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THE LATEST

1 2 “Libertarians Sound Off”Candidates spar and spare no “truth”

at final debate. By EMMILY BRISTOL

1 4 “Allen-Wrench You!”If you’re excited about Ikea, you live

in the wrong town. By AL MANCINI

1 6 “Level Up”E-sports start to take hold of casinos’

imaginations. Green Felt Journal by

DAVID G. SCHWARTZ

Plus … Seven Days, Ask a Native

and The Deal.

NIGHTLIFE

2 5 “The Coolest DJ”DJs are re-emerging at the forefront

of rap, and Esco is here for it.

By KAT BOEHRER

Plus … Seven Nights, a Memorial

Day weekend guide, Vegas nightlife’s

increasing presence in Mexico, a

documentary about DJ AM and pho-

tos from the week’s hottest parties.

DINING

5 3 “Farther South of the Border”Bahia tackles a variety of Central

American cuisines. By AL MANCINI

Plus … Restaurant Week,

Dishing With Grace, Drinking

and how four grapes went from

the endangered list to the wine list.

A&E

5 9 “Going Steady, 40 Years On”Ever fallen in love with the

Buzzcocks? You should.

By IAN CARAMANZANA

Plus … Seven’s 14, Q&A with Trever

Keith of Face to Face and a preview

of the Punk Rock Bowling Festival.

6 4 “Castles, Coens and Compilation”Your nerdy showgirl has a bit of

catching up to do. The Most Fabulous

Thing by CHARLIE STARLING

SEVEN QUESTIONS

6 6 Rush Hour star Chris Tucker on

honoring the troops, sequel rumors

and a surreal night in Las Vegas

with Prince and Michael Jackson,

FEATURE

Bride RevisitedWedding professionals are uniting for the first time to boost the stagnating matrimonial industry.

Plus … Our picks for where to tie the knot.

M A Y 2 6 – J U N E 1 , 2 0 1 6C O N T E N T S

Cover photo by Krystal Ramirez.

18Ron DeCar as Elvis

renews a couple’s vows at Viva Las Vegas.

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LAS VEGAS’ WEEKLY CITY MAGAZINE | FOUNDED FEBRUARY 2010

Wedding professionals are uniting

for the first time to boost the

stagnating matrimonial industry

B Y N I C O L E E L Y

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shoot craps. You can have a completely traditional wedding without spending months figuring out place settings and floral arrangements.

“People [outside Las Vegas] have this concept of The Hangover weddings,” Moss-Graham says. “There is a niche for everything ... but for people to think that we can’t give them a beautiful tra-ditional wedding here is misleading.”

Goya brings up The Hangover wedding phenomenon, jokingly assuring that Las Vegas doesn’t issue marriage licenses to drunks. “The press keeps promoting the really tacky things,” she says. “These chapels aren’t tacky; they’re vintage and custom and lovely little chapels.”

Conveying that message to the mass-es is the goal. The $14 fee increase, which went into effect in August, is expected to raise more than $1 million a year. Earlier this month, the Clark County Commission struck a deal with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to create a partnership to market the Las Vegas wedding indus-try. The first outlay of funds is currently going toward research from which the LVCVA will develop a marketing plan. One vital question: How should the city sell itself to the world and get more people to come here to seal the deal?

in one day, Ron DeCar might be Elvis, Merlin, King Arthur and the Grim Reap-er. “You might have a pink Cadillac wed-ding and then right after that, a gothic scene where you gotta bring out the cof-fin and the tombstones,” says the owner of Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapels. “Then you go into a Camelot wedding. Put up the banners—Merlin comes out.”

As one of the largest freestand-ing chapels in town, Viva Las Vegas is known for its themed weddings. When it comes to putting together a custom-er’s dream show, DeCar and his team do not skimp. For the right price, they will tear down and build new sets to create a couple’s fantasy wedding. The main chapel can facilitate an aerialist act during the ceremony. They offer every theme package, from intergalac-tic to vampires to rockabilly.

“I’ve married [people dressed as Mr. and Mrs.] Potato Head before,” DeCar

says. “I’ve had all sorts of crazy mascots up there with me.”Viva Las Vegas has five wedding locations: the main cha-

pel, a smaller chapel, a gazebo, a garden and a 1950s diner. Themed weddings make up a quarter of its business. On a good Saturday, it can host 40 weddings, but on “number holi-days” such as November 11, 2011, DeCar’s business explodes. “We did 36 [consecutive] hours of weddings, more than 230 ceremonies that day,” he says.

When Viva Las Vegas first opened in 1999, DeCar originally saw it as a place for married couples to renew their vows and do something less traditional than the first time they were married.

Many of the chapels have seen requests for vow renewals grow over the past years, and some people, such as Cliff Ev-arts from Vegas Weddings, believe the vow-renewal market could be one of the keys to Las Vegas’ connubial future.

“If you ask people what Vegas is known for, weddings are going to be in the top five,” says Evarts. “‘Weddings have a huge psychological impact on the promotion of Vegas, but it doesn’t have a big financial impact.”

For Evarts, capitalizing on Vegas’ matrimonial notoriety is a no-brainer—it’s simply a matter of finding other angles. Of the millions of visitors each year, the majority of them are al-ready married, he says.

In 2011, Evarts supported a campaign by then-County Clerk Diana Alba to make semi-official vow renewal certificates is-sued by the county available for customers who may want keepsakes. However, the idea was quickly abandoned after meeting opposition from chapel owners, who usually pro-vide that service in-house.

“If Vegas rebranded itself from the Wedding Capital of the World to the Vow Renewal Capital of the World,” Evarts says,

“it would tap into a huge market of people who never really thought of having their vows renewed, but then think, what a great opportunity to get my vows renewed in Vegas.”

Another untapped market? Millennials, the fastest-grow-ing segment of the population applying for marriage licens-es, according to Goya. She points out that many millennials live together before getting married, and are known for seek-ing out unique experiences, including their nuptial choices.

“What we’re finding is they love vintage Vegas,” she says. “They love the mid-century modern, which is one of our key architectural elements. They love the whole Rat Pack era.”

while the question of how the Las Vegas wedding indus-try can get its groove back remains unanswered for the mo-ment, it hasn’t stopped the Wedding Chamber of Commerce from buzzing. As they wait for the results of the research study, the chamber members are working together, turning former competitors into allies.

In the short term, members are holding networking events and working together to combine services and create special packages for couples. In the long term, they will be working with public and private organizations to uphold the city’s title as the Wedding Capital of the World.

“It’s a very rewarding, emotional industry, but you’ve got to have the passion for it. Some people think it’s easy. It’s not easy,” Moss-Graham says. “But to stand back and say I got to be part of somebody’s life-changing day is an amazing re-ward for your profession.” V

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Joni Moss-Graham and husband, John

Graham, of LV Wedding Connection on their

wedding day; Viva Las Vegas’ Pink Cadillac

wedding package.

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VIVA LAS VEGAS

WEDDING CHAPEL

Las Vegas is a place where peo-

ple escape reality—why should

their wedding day be any differ-

ent? The Viva Las Vegas Wedding

Chapel offers couples fantasy

ceremonies, whether it’s being

married by Elvis in a replica ’50s

diner or having Dracula tie your

knot while sexy vampire chicks fly

overhead. You can also make your

own combo platter. “We’ve had

Spock in Camelot,” chapel owner

Ron DeCar says, “a pink Caddy,

but in Egypt with Darth Vader.

Whatever the customer wants.”

Over the years, DeCar has

officiated ceremonies dressed

up as everyone from Batman to

Dr. Frank-N-Furter. He came up

with the themed wedding chapel

idea years ago, and “it just took

off.” What’s the busiest time at

Viva Las Vegas? “It’s like a conga

line of costumes on Halloween,”

DeCar says. 1205 Las Vegas

Blvd. South, 702-384-0771,

VivaLasVegasWeddings.com

LITTLE WHITE

WEDDING CHAPEL

Drive-thru nuptials may seem

like the ultimate in no-frills, but at

the Little White Wedding Chapel,

it’s done with panache in a pink

Cadillac beneath a canopy of stars

and cherubs. “We were actually

the first drive-thru,” wedding

planner Jennifer Waggoner says.

She points out that chapel owner

Charlotte Richards created it years

ago, not out of kitsch, but kind-

ness. “We did have handicapped

people, so she made the drive-

thru so they could just pull up

to the window and get married,”

Waggoner explains. “It became a

Vegas thing.”

Richards began her career in

weddings as a florist, and her

Little White Wedding Chapel was

originally her home, which has

grown over the years to encom-

pass several chapels from small

to large. Richards’ connection to

Elvis also runs deeper than hav-

ing a guy with sideburns on staff:

“Elvis was married at the Aladdin,

her husband was his photogra-

pher and she was his coordina-

tor,” Waggoner says. 1301 Las

Vegas Blvd. South, 702-382-5943,

ALittleWhiteChapel.com

GRACELAND

WEDDING CHAPEL

A wedding with Elvis overseeing

the “I do’s” is a Las Vegas tradi-

tion—even if it’s not your wed-

ding. “Can we crash a wedding?

We get that a lot,” says Brendan

Paul, owner and chief Elvis of the

Graceland Wedding Chapel for

more than a dozen years. He adds

that ceremonies are private, but

some couples welcome extra well-

wishers. “Some say, ‘Yeah, sure,

it’s Vegas—the more, the merrier!’”

Paul has four backup Elvises

to share the “Love Me Tender”

duties, but it still adds up. “We

do over 9,000 weddings a year.

I sing in about a third of them,”

he says. Among the celebrities

married at Graceland is Jon

Bon Jovi, who was wed there

25 years ago. “He pops in

sometimes when he’s in town,”

says Paul, who’s also done vow

renewals for Rob Zombie and

Billy Ray Cyrus. 619 Las Vegas

Blvd. South, 702-382-0091,

GracelandWeddingChapel.com

VEGAS WEDDINGS

As the Vegas wedding industry

expands, so do many of the

chapels—in 15 years, Vegas Wed-

dings has gone from one venue to

multiple locations. “Right now it’s

wedding season. This Saturday

alone we have 30-40 weddings

over our eight venues,” says

Aimee Stephens, director of mar-

keting for Vegas Weddings.

Vegas Weddings offers a

variety of sites, including

ceremonies in a rooftop gazebo

and a traditional indoor chapel

with stained-glass windows

and pews, as well as outdoor

“Hawaiian Garden” packages

at a location on the Strip. For

Our picks for where to tie the knot

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RY The Coolest DJ

DJs are re-emerging at the forefront of rap,

and Esco is here for it By Kat Boehrer

Your city after dark and photos from the week’s hottest parties

NIGHTLIFE

➜ WILLIAM MOORE IS KNOWN professionally as Esco, the DJ and pro-ducer who rose to fame after his collaborative mixtape release with Future titled 56 Nights. The project title is a nod to the 56 nights he spent in a Dubai jail because of a security snafu in the Abu Dhabi airport. The tape’s shining hit, “March Madness,” reignited Future’s rap career and brought attention to Esco and his work. The two artists have been in high demand for their live performances, and Drai’s managed to snag Esco for a summer residency. Catch him every Thursday at Drai’s at the party he describes as “a cool event, the coolest party in the world.”

DJ Esco at Drai’s.

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NIGHTLIFE

What’s your work

process like?

A lot of water and a lot of smoke. I’m like a hu-man bong when I’m in the studio, all Fiji water and smoke and that’s it. I don’t even like to eat when I’m in the studio.

You’re putting out a

solo album soon, right?

That’s what’s around the corner. This sum-mer I’ll definitely have my first solo album out, and my single will be coming before that. I’ll be releasing my single at Drai’s onstage.

The obvious question:

What is it like to work

with Future?

It was cool. I don’t have any brothers, but I guess it would be like work-ing with your family member, or brother, or something. It goes pretty smooth. We don’t bump into anything because he lets me do my thing, and he just focuses on really just creating the music itself, and then let me worry about what to do with it.

You’ve said before that

you have the ability to

predict what’s next in the

industry. So what’s next

for hip-hop and nightlife?

What you’re going to see in hip-hop is a lot of DJ and artist relation-ships emerge. That was the whole point of how Future and I wanted to do it. We wanted to take it back old-school, like the DJ with the rapper, the DJ and the artist. It’s one big thing, it’s one show. They’re together in a unit like Run-D.M.C. with Jam Master Jay. Like even Will Smith—Fresh Prince—and DJ Jazzy Jeff. You always saw them together, helping each other.

That’s happening a lot

lately, and the DJs and

producers are now also

listed as lead artists on

tracks alongside vocalists

and rappers.

Somehow in hip-hop that got lost, and the DJ got just thrown in the background. It became all about the rapper. But we brought it back now. People are paying atten-

tion to me and Future’s relationship, with the DJ and the loyalty. You’re not going to see me DJ for another artist, just like you wouldn’t see Jam Master Jay DJing for anybody but Run-D.M.C. We’re just trying to do it the right way, show people what loyalty is. You’re going to start see-ing more artists showing love to their DJ. It’s already happening now.

What does a typical day

look like for you?

Usually I got to go somewhere. We go to the airport, get on a plane, get off, check in the hotel, go find some good food. I’m a veg-etarian, so I always try to find some good food in the city. I give up all the energy I got every show, so I need to eat.

Why are you a vegetarian?

Is it a health thing or a

moral thing?

I just lost the taste for meat. It was weird. I didn’t just do it at one time, but I gradually became [a vegetarian]. I’ve been a vegetarian for 10 years now. I don’t know what happened. I just lost the taste. I can’t explain. I don’t have nothing against [eating] animals, or none of that, I just lost it. It makes me feel better. My body feels great, so I guess it’s working for me.

How can a hip-hop pro-

ducer take notes from you

to follow in your path?

To follow my path … you have to figure your own path. It took me a long time to figure out my own way. It’s hard to do it the exact same way I did it. I had to go through 56 nights in Dubai for this to hap-pen. You know what I’m saying? You never know what you’re going to have to go through. I thought I was at a high, and I ended up at a low, and I had to get back. Now I’m at an even higher high than I thought I was at the beginning. To any pro-ducer, I would say: Don’t ever get down. Because I’ve been at the lowest of the low to reach the highs right now.

“You have to figure your own path. You never know what you’regoing to have to go through. Don’t ever get down. Because I’ve

been at the lowest of the low to reach the highs right now.”

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THU 26Memorial Day weekend means it's time for hot parties and hot weather, so cool off with “The Cool-est DJ in the World,” DJ Esco, when he mans the decks at Drai’s. He’s been regularly rockin’ the room for a while now—his residency locks him in to spin just about every Thursday—but see if he pulls any surprises since it’s a holiday weekend. Here’s your chance to make it one of coolest parties in the world! (In the Cromwell, 10:30 p.m.,

DraisNightlife.com.)

FRI 27He goes by roughly a dozen names, but his presence is unmistakable. Sean John Combs, a.k.a. P. Diddy, Diddy, Puffy or Puff Daddy, stops by Hakkasan. The rapper/hype-man–turned–business mogul is known for throwing one of the most exclusive and coveted parties in the world—the annual White party—so he knows a thing or two about having a good time. Don’t be surprised if you brush shoulders with a celebrity or two at this func-tion. (In MGM Grand, 10:30 p.m.,

HakkasanLV.com.) Speaking of ce-lebrities, Joe Jonas spins at Hyde. He may be the middle child of the Jonas Brothers, but given his status, we’re sure he received the same amount of love as a young heartthrob. Jonas is deep in the Revival Tour with his band DNCE, so show him love when he mans the decks at Hyde. (In Bellagio,

10:30 p.m., HydeBellagio.com.)

SAT 28The celebs just keep on coming. Kick off your all-day party the right way with a fete hosted by Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna at Sky Beach Club. Rumors are swirling that the two have been busy … gettin’ busy, because they’re expecting a baby. Don’t quote us on that, because in the world of celebridom, rumors rule. Celebrate with them now, before they’re stuck taking care of a young’un. (At Tropicana Las

Vegas, 10 a.m., SkyBeachClubLV.

com.) Brooklyn Bowl hosts Portland pop/indie electro trio STRFKR and New York synth-wave producer Com Truise for an evening full of alternative-dancey goodness. Seriously, if your body isn’t moving to the opening keys of “Never Ever” or the bouncing synths of “VHS Sex,” we think you should get your ears checked. (At

the Linq, 8 p.m., Vegas.Brooklyn-

Bowl.com.) At Omnia, you can wit-ness a tantalizing team-up. Young progressive house great Martin

Garrix spins alongside fellow Dutchman Julian Jordan in the main room. Too much teamwork to handle? Rising Los Angeles DJ Bee Fowl keeps the beats flowing at Heart of Omnia. Pick your party! (In Caesars Palace, 10 p.m.,

OmniaNightclub.com.)

SUN 29If you're somehow still alive after that daylong party extravaganza, hit up Foxtail for another all-day rager. This time, it’s A-list rappers instead of DJs and celebrities on the docket. All Day Memorial

Sunday kicks off bright and early with a performance by Yo Gotti. The

Memphis native has been rapping since the early 2000s, but he’s just now getting the taste of the spot-light thanks to his viral hit, “Down in the DM.” Give him a direct message of appreciation when he hits the stage. Following that, “Paranoid” and “Blase” hitmaker Ty Dolla Sign performs. He’s been on a slew of features lately, including a verse on Kanye West’s friendship banger, “Real Friends.” Show him you’re a real one. Lil Wayne closes out the evening with a career-encapsu-lating set. Sure, we’ll likely get “A Milli” and “Believe Me,” but will we get “Mrs. Officer” or “Fireman?” Show up and find out. (At SLS, 11

a.m., FoxtailPool.com.)

MON 30Andrew Rayel just played back-to-back sets at Ultra Music Festival in Miami and in Thailand, and yet he still has time to release new music. The Moldavian DJ/producer re-leased “Epiphany” a few days ago, and critics are calling it a return to form. It’s an upbeat trance tune that’s got a dark leading melody, which provides a stark contrast to the airy angelic vocals in the buildup. The result is a nicely bal-anced song that will carry us over

until winter … or until he releases new music. Hear it at Marquee

Dayclub. Ready for “another one?” Producer, hypeman and Snapchat superstar DJ Khaled obliges with a DJ set at Marquee. See if another chapter of his Lion Order will unfold when he mans the decks. (In the Cosmopolitan, 10 p.m.,

MarqueeLasVegas.com.)

TUE 31Like the weather, Sucio and Ex-

ile heat things up at Vanguard’s Studio V. Enjoy open-format sets by two locals in our beloved DTLV. Show the small guys some love! (516 Fremont St., 10

p.m., VanguardLV.com.)

WED 1Your week of nonstop parties comes to a close with Eric D Lux at Light. The SKAM Artist recently acquired coffee mugs with his logo printed on them. Enjoy one of his signature open-format sets, then ask him for one so you can drink that morning coffee in style. Trust us: You’re gonna need it.(In Mandalay Bay, 10:30 p.m.,

TheLightVegas.com.)

NIGHTLIFE

PuffDaddy.

Seven NightsYour week in parties

By I A N C A R A M A N Z A N A

ComTruise.

Blac Chyna and Rob Kardashian.

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The Cheat SheetYour Memorial Day weekend party guide By Ian Caramanzana

➜ In 1868, Union soldiers organized a day to remember those who died in the bloodiest battles on American soil—the Civil War. Since then, every last Monday in May is set aside as a day of reflection, honor and memorial for our troops. Be productive and pay your re-spect to those brave ones in the morning, then take advantage of a day off at these parties.

FRIDAY, MAY 27

Internet personality Kirill Was Here brings his Champagne showers and debauchery to Ditch Fridays. His parties are known to get messy, but at least you’ll be able to rinse off in the pool. (In the Palms, 11 a.m., Palms.com.) It seems like globetrotting DJ and producer Steve Aoki has been everywhere lately. He recently hit Japan for a series of dates, worked with Adam Lambert, Felix Jaehn and Walk the Moon on music videos, and hung out at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner with President Obama and DJ Khaled. Experience what allowed him to do those things when he mans the decks at Wet Repub-lic. (At MGM Grand, 11 a.m., WetRepublic.com.) Speak-ing of Japan, a frequent visitor—Porter Robin-son—spins at Marquee. He’s a huge fan of Japanese culture—from video games and anime to food—and it can be heard in his music. After all, “Sad Machine” sounds like the name of a new emo video game sys-tem. (In the Cosmopolitan, 10 p.m., MarqueeLasVegas.com.) Hy!£UN35. Excuse us—no, we didn’t just smash our keyboards. That’s the title of one of Young Thug’s mixtapes. The Atlanta rap-per’s distinct, gibberish-infused melodic flow hit the world’s stage thanks to a flurry of hits in 2014 including “Stoner,” “Danny Glover” and Rich Gang’s No. 1 hit, “Lifestyle.” He’s gotten cosigns from Kanye West, Tyga and Elton John, so see if you can join that list at The Foundry. (In SLS, 8 p.m., FoundryLV.com.)

SATURDAY, MAY 28

Call the “Plur Police!” Australian EDM duo Knife Party hits The Joint. The two have crafted quite an eclectic discography since they entered the limelight in 2011. Songs such as “Internet Friends” and “Antidote” show more straightforward electro house traits while “Cen-tipede” is a hard-hitting dubstep tune. Sample some of their eclectic platter. (In Hard Rock Hotel, 8 p.m., HardRock-Hotel.com/TheJoint.) Don’t deal with diversity? Get a double dose of Disclo-

sure at Daylight and Light. The English house duo were recently spotted at a Houston Astros game. Tell them your team’s better, then get down to “Bang That.” It’s a daylong extravaganza! (In Mandalay Bay, 11 a.m., TheLightVegas.com.) If you prefer to stay away from the Strip, hit up Oddfellows for an indie electro party. New Noise brings songs from artists such as Shamir, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Phan-togram and more to the screen and your ears. (150 Las Vegas Blvd. North, 8 p.m., OddfellowsVegas.com.)

SUNDAY, MAY 29

When he’s not busy creating and releasing new tunes, running his own Revealed Record-ings record label, taking selfies with David Guetta or mixing at gigs around the world, Hardwell calls Las Vegas home. And since they’re both Hakkasan residents, see if his mentor Tiësto makes an appearance. Kill the Buzz opens. (In MGM Grand, 10:30 p.m., HakkasanLV.com.) If rap and R&B are more in your wheelhouse, hit up Drai’s for a team-up consisting of New York rapper 50 Cent and Chicago singer Jer-emih. Their 2010 banger “Down on Me” still sounds fresh six years later, so see if they’ll give us a taste of another collaborative hit. (In the Cromwell, 10:30 p.m., DraisNightlife.com.)

MONDAY, MAY 30

Speaking of team-ups, catch another one at XS when two EDM heavy-weights—Skrillex and Diplo—collide. As a pair, they’ve already given us an album’s worth of ma-terial under the Jack Ü project. Skrillex and Dip-lo’s Jack Ü was a genre-defying album; it was a melting pot of genres including Moombah-ton, trap, dubstep and more. Songs from that album such as the Justin Bieber-featured “Where Are Ü Now” and “Take Ü There” are still hot on the radio. Maybe they’ll surprise us with new songs to usher in sum-mer. (In Encore, 10 p.m., XSLasVegas.com.)

M E M O R I A L D A Y W E E K E N D

S U N D A Y M A Y 2 9

J E N N I F E R LO P E Z ’S

DRAI’S BEACHCLUB • NIGHTCLUB • AFTER HOURS | 1 (702) 777.3800 | 3595 LAS VEGAS BLVD SOUTH | DRAISLV.COM

N I G H T C L U B A T E N C O R E

W E D N E S D AY, J U N E 1

6 YEARA N N I V E R S A R Y

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NIGHTLIFE

PARTIES

See more photos from this gallery at SPYONvegas.com

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DRAI’S BEACHCLUBThe Cromwell

[ UPCOMING ]

May 27 Bassjackers spin

May 28 Trey Songz performs, Brody Jenner spins

May 29 Jennifer Lopez performs, MAKJ spins

NIGHT-LITES

REMEMBERING DJ AMAdam Michael Goldstein’s charisma and excesses chronicled in new film➜ Watching a documentary about a person

you once knew really brings home the truth

that a life’s story is multilayered, episodic and

better recounted through the voices of many

than through the perspective of one. So is the

case with As I AM: The Life and Time$ of DJ AM,

directed by Kevin Kerslake (2011’s Electric Daisy

Carnival Experience) and featuring commen-

tary by Diplo, Steve Aoki, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Paul

Oakenfold, Seth Binzer, Pasquale Rotella and

Jonathan Shecter, among many others.

I met the subject of this documentary, Adam

Michael Goldstein, a.k.a. DJ AM, in 1997, while

working for L.A. club promoter Dillon Jordan.

Goldstein was an overweight kid who loved

sneakers and digging in the crates; he had a

biting wit and was, at that time, the guy who

spun at every cool-kid club party in Holly-

wood. This was years before he would have a

gastric bypass, date Nicole Richie, survive a

plane crash with drummer Travis Barker and

launch the celebrity DJ explosion. AM was

the soundtrack to my late teens. In those days

before TMZ, we celebrated the hedonism of

Hollywood at clubs called Garden of Eden and

the Opium Den, but little did we know that the

real star among us was Goldstein.

One thing that always struck me about AM

was his honesty about his excesses with wom-

en, food, gambling and drugs. He was a recover-

ing addict and would openly share the tumultu-

ous details of his young life. This documentary

brilliantly details that complexity—his stints in

rehab and the characters that surrounded him,

his Hollywood days and later, his ascent as one

of the world’s most sought-after DJs. Homage

is paid to AM’s musical talent and superb ear for

hooks—he was especially gifted in mashing up

songs from different musical genres.

As I AM is a gripping story of addiction, a

Shakespearean tale of a man who cheated

death in a fiery crash, refused to slow down and

then a few months later succumbed to his own

demons—dying of a drug overdose, alone in his

New York City apartment—after years of help-

ing other addicts overcome theirs. It will reso-

nate with Las Vegans who knew DJ AM during

a pivotal time in the city’s nightlife history—

from his bookings at Light nightclub in 2002

through residencies at Body English, Pure, LAX

and then at Palms’ Rain nightclub shortly before

his death in 2009.

After making the rounds on the festival cir-

cuit, As I AM will have limited release in Los

Angeles, New York

and 50 other theaters

across the country.

It screens June 1 at

Palms Casino Re-

sort’s Brenden The-

atres, with an after-

party at Ghostbar,

where DJs will spin

tribute sets. A limited

number of tickets for

the film are available

for purchase.

–Melinda Sheckells

Read our inter-

view with director

Kevin Kerslake at

VegasSeven.com/

DJAMDoc.

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➜ “I have kids. And the first place they head when they get home from school is to the refrigerator. And it is frightening for me to think that that very basic right my kids have would be a privilege for someone’s else’s children —the thought that they don’t have access to that. And when they’re saying, ‘There’s no food in the house,’ there’s [really] no food in the house.”

After nearly a decade of cov-ering and working with Three Square food bank, every visit to their warehouses and every conversation with its reps still features a moment that kind of floors me. On a recent Monday, after a weekend of fine dining, it was that state-ment by the organization’s chief development officer, Michelle Beck.

Beck and I were speaking because Las Vegas Restau-rant Week will celebrate its 10th year from June 6-17. Over the years, the event has raised more than $1 million for Three Square, Southern Nevada’s largest food bank. I

wanted to discuss where that money goes. And the short answer is, it goes to combat-ting the frightening reality Beck described.

More than 140 restaurants will be joining that fight this year by creating special prix fixe lunch and/or dinner menus priced between $20 and $80. (The $80 option was added to allow some of the city’s more expensive restau-rants to participate.) Every time someone orders one of these options, a portion of the proceeds will be given to Three Square. Restaurants can opt to donate $4, $5 or $6 for every meal sold to Three Square, which then converts every dollar into three meals for those who don’t know where their next meal is coming from.

For those of us who take our meals for granted, the need for Three Square may not be obvious. But one in six Southern Nevadans is “food insecure,” meaning they don’t have consistent access to ade-quate food. Among children,

that number rises to a stag-gering one in four. Last year, the food bank distributed 38 million pounds of food and groceries (or 31 million meals) in Southern Nevada.

They do that by joining forces with a network of 1,300 nonprofit, faith-based organizations, schools and feeding sites. They include groups such as the Salvation Army, Catholic Charities and the Las Vegas Rescue Mission. “If we can gather the food in and source it economically, they can have food, distribute it to the people who need it and continue to do their mis-sion without everybody in the community trying to run and source food from every-where,” Beck says.

To reach children during the school year, Three Square assists about 27 schools with more than 5,500 children receiving supplemental weekend meals every Friday through the Backpacks for Kids program. Small enough to fit inconspicuously into a backpack and distributed

in neutral places such as the nurse’s office, they provide enough food to get a child through the weekend until their next school meal is available.

When school is out, how-ever, those kids run the risk of being left without. Three Square’s Meet Up and Eat Up program provides free meals during the summer months at

90 sites across the Valley. Those include Boy and Girls Clubs, fire stations and libraries.

“You have kids who are winding up [at libraries] in the morning with parents pick-ing them up there later in the afternoon,” Beck says. “So we found there were librarians who were trying to purchase pizzas a couple of times a week to help those kids out. And we figured if we can get the food there, they will have access to it.”

While the reality of the local hunger situation is sobering, Restaurant Week is a celebra-tion of our local bounty and a great chance to pig out for a good cause. The list of restau-rants, available at HelpOutDi-neOutLV.org (along with their menus and contributions), is stunning. So this is a great chance to check some key spots off your culinary to-do list. And there are some great bargains to be had.

Take, for example, the notoriously pricey Hakkasan. While it’s created an $80 menu, there’s also a $50 three-course meal that includes the restau-rant’s signature dim sum and three tasty entrée options. Whichever menu you select, the restaurant will donate $6 to the cause. So you can get din-ner for two for $100 (before tax, tip and beverages) and provide 36 meals to your neighbors. If you want something less expensive, try the Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill in Downtown Summerlin for a $20 three-course lunch that includes a $4 (12 meals) donation.

In a town packed with some of the world’s best food, it’s unthinkable that so many people are hungry, especially kids. Thanks to Restaurant Week, we can celebrate the first fact while fighting the second. That’s the ultimate win-win for foodies.

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Feasts to Fight FamineRestaurant Week is a chance to help out the hungry in the Valley By Al Mancini

Volunteers help pack lunches at Three Square.

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Art, television, punk rock and even more punk rock A&E

Going Steady, 40 Years On

Ever fallen in love with The Buzzcocks? You should.

By Ian Caramanzana

PAGE 62PAGE 62

The Buzzcocks today, from left: Steve Diggle, Danny Farrant, Pete Shelley and

Chris Remington.

➜ NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS; let’s talk the Buzzcocks. From the day

these four lads first met—at the Sex Pistols’ first Manchester gig,

June 4, 1976—the Buzzcocks set about transforming punk rock—and

rock itself—through their slick, punchy sound and keenly ironic

lyrics. These songs are perhaps best heard in Singles Going Steady, a

collection of the band’s first eight singles (and their b-sides) that’s

arguably the greatest collection of songs not gathered by the art-

ists themselves. Songs such as “Ever Fallen in Love (With Some-

one You Shouldn'tve)” and “Orgasm Addict” flirt with catchy pop

melodies while maintaining the blazing speeds and vigor of punk

rock. ¶ It’s been four decades since that fateful gig, and the band

is celebrating by performing at Punk Rock Bowling on May 29. We

spoke with guitarist Steve Diggle, 61, about the Buzzcocks’ enduring

legacy and that legendary Manchester show that started it all.

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The Buzzcocks celebrate their 40th

anniversary as a band at Punk Rock

Bowling. Did you ever think you’d

make it this far?

Not at all. As a matter of fact, 40 days seemed like a fucking long time, and I’m sure Jesus felt the same way. Time rolls on, and it’s been an incredible and amazing journey. Lately, we’ve been doing shows in Italy, Australia and France. [Punk Rock Bowling] is a big-ger pitch than what we’re doing now.

The thing is, our music has stayed the same over the years, but we’ve grown as people and as musicians. The Buzzcocks are bigger and better than ever. And we’re cleaner, too. You don’t realize it over the years, but by playing this stuff, you just get better. When the Buzzcocks first started, we were a sloppy mess. Now we’re a band of musicians who can play our older, classic songs tight, and the new ones just as great. When we first came to the States, a lot of other British bands were making their way over there, so we needed to make an impression—to kick ass. And we still do; that hasn’t changed. The attitude is still there. The only differ-ence is that we’ve gotten older.

Why celebrate this milestone in Las Vegas?

Jesus was born in Bethlehem … why did he fucking choose that? He could’ve been born anywhere! [Laughs.] But really, I love Vegas. The opportunity just came, and we agreed to do it.

But you’ve been here before, right?

How were those experiences?

We’ve been there about four or five times as a band, and it’s always been great. I wish we could go more. It’s home to gamblers, wastes, strays and outsiders; if you think about it, that’s kind of what punk rock is—or was, anyway. It’s also home of the tourists. I’m not sure if they don’t like punk rock, or fucking Coldplay. We’ll see. I don’t do the machines too much, but some of the guys do.

Many years ago, I was in Venice, Italy, and a couple of days later, I was in Venice, the Venetian, in Las Vegas. There were many things that were dif-ferent between the two, but also several that were the same. That was kind of a psychedelic moment, and those kinds of things only happen in Las Vegas.

Last time I was there, we saw Elton John’s The Million Dollar Piano. After the show, Elton invited us backstage. He had a pint of beer with us, and he kept saying, “Oh, I love the Buzzcocks!” We grieved over Elvis together. That was a happy memory.

You and Pete Shelley are the only original

members of the Buzzcocks left …

We’ve got a gang of members anyway. Howard Devoto fronted the band in the early days, but the Buzzcocks have been mostly Pete and me. It took us two years to get to America. The place felt like the home of rock ’n’ roll—the Beatles and Stones explosion was

thanks to America. Then you’ve got Little Richard and Prince, who are just so great. I hope to live there one day.

Can we expect new music with this lineup?

We did an album two years ago called The Way, and we’re excited to play a few songs from it. That’s the focus now, even though those songs are 2 years old. It’s always difficult when we make a set list, because we’ve got roughly 120 songs to choose from. We can’t put them all on the set.

I don’t anticipate we’ll put out some-thing new anytime soon, unless we get Springsteen on it. I know The Boss, and he knows us. Last time I talked to him, he kept saying, “I know your re-cord, Steve!” Or maybe Eddie Vedder. He says, “You guys play really loud! That’s fucking rock’n’ roll!.”

Tell us about that legendary gig with the Sex

Pistols in Manchester in 1976. Some credit it

as the “gig that changed the world” and “the

day the punk era began.”

That was really amazing. Everybody came down to see the Pistols, and we ended up opening for them two years later. Howard and Pete brought them down, actually, and I met them there. At the time, London was bubbling up, and

it was sort of a Bethlehem—where punk rock was born—so everybody wanted to see for themselves. Apparently, we start-ed the band two days before the Clash. People kept saying, “Fuck, there’s a band from Manchester—a local—opening for these guys?” We played a 20-minute set, and I went straight to the bar after.

The press ripped the Sex Pistols, and they ripped the Buzzcocks, but the people didn’t care. We were all expe-riencing something new. This is what they called punk rock. We were alive again, even though it was only for a few moments. It felt like the birth of rock ’n’ roll with Elvis and Little Richard.

Who was in the audience?

A few people from Joy Division, Tony Wilson … a lot of people who would form Manchester bands. Everybody was inspired, moved, by what they were doing, and we all said, “Fuck, any-body can do this!” It wasn’t just about making a great song and being able to sing ... it was about the attitude. It was an amazing time, and there was a shift in everything ... and nobody knew it.

Bands define themselves by making good records. Every now and then, the world kind of turns—that was one of them.

What are your plans after the gig?

We’re looking to score some crystal meth and cocaine! But really, we’re looking forward to going there. We’re just gonna stay at our hotel and live our lives. After all the years of doing this, Vegas still feels new to us, so we’re gonna celebrate right but not get too crazy.

I have many memories of wild parties. The wildest party I had happened in Utah with the Mormons. They were drinking cokes, not alcohol, because of their religion. I thought that was wrong! [Laughs.] But I love America, and I love Las Vegas, and I can’t wait to be there. God bless, especially with Donald Trump. That’s why we’re coming over there—to shake some things up.

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Applause addicts: Diggle and the Buzzcocks perform live at

Shepherds Bush Empire.

THE BUZZCOCKS

AT PUNK ROCK BOWLING &

MUSIC FESTIVAL

May 29, Seventh and Stewart Streets,

$45 (day pass)-$120 (weekend pass),

PunkRockBowling.com.

THU6/2 BOOTS ON STAGE PRESENTS: K E V I N F O W L E RSAT6/4 BLUE OCTOBERSUN6/5 C A R A V A N P A L A C E

MON6/6 METAL CHURCH + ARMORED SAINT

TUE6/7 PRINCE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION FEAT. FACE THE FUNK

THU6/9 PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND

SAT6/11 T O M O R R O W � S B A D S E E D S WITH BIG B

WED6/15 M O R G A N H E R I T A G E

FRI6/17 DRAKE VS. KANYE (TRIBUTE PARTY)SAT

6/18 D R U H I L LWED

6/22 GEORGE CLINTON + PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC WITH FISHBONEWED

6/22 / /SAT7/9

FRI8/12 40oz. TO FREEDOM - SUBLIME TRIBUTE BAND

SAT7/2 THE OUTLAWZTHU7/7 T A R R U S R I L E Y

MON7/11 TOAD THE WET SPROCKET + RUSTED ROOT

FRI7/15 CRAIG ROBINSON + THE NASTY DELICIOUSSAT

7/16 T H E P S Y C H E D E L I C F U R S + T H E C H U R C H

SUN7/17 STEPHEN �RAGGA� MARLEY - THE FRUIT OF LIFE SUMMER TOUR

SUN7/24 THE OFFSPRING

SAT7/30 PROTOJE + THE INDIGGNATION

SUN7/31 T H E C L A Y P O O L L E N N O N D E L I R I U MTHU8/4 T H E S T O N E F O X E SSAT

8/13 L I O N B A B EMON8/15 K U R T V I L E + T H E V I O L A T O R S

FRI8/19 D I G A B L E P L A N E T S

FRI8/26 M I C H A E L F R A N T I + S P E A R H E A D

SUN8/28 E X P L O S I O N S I N T H E S K Y

FRI9/9 B A Y S I D E WITH THE MENZINGERS

FRI9/16 O . A . R .

TUE9/20 T H E A V E T T B R O T H E R S

SAT10/8 DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT / BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME

FRI10/21 T H E F A I N T

CENTER STRIP AT THE LINQ || BROOKLYNBOWL.COM || 702.862.BOWL

� S A T U R D A Y, M A Y 2 8 �

STRFKR + COM TRUISETHU

7/14 B I G F R E E D I A

J U S T A N N O U N C E D

> <

COMING UP AT BROOKLYN BOWL LAS VEGAS

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A&E

➜ TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IS A LONG

time, but in punk rock years, it’s the equivalent of a few centuries. As one of the stalwarts and now one of the survivors of the 1990s Southern California punk scene, Face to Face is staring down that silver anniver-sary this year. They’re celebrating with their ninth album, Protection

(returning to the Fat Wreck Chords label, which released some of the band's early discs), as well as hitting Punk Rock Bowling, where they’ll be playing their self-titled 1996 album in its entirety. Vegas Seven talked to founder, singer and guitarist Trever Keith about old punks, new records and taking over Downtown.

Are you looking forward to playing at Punk Rock Bowling?We played it for the first time in 2014, with the Descendents and the Adicts and a bunch of other bands I can’t remember. It was kind of trippy be-cause there were a lot of grizzled, older punk rockers there, like me. Hanging around at the pool were tattoos, beer bellies and Pabst Blue Ribbon as far as the eye could see.

It’s really a mini-takeover of Down-town. There’s nothing else like it. I’ve played a bunch of other festivals in the States and in Europe, but Punk Rock Bowling has its own vibe.

Do you prefer playing festivals, or just doing regular tour dates?Lately, festivals have just been part of the deal with bands. A lot of times it’s easier for a band, both financially and logistically—if you’re going to an-other country, in particular—to be on a festival, rather than to book a club tour. Club tours are great, because you get to be up close and personal with the bands; you’re right there in the moment. Festivals are good be-cause they have a life of their own.

Your new record, Protection, is produced by Bill Stevenson of the Descendents. How did that happen?I’ve been a fan of the Descendents forever. Some years back, we had the opportunity to be on the Warped tour with them, and I met Bill and the rest of the guys. Bill was producing records, so when the idea came up to make the ninth record I was like, “I’m gonna call Bill.”

It was a collaboration, but he also got a lot of really great ideas that neither Scott nor I would ever have thought of. A lot of those background harmonies, some of the really cool drum parts—a lot of those were Bill. It was great to work with someone who has written a bunch of my favorite punk rock songs. To have his sensibility kind of plugged into the songs that we wrote made for a really strong album.

Aside from the Descendents, what other bands have impressed you? Which bands inspired you to make music?I grew up surrounded by music, be-cause my dad is a musician. When I was a kid, every weekend I’d wake up and see the guitar case in the living room from the night before. He’d play clubs on the weekends while he worked a job.

I started taking an interest in music when I was 13 or 14; I messed around in garage bands. But I was a late bloomer to punk rock. Where I grew up in the ’80s—Victorville, in the high desert—there wasn’t a huge punk rock influ-ence; the culture was more geared to-ward metal. There were maybe six kids in my high school that were into punk rock. When I was 19, I started listening to some of the bands that became my favorite bands like the Descendents, Bad Religion. I found a connection in punk rock that I hadn’t discovered elsewhere, and I never went back.

What’s it like playing punk rock after all of these years? Do you still see other bands from back in the day?Now we’re all old, middle-aged or rapidly approaching middle age and there’s still a pretty vibrant punk rock scene. If there wasn’t a sense of com-munity in the ’90s, there is definitely one now. There was more competition in the ’90s—who’s punk and who’s a sellout, who’s got the right ticket price, who’s charging the right price for shirts. That stuff has sort of gone by the wayside and among the bands that are the survivors, the bands that are still doing it, there’s almost this unspo-ken sense of community because we still exist, even if once we might have been rivals, or perceived as rivals. It’s all just water under the bridge.

[ PUNK ROCK BOWLING ]

Unbroken, Reconnected

Face to Face leans hard into its 25th year By Lissa Townsend Rodgers

FACE TO FACE

May 30, Seventh Street and Stewart

Avenue, $45 (day pass)-$120

(weekend pass),

PunkRockBowling.com.

Danny Thompson, Trever Keith, Scott Shiflett and Dennis Hill of Face to Face. Below: The band in action.

THE MOST FABULOUS THING

CASTLES, COENS AND COMPILATION

Your nerdy showgirl has a bit of catching up to do

By Charlie Starling

➜ It feels like an age since last we communicated. In that time, I packed my glittery suitcases, my glittery self and my glittery burlesque housemate, “quirky cutie” Kitschy Koo, and flew off for what was supposed to be eight days of friends-and-family-peppered goodness in the U.K.

I did get all of those things, so that’s nice, but I also got stuck there for an extra week, which was ... stressful. And upon my return, I got sick, was held in an immigration interrogation room for two hours for no rea-son and then spent another two days fighting over the phone with my U.K. bank. In that time, I saw Captain America: Civil War, and it sucked. (Maybe that’s a little strong. I’ll see it again and get back to you.)

So, yeah. What I’d really like to do is sit here and whine all about how the last month of my life has been like that Chinese drive-thru in Dude, Where’s My Car?—a veritable “And then? And then? And then?” of pure bullshit—but that’s not fabulous, and I might be the only one who appreci-ates Seann William Scott references from the early “aughts.” So, instead, let’s talk about castles and Fargo and lesser-known stringed instruments.

CASTLES I grew up in Northumber-land, in the North of England. Think Winterfell from Game of Thrones, but with more traffic circles and middle schools. Our coastline, from New-castle all the way up to Edinburgh, is dotted with outcrops of gray stone. Castles everywhere, proper fairytale fodder. My family and I took a road trip up the coast so that I could show my American lady-friend first Bam-burgh, where folk/punk singer Frank Turner filmed his music video for “If I Ever Stray,” and then Alnwick Castle, which stood for Hogwarts in the first two Harry Potter films. Much fun was had, fish and chips were eaten and broomsticks were flown.

FARGO Here’s a party I was massively late to, but on whose tables I will now dance for your pleasure. I’m not quite finished with the second season of Noah Hawley’s television adapta-tion of the Coen brothers’ classic film, but I can say with certainty that the Minnesota accents are the best; Mar-tin Freeman has done his best work

since The Office; I still have a huge crush on Billy Bob Thornton; Patrick Wilson does some excellent acting without his Night Owl mask; Kirsten Dunst makes a hilariously believable crazy person; and Ted Danson has officially become Santa Claus now. This show is a magnificent, phenom-enally entertaining ensemble piece that spurred two separate train pas-sengers to tap me on the shoulder to ask what I was watching. (This is a big deal, you guys. British people don’t talk to each other on trains.) Both seasons are available to stream on Hulu or FX Now, or to buy on iTunes.

LESSER-KNOWN STRINGED

INSTRUMENTS Nonfollowers of my Instagram and YouTube channels (Go now! I’m @charliestarling) may not be aware of this, but I recently took a drunken trip to Guitar Center in hopes of bettering myself musically. I bought a ukulele, and I urge you to do the same. I don’t think I’ve ever taken this much joy from a $40 purchase. Currently, I’m playing for at least five hours a day. It is extremely satisfying. This new passion led three of my dear-est friends to procure for me a ban-jolele for my birthday. That is exactly what it sounds like—a four stringed, ukelele-sized banjo. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to get back to learning folk songs, punk songs and showtunes on it. And if you’re wondering wheth-er I have learned anything from Hamil-ton yet... Yes. Yes, I fucking have.

See Charlie Starling in Absinthe, twice nightly in the Spiegeltent at Caesars Palace, 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Wed.-Sun. Visit AbsintheVegas.com for tickets. Follow her on Twitter: @charlistarling.

By Charlie Starling

M A R K E T P L A C E

M A R K E T P L A C E

M A R K E T P L A C E

M A R K E T P L A C E

SWEAT

INCLUDEDEASTERN STUDIO

8575 SOUTH EASTERN AVENUE

SUMMERLIN STUDIO

1870 FESTIVAL PLAZA DR. SUITE 200

COMING SUMMER 2016

BLUE DIAMOND STUDIO

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.com

know: What’s up with Rush

Hour 4 and Last Friday?

It’s totally up to the studios to make those calls be-cause they own the movies.

… The studio did say they want to film Rush Hour 4, so we’ll see what happens with that. As far as Friday, I haven’t heard anything from anybody about that, just the rumors.

Would you be open to

reprising the role of Smokey?

You’ve been reluctant in the

past and were absent from

the previous sequels.

I don’t know. I’d have to look at the script and weigh it. I know my fans loved the character and movie. I’ll definitely look at it because my fans love it, but I have to see if it comes together first, then I’ll make the decision.

Friday is 21 years old.

That was your breakout role.

Did you have any inkling then

that it would

be a career-

defining

moment?

No. You just don’t know, man. It was considered a low-budget movie in that day and this day. We did it in 20 days. Most of it was on a street. The budget was $2 million. At the beginning it wasn’t even [backed by] a studio; Priority Records was financing it, and New Line [Cinema] picked it up in the middle of shoot-ing. I just knew it was an opportunity for me. I was doing stand-up comedy constantly and I knew that it was time for me to get a movie role. ... I took it re-ally serious because it was my first co-starring role. I wanted to make sure I was prepared for it. I didn’t know where it would take me, but I knew it would take me to my next job.

It seems like you’ve been

pushing your stand-up more

lately. Your first-ever stand-

up special, Chris Tucker:

Live (on Netflix), only came

out last year.

I’ve been touring for years but of course, when I first started in movies, the movies kinda took over. I’ve been back on the road doing stand-up for years

now. I’ll never stop doing it again. Even when I’m do-ing movies, I’ll continue to do stand-up. … Stand-up is just me, man. It’s who I am. It got me to the mov-ies. It’s challenging for me, and I have a great desire to keep doing it. It keeps me digging deep for stuff to talk about—what’s going on in my life now, how my life [has] changed, how I was raised. People learn a lot about you in stand-upand who you are and what type of person you are, and I want people to know who I am.

What’s next for you?

I’m developing a lot of stuff and getting ready to jump into a new movie. But I did a movie last year that’s coming out in November on Veterans Day called Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. It’s about a young group of guys who just came back from the war in Iraq for a

celebration [during a football] halftime show. … It’s a dramatic role. When the direc-tor, Ang Lee, came to me, I wanted to do it because I’ve bumped

into a lot of the guys who came back from war in air-ports while touring all over the country. I wanted to do this movie to honor them, because I really appreciate what they’ve been doing for the country and for me.

Is it difficult to be taken

as a serious actor?

You have to do something to prove you can do it. I did Silver Linings Playbook a few years ago with David O. Russell, another great director, and I had a great time doing it. I did Dead Presidents back in ’95 or something and that was a serious role. I knew that I could do both. Now I’m just doing stuff that I love andshowing a different side of me. People know I can do comedy. I’m still gonna do it—that’s my first love—but I’m going to do some dra-matic stuff, too.

Do you still not let people

touch your radio?

Never, man! Don’t touch my radio!

It was recently revealed that Prince was originally cast

to play Ruby Rhod in The Fifth Element. Did you know

that when you landed the role?

I didn’t know it when I landed it, but I found out later. I bumped into [Prince] one day, and he told me all about it. Man, I was happy he didn’t take it because I enjoyed doing it. … He definitely was a big inspiration with his energy and flamboyance.

You attended Prince’s concert at the Rio here in 2006—and

sat with Michael Jackson. Will.i.am, who was also there,

was on Ellen recently and claimed Prince walked right up

to Michael Jackson and played the bass in his face to

taunt him. Is that how it really went down?

[Laughs] It did go down sorta like that. It was amaz-ing. I was there with the king watching the prince. I’m sitting with Michael, and I kept looking at Mi-chael and looking at [Prince]. I’m wondering, is he going to say something? Is he going to respond? And Michael was like [impersonating Michael and clap-ping], “Very good, very good.” He was excited and happy for Prince. It was a surreal moment, man.

I know you get asked this all of the time, but we need to

SE

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Chris TuckerThe Rush Hour star on honoring the troops, sequel rumors and a surreal

night in Las Vegas with Prince and Michael Jackson By Zoneil Maharaj

CHRIS TUCKER

May 28, 8 p.m.

at The Pearl

at Palms, $46-$92,

702-944-3200,

Palms.com/

Pearl-Theater.