The Movable Buffet

Dispatches from Las Vegas
by Richard Abowitz

Category: Britney Spears

Britney Spears to return to Vegas stage

December 2, 2008 |  1:47 pm
Britneyvegas1 I did not report on any of the rumors about Britney Spears performing a New Year's Eve concert in Vegas. I did talk to the Palms once about the possibility in October and was told they were not ready to make an announcement about that night. Since then they have announced Kid Rock as the resort's performer. The Joint at the Hard Rock is apparently going empty, but Wasted Space at the casino will offer Pink. Anyway, Britney Spears has officially announced her new tour today on her site, and Vegas is indeed included but comes near the end, with her scheduled to play the MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 25. Spears' Vegas past has included little to brag about, as this blog has reported -- ranging from merely embarrassing moments to life and career low points. Maybe this show will break her Vegas losing streak.
Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images

Will Britney play Vegas on New Year's Eve?

September 15, 2008 |  5:41 pm

Britney_vmas Over at The Dish Rag, Elizabeth Snead is reporting the rumors of Britney Spears planning a Vegas comeback on New Year's Eve at the Palms' Pearl concert hall. For musicians who actually sing live at their concerts, the venue has the best sound in Vegas. Spears is also very familiar with the Palms; this  was the setting for her disastrous September 2007 Video Music Awards performance

I checked with the Palms, and the resort has no comment. This in itself suggests that something may indeed be up, because when rumors were flying about Spears and the Palms back in May, the resort's owner, George Maloof, a longtime friend of the singer, told me that the Palms was not in the midst of doing any business deals with Spears. Of course, that was  May, also known as ancient history in Las Vegas. And for Spears, too, much has changed. She now has a new disc coming out in December. Meanwhile, the Pearl has yet to announce any show for New Year's Eve. So we'll see.

But be careful what you wish for, people. I reviewed a Spears concert back in 2004 when she was still known for music. She played at the MGM Grand Garden Arena (which is many times larger than the Pearl).  I was not impressed at all by a concert that, looking back, sadly, was probably the highlight of her many, many memorable Vegas moments

Spears' last two performances in Vegas have been notably, indeed, even exceptionally, lame. First, there was her show at Mandalay Bay's House of Blues in May 2007. This concert lasted about 15 minutes. I was there, and for their hard-earned cash, her fans saw Spears lip sync to canned music and perform stale choreography with backup dancers.

Then came the infamously bland Video Music Awards performance at the Palms in September 2007. Of course, Spears picked up some VMAs earlier this month. So maybe returning to the Palms on New Year's Eve could offer her a further opportunity to put the past behind her for 2009.

Photo credit: Britney Spears performs at the MTV Video Music Awards at The Palms Hotel and Casino on Sunday, Sept. 9, 2007, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)


Spears and K-Fed in Vegas, and the kids....

June 13, 2008 | 11:41 am
With lesser-of-two-evils parent K-Fed being honored as father of the year at the nightclub Prive at Planet Hollywood tonight and Britney now staying at Palms; anyone know where the kids go while mom and dad romp (separately so far) in Vegas ?

Mini Britney vs. Lez Zeppelin

April 4, 2008 | 11:02 am
Minibritney Tomorrow night those of us lucky enough to be spending the weekend in Vegas are forced to choose between hanging with Mini Britney or rocking out with Lez Zeppelin.

Perhaps inevitably, the practice of celebrities hosting at nightclubs has finally reached into the ranks of celebrity impersonators. Britney Spears has hosted at PURE and LAX; now tribute artist Mini-Britney, Terra Jole, will be hosting  on the Strip too.

Tomorrow night, Mini Britney hosts at the Hawaiian Tropic Zone in Miracle Mile Shops (the mall at Planet Hollywood). According to the press release, "Mini Britney will perform three songs, including 'Toxic,' 'Gimme More' and a surprise song."

Sadly, I will not be able to check out the "surprise song," because I will be at Bolder Station casino watching Lez Zeppelin in concert reenacting the Hammer of the Gods. (Photo by Sarah Gerke)
 

Mini-Britney arrives and keeps arriving

September 26, 2007 |  7:57 am

Minibritney Beacher's Madhouse show happens this weekend, and the publicity machine for Jeff Beacher is going into overdrive.

TMZ, for example had a breathless report posted yesterday on Mini-Britney, Terra Jole, coming to town to do her Britney Spears impersonation at the Madhouse.

The gossip site noted Jole "arrived in Las Vegas on Monday to prepare for a Saturday night performance, mini-performance, that is!"

There is even an accompanying photo of Jeff Beacher driving her to the Hard Rock reinforcing the impression that she is just off the plane.

 
Here is the problem: Jole is already here and doing her mini-Britney impersonation almost every night on the Strip in another show.

Jole performs six shows a week at Planet Hollywood at Krave in "Little Legends."

As for the photo on TMZ, the publicist for "Little Legends" tells me: "That photo is really old."

(Photo by Sarah Gerke)
 
 

Britney Spears: Top 5 Vegas 'Britastrophes'

September 12, 2007 |  8:29 am
Yes, she bombed at the Video Music Awards. But it is unfair to say the Sunday night performance marked a new low for Britney Spears in Vegas. Britastrophe

This city has been home to so many of her "Oops I did it again" mistakes. In fact, Sunday barely scrapes into my 'Top 5 Britastrophes' to take place in Vegas:

5. Britney bombs at the VMAs. Not bothering to sing, seemingly unable to keep up with her backing dancers and looking stressed out Britney goes through the motions of a performance.

4. In July, Britney's bodyguards were accused of attacking Flynetonline.com photographers at the Wynn. According to the account offered by the paparazzi: "Immediately after, Britney ran towards Andrew as if she were going to attack him, but after being restrained by security, she threw a baby bottle at Andrew and said, 'I am going to kill you. I'm going to (expletive) kill you.' She then said that he should get a restraining order against her, because if she couldn't kill him, she'd hire someone who would."

3. Concert at HOB at Mandalay Bay. At least the VMA performance was free for fans to watch. In May, Britney charged her fast-diminishing fan base in Vegas for attending a House of Blues concert that offered a similarly lackluster performance and only a slightly longer show.

2. New Year's Eve at Pure. She came, she saw, she slept. I guess we will never know for sure if she passed out or decided to take a nap (as her camp lamely offered) in the middle of a nightclub full of people. Either way her sleep was so deep she had to be assisted out of the club. To her credit, despite arriving late and not staying long, she did manage to keep conscious throughout her more recent hosting job at LAX.

1. Vegas wedding. In January 2004 Britney Spears married some guy for a few days. At the time, she said she did not understand marriage meant such a serious sort of commitment. She got the marriage annulled, and then along came K-Fed with marriage material written all over him.

(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Britney still invaluable to Vegas

August 17, 2007 |  9:28 am
Vegas is an amoral city. This is not the same thing as an immoral city. Had Elvis never popped a pill, touched a drink, shot off a gun or ordered room service, no one here would have forced any of that on him. Now, two weeks from her job hosting the opening of the nightclub LAX at Luxor, Britney Spears may find Vegas the last town that has no interest in judging her. In fact, Vegas still wants to pay her to come play and party some more.
Putting out a record or arranging a tour requires a lot of investment and belief in the reliability of the star at the center. A lot less is at stake for a nightclub event. Even when things go wrong, it is usually all right. When Lindsay Lohan canceled her party at Pure at Caesars last month, the club got more attention as the hot spot in Vegas from the national media, as they  were speculating and reporting in the days before the cancellation, than if the event had gone off without a hitch. It turns out, for nightclubs in Las Vegas, having an erratic star in the house offers fantastic press, regardless of behavior: The more bizarre, the more widely reported, the better. It also keeps things interesting for the crowd. Take this example: Spears began her year by being carried out of Pure during a similar appearance. Was the club upset or concerned? Pure Management Group also runs LAX, where Spears is hosting the opening August 31. No matter what else is going on in her career, it is clear, Britney Spears will always have Vegas. Of course, in the long term, allowing your life to become an endless hang in Vegas did not go so well for Elvis.

Britney gets boot from Wynn?

July 27, 2007 |  9:09 am
Rumors that Britney Spears was in Vegas to see the Fergie show this Saturday seem to have caused her troubles on the domestic front. US is reporting that Spears checked out of the Wynn yesterday after Kevin Federline's lawyer complained she did not have permission to bring their children to Nevada.
 
 
But things also seem to have gotten really strange. Apparently, even before that, a fracas developed between a photographer and a bodyguard for Spears at Wynn. According to Robin Leach's blog, a misdemeanor battery charge was issued by police to the bodyguard and, after being informed of events, Steve Wynn ordered the self destructing pop star escorted off property by his security detail.

I've reached out to Wynn for comment.
 
Of course, Spears is scheduled to host the opening of LAX at Luxor on August 31.

UPDATE:

The word from Wynn.
 
This statement was just sent to me from Wynn Resorts in response to my query:
 

"At Wynn Las Vegas, we respect the privacy and do our utmost to maintain the anonymity of our guests.  In the event that this is compromised, we take the appropriate action. Given the widespread news reports of Ms. Spears’ recent stay at Wynn Las Vegas, we can confirm the following:

Ms. Spears was a guest of Wynn Las Vegas this week.  She elected to leave the resort on Thursday afternoon, July 26, of her own accord.  We have no comment with regards to any alleged activity during her stay with us and will not comment on our guests’ experience at Wynn Las Vegas."




 


Britney Spears plans Vegas comeback?

May 1, 2007 |  6:42 am

Is Britney Spears really planning a show at the House of Blues on Sunday? For those who are fans, curious, risk takers or have nothing better to do, go check out the The M&M's concert at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay on May 6. As of this morning tickets are $60 on HOB's site. I am not making any promises; only, I am hearing from people who should know, that The M&M's are the backing dancers-band for one Britney Spears. Still, I have a hard time imagining her in a venue like House of Blues that requires a band and actual singing from performers. That would almost be a new Britney Spears. I see Britney Spears "singing" comeback taking place, if in Vegas, at a spot more in fitting with her career to date, like Pure or Tao, where she can just get up and sing-along with a little help from her old recordings. We will see.



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