Kimmel, Gaga on board for benefit show
CRISIS begets unity. Case in point: Network TV’S top three latenight talk-show hosts and a superstar Strip headliner are bringing “One World: Together at Home.”
Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon will co-host the major television event and virtual concert, set for 5-7 p.m. Pacific time April 18. The worldwide, all-star concert is scheduled to run across ABC, NBC and CBS and several international online platforms. Lady Gaga, a leading headliner at Park Theater, is on board, lending her name and influence as curator.
Kimmel, of course, grew up in Las Vegas and operates his namesake comedy club at the Linq Promenade.
The lineup, listed alphabetically by first names: Alanis Morissette, Andrea Bocelli, Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas, Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, Burna Boy, Chris Martin, David Beckham, Eddie Vedder, Elton John, Idris and Sabrina Elba, J Balvin, John Legend, Kacey Musgraves, Keith Urban, Kerry Washington, Lang Lang, Lizzo, Maluma, Paul Mccartney, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Shah Rukh Khan, Stevie Wonder and the cast of “Sesame Street.”
The event is organized by Global Citizen, which has raised $35 million in online donations (find information and the full lineup of online providers at globalcitizen.org).
The special is designed to support the efforts of health care workers and the World Health Organization, and aid in the fight to overcome the coronavirus pandemic. From the website: “The virtual broadcast will show unity among all people who are affected by COVID-19, as well as celebrating and supporting the brave front-line health care workers around the world who are doing incredible, life-saving work.”
A time for aliens
Hilly and Nilly are quarantine experts. They are also not real. They are the rubberized alien mascots for the Area15 entertainment complex in Las Vegas.
But Chris Wink, Area15’s director of content and cool (stuff ), has summoned the wayward couple from nearby Area 51 to star in a video explaining explain how to quarantine in the desert.
Wink, a founding member of Blue Man Group who broke with the company in 2017, called in Nate and Hila, a rap tandem out of New York, to create the piece. Find it on the Area15 Youtube page.
Nate and Hila say they specialize in comedy and philosophy to advance social consciousness, with an emphasis on ecology and sex. An alien rap video is entirely within their sensibilities.
Working with life-size (we surmise) alien puppets, the duo rap through the clip, reciting such lyrics as, “You’re stuck inside your crib. Is it lonely? Is it nice? Is it existential dread, or a potential paradise?” And, “Take an alien’s advice, take your pair o’ dice and shake ’em. Make your quarantine into a Planet Earth staycation.”
Some of the suggestions — maybe all of them — make sense. Bake bread and play cribbage. Read Jane Austen, and also James Baldwin. Perform yoga. Plant basil.
“They have been quarantined since the 1950s,” Wink said Monday during an Instagram Live chat on my @Johnnykats1 IG page. “If anyone knows how to survive, it would be them.”
The Hilly and Nilly characters were introduced in September during the Area15 “Alien Soiree” VIP party, tied to the Alienstock” and “Storm Area 51” events at Area 51.
Area15, with Meowwolf of Santa Fe, New Mexico, as its anchor entertainment tenant, has been planning to open this summer. Events have thrown off that time line, with Wink saying, “We’ll be ready, but also thoughtful about opening when it makes sense.”
The video captures Area15’s vision, and its collective personality.
“In all seriousness, we happened to be talking about what we really are, beyond immersive entertainment and retail,” Wink says. “One thing was we want to bring light to the world, but also create some context around what is gong on and show we can work with each other.”
Wink does have a long-term vision, too.
“We’re getting ready,” he says. “When we’re on the other side, we’ll have a hell of a party. Maybe 20.”
The Piff show
On the topic of groovy stuff on Youtube, Piff the Magic Dragon is hosting twice-daily show titled “Piff ’s Golden Hour,” posting at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on his PiffthemagicDragon Youtube page. Showgirl sidekick Jade Simone and Mr. Piffles (a real scene-stealer) join the dragon-costumed Flamingo headliner.
Piff launched on Thursday with Howie Mandel, whom Piff got to know during his “America’s Got Talent” run in 2015. Penn Jillette and Colin Cloud have also been guests, and Piff has unveiled his much-hyped Mr. Piffles ventriloquist puppet.
Tucked into an episode is a lengthy discussion of how to properly pronounce “squirrels.” This back-and-forth is funnier than it sounds.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His Podkats! podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/ podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal. com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @Johnnykats1 on Instagram.
As of 9 p.m. Monday:
1. Twelve new COVID-19 deaths in Nevada bring statetotalto58
Nevada health authorities reported 12 new deaths and more than 100 new cases of COVID-19 in the state as of Monday night, and the Southern Nevada Health District tallied 89 new cases in Clark County.
2. North Las Vegas officials ID victim, suspect in fatal drive-by shooting
Officials on Monday identified a man killed last month in a drive-by shooting in North Las Vegas and another man arrested in connection with his death.
3. LETTER: Stay at home ‘guidance’ isn’t cutting it in Las Vegas
Very few people are following “suggestions” that they stay at home. The only empty streets in Las Vegas are the Strip and Fremont.
4. Viral Instagram post shows bond between Las Vegas athlete, specialneeds student
A video between a Las Vegas High School football/ basketball player and a special-needs student is approaching 2 million views. 5. UFC’S Dana White named as extortion victim in sex-tape case
His name was included in a Clark County District Court lawsuit filed against White by Ernesto Joshua Ramos, who served time for the sensational crime.
As of 9 p.m. Monday:
1. Small business owners talk about shutdown impact
Local entrepreneurs are adapting or completely upending their business models to continue serving their communities. In turn, they hope locals will continue to support them, too.
2. Hospital’s pandemic policy keeps man from ill wife’s bedside
Corey Huh’s wife, Adriana Huh, is in the hospital with a late-stage cancer, but he can’t visit her because the pandemic has limited visitations to hospitals.
3. Coronavirus claims Las Vegas icon ‘Uncle’ Phil Maloof
George Maloof, Phil Maloof ’s nephew, confirmed his uncle’s passing Saturday in Las Vegas at age 93, with coronavirus the cause.