Local singer’s big gig: Opening for Bon Jovi
IT takes a lot to roust Vinny “Vin A.” Adinolfi III out of bed at 7 a.m., but he popped awake this morning for an announcement by Mike O’brian and Carla Rea on KKLZ 96.3-FM.
The co-hosts informed their listeners Vin A. had won the station’s battle-of-the-bands contest to open for Bon Jovi tonight at T-mobile Arena.
Vin A., a member of the family rock act Bronx Wanderers at the Windows Showroom at Bally’s, won the open voting competition.
Afterward, Vin A. and the band will play a free show at The Space. Showtime is 10 p.m., or whenever the guys can set up.
“It’s unreal, man, just unreal,” Vin A. said in a phone chat this week. “It’s so great. I can’t believe it, really.”
A guy who is born to perform, Vin A. has been busy outside his regular role as multi-instrumentalist and singer in Bronx Wanderers, founded by his father, Vinny Adinolfi Jr., and featuring brother Nicky Adinolfi.
Most prominently, Vin A.’s “Enough Is Enough” anti-gun anthem is due for release next week. The video for that tune, unveiled in December at Myron’s Cabaret Jazz at The Composers Showcase, has been sent to students in Parkland, Fla., who plan to play it during the March For Our Lives event in Washington on March 24
The march is headed by students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, site of the Feb. 14 mass shooting that claimed the lives of 17 students and staff.
But “Enough Is Enough” won’t be part of Vin A.’s fivesong set Saturday night.
“I don’t want to come in with some big political statement for this,” Vin. A said.
“We don’t want to bring the mood down before a Bon Jovi concert.”
Prior to Saturday, Vin A. has opened for one other significant act — the Long Island band Brand New, popular on the East Coast several years ago. Vin A.’s band Lovebent opened at the 5,000-seat theater at his school, Stockton College in Atlantic County, N.J.
But opening for Bon Jovi in front of 16,000 or so rock fans is an entirely different dimension.
“I am lucky to do it, happy that the fans of Bronx Wanderers responded the way they did,” Vin A. said. He added that he plans to continue performing nightly with the family act, still chugging along after opening at the Windows Showroom in October 2016.
“The whole point is to do everything, do all things at once,” Vin A. said, laughing. “I never thought Bronx Wanderers would be playing seven nights a week on the Strip for this long, but that’s going great. It’s crazy, but that’s how it is.”
No Stirling sale
The attempt to sell the Stirling Club at Turnberry Place through an online auction in November has reportedly fallen short. CNR Retail Advisors of Colliers International listed the property Nov. 28-30 on the Ten-x online commercial real estate site.
A source familiar with the bidding says the top offer for the entertainment fortress was $11,990,000, though officials are not confirming that figure.
What is certain is the Stirling Club is now up for lease from the group of Silicon Valley investors that purchased the club for $10.9 million in October 2013. It was closed by then-owner Turnberry Associates the previous May.
Immersive, or not
It’s funny what you find in your notes. From my interview earlier this week with film exec Cary Granat, one of the officials behind Kind Heaven at the Linq Promenade:
Me: “You know, right now, immersive is the word in Las Vegas. Interactive is the thing. This is another trend that it seems you’ve caught, in that people just don’t want to come and sit and just watch something. Have you found that in your research?”
C.G.: “Yes, I think the term immersive has become overused, along with organic and artisanal.”
Granat would know. He’s CEO of Immersive Artistry.
That multifaceted attraction company is teaming up with Perry Farrell and Caesars Entertainment on the Kind Heaven project. The 100,000-square-foot, Southeast Asia-themed entertainment and culinary complex is targeting an August 2019 opening.
Granat added that the attraction would have a “Purple Rose of Cairo” feel, referencing Woody Allen’s romantic fantasy comedy. Fair enough. And we’ll sideline “immersive” as a description of Kind Heaven until further notice.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @Johnnykats1 on Instagram. As of 9 p.m. Friday:
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