Much more to see than casinos, Super Bowl in Sin City
Punk Rock Museum, Neon Museum and the don’t miss Big Elvis
All eyes will be on Las Vegas this weekend for the Super Bowl, and whether you jumped the gun before the Eagles imploded so spectacularly and find yourself there now, have plans to go for the first time or return soon, it helps to know that Sin City is much more than losing money and illicit, well, everything.
When it comes to rock ‘n’ roll or simply music in general, there’s never a night where a major artist isn’t performing in Vegas while on tour or as part of a residency.
The most talked about right now is U2 at Sphere, the immersive visual and technological wonder where Dublin’s favorite sons have set up shop since September.
Unfortunately, U2 ends their lengthy and already extended stretch in early March.
Next up is four nights with Phish in April and 24 shows from Dead & Company from May through July.
If the tripped-out jam band aesthetic doesn’t exactly sound appealing, you’re not alone. Luckily, if you look off the beaten path — in this case the Las Vegas Strip — there’s lots of legal fun to experience.
The Punk Rock Museum
Founded by Fat Mike, bassist and singer for NOFX, The Punk Rock Museum opened in spring 2023 and quickly built up a reputation as the place to visit if you’re a music fan, historian or just a crusty old punk who wants to relive the glory days.
The museum boasts the world’s most expansive, inclusive and intimate display of artifacts, flyers, photos, clothing, instruments, handwritten lyrics, artwork, and just about everything else donated by the people and bands who were there.
In some ways it feels like a traditional museum with artifacts behind glass cases, framed delicacies like the handwritten lyrics to the goth anthem “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” by Bauhaus, guided tours from punk notables and temporary exhibits.
But there’s also a bar, the Triple Down, a tattoo parlor and, perhaps the most Vegas thing of all: a wedding chapel.
There’s a guitar room where patrons can play the actual guitars and basses through the amps the artists played them through.
The Punk Rock Museum contains guitars and amps from Rise Against, Sick of it All and Joan Jett to name a few. It even houses the practice space of Pennywise, rebuilt faithfully with all the original instruments, posters and full pieces of wall.
Some days, a band may even stop by to perform there for guests passing through.
Like any gallery of substance, especially one which is still growing, there is quite a bit to see.
Whether it’s the wall of hundreds of gig flyers, a shattered bass from Jerry Only of the Misfits, the Grammy awarded to Pat Smear when he was in Nirvana or the iconic blackand-white photos from the heyday of punk, you’ll need some time to visit.
One hour or two hours won’t be enough, so plan accordingly. Go to thepunkrockmuseum.com for more information.
The Neon Museum
At the opposite end of the spectrum, and of town, sits a “boneyard” of signage most would identify with old Las Vegas: The days of Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack.
When nothing happened in town without mobsters knowing about or being a part of it. The Neon Museum keeps the memories of a bygone time alive with neon landmarks from long gone restaurants, hotels, business and venues.
Founded in 1996, The Neon Museum has some 800 sign pieces in the outdoor 2-acre collection from around 200 Las Vegas properties, though some of the pieces would create one full sign if put back together, while others there are only portions or parts of the whole sign.
But it’s not some metal, aluminum and glass junkyard. Currently there are 19 signs that light up with 17 of them restored in the Boneyard.
So many of the signs are breathtaking to view during the day and even more so in the evening when fully illuminated against the night sky. Among them is the 82foot Hard Rock Café sign which cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to restore.
The Chief Hotel is the oldest functional sign, estimated to be from the 1940s. Iconic sights are at every turn, with signs from the Stardust, Riviera and the 24 hour ’60s hangout for the city’s movers and shakers, The Flame steakhouse.
The North Gallery sits adjacent to the main area of the Neon Museum and showcases additional unrestored signs from the collection. Even the entryway, dubbed the Visitor’s Center, has history.
The distinctive shellshaped building was once the La Concha Motel lobby and is a striking example of midcentury modern design characterized by atomic and space age shapes and motifs.
Originally constructed in 1961, it was saved from demolition in 2005 and moved to the Neon Museum location the following year. Head to neonmuseum.org for more information.
Big Elvis
There are thousands of Elvis impersonators around the world and probably a few hundred in Las Vegas, so it takes someone special to stand out from the rest.
At one point though, there was no other imitator of the King who was physically bigger than Pete Vallee, who tipped the scales at nearly 1,000 pounds 20 years ago.
But he was far from a visual curiosity who dressed up like Elvis Presley. The man could truly sing.
Born in 1965, Vallee claims to be an actual biological son of Presley, born out of wedlock of course, but Graceland doesn’t do DNA tests, so we’ll never really know.
Instead, under the moniker Big Elvis, he remains one of the longest-running performers at Harrah’s Las Vegas Piano Bar.
He’s since dropped more than half his weight and is on a much better diet and fitness regime, so hopefully he’ll be around for a long time.
Entry to the shows is free and run every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 2, 3:30 and 5 p.m.
Big Elvis does a different set every show, singing classics like “Suspicious Minds” and “Love Me Tender” while mixing in requests and rarities like “True Love Travels on a Gravel Road” and deep gospel cuts.
Vinyl of the Week
Keep an eye on this spot as each week we’ll be looking at new or soon-to-be-released vinyl from a variety of artists. It might be a repressing of a landmark recording, special edition or new collection from a legendary act.
This week, it’s the 20th anniversary of an album
panned at the time which deserves a second look.
• Spiritualized: ” Amazing Grace 20th Anniversary”
Overlooked at the time, “Amazing Grace” is possibly the heaviest and most intimate Spiritualized record.
At the time of its release, fans and critics alike were a bit put off by the gospeltinged rock ‘n’ roll, perhaps still hoping for some sort of sequel to the 1997 masterwork “Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space.”
Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, the record by the U.K. psychedelic space rockers is getting a second look.
The recording of “Amazing Grace” was fast and experimental, executed in three weeks at Rockfield Studios in Wales.
Spiritualized frontman and resident mastermind J. Spaceman would present the band with an idea for each song on the day of recording, and they would experiment until it felt right.
The core musicians, John Coxon, Tony Foster and Tim Lewis were familiar with the abstract and experimental, finding the sweet spots where The Stooges meet Arvo Part, where Patsy Cline meets 13th Floor Elevators and Aretha Franklin is down with Miles Davis’ “Get Up with It.”
The result of this method is a polar opposite to the symphonic grandeur of its immediate predecessor, 2001’s “Let It Come Down,” but more powerful in its emotional impact.
“Amazing Grace” ended up as a collection of blazing garage rock songs and beautifully tender, sometimes devastatingly sad, ballads.
The songs reach for help from a broken place, ragged and lonely, in love with a world hanging by a thread.
The feeling of the gospel standard that inspired the title hangs like a shadow over the whole record, while Spaceman keeps his heart and soul close to the microphone.
Absolute nihilism bleeds through the opening song “This Little Life of Mine” with the refrain, “I’m gonna let it burn / I’m getting sick of trying.”
Later, in “The Ballad of Richie Lee,” a lament to the late Acetone singer, Spaceman delivers maybe the most brutally sad moment of the entire Spiritualized catalog with the line,“He’s got his name on a rock again / And this time it’s the last.”
Remastered for vinyl in London by engineer Matt Colton, the 20th anniversary edition comes on 180gram vinyl with lacquer cuts by Metropolis Mastering.
It’s presented in a gatefold jacket and available in both a standard black vinyl pressing and limited edition dove gray vinyl.
Look for “Amazing Grace: 20th Anniversary Edition” online and from all respectable retailers who carry vinyl.