Tag: The Smith Center
View All TagsDowntown / Downtown Vegas / The Smith Center / Neon Museum / Discovery Children's Museum / → All Tags
In Downtown Vegas, There Are Subscriptions For That
Love Downtown Vegas so much you find yourself returning to certain offerings, time after time? Or, want to return again and again, but don't have the unending cash for that? Now, you can save some bills while becoming a regular fixture by considering annual memberships, especially if your fave spots include the Neon Museum, Discovery Children's Museum or Smith Center.
Birthdays / Tao Las Vegas / Mingo Kitchen / The Smith Center / 21 / → All Tags
Three Ways to Celebrate Your 21st Birthday in Las Vegas
When we turned 21 in 1999, we celebrated with our bestest girl friends by getting loaded at the bar down the street from where we lived. It was a school night but that didn't matter. All that mattered was that we could finally use our real ID to get into a real bar that served real alcohol (not Zima). The night was glorious and the last thing we remember was face-planting on the sidewalk in front of our house while our friends blamed one another for letting us try to walk on our own. We woke up the next morning bruised, but happy. We were 21!
Clearly, that was a much simpler time. For the generation that grew up throwing "Super Sweet 16" parties complete with a brand-new car at the end of the bash, celebrating at a townie bar in a college town will not do. Celebrating at Tao Las Vegas inside the Venetian, however, is clearly the better option.
The mega club has launched a new 21st birthday club which gives the birthday boy or girl complimentary admission, a round of shots for them and their friends, a custom birthday invite, a photo on TAO's famous red carpet, an "I turned 21 @TaoLasVegas" T-shirt and a special tweet shout out from @TaoLasVegas."
Available for add-ons are appetizer platters in the TAO lounge, a dessert platter with a dinner reservation at the Tao restaurant, special VIP table reservations and even a birthday message on the LED screen in the nightclub and a shout-out from the DJ. (Not sure if there's an add-on that has a bouncer prevent you from face-planting, but you could ask!)
Pricing varies from case to case, depending on whether the party includes dinner or a table in the nightclub along with the number of people in the party. So email turn21@taogroup.com or visit taolasvegas.com to start your bday planning.
VegasChatter Flashback / The Smith Center / → All Tags
On The Smith Center's First Birthday, VegasChatter Flashes Back
Happy Birthday, Smith Center.
It's been a full year since its taped for PBS, star-filled debut hosted by Doogie Howser and official first performance by Bela Fleck. It was love at first sight for us, making the Smith Center the easy winner of our Best New Opening of 2012 award.
Bean counters confirm we weren't the only ones to welcome The Smith Center with open arms. 420,000 others did, too, according to ticket sales and not counting special events. 5,575 people were interested enough to take a free tour of the grand old gal.
Events / Shows / Entertainment / The Smith Center / Downtown / Downtown Vegas / → All Tags
Circus Oz Promises Great, Powerful Downtown Experience
Next month, Cirque du Soleil won't be the only band of really athletic, bendy, super-coordinated artistes in town. Circus Oz will only be in Vegas for a long weekend in February, but they'll be going hard with four shows in three days.
The Australian crew of aerialists, jugglers and live-wire musicians will perform February 21-23 at downtown's Smith Center and, from what we've seen in videos of past performances, you should expect fire, smoke machines, strobe lighting, and lots of "ooooh" and "aaaah" evoking feats of athleticism. Check it out for yourself down below.
Vegas For Girls / Prissy Girls / Downtown / Downtown Vegas / Downtown Cocktail Room / Bar Plus Bistro / Oscar's / Triple George Grill / Mob Bar / The Smith Center / Commonwealth / Drink And Drag / Bars / Drinking / Vegas Observations / → All Tags
10 Reasons Prissy Girls Should Go Downtown
This VegasChatter writer loves the Las Vegas Strip. It’s high profile, glamorous, ever-evolving and over-the-top, just like her. Going to Downtown Vegas after partying on The Strip is like downgrading from a high-end department store to a swap meet. Sure, you’ll find similar things, but they won’t be as nice or expensive and it smells. But, if you can get past that, and all the homeless people, you’ll end up having a good time in a much less pretentious atmosphere!
Here are 10 reasons why even the prissiest of girls should visit Downtown Vegas:
1. Casual Atmosphere
This VegasChatter'er loves her stilettos and sparkly dresses, but for those nights when you feel more like flats and (cringe) wearing leggings as pants, there’s always downtown. No judgment or heel rats, just fun.
This is one of the places that made Downtown worth the trip. Recommended by one of our hipster BFFs (read: bike-riding, PBR-drinking writer), the nearly hidden spot is dark, plush and serves artfully crafted cocktails with ingredients we’ve never heard before.
VegasChatter 2012 Awards / Openings / The Smith Center / Neon Museum / Neon Boneyard / → All Tags
Best New Opening of 2012
The one constant in Las Vegas is change and downtown Las Vegas has been the biggest benefactor of progress in recent history. Fremont has continued to expand east with exciting new restaurants, bars, and shopping. Yet it's the opposite side of the tracks that was marked for a new performing arts center.
When plans for The Smith Center were announced way back in 2009 many wondered how demand for such a facility would stack up against existing theatres, showrooms and arenas that were already home to many permanent and touring productions. Not to mention those existing options were located on The Strip and not in an unknown darkness named Symphony Park.
As construction neared completion, Broadway familiar shows by the name Wicked, The Color Purple, Million Dollar Quartet, and Memphis were announced for the Smith Center. The Las Vegas Philharmonic and the Nevada Ballet Theatre decided to move their permanent homes there. At the same time, a major shift in entrepreneurial and monetary mindsets were re-focusing on downtown. Was a perfect storm brewing that could quite possibly create a new cultural center for Las Vegas?
Broadway in Vegas / Music / Events / Entertainment / The Smith Center / The Book of Mormon / → All Tags
Book of Mormon Coming To Vegas
The Book of Mormon is headed to Vegas, but not to the Vegas Strip as once was rumored.
The Smith Center announced today that the popular Broadway production will swing by in the summer... of 2014. (No, that's not a typo.) At one time, the Vegas rumor mill had pegged Book of Mormon for a run at Venetian/Palazzo. Whether or not that still might happen is unknown.
Which Would You Rather / Cirque du Soleil / Zarkana / Aria / Downtown / Downtown Vegas / The Smith Center / Zoppe / → All Tags
In November, Cirque or Circus?
In a few days, Vegas visitors will have the choice of new Cirque on the Strip or an Italian circus downtown.
The Smith Center will throw up the big medium top on the grassy field of Symphony Park as it hosts Zoppé, a one-ring circus by way of Europe, November 1-4.
Scary Vegas / Primm / Primm Valley Resort / The Chamber Haunt / Wicked / The Smith Center / Tropicana / The Wicked Rocky Horror Show / → All Tags
More Ways To Have A Scream In Vegas, And Beyond
There's another new way to scare up some top-notch fun this Halloween season. If you're willing to motor 45 minutes outside of Vegas to find it.
The Chamber Haunt, picked as one of the top five scariest places on earth by Travel Channel but which we've never heard of before, will creep you out even more than usual when you happen to stop at Primm. (We kid, Primm, we kid.)
We're actually not quite sure what Chamber Haunt is exactly, but it looks like a mobile haunted house experience (see below) with creepy guys skilled actors drenched in fake blood, zombified and ready to scare the crap out of you in the dark.
Events / The Smith Center / Wicked / Shows / → All Tags
The Smith Center Gives Somewhere Over The Rainbow A 'Wicked' Turn
Are you off to see the Wizard? The touring company of Wicked, the huge Broadway hit, has dropped into the Smith Center and will be in residency through October. An ambitious, elaborate theatrical production, this re-imaging of the Wizard of Oz saga you already know, mixes comedy, melodrama, music and special effects. And it's a show you'll want to see. With one proviso we'll provide below.
The Smith Center / Downtown Vegas / Music / Theater / Events / Downtown / → All Tags
Where Should You Sit At Smith Center?
Downtown's Smith Center has been open for just over three months already, continuing to impress new and "old" visitors alike. Since our first look at Reynolds Hall inside the Performing Arts venue, we've returned for a more intimate experience in the Cabaret Jazz room and then the Broadway Las Vegas Series (in Reynolds Hall).
Each trip to Reynolds Hall has afforded us a different seat, view, and experience. If you're like us before our first visit, you've studied the seating chart and clicked through each available view from your seat. But, if you are still unsure which price point to go after, allow us to share our views.
OpenThread / Concerts / Live Music / Events / The Smith Center / Downtown / Downtown Vegas / Vegas Observations / → All Tags
In Vegas, How Much Does The Venue Impact The Experience?
When an artist's tour schedule is released, many music fans first look for one of two dates. When is the tour coming to their hometown (it's in your head now, isn't it?) or is Las Vegas on the route? Possibly, both. Vegas stops are often a mix of locals and tourists who have coordinated their trip around a favorite or popular band. Any excuse, we say.
People who love Vegas LOVE Vegas so why wouldn't that apply to the performers themselves as well? It seems reasonable to expect concert experiences dialed up to eleven here compared to Topeka, Kansas. (Sorry, Topeka you're probably swell.) Often we notice a "travel day" around the Vegas stop. First-time performers are usually hungover jazzed up to play here on and off the stage and some shows have even been literally climactic. Unless their musical idol has a tendency of rejecting Rock N Roll Hall of Fame noms, fans tend to expect a solid if not perfect performance no matter the city, venue, time, or circumstance. Reality may differ, of course, but it's easy to forget the human aspect of a show.
