June-Las Vegas Backstage Talk syndicated column
by Michele LaFong
June-Las Vegas Backstage Talk syndicated column in Casino Player Magazine and Gaming Today.
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June 2014 marks Las Vegas Backstage Talk’s one year anniversary in Casino Player Magazine. Along with the debut of my column, I was also asked to write the Cover/feature for that issue. Because I remembered how excited I was to have Bill Cosby guest on my radio show, I really wanted to use his interview for my first Cover/feature for June 2013 edition… And it’s a good thing I did because now he’s really hard to catch up with! Last November Cosby performed his first TV concert special in 30 years, appropriately titled Far From Finished, which debuted on Comedy Central and is now sold on DVD. He continues to make regular appearances on the Late Night Talk Show circuit, and his touring schedule is quite hectic. Bill Cosby will return to the TI on July 18.
Many of our past guests are also experiencing an exciting year since they were last on LVBST.
Jon Taffer, the guru, who helps revive bars that are on the verge of bankruptcy, has been a favorite recurring guest on my radio show since his very first season on reality TV. Not only has “Bar Rescue” been renewed for its fourth season, which will begin airing in the fall but in addition, Jon landed another reality series on Spike TV produced by “Bar Rescue” producers Eyeworks USA called Hungry Investors, featuring celebrity chef John Besh and “Top Chef All-Star” vet Tiffany Derry.The trio seek out and help ‘diamond in the rough’ failing restaurants meet their potential. Each week, the ‘Hungry Investors’ team puts two struggling restaurants to the test to prove they deserve a second chance at success. The enterprise that shows the most promise of turning things around earns significant cash investment. Both establishments seek to prove to the expert team that the only thing keeping them from financial fortune and success is finding an investor who believes in them.
In my last interview with Comedian Adam Carolla, Adam casually mentioned that he had a new reality series debuting on Spike TV called To Catch a Contractor. Prior to Adam’s success in comedy, he earned his living as a master carpenter. “I take it personally when contractors pass off their subpar work on average citizens and leave homeowners holding the bag.”
Each episode follows Carolla, along with no-nonsense contractor Skip Bedell and his wife, investigator Allison Bedell, as they seek retribution for wronged homeowners, whose construction nightmares range from the laughably incompetent to frighteningly hazardous homes that have been left completely torn apart. Carolla and the Bedells hunt down and confront unscrupulous builders, drag them back to their construction disasters, and make them finish the job right. Carolla and his expert team share their knowledge and ingenuity with the builders – not only in an effort to deliver homeowners the job they paid for, but also to give these suspect contractors the opportunity to redeem themselves. Personally, I find this new series to be as entertaining as “Catch a Predator” on Dateline. The only thing missing from it is the under-aged girl or guy using the old but reliable iced tea lure to get the unsuspecting predator comfortably seated in the house prior to the big confrontation! Obviously, this series is catching on quick because Catch a Contractor has already been renewed for a second season. Adam Carolla will be returning to The TI August 29 to tape another podcast.
Comedians Wanda Sykes and Russell Peters also have a new reality series since last guesting on LVBST. Wanda is one of the executive producers of NBC’s new Last Comic Standing, and Russell Peters is a judge alongside with comedy icons Roseanne Barr, and Keenen Ivory Wayans.
HBO recently renewed Real Time with Bill Maher for a 13th season since his last appearance on LVBST and continues his residency at The Palms H & C. I could not be happier for him!
I too have recently been cast on a new docu-series pilot that is being produced by NBC’s Univision. Hopefully, this new off-beat reality series will make air! I will keep you posted…
“Plastic Surgeon to the Stars,” Dr. Julio Garcia, recently returned on LVBST to update us on the latest treatments to shave off years of aging. Usually when I ask him “what new cutting-edge treatments are available that you would recommend?” he replies “not much.” However, on this visit, his answer was quite different. “I now offer a new, exciting, FDA Approved skin tightening procedure called ThermiTight which reduces wrinkles and tightens loose skin in the lower face and neck. It’s also is good for double chins. The results are natural looking, and continue to improve over time. It also has been proven to work on frown lines and reduce cellulite.
Normally, Dr. Garcia does not offer free consultations however, if you mention Casino Player Magazine when making an appointment, not only will he give a free evaluation but will also apply a 10% discount towards the treatment needed.
Thursday, June 5, is the Scleroderma Research Foundation’s flagship fundraiser at the Las Vegas House of Blues inside Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. Bob Saget hosts an evening of delicious food, wine and comedy with Jay Leno and special musical guest Ben Folds. This is the SRF’s inaugural Las Vegas event.
It’s a night of gourmet food featuring the “hot cuisine” of Top Chef Masters Susan Feniger, Mary Sue Milliken and Rick Moonen.
The evening includes a small number of exclusive live auction packages. Attendees include stars from the worlds of television, film, music and business—and many others who have been directly or indirectly affected by scleroderma.
Call 800-441-2873. A limited number of reserved tables and General Admission seats are available. This event typically sells out in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.
Wilson Phillips returns to the Eastside Cannery on June 7, and always delivers a very entertaining, crowd-pleasing show. If you love Southern White Rock, treat yourself to see Gregg Allman at The Palms H & C on June 21. Bobby Vinton returns to Eastside Cannery on June 28. I was his opening act over ten years ago, and remember Bobby stopping at nothing to entertain… that included standing on tables while singing from the audience!
Other Picks for June: Jay Leno, June 6, Mirage, Lionel Richie, June 6, Mandalay Bay, Kid Rock, June 6, Cosmopolitan, Billy Joel, June 7, MGM, Kevin James, June 7, Mirage, Stained, June 7, Palms, James Darren, June 7 & 8, South Point, Steve Winwood, June 13 & 14, The Linq, Kathleen Madigan, June 14, Mirage, Chelsea Handler, June 13 & 14, Cosmopolitan, Junefest with Creedence Clearwater Revisited and Loverboy, June 14, Sunset Station, Rick Springfield, June 14, Primm Valley Resorts, William Shatner, June 19-21, MGM, Jay Mohr, June 21& 22, South Point, Jeff Bridges and The Abiders, June 21 & 22, Red Rock Resorts, Tamar Braxton, June 20, Mandalay Bay, Natalie Cole, June 28, Primm Valley Resorts.
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Las Vegas Backstage Talk column in Casino Player Magazine-Oct.
Oct. edition-by Michele LaFong
Las Vegas Backstage Talk column
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http://digitaleditions.walsworthprintgroup.com/publication/?i=176433&p=24
Oct. “Las Vegas backstage Talk” column in Casino Player Magazine-Please click here to view it.
The “entertainment pool” in LV this summer has been incredibly rich.
LVBST has enjoyed amazing line-ups all the way through September, and October looks pretty exciting as well!
Margaret Cho was guesting on my radio show recently explaining what we could expect from her “Mother” Tour, at The Mirage. I wrote a little about it in last month’s issue, but wasn’t prepared for what was in store!
Jim Short an Australian comic that tours with Cho led off the evening. He had the audience right out of the gate and just kept the laughs coming throughout his set. The packed house, many in town for “Gay Day,” were now properly warmed-up and ready for “everyone’s Mother,” Margaret Cho.
When Cho hit the stage, the stereo-type of what a “mother” typically would look like disappeared from my mind faster than Miley Cyrus’ past “Disney” image at The VMA Awards! Covered in tattoos almost from head to toe, Cho soon dug deep in her gut, “throwing up” her hilarious impression of her Korean mom, spoke candidly and bluntly about her bi-sexuality, and just “put it all out there” onstage. Her uninhibited honesty throughout coupled with her wild animations was uniquely shocking, as well as visually hilarious, and is what truly sets her apart. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time!
Kathy Griffin made a surprise cameo appearance during Cho’s show. What a treat! Together, they shared a story that I had read in the Review Journal that morning about Kathy wanting Margaret to go halves with her for a private plane. It costs $50,000 to go from LA to Vegas. Margaret’s response was “but… its $50 on Southwest!” In the article, Kathy said she would try to go halves with Bill Maher on it. It was really funny when Kathy announced on-stage that she ended up renting it alone, then later heard that Margaret’s flight had been delayed and in the end she had to call for a car to drive her to Vegas!
Immediately following the show, and falling in step with the theme of Margaret’s tour, “Mother,” I surprised myself when I spontaneously shared something with her, and asked for some personal advice to which she in-turn did answer…but ironically, like all mothers, they rarely get proper credit at the time. I soon came to realize however that “mother” was right!
Both Margaret and Kathy were nice and gracious backstage, and true to character off-stage as well. It was cool to see some of Margaret’s very detailed tattoos up-close, and I couldn’t get over how petite Kathy was.
Little did I realize that my experience backstage that night with both Margaret and Kathy, would prove to be “life-changing” for me, shifting my paradigm, leading me to choose a path that I didn’t have the “inner-fire” in the past to choose. That’s all I am willing to reveal for now. I am very thankful to Margaret’s publicist, Ken Phillips for not only providing me with great seats to Margaret’s sold-out show, but for being really straight forward… A trait that is way too rare these days, especially in this business.
I had a blast interviewing World Renowned Comedian Russell Peters in his suite prior to his sold out performance at his “Notorious World Tour” show at The Palms H & C. Ironically, he is a name that still too many people are not yet familiar with in spite of the fact that his tour has become the highest attended comedy show in the history of the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Lebanon, South Africa, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and his home country of Canada, selling out arenas of up to 16,000 fans. In Dubai, Peters was the fastest selling concert in the history of the Emirate outselling Madonna! With over 60 million views on YouTube, His credits also include selling-out: Radio City Music Hall (twice), Madison Square Garden, and the astounding list goes on and on, both nationally and internationally. It is no surprise that Russell, whose heritage is Anglo-Indian, was ranked by Forbes as one of the top ten highest grossing comics in the U.S., in 2009 and 2010!
Peters is always on-the go, and is constantly late, but always worth waiting for as he was a really fun interview, and one of the quickest “off the cuff” personable comics I’ve come across. The audience was howling throughout his show. Somehow he seems to be able to get away with political correctness being thrown out the window, as exampled in his latest DVD, Red, White and Brown recorded live at Madison Square Garden. His crowd ad-libs that night at The Palms were as on target as his material. He is currently working on a project, writing with Billy Crystal. Edited portions of Russell’s videotaped interview can be seen on casinocenter.com
After his show he invited my husband and me along and about 15 other guests to accompany him to The Ghost Bar, in The Palms where we partied till all hours! “Table service” was on him.
I’m still recovering…
Legendary music icons and Grammy Award winners, Brian Wilson (co-founder The Beach Boys) and Jeff Beck (Yardbirds) will perform live in Las Vegas as part of a co-headlining North American Tour. Wilson’s former band mates Al Jardine, (“Help help Me Rhonda”,) and David Marks will join Wilson and Beck. The show will make a stop at The Pearl inside The Palms H & C on Oct. 18. Al jardine, a return guest on our program gave a great interview which will air on LVBST on Oct. 17, with Ray Romano. (Al Jardine is on far left.)
Comedian Bill Engvall, mostly known for “The Blue Collar Tour” with Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy, and Ron White who has guested on LVBST many times, will be on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” for their new season beginning Sept. 16. He is teamed with Emma Slater, and will be competing against Leah Remeni, Snooki, Elizabeth Berkely, Jack Osbourne, and Valerie Harper. The audience vote counts for 50% of their score. We, at LVBST support him, and encourage all to vote, and keep voting for Bill! Engvall will be in town on Oct.25, appearing at The TI. Video of his Backstage Interview can be seen on casinocenter.com.
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