Las Vegas Mixtape v55: Rock Vs Disco Showdown, Hong Kong Desserts, and Hot Dustland Nights — Track #5 (of 5): Around Town Medley: Symphony Park @Downtown, Toca Madera @The Shops At Crystals, and Wang Chung @Resorts World Theatre

Track #5 (of 5): Around Town Medley: Symphony Park @Downtown, Toca Madera @The Shops At Crystals, and Wang Chung @Resorts World Theatre

Start your Symphony Park night out at Vic’s, the supper club with live jazz. (Image: Vegas 411)

Tonight All Shook Up 6:00 PM · Athena Showlounge, Alexis Park Get tickets

Looking to have a special night out in Vegas where you can park only once and experience three different elements?  Point yourself in the direction of the ever-growing downtown area known as Symphony Park. Bookend a show at the neo-art deco palace The Smith Center by first enjoying Italian and American favorites at Vic's Las Vegas and then close out the evening with drinks and bites at AC Kitchen inside the luxurious new AC Element Hotel. It’s worth mentioning that for most Smith Center shows, garage parking is only $6. That’s a special event rate set by the city. Which just goes to show that Vegas can do much better with the “ouch” cost of parking in the Arts District.

Every day should begin like this. (Image: Vegas 411)

What the world needs now is clearly the Tres Leches French Toast at Toca Madera, the Mexico City-inspired steakhouse inside the ultra-posh multi-level Shops at Crystals. Enjoying this marvelous brunch delight is a sure-fire ticket to circumventing world disorder. All your needs are met in this multi-textured creation, moderately priced at $22. It’s made with—drumroll, please—brioche bread, cinnamon toast crunch, fresh berries, cinnamon whipped cream, orange zest tuile, and cajeta. Weekend brunch hours here are Friday-Sunday between 10am-4pm.  Bonus point: complimentary valet parking. 

Related: Las Vegas Mixtape v45: Elvis’ Honolulu Bash, Italian Delights, and Catching An ‘80s Wave

Long live the ‘80s. (Image: Vegas 411)

I was happy to see former PR clients Wang Chung—Jack Hues and Nick Feldman—in fine form at the grand Resorts World Theatre for the “Things Can Only Get Better” ‘80s package show.  It was headlined by Howard Jones with The English Beat and Modern English also on the bill.

If there’s one particular song that typifies the day-glo optimism of the ‘80s, it’s Wang Chung’s “Everybody Have Fun Tonight.” Back then, I milked the controversy surrounding the song’s unique video for all it was worth.

It all started when the BBC refused to air the video in the band’s native UK “after a medical adviser to its screening committee warned that the rapid flashing and strobe-like editing could trigger seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy.” Quickly taking advantage of this, I wrote a press release and landed key coverage on “Good Morning America” and in the” Los Angeles Times.”  Responding to the BBC’s claim that the video contained “too many frames per second,” Nick Feldman cleverly told the newspaper: “It’s absolutely ludicrous. I mean, they told Mozart his music had too many notes, and look what it did for his career.”