone on the stage shares.

(Clint plays Harrah’s Mon-Sat: 7:30pm Dark Sunday)

Following Clint Holmes, we hightailed it to the Flamingo in time to get our seats for George Wallace’s comedy act. Wallace effortlessly glides from setup to setup. Just when it appeared that the show was winding down, Wallace launched into a rapid fire set of premises that had the audience rolling in the aisles. His wit hit his targets dead on, whether he was going after the local supermarket or the President of the United States. He even skewers his casino hosts by saying that when he arrives in Vegas, he gives all of his money to the hotel’s front desk so he doesn’t need to waste time gambling. Wallace is an a big room, but his expansive personality brings it down to a comfortable size.

George plays the Flamingo Tuesday-Saturday 10:00PM. Dark Sunday & Monday