CONSIDER THIS TO BE AN UN-PROFESSIONAL REVIEW OF A GREAT PERFORMANCE IN WHICH MOST OF THE PERFORMERS ARE NOT NAMED DUE TO THE 'DUM-NESS' OF THE REVIEWER. (Much like any other great review by a professional reviewer, I guess,)

This complimentary afternoon show was held yesterday (Thursday) at 2:00 PM at Sam's Town and was surprisingly good.

'GREAT' might be a better description!

"Really GREAT!" might even be better.

But I won't say that because I hope to find a vacant seat next Thursday at 2:00 PM when this complimentary show is presented once again. This first show had good seats available right up to curtain time but it appeared to be 'filled-up' a few minutes after the curtain rose.

So this is my review but first I gotta apologize for not knowing the names of the first class entertainers who performed in this first class, 90 minute production.

Next week I'll take a pencil but this time maybe JMT can fill in the blanks for us. I'll do my best to describe them as well as possible but please re-read the top paragraph once again before proceeding.

The MC was Clint Holmes and another excellent male singer whom I've never seen before. Each of them sang a couple of tunes and introduced the leader of the four piece band who then proceeded to sing a couple of great tunes of his own.

He introduced himself as someone we've probably never heard of before, but now that we've all heard his music; most of us will know who is he from here on out.

He was definitely a WOW kind of performer, but include me out because I am bad at recalling singer's names unless they have 'rememberable' names such as Bing or Nat or Frank or Loui or Dean or Eartha and a couple of others I've already forgotten.

(I'm the guy who hates to see a singer sing, but in this case each performer sang for no more than 4 to 5 minutes and then proceeded to introduce the next performer..... And for some reason, I really enjoyed that format, but I still forget singers' names. I can't even ID the individual Beatle guys. But I can still ID Larry, Moe, and Curley!)

So the show proceeded with some great entertainment ... mostly singers singing songs who presently appear on and off the Strip and one very young, very great, magician who 'prestigitated' me completely!

Where did that bird come from? It was only a dove but the rumor around town is that one performer is practicing with an eagle!

Where did those cards go! I would be hard to improve on this one.

And how did that big ball become a little golf ball?

I was totally mystified but some of his trix I already knew, but I gotta keep the secret! SO please don't ask.

Then the four ladies from Menopause did a great number in character with some small but well done dance steps. After seeing that performance, I gotta go see their show. It's at the Luxor, folks!

And then two very attractive ladies came on stage and sang the 'blues' or maybe it was 'jazz, but whatever it was, the sure knew how to sing it well.

I'm not sure but I think one of them was related to Mr. Holmes.

Then a great singer from the Stratosphere's BITE sang a solo to great applause, followed with a 'duo' with a very attractive lady in a bright-bright orange sequened dress. (I'm no fashion kinda guy, but she sure was pretty!)

ANd then a gentleman in a very nice suit took the stage and sang an opera tune that got me off my feet!

It might not have been "opera" but it sounded darn close to opera. (I don't know opera well enough to actually know what it was, but it sure was engaging and not at all like what I sing while I'm in the shower ... and therefor .... it MUST be Opera!)

And then there was that threesome of young kids still in their teens (one guy and two girls) who made me cry a bit when one sang a 'cry along' tune from The Phantom. (I think it was from the Phantom but it could have been from an old time Marx Brother's movie for all I know.)

There was more outstanding performers but I'm not the kind of guy who remembers 'more' when I leave a theater saying, "WOW! That was really GREAT!"

And it was FREE, which made it all the GREATER!

And Clint says, "It even gonna get greater!" (OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT!)

So, I'll be going back!

But this time, I'll take a pencil!

2:00 PM / Thursdays during July / Free when you show your player's club card.

Will, I beleive this show format has been going on for some time now. Daisy durg us out to see a show, I beleive it was last year, and it was being taped for something. I was underwhelmed at the time. But I think it all depends on who shows up for the show.
So while it sounds like you hit a really good one, don't be suprised if the next one is a clunker.

Okay, I can play along. That weekly show has been overhauled since I last saw it and Lee saw it. It seems to retain a lot of the same things. I hope it's better. Thanks for the report and I hope that I can fill in some of the blanks.

You may not have seen Clint before, but if you had a radio in 1973 you heard him singing these lyrics..."My name is Michael, I have a nickel, I have a nickel, shiny and new. I'm gonna buy me all kinds of candy. That's what I'm gonna do." That's his one hit, Playground In My Mind. He also had a show on the strip at Harrah's for a while.

There are two men that often sing with Clint. A larger man named Bill Fayne is a long time friend of Clint, a great piano player, and often does background work for Clint, such as arrangements and production. Bill is also in the Las Vegas Tenors. The other guy that sings with Clint often is a skinny guy with fuzzy hair named Domenick Allen, who used to play with the rock group Foreigner. He is master musician with almost any instrument, grew up in Las Vegas and knew all the big stars of the day. Domenick's wife is a Broadway star named Leigh Zimmerman. She was the star in The Producers when it played here.

Bill Fayne may have been the opera guy, or maybe John Garafalo.

The band leader could have been a number of people. Bob Rosario and Michael T are both friends of most of those folks.

You mentioned a magician named Jason Andrews in another post. I'm not familiar with him. Most of the younger magicians that I know in Las Vegas don't normally work with birds, even though birds are obligatory in Magic 101.

If the gal related to Clint was a skinny blonde, that was his wife, Kelly Clinton. That gal has more talent than you can shake a stick at. She is entertainment director at the Sterling Club in Turnberry and usually has a night or two each week at The Bootlegger hosting a special. Lisa Smith often sings with her, but the other gal could be almost anyone.

The guy from Bite... If it was a larger man, it was probably Bobby Black, another Las Vegas Tenor and an excellent photographer. He was with Bite a year or so ago. I wasn't sure if he was still in it or not.

And to round out the Tenors, Teddy Davey is the other.

How did I do? I hope you take a pencil next time, because these are just wild guesses.

JMT, good job! To the best of my recollection, you hit the nail on the head in most cases.

I do think the singer with Clint was Domenick Allen.

John Garafalo sounds right for the 'opera' singer.

And I think you are right about the others you mentioned.

How do you 'know' all these entertainers?

I'll definitely take a pencil next time.

JMT, actually this was one of the more enjoyable shows I've seen over the past few years with the exception of the Cirque extravaganzas which I've been getting a bit bored by lately after seeing 'too much, too soon'. (KA was the best of them all!)

I think I liked Talk of the (Sam's) Town mostly due to the fact that each 'act' was short and sweet. It appeared to me that each entertainer was offered a max of five minutes on stage and then on to the next 'star' without any too much delay.

To be honest with ya, I was bored to death with Cher at Caesars because it was 'too much, too long" and you know how I feel about watching singers sing.

And this may be unpatriotic but I don't think I'd go see Garth Brooks even if they offered me a free ticket followed with a meal in Sinatras .... unless Garth guaranteed me personally that he's only sing for five minutes or thereabouts.

JMT, I was just thinking ..... Why is this entertainment free? And do the entertainers get some financial remuneration"

You'd think that someone would pass the hat for some charitable enterprise at least.

It's promo. They are getting their name out in hopes of ticket sales. Just about everyone you will see in these shows has an upcoming show.

I missed yesterday's production due to prior family commitments.
I notice that the Sun Coast has a similar free show on Thursdays also.

Sorry you missed the show, will. I was not aware of a show of this nature at the Sun Coast.

However, the show that Daisy, Lee, myself, and others saw at Sams Town has moved to the SouthPoint. Again, Thursday afternoons, free with club card. This show is hosted by Dennis Bono and is broadcast on the radio. Dennis says his show is like Johnny Carson on radio. The show is syndicated and streamable on the interwebs, so anyone can listen to it,.

I suspect that the Sams and SouthPoint shows have a lot in common. I'd be interested to hear your take. Don't forget the pencil.<g>

I did forget the pencil ..... but I did remember a camera.

Thursday,2 PM, July 8, Sun Coast Casino, Hit Parade ..... another free
Thurs afternoon of very good entertainment.

Refer to the Photo Gallery to meet and ID the stars.

Thanks for the South Point show info, JMT. What is the significance of Thursday afternoon shows?

Sam's Town, Sun Coast, and South Point .

Yep, JMT...... same performers pictured appeared in the Sam's Town show two weeks ago.

We attended the Dennis Bono Show yesterday (2 PM every Thursday, South Point Hotel/Casino).

I never learned the 'rudiments' of WATCHING a radio show, but that's exactly what I was seeing - a radio show!

BUT .... a very professional and well done radio show with Dennis and a well spoken side-kick and very good talent (all singers while I was in attendance, so I had to excuse myself midway through the PRESENTATION).

And once again I did not bring a pencil. And I also have no idea who Mr Bono is, nor his well spoken sidekick, nor the very good singers who appeared on stage and performed with a very good four-piece band.

It's just too bad that no one has ever thought of a way to display the talent of magicians and acrobats and mimes on the radio.

I would have enjoyed it so much more!

So please feel free to consider this as the dumbest radio show review of all time.

But if you like to hear good singers sing and good music played and good talkers talk.... in a nice, casual (and free) show room environment; make sure to visit Dennis Bono each Thursday afternoon at the South Point Hotel/Casino.


At the very least you'll see how a good radio talk and talent show is produced,

And while you're there, check out the newly extended casino floor on the south end of South Point on the south end of the Strip in Southern Las Vegas town.\

Now can someone tell me who Mr Bono is? And his side-kick with the very distinctive radio voice?

will, you need carry a pencil in that Prius.

Mr Bono is a pretty talented man that Frank Sinatra saw as the next Frank Sinatra. He has headlined Las Vegas showrooms. He has a couple of CDs. He is married to Lorraine Hunt.

Even Mr Bono claims that his show is like a Johnny Carson type show on the radio. What you saw was pretty much what Lee, Daisy, and I saw at Sams Town.

That same day that you went to the SouthPoint, I went to Sams. I saw my dear friend Lena Prima singing a few songs. The musical director of the band was Bill Fayne, who is an old friend of Clint Holmes, and one of the Las Vegas Tenors. That Sams show is much different than the Dennis Bono show. The current Sams show was ALL entertainment and no interviews, sponsors, or breaks.

Thanks, JMT. Now that I've seen one of each (Sam's Town, Sun Coast, and South Point), I have to say that I liked the show MC'ed by Clint Holmes at Sam's Town best.

And I have discovered that I don't like to watch radio shows no matter how great the entertainers are .... Bless their little hearts.

Now that it's been a few weeks since that Sam's Town show, I only recall a couple of the highlights such as the young magician who impressed me, the ladies from Menopause, and the young guy singing with the two ladies. I think that they will be a big LV hit someday soon.

If I had taken a pencil, I would have been able to ID each of the above, but you've been doing great filling in most of the blanks, so I gotta thank ya.

Thanks, JMT.