There are no limits to what Las Vegas has to offer. Let this “mixtape” guide you to a museum dedicated to vintage neon signs and a sacred place that’s a shrine to punk rock history.
Maybe you’re in the mood for a posh steakhouse with an outstanding Vegan menu? Or want to hear bands at venues like the Fremont Country Club and Double Down Saloon? Looking to discover alternative bookstores, one of which has an “artificial bird sanctuary”?
See you in the streets.
Track#1: Neon Museum’s Neon Boneyard @ Cultural Corridor
The electrifying Neon Museum and Boneyard, where vintage Vegas neon signs live on forever. (Image: Vegas 411)
Walt Disney coined the slogan “The Happiest Place on Earth” back in 1955 to describe Disneyland. Sorry Walt—things change. These days, that honor goes hands down to the electric wonderland known as Neon Museum and its roofless six-acre Boneyard. That’s where vintage Vegas neon signs from hotels, casinos, and other businesses have been affectionately restored and retired.
The fun starts when you enter the awe-inspiring lobby shell from the defunct La Concha Motel (1961- 2004). It was designed by Paul Williams, one of the first prominent African American architects in the country. Next, head outside to bask in the radiant glory of neon from the Riviera, Stardust, Plaza, Palms, The Flame steakhouse (the oldest sign there), and plenty more.
The museum features guided tours and shows like the outdoor show “Brilliant! Jackpot,” billed as “the largest augmented reality experience of its kind.”
The hypnotic neon at the Boneyard is best experienced at night, although you’ll have to dress warmly for this winter’s chilly temps. \
Track #2: Hookers & Blow and Dead Boys @Fremont Country Club @ Downtown
Rock & roll church the Fremont Country Club in downtown Vegas (Image: Vegas 411)
I was in love with the group Hookers & Blow before I even heard them play a single note. I mean, the name alone—it’s brazen and tongue-in-cheek all at once, perhaps the most rock & roll rock moniker out there.
Led by keyboardist/vocalist Dizzy Reed of Guns N’ Roses and Quiet Riot’s fiery lead guitarist Alex Grossi, the skillful and rugged band rolled into downtown’s rock & roll church, the Fremont Country Club (which Green Day recently lit up), for the multi-act “Blowchella.” Hitting the stage at 1:00 am, they dug their heels into their covers of David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust,” The Rolling Stones’ “Rocks Off,” and Eddie Money’s “Shakin’ (all from their 2021 album).
Preceding them were the snotty-as-ever Dead Boys, the ‘70s Cleveland, Ohio punk band whose infectiously cranky songs—“Sonic Reducer,” “What Love Is,” and “Ain’t Nothin’ To Do”—have stood the test of time.
Track #3: Barry’s Downtown Prime @Circa on Fremont St
From the Vegan menu at Barry’s Downtown Prime: Vegetable Salisbury Steak (Image: Vegas 411)
There are a thousand steakhouses in Vegas—a carnivore’s paradise—and everyone has their favorite one. You can roll authentically old school at The Golden Steer or walk down the staircase from the casino floor of Circa and into the modern throwback ambience of Barry’s Downtown Prime. The posh restaurant’s elegant design touches—like “warm ebonized brown white oak parquet floors, walnut millwork, burnished brass, and moody antique mirrors”—immediately impress.
A contrarian at heart, I skipped the steak and seafood choices and went vegan for New Year’s Eve. I ushered in 2024 with Chef Barry’s nicely spiced Vegan Cauliflower Curry Soup, with Baby Spinach and Toasted Almonds, followed by the flavorful Vegetable Salisbury Steak, a soy plant-based creation with Roasted Pepper, Mushroom Gravy, and Crispy Onion Straws.
For my next visit, I’m already thinking about their Vegan Chicken Marsala, with “tomato petals preserved with lemon vinaigrette.”
Track #4: Franks & Deans @The Punk Rock Museum, Western Ave
Las Vegas-based Franks and Deans gloriously mess up “your grandmother’s music.”(Image: courtesy of the band)
Punk rock makes you feel forever young. That’s what was going through my head while watching the irresistibly named Vegas band Franks & Deans (as in Sinatra and Martin) perform for crazy revelers at that fountain of youth known as The Punk Rock Museum. The event was the 60th birthday party for Danny Breeden, once the lead shouter for Vegas hardcore punk band FSP.
Franks & Deans (four musicians and, of course, a dancing showgirl) say they’re here to wreck “your grandmother’s music.” And that’s exactly what they did, with jacked-up punk and ska versions of classics like “This Magic Moment” and “Dream Lover.”
“Those are great songs, and we’re just trying to keep them in the rotation!” they told me after their set in a performance area of the two-floor museum. Keeping every base covered, Franks & Deans also do (from their third album, the pricelessly named “Surfin’ Turf”) an instrumental surf guitar version of Bad Religion’s “American Jesus.”
The band performs on the first Wednesday of every month at the Double Down Saloon, where they just celebrated the 9th anniversary of their “Franks & Deans’ Weenie Roast” show.
Perhaps Vegas’ fun-loving mayor Carolyn Goodman will declare it “Franks and Deans Day” sometime soon.
Track #5: Bookstore Medley: The Writer’s Block @Downtown and Avantpop Bookstore @Commercial Center
The Writer’s Block describes itself as a bookstore and “artificial bird sanctuary,” with bird motifs throughout the space. (Image: Vegas 411)
It’s hard not to fall in love with The Writer’s Block, a “bookshop, coffee shop, young writer’s bookshop, and artificial bird sanctuary,” the latter a reference to all the artsy bird motifs placed throughout this attractively quirky space. You’ll find it on the same street as another intellectual gem—art house cinema The Beverly Theater. Go to the bookstore on January 23 at 6:30 pm for “Please Send Noodles,” a monthly “eating, cooking, reading” book club.
Over at New Orleans Square in Commercial Center, enter Avantpop Bookstore, whose brand—“Specialty. Subversive. Subculture”—is an open invite to bohemians everywhere. Thank heaven for writer Shwa Laytart and his wife Sugar for creating a space where you can buy vintage and new books like “Santa Sold Shrooms,” “The Acid Test,” and (naturally) “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” not to mention all of John Waters’ books including his deliciously twisted page-turner “Shock Value.”
Also on the store’s shelf: Laytart’s “F****d-Up Poetry for F****d-Up People” in F****d-Up Times,” a collection of moving poems that offer a strange kind of comfort.
